Sat 17 May 2025 – 17:00 – 22:00 – Círculo Celebration: Brazilian Candomblé for Beginners – Talk, Music concert, Ceremony and food

This special event will celebrate Orixá Oxalá, an ancient force of nature. Through the priestesses, Oxalá praises the prophecy:

✨ The world will one day know one hundred years of peace, under the rule of children. ✨

The event will begin at 17:00 with the ceremony Alvorada das Caixeiras featuring the Tulip Society, along with participants from the Caixa do Divino Workshops.
Later, we will have the online presence of Mother Ekedi Gunzolande, a significant Mãe Criadeira in Brazilian Candomblé.
This title refers to her responsibility for guiding the education of initiates in how to relate to Orixás and ancestors.
Mother Gunzo will answer questions from the audience on how to communicate with, care for, and behave towards ancestry according to tradition.
She is also a crucial figure in advancing the rights of LGBTQIA+ people within the Candomblé community in São Paulo.

The evening will conclude with a musical concert featuring Brazilian percussionist Simone Soul, who will perform her own compositions inspired by traditional Brazilian and world music.
Simone blends African, Indigenous, and Balkan rhythms with melodies, creating a unique "Percuteria" urban setup—a mix of drums, percussion, and objects to create a wide range of sounds. She will be joined by singer Maria Preá (Laetícia). Maria Preá, a woman from Maranhão, cabocla, plural, is from "there and here," from the place where art lives. With two decades of music experience, she signed her first album, Avesso (2007), which was nominated for the Brazilian Music Award (2008). Her voice transforms and transports us to her Maria of struggle.
The evening will also feature a delicious Bahian Curry, prepared by Maeli San and her company Sabo – Brazilian Cuisine with the Flavor of Bahia. We will also eat the delicious Divino's Cake by Curumim Cakes.

This gathering is inspired by the Festa do Divino, a month-long ceremony found in Candomblé Houses and Maroon Communities throughout Brazil. It offers a participatory approach to fostering
coexistence, building community, and reconnecting with ancestry and diaspora.
The event will be hosted by Tulipa’s Society, an organization that honors Zahar—a Vungira in the Brazilian Candomblé tradition.
The society is inspired by Sociedade das Tulipas, a sisterhood based at Redandá Candomblé House in Cipó-Guaçu, São Paulo, which has organized charitable events for hospitals treating Wildfire disease and other causes since 1970.