TIA CIATA HOUSE

Hilária Batista da Sila, known as Tia Ciata, was a cook and mãe de santo (religious figure in African-based religion) born in Bahia and was one of the most influential people in carioca black culture in the beginning of the XX century. She used to organize meetings between musicians and “filhos de santo” (religious figure), and music used to set the tone of said meetings. Important musicians such as Donga and Pixinguinha were a regular presence in her house, and some speculate that “Pelo Telefone”, the first samba to be recorded, was written in one of those meetings.

Tia Ciata House is an office of the Organização dos Remanescentes da Tia Ciata (ORTC) and a cultural space where the memory of the “dama do samba” is kept alive. A permanent exhibition about Tia Ciata is the main attraction of the cultural center.

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