Economics of Brazilian performing arts: financing and employment

Abstract

Review Brazilian performing arts is as old as its nation. This means that there are, at least, two ways of approaching its history. It is possible to consider, on the one hand, the traditional rituals that native Indigenous people, such as the Bororo and Kadiweu tribes, have prac-ticed for more than 500 years. From this broad point of view, theatre and religion are inter-twined in ceremonies that must help people to overcome the struggles of life and death. In all the diversity of rituals that celebrated events and milestones in Indian's trajectories, there lies the basic principle of theatre: the transformation of one person into another. In a narrower perspective, Brazilian performing arts was born along with the Portu-guese discovery in 1500. From this date on, theatre was used by the Catholic Church as a powerful tool of catechism of Indians and Africans. During the first decades of coloni-zation, priests, like José de Anchieta (1534–1597), created some plays that were usually performed in Catholic festivities. Frequently written in three different languages (Portu-guese, Spanish and Tupi), these plays staged the main Bible's episodes in order to pacify Indian and African audience, showing them how to act and behave under the intense cultural imperialism of the colonial period. It was not until the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil that a formalized theatre has been established in the country. Escaping from the invasion of Lisbon by Napoleonic forces, Braganza Royal Family and its court departed for the Portuguese colony of Brazil in 1808. This " metropolitan reversal " that made Rio de Janeiro the capital of the Por-tuguese Kingdom and elevated Brazil to the same rank as Portugal, provided the basic structures for the development of the country's theatrical production. Theatre, then, Abstract The paper attempts to assess and analyze the economics of Brazilian contemporary theatre, focusing on financing and employment indicators. It was considered only the official data published by public institutions. The reason for it is as economic as cultural: although Brazilian theatre is at least 500 years old and is inseparable part of Brazilian culture, it has never been a subject of an in-depth economic analysis.