Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
FROM SAMBA TO SYMPHONIES
Samba
Rio has a tradition of jazz music that extends
well beyond '
The Girl from Ipanema
' and is well worth
checking out. Samba shows where members of Rio's
more successful samba schools perform glitzy music
and dance routines are usually tourist affairs, but often
worth catching. For a less touristy experience of a
samba school, you can easily arrange to watch
rehearsals (see box, p.107), held mainly at various
points in the Zona Norte from August to February.
Forró
For some accordion-driven swing from Brazil's
Northeast, look for a
forró
club. The term
forró
(pronounced “fawhaw”) originates from the English “for
all”, a reference to the dances financed by English
engineering companies for their manual labour forces, as
opposed to the balls organized for the elite.
Forró
can
often be found in
gafieiras
: founded as ballrooms for the
poorer classes, these became big in the 1920s and remain
popular today because they are places where
cariocas
can
be assured of traditional dance music.
Classical music
So far as classical music is concerned,
Rio is the home of the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira,
based at the Theatro Municipal (see p.68), which is also
home to the city's ballet troupe and opera company. The
theatre serves as the venue for almost everything that
happens in terms of “high culture”, offering four or five
major productions a year.
haven, with a pretty good range of music on the dancefloor,
and a candle-lit lounge to chill out in.
Tues-Sat
9pm-5am.
Pista 3
Rua São João Batista 14, Botafogo
T
21 2286
3389;
M
Botafogo; map pp.76-77.
Plays gritty urban
sounds including hip-hop, indie-rock, Brazilian fusion and
really anything that could be described as “alternative”,
sometimes including cabaret shows too. Entrance R$20.
Wed-Sun from 9pm.
pp.62-63.
A small, old town house with a great
atmosphere and killer
batidas
(
cachaça
-based cocktails).
The place attracts some great
choro
singers who perform
classical works, as well as samba and fusion rock-samba
artists.
Tues-Sun 6pm-3am or later.
Carioca da Gema
Av Mem de Sá 79
T
21 2221 0043,
W
barcariocadagema.com.br;
M
Cinelândia; map
pp.62-63.
Stop in for very reliable
choro
and samba: Teresa
Cristina, one of Rio's greatest female samba voices, puts in
regular appearances.
Daily 6pm-3am or later.
Circo Voador
Rua dos Arcos
T
21 2533 5873,
W
circovoador.com.br;
M
Cinelândia; map pp.62-63.
Whereas other Lapa clubs have a very mixed-age clientele,
with its programme of rap, funk and fusion samba-punk-
rock,
Circo Voador
, set in a large circus tent, is dominated by
young people who come to dance and discover new bands.
Fri, Sat and sometimes other days, usually from 10pm
.
Comuna do Semente
Rua Joaquim Silva 138
T
21 2509 3591;
M
Cinelândia; map pp.62-63.
Friday
and Saturday nights are basically reserved for young samba
artists, and from Sunday to Thursday other traditional
styles of Brazilian music, in particular
choro
, are performed.
Daily from 8.30pm.
Democráticos
Rua do Riachuaelo 93, Lapa
T
21 2252
4611,
W
clubedosdemocraticos.com.br;
M
Cinelândia;
map pp.62-63.
Rio's oldest
gafieira
(people's ballroom),
dating from 1867, this large, atmospheric old venue is the
best place in town to catch some
forró
(Wed), and good for
Samba too (Thurs-Sun).
Wed-Sat 10pm-late.
Rio Scenarium
Rua do Lavradio 20
T
21 2233 3239,
W
rioscenarium.com.br;
M
Cinelândia; map pp.62-63.
Located in an old baronial townhouse filled with antiques,
this is nonetheless one of the liveliest places in Lapa.
More popular for its music than its dancing, visitors can sit
on one of the several landings and watch the daily shows
on the stage below. While specializing in
choro
, samba
and local fusions are also performed. Reservations
LIVE MUSIC VENUES
Clubs and music bars are particularly concentrated in Lapa,
where samba,
choro
and other local rhythms play to an
enthusiastic and overwhelmingly local crowd. A good first
place to make for is Rua Joaquim da Silva, where the packed
bars pull in a mix of
bairro
residents and college students;
Rua do Lavradio attracts a more well-heeled crowd, but both
streets are fine so long as you don't wander off alone into
badly lit side streets, especially when drunk, and obviously
you won't want to take valuables with you anyway. For those
who feel uncomfortable going alone, or want to be guided
round, Rio Hiking (see p.92) regularly take small groups bar-
hopping in Lapa (R$240 per person, excluding drinks). Some
places in Lapa charge on the door for entry, but often there's
just a minimum consumption requirement; particularly in
more expensive places, you don't pay at the bar, but get a
coupon on entry, which your orders are marked up on, and
you pay for them all together before leaving.
LAPA
Asa Branca
Av Mem de Sá 17
T
21 2224 9358;
M
Cinelândia; map pp.62-63.
A very informal dancehall
that's been immensely popular for decades, always
attracting big-name samba,
choro
and, especially,
forró
bands.
Tues-Sat from 10pm.
Café Cultural Sacrilégio
Av Mem de Sá 81
T
21 3970
1461,
W
sacrilegio.com.br;
M
Cinelândia;
map
