Marina started sharing her photos on social networks and began to be noticed for her style, people wanted to know where her clothes and accessories were from
An influencer who was influenced by her roots, built in Santo Antônio do Jardim, in the interior of São Paulo, Marina Fabris was born and raised on the family farm, in the midst of a traditional and very sertanejo cycle. And that’s where it all started.
The house, so cozy as it was, opened its doors to the privileged outside and became a business, a well-known restaurant in the region, a rural tourist spot and the ideal place for backcountry events. Baptized as “Tuia Véia”, he was responsible for placing Marina, along with her family, in the world of entrepreneurs.
In addition to work, she started attending rodeos in the city at a very young age, as she had this as part of her DNA and it would be inevitable to end up not following this path. Today, she is recognized for her work as a digital influencer and presenter, taking flights to many regions of Brazil.
Her style – from her clothing to the environments she always frequented – were references of her family, always inserted in the rural environment. In addition, taking photos and videos has always been one of her passions and always with looks that had her hat, buckle and boots traditional in the country environment. All these characteristics paved the way for the beginning of this story and it became a reference for glamor and tradition.
Marina started sharing her photos on social networks and began to be noticed for her style, people wanted to know where her clothes and accessories were from. In addition, the contents began to be reposted in communities, such as “As Brutas Tambam”. In 2018, a businessman invited her to be a fitting room for his store and the artist closed her first partnership. In 2019, she was invited to be a presenter. The love for what she did, the easiness in communication and her representative style for the sertanejo public turned the hobby into a profession.
At the height of invitations to rodeos and with several events scheduled, the pandemic came and migrated from in-person parties to live shows, featuring more than 30, from various artists such as Matogrosso and Mathias, João Bosco and Vinícius, Clayton and Romário, Guilherme and Benuto, Gian and Giovane, among others.
With events fully resuming in 2022, history has continued to be written. Marina Fabris opened her event schedule with the biggest rodeo in southern Brazil, the Colorado rodeo. Then, many other expressive events were her road route, among them, Jaguariúna Rodeo Festival, Festa do Peão de Americana, Festa do Peão Boiadeiro de Barretos, Extrema Country, Expar, Rio Pardo Expo Show, Festa do Peão de Piracicaba, between others.
The most recent work was at the Caldas Country Festival, known as one of the biggest festivals in the country, there she felt the size of her importance, it was the state considered the birthplace of the sertanejo. And the balance that remains is that, even in an environment dominated by men, an empowered, sweet and fun woman has, with respect, gained more and more space. Embracing all opportunities for the year 2023, Marina Fabris wants to reap more results in rodeos and events, in addition to planning a surprise at Carnival. Check out the interview!
The restaurant “Tuia Véia” is a well-known tourist spot, was it through it that you discovered your love for the sertanejo and entrepreneurship?
The love for the sertanejo dates back to childhood, before Tuia Véia. Before the restaurant existed, my father worked in pottery, which is making bricks.
Where the restaurant is today, before it was a pottery and before it was a pottery, it was like the thuja of coffee, wine and everything that my great-great-grandparents planted there. The love for the sertanejo and for this culture has always been part of my story.
So Tuia Véia was actually a means, a vehicle to strengthen this love along with entrepreneurship. When the restaurant opened, I was 10 years old and from then on, as I grew up, I started to be very participatory and help in adolescence. At 15/16 years old, I was already working, you know?
Initially, at the cashier, which is how I helped my parents. When the events started, I started to come forward with newer ideas to help them. So, that’s when my first job, my first contact with the public.
There, I certainly fell in love with entrepreneurship. Since I was a child, I already felt this strong thing about communication in me, but there it gave me the certainty that I would like to work with the public.
The love for the sertanejo only strengthened and was also a vehicle for us to value our culture, right? Doing events valuing the horseback riding that is tradition, sertanejo show and everything else.
Her style draws attention on social networks, her photos ended up in communities being one of “As Brutas Amam”. And so, since 2018 her name has grown as a digital influencer. In this online growth, what were your biggest challenges and what aspects of your work do you think conquer the public?
Well, I always liked the different in all aspects of my life, but when we talk about style, I always had my style. I’ve never followed fashion, I’ve always done my fashion and I think that drew attention because a while ago country and sertanejo were very traditional, right?
Jeans, shirt, boots, hat. That still exists and I love traditional country, but I also love to put a hint of Marina Fabris in everything I wear, in everything I do and I see more and more girls getting inspired, you know?
I’m very happy with this style diversification in the middle, I think all of that fits a lot. I think not only in terms of looks, but as you mentioned, online growth…
The biggest challenge, for sure, is the responsibility we have to name influencers. You have to be very responsible when you influence a person, not only in looks, but in everything you do, both for good and for bad.
So I’m always very careful to talk about the good things, to present quality products and services that I really know and trust. Only after trying everything from food to a beauty product or the car, in short.
