By Jack Arnhold, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This Friday, February 8th, at 6PM, ‘Samba nas Ruínas’ (Samba in the Ruins) returns to the glorious ‘Parque das Ruínas’ (Park of the Ruins) in Rio’s beautiful hillside of Santa Teresa. This is a longstanding favorite cultural event for residents and visitors alike, with today’s live music being provided by Grupo Efun Oguedê.
This evening Samba nas Ruínas invite everyone to a performance of samba evoking the mood of a backyard jam session, and a perfect excuse to start a weekend escape in Santa Teresa, one of the city’s most idyllic and characterful neighborhoods.
Grupo Efun Oguedê will be serenading the park and accompanying the sunset, which is sure to be spectacular. The group is headed up by Roberta Nistra, a Brazilian singer and songwriter born in the Carioca neighborhood of Vila Isabel.
In addition to making music, she is also a musical researcher, having studied genres such as samba, choro and African rhythms. She has also played with several renowned samba artists, such as Moreira da Silva, Monarco, Wilson Moreira and Wilson das Neves.
Tonight she will be joined by Jahi De Oliveira, Luana Sorriso, Marcos Antônio, Rafael De Moraes. Raphael Gravino, and Yasmin Alves, together making Grupo Efun Oguedê. Samba is such a valued part of Brazilian and carioca life that it even has its own national holiday, with many festivals taking place throughout the year to honor the most quintessentially Brazilian of all musical genres.
The location for this evening also couldn’t be more stunning. Parque das Ruínas is a beautifully restored park and cultural center located in the ruins of the building that was once the home of one of the great patrons of the city’s Belle Époque, Laurinda Santos Lobo.
Known as the ‘Marshall of elegance,’ Santos Lobo used to bring together intellectuals and artists in the outbuildings of the mansion, now restored as part of an award-winning project by the architect Ernani Freire, who kept the structure of the ruins while adding a contemporary twist to the renovations.
What: Samba nas Ruínas
When: Friday, February 8th, 6PM
Where: Parque das Ruínas, Rua Murtinho Nobre, 20.241-050, Santa Teresa.
Entrance: R$20 – R$40
For more information, visit the event page.