Rio’s Museum of the Republic hosts free Àgbádó 2026 from Jan 17–20, honoring Ọ̀ṣọ́ọ̀sí and spotlighting diversity and the fight against religious racism.
The third edition of Àgbádó 2026 lands during the city’s Week of Religious Diversity, turning the Museu da República into a meeting point for artisans, cultural makers, religious leaders, and the wider public. The program is free and frames culture as public life—by defending state secularism and confronting religious racism head-on.
Corn, Ọ̀ṣọ́ọ̀sí, and sustainability
At the center is corn, sacred to Ọ̀ṣọ́ọ̀sí (Ọ̀ṣọ́ọ̀sí) and presented as a bridge between spiritual tradition and everyday Brazilian life. The festival uses this symbol to connect ancestry, sustainability, and future-facing community practices.
Rather than treating Afro-Brazilian traditions as a static past, Àgbádó puts them in motion through talks, workshops, and performances—covering rights, food culture, memory, and mental health.
Public partners and community power
Àgbádó expands its collaboration network in 2026. Alongside long-standing partners Museu da República and IBRAM, the festival now has support from the Coordenadoria de Diversidade Religiosa and COMPLIR, highlighting the role of public institutions in protecting religious rights.
Two new partners join as well: Lanoz Events and Feira da Ziriguidum, bringing event structure and creative-economy energy. The message is clear: celebrating the sacred can also generate tangible benefits for communities.
From ancestral entrepreneurship to recognition
After two editions focused on strengthening ancestral entrepreneurship, Àgbádó 2026 keeps artisans and cultural makers at the forefront. In 2025, Afrikerança became an institute and elevated coordinators from other municipalities across the state, widening the festival’s collective footprint in Rio.
As a formal acknowledgment, Instituto Afrikerança is seeking a Motion of Applause from Alerj honoring the Casas de Axé and Afro-matrix cultural groups that have walked with the festival since its first edition.
“Like the Great Hunter, we shoot a single arrow—love for the sacred—and win many partners, multiplying benefits in the name of abundance, solidarity, and (re)existence. Oke Aro! Arole Odé!”
Program (Jan 17–20)
01/17 (Saturday) – Secularism in Action: Faith, Rights, and Diversity in Public Space
10am – Official opening of the 3rd Festival with institutional remarks
10:30am – 2025 retrospective on religious intolerance
11:20am – Institutional dialogue circle
2pm – Artistic attractions and Cultural Fair
2:30pm – Folia de Reis with Mestre Dinho
3pm – Dances from Maricá
3:20pm – Writer Nassor and Children of Axé
4pm – Laura Pitta, child singer
4:20pm – Jongo Eledá
5:30pm – Ordinários Elétricos group
01/18 (Sunday) – Singing Bodies, Enduring Knowledge
10am – Dialogue circle with authors
11:20am – Book signings and recorded messages
2pm – Conversation circle on food culture in religions
3pm – Singing workshop
3:30pm – Carimbó group Aturiá
4pm – Theater performance and parade
01/19 (Monday) – Ancestry that Educates, Heals, and Guards Memory
10am – Talk with Professor Fernandes Portugal Filho about Odé
11am – Points of Memory workshop and Dance workshop
1pm – Conversation circle: Ancestry, orality, and archives
2pm – Conversation circle: Structural racism, mental health, and ancestry
3pm – “From the hoe to the algorithm: Ancestral technologies and youth”
3:30pm – Samba circle with Raiz do Samba
01/20 (Tuesday) – Ọ̀ṣọ́ọ̀sí Lives: The Sacred as Existence, Resistance, and Future
10am – Talk with Etemi Flávia D’Osun on anti-racism
10:30am – Agogô workshop with Sidcley Fernandes
11:30am – Religious celebration, procession, and Àgbàdó circle
2pm – Presentation of motions
3pm – Concert with Danielle Valente
4pm – Samba circle with Iluaê/Cafuá and food donation delivery
6pm – Closing
Service information
Àgbádó 2026 – Sowing the Future, Honoring Ancestors
Date: January 17 to 20, 2026
Time: 10am to 6pm
Venue: Museum of the Republic (Museu da República)
Address: Rua do Catete, 153 – Catete, Rio de Janeiro
Produced by: Instituto Afrikerança
Support: Museu da República, IBRAM, Coordenadoria de Diversidade Religiosa, and COMPLIR
Partners: Lanoz Events and Feira da Ziriguidum
Free admission
Foto: Divulgação
