Leading With Love, Bia Ferreira's The Lesbitarian Church Creates a Space for Empowerment and Resistance |
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By Sally Chan Bia Ferreira a singer-songwriter from Minas Gerais, Brazil makes her festival debut on Mothers’ Day May 10 with her solo concert, The Lesbitarian Church. I got the chance to chat with her via text interview as she criss-crossed Europe where she was on tour. Most well-known for her song Cota Não é Esmola (Quotas are not Charity) —a song about the importance of a quota system for Black people’s access to university, Bia Ferreira’s music has always focused on resistance, empowerment, encouragement, and comfort. Shared in an interview with Afropop Worldwide in April 2025, Bia has been honing her craft since she was three years old playing the piano before writing her first song at twelve—described as “a plea to god to ‘cure’ her thoughts that she was a lesbian”. Further radicalization happened as she got involved with the Black women’s movement in Brazil and when she started college, she began traveling throughout the country to play her music wherever she could. Bia calls The Lesbitarian Church a space for those who have been cast out or targeted by Pentecostal and Protestant denominations. The name is taken from her 2019 album Igreja Lesbiteriana, Um Chamado (Lesbian Church, A Calling). Bia has performed her music throughout Brazil and Europe, attending numerous festivals in countries such as Switzerland, Portugal, France, and Germany. Her discography is comprised of soul ballads, afrobeat, reggae, and R&B rhythm that touch upon socio-political topics such as the feminist movement, homophobia, racism, and human rights. Despite battling the censorship and oppression of creative freedom and expression in Brazil, Bia has faith in her comrades who fight alongside her in the movement: “With the growth of the political right-wing, resistance and solidarity are growing, too” she said in February 2020 interview with OFFKEY. Passion and grit ever-growing and lasting, Ferreira’s magnetizing performances convey the magnitude of her thoughts and feelings. That can be seen in her performances of Cota, which has simultaneously marked Bia’s identity as an activist and subjected her to conservative jabs. However, she remarks that “[the quota system] is not charity…we do not have the same opportunities and without changes in the government we will never be equal” (OFFKEY). Bia’s choice to perform in schools and universities shows her understanding of the long battle that stretches into the future, using her art and craft to not only spread awareness but to inspire and educate the next generation. Fighting against historic and structural oppression that’s presently being reinforced by the Brazilian government, the path to equity and equality requires patience and community. That’s something Bia has learned now that she’s in her thirties. Though riveting with rightful, angry energy, she “realized maybe if I arrive with love, I can touch you better than if I arrive angry…if I just fight, fight, fight, fight without love, we will walk backwards, and that’s not what we need” (Afropop Worldwide). Picking up a different weapon than her oppressors, Bia forgoes hate and focuses on letting peace and love guide how she approaches others and walks the path to revolution. Bia Ferreira |
