Bom dia, boa tarde, e boa noite, meus ‘cados! 

Growing up, punk always had a certain familiarity and exoticism. My parents were big into the punk scene in the 70s and 80s, both local (Minneapolis) and global. The raw energy, the howl of rage, ideally with a perverse wit, punk was angry, but for me, punk was fun. Yet as I grew older, I started to drift away. I admittedly fell in a certain shallow mindset that punk meant *only* being/liking punk, that it was *the* authentic genre of music and expression. Alas, such silly dogma (again, very much of my own limited imagination) didn’t last and I felt like it was time to move on. 

Watching the film Viva Viva, a 2012 documentary about the São Paulo punk scene, brought back a flood of memories regarding why punk spoke to me so deeply, why I fell in love it in the first place. 

Filmed between 2003 and 2005, the film looks at a ragtag group of punk rockers and aficionados, across multiple backgrounds and ages, and what the genre means to them. The majority are young and from the favelas, but there are queer voices, feminist rockers, and some of the original punks present. All the participants see punk as a means of political and community connection, a rage against a corrupt, bigoted system that, even after Brazil’s transition back to democracy, still holds firm to widespread inequality. The creative outlet it offers to those who live in the chaotic concrete jungle like São Paulo is beautifully captured by director, editor, and cinematographer Carolina Pfister. She opts for a pleasing unvarnished look and feel, all too appropriate given the subject matter. 

For those who have never visited or lived in São Paulo, it is possible this documentary may be a curio about a certain community and how its vision of punk is both very local and unsurprisingly universal. But for me, someone who is grateful to call São Paulo his adopted home (the glorious, the maddening, the surreal, and the darkly witty), it’s a touching and yet quietly heartbreaking work. Many of the participants are exactly like my friend group, and seeing how some find contentment and success, others fall into lives of crimes and addiction, it cuts deeper with age. Yet like the genre itself, the film is bold and alive, screaming against injustice, and never losing sight of those who scream and why. 

Available with English subtitles on Youtube: 

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Have a great day, afternoon, evening, ‘cados!