Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin De Burca

The topic of Estás vendo coisas is Brega music, from northeastern Brazil, and its subcultureof parties and self-produced videos. Brega is a genre of music in which sentimental andromantic melodies fuse with American hiphop, Brazilian techno and Caribbean reggaeton. Because the technology became affordable, do-it-yourself recording studios sprouted up likemushroms at the start of the century and the genre has developed into a veritable industry. Via YouTube and other online platforms, the music can be shared rapidly. The folksy Brega style, once looked down upon, is now an accepted form of popular music in which gender, race andclass intermingle.

Estás vendo coisas is an enthralling musical, the script of which was written, in part, by thesingers and dancers. The film maps out Brega’s social landscape via the experiences of itsmain characters MC Porck and Dayana Paixão, showing how these young people shift between their jobs (as hairdresser and firewoman) and their images as rising pop stars. Notleast of all, Estás vendo coisas documents a society in flux.