Roda de Choro - Excerpt from the documentary Nas rodas de Choro
It can be at Pedra do Sal or on Rua do Ouvidor. In the Quadrilátero da Cerveja, in Vila Isabel, or at Praça Ramos Figueira, in Olaria. It can be at Praça Tiradentes or at São Salvador. At Bip-Bip, in Copacabana - a tiny bar that breathes music and where Alfredinho's reproachful “shhiiis” (the bar's owner, who passed away on Carnival Saturday in 2019) are deeply missed - or at the buzzing Fuska Bar, in Humaitá. It can be at a street market, at the end of the afternoon; or by the seaside, on the sand, at the kiosk, on the boardwalk. It can be on any corner: one of the delights of Rio's samba and chorinho circles is precisely their element of surprise or chance, the rhythm suddenly bursting forth amid the scenery, or the pleasure of going somewhere knowing there will be music, without, however, knowing who will play, what the repertoire will be, or the tone of the occasion.
Photo: Alexandre Macieira - Samba circle at Pedra do Sal - 2013 - Agência Tyba
Image description: This is a photograph of a samba roda at Pedra do Sal, also known as Largo João da Baiana. The image shows a crowd gathered in an open space at night, with people sitting and standing spread throughout the area. On the left, there is a wall with colorful graffiti and a metal door. In the center, there is a large palm tree, and on the right, several blue stalls and tents are set up. The people are wearing a variety of clothing, with shades of red, black, and white predominating.Samba is a Carioca invention with roots in the African continent. Chorinho, another Rio native, also drew on musical genres from elsewhere. But the paths that shape one and the other, the nooks and corners through which they pulse, are a tangle made of chance and camaraderie, encounters and the grace of improvisation. A chorus of voices and claps around agogôs, pandeiros, tamborins, wind or string instruments. Rehearsals of street blocos. Groups circling around tourist spots, singing well-worn songs to win over tourists' favor. Renowned sambistas dropping in to jam in improvised rodas here and there, when least expected. In samba and choro, the unexpected is the surest note of all.
