In 'Macho' Brazil, Fast-Rising Star Marília Mendonça Is Inspiring Women To Push Back
Marília Mendonça has reclaimed Brazil's traditional genre sertanejo and created "feminejo," providing women with a voice in a traditionally macho society.
As evening settles in among the cattle farms and soybean fields of southern Brazil, thousands of music fans, many of them young women, are assembling on the landscape. They are gathering amid a giant agricultural fair that's been busy with visitors all day, many of whom have come to buy or sell livestock, to inspect the latest farming technology or to dine at cafes where every main course once had hooves or trotters.
But the crowd gathering here is not focused on monster tractors, champion rodeo studs or best-of-breed competitions for pedigree sheep. They're here — in hats, tassels and leather (roughly, "backcountry") music.
