Cota Não É Esmola Lyrics in English Bia Ferreira

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Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Cota Não É Esmola by Bia Ferreira from Portuguese to English.

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There's a lot they didn't tell you at school

Quota's not charity!

Try being born Black

In the favela, then you'll see!

What happens to Black and poor folks

Doesn't show up on TV

Oppression, humiliation, prejudice

We know how it ends

When it starts like this

Since she was little, hustling

To help her parents

Watching kids, cleaning houses

And plenty more

Noon hits, she bathes and walks to school

There's no money for the bus

Her mom used it earlier

To buy bread

And since she's tired she wants a bus ride

But because she's Black and poor

The driver yells: no!

And that's just the first door that slams

There's no bus

She's already tired

But hurries anyway

She reaches school, another gate shuts

You were late

You're not going into history class

Wait, sit down, it'll be one soon

Wait a bit more and go into the second class

And make sure you're not late again!

The principal says

She gets to the room, now drowsiness kicks in

And she won't sleep

Slowly she learns that

If the fare is 3.80 and you've got 3 in hand

She interrupts the teacher and says

"Then there won't be bread"

And the friends who laugh at her every day

Laugh more and humiliate her more

What would you do?

She's tired of humiliation and doesn't want school anymore

And at Christmas she cried

Because she didn't get a ball

Time kept passing and she kept growing

Now on the street she's the Black girl with the stinky armpit

Who straightens her hair to feel accepted

But it doesn't help at all

Everybody rejects her

Now she's grown up

She really wants to study

She finishes school, the prep booklet

There's still the entrance exam

And her mouth dries up, no spit at all

She's gonna pay for college

Because Black and poor don't go to USP

That's what the teacher said

Who taught back at school

That everyone is equal and quotas are charity

Tired of handouts and without the dough for college

She still wakes up early

And cleans three apartments downtown

Try being born Black and poor in the hood

You'll see how different the opportunities are

And don't even come tell me that's playing the victim

Don't pin the blame on me

To cover up your racism!

And don't even come tell me that's playing the victim

Don't pin the blame on me

To cover up your racism!

And don't even come tell me that's playing the victim

These are enslaved nations

And murdered cultures

It's the voice that echoes from the drum

Come close, come here

You can fight too, hey!

And learn to respect

Because Black people came to revolutionize

Don't let our voice be silenced!

Re-vo-lu-tion!

Don't let our voice be silenced!

Re-vo-lu-tion!

Thousands of us are born

Each time one of us falls

Thousands of us are born

Each time one of us falls

Thousands of us are born

Each time one of us falls

Thousands of us are born

Each time one of us falls

With chest open, ghetto swordsman, nigga samurai!

With chest open, ghetto swordsman, nigga

Chest open, ghetto swordsman, nigga

Chest open, ghetto swordsman, nigga samurai!

Chest open, ghetto swordsman, nigga

Open, swordsman

Chest open, ghetto swordsman, nigga

With chest open, ghetto swordsman, nigga samurai!

Let's go to the spot where the clock stops

And in the silence the heart races

Let's reign like Zumbi, Dandara

Odara, Odara

Let's go to the spot where the clock stops

In the silence the heart races

Odara, Odara, hey!

Try being born Black and poor in the hood

You'll see how different the opportunities are

And don't even come tell me that's playing the victim

Don't pin the blame on me

To cover up your ra-cism!

There's a lot they didn't tell you at school!

Quota's not charity!

I said: quota's not charity!

Quota's not charity!

These are enslaved nations

And murdered cultures

It's the voice that echoes from the drum!

Come close, come here

You can fight too

And learn to respect

Because Black people came to revolutionize

Quota's not charity!

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SONG MEANING

“Cota Não É Esmola” (which means “A Quota Is Not Charity”) is a fiery protest song by Brazilian artist Bia Ferreira. Blending soul, reggae, and spoken word, she turns her guitar into a megaphone for Brazil’s Black, favela-born population. From the very first line, Bia reminds us that school textbooks leave out harsh truths: structural racism, economic inequality, and the daily grind of being both Black and poor. The repeated chant “Cota não é esmola!” hammers home her message that affirmative-action policies are not handouts but a small step toward balancing opportunities that history has stolen.

Through the story of a young Black girl, the lyrics paint an almost cinematic timeline: walking to school because bus fare became breakfast, arriving late and being shut out, mocked by classmates, and finally dropping out to clean apartments for survival. The song then widens its lens, linking this personal struggle to centuries of enslaved nations and “cultures assassinated.” Yet the mood stays defiantly hopeful: every time one person falls, “thousands more are born,” ready to fight like modern-day samurais of the ghettos. Bia Ferreira calls listeners to listen, respect, and join the revolution so that Black voices are never silenced again—and she does it with a groove that makes the lesson unforgettable.

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Bia Ferreira Cota Não É Esmola Lyrics