54 hours of pure Carioca Culture this weekend with the Viradão Carioca Festival

Living in Santa Teresa we are lucky enough to have some of Brazil’s finest music shows nightly on our doorstep in the many samba clubs of Lapa, Rio’s beautiful old samba district at the bottom of the hill between Santa Teresa and Centro. However we (together with the rest of Rio), are going to be absolutely spoilt this weekend with the Viradão Carioca Festival taking place in Rio, bringing us 54 hours of music, dance, theatre and film, all completely for free (or 0800 as the Cariocas say).

This is the second year of the festival whose objective is to unite the city, celebrating the many facets of Carioca Culture and bringing it to the streets, making it accessible for everyone to enjoy. From reading about the event on the official Viradão site, it seems the festival will certainly succeed in its' mission this weekend.

There will be 5 main stages located at strategic points around the city (e.g. Praça XV, Cinelandia, Tijuca , Leme and Rio das Pedras) and hundreds more events in cultural centres, squares, streets and other buildings in the city. Top Brazilian artists such as Marcelo D2, Mart’Nalia, DJ Marlboro and Dudu Nobre will be headlining the line-up and aside from the main music acts, there is also a full program of dance, theatre, film, exhibitions and even a specific childrens program to take in. Santa Teresa will host Cinema events nightly in the atmospheric Parque das Ruinas (open air) and the artsy Cine Santa, as well as music and dance events at the Centro Cultural Laurinda Santos Lobos over the weekend.

So, whether you are a newbie to the Brazilian music and culture scene or a die-hard aficionado, this is really a rare chance to get a crash course in Carioca Culture and see some of Brazil's top artists all in one place (relatively speaking given that a certain amount of stage hopping around town will be required), over the space of a weekend. In other words...this is an event NOT to be missed!

When: 23-25 April 2010

Cost: A few metro tickets to get you around town

Program: www.viradaocarioca.net.br