G.R.E.S. Estácio de Sá holds a sacred place in the heart of Rio de Janeiro’s carnival history. Known widely as the birthplace of samba schools, Estácio’s bateria, nicknamed Medalha de Ouro, is renowned for its energy, technique, articulation, and unmistakable swing. In this video master class recorded live inside the Estácio quadra during our Rio Samba Adventure Tour, Mestre Chuvisco and bateria directors Magrão and Bolota break down the signature patterns of the caixa em cima, repique, and surdo de terceira.Transcripts for this video available here. The 3-Bar Caixa em Cima & Repique Levada The video opens with Bateria Director Magrão displaying Estácio’s caixa em cima technique. Positioned chest-high, the instrument delivers a driving, 3-bar pattern that forms an energetic...
This document is intended for Go Samba Tour participants. Interested in coming to Rio with us? Click here As we travel together across Rio visiting historic neighborhoods, learning from the Bateria Mestres, directors and experiencing the culture firsthand, this guide will give you the essential context for what each school is bringing to their carnaval parade in 2027. You can use this document as your companion guide throughout our tour to better understand the roots, the neighborhood pride, and the sacred stories behind the music we are here to learn from and celebrate. Welcome to the heart of Rio's samba schools, let’s dive in! Every year each samba school chooses a theme which becomes their central story, concept or history...
In the world of Rio de Janeiro’sCarnaval, you can tell which samba school bateria is playing just by sound alone. Several factors go into this but a crucial element of that signature sound is how the bateria tunes its drums. I met with my teacher Junior Sampaio, bateria director at Portela, inside the iconic blue and white quadra to explore the historical evolution of bateria tuning and get a live demonstration of how surdos are tuned today. The Evolution of Samba Tuning: From Flames to Pitch Precision Historically, bateria instruments were tuned over open flames to tighten goat skin heads before rehearsals and parades. As Junior Sampaio explains, tuning was far less standardized in earlier decades, with each ritmista maintaining their...
🎒 Samba, Strategy, and Security: Why I Do What I Do People have called me fearless. I'm not. My approach is measured, often disorganized, but always driven. Pretty sure I'm blind to some of the social conventions that can restrict others, but the term "fearless" doesn't fit. When I am in the middle of a bateria recording, I am intensely aware of my presence. I am a foreign, white, female (FWF), and I know I'm often in the way. The ritmistas are there to play, enjoy camaraderie, and rehearse to win Carnaval—a matter of great pride. I am the extra person there, attempting to capture the brilliance for you guys to see.When I first came to Rio and was playing...
It's always a shock to come back to Rio, but this year's shock was bigger than in the past. I arrived to a city in shock from overwhelming government sanctioned violence (operation) concentrated in Zona Leopoldina leaving everyone on edge and in mourning. I have a lot of thoughts and a lot to learn about what exactly happened and I'll write more about this later as I feel it is important for folks outside of Brazil to understand the daily lives of sambistas in this city. But I want to try to get a better handle on it before I go spouting off about things that I don't fully understand. Most ensaios were canceled due to the operation so there weren't...