Everything I work on my social networks I try to do all of this I do all of this to later present. This is a challenge in the midst of so many proposals for you to be able to keep your essence, your values there, right? Not everything is about money and I’ve always liked to keep that, to preserve what I believe in.
It’s not because I’m an influencer that I’m going to do any business, you know?
There’s a phrase I like, which says ‘never negotiate your purpose for a proposal’ and I take it with me for life, because that’s what won over my audience. They trust what I say, because I am being myself, without a filter. I’m slowly building this ant work, but building my story by myself.
In 2019, you were invited to be a presenter. How did the invitation come about? Have you gone through any preparation before?
Well, in 2019 I had been working as an influencer for just over a year and I was doing this job. One of the rodeos that we publicized and then went to show a little more, like a VIP presence. From then on, the entrepreneur/event producer who was there paid attention to me and on the second or third day of the event, he invited me to present his rodeo. It was good out of nowhere.
He approached me, introduced himself and said that he was doing a rodeo and a few other events, and asked if I would like to be a presenter. I said: “but I’ve never done that in my life”, but he said that I had the face of the rodeo for having the sertanejo in my veins.
So I said “let’s go”. My life has always been like this. But his event was in a week and I went without making any arrangements, in fact. I couldn’t talk to him the entire week, he just gave me the location and time and I arrived at his rodeo.
He gave me a microphone and had a camera following me. At this event, I interviewed Marilia Mendonça, Matogrosso & Mathias…
And the rodeo was going on, I spoke with Adriano Morais, Rafael Vilela, Vinagrinho. It was quite challenging, but I’m sure it was a super important kickoff, you know? It got me into other events, because there was already another event producer there who saw me and liked my work. Little did he know he was the first and I already went to his rodeo. And so it happened.
The sertanejo is still very predominated by men. Recently, women have gained more space in this musical style. In your midst, still sexist and derogatory comments regarding female singers and audience?
Well, for sure, prejudice exists and I find it difficult to stop existing, but we have been breaking more and more barriers, overcoming and gaining more and more space, which is something that makes me very happy.
I think women have to embrace each other more and more, you know? Going to open the door for others, because not only the rodeo, but the entire job market needs more women making a difference, you know?
I’ve heard, yes, sexist comments. I’ve heard I was just a pretty face there. I’ve heard that I looked like a patricinha, but those who say that are those who don’t know, are insecure or are afraid.
I never caught myself to these comments. I always keep in mind that my competition is with myself, to be a better person and professional every day. And I stick to that and do my job, you know? I don’t attach myself to sexist comments or any other comment from people who want to pull the rug out, because it exists everywhere.
And I follow, I go with God to all the places where doors are opening, but I’m sure we’re overcoming this and women are being respected more and more. And, in my case, I have a lot to be grateful for, because the men who were a reference for me – both in the rodeo part and in the artistic entertainment part – did not make me go through bad episodes.
I had very few problems, you know, very few bad episodes. Most people hugged me, always respected me a lot, and treated me with respect. So overall, I have nothing to complain about, thank goodness.
Most of the guys, especially those I wasn’t a fan of, became more of a fan after I met them and was able to work together, because they embraced me in a really cool way.
I, a young girl entering the rodeo, had everything to be worse but it was very good, thank God.
2023 promises a lot of news. Can you give a preview of the next steps and a bit about the surprise at Carnival?
2023 has already started full of news. My first trip was to Maceió, which I went on Lucas Guimarães’ birthday. I took a tour of Ribeirão Preto too, but I’m already in Goiânia.
There is a lot of news coming here, in Goiânia too…
And promise, God willing! The agenda is already getting full of events, not just sertanejos. About Carnival, I still can’t give spoilers, I think (laughs), but it’s the first time I’m going to spend Carnival in this place, which is a place that those who love Carnival have it as one of their favorites, I’m sure. I will be there for the first time and you can be sure that I will carry my name.
I’m going to take a little bit of the sertaneja reference to the Carnival of São Paulo.
Despite having grown up in the interior, today your work is recognized in several regions of Brazil. Reflecting on everything you’ve been through in your career, what would you say to Marina who started back there?
Well, not only for Marina in 2018 or 2019, which was when I started in this world, but for Marina as a child, for a teenager, I would say: girl, listen to your intuition, believe in what God has planted in your heart, because that’s it it will happen and that time will come. And they have reached this moment because I have always had it in my heart and in my unconscious. You know, in my conscience, that my place was not just there. I love my house, my home, which is my family. I love being there, going back there, but my life is in the world, it’s taking my work to many places and I always knew, you know? Since I was a child… I don’t know how to explain it to you, but through everything I’ve done, you know, since I was a child, my contact with communication, with the microphone, with people, I knew that God had something greater prepared for me. So, I would tell Marina to believe and follow her dreams that no matter how hard it is, no matter how hard it is, no matter how much it hurts, evolving is worth it.
In the end, it’s so worth it. And today I look back, I see that God had already written everything and that I am living his plans for my life.
He had already written everything! As far back as I can remember, I knew there was something different waiting for me.
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