Entertainment in Brazil
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Teatro Miguel Santana
Seeing a folkloric show in the Pelourinho shouldn't be missed. The shows include Afro-Brazilian dance, the dances of the orixás, maculêlê (stick dance) and capoeira, to live percussion and vocals. The most astounding professional show is put on by the world-renowned Balé Folclórico da Bahia at Teatro Miguel Santana.
reviewed
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B
Bodega do Véio
Part small store, part bar, Olinda’s best dive serves ice-cold bottled beer and little charcuterie plates, and tries its best to manage the crowds of locals and tourists congregating on the street and the small terraces. A choro group plays here from 7:30pm most Thursday and Saturday evenings, with the former swelling to an all-out street party by 9pm.
reviewed
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C
Ponto Da Bossa Nova
On a lively street sprinkled with bars, Ponto da Bossa Nova is a cozy wood-lined space with a small outdoor patio that makes a peaceful spot for sampling daily lunch specials (R$13 to R$17), appetizers like carne seca com aipim (jerked beef with fried cassava) and well-made caipirinhas. True to its name, there's live bossa nova on Tuesday and Saturday nights.
reviewed
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D
Saturnino
Another newcomer to the scene, Saturnino was quick to become a neighborhood favorite. In a large room with high ceilings and touches of tropical decor, the stylish 20-something crowd mingles over chope (draft beer) and fruity cocktails (that could use a touch more alcohol). The open-sided patio in front is a particularly fine vantage point for people-watching.
reviewed
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E
Joquei Clube
One of the country's loveliest racetracks, with a great view of the mountains and Corcovado, the Joquei Clube (Jockey Club) seats 35,000 and lies on the Gávea side of the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas opposite Praça Santos Dumont. Local race fans are part of the attraction – it's a different slice of Rio life.
Tourists are welcome in the members' area, which has a bar overlooking the track. Races are held on Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The big event is the Brazilian Grand Prix (the first Sunday in August).
reviewed
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Clube Guanabara
Located on the edge of Guanabara Bay, this laid-back space provides a great setting for live samba and choro (romantic, intimate samba). Musicians gather around a few plastic tables, while young and old dance and mingle over tall bottles of Skol beer. Best of all is the pier at the end of the club, where you can take a break from the music and get an eyeful of the city coastline.
reviewed
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Planeta Jeri
Everything starts – and frequently ends – at Planeta Jeri, near the beach. Things don’t get going until at least 10pm, the caipirinhas (R$5) are divine, and the music runs the gamut from hip-hop to samba. Nocturnal cocktail carts parked on the street here provide an alternative source of inebriation with concoctions such as maracujaroska (passion fruit and vodka).
reviewed
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Lapa Capadócia
Watched over by an enormous statue of São Jorge (St George, an important saint/deity in the Afro-Brazilian pantheon), Lapa Capadócia offers a combination of live music, tasty appetizers and ever-flowing chope (draft beer) to small, chatty crowds. There’s an outdoor space in the back (that may eventually host a small creperie) and an upstairs, though overall the place feels small and intimate.
reviewed
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Cine Líbero Luxardo
Belém had three art film houses at last count: Cine Olimpia and Cine Estação are the most convenient to the center. The former hosts international film festivals while the latter shows Brazilian and international art films on weekends. In the Centur complex, Cine Líbero Luxardo shows similar fare, usually for three- to seven-day runs.
reviewed
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H
Centro Cultural Telemar
One of Rio's intriguing new additions, Centro Cultural Telemar is a six-story ultra-modern exhibition space featuring multimedia installations focusing on architecture, urban design and video art. The top floor auditorium has a regular line-up of film screenings and concerts. The first floor functions as a library where visitors can peruse art books and design mags; a listening station features eclectic music.
reviewed
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Alto de Ponta Negra
The Alto de Ponta Negra , a neighborhood in the upper part of Ponta Negra, around Rua Manoel AB de Araújo and Rua Aristides Porpino Filho, away from the tackier after-dark scene nearer the beach, is dense with a variety of fun bars and restaurants. It's packed with locals and visitors having a good time till dawn, Wednesday to Saturday nights. Just wander along after 23:00 and see which places draw you in.
reviewed
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Bunker
Featuring big parties throughout the week, Bunker is one of Copacabana’s big draws. Its three rooms have different music and you’ll find an eclectic mix of Cariocas (residents of Rio) and tourists against the backdrop of hip-hop, acid jazz, rock, trance and deep house – among other selections. Weekends get crowded – come early and stake out a spot before the masses converge (around 1am).
reviewed
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K
Bardobeco
This spirited bar has more than 40 brands of cachaça - beware! You can ask for meia doses (half shots served at half price) if you want to retain some semblance of sobriety while you sample. There are also creative caipirinhas (the unofficial national cocktail made from limes, sugar, ice and high-proof sugarcane alcohol; try the tangerina do beco), tasty snacks and live music.
