The artist’s debut in Brazil is only scheduled for November, but a group of devoted ‘swifties’ have been waiting for the gates to open since January, with relay schemes
Since January, Jéssica Araújo, 29, has been trading the coziness and warmth of her home in the Grajaú neighborhood, south of São Paulo, for the cold, dirty and sometimes damp sidewalk of the AllianzParque, west area of São Paulo, where he pitched his tent. No, she didn’t run away or get kicked out of the house. The “occasional” address in the street is a spontaneous effort that the designer supports to guarantee the first place in the queue that will give access to the tickets and the contested “grid” for the first fashion show Taylor Swift in Brazil, announced last Friday 2, and scheduled for November.
“I got here when the first rumor appeared that it was going to announce the show, in January. But we got tired as there was nothing official and we left in March. When the rumors came back this week, I came back with the tent “, says Jessica, “swiftie” (as Taylor fans are called) who, since Thursday 1, have taken turns with 44 other people to keep the space under surveillance.
This Saturday afternoon, 3, Jéssica shared the shift with her sister, Larissa de Arra, 22, and her friends Letícia Costa and Nathalia Eloiza, 23 and 22, as they passed the time with a game of Uno washed down with ice cream tea sugar free and snacks.
It’s not the first time they’ve camped out in line for a show there, a tradition that began in 2017 at the Justin Bieber and remained in later years for artists such as Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Harry Styles AND BTS extension.
The operation follows a set of rules for tents and camps. In the group of girls each must camp at least twice a week and the minors must present their report card, parental authorization and cannot stay before 6pm. Finally, the queue among the group of 45 people is organized according to the ” balance” of the hours spent in the camp.
All week long, the girls battled the rain and one of them had her cell phone stolen during the night shift. To go to the bathroom they go to the Shopping Bourbon or to the gas station at dawn. When they have to wake up and go straight to work, they take a shower in a hotel on Rua Clélia, where they pay R$ 20 to R$ 30 for the use of the shower. “It’s tiring, see? If there’s one thing we’re tired of, it’s tiredness,” says Jessica.
Parents, the girls say, no longer complain about the idea of spending months camping on the streets of São Paulo. “My mother is already used to it. Since we’re adults too, I don’t think there’s much to talk about,” says Nathalia.
In a note sent to the journalist, the Time for funthe company responsible for selling tickets to The Tour of the Agesit states that it “advises against the practice of camping due to the intense flow of events in the region, such as other music concerts and football matches”.
“Everyone Wants to Be B1”
Although the members of the 14 tents are camped around the same passion for Taylor Swift, the relationship between them does not always seem to be friendly. “This causes a lot of problems, because everyone wants to be B1,” says Jessica.
B1 is the name given to the first stall in the queue. Camped in B2 since February, Daniel Farraboti, 23, complains that the rule is that each group has a maximum of 30 members in turn, and not 45, like the girls in front. “That’s where the conversation is… They’re going to have to change that,” he warns.
The communication between the groups takes place via WhatsApp, in a conversation with all the “leaders” of each tent. Despite the nitpicking, many end up making friends, united by their devotion to Taylor Swift. Daniel’s group divides B2 between 20 people, including Laura Santos, 20, whom he met online before camp, in a group dedicated to the singer.
Owner of the Taylor Swift Daily Brasil portal, Laura had purchased tickets for the artist’s first show here in 2020. The presentation, however, was canceled due to the pandemic and customers who had already secured entry at the time now have access to a special pre-sale, which starts on Tuesday the 6th.
Even with this preemptive access, Laura justifies her presence at the camp, where she intends to stay alone until she gets admission: “When we know there’s a lot of people, it’s scary, isn’t it?”
This “fear”, however, is not unwarranted and is part of the global phenomenon that has become the The Tour of the Ages by Taylor Swift. In the United States, pre-sales sold out so quickly that the episode caused a Senate hearing to discuss Ticketmaster monopoly on ticket sales and ways to ensure the fiasco doesn’t happen again.
In Brazil, expectations are further heightened by the cancellation of the 2020 show and the fact that the performances in Rio and São Paulo will be the first chance fans here will get to see Taylor Swift. The artist only visited the country on one other occasion, when she came to promote the album REDin 2012. This time, however, he preferred to focus on interviews and television appearances instead of doing a show.
“We’ve never done her show here. I’ll pretend she never came to Brazil,” says Jéssica, who admits she accompanied the singer for 12 years, “when she was still from the countryside” and sang country.
It’s hard to predict if Taylor Swift’s tour in Brazil will repeat the chaos of the American tour. There, even the mayors of the cities where the artist was embarked on an ego dispute to please the singer, renaming municipalities, parks and decreeing festivities in her honour. Regardless of what might happen, the artist’s fans are doing what they can not to give it a chance.
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
