My first encounter with Rio de Janeiro’s ballroom scene was in 2023, during Noite das Estrelas, an artistic occupation that moved through the streets of Maré. From the top of a sound truck, the performer and drag queen Preta Queen B Rull, of the Kiki House of Mamba Negra, sang as people followed her through the neighbourhood. Before we had even reached our destination, the procession had changed the rhythm of the street.
Preta Queen B Rull performs from a sound truck during Noite das Estrelas.
Tainá Mattos (known as Princess Tai Ninja in the Mainstream scene and Legendary Tai Lafond in the Kiki scene) performs during the ball that concluded the Ocupação Noite das Estrelas in Maré.
At the end of the day, two rows of people shouted, pressed against one another and took photographs, forming a runway inside a warehouse. I had gone simply to watch, but I had my camera in my bag. I did not know whether to admire, photograph or try to understand what I was seeing: dance, fashion, performance, movements I did not yet know how to name. I left certain that I would return.That day, I learnt that photographing a ball demands quick decisions: hesitate, and the moment disappears. But what drew me back was the energy between the runway and the people gathered around it, the shouts for the houses, the response of the crowd, the vibration that seemed to pass through the body. After attending many balls, this has never become ordinary to me. What I feel there is a force built from presence and belonging, as if, for a few hours, no one has to make themselves smaller in order to fit into the world.
