World Cup Music Video Salvador

Alexandra Alden

World Cup: Not Just for Rio Anymore



Rio has been thrown into a frenzy over the upcoming World Cup, but on Wednesday April 21 the fever reached Salvador. The famed Brazilian pop singer Jammil and his band Uma Noites teamed up with the groundbreaking Bahian percussion group Olodum to film a video for Brazil’s potential World Cup 2010 song.

Salvador was chosen as one of the 12 cities to share World Cup 2014 that will be held in Brazil. With the World Cup comes the inevitable influx of tourism. The decision to include Salvador, one of Brazil's economic and cultural centers, means that the city which is already a favorite stop for cruise ships will become an even hotter tourist destination.

To prepare for this wave of people Salvador is polishing its infrastructure, working on its stadium, and of course publicizing itself and what better way to get attention than to set this year's potential World Cup anthem in the city's most famed neighborhood.

The Largo do Pelhourinho in the Pelhourinho neighborhood of Salvador, known for its brightly colored buildings and colonial architecture, served as a backdrop for the video. The area is a UNESCO world heritage site and an integral part of Brazil’s cultural history. The Largo do Pelhourinho already graces many a postcard and will be further skyrocketed into infamy if Brazil were to win the World Cup with “Haja coração” as their song.

“Haja coração” (loosely translated as ‘Heart There’), written by Manno Goés, Tennynson Del Rei and Paulo Vascon, celebrates football and being Brazilian with the lyrics repeating chanting “Brasilero, Brasilero”. The song has a particularly Bahian twist with Jammil’s voice melding perfectly with the vibrating beats of Olodum.

Olodum are the percussion group, founded in 1979, that is credited with creating the ‘samba reggae’ genre of music. They celebrate Afro-Brazilian culture and participate every year in Carnaval. The group strives to set a good example for black communities and promote equality in Brazil as a whole. They have worked with international superstars such as Michael Jackson and Ziggy Marley.

On April 21 the Largo do Pelhourino square was transformed. People dressed in Brazilian colors were standing in all the balconies and holding flags from Japan, Spain, Argentina, Italy, the U.S., and of course, South Africa. A large crowd gathered who were allowed to participate in the open set parts of the video, further adding to the party atmosphere.

The video featured Olodum and the group Troupe Dance whom performed a specially choreographed dance complete with mimed football moves and clapping. The graceful, sexy dancers, all appropriately dressed in green and yellow, were intermingled with a lucky group of American students who stumbled across the set.

In the afternoon Jammil and Uma Noites arrived and joined Olodum onstage. Olodum raised their gigantic drums in the air singlehandedly and tossed their drumsticks to each other across the stage. The party atmosphere grew with the celebrities and dancers were visibly enjoying themselves.

In the early evening the shooting wrapped. The production, which had involved more than 300 people, dispersed. “Haja coração” with its Bahian backdrop is set to be released in May a little over a month before the World Cup 2010 kicks off.