duple rhythm. Individual groups often add to or slightly modify this setup to create their own distinct sound. Every year, different maracatu cearense nations parade in Fortaleza's traditional municipal Carnival competition, normally taking place at Domingos Olímpio Avenue. The oldest nation, Az de Ouro (Golden Ace), founded in 1936, is still in operation. Other nations include Vozes d'África (Voices of Africa), Nação Fortaleza, Rei de Paus, Nação Iracema, and Maracatu Solar. The use of blackface in maracatu cearense reportedly stems from Fortaleza's mostly white and caboclo demographic, and its small black population (4.4%) (IGBE 2008), which effects a situation where mostly white and brown people end up performing a traditionally black expression of Brazilian Carnival. Blackface in this context is intended to pay homage to the African slaves' contribution to Brazilian civilization and is not viewed as a racist expression (compared, for instance, to the blackface minstrelsy of the United States, which parodied black speech and character). In fact, some maracatu cearense nations are actively involved in racial equality and black consciousness initiatives in Ceará. Among these is Nação Iracema, founded in 2002 by Lúcia Simão and William Augusto Pereira, heads of the first black family in Fortaleza to direct a maracatu nation (current ). Lúcia Simão also founded Ceará's first black consciousness movement in the early 1980s. This consciousness of racial equality operates through maracatu cearense performance in part as the continuation of Ceará's historical identity as the first region in Brazil to abolish slavery, in May 1884 (the rest of the nation followed suit in 1888). Contrary to the claims of most maracatu cearense participants, at least one Brazilian scholar sees the development of the tradition in Fortaleza to be intimately tied to a subtle racist discourse in Ceará that has mythologized itself as a non-black region of Brazil (thus, the justification for blackface), perpetuating Brazil's longstanding racist ideology of skin whitening. Further reading Conner, Ronald. 2009. "Brazilian Blackface: Maracatu Cearense and the Politics of Participation." Master's thesis, University of California, Riverside. da Silva, Ana Cláudia Rodrigues. 2004. "Vamos maracatucá!!! Um estudo sobre os maracatus cearenses. Master's thesis, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. Crook, Larry. Brazilian Music: Northeastern Traditions and the Heartbeat of a Modern Nation. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. (hardcover); (ebook). Notes External links Pernambuco Trilogy – Part 3 English-language broadcast produced for the University of London's OpenAir Radio. This episode provides an in-depth report on maracatu