CircoVoador:thepolyphonyofthevessel

Banda Facção Caipira performing at Circo Voador

The first sounds to echo under the white and blue tent of the Circo Voador were guitar riffs. The “ship,” as the Circo is still called, was born on Arpoador beach in 1982. But it only remained by the sea for about two months: it was soon forced by the city government to leave the sands. The solution was to move to Lapa, at the time a run-down neighborhood, becoming a primary stage for the growth of Brazilian rock in those 1980s years. But not only that. The Circo also represented an entire culture that was taking shape amid the political opening of the time. Its existence runs alongside the history of Brazilian music, while at the same time establishing itself as an alternative cultural space, a place of resistance for artists neglected by the radio stations. Furthermore, it was a key piece in the revitalization of Lapa.

Image description: This is a nighttime photograph of a circus. On the left, there is an area with parked cars and people walking. In the center, there is a large structure lit up with white lights, which appears to be the circus stage. On the right, more people are gathered near the structure. The sky is dark, and there are some streetlights along the left side of the image.

The guitar, bass, and drums of the young rockers who were emerging on the Brazilian scene in the 1980s shared space under the tent with all kinds of rhythms. And it has been that way ever since. Funk, rap, MPB, punk, samba, pagode. You can hear a bit of everything in this cultural space, which has already hosted some of the most legendary shows in the Rio scene — including international acts.

Caetano Veloso at Circo Voador with his children, in 2018.

But the venue isn't just about music. Perfeito Fortuna and the theater group Asdrúbal Trouxe o Trombone envisioned Circo Voador, back in the early 1980s, as a place that would also host circus shows, performances, poetry, festivities, and free-spirited fun. Almost 40 years later, the tent continues to be a stage for festivals and cultural events that aren't strictly musical, while also anchoring social and cultural projects, which even include a daycare-school.

It's no accident that the Circo has already earned at least one book — Circo voador: a nave, by Maria Juçá — and two documentaries — the one by Tainá Menezes, which shares the book's title, and A farra do Circo, by Roberto Berliner and Pedro Bronz. Attempts to narrate at least part of an extremely eventful life, full of ups and downs and boisterous novelties.