The first annual New Orleans Brasil Day will held on Saturday, September 17, at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. The festival will consist of daylong cultural and educational activities centered around the traditions of Brazilian music, dance, and food, spanning the museum’s indoor spaces and outdoor grounds. Concerts will be live-streamed on Facebook. This year’s festival theme is memory, and notably the will be celebrating Mestre Curtis Pierre’s cultural legacy with Casa Samba, New Orleans’ first samba school/Brazilian-themed Carnaval krewe on its 35th anniversary.
This event is free and open to the public with lectures, workshops, cultural interventions, traditional food booths, and live music as well as dance performances.
Schedule of events and performances
9 – 10:15 a.m. | Workshop – Rosangela Silvestre Dos Santos
9 – 10:15 a.m. | Lecture – The history of Bossa Nova you don’t know: How to not play like a gringo
10:30 – 11:15 a.m. | Lecture – The Oppression of African American Voices within Afro Brasilian Culture
11:15 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Salgueiro Brothers and Sabrina – samba drumming and dance class (Bring your own samba drum to participate there will also be extra samba instruments available)
12 – 12:45 p.m. – Music Performance – Cissa Paz
12:45 – 1 p.m. | Dance/Musical interval Performance – Pan Vibrations
1 – 1:30 p.m. | Music Performance – The Truth Brass Band with special guests Mestre Curtis, Bomani Pierre and Casa Samba drummers
1:30 – 1:45 p.m. | Dance interval Performance – Giant steps with Silhouette Dance Ensemble and Kai Knight
1:45 – 2:15 p.m. | Music Performance – Herlin Riley Quartet
2:15 – 2:30 p.m. | Dance Interval Performance – Big Chief Kevin Goodman
2:30 – 3:15 p.m. | Music Performance – Marcio Pereira and Friends
3:15 – 3:30 p.m. | Dance Interval Performance – Capoeira New Orleans
3:30 – 4:20 p.m. | Music Performance – Geovone Santos Band
4:20 – 04:45pm | City of New Orleans Presentation
4:45 – 5:00 p.m. – Celebration of Mestre Pierre Curtis and Carol Barber-Pierre
5 – 6 p.m. – Casa Samba and Friends with Ben Hunter and Blake Amos
“This whole thing is all about the work we’ve been doing for 35 years,” said Pierre, founder of Casa Samba. “We’re giving ourselres an appreciation day in celebration of Black Carnival traditions of both New Orleans Brazil.”
Casa Samba was founded in 1987 by Pierre, Bill Lennon, Chuck and Carolyn Barber and emerged during Mardi Gras. Casa Samba’s performances combine traditional music, vocals, theater, dance and drumming to capture the spirit of Carnival in Brazil, Afro- Brazilian traditions and history. The group regularly performs at major hotels, festivals, conventions and special events and in several Carnival parades and krewe coronations and at the New Orleans Jazz And Heritage Festival.
The New Orleans Jazz Museum is located at 400 Esplanade Avenue. For more information about the festival, visit here.
