Episode 5 of the Timezones podcast series, co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut. This episode explores how Rio has shaped its music over the centuries and invented its future through the vision of artists, creators, and scholars.

«Samba was persecuted, it was a source of embarrassment for a lot of rich, wealthy, Eurocentric Brazilians, but in many ways, it won out. So a lot of the urban spaces that were designed to keep out Black Brazilians and poor Brazilians became the spaces that are now used for street ‹blocos› (carnival blocks) that are now central to grassroots samba during carnival.» (Bruno Carvalho)

Behind the picture-postcard landscapes and the stereotypical images of carnival, beaches, and beautiful women lies an enigmatic and broken city: Rio de Janeiro. Rio’s musical and creative identity, such as samba and carnival, seems to be ever transforming and flirting with traditional forms, yet at the same time, those forms have a history of struggle, intimately connected to Afro-Brazilian musical and religious expressions. In a challenging historical moment of crisis, a pandemic and political ruthlessness, artists in Rio are integrating those identities with the most immediate needs and perceptions of reality. The goal is to stay alive, sane, and, most of all, creative.

A podcast by Vivian Caccuri

Co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut

Featuring: Thiago Lanis, Domingos Guimaraens and Ynaiê Dawson (Opavivará), Cabelo Cobral Coral, Thaís Delgado, Bruno Carvalho, Sabrina Fidalgo

Director, Idea, Interviews: Vivian Caccuri
Music: Vivian Caccuri, Thiago Lanis
Additional Samples: Opavivará, MC Bruna Alves, MC Don Juan
Editing: Vivian Caccuri
Artistic Editor: Svetlana Maraš
Project Management: Hannes Liechti
Jingle Voiceover: Nana Akosua Hanson
Jingle Mix: Daniel Jakob
Mastering: Adi Flück, Centraldubs
Artwork: Šejma Fere

→ Full transcript of episode 5