CUFA (Central Única das Favelas) is a Brazilian organization recognized nationally and internationally in the political, social, sporting and cultural spheres that has existed for 20 years. It was created from the union between young people from various favelas, mainly blacks, who sought spaces to express their attitudes, questions or simply their will to live. He has rapper MV Bill as one of its founders. MV Bill has received numerous awards due to his active participation in the hip hop movement. For example, the UN (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has awarded it as one of the ten most militant people in the world in the last decade. In addition to it, CUFA has Nega Gizza, a strong female reference in the world of rap, known and respected for its commitment and dedication to social causes.
CUFA promotes activities in the areas of education, leisure, sports, culture and citizenship, such as graffiti, DJ, break, rap, audiovisual, street basketball, literature, and other social projects. In addition, it promotes, produces, distributes and broadcasts hip hop culture through publications, discs, videos, radio programs, shows, contests, music festivals, cinema, art workshops, exhibitions, debates, seminars and other media. They are the main forms of expression of the CUFA and serve as tools of integration and social inclusion.
Hip hop is a movement that has survived in Brazilian ghettos for 20 years even without the support of the media, and is strengthened every day, snatching admirers from all socioeconomic strata and leaving behind the label of "culture of the excluded". Throughout its existence, this cultural manifestation has created a strong, attractive movement with great potential, and it continues to open doors to new commercial niches that have not yet been explored.
Street basketball, on the other hand, is a sport practiced outside conventional courts and gymnasiums, which makes it a democratic activity and increasingly sought after by adolescents and young people. Containing a lot of plasticity and skill, this sports modality offers the antagonism of adolescents and young people from the periphery to society as a whole.
Thus, through its own language, CUFA intends to expand its forms and possibilities of expression and scope. In this way, it is spreading the awareness of the underprivileged sections of the population with professional training workshops, among other activities, that raise the self-esteem of the periphery when they bring knowledge to it, offering new perspectives.
Acting as a pole of cultural production and sports practice since 1999, through partnerships, supports and sponsorships, CUFA forms and informs the citizens of Rio de Janeiro and the other 26 Brazilian states, besides the Federal District and countries like Bolivia, Germany , Chile, Hungary, Italy and the United States. Among the activities developed by CUFA, besides those mentioned above, there are courses and workshops of DJ, gastronomy, audiovisual, theater, cultural production and many others. There are several actions promoted in the fields of education, sport, culture and citizenship, with their own workforce.
The CUFA team is composed, in large part, of young people trained in the training and professional training workshops at the institution's bases and coming from the less favored sections of society; most of whom live in poor communities.
