National REGGAE day! A law signed in 2012 by Dilma Rousseff honors Bob Marley!

The president Dilma Rousseff sanctioned on May 14, 2012 the law establishing Dia Nacional do Reggae, to be celebrated on May 11. The text is published in Diário Oficial da União. According to the law, the date will serve to honor "the musical rhythm spread worldwide by Robert Nesta Marley".

The chosen date - May 11th - is the day the singer Bob Marley died. Ministério da Cultura reported that the bill dates back to 2008 (3,260/2008), authored by the then federal deputy Rodrigo Rollemberg (PSB-DF) - now a senator. In the text of the project, Rollemberg justifies that "it is relevant to mention the absorption of other foreign musical rhythms that, without a doubt, 'fell' no gosto do brasileiro".

In the text, Rollemberg also mentions that "the legacy that Bob Marley left to the world goes far beyond reggae: it is through this that many Brazilian artists use the medium of music to make legitimate social criticisms. The influence of this musical style is such in some Brazilian states, that there is already a municipal law that established reggae day, as is the case of Salvador, through Law no. 5,817/2000".

Rollemberg also talks about the influence of Bob Marley on Brazilian music, citing "Cidade Negra, Edson Gomes, Gilberto Gil among many other renowned national artists" who, according to him, "continue to carry, through reggae, messages of peace, love and social criticism, in an attempt to alert the people to fight for their rights, in the same way as Marley, considered the first third world star with recognition international, it was already done almost four decades ago".