São Luís, Brazil hosts Reggae Raiz cultural exchange

São Luís do Maranhão, dubbed the "Jamaica Brasileira," is hosting the Reggae Raiz cultural exchange, bringing together about 65 reggae artists and researchers from Bahia. The event runs until Sunday, July 19, and includes tours of the Museum of Reggae, the public market, Reggae Square, and traditional radio‑bar venues, as well as the Rasta Reggae Festival at Nova Matuto Show.

The festival features Jamaican acts The Gladiators, The Gables and legendary Horace Johnson, who is performing in Brazil for the first time. Organisers Albino Apolinário, president of Reggae O Bloco, and journalist Ademar Danilo, director of the Museum of Reggae, highlight the event’s role in strengthening ties between Maranhão and Bahia. São Luís was officially designated the National Capital of Reggae by a federal law published in 2023.