artistic presentations, an exchange of experiences and ideas. Among the most discussed topics are religion, ancestry, black love, self-esteem and image, appreciation of black beauty, stigmas and prejudices. Vera Lopes, Jessé Oliveira, Lilian Rocha, Jorge Moacir da Silva, Glau Barros, Pâmela Amaro, Josiane Acosta, Sirmar Antunes, Zilah Machado, Sidnei Borges, Djâmen Farias, Jorge Onifadê, Lupicínio Rodrigues, Horacina Correa, Vladimir Rodrigues, Celina Alcântara, Renato Borba, Nina Fola, Giba Giba, the group Instituto Brasilidades, Oliveira Silveira, the group Maracatu Truvão, the group Caixa Preta, Álvaro RosaCosta, among others, were or are references in poetry, literature, music, and theater in the state, many of them recognized on a larger scale through various awards. Music has been a fertile field for black expression, with a large population of artists dedicating themselves to a variety of genres, which include suingue, samba-canção, samba-rock, nativismo, pagode, reggae, and romantic music, counting on an audience of all ethnicities. In 2019, the First Contemporary Black Music Collection was launched at the Afro-Sul Odomodê Sociocultural Institute. The tradition of black musical groups and samba schools is old in the state. Samba schools, carnival groups, and societies, and the appropriation of the street carnival, in particular, were strongly aggregating elements for blacks since the 1940s, constituting, in the words of Íris Germano, "a way to celebrate their African memory, traditions, daily relationships, territories of sociability, ties of friendship, kinship, cronyism, solidarity, and also their disagreements." In Porto Alegre this process became emblematic, and still according to Germano, Programs on African-Rio Grande do Sul culture exist in radios, TV stations, theaters, and other widely broadcast vehicles, but space and opportunities are limited and TV hosts of black origin are rare. In traditionalist gaucho festivities, such as in the popular Ragamuffin ("Farroupilha") Week, the black found space for recognition, participating with various guards of honor on horse and foot, which recover and celebrate the memory of the Lanceiros Negros and the work of black pedestrians on the cattle ranches. Football, on the other hand, has been an area in which there is bigger professional recognition, which has not, however, eliminated discrimination. Since the 1940s an uninterrupted series of popular black idols has flourished, Tesourinha, Everaldo, Alcindo, Tarcísio Flecha Negra, Roger, and Ronaldinho are examples, who do not escape racism in spite of their fame: In 2016, Rio Grande do Sul was, for the second consecutive year, the state with the highest number of