Sep 12

Sep 12 Marcelo Ribeiro Filho Collection: Portraits of May 1st in Guinea-Bissau

In Campada Maria (Tabanca where we live on May 1st, 2019) these details are important, but the main thing happens in the afternoon…

After lunch everyone puts on bathing suits - they spend a significant amount of money on it - and they go to the river beach to live and build their own Varela. At this time youth groups come together and party together on the beach, too, are residents of all ages, including people from other villages. The party that happen on Kambancaram beach has no time to end and is usually the most awaited event of holiday. Clothing and hairstyles are of great importance and also absolute secret. Most people try to plan something new and laborious. It is common practice to choose 3 different clothes, one for each part of party. When May 1st approaches, the price of clothing tends to inflate, so some people try to buy in antecedence or gone to buy in capital (Bissau), also, in neighboring countries - Guinea Konacry and Senegal. Hairstyles are almost always composed on the basis of artificial hair or hair braid, however, it is important to note that the hairstyles on this commemorative date often deviate from the hairstyles used in the routine, are clearly works made for celebrations, distinguishing themselves the most commonly used hair, even taking much longer to get done - some even three working days of 12 hours. In general, the hairdressers of Tabanca do not charge for the service, the composition of hair enters a kind of exchange of favors with the client (common practice in the interior of the country, considering that money is not something that is always at hand).

In addition to the usual that happens at parties anywhere in the world, a detail that can go unnoticed surely deserves attention. The 1st May souvenir portrait, a traditional posed photo that is almost always taken from the front. Despite the good number of photographers, there were 5 on the last May 1st, the person is waiting in line for a long time waiting for the portrait and when it is her turn, just choose the pose that think best and the image is made. Less than a week later people receive the printed portraits, each image costs about $ 1. The photos go straight to the wall, hang in the rooms and living quarters of the campada, the first thing that campada’s people presents to visitors are the photos of May 1st.

Among photographers, it is not possible to find a convention or concession that explains why the pictures is in this way, a form of image that is quite common in Guinea-Bissau. Our view is that this type of portraits is clearly a derivation of the usual form for family portrait, document and group photos that occupied the role of hegemony until the 1950s. For anyone interested in research into this kind of photography, the study of photographers Assis Horta and Seydou Keita is highly recommended.

1 Name of villages located inland, kind of agricultural village.

May 1st is the most important commemorative date in Guinea-Bissau, on Labor Day holiday, the country interrupts any other activity and is dedicated to total celebration…

The most traditional place is Varela, an oceanic beach located in the north of the country, where thousands of Guineans come from all regions.Most people who live in the tabanca, a place marked by agricultural subsistence and where money does not circulate abundantly, celebrate on their own land. The celebration of villagers begins days before with the preparation of houses, groups of young people organize themselves and build temporary tents, usually tents for lunch, but also for the evening party, makeshift nightclubs that are very successful, including among the older and children. In the interior of Guinea-Bissau there is almost no electrical network, what there are solar panels, batteries and generators that enable electricity, however, still expensive technology that is not available to everyone. So young people get organized and raise money well in advance of the holiday to get quality batteries or generators that can hold the celebration all night long. Remembering that under normal conditions it is difficult to find cold drinks in the tabanca, but on May 1st is different, with all this abundance of light is possible rent freezer to keep cold drinks, ice cream and preserved food. During the night of the worker's holiday, the village is illuminated as if it were any city in the world with access to electrical network.

Because it is the most important date of the year and there are more than one youth group per tabanca, people donate significant amounts of money and work hard to prepare every detail, the effort comes from the dream to live a day apart, a day of total abundance. The best organized group that offers the best party and food will stay a whole year in the village's imagination as the best host.