Fafá de Belém assesses the lack of positioning of young artists: ‘Being a public person demands this’

It was in the 1980s that Fafá de Belém, 67, became a symbol of democracy and the fight for voting in Diretas Já. A few decades later and close to completing 50 years of her career (in May 2025), the singer continues to use her voice to talk about your beliefs: “I understand that the fact that you are a public person requires you to take a stand.”

Regarding the current scene and a supposed lack of positioning of the new artistic class for fear of judgement, especially on the internet, she says that there have always been those who prefer to remain silent. “I see a lot of people talking and talking well”, she assesses in an interview with F5.

“I see people who don’t want to get involved, something that was also there before, and some who come in with other interests. There are people who don’t want to participate, there are people who have always charged and there are people who have never charged. There’s everything”, he summarizes.

An example that she continues to be part of the group that takes a stand, whatever the cost, happened recently. The singer made a post on Instagram to talk about the lack of artists from the North on Brazil Day, which the Rock in Rio festival reserved for Brazilian artists to perform. “Isn’t the Amazon part of Brazil? Isn’t the Amazonian, northern culture part of this country? Where is Dona Onete, Gaby Amarantos, Grammy winner, Joelma, Aíla, where am I?”, wrote the singer.

In a note sent to F5, the event organizers informed that the line-up is still under construction and that artists from the North are in negotiations to perform. “The unique format of today’s shows, which involves several unprecedented collaborations between artists, brings with it significant artistic and logistical challenges,” says the text.

Fafá also recently participated in the 40th anniversary seminar of Diretas Já, promoted by OAB and Sheet, and commented on the importance of the movement. “I think the most important thing is that we never forget how difficult it was to leave the dictatorship,” he says. “Everything that is said about Diretas, all the seminars, all the lectures, everything that is said about the meaning of democracy and the need for democracy is always praiseworthy, and must be said repeatedly.”

But Fafá doesn’t live by clashes alone. At this year’s Carnival, the singer was honored by Império da Casa Verde, with the theme “Fafá, the Cabocla Mística in Rituais da Floresta”. Another important act in the artist’s career, who will celebrate 50 years in May 2025.

“Boy, it’s crazy!” says the singer, giving one of her famous laughs. “I never wanted to be a singer, life took me. I love singing and I love, above all, people, lives, bringing people together — and I’m very curious. Sometimes, I look in the mirror and say: ‘I’m 67 years, what does that mean?’

Fafá also says he is very proud of the history he built. “I’ve never gone the way of the bulls, I’ve never been one for groups and pots, but I have a spirit of survival that makes me connect, mainly, with the younger, more contemporary, more revolutionary movements, without giving up the popular, because I’m a popular singer”, he highlights. “In short, I am a Brazilian woman who likes to sing.”