Black, lesbian, and gender-nonconforming, Marcela Silva leads artistic careers and events in a field where only 1.8% of Black women reach the top.
Black leadership in an unequal industry
In Brazil, Black women make up 28% of the population, yet remain largely absent from positions of power. According to the Instituto Ethos, only 1.8% of them hold seats on corporate boards. In the cultural sector, the gap is equally stark: women’s earnings amount to just 48% of what white men make, per data from Ibre/FGV.
Against this backdrop, entrepreneur Marcela Silva, 39, has carved a path of her own. Raised in Inhambupe, a small town in the interior of Bahia with just over 35,000 residents, she built her leadership through degrees in Business Administration, a specialization in Finance, an MBA in Marketing and Strategic Planning, and an ongoing degree in Architecture and Urban Planning.
Occupying these spaces with my identity is, in itself, a political act. Being a Black, lesbian, interior-raised, gender-nonconforming woman in a decision-making role still makes many people uncomfortable — and that drives me forward. Marcela Silva, cultural producer
From curation to the stage: a career built on representation
Since 2019, Marcela has worked in music and entertainment with a focus on Black, peripheral, and LGBTQIAPN+ artists. She joined the curatorial team for the 1st edition of the Salvador Black Film Festival and co-created Palco ORIGENS — the city’s first Black stage to break with the traditional logic of Afro-Brazilian carnival groups, within the Virada Salvador festival.
Her career management work includes handling singer Melly‘s career until 2022, serving as executive producer for Nêssa at Isé Música Criativa, and collaborating with artists such as Felipe Barros, DJ Gabi da Oxe, rapper Duquesa, and Cronista do Morro. She currently manages artists Cinara and Zai, and works as booker for the band Sambaiana, a rising name in regional samba.
As an A&R at MUSEQUAL, Bahia’s digital distributor, Marcela also works in production teams for the Feat Festival, Palco Brisa Carnaval, Palco Brisa Virada Salvador, and the Sun7 – Spring Festival, alongside cultural projects developed by Saltur for the City Hall of Salvador.
Festa Preciosa: when a party becomes a movement
Founded in 2022 during Lesbian Visibility Month, the Festa Preciosa — designed for lesbian and bisexual women — quickly became one of the most significant events in Bahia’s LGBTQIAPN+ scene. The event blends music, fashion, art, and female protagonism in a space that is both affectionate and politically charged.
Festa Preciosa is more than a celebration: it is a movement that values the freedom to be, to love, and to create. Born in the heart of Bahia and pulsing to the rhythm of Brazilian lesbian and bisexual culture, the event brings together music, fashion, art, lived experiences, and female protagonism in a plural, affectionate, and politically powerful space. Created in 2022, during Lesbian Visibility Month, ‘Preciosa’ quickly established itself as one of the most important events in Bahia’s LGBTQIAPN+ scene. Now, it sets its sights on a new horizon: in 2026, the event aims to take a bold step and officially become Festival Preciosa, expanding its proposal with multicultural programming, educational initiatives, and large-scale social impact. Marcela Silva, creator of Festa Preciosa
In 2026, the project takes a bold leap: Festival Preciosa will expand into a full multicultural festival, incorporating educational programming and broad social impact — a natural evolution for one of Bahia’s most vibrant cultural landmarks.
Culture as structure, not just spectacle
For Marcela, producing culture means far more than staging events. It means thinking through structure, sustainability, and discourse. Her leadership challenges industry norms and proposes new ways of existing within the cultural economy.
Producing culture is not a one-way movement. It means thinking about structure, sustainability, and discourse. When a Black lesbian woman leads, she challenges standards, repositions bodies and ideologies, and proposes new ways of existing within culture. What I want is to open paths so that more of us are where we always should have been. Communication, culture, entertainment — all of it only becomes powerful when built with truth, plurality, and affection. Marcela Silva, cultural producer
Photo: Divulgação
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