São Paulo City Hall blocks pro-Palestine demonstration and interrupts concert

The band Sophia Chablau and a Huge Waste of Time claims to have been censored during a show at Praça do Patriarca, in downtown São Paulo , late afternoon this Friday (11).

The band performed at Rock Week, a free event sponsored by the City of São Paulo. According to the band's manager, the show ended 20 minutes early, leaving seven scheduled songs missing.

In a statement, the Municipal Department of Culture said it did not interrupt the show, but turned off the screen and reduced the sound because the demonstrations violated contractual clauses and contained insults against third parties. The band, however, stated that the contract does not prohibit demonstrations.

In an excerpt from the contract obtained by the reporter, it is stated that any protests made during performances are the responsibility of the artists. In the excerpt, the city government claims the right to collect compensation from the band if it is sued for moral damages or damages to the image of third parties due to the artists' actions.

On a large screen on the stage, the artists projected pro- Palestine messages such as "boycott Israel " and "free Palestine," as well as protests for the end of the 6x1 scale and a photo of US President Donald Trump in flames. The screen also featured photos of the band and their logo, images by filmmaker Glauber Rocha, and drawings of world flags, which appeared as the setlist progressed.

"In the 30-minute interval between the end of the show and the beginning of the show, we left the image of 'Free Palestine' [on the screen]. The event producer from the city hall came to ask me, more than once, to take it off the screen. I spoke to the band and we agreed not to take it off," says Francesca Ribeiro, the band's manager, to Folha .

According to Ribeiro, after the show began, this producer spoke to the band again, saying that if there were any political demonstrations, the event organizers would cut the signal from the screen.

After the images stopped playing on the screen, lead singer Sophia Chablau spoke out. "What's this all about? Our federal government supports Palestine. There's nothing wrong with us supporting Palestine. We're not breaking the laws of our own country," the singer said. "So if anyone wants to cause something there, let them. It doesn't matter that the city hall hired us. Are you giving space to culture? That's how culture is."

"Then the producer spoke to me again. Because she had cursed the city hall, they were asking to cut the show. If she said anything else, they would cut the sound. Whereas before, he had told me that the problem was the screen, and not what she would say into the microphone," says Francesca.