Bohemian Rio

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Can a working trip abroad turn itself into an unforgetable musical experience? See Rio de Janeiro after the sun goes down, through the eyes of a hard-working brit

I was in Rio on a working holiday part reward for my dutiful service at Far Out Recordings, the Brasilian record label I manage. Having nagged my boss for 5 years he finally acquiesced and bought me a ticket to join him for a fortnight.

The artist Sabrina Malheiros was recording her new album whilst I was there. The studio was in Santa Teresa, a quaint hillside neighbourhood overlooking the Centro business district of the city.

Populated by artists and musicians it is well worth a visit for the views of Rio, beautiful old buildings and fantastic restaurants along the main drag. Sabrina’s mother Olivia used to drive her to the studio, whilst her father Alex was always around to offer advice and support. Many of the guest musicians were friends of Alex’s who had watched Sabrina grow up, so during playbacks at the end of the day when everyone gathered around to listen to the music, it was like a family get together. It was a delight to just be there and see the love between everyone as the musicians hugged, and thanked each other for the good work done.

Olivia and I had many laughs together over a Portuguese dictionary I had brought with me; I had foolishly assumed that Brasilian Portuguese would be similar to Portuguese. Although there are similarities in the basics of the language, you’d be advised to buy a Brasilian phrasebook and not a Portuguese one. I’d say a word in Portuguese to Olivia, using basic hand signals to give a supplementary meaning, and then Olivia would look really confused, take the dictionary from me and cross out the Portuguese replacing it with the Brasilian meaning.

By the end of my two weeks holiday my Portuguese dictionary had become a Brasilian dictionary, and myself and Olivia the best of friends.

The following day was Saturday, and if the day was all about the beach then the night had to be about samba. After a few chopes (draft beers) in a couple of botequins (working class bars that open out onto the pavement), I found myself at the Centro Cultural Carioca. My first experience of live samba in Rio was not a disappointment. The band playing were tight and effortlessly wound their way through a selection of swinging samba classics, including a version of ‘Happy Birthday’ at midnight. I was cajoled onto the dance-floor by an insistant Carioca by the name of 'Be' - you don’t go to a samba club to do anything other than dance – so make sure you have your dancing shoes, and maybe a couple of caipirinhas to loosen you up beforehand.

Sunday, and as you can probably guess, it was time to hit the beach again. The road along the Ipanema beach-front is closed on Sundays and the area teems with people walking, chatting, hanging out and checking each other out. Between 4 and 6pm Binário, “the band from the beach”, play on the closed expressway.

Bohemian Rio

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