Leica Brazil

I chatted with a German bartender in a favela bar in Itapua, Bahia, and told him about the assignment I was working on at the famous Campo Bahia resort in Porto Seguro. The hotel is owned by Dr. Christian Hirmer and was built for the German national soccer team for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The bartender suggested I meet Peter Bielig, aka „Doc B“, who works as a music producer on video productions for the Hirmer family. When I met Peter, I had the idea of ​​using the Leica CL to photograph a portrait of Doc B, Raggaplay and several of the label’s rappers. The inner courtyard of Casa Preta seemed to me to be the ideal place for this. It is very relaxed there and you have peace and quiet there during the day. It was very important to me to work without artificial light.

Casa Preta is a multi-storey building from the 1930s. Over the decades, the walls of the house have darkened, and the neighbors affectionately call it the „Black House“. Today there is a multifunctional cultural center with a focus on music, art and performance, which attracts a diverse audience. Studios and office space are also located in Casa Preta.

Donna Liu runs Casa Preta and organizes events, but she also performs as a singer herself. Or the founders of Raggaplay, Kaos MC and Doc B. Kaos MC is a rapper from Itinga, a town near Salvador, and organizer of the biggest rap battle in Bahia. Music and video producer Peter Bielig aka Doc B is also the international manager of all the artists I photographed in this series. Duendy was another of the many rappers, singers, writers and activists I met. He is a member of Furia Consciente, one of the most influential rap groups in Bahia.