National Day of Reggae Signed into Law

Brazil News

| BRASILIA – President Dilma Rousseff signed into law Monday (14) a law establishing the National Day of Reggae, celebrated annually on 11 May – the date Jamaican musician Bob Marley died, reported Folha.

Bob Marley (Photo: David Burnett/Folha)

According to the law, the date will serve to honor “the musical rhythm spread worldwide by Robert Nesta Marley.”

Senator Rodrigo Rollemberg – then a congressman – authored the bill, according to the Culture Ministry.

Rollemberg justifies the new law, in the text of the bill, saying “it is relevant to recognize the foreign musical rhythms, which without a doubt, 'fell' into Brazilian taste."

In the text, Rollemberg also mentioned “the legacy that Bob Marley left the world goes far beyond reggae: it is through this music that many Brazilian artists use the medium of music to make legitimate social criticisms. This musical style greatly influenced some areas of Brazil, such as Salvador, which enacted a city ordinance establishing the day of reggae.”

Rollemberg also talks about how Bob Marley influenced Brazilian music, citing “Cidade Negra, Edson Gomes, Gilberto Gil among many other national artists devoted to continue to push through reggae, messages of peace, love and social criticism to encourage people to fight for their rights, just like Marley, considered the first star of the third world with international recognition.”

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