The Brazilian Beat Courtney Danley & Dianna Ramirez

Diego de Oliveira was Born and raised in Nilópolis. Since he was very young, Diego has lived in the world of samba. He has been a Mestre sala, was part of the Kids bateria  and is currently a bateria director at the Beija-Flor samba school in Nilópolis. In the late 90s and early 2000s, he paraded as a passista. In 2003, it was his first year as Mestre sala, he won a Estandarte de Ouro "revelation of carnival". In 2011, he joined the bateria of Beija-Flor, popularly known as "bateria soberana". The following year he began playing the REPIQUE MOR where he gained great prominence inside and outside of Brazil.
In 2017, Diego wrote his first samba enredo.  Unfortunately, he came second. But in 2018, he won the samba-enredo competition and Beija Flor ended up winning that year. 
In 2019, he won his second title in the samba-enredo competition. This year, Beija-Flor held the samba-enredo contest for the 2023 carnival and, once again, Diego and his partnership were the champions. In the year of (2021), he became a bateria director at Beija-Flor de Nilópolis.
Currently, Diego has a WORKSHOP project called WORKSHOP TOQUE DE BAMBA. He takes this project to different countries outside of Brazil, the countries and states were: Spain, Turkey, Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde, China, Argentina, Gabon, Portugal, France, Germany, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Brasília etc. Its main objective is to show the culture of our country and make people feel closer to brazilian culture.Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/diegooliveirard?igsh=OW0yYmZhbnB0bzAw&utm_source=qr
Youtubehttps://youtube.com/@diegooliveira2311?si=E0ZZnXHR-lJxVSb8
Chicago area listeners! Check out Silvia’s next live show!https://www.oldtownschool.org/concerts/2024/01-10-2024-wmw-silvia-manrique-with-marcel-bonfim/
We now publish our podcast on YouTube.Check it out here:

Robert Lopez























Bio:Robert Lopez is a percussionist and educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His background in various types of music such as folkloric traditions of Brazil, Ghana and Cuba, alongside contemporary chamber music and free improvisation, allow him to maintain a malleable approach to sharing musical ideas. He holds a Bachelors of Music from Cal State University Long Beach and a Master of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Improvisation from Mills College. Since 2011, he has been an active member of the Bay Area music community working with groups SO AR, the Oakland Active Orchestra, Quattour Elephantis, Grex and Jordan Glenn’s BEAK among others. He has been a dance accompanist at Mills College, UC Berkeley, ODC and Sonoma State. Since 2014 he has maintained a close relationship with master drummer Jorge Alabê. This partnership has led to awards from the Fulbright US Student Program for projects “Cultural Transmission through the Music of Candomblé” (2022) and “Investigating the Language of Candomblé Drumming” (2020), a grant from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (2018) and first-place in the Brazilian category with Grupo Samba Rio in San Francisco’s Carnaval (2018 and 2019). He currently teaches drum set and hand percussion at the San Francisco Community Music Center and the San Francisco Waldorf High School.Links:media - @bohbbylolo
San Francisco Community Music Center - https://sfcmc.org/support/donate/
Iuri Passos Master’s Thesis - https://repositorio.ufba.br/handle/ri/31383
2020 Fulbright story - https://www.kqed.org/arts/13878162/how-coronavirus-derailed-a-fulbright-fellows-musicological-research-in-brazilFICA Studio in Oakland - https://www.ficaoakland.com/Silvia Manrique’s video:https://youtu.be/A7VVDJYX0gA?si=nmtq5Nh5uQDWiPDs











































































































Robert Lopez and Jorge Alabe






























































































Creative Encounters






























































































Freddie the Skinny pig!

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Bio:Mestres of Acadêmicos do Salgueiro Bateria Furiosa. Guilherme Oliveira and Gustavo Oliveira are local to Salgueiro having been raised on the same street as the quadra, Rua Silva Teles, the brothers have always had strong roots with the school. The love for percussion arose through contact with the instruments at the escola mirim Aprendizes do Salgueiro.
Since then, both have collected experiences in the musical world. Their curriculum is vast, the mestres have played with great artists, su

Sabrina Ginga of Salgueiro Samba School and Mestre Curtis of Casa Samba























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Mestre Curtis’ letter that he wrote over 3 decades ago and was finally able to deliver to Sabrina Ginga the Ambassador of Salgueiro Samba School!


















