MM0028 – Maracatu Rural Cruzeiro do Forte – Recife – PE (2014)
This is the 2nd Selo Mundo Melhor release about Maracatu Cruzeiro do Forte from Recife, Pernambuco. This community have a unique and exquisite tradition acclaimed by Pernambuco’s Carnaval and acknowledge as Brazilian culture. The #1 album Cruzeiro do Forte – Clube Carnavalesco Misto was released in 2004, launching Selo Mundo Melhor that year.
In this album, besides Martelo (rhythm found in rural Maracatu), we also got Marcha that Cruzeiro do Forte plays a bit slower than other Maracatus. Galope sounds half Samba, half Marcha and Macumba, a Maracatu rhythm only performed by Torrões’ community nowadays. Founded in September, 7th 1929, Cruzeiro do Forte is the eldest Maracatu Rural in Recife and Pernambuco that still perform.
Other singularity of Maracatu Cruzeiro do Forte: women are tradition and history keepers. Dona Neta, Maracatu Queen since last 1980s; Ceiça, baiana, actual president and daughter of former president Dona Netinha; Mãe Dalva, Elder Queen, daughter of Matias Batista, one of the founders. Those ladies, together with other “old school” ladies, are gatekeepers of their traditions. The album compiles old and new Cruzeiro do Forte music to evidence such richness and beauty embodied in this Maracatu.