reviewed
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Clan Café
Set against the hillside of Corcovado, the unmarked door of Clan Café hides a large open-air patio covered with abundant greenery. Slow-paced waiters shuffle between the many tables as talented musicians fill the air with sound. Tuesday belongs to chorinho, (romantic, intimate samba) while Música Popular Brasileria (MPB) rules on Wednesday, and jazz on Saturday. The music starts around 9pm.
reviewed
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M
Rock in Rio
The young and wealthy head for Aeroclube Plaza Show (Av Otávio Mangabeira, Boca do Rio), an outdoor entertainment complex with a few bars, dance clubs and free live forró nights. Rock in Rio is a 1700-sq-m dance club with eight bars that gets packed on weekends. Also in Aeroclube, Café Cancun has a Mexican theme to its food and décor, and makes for a fun night of dancing and tequila drinking.
reviewed
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Bar do Copa
Inside Copacabana's most recognizable landmark, this poolside bar received a dramatic R$4million makeover in 2009, raising the stakes in the hotelier design game. The ceiling, with its 10,000 points of light, aims to mimic the night sky, while crystal chandeliers, glowing column-sized luminaries and gilded mosaics add a vaguely futuristic element to the spacious lounge. There are live bands and DJs; Palace guests get in free.
reviewed
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O
Boteco
Like most Brazilian cities, the boteco (Brazilian neighborhood bar) culture usually rules the nightlife and, though a chain, the obviously-named Boteco packs in the Recifenses. We’re not sure what whips through faster, the ocean breezes or the waiters loaded down with chope and Brazilian bar munchies such as picanha (choice beef cuts) and savory pesticos (bar snacks). It’s very hard to say no.
reviewed
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Adega Flor De Coimbra
In the same building that was once the home of Brazilian painter Cândido Portinari, the Adega Flor de Coimbra has been a bohemian haunt since it opened in 1938. Back in its early days, leftists, artists and intellectuals drank copiously at the slim old bar looking out on Lapa. Today, it draws a mix of similar types, who drink wine and sangria with Adega's tasty bolinhos de bacalhau (codfish croquettes) or feijoada.
reviewed
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Clube Finlandês
There is now only a sprinkling of Finns among the assortment of Brazilian people, but they all get together for traditional Finnish letkiss and jenkiss dances here every Saturday night. Finnish dancing lessons are open to the public starting at 21:00. At 22:30 a local troupe presents a 40-minute traditional dance performance in Old World get up, then the dance floor is reopened to everyone for the rest of the night.
reviewed
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Q
Banca Do Blues
A rather nondescript banca (newspaper stand) by day transforms into a serious jam fest for blues bands certain nights of the week. It’s a great street scene, with folding chairs, vendors selling beer and the clash of electronically amplified chords firing up the blues-loving crowd. The schedule changes, so call before making the trip. At the time of writing, bands were playing on Friday night, starting at about 7pm or 8pm.
reviewed
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Engarrafamento
The name means ‘traffic jam, ’ and that’s just what you’ll get at the door of this fun middle-class venue for live pagode (popular samba music), Música Popular Brasileira (MPB), forró and pop/rock. It looks little more than a restaurant from the outside, but inside it’s near disco-like, teeming with cool kids knocking back buckets of cheap Skol and picking at tasty bar food. Worth the R$15 taxi fare, especially on Sundays.
reviewed
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R
Rastapé
The Alto de Ponta Negra neighborhood in the upper part of Ponta Negra, around Rua Manoel AB de Araújo and Rua Aristides Porpino Filho, is dense with a variety of bars, though most are almost cringingly steeped in sex tourism, a major problem in Natal. Rastapé here, famous for live forró, is one of the less slimy spots. This area, especially around Centro Comercial O Jardim, is packed from Wednesday to Saturday nights.
reviewed
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Sancho Music Club
The Alto de Ponta Negra neighborhood in the upper part of Ponta Negra, around Rua Manoel AB de Araújo and Rua Aristides Porpino Filho, is dense with a variety of bars, though most are almost cringingly steeped in sex tourism, a major problem in Natal. Sancho Music Club, with tapas and chope is one of the less slimy spots. This area, especially around Centro Comercial O Jardim, is packed from Wednesday to Saturday nights.
reviewed
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Sacadura
A new addition to Rio’s nightlife, Sacadura is located a few doors down from Trapiche Gamboa in an otherwise fairly deserted stretch of Gamboa. It offers a mix of Música Popular Brasileria (MPB), samba-rock and jazz in a big open venue with exposed masonry and dim lighting. Despite the loud rock pounding from onstage, the crowd was fairly staid when last we stopped by. It’s located north of Centro – take a taxi.
reviewed
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Clube Finlândia
There is now only a sprinkling of Finns among the assortment of Brazilian people, but they all get together for traditional Finnish letkiss and jenkkas dances at Clube Finlândia every Saturday night. Finnish dancing lessons are open to the public starting at 9pm. At 10:30pm a local troupe presents a 40-minute traditional dance performance in Old World getup, then the dance floor is reopened to everyone for the rest of the night.
reviewed