Maloca Brazil Food Festival Berlin

Brazilian Diaspora in Berlin

Since the 2010s, Berlin has become an important hub for the Brazilian diaspora in Europe – alongside Lisbon, London, and Paris. Several tens of thousands of Brazilians now live in the city, many of them in the districts of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Neukölln. The cultural collective Maloca Berlin (the word "Maloca" in Brazilian Portuguese means the communal longhouse of indigenous peoples of the Amazon) regularly organizes food events, concerts, and workshops with the aim of making Brazilian culture visible beyond the clichés (beach, carnival, samba).

MAAYA Berlin as a Home

The venue is MAAYA Berlin at Revaler Straße 99 – a hall on the legendary RAW site, a former Reichsbahn repair yard, which is now one of Berlin's best-known alternative event areas. MAAYA specializes in intersectional, diaspora-oriented events and is a regular partner for Brazilian, Afro-Caribbean, and Latin American festivals (Asian Streetfood Festival, Maloca, among others).

What's on Offer

Six curated food stalls offer authentic Brazilian cuisine from various regions: Feijoada (black beans with pork and cassava side dish, the national dish), Pastel (filled and fried dough pockets), Coxinha (chicken-filled drops), Churrasco (grilled beef in the Southern Brazilian style), and specialties from Bahia in the Northeast (Acarajé, Vatapá, Moqueca). Accompanied by Caipirinha, Guaraná, and Brazilian craft beers. Three live bands take turns on stage: AfroPop from Rio, Emersound from Hamburg, Samba de Sarjeta from Berlin. Five DJs play from 6 PM to midnight: Samba, Pagode, Forró, Funk Brasileiro, and Baile Funk.

More Than Just Food

Alongside the food market, there is a design market featuring diaspora artists from Berlin – fashion, jewelry, prints, small publishers. The festival explicitly sees itself as a political-social diaspora event, not a tourist cliché of Brazil. The reduced admission price (€7) makes the festival accessible; its community atmosphere is its hallmark.