Pastor bars children’s rock band in March for Jesus

Ívina Garcia – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The gospel band Seven Family was prevented by the president of the Order of Evangelical Ministers of Amazonas (Omeam), Pastor Valdiberto Rocha, from performing at the 29th edition of the “March for Jesus”, last Saturday, 10, at the Convention Center of Manaus, Sambódromo, south-central zone of Manaus. According to the group leader, Cleudivaldo da Cunha Vieira, 43, the reason was that the members were dressed in black and some had long hair.

According to Cleudivaldo, known as ‘Vieira Seven’, the organization of the event is more conservative. Omeam has a history of supporting traditionalist politicians, such as federal lawmaker Silas Câmara (Republicanos), defeated Senate candidate Coronel Menezes (PL), and former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

The group is composed of Vieira, his wife Kayla Franco de Moura, 36, and their children: Victor Gabriel de Moura Vieira, 15; Kaliel de Moura Vieira, 13; Davi de Moura Vieira, 10; and Anna Gabrielly de Moura Vieira, 6. The father reported that the children were frustrated and traumatized by the treatment they received during the march, for which they had prepared and had high expectations of performing.

“We had expenses with the equipment and the studio, all the preparation we did only to arrive on time and not perform. We couldn’t even get in where the performers were. It was very humiliating, they threw the situation to each other and said they didn’t know anything”, says Cleudivaldo, remembering that the children had to stay outside the event, without any assistance from the organization. In the TikTok application, the group has videos with more than 100,000 views.

The band was scheduled to perform at the Omeam trio, according to Vieira, however, the group was prevented from playing at the event. “We play pop-rock, and in the conversation I had with the president [pastor Valdiberto Rocha], he talked about the issue of rock and the hair of my children”, says the singer.

After the refusal to perform in the trio, the group went to the Sambódromo, where they arranged to perform. “They claimed that they didn’t let us go on the trio because of the children, but we know that there were other people’s children there, in the cabin, and there was room. They didn’t take us because of discrimination, and this makes me very angry”, said Vieira Seven, the band’s vocalist.

Look

According to Vieira, in another meeting with Omeam members, children were the target of mean comments because of their long hair. “In one of the coffees that took place at the Renascer Church, we played there and my children were discriminated against by two pastors. The children were traumatized. They are used to having big hair, it is something of theirs, how good they feel”, she recalls.

Vieira says that after reporting what happened to Valdiberto Rocha, he humiliated the group even more. The singer also promises to denounce the discrimination to the Public Ministry.

“He said, ‘If I am the Almighty, you will sing after Aline Barros,’ in a tone of humiliation, and when she left, people would leave and the sound owners would turn off and end the show. This is very humiliating and hurts me in the heart. I’m going to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to denounce it, I have witnesses of what they did to me”, says Cleudivaldo.

CENARIUM MAGAZINE contacted Omeam to inquire about the statements made by the band leader, but did not hear back.

Healing the autistic

Valdiberto Rocha was criticized this week by associations and mothers of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) after saying that autistic people were cured after participating in the “March for Jesus” last year. The statement happened during an interview to the program Manhã de Notícias, of the Tiradentes Network, on Friday morning, 9.

The religious leader was inviting society to the 2023 edition of the evangelical celebration. “I know people who marched last year, who were with cancer, and this year they are healed, because the Lord worked the miracle. I know people who had autistic children, who came to the march, and this year they are healed”, Rocha said.

Political relations

The wife of the president of Omeam, Dionélia de Oliveira Rocha, works since 2019 in the office of federal deputy Silas Câmara, occupying the position of parliamentary secretary, earning about R$ 4,000 per month, according to data available on the Transparency Portal of the Federal Chamber. Silas appears in images alongside Dionélia’s husband, Pastor Valdiberto Rocha, during the March for Jesus 2022, in the presence of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).