Pagode is an Afro-Brazilian gathering based on the need of collectivity. Its approach goes beyond Eurocentric ideas of relations that build on intellectual exchange—intellectuality, not only from the didactic conception, but also from the building of a shared space-time, commitment, mission, and objective. The pagode stems from a collective desire and certainty that we cannot walk alone, much less stand still; standing still is a power that is only given together as well. Originating in the nineteenth century, the dynamics of pagode date back to and can be located in slave quarters in Brazil, taking the form of Black men and women with drinks, food, and music. It was in the pagodas that the suffering imposed on enslaved people and their bodies was expressed and worked through collectively.

In line with Afro-Brazilian wisdom, which encompasses the knowledge of the indigenous nations of the territory, the best response to the sophisticated architecture of annihilation employed by the so-called ‘lords and ladies’ was to also develop and unfold a constant, multiplied, and intensely modified way to continue living. This process produced not only resilience, but even more cultivated and ever expanding desires and pleasures.

Pagode is therefore not just a party, but a political action, a meeting that centres communal joy: the will, the people, the music, and especially the food and drink are integral.