Rio’s Circo Voador Hosts SambaRap Festival this Weekend

By Beatriz Miranda, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This Friday, January 19th, Circo Voador in Lapa opens the first edition of SambaRap Festival, event dedicated to Brazilian rap music and samba. Through Saturday, January 20th, the festival will bring renowned artists, like Elza Soares, and promote cultural activities, like a master class on Afro-Brazilian culture to its stage.

Aiming to pay homage to the women from Brazil’s peripheral scene, the opening day of SambaRap will invite two of the most powerful female artists from the current Brazilian music universe: singer Elza Soares and rapper Karol Conká.

Considered the “Singer of the Millenium” by Radio BBC London and described as “an explosive mixture of Tina Turner with Celia Cruz” by the Time Out Magazine, Elza Soares stands out for the uniqueness of her raspy voice, straightforward songs and soulful personality.

Known for her remarkable performance, mainly in genres like samba, soul and MPB music, the favela-born singer has already recorded 32 albums. It was, however, her most recent work, “A Mulher do Fim do Mundo” (The Woman At the End of the World, 2015), that put Elza in a whole new level: the work was awarded by the 2016 Latin Grammy and considered one of the best ten albums of 2016 by The New York Times.

Among the disquieting, strong lyrics from “A Mulher do Fim do Mundo”, the most famous is “Maria da Vila Matilde”, a must listen song on domestic violence in Brazil. This year, the eighty seven year-old artist plans to release one more album, “Deus é Mulher” (God is a Woman).

Also performing at Circo Voador this Friday, January 19th, will be Karol Conká, hip hop singer and composer from Paraná, Brazil’s Southern State.

Famous for having starred in the opening show of Rio 2016 Olympics, Conká never disappoints on the stage, amazing the audience with her contesting, engaged lyrics. Besides the hits from “Batuk Freak”, Conká’s latest album, the rapper promises to present an authentic version for “Mulher do Fim do Mundo”, an Elza Soares’ song from her namesake album.

On Saturday, January 20th, SambaRap Festival will honor the Afro-Brazilian influence on Brazil’s peripheral music scene with group Jongo da Serrinha, samba school Império Serrano and rapper Emicida.

Considered Rio’s most traditional group for “jongo”, a music genre inherited from the former slaves, “Jongo da Serrinha” will make everyone dance with the rhythm of the Afro-Brazilian drums. Warming up for Carnival 2018, Império Serrano will present a lively samba show to the audience.

The most expected attraction of Saturday night is Emicida, respected rapper from São Paulo, who will present, for the last time in Rio, the show “Sobre Crianças, Quadris, Pesadelos e Lições de Casa” (About Kids, Hips, Nightmares and Homework), inspired in the artist’s experience in Africa.

What’s more, the festival will promote three cultural activities. On Friday, January 19th, there will be a graffiti workshop with artist Gal at 2PM. On Saturday, January 20th, historian and writer Luiz Antonio Simas will debate the Afro-Brazilian culture at 4PM; at 2PM, there will be an Afro-Brazilian percussion workshop with Mestre Vallan da Vila.

What: SambaRap Festival
When: Friday, January 19th – Saturday, January 20th – 10PM
Where: Circo Voador – Rua dos Arcos, s/n – Lapa
Entrance: R$50 – R$100