You won’t need a travel visa to attend Brasil Summerfest, but a Metrocard is highly recommended.
The annual event brings a taste of Brazil to the streets of New York City with a cultural mix of music and film, all set to a samba beat. Running from July 30 to August 8 at venues across the city, the festival offers a glimpse at the rich musical history and diverse sounds of the South American country.
Music fans can take in Bahian singer Marcia Castro at Lincoln Center on August 1st (or at Joe’s Pub on August 6th) or get to know the unexpected rhythms of the mangue beat movement from the style’s originators, Nação Zumbi at Central Park’s SummerStage on August 2nd. The innovative band blends rock, funk, and hip-hop with traditional Brazilian sounds.
Explore the history of Brazilian traditional Choro music — a cousin to the more well-known samba that sounds like New Orleans jazz with a Brazilian twist—with Regional de New York, who is playing a free show at the Brooklyn Public Library on August 6th.
If standing in the hot sun without a cool glass of caipirinha feels a little too inauthentic, take in a film at the Museum of the Moving Image, which is showing Viramundo, a documentary that follows Brazilian musical legend Gilberto Gil as he visits indigenous communities, artists, and performers across the Southern hemisphere.
The festival wraps on August 8th with what is sure to be an epic dance party thanks to Que Bajo?!, the DJs who have been doing their best to turn NYC into an Ipanema dance party since 2010. Their tropical tunes blend Afro-punk, Colombian cumbia, and samba swing into an irresistible mix that’ll be sure to fill the dance floor.
For more information head to brasilsummerfest.com.
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