Renata Rosa is a singer, composer, poet and researcher from São Paulo, Brazil, born in 1973. She works with traditional music from Brazil’s Northeast, drawing on chant, poetry and dance forms associated with regional popular culture.

Music and repertoire

Her songs are shaped by traditions such as Maracatu Rural, Coco and Cavalo Marinho. She builds an eclectic repertoire that includes her own compositions, songs by older and younger composers, and material that is now in the public domain. Her work focuses on the cultural richness of these forms and on the influence of feminine traditions in the music of Brazil’s Northeast.

Performance and instrumentation

Rosa’s performances combine singing with dance, with the physical movement of the dancers linked to the force of the chant. In some pieces, the stage floor itself functions as percussion through foot-stomping. She plays the rabeca, the traditional Brazilian fiddle, and performs with musicians including Seu Luis Paixao, described as a master of the instrument, alongside viola, two percussionists and bass guitar.

Research and traditional forms

She conducts research into cultural practices from the Northeast, including coco, work chants, traditional Catholic chants known as Benditos, and excelência chants, which are used in death vigils. Her workshops explore the circular dance of coco and the relationship between dance, foot percussion and poetry. Coco itself is presented as a form that brings together Indigenous Brazilian and central African influences and is connected to communal house-building traditions on clay floors.

Groups and projects

Rosa is part of Maracatu de Baque Solto Estrela de Ouro de Aliança, where she holds the role of Dama do Cacho and is involved in the development of the maracatu tradition. She also leads Boi da Gurita Seca, a group in which she improvises poetry within the musical and poetic tradition of maracatu rural.

Recording and activity

Her debut album, Zunido da Mata, is produced by musicians from Mestre Ambrosio. She also teaches and has given workshops in a range of venues and festivals, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cathedral St John the Divine in New York, Festival de Inverno de Garanhuns, Teatro Arraial in Recife and Studio Casa de Pedra in Rio de Janeiro. She tours internationally and teaches in Italy, the USA and Canada.