Who is Rafael Vicente? Meet the young man who brought Complexo da Maré to Shakira

“When I started, I didn’t even know what it was to be an influencer.” Now, at the age of 22, Raphael Vicente understands the profession very well and sees in it an opportunity to improve the lives of his family and that of the residents of Complexo da Maré, in the north zone of Rio de Janeiro. All through lots of dancing and good humor – his trademarks.

Last week, he rocked the internet when his version of “Waka Waka” was noticed by singer Shakira, 45. The Colombian woman praised him and even invited him to dance in a future presentation in Brazil. “I was scared. A friend warned me [que eu estava sendo falado] and I already thought it was some gossip with my name. When I opened it and saw that it was her, I was even more scared. She is a World Cup icon.”

In the video, he dances alongside residents and simulates the World Cup atmosphere in the community where he grew up. The young man says that one of his main purposes with his profession is to make everyone see Maré “with real eyes”. “Only those who live there know the reality, which is not that of violence, drugs and operations [policiais]🇧🇷 I always try to show that Maré is a place of love.”

Raphael Vicente, who claims to be inspired by names like Tata Werneck, Will Smith and Paulo Gustavo, started making videos when he was 14 years old, using the Vine app – which no longer exists. Since then, he has not stopped dedicating himself to creating content. He says that he learned most of the work himself, watching tutorial videos, and in practice, tinkering with the options of various editing applications.

In 2019, he founded the group Dance Maré and was approved in a course at UFRJ, which he chose to withdraw. It was the following year, amid the coronavirus pandemic, that he discovered TikTok, the platform that made him reach nationwide. Today, with more than 3 million followers, the carioca claims to feel the weight of the title of “influencer”. “I want to do justice, there’s no reason to be gaining visibility and not use it to talk about issues that I and other young people live”, he evaluates.

On the video platform, the boy usually records alongside his grandmother Maria Antônia, godmother Luciene, sister Maria Eduarda, godson William and even Scott, his dog. He says that making videos and scripts with his family has always been a natural process, and that, over time, it has become essential for him. “I don’t think about creating without them in the middle, I manage to put them where they don’t need to appear.”

With his fame, he claims he has even received an invitation to star in a reality show inspired by the Kardashians sisters. “They want to follow the lives of the Vicentes, as if they were them”, he observes, laughing.

Raphael Vicente says he’s accomplished, but he doesn’t want to stop there. “I’ve been in the process of studying dance for two years. I feel very insecure about recording dances, but I love it. I also intend to make my webseries. I want my videos to be a little longer”, he adds. “And I still want to go to film school to delve deeper and deeper into it.”

For the future, the young man says he has many goals, but he hasn’t set goals yet – he explains that he usually only does this at the beginning of each year. However, he knows that his career is just beginning and that he will need to constantly update himself to stay in it. “I still have many dreams. And I don’t like to spend too much time in a format, I always like to reinvent myself.”