A strobe light splashed patches of blue and green across the dimly lit surfaces of Gardner Lounge. Hundreds of little Brazilian flags were strung across the walls and ceilings. Dozens of balloons resembling soccer balls were scattered around. The speakers blasted Anitta, MC Livinho and other Brazilian funk artists well into the night.
This explosion of lights and color was the very first Brazilian Funk Gardner at Grinnell College, hosted on April 11 from 11 p.m. onwards by the Brazilian Students Organization (BRASA). The idea of hosting a funk party was not a recent one for BRASA.
“The Funk Gardener has been an idea since before we came to Grinnell,” said Thai Theodoro `27, the current president of BRASA. “We wanted to do it last spring, but we had no idea of how hard it actually is to host a Gardner.”
Hosting a Brazilian Funk Rave in French House in fall 2024 for the joint birthday of Brazilian students Bruna Sander Foss `27 and Beatriz Polo Diz `27 was the first iteration of their plan.
“We decided to do something official after that, because we really miss funk parties,” said Foss.
“In Brazil, if you go to clubs or parties, it’s always funk that’s playing,” said Diz. “And we wanted to bring that Brazilian party culture to Grinnell.”
“Funk started as a marginalized kind of music — it came from the favelas,” said Beatriz De Vasconcellos Dias `27, who helped organize the Gardner event. “Nowadays, it’s going through a process of being solidified as Brazilian culture, and not just poor people’s music.”
“The Brazilian students brought explosive energy to Gardner and gave me a chance to show off my Neymar skills,” said Farhan Rahman `27, referencing the soccer ball-shaped balloons which misled many a blurry-eyed partygoer.
“We were trying to give stereotypical Brazil vibes to the non-Brazilian,” said Dias. “We don’t actually have those decorations in parties in Brazil.” A table was set up with numerous “I HEART BR” sunglasses, paying homage, said Dias, to a particular São Paulo habit of wearing sunglasses to parties, even at night.
Dias attributed the majority of organizational work done in the service of the Gardner to Theodoro, while acknowledging the support of Hayden Davis `25. “Thai was mostly in charge of everything,” she said, laughing. “The rest of us just showed up early.”
BRASA members said they are looking forward to hosting more funk Gardners and similar events in coming semesters.
Thai Theodoro is a Staff Writer at The S&B. She was not involved in the writing or editing of this story.
