Elementary music teacher Eliél Freer-Sullivan was recently featured on a Brazilian news program after a TikTok of him teaching students to sing Portuguese folk songs went viral.
Introducing students to instruments from around the globe and singing songs in different languages is an important part of Eliél’s world music curriculum. A native of Brazil, Eliél teaches his students many of the folk songs he grew up singing. This past November, days before Thanksgiving Break with focus running low, Eliél encouraged his class to sing “Cai Cai Balão,” a Portuguese folk song about a falling balloon. “When they sang that song it was just so cute, I decided to record it to send to my mom,” Eliél recalls. Later that evening, he decided to share the video to his TikTok, not expecting to wake up the following morning with more than a million views.
His comment section was full of messages of support and excitement hearing American students singing Brazilian songs. The next day, he posted another video which received similar attention. Eliél believes there are a few factors that prompted the success of these videos – Brazilians like to support Brazilian art abroad, the songs are nostalgic to many people his age and many Brazilians are surprised to see students singing in Portuguese, because Brazil has no formal music education in schools. “A lot of people were shocked that these young kids were able to sing so well in Portuguese. I tell people that our kids are not better than any other kids in Brazil, they just have opportunities that kids in Brazil don’t have. They start to learn music at ages 4 and 5, so of course, they will be good at music,” he explains.
Eliél continues to post videos from his classroom for his 100,000+ followers on TikTok. “It is wild,” reacts Eliél to the idea of his new platform. “It is sweet to see the overwhelmingly positive response from people. I often see comments that say ‘he’s gotta have the best job in the world.’ I feel honored. As teachers, it’s easy for us to take for granted what we do, especially if we have a bad day or feel tired, but it is the best job.” The success of his videos have opened up many opportunities, including reconnecting with his childhood music teacher, the man who inspired him to become a teacher. As Eliél continues to share these videos, he hopes to be a bridge between Brazil and the United States. “I hope this is an opportunity to bring more Brazilian visibility and more Latino visibility to Paideia and our greater Atlanta community,” shares Eliél. “I want our kids to know there is a big world out there.”
