Anarquia! Brazil

There’s a certain mystique about skateboarding in the 1980s and its association with punk aesthetics and anti-establishment attitudes. This style wasn’t isolated in the United States, which I’m becoming more aware of, especially now that I’ve slowly started to piece together a history of skateboarding in Brazil.

Brazil loves skateboarding, and their history and heroes are extensive! As early as 1972, there were young women in the mix including Maria Elaigne Ferreira who was celebrated by Emilie “Pipa” Souza in the documentary In the Mirror: Fragmentos. As well as, the story of Monica Polistchuk skating throughout the 1980s in Brazil and competing at the National Championships starting in 1983 and onwards, eventually establishing a girls’ division.

Monica made an interesting comment about how the local kids were inspired to skate, and it was often thanks to the American magazine Skateboarder, which was a major publication in the 1970s and one issue would be shared and pored over by hundreds of kids. Skateboarder in the 1970s also had a relatively equitable representation of female skaters through interviews, advertisements and contest results. I wonder if, for a time, skateboarding in Brazil was more inclusive than the U.S. in the 80s simply because they didn’t know the trend had changed and the industry preferred to brand skateboarding solely as a masculine pursuit. Although, by the 1990s that attitude certainly hit home based on the reports from the editors of the female-focused Brazilian magazine Check it Out.

Back in the 1980s though, there seemed to be a period of real progress and inclusion as seen in the advertisements and interviews of female skaters who were part of the Brazilian skateboard brand called Anarquia! launched in 1986, who are still active as a company, as seen on Instagram.

It’s thanks to an article by Badeco Dardenne called “The Skater Girls of Anarquia at Women’s Week!” (“As meninas skatistas da anarquia na semana da mulher”) that I was clued in to these badass Brazilian skaters! Badeco explained that Anarquia! created the first national team of female skateboarders in Brazil and was one of the first brands to have an all-girls team in the world!

In translation, Badeco said, “With this movement more girls began to skateboard, more brands incorporated girls into their teams and more products that met the needs of women in the sport” emerged thanks to initiatives like Anarquia! Their motto was “Ride and Understand” (“Ande e Entenda”), which makes perfect sense… you can start to appreciate skateboarding just by taking the plunge and riding.

Photos: Meire Bioni by Diorande Nagao

The first woman sponsored by Anarquia! in the 1980s was Meire Bioni, who was followed by Jessica Lengyel, Larissa Cambauva Bogsan (Bagsan?), and Maria Das Graças Cunha dos Santos.

Photo: Meire Bioni 80s powerslide by unknown

In an article for Yeah! Revista there was a female journalist named Cecilia Goncalves who made sure that Meire Bione at age 15 was interviewed in an article called “New Faces.” The article explains how unassuming Meire appears, even though she was a total badass, practising for many years and skateboarding with confidence, as seen in the photo by Diorande (Didi) Nagao.

In fact, Meire joined Monica Polistchuk, Leni Aparecidea Nogueira Cobra and Giovana (?) in 1986 to form the first girl’s division in a Brazilian contest at a skatepark called Skate Paradise in Venice, and by 1987 the Brazilian Championships followed suit. The Skate Paradise contest was even filmed for posterity:

Jessica, Larissa and Maria were also included in a feature for Brazil’s Overall Magazine by Petronio Vilela alongside Leni Aparecidea Nogueira Cobra (sponsored by Town & Country / Star Point), and Miryan Belloni (age 12, sponsored by Mad Rats).

Followed by a kickass photo of Maria, Jessica and Larissa representing Anarquia! in the January 15, 1988 issue of Placar magazine:

Larissa had a tiny profile written by Luiz Calada for a skateboard bulletin and a great photo wearing her team t-shirt:

Jessica Lengyel had a centrefold photo for Yeah! Revista looking very cool and contemporary, and a feature in the magazine Overall with photos by Petronio Vilela:

Jessica was also interviewed back in the day at a contest, showing off some of her streetstyle moves, which was included in this video below (followed by a more contemporary interview in Portuguese) that can be found on Facebook.

Team Anarquia! continued to support their female riders including big names like Deborah Badel, Camila Borges, Jessica Santos, Mayte Pires, Pietra Dona, Taise Araujo, Victoria Bassi and the legendary Karen Feitosa! There’s a profile on Oopsskate.com by Taise who shares her history of skateboarding and how Anarquia! has evolved today.