Olodum

Olodum is a bloco-afro from Salvador's carnival, in Bahia. It was founded on April 25, 1979 during the carnival season as a leisure option for residents of Maciel-Pelourinho, guaranteeing them the right to play at the carnival in one block and in an organized manner. It is a non-governmental organization of the Brazilian black movement. Its headquarters are located in the historic center of Salvador, Pelourinho, which hosts most of its presentations. Its CEO is João Jorge Rodrigues.

Olodum develops activism to combat social discrimination, boost the self-esteem and pride of African-Brazilians, and defend and fight to secure civil and human rights for marginalized people in Bahia and Brazil. Currently, it has a social project called Escola Olodum (Olodum School).

Founded as an African block of the carnival in Salvador in 1979, Olodum is currently a cultural group considered a non-governmental organization. After their first run in 1980’s carnival, the band acquired almost two thousand associates and began to talk about historic themes about African and Brazilian culture. The band’s first LP was called “Egito, Madagascar” and was recorded in 1987, and became famous with the song “Faraó, Divindade do Egito”. The idea of this LP was to honor the roots of the group and show to the country "Mamma Africa," and to show, too, how the group was born (from the drums to the influences of African Gods).

Just after, Olodum started to be known in the entire world as an African-Brazilian percussive group and performed in Europe, Japan, and almost all of South America. In 1988, Simone recorded “Me ama mô” live, in Pelourinho, featuring Neguinho do Samba and Olodum (this record is in Simone’s album, "Simone"). One of the biggest moments for the group was in 1996, when they participated in the Michael Jackson song, “They Don't Really Care About Us” from the album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, and the video clip was recorded in Pelourinho and Jackson also collaborated with the 200 members of the cultural group Olodum, who played music in the video.[41] The media interest surrounding the music video exposed Olodum to 140 countries around the world. It brought them worldwide fame and increased their credibility in Brazil.[42] Lúcia Nagib, of The New Brazilian Cinema, said of the music video:. After this, Olodum recorded with famous artists from Brazil and abroad, such as Wayne Shorter, Paul Simon, Jimmy Cliff, Herbie Hancock, and Caetano Veloso. In 1996, the band appeared in Heavy Metal band Sepultura's album "Roots." In 2013, the band played live with Kimbra on Rock in Rio's sunset stage, performing a cover of "They Don't Care About Us." Beyond that, they participated in the official song, consequently in the opening, of the FIFA World Cup 2014, with rapper Pitbull and singers Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte. Parallel to the artistic success, the band takes part in social movements against racism and for civil and human rights.

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