How to Survive a Baile Funk

Travel to Brazil and other warmer climates tends to pick up around this time every year, as it gradually gets colder in the American Northeast, so this might be a good time to talk about one of the more unique, off-the-beaten-path  Brazilian music destinations for tourists.  Friends have asked me about the funk party I attended during my week in Rio last December, asking questions like "Is it safe?" and "What should I bring?"

The favela funk scene in Rio, like the favelas themselves, are undergoing rapid transformation and commercialization right now -- so much so that much has probably changed even in the year since I was there.  Pacification and new prosperity exist side-by-side with persistent violence and grinding poverty. As many of the slums move onto the grid, the "favela tour" cottage industry has boomed, and interest in how people in the favelas live has increased.  News reports of successful pacification programs might lead some to believe that the favelas are safe, but the reality is a lot more complicated.  At the end of last year I was still a little uncertain about going into a favela at night, and neither I nor any of my American friends knew just what to expect.

It turns out that going to a favela party is actually one of the safer things you can do in Rio -- if you do it right.  But there are rules, mostly unwritten.  Surprisingly, none of the leaders in my tour group went over these rules, possibly because they involve a lot of common sense and it was assumed they'd be followed.  But we all know common sense is not always that common, and there were people in my group who did some monumentally stupid things.  So, in the public interest, I'm offering up these few short, simple guidelines:

Rule #1.  Don't go alone.  An excursion to the slums of Rio is one activity that's best left to the professionals, at least for now.  At a minimum, go with a Brazilian friend fluent in Portuguese who is known in that favela; at best, go with a tour group.  It's almost impossible to exaggerate how important this is.  Americans who think they can venture up there alone are way out of their league, particularly at night.  I don't care what rough neighborhoods you've come from back home, or what you've read about pacification.  Unknown people found wandering around a slum in Rio de Janeiro at night can still have weapons drawn on them and made to explain what they're doing there.  Are you ready to tell armed men, in Portuguese, that you're looking for the funk party?

Rule #2.  Leave with the people you came with.  It may be tempting to go even further off the beaten path with Brazilians you meet at the party, but it's a foolish, selfish thing to do.  It's fine to go off on your own within the club, but at the end of the night, meet the rest of your group at an agreed-upon place.

Rule #3.  Don't hit on women.  If you're a guy, save your pickup lines for the clubs back home.  Flirting with the wrong girl at a favela party could get you killed, or at least get you into a nasty fight.  Don't assume that club security will be able to help you if some guy starts swinging -- many of the venues get overcrowded and, in a place where people are packed so tightly they can hardly move, by the time security reaches you to break it up, the fight could be over.

Rule #4.  Bring earplugs, and use them.  There are no noise ordinances in these neighborhoods and no regulations governing the decibel levels inside; the music volume is limited only by the capabilities of the sound system.  What this means, if you're an American who has spent your whole life living on the grid, is that this is probably going to be the loudest music you've ever heard in your entire life.  Plan accordingly.  Even with earplugs, the volume level last year was otherworldly, almost intolerable for me.

Rule #5.  If you're with a tour, bring your camera.  If you've a small digital camera, you can usually use it without worrying about it being stolen, but again, utilize common sense.  Ask your tour guides what makes sense for the venue and neighborhood you're visiting.  Never make a camera obviously visible outside your group's section or outside the door of the venue.  Put it away when entering or leaving.

In general, it helps just to be aware that you are far, far away from any official police presence or infrastructure.  Smoking, overcrowding, and insanely loud noise are the norm, and fistfights are not uncommon either.  Having said that, most people are there to have fun.  Keep alert, show respect to all, and be where you need to be at the end of the night, and you'll have a great time.

Here'a video posted by Be A Local, the outfit that organized the tour I went on last year:

And here's the web site for the same favela tour guide:

Be A Local

National Samba Day in Brazil

Yesterday (December 2) marked the anniversary of Ary Barroso's historic visit to Salvador, Bahia.  The great Brazilian composer from Minas Gerais had written songs about the Northeast Brazilian state but had never visited before.  The city of Salvador commemorated his visit -- which occurred long after he'd created some of his most famous compositions -- with a local holiday in honor of samba that eventually spread to the rest of the country.  In Salvador it's an excuse for a huge street party in the Upper City -- notably Pelorinho -- and in Rio, there's the "trêm do samba", where for a couple of days hundreds of percussionists, pagode musicians, and enthusiasts ride the trains in a journey that takes about three hours, playing and singing along the way.  The train makes stops in places important to samba history, and there are performances by many of Rio's greatest samba legends, and by representatives of many samba schools' "old guard" players, both onboard and off.  This year, according to O Globo news, four trains were set aside for music and festivities, and thirty-two train cars.

Thirty-two train cars can hold an awful lot of people.  Check out this video -- shot last week -- of the "Bloco dos Cachaças".  My fellow New Yorkers will likely be tickled by the combination of a familiar sight -- a suburban commuter train -- and a flood of partying the likes of which would never be seen here, even on Halloween.  Monolingual English speakers:  Don't be put off by the Portuguese; the reporter's introduction is brief, and the rest of the video stands on its own.