f Letters, cassette tapes and zines: The circulation of Brazilian heavy metal as a gift system

The article addresses cultural exchanges in the Brazilian metal scene and the social practices around materialities such as letters, cassette tapes and fanzines. The exchange of items between headbangers contributed to the globalization of metal and continued over the 1990s and 2000s, in peripheral territories, like Brazil, even with the presence of the Internet. The article is based on a questionnaire administered via social network groups dedicated to Brazilian metal and collectors of cassette tapes and fanzines. The circulation of metal in Brazil is explained from the paradigm of the gift, proposed by Marcel Mauss and others. Our purpose is to highlight the construction of identities and social bonds offered by this cultural exchange.