Have you ever
been to a Brazilian night in the UK? We would love to hear
from you!
Please note: the article
you will read below does not necessarily represent the opinions
of the www.BrazilianArtists.net team
If you are a promoter,
just send us all the details and we will add your Brazilian
event
to our listings. Thanks.
About
Brazil
By
Adrian Rox
Although
we know a little about Brazil here in the UK, it really
is a tiny amount. It’s a country bigger than Europe
and the culture is at least as rich and varied. For me discovering
Brazil was to be given a gift that keeps giving. There are
a lot of Brazilian nights (they often say ‘festa’
meaning ‘party’) and events here in London where
you too can discover the music and culture in the comfort
of your own city! Since you can journey to Brazil without
even leaving London, what are you waiting for?
Most
of the Brazilians in London are learning English so don’t
necessarily expect to be able to have much in the way of
conversation unless you can speak Portuguese. However, the
culture is such that it’s easy and also very much
accepted to just talk to people you don’t know, so
get right in there! You’ll find the people friendly
and, unlike here in England these days, they have a strong
cohesive identity of who are they are as a nation.
Warning:
if you’re anything like me you may find you like it
all too much and end up wanting to live in Brazil –
you have been warned!
Brazilian
Nights/festas
Nightly:
Guanabara (near Covent Garden)
London’s only purely Brazilian bar |
|
Exciting
new bar/restaurant near Covent Garden, this is a very good
place to start your Brazilian experience! There a slightly
different style of music every night, the crowd is mixed with
a lot of Brazilians who have lived and worked here quite a
while. As a result it’s very easy to communicate as
pretty much everyone speaks English. The food menu is traditional
Brazilian styles but somewhat stylised for the Brit palate!
It’s free earlier in the week and fairly nominal entrance
as the week goes on. You can easily enough dance or avoid
dancing if you prefer! There’s live music nightly and
often special performances. All the music is Brazilian but
it’s very accessible.
Monday
Pagode
Tuesday
Samba Rock
Wednesday
Bossa Nova
Thursday
Mixed styles
Friday
Batucada / Samba
Saturday
Batucada / Samba
Sunday
Forró
To
know more click here
Music: 100% Brazilian but a lot of familiar
sounds especially Friday and Saturday
Accessibility: Easy
Saturday:
Corks (Oxford Street/Bond Street)
A
night of varied styles of Brazilian music. Holds about 200
people and generally quite busy, it’s an evening of
mainly Brazilian music, just a little English/American stuff
(generally really big hits like Outkast, that kind of thing).
The audience isn’t just Brazilians but probably 90%.
It’s fairly accessible if you’re not familiar
with Brazilian music and certainly friendly. All music is
DJd and there is a video screen showing some music –
especially axé which if you haven’t seen it
is an incredible constantly changing almost line-dancing
thing, only a lottttt more complicated! Sadly for a Saturday
night it finishes a little early (1:30) as it borders a
residential area by Oxford Street.To
know more click here
Music:
90-95% Brazilian
Accessibility:
Medium
Friday:
Sextaneja (Coliseum, Vauxhall)
This
is (almost certainly) London’s only weekly Brazilian
Country night. Even if you don’t like Country &
Western music this night holds a certain fascination, especially
for those familiar with Brazilian music. The style is mainly
sertaneja/gaúcho music, but some forró too.
They have quite a bit of live music between the DJs as well
– usually acoustic solo/duo to start with and then
later in the evening a whole band plus a video screen showing
clips and, of course, a whole lot of dancing as usual, There
are some areas to go and chill out. Well attended, finishing
time a little vague but usually now around 3am.To
know more click here
Music: 100% Brazilian
Accessibility: Aficionados
Tuesday:
Salsa (Charing Cross Road)
Everyone
goes to this Brazilian night not because it’s a particularly
great venue – it’s very hard to get a drink
when it’s busy and it’s always packed to the
rafters! Holds about 500. This is probably the most accessible
Brazilian night though, not least because they play some
English chart stuff later in the evening, but also ‘cos
the crowd is the most varied of any Brazilian night in London.
Lots of styles, especially axé (kind of Brazilian
formation carnival dancing). For some obscure reason the
night begins at 9 (it’s free before 9 incidentally)
but before it there is a salsa lesson – salsa is of
course not Brazilian. As a result it fills up very quickly
around that time and not much before. Principally Brazilians
but a lot of others too – maybe 20%.
Music 80% Brazilian
Accessibility: Easy
Monday:
Night Moves (Shoreditch)
CANCELLED
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Nice
little bar in Shoreditch High Street and on a Monday you
can hear some excellent bossa nova and such-like. It’s
fun to be able to get so close to the performers, you really
feel you’re getting something special. Best of all
it’s free so give it a shot and try it out! The crowd
there is a mix of people. Good introduction to Brazilian
music.
Music: 100% Brazilian
Accessibility: Easy
