Rio de Janeiro’s Evolving Ballroom Scene Captured in New Photo Essay

Performance and belonging: Rio de Janeiro’s ballroom scene – photo essay

A look at the ballroom scene across Maré, Lapa, Gamboa and the city centre. The photographer Juliana Bizzo has documented a movement born from Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities in the US that has more recently evolved in Rio, growing from the city’s first ball in 2016 My first encounter with Rio de Janeiro’s ballroom scene was in 2023, during Noite das Estrelas, an artistic occupation that moved through the streets of Maré. From the top of a sound truck, the performer and drag queen Preta Q...

By Juliana Bizzo