Brazil News
BRASILIA – President Dilma Rousseff signed into law Monday (14) a law establishing the National Day of Reggae, celebrated annually on 11 May – the date Jamaican musician died, reported Folha.
Bob Marley (Photo: David Burnett/Folha)
According to the law, the date will serve to honor “the musical rhythm spread worldwide by Robert Nesta Marley.”
Senator Rodrigo Rollemberg – then a congressman – authored the bill, according to the Culture Ministry.
Rollemberg justifies the new law, in the text of the bill, saying “it is relevant to recognize the foreign musical rhythms, which without a doubt, ‘fell’ into Brazilian taste.”
In the text, Rollemberg also mentioned “the legacy that Bob Marley left the world goes far beyond reggae: it is through this music that many Brazilian artists use the medium of music to make legitimate social criticisms. This musical style greatly influenced some areas of Brazil, such as Salvador, which enacted a city ordinance establishing the day of reggae.”
Rollemberg also talks about how Bob Marley influenced Brazilian music, citing “, , among many other national artists devoted to continue to push through , messages of peace, love and social criticism to encourage people to fight for their rights, just like , considered the first star of the third world with international recognition.”
HOPE THAT THE BRAZILIAN PEOPLE ARE MADE AWARE THAT IT WAS NOT ONLY BOB MARLEY WHO BROUGHT REGGAE MUSIC TO BRAZIL AND TO THE WORLD, BUT ALL THE OTHERS WHO WENT BEFORE HIM…INCLUDING JIMMY CLIFF, DESMOND DECKER, MILLE SMALL, TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS ; NOT FORGETTING THE WAILERS WHO WITHOUT THEM BOB COULD NOT HAVE DONE OR REACH THE AUDIENCE/PEOPLE HE REACHED TODAY..BOB WAS NOT A MUSICIAN..HE PLAYED BASIC RHYTHM GUITAR, BUT WAS A POET AND A REAL SHOWMAN…AND REALIZE THE POWER OF MUSIC TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF HUMANITY..A GREAT GIFT..BUT HE DID NOT DO IT ALONE..WE ARE GRATEFUL TO THE GOVERNMENT OF BRAZIL FOR RECOGNIZING REGGAE MUSIC AS A NATIONAL TREASURE LONG BEFORE OUR OWN POLITICIANS IN JAMAICA.