The Companhia Negra de Revistas was founded in the second half of 1926, and included renowned musicians and artists in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The trajectory of the company is of major importance to historians interested in consolidating an image of Brazil that stresses the "mestizo" aspects of the nation. In the first place, it shows the participation of Negroes and is an instrument for acknowledging them as a national symbol since the shows produced by the company valorized black culture as a national culture, as against considering it an activity performed only by white intellectuals. Secondly, it also shows the transnational aspect of valorizing Negro culture in the 1920s. Proof of this is that during that same period Negro culture(s) enjoyed great success in Paris, and Afro-Americans gave shows throughout those years to the Brazilian public as members of French theater companies. The Companhia Negra de Revistas is thus an excellent starting point for rethinking a number of questions on ethnics, nationality, transnational cultural influences, popular participation in founding a "national theater", citizenship , and so forth.
national identity; Companhia Negra de Revistas; mass culture; racial relationships; citizenship