Céu na Terra by Carnaval Blues

Photo by Grzegorz Krawczyk

A collective exhibition by five photographers, four foreigners and one Brazilian, is an opportunity to present different views of the carnival group Céu na Terra (“Heaven on Earth”), from Rio’s Santa Tereza neighborhood, which has a central presence in a key scene from the movie Carnaval Blues, directed by Miguel Silveira.

The exhibition will take place during Easter week, March 25 to 27, at Baixo Santa do Alto Glória, as part of the cultural center’s Second Cultural Week.

The movie Carnaval Blues, a co-production of Columbia College of Chicago and Baixo Santa do Alto Gloria of Rio de Janeiro, tells the story of an American researcher named Jack who comes to Rio to study and photograph the city’s culture of violence.

During his travels around the city, Jack, played by actor Elias Trabada, hooks up with, Duque, a master of the Brazilian martial art capoeira, interpreted by Ronie Marruda, and his daughter, Namíbia, played by the actress of the same name. Ronie and Namíbia are representative of Rio’s poorer classes, who confront life’s daily problems with difficulty but dignity. The eagerly awaited premier of Carnaval Blues is set for the end of October.

The renowned carnival group Céu na Terra was captured from various angles by the four foreign photographers: the director of photography of the Polish film Kuba Zelazek; the American producer of Carnaval Blues, Quentin Kruger; still photographer Alyssa Miserendino; and gaffer (cinema electrician) W. E. Coleman, along with me, Daniele Pessanha, a Brazilian photographer, anthropologist and production coordinator of the movie.

So this exhibition is a natural blend of our images to form a panel of 20 photos. We organized our photos by e-mail to between Rio and Chicago, because several members of the film crew had to return to the U.S. after shooting wrapped on February 28.

We hope you enjoy seeing this exhibition as much as we enjoyed creating it!

Daniele Pessanha

Date: March, 25th to 27th
Place: Baixo Santa do Alto Glória
73, Hermenegildo de Barros St. - Glória - Rio de Janeiro
(Take the first right going up Cândido Mendes St.)

Galery of photos of the exhibition premier.