The “João Gilberto” on the cultural heritage stage: Sexuality, gender and color/race in the backstage of the theater in Juazeiro da Bahia

Abstract

The João Gilberto Culture Center, located in Juazeiro, Bahia, Brazil, inagureted in 1986, is the main artistic place in operation in the city. Over the years, the place has become an important place of sociability for young people, especially LGBTQI+ and low-income blacks. It is argued in this article that the João Gilberto Cultural Center can be interpreted as a “cultural heritage” related to people who are crossed by these social markers of difference, specifically, sexuality, gender, race/color and territory. In this sense, the special relationship between “João Gilberto” and the artists of the region is ethnographically explored, seeking to demonstrate the particular way that these people give meaning, relate to and build themselves in the minority space.