Viviam Caroline

Viviam Caroline is an artist from Bahia, the blackest state in Brazil; she is a musician and scholar with a master’s degree in Culture and Society from the Federal University of Bahia. At the age of sixteen, Víviam is taken by her mother to learn about Neguinho do Samba’s project; he intended to create a samba-reggae band formed exclusively by women.

“The first time I wore a drum, I immersed myself in memories of myself and my ancestors. It was an overwhelming encounter”, he recalls. The relationship between Viviam Caroline and the drum has lasted twenty-eight years. At Didá, in addition to being a percussionist, she becomes the institution’s intellectual and public relations force.

After 30 years of Didá, Viviam decided it was time to leave the institution with the younger generation trained and nurtured by her. So she started a new project, Yayá Muxima (March 2022), still working with women and kids but mixing and experimenting with rhythms of the diaspora with Samba-Reggae.