RIO CARNIVAL * SONG'S FROM BRAZIL

Música Popular Brasileira (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmuzikɐ popuˈlaʁ bɾaziˈlejɾɐ], Brazilian Pop Music) or MPB designates a trend in post-Bossa Nova urban popular music. It is not a discrete genre but rather a constellation that combines original songwriting and updated versions of traditional Brazilian urban music styles like samba and samba-canção with contemporary influences: from folk, to rock, to pop, and to jazz. Signifying much more than the sum of the three words would indicate, MPB is a contemporary trend that has brought the world many renowned Brazilian artists, whose individual styles generate trends within MPB. The term can mean either any kind of music with Brazilian origins or a voice and guitar style that arose in the late 1960s. MPB can also be influenced by newer, non-traditional musical trends. The HistoryMPB, loosely understood as a "style", debuted in the mid-1960s, with the acronym being applied to types of non-electric music that em...

           Rio        Carnival Parade                                                                                                             The costumes are extremely imaginative, colorful, elaborate and detailed. They are truly original, designed and made from scratch each year.      

Samba Schools History Carnival has been celebrated in Brazil and in Rio de Janeiro for centuries, but samba schools were only first inaugurated in Rio Carnival in the 1920s. At the end of the 19th century, immigrants from Bahia state brought with them the tradition of playing candomble and dancing a bahian dance called the samba. In the slums of downtown Rio, a place referred to as 'Little Africa', they established a number of religious houses devoted to religious ceremonies where they played and danced the early forms of However African religions were illegal in a dominantly Catholic Brazil. These roots of samba remained invisible to the white elite for a long time. The samba schools' parading structure originates from groups parading during Carnival in the 19th century. Even at this juncture they already had included; the Vanguard Commission, a chosen theme, floats, and the flag bearing couple, all of which are essential parts of today's samba sc...

Although Carnival (Carnaval in Portuguese) is celebrated in towns and villages throughout Brazil and other Catholic countries, Rio de Janeiro has long been regarded as the Carnival Capital of the World. The Rio Carnaval is not only the biggest Carnival, it as also a benchmark against which every other carnival is compared and one of the most interesting artistic events on the Globe. Almost everyone has heard of the Rio Carnaval. Foreign visitors to it alone number around 500,000 every year. Rio Carnival is a wild 4 day celebration, 40 days before Easter. It officially starts on Saturday and finishes on Fat Tuesday with the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday after which one is supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures. Carnival with all its excesses, celebrated as a profane event, can be considered an act of farewell to the pleasures of the flesh. It usually happens in February, the hottest month in the Southern Hemisphere, when the Rio summer is at its peak. There are...

Brazilian Popular Music Brazilian music comes in as many flavors as the tropical fruit sherbets we mention in the recipes section of our Web site. Don't feel intimidated by the Portuguese words and names you will encounter. Read on and enjoy! Visit our Music & Folklore Page to learn more about the extraordinary diversity of Brazil's music. HistoryMPB, loosely understood as a "style", debuted in the mid-1960s, with the acronym being applied to types of non-electric music that emerged following the advent, ascension and evolution of bossa nova. MPB artists and audiences were largely connected to the intellectual and student population, causing later MPB to be known as "university music" c. 1970. As much as bossa nova, MPB was born out of an attempt to produce a Brazilian "national" music, thus revitalizing traditional styles. MPB made a considerable impact at that time, boosted by several televised music festivals, where the acronym was popu...

Sao Clemente samba school parade on a float during carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro. Mangueira samba school parades during carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Porto da Pedra Samba School. Grande Rio Samba School.   Carnival in Rio de Janeiro Check out the official tourist site of the city of Rio de Janeiro (in English) and visit the Carnival in Rio section. Besides being a popular feast, Carnival in Rio is a show business; people having fun is just part of the business. Most events in Rio's carnival happen either in ball-rooms or in the sambodrome. The Balls Since a few weeks before the official start of Carnival, several clubs promote pre-carnival balls; these are called "bailes pre carnavalescos", in case you want to search the newspapers. These balls happen both in big clubs (like world famous Flamengo) or smaller suburban clubs. Almost always, one must pay to party. T...