“PIP is an orisha,” joked Alexandre Garnizé, having caught a glimpse of our colourful children’s mascot, PIP, which occupies an unassuming corner outside the cargo lift. Orishas or orixás are divine spirits from West African Yoruba traditions and religions of the African diaspora—one of these is candomblé, a syncretic religion practiced in countries like Brazil, where Garnizé is from.

A musician, percussionist, historian and researcher, Garnizé was in Singapore with dancer Nyandra Fernandes for A Tapestry of Sacred Music 2025. These performances also featured local percussion group Bloco Singapura and its founder, Syed Ahmad, for whom Garnizé is a close collaborator and friend.

Giving us a taste of the vibrant beauty and power of candomblé’s spiritual practices, the three performers brought maracatu’s rich street traditions into our cargo lift, offering a flavour of the massive scale of Brazilian performances and street parades.

Audio: Andrew Lim
Video: Lee Jing Wei

A message from Alexandre Garnizé
This message was originally written in Portuguese. An English translation is available below.

No Festival Tapestry, em Singapura, vivemos um ritual de reencontro com o sagrado através da arte. Em cena, evocamos Exu senhor dos caminhos e do movimento, Ogum guardião das batalhas e Oyá a senhora dos ventos e das transformações. Ao lado da bailarina Nyandra Fernandes, do músico Syed Ahmed e do também músico e historiador Alexandre Garnizé, atravessamos fronteiras visíveis e invisíveis, misturando idiomas, tradições e sonoridades com respeito e escuta profunda.

Nesse encontro de corpos, tambores e histórias, sentimos novamente o poder da arte como linguagem espiritual. Não apenas um espetáculo, mas uma oferenda: à vida, aos ancestrais, ao presente. Cada passo, cada toque, cada sopro foi reza. O tambor, com sua batida primordial, lembrou-nos que somos continuidade que a arte é memória, ponte, cura e resistência.

Que essa vibração siga sustentando nossos passos. Que sigamos juntos, levando som e afeto onde houver silêncio e distância. Porque onde há arte, há reencontro. E onde há reencontro, há possibilidade de cura.

In April, at A Tapestry of Sacred Music, we experienced a ritual of reunion with the sacred through art. During Cargo Lift Sessions, we evoked Exu, the lord of paths and movement, Ogum, guardian of battles and Oyá, the lady of winds and transformations. With dancer Nyandra Fernandes, musician Syed Ahmed and myself, Alexandre Garnizé, we crossed visible and invisible borders—mixing languages, traditions and sounds with respect and deep listening.

In this meeting of bodies, drums and stories, I once again felt the power of art as a spiritual language—not just a spectacle, but an offering: to life, to the ancestors, to the present. Every step, every touch, every breath was prayer. The drum, with its primordial beat, reminded us that we are continuity, and that art is memory, bridge, healing, and resistance.

May this vibration continue to support our steps and may we continue together, bringing sound and affection wherever there is silence and distance. Because where there is art, there is reunion. And where there is reunion, there is the possibility of healing.