{"id":101705,"date":"2023-07-13T09:32:05","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T13:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/?post_type=interviews&p=101705"},"modified":"2023-07-13T09:34:55","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T13:34:55","slug":"bianca-rocha-at-nuits-dafrique-sharing-hope-for-environmental-preservation-and-womens-rights","status":"publish","type":"interviews","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/interviews-panm360\/bianca-rocha-at-nuits-dafrique-sharing-hope-for-environmental-preservation-and-womens-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Bianca Rocha at Nuits d\u2019Afrique: Sharing Hope for Environmental Preservation and Women\u2019s Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bianca Rocha, a Brazilian musician who immigrated to Canada in 2019, found her footing in Montreal thanks to Nuits d\u2019Afrique. She\u2019s since performed at every subsequent festival, but this year is special; she\u2019ll be bringing her debut album, 2022\u2019s Fim de Mundo<\/em>, to the festival stage for the first time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360:<\/strong> Hi Bianca. Could we start with you telling us about your 20 years of experience with various musical genres, as well as your degree in music education?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianca Rocha:<\/strong> I grew up in a family of musicians \u2013 singers, in fact, and I\u2019m the youngest of four kids. I started my career singing with my sister, two brothers, and my father on a weekly basis when I was three years old. We competed in a Brazilian radio show, then after I became an adult, I did my bachelor\u2019s in music to be an instructor for babies. Before leaving for Montreal, I was a teacher and singer, but since I\u2019ve gotten here, I\u2019ve moved away from teaching. Now I do a lot of different work as a singer, mostly working in studios and vocal directing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360: What brought you from Brazil to Montreal in 2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianca Rocha: <\/strong>It\u2019s because of my husband, actually. He\u2019s a program coordinator and he got a job offer from some friends. It was also a question of Brazil\u2019s elected president being far-right. I was afraid of all that, and his election concretized my fears and nightmares since we have a kid. We took it as an opportunity to leave. With Montreal and Quebec it was love at first sight so we decided to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360: What made you fall in love with Quebec?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianca Rocha: <\/strong>The cultural side. I love being part of the mix of cultures. I see, with eyes full of hope, the mix of people who come from different parts of the world, different countries I couldn\u2019t even find on a map. Being part of this musical scene \u2013 this experience \u2013 is magical, and it gives me hope for a better world because people can leave next to one another without war. The experience of being a musician is the same here; there\u2019s a vibe of hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360: How would you say you\u2019ve translated that feeling into your newest album, Fim du Mundo<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianca Rocha:<\/strong> The album is based on a poem that was given to me by a close friend as well as how we have to do something about the environment, and the Portuguese expression ‘Fim du Mundo.’ The expression describes the end of the world in our personal lives, like when we end a relationship or when something really sad happens that destroys our world. When I read the poem, I thought about this, because I wanted to talk about how you can rebuild your personal world when it burns or breaks. But when people talk about the end of the world I think about how, in 2023, there\u2019s this big environmental question. In both situations, you have to have hope, and you have to do something. You can\u2019t just give up. There\u2019s a lot we can do \u2013 a lot of demands we can make to politicians and world leaders \u2013 which is the hope I\u2019m trying to communicate in these songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360: What\u2019s the importance of being able to address these topics, to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianca Rocha:<\/strong> As a human being, I see how we\u2019re all part of the same worldwide group. I have a voice, I can sing. I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s an obligation \u2013 that wording is a little strong \u2013 but I feel obliged to do something, so I use my voice. That\u2019s why I promote recycling and try to reduce pollutants in my daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360: Is there a connection between these ideas and your desire to immigrate from Brazil?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianca Rocha: <\/strong>I don\u2019t think so. I think it helps me see things on a grander scale. I saw mostly Brazilian perspectives before I moved, but now I talk with people who give me more references for how things work elsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360: When you immigrated in 2019, that was also the first year you performed at Nuits d\u2019Afrique, and you\u2019ve been performing there for a couple of years now. What brings you back to the show every year?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianca Rocha:<\/strong> Nuits d\u2019Afrique isn\u2019t the first scene I played here, but it\u2019s the first festival I played, with Rodrigo Sim\u00f5es. The festival is significant to the passion I have for Montreal. The festival always takes place at the beginning of summer, and I got here in April. I was in the process of getting to know the city and its vibe because we didn\u2019t do a lot of research before we came here. So when I got here and saw the festival it was love at first sight again, because it\u2019s a place where immigrants like myself or people from elsewhere are spotlighted and valorized. It gave me a lot of hope for the world. I decided to come back every year and it\u2019s always been a different experience, so I\u2019m always going to keep an open door and an open heart for the festival. It\u2019s also a respectful event, and I love that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360: And what are you doing at this year\u2019s show that\u2019s different?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianca Rocha: <\/strong>This year\u2019s concert is special because it\u2019s the first year I\u2019m presenting songs from my album. In previous years I was always presenting music from other peoples\u2019 projects. I also chose a more festive repertoire, and the most special part is that I\u2019ll be sharing the festival stage with Flavia Nascimento for the first time. In the Brazilian community, we call her The Sun because her voice, strong energy, and heart always make everything sunny. She has an enormous heart and sharing the stage with her is always a pleasure, so I\u2019m really honoured to have her with me to share our culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360: What kinds of projects are you working on currently?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianca Rocha: <\/strong>I have a few things already in the works. There\u2019s one special that\u2019ll come out in the Fall \u2013 I don\u2019t have the date but it\u2019s La Sauce Piquante <\/em>with Eli Levinson. Another cool project I\u2019m doing involves mostly women I know here in Montreal. I can\u2019t talk about it much more because I want to keep it secret. I also have a music video that just came out \u2013 my last single from my recent album \u2013 that had a good reception. It talks about violence towards women, and in this case, specifically, it\u2019s about a woman who\u2019s too scared to leave her home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360: Why is it important for you to be able to get feminist messages out?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianca Rocha: <\/strong>When someone is alone in a violent situation, it can feel lonely, and like it\u2019s impossible to leave. The song is a message for people to be more attentive and empathetic because everyone knows someone who\u2019s been in a situation involving physical or psychological violence. There are plenty of people around my age in Brazil too who have experienced this. The message of music is that you\u2019re not alone. You\u2019re always in your own corner. You can recover and find yourself, and when you decide to leave, you need to ask for help. There are organizations and people who are there to support you in these moments \u2013 more and more around the world lately \u2013 but it\u2019s still necessary to talk about this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360: Thank you so much Bianca, it\u2019s admirable that you have the strength and bravery to share these messages. Good luck with Nuits d\u2019Afrique!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIANCA ROCHA WILL PERFORM ON FRIDAY, JULY 15, 8:30 PM, AT CLUB BALATTOU. WITH FL\u00c1VIA NASCIMENTO. INFO AND TICKETS HERE!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n