In 2022, in an exclusive interview with Xonguila, Fábio Porchat revealed that he wanted to come to Mozambique, take to the country's stages and discover at first hand an audience that, even thousands of kilometres from Brazil, was already following his work. Four years later, that wish is no longer just an intention: the Brazilian comedian is finally making his Mozambique debut with the show “Histórias do Porchat” and is already thinking about building bridges with Mozambican comedians.
In that interview, Porchat spoke with curiosity about the scale that Brazilian humour and, in particular, Porta dos Fundos had reached in the Portuguese-speaking countries of Africa.
“Brazil is a success and the culture of Mozambique, Angola and Portugal too, but those countries consume Brazilian culture. I think that we, in fact, need to hear more, read more and see more,” he said at the time.
Porchat then recalled the surprise he felt when he began performing outside Brazil and realised that his work was crossing borders.
“The first time I went to do a show in Portugal, in 2013, I went terrified, I didn't know whether they would like it, whether they would know who I was, whether they would understand my kind of humour, and then I got a shock when I found out that Porta dos Fundos was watched a lot there and they loved it.”
The phenomenon, he would later realise, did not end in Portugal.
“And more and more I keep getting shocks and learning that, in Angola, in Mozambique, in Cape Verde, there are people who like it, who watch, who listen, and more and more of them.”
It was in this context that, in 2022, the comedian made clear to Xonguila his wish to turn the Mozambican audience, which he knew mainly through numbers and messages, into a face-to-face encounter.
“I'm very happy to be able to talk to you now, to be able to talk to the public of Mozambique and to already have Mozambique in my sights for a show,” he said in the interview.
Four years later, Porchat is fulfilling that intention.
The first performance takes place this Friday in Nampula, followed by Maputo on Saturday. After the two performances on Mozambican soil, the comedian heads to Cape Verde, where he has shows scheduled in Praia and on the island of Sal.
But this first visit to the country may produce more than two nights of comedy.
One of the creators of Porta dos Fundos wants to use his time in Mozambique to get closer to local artists and explore possibilities for exchange similar to the experiences he has already had with Angolan comedians.
In Angola, Porchat built relationships that ended up crossing the Atlantic. Some Angolan artists travelled to Brazil, followed recordings, passed through Porta dos Fundos, recorded sketches and took part in television projects.
Now, the comedian intends to bring Mozambique into that network of collaboration.
“We are always in touch with the people of Angola and now with Mozambicans, a joy,” he said.
The first contacts happened practically on arrival in Maputo. Porchat met Mozambican actors and comedians and says he found an atmosphere that strengthened his interest in future partnerships.
“I had a big gathering as soon as I arrived. Some of the comedians and actors were there. I had a really nice conversation and my wish is to do this exchange with Mozambique too, which has so many great, talented people who are keen to do comedy,” he said, declaring himself “very excited” about the debut in the country.
A relationship that began at a distance
Arriving in Mozambique thus closes a circle begun years earlier. In the conversation with Xonguila in 2022, Porchat already showed interest not only in performing in the country but also in understanding who the people were that followed his work on this side of the Indian Ocean.
“Now we, you know? Mozambique for a show, because at the end of the day, there are a lot of people, we are many Portuguese speakers, and like Globo's soap operas — Globo's content has always arrived, and even Record's, now with Record in Africa — they also arrived very strongly for this audience abroad,” he observed at the time.
This circulation of Brazilian content across the Lusophone world helped make Porta dos Fundos a phenomenon far beyond Brazil. Created in 2012, the comedy group and production company now has around 19 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 9.5 billion views on the platform.
International popularity, however, led Porchat to another reflection that he was already voicing in 2022: cultural circulation among the Portuguese-speaking countries should not flow in only one direction.
“Brazil doesn't consume the culture of Mozambique, Angola and Portugal, but those countries consume Brazilian culture. I think that we, in fact, need to hear more, read more and see more,” he said then.
Four years later, the meeting with Mozambican artists and his now declared wish to develop exchanges give that reflection a new dimension.
79 countries in one show
For his Mozambique debut, Porchat brings “Histórias do Porchat”, a show built from the strangest, funniest and most unexpected situations he has experienced on his travels around the world.
“I've been to 79 countries and I like to have the most varied experiences and bring together the funniest, craziest ones in a show that 500,000 people have already seen over these four years that I've been performing,” he said.
Over four years, around 500,000 spectators have already seen the show, which turns real episodes from the comedian's travels into stand-up narratives.
There is, however, one territory that Porchat has deliberately decided to keep off the stage: politics.
“It's a totally non-political show, there's nothing polarising, nothing controversial. It's (…) just about travel, precisely because I wanted people to laugh together again, without having to think about any worries.”
“I think that makes all the difference for a comedy show. People are really laughing and completely absorbed, without thinking about anything contentious.”
His travels have also shown him that Portuguese can work as a comic bridge between audiences separated by continents.
“All the shows I've done were in Portuguese, even on the most diverse continents, for Brazilians and Portuguese especially, but of course also Mozambicans, Angolans and Cape Verdeans. And they all laugh at the same things. It's very impressive.”
“They're the same everywhere, because people have the same references and laugh at the same points,” he added.
Now it is time to test that connection in front of a Mozambican audience.
The trip is also a family one. Porchat came with relatives and is trying to make the most of his days in the country to discover a place that, for years, he knew mainly through other people's references.
“We're managing to enjoy ourselves and have fun at the same time. So it's really lovely to be travelling in a country in Africa that speaks Portuguese, that understands us, that knows our taste.”
If in 2022 Mozambique was still on the list of destinations Porchat wanted to visit, four years later it has definitively moved onto his map of stages. And, even before the end of his first visit, the Brazilian is already talking about coming back.
“Mozambique is one of those countries that I haven't even left yet and already want to come back to (…). So the feeling I get is that I would come back at any minute.”
