Universal Church - Basement Rats

After purchasing a ticket for the most recent Ratos de Porão show (Crossover - SP) – one of the biggest names in Brazilian underground music for over 40 years – in my city, Belo Horizonte, I started planning a fan art piece to personally deliver to the band, more specifically to João Gordo.

"Igreja Universal" (Universal Church) is one of the band's hits, dating from the early 90s, and served as inspiration for the artwork, which depicts a pair of hands in a prayer gesture, with a rosary whose end features a large coin with a dollar sign in the center, instead of a cross.

The objective is to denounce religious practices, especially the more conservative and traditional Roman Catholic Church, as a symbol of manipulation and illicit enrichment, using the population as a mass to be manipulated.

In this specific case, I shared images of the artwork and the poster on the same day as the show, in the morning. Vinícius Blanc (vocalist of Switchback - a hardcore band from Rio de Janeiro), who participated in my "Pandemic Lives" project after seeing it on my Instagram, contacted João Carlos "Jão" - bassist of Ratos de Porão - about my mission to personally deliver the artwork to them.

The band members themselves (Júnior Sangiorgio and "Boka") contacted me via private chat, helping to figure out the best way to make the delivery of the artwork possible.

Upon the band's arrival at the venue, having my personal contact information, Jão informed me about how I would access the dressing room: I would meet with the band's producer - Felipe Ribeiro - at a pre-established time and place.

By cross-referencing the contact information of everyone mentioned, I managed, minutes before the show, to quickly go backstage to introduce myself and deliver the poster to the band.

The original initiative to produce original artwork inspired by the band transformed what was indirect contact via social media into direct contact with a band member and the producer, as well as interaction with various people in the scene who were also willing to share my journey. Some of them: Liniker Moura (bass, Terceira Guerra - Hardcore BH), Bruno Teixeira (Desalmado - Grindcore SP), Branco Moreira (Brasil Underground and Movimenta BH), Rapha Garcia (photographer - Orquestra Ouro Preto), Payback - Thrash Metal BH, among others.