22/09/2026
TARRAXINHA 💃🏽🔥🕺🏽 “A hot, slow-paced rhythmic dance and musical style, created in Benguela/Angola.”
Format: DOCUMENTARY (written text).
By: Ivair Coimbra (cultural designer — music, cultural dynamism, civic activism).
Introduction/plot:
“We are in the mid-1990s, 1995/96, one of the most vibrant periods in terms of culture in our contemporary history. An active Carnival, dance groups and folk music bands as well as bands performing international rhythms on the scene, community recreational centres in almost all the central areas of urban and peripheral influence in the municipality of Benguela, and a cultural life energized by the elders, young people and teenagers (the centre of the municipality that is the capital of Benguela Province/AO, Benf**a neighbourhood, Fronteira/Tchingoma, Massangarala/Quioxe, Cotel/Calomanga, Casseque/Setenta, etc.). However, the urban centre was, in fact, the epicentre of the municipality’s cultural attention and attractions (Eleven, Chaminé, Jeck/now Centro Católico, Estrela 1° de Maio, Campo do Sporting, etc.). This was until other recreational spaces emerged in the city of Benguela, one of Angola’s most vibrant and diverse cities and societies in terms of artistic and cultural creativity, dating back to the colonial era.”
Creators of the musical rhythm and dance “tarraxinha”: Rui Batalha (Querido), Luís Eduardo Alves Abrantes (Eliei), Bruno Fortes.
Promoters: Carlos “Carlinho” Jardim (DJ Mineirinho), DJ Babacha / DJ who added vocals to the first tarraxinha that went viral and is still played around the world today).
Other contributors: DJs throughout Benguela and the local radio stations (Rádio Benguela, Rádio Morena Comercial).
— Stay tuned for the final text (Facebook — IMPERIUS NOVA VIDA).
Benguela, 21 September 2026.
