Tens of thousands of Brazilians gathered at Rio de Janeiro’s mega-festival Rock in Rio on Friday, with many staking out spots of artificial grass all day to hear the headliner, Katy Perry.As her music keyed up, the enormous screens around the stage showed someone else in their bottom corners — a sign language interpreter.
The red-haired woman — with a chunky chain belt and a gem between her eyebrows — snapped her fingers and swayed, then pumped her arms as the beat gathered force.“It seems like I’m on stage with her, in front of everyone,” the interpreter, Laísa Martins, told the Associated Press afterward.
And as Katy Perry belted out her first verse, Martins started signing.Rock in Rio is featuring sign language interpreters on its big screens for the first time in its 40-year history.
It’s one of Latin America’s biggest festivals, drawing 100,000 people a day over seven days, and Sunday is its last day.Inside a container backstage, interpreters sign in front of a green screen, with their images appearing above the stage to ensure deaf people across the thronging crowd can follow.Organizers also invite dozens of deaf people and their companions into a VIP area, right by the stage and close enough to speakers to feel the music pulsing through their bodies.
Interpreters have started popping up at festivals and concerts across Brazil in recent years.Their sudden ubiquity stems from Brazil’s ambitious 2015 inclusion law that sought to put the country at the global forefront of accessibility and, among other things, established that people with disabilities have the right to access cultural events while guaranteeing organizers provide means of doing so.
Some interpreters have drawn the spotlight themselves with their flair and flashy dress, gaining thousands of social media followers.Demand for them is surging so much that many start working before even finishing their education, said Lenildo Souza, president of the nationwide federation of s...