Lavar, secar e assoprar : um estudo etnomusicológico da trajetória do músico negro Nilton Vergara (RS)

Abstract

This paper is an ethnomusicological study that aimed to understand the musical trajectory of the black musician Nilton Vergara, focusing on presenting musical-social strategies present in his professional career. The musician in question, who is now around 60 years old, has had and still has multiple professional performances, as an instrumentalist in a military band, a participant in the swing musical genre, a businessman and, in the recent decades, as a music educator (teaching clarinet, music theory, saxophone and musical groups) at the music conservatory, Municipal Institute of Fine Arts in the city of Bagé/RS (IMBA). Seeking to understand the musician's trajectory, a qualitative research was carried out, mainly involving the technique of interview with open questions with the interlocutor, Nilton Vergara. The trajectory of the black musician seems to be interesting for an ethnomusicological study and the problematization around the relationships between musical practices and the social environment, as it proposes to reveal their possible professional strategies addressed in the field of music, as a way of financial and social ascension. Based on theoretical references from ethnomusicology, anthropology and on dialogue with sociology focused on musical practices, in addition to involving the theme of ethnic-racial issues, as results, it is pointed out that music has been part of a life project of Nilton, from his career direction, looking for ways to negotiate with musical and social spaces, the fields of possibilities. Thus, the research demonstrated some ideas and positions that indicate a set of resistance and resilience tactics. We can highlight three main points on the research: multifaceted performance, social “shielding” and adaptability to professional spaces in the musical field. This set of behaviors demonstrates black resistance tactics, such as the ways of living and experiences of Afrodiasporic descendants, known as Brazilian Africanities.