Roots to Fruits #3
urin136 x 270 mm, 52 pages (stapled)
Rotterdam, Netherlands (English-language)
Founder and designer: Mirelle van Tulder
Editors: Juliana R. Senna and Mirelle van Tulder
Created by Dutch artist and researcher Mirelle van Tulder (who has served as image researcher for both MacGuffin and Emergence), each issue of the slender, Risograph-printed Roots to Fruits dedicates itself to exploring the role that a single form music or sonic practice plays in migration, culture and resistance, pairing a piece of writing with archival imagery.
A beautiful format, this thicker third edition is an especially gorgeous one with its metallic gold on green cover. Exploring Congada—‘a cycle of festivities of Central African origin’ common to the southeast of Brazil—it pays tribute to the archive and experiences of Brazilian musician and ethnomusicologist Spirito Santo, who spent five decades capturing the festivities and lives of Brazil's Central African diaspora through amateur photography, sound recordings and more.
Inside, you'll find an essay on the history of Congadas through the archive, weaving together translated conversations with Santo and his son Caio Rosa and bookended by a series of Santo's black and white photographs, which document and preserve moments from the festivities over the years.