Sabrina Ginga Bio:Sabrina Ginga, 34 years old, is a Social Scientist, Movement Director, creator of digital content, impacting the world with her independent art and activism. She is a defender of human rights and her agenda involves gender and racial issues. Sabrina’s career includes participation in Heavy Baile in addition to years as a Funk Carioca and Afrovibe Danceworkout teacher. Recently, he shook global structures in her Ginga Tour Workshop, which was attended by more than 9 countries. Additionally, Sabrina also teaches group dynamics and Team Building activities in corporate environments. Recently awarded the title of Ambassador of Acadêmicos do Salgueiro, a traditional samba school in Rio de Janeiro. The position was created to create an international community, to build partnerships and build bridges to demonstrate the value and culture exchange created by samba schools. Links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabrinaginga/











































































































Sabrina Ginga

















Mestre CurtisCheck out our first episode with Mestre Curtis Pierre Here Bio:Mestre Curtis can be classified as possibly the only American in the United States who has reached his level as a Master in Brasilian cultures meaning that he is the first person in this country to be recognized as a master of Capoeira the first original African martial art to leave Africa and a master of Brazilian percussion and the first to bring Master Brasilian teachers to New Orleans in the early ’90s. This is known by only a handful of people in the United States. Mestre Curtis has dedicated his life to his African roots of culture which he found in Brazil after 37 years ago.Mestre Curtis Pierre is the founder and director of Casa Samba, the first School of Samba in Louisiana and the Southern Region. Pierre is also known as "The Samba Man" of New Orleans. He has studied Brazilian music and dance for over 30 years. 
Casa Samba is located at 800 Race Street, New Orleans, LA 70130. The school offers: 
Capoeira
Brazilian percussion
Dance
Culture
Afro-Brasilian dance and drum classes
Pierre also sponsors a community group called Samba Kids. 
Casa Samba's performances combine traditional music and vocals

Photo by Nelson Malfacini www.instagram.com/nelsonmalfacini/























Gustavo Perez, nicknamed Nômade, is originally from São Paulo, where he originally learned to play samba. He played with many samba schools as a youth. He eventually moved to Rio where he joined the samba scene and built quite a reputation as a killer tamborim player. He is the tamborim director at the current carnaval champion Samba school, Imperatriz Leopoldinense.He also plays at many many other samba schools and music projects as well as teaches private lessons and runs a bloco in Copacabana. Links:
InstagramBloco Cultural Saideira Youtube video with Thalita Santos.Imperatriz Leopoldinense Samba School











































































































Photo by Nelson Malfacini www.instagram.com/nelsonmalfacini/






























































































Nômade and Courtney lining up with Imperatriz Leopoldinense before the parade of champions 2023.

Bio:About Silvia Manrique Silvia Manrique is a Chicago-based Brazilian and Latin Jazz vocalist. She has performed at respected venues and festivals like the Old Town School of Folk Music, the Logan Square Arts Festival, the Chicago World Music Festival, the Chicago Latino Film Festival and the Millennium Park Summer Music festival at the beautiful Pritzker Pavilion. In 2016, she participated in the album ‘Aquarela,’ a compilation of children’s songs arranged and produced by the incomparable Paulinho Garcia who says she “carries a song with mastery, both melodically and rhythmically.” Silvia is also plays percussion focused on the Brazilian tamborim, completing studies with Carnaval-style samba percussion masters like Mestre Ailton Nunes of the Mangueira Samba School, Dudu Fuentes of Monobloco and Bangalafumenga, Jorge Alabe and Mestre Jonas of Mocidade Independente. About Fabiana Cozza Fabiana Cozza has been heralded by critics and the public as a leading performer in contemporary Brazilian music. In September 2020, “Dos Santos” was born, her eighth and latest album, a contemporary work that is a tribute to the cultural universe of Brazilian Afro-native religions. In 2017, she published her first book of poems, Álbum Duplo, by the editor Pedra Papel Tesoura.Fabiana has taken Brazilian music to festivals in Israel, Germany, France, Canada, USA, Bulgaria, Chile, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Cuba, Moçambique, Cape Verde and worked with celebrated artists including Sadao Watanabe, HR Big Band (Germany), Mú Mbana (Guiné Bissau) and Omara Portuondo (Cuba). About Fi Maróstica Fi Maróstica is an upright and electric bass player, born in the city of Ourinhos (SP), who has shared the stage with many renowned artists including Hermeto Pascoal, Toquinho, Miucha, Elza Soares, Hamilton de Holanda, Rosa Passos, Maria Gadu, among others. In addition to concerts in Brazil with several of these names, Fi has already toured several countries, passing through South America, North America, Europe and Asia. He also received several awards at renowned festivals in Brazil, such as best instrumentalist (Festival Botucanto - 2010 and Festival de Música de Sorocaba - 2013), in addition to being a finalist in this category for the Brazilian Professional Music Awards in 2017 and 2018, the year in which who was also won in the Contact: press@silviamusic.com Chicago Jazz Artist Silvia Manrique Releases Debut EP ‘Sonho’ Featuring Collaborations with Renowned Brazilian Artists Chicago-based jazz artist Silvia Manrique releases her Latin/Brazilian jazz solo debut EP titled ‘Sonho’ available now. Recorded at São Paulo's prestigious Estúdio Arsis and musically directed by award-winning Brazilian musical artist Fabiana Cozza, this 4-song EP serves as an introduction to Manrique’s delicate delivery and unique blend of Latin and Brazilian jazz and contemporary sounds. A fixture in the Chicago Brazilian jazz and samba scene for many years, Silvia is a three-time performer for Chicago’s World Music Festival. Described by music critic Peter Margasak as “a natural, delