Brazilian beats
February means Carnival and Carnival means samba. A music and dance genre rooted in African traditions that developed amongst the slave communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early-20th century, samba has become a symbol of Brazilian culture around the world. In recent years, it has also become the rising star of Barcelona’s music and dance scene, spanning cultures and generations, and uniting people through its rich, syncopated rhythm and often voluptuous moves.
It takes great technical skill to dance samba well. It involves fast synchronised movements of the hands, arms and hips; but the most important ingredient, according to Barcelona resident and samba aficionado Fernanda Accorsi, is passion. “Anybody can try it,” said Accorsi. “There are not just Brazilians in the city doing samba, but people of all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds and levels of experience, all of them dancing together in the rhythm.”
Accorsi comes from an esteemed line of Brazilian samba musicians. Her father, João Manoel, was the first musician to bring the true samba sound to their countryside town of São José do Rio Preto, in the state of São Paolo. “In the Seventies, São José do Rio Preto was small and the new samba instruments hadn’t yet arrived. My father went to São Paolo to buy instruments and brought them back to our town,” remembered Accorsi. These instruments included the surdo (a large bass drum), an older version of the tamborim (a small, round Brazilian frame drum of Portuguese and African origin) and the cuíca (a friction drum with an expansive pitch range). Her grandmother’s house became the primary meeting point for the town’s samba scene, hosting 24-hour jam sessions led by her father’s band, Os Sambistas. Everyone gathered there to share their love of samba music, dance and life. That is when Accorsi’s passion for samba blossomed.
Twelve years ago, when Accorsi first came to Barcelona, little or no samba scene existed. “No one had any money to pay musicians, so they played on the streets or in bars for free,” she recalled. Ramón Barau, from Sant Boi de Llobregat, has been teaching samba de gafieira—a ballroom version of samba, also known as samba carioca—in the city since 2009. A key figure in the local scene, he concurred: “We have had to work hard, without resources or sponsorship, to keep the samba flame alight.”
Their hard work and determination seem to finally be coming to fruition. Several locations in the city, including Brazilian restaurant Rio D.O.C. (Sardenya 56) close to Parc de la Ciutadella, have become regular hosts of special performances and samba nights. The advantage of playing in restaurants is that samba culture is embodied not just in the music and complicated dance steps, but in the food, the drinks and the company of others.
There are also live performances held every Saturday night at Grizzly 72 (Gran Via 586) by Samba Dos Amigos, and for just €2 you can enjoy the Sunday sessions with Soda Brazil Jam Session at Soda Acústic in Gràcia (Guilleries 6), where you can see musicians of all different nationalities come together to play Brazilian music. Just down the coast from Barcelona, Sitges hosts one of Spain’s most popular Carnival festivals every February where you can see samba dancing among the parades and street parties, and the annual Día de Brasil is celebrated each September at Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, offering a colourful introduction to the best of Brazilian culture.
But if spectating is not enough, there are a growing number of studios offering classes and instruction. Its complex steps may seem intimidating at first, but “anybody can learn how to samba!” according to David Cascón, Director of Dance Emotion, a studio in the city. “Samba seems difficult but it really isn’t. We teach basic movements at the start for beginners to acquire a good foundation.” All you need is a desire to learn and a lot of energy. And once you’ve mastered the basics, Spai Carioca, located in the town of Sant Boi de Llobregat, offers professional training based on its own technical book of samba de gafieira.
Established in 2010 by Ramón Barau, together with Luís Florião and Adriana D’Acri from Rio de Janeiro, Spai Carioca is the first official Brazilian dance and samba de gafieira association in Barcelona, and aims to develop samba as a leading dance genre. Barau discovered samba de gafieira by chance while visiting Rio de Janiero in 2001. In 2005, he met Luís Florião, who was president of Rio de Janeiro’s samba de gafieira association at the time, at a lambazouk festival in Europe. Florião asked Barau to become an official ambassador for samba de gafieira in Barcelona and offered to act as his mentor. Over the next seven years the two exchanged visits and training sessions before setting up Spai Carioca.
Spai Carioca hosts an impressive range of activities, from regular dance classes—including samba de gafieira, salsa, zumba and capoeira—to monthly festivals. They also support local festivals, such as Barri Center and Vinyets-Molí Vell, giving samba performances, classes and selling their legendary caipirinhas. The pivotal mission of Spai Carioca, however, remains the promotion of samba. Everything that the school generates as income is reinvested in activities; Spai Carioca brings some of the best samba de gafieira professionals directly from Brazil to Barcelona to teach workshops and run training sessions. As a bonus, these visitors perform at the seasonal parties, the most important of which is the Spai Carioca Congress.
Sitges Carnival
In the home of samba, Rio de Janeiro, Carnival is the most eagerly anticipated event of the year. Every year, the city’s top samba schools parade the streets in a breathtaking spectacle featuring extravagant floats and thousands of dancers dressed in dazzling costumes.
But Carnival fever is not limited to Brazil. Celebrated before the start of Lent, many countries have their own Carnival traditions and parties. One of Spain’s most popular Carnival celebrations takes place in Sitges, 40 kilometres south of Barcelona. Every February, the picturesque coastal town hosts a vibrant and flamboyant week-long party, which attracts around 250,000 revellers. Two spectacular parades are the main focus of the event: Sunday’s Rua de la Disbauxa and Tuesday’s Rue de l’Extermini feature 2,500 participants and 50 floats.
As well as party-goers, Sitges Carnival welcomes some of Europe’s best drag acts, who all dress in black for the final parade on Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) to mourn the end of Carnival. With plenty of children’s activities and bizarre traditions, such as the annual bed race, Carnival is a dynamic party bursting with colour and sensuality.
The Sitges Carnival will take place from February 8th to 14th.