The cold gray shades of winter are about to be blown away with a blast of color and steamy heat. On the evening of Saturday, Feb. 20, the fourth annual Samba Rio benefit in Chester, CT, will keep winter at bay and transport you to an unforgettable night of Brazilian music and dance, culture, and tantalizing tastes. Come in costume, headdress or mask to celebrate Carnival in Rio de Janeiro style!
Samba Rio will be held at the St. Joseph Parish Center on Rte. 154 in Chester, from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. Doors open at 7:30.
Samba Rio benefits BRAYCE, the Chester-based nonprofit Brazilian and American Youth Cultural Exchange. BRAYCE is dedicated to providing opportunities for young people in Brazil and the United States to develop and apply leadership skills toward the betterment of disadvantaged communities in Rio de Janeiro.
This year’s simmering mix of music and dance will feature Brazilian vocalist and recording artist José Paulo and his band; as well as Trinity Samba Ensemble, with over a dozen percussionists led by Eric Galm of Trinity College; Samba dancer Quenia Ribiero; and Chester’s own Cantico, opening with bossa nova music.
Ticket price includes Brazilian savories and sweets, prepared by South American chefs, and two complimentary beverages. The evening also features a silent auction including art and craft items from Brazil, a professional photo station, prizes awarded for best costumes, masks and dancing, and a cash bar.
Tickets are $45 in advance and $50 at the door with all proceeds going to BRAYCE. Student tickets are $15. Tickets can be purchased at: the Hammered Edge Studio & Gallery and Chester Package Store in Chester; Ivory Pub in Deep River; Aegean Treasures in Essex, K-C’s in Old Saybrook; The Bowerbird in Old Lyme; or online at www.brayce.org.
Get into the Samba Rio spirit beforehand, and learn Samba dance. Dance classes will be held in Chester during February. Donation to benefit BRAYCE is $10 per class. For more information, please e-mail ParkRecBallroom@chesterct.org.
While costumes are optional, if you want a professional costume, Goodspeed Costume Rentals has an extensive and eclectic costume inventory. For rental information, visit www.goodspeed.org/rentals. Discounts are available to Samba Rio ticketholders. Masquerade accessories, especially masks of all types, are available at Hammered Edge in Chester.
Samba Rio also kicks off Chester’s 20th Annual Winter Carnivale, which takes place the following day, Sunday, Feb. 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in downtown Chester. Featured events will include an Ice Carving Competition, the “Chilly Chili Cook Off” and a Tractor Parade down Main Street. There will be food, gallery openings and special store events to enjoy all day long. For more information, log on to www.visit-chester.com or call Leif Nilsson at 860.526.2077.
About BRAYCE
Since 2006, BRAYCE has been bringing underprivileged young people, already in established programs in Rio de Janeiro and Paraty, Brazil, to Camp Hazen in Chester, where they enhance their life and leadership skills before returning to apply them on projects in their own communities. In 2009 two American interns spent six weeks in Rio and Paraty, working in the home communities of the young Brazilian recruits. To date, BRAYCE has organized 13 cultural exchanges and is making a huge difference in the lives of many young children as well as enriching the lives of the American interns. BRAYCE is a nonprofit foundation based in Chester. To learn more, visit www.brayce.org.
About the musicians
Vocalist José Paulo, who grew up in the favelas in Rio de Janeiro, has lived in Hartford since 2002. He is an Albatroz Music/Sony Music International recording artist. His band includes guitar, bass, sax, flute, and additional singers.
Trinity Samba Ensemble, directed by professor Eric Galm, is a Brazilian samba drumming and singing ensemble of students at Trinity College in Hartford. Trinity Samba’s music is derived from the batucada, a drumming group that plays samba music. The Samba Ensemble plays a variety of percussion instruments such as the surdo (similar to a bass drum); tamborim
(small frame drum); agogô (double-bell); chocalho (shaker); and the ensemble is directed by musical cues from the repinique, the “master drum” of the ensemble. Trinity Samba Ensemble also features electric guitar, bass, and keyboards, which add harmonic layers to the sounds of multi-voiced singing and drumming.
Quenia Ribeiro is a dancer, choreographer, and dance instructor from Rio de Janeiro, who currently lives in Manhattan, where she teaches dance at the Alvin Ailey Extension and city schools.
Cantico, meaning “song” in Portuguese, is a trio of three Chester musicians, combining the warmth and intensity of two Spanish-style guitars with light percussion.
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