‘Passeio Público’ Hosts Free Cultural Festival this Saturday in Rio

By Beatriz Miranda, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The “O Passeio É Público” (the Passeio is public) festival is back to Rio this Saturday, August 12th. Conceived by cultural collectives, producers and artists, the event aims to enhance the cultural potential of Passeio Público, Rio’s oldest public square, in Centro.

The outdoor festival happens from 9:30 AM to 10PM, offering over free thirty cultural activities divided in nine different themes: children, body, exhibitions, workshops, itinerant, street, melody, debates and cinema.

Opening the event at 9:30 AM is a “street yoga” class, led by Hanna Ayres, followed by “Caminho da Calma” (the path of calmness), a guided meditation session, oriented by Shakti Leal.

From 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM, children can enjoy activities like the traditional Brazilian game “Corre Cotia”, storytelling of Afro Brazilian tales with Nathalia Grilo, two theater performances and a playful carnival bloc.

The morning line-up will also include a collage and drawing workshop at 10AM and a creative meditation session at 11:20 AM, led by Nika and Juliana Manhães. During all day, photographers Raphael Silva, Luiza Schalcher and Fabíola Folly will be exhibiting their works “O Passeio é Público – Diversidade e Resistência” (the Passeio is pubic – diversity and resistance), “Poesias do olhar” (poems of the look) and “Conexões” (connections), respectively.

The afternoon starts with a “roda de capoeira” and a “roda de samba”, at 1PM, followed by the art performance “FLUX”, a DJ workshop with Dedé Menezes and a debate on urban mobility, all happening simultaneously at 2PM. Samba group “Samba que elas querem” (the samba they want) performs at 3PM, while DJ Selvática will be spinning Brazilian and international black music in a different area at the same time.

“O Passeio é Público” will promote two other circle debates in the afternoon. At 3:15 PM, there will be a talk with cultural producers on Rio’s current cultural scene, followed by the conversation “Black women and the right to the city”, at 4:30 PM.

What’s more, a cinema session will happen at 6PM with the exhibition of “Regeneração” (Regeneration), by Humberto Carrão, among other shorts. At 8PM, group Noites do Norte invites singer Julia Vargas to present a show of Amazonian traditional rhythms, and Charanga Talismã performs in sequence, closing the event at 10PM.

Itinerant activities promise to spontaneously happen at any time of the event, including a forró music trio, a performance with bubbles, a poetry recital and a clown presentation. A good variety of food trucks and drink stalls can also be found at the venue.

What: “O Passeio é Público” (the Passeio is public)
When: this Saturday, August 12th – 9:30AM to 10PM
Where: Passeio Público square – Rua do Passeio, s/n – Centro
Entrance: FREE