The director of the dance school “Arte em Movimento”, in Viana do Castelo, whose video about the Pilgrimage D’Agonia was blocked on Facebook and Instagram, reaffirmed, in a video published on social networks, that this was due to reports of racism, despite recognizing that he did not take care of the copyright issue.
“I received on the screen [do telemóvel] an Instagram notification – and this is where it all starts – to say, in English, that our video had been the target of complaints related to racism, that was clear, evident and explicit ”, underlines Susana Domingues.
The director of “Arte em Movimento”, which did not respond to requests for clarification from O MINHO, published a video this Saturday on social media, after comments that the reason for “Stand Up” having been removed would have been the Copyright.
Susana Domingues recognizes that copyright was not protected, but stresses that, as O MINHO had initially stated, the notification he received was related to racism and which came shortly after he blocked “two clearly fictitious accounts” that “bombarded” the video of comments with insults, namely calling the authors “racists” and “thieves”.
“It was something that appeared on the screen and immediately sent me to three or four steps and at the end I said to contest by entering a link. And that’s what I did ”, explains Susana Domingues, adding that she hoped that“ the video could be removed because of copyright ”, but never because of racism.
“And no, I hadn’t done it, which from now on I will always do, which is to acquire the copyright of the music, I was too naive, of course, because I never expected [que o vídeo teria] this dimension ”, he stresses. “I was outraged, because I was waiting for everything, except for that [racismo]”, Reinforces.
Video of the Pilgrimage D’Agonia in Viana banned from Facebook for allegations of racism
However, Instagram has already responded to the “Arte em Movimento” challenge. “The first complaint was this, we objected and yesterday we received an email from Instagram saying that it did not detect any type of content related to racism, however it asked us for copyright, which we had already requested and we are waiting for”, he says.
“At this moment, all videos are being removed because we have not yet been able to get a response from the publisher to send to Instagram to restore the video, but that day will come”, guarantees Susana Domingues.
As O MINHO reported, the song chosen for the video was the source of the complaints. The theme “Stand Up ‘” was recorded by black singer Cynthia Erivo for the film Harriet (2019), starring herself. It is the story of the American slavery abolitionist and activist Harriet Tubman.
In some comments to the video, the issue of cultural appropriation was raised.
“The music in the video portrays the struggles of the black people. It is appropriate to take this song and put it in a video like this. The music doesn’t belong to you, ”wrote a Facebook user in one of the comments.
However, the situation gained great proportions, serving as a throwing weapon among political trenches.
This video showing the “strength and strength” of the people of Viana is running the country
“I am not in a fight at all, I am solely and exclusively spreading love through dance”, highlights the director of “Arte em Movimento”, stressing that the only purpose of the video, which remained on You Tube, was “to transmit a strength message ”.
“It is time for people to realize that art has countless meanings, that what I transmit is my total and absolute responsibility, the way you receive it is your responsibility”, he concludes.
The video “Stand Up”, which quickly went viral, portrays the “claw and strength” of the people of Viana do Castelo and travels through the costumes with the folklore groups of Vila Franca and Castelo do Neiva and the well-known tradition of all years at the feasts of Senhora d’Agonia.
With artistic direction by Susana Domingues, the video is edited by André Cardoso and the choreography is by Cristiana Neto.
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