The articles written by the PÚBLICO Brasil team are written in the variant of the Portuguese language used in Brazil.
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Tourists and residents of Lisbon who travel through the city’s historic center are surprised almost every day by a presentation on roller skates. First comes the sound of songs by singer Britney Spears and then a skater dressed in tight, shiny clothes appears. Songs reverberate from a portable stereo. The performing figure that spins at high speed on the Portuguese stone sidewalks, that climbs poles and pieces of urban furniture is Eubrite. Your videos travel the world. Eubrite has also traveled around Europe performing, always on the streets.
Created by artist and influencer Jarbas Figueiredo Krull, 39, the character was born from the dream of expressing himself as an artist. When it was created, it ended up echoing the desire of Britney Spears who, at the time, was struggling to regain control of her life and career. It was when the American artist was fighting a fight in the American courts, and many of her fans supported what was known as the Free Britney movement. “Because of what she was going through, I wanted to make a reference to her. Representing her on the street in an exaggerated way. As if she had already been freed from it all. It was a success”, he recalls. Due to her performances, Eubrite has appeared on several television programs in Portugal and Brazil.
Born in Teixeira de Freitas, Jarbas grew up in Poço da Mata, cities in the interior of Bahia. He arrived in Portugal 15 years ago to work as a hairdresser. With his daily dedication to the performance he created, he no longer works as a hairdresser and barber. Without time to commit to the salon routine, she still performs occasional services for some loyal clients.
The character Eubrite, born in 2019, gained strength during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time of confinement and with the streets devoid of tourists, Eubrite circulated with her music around the city. “During the pandemic, I became known as a symbol of happiness and ended up in the Portuguese media. While the world didn’t know what was going to happen, I was there dancing and making people happy. As far as I know, I am the only urban drag show on roller skates” says Jarbas. His performances for a long time were concentrated on Rua Augusta, in Baixa, and in other places in the historic center of Lisbon, such as Largo de Camões, in Chiado.
Today, he works daily on the so-called pink street, which is a section of Rua Nova do Carvalho, in Cais Sodré, painted in that color and decorated with colorful suspended umbrellas. This small stretch, closed to cars, has many bars, which attracts a large number of tourists, especially in the late afternoon and early evening. It’s at this time that Eubrite appears, surprising those who don’t know her yet. He dances, takes photos and makes some jokes with the audience, while music from a speaker fills the room with songs by the American singer and other pop music hits. In the selection he made, he avoided current songs, because he likes to provoke nostalgia in the public. “I discovered Pink Street while recording an advertisement. I identified with the street because of the color. The space is very good, because there is an audience on both sides. I decided to leave Largo do Chiado, Rossio and the Rua Augusta arch. I took some time in these places, because tourists asked me where I was, they moved there and, when they arrived, I was already somewhere else. Now, I have a permanent place. People know they can find me there” he highlights.
What he receives from contributions from those who watch his presentations pays his bills, says Jarbas, resident of the Anjos neighborhood, in Lisbon. The character has also reached other spaces outside the streets. Last year, he was successful when he appeared on the Moda Lisboa catwalk, at the invitation of designer Luís Borges. It has also been advertising. At Moda Lisboa, he felt he had reached the level where he could show the world what it meant to fulfill the dreams of a boy from the interior of Brazil who crossed the Atlantic and achieved success in another country. “What I do is art, I’m here to add to it. It is the public who decides whether what they are seeing is art. Skates make me Cinderella. When I put it on, I get into character”, he declares.
Walking on the Portuguese stone sidewalk is difficult. They are irregular and slippery. Skating is more challenging. Each skateboard weighs one kilogram and the speaker another nine kilograms. Eubrite circulates worried about the safety of her audience. Those watching are impressed by his pirouettes and his control of the wheels. She has fallen several times and injured herself, she says, but today she does it in a controlled way and with humor. Eubrite is always accessible to her fans who take photos and videos, most of which are posted on social media. He continues to seek out his space for expression on the streets of Lisbon. “I make an exaggerated expression of art. That leads to deconstruction and the granting of something new. Art is an individual point of view. There is no way you can evaluate art from another’s perspective,” he explains.
Eubrite the film
Brazilian filmmaker Felipe De Brêtas was in Lisbon drinking a beer with friends on Rua Rosa when Eubrite came out. “I was very impressed with the performance. I thought it was really cool. And I started documenting. This material was kept. About two years later, I was walking through the streets of Paris and met Jarbas again. By chance, I also had my camera and continued filming. After I filmed in Paris, I saw it was time to edit the material. It was a coincidence of life. I filmed some more and we finished the documentary”, he says.
For De Brêtas, Eubrite is an incredible character from Lisbon. He found it very amusing how Jarbas created Eubrite, based on the story of Britney Spears in the United States. And it highlights the joy in how he talks about the character. “This guy is very good, he needs even more of a stage than he has, because he is already a well-known person. It needs to conquer the world and that’s why I started filming the documentary. There were delays because I couldn’t find resources, but, after meeting him again in Paris, I decided to invest time in finishing this story. Because he deserves it.”
For De Brêtas meeting Eubrite in Lisbon and Paris was a happy coincidence in life.
Daniel Lima
Now that the film Free Eubrite has been finished, it has a way to go. It is being entered into several festivals. The first screening was in Brasília, and the filmmaker’s desire is to show it soon in Lisbon, with the presence of Jarbas. The film, to which PÚBLICO Brasil had access, shows Eubrite’s trajectory, as well as the impact it causes wherever it goes. “Dream. Dream a lot. Dream as much as you can. Until it comes true. When it comes true, keep dreaming. The world with dreams is a free world. It’s a creative world. Let’s dream more”, says Eubrite in the film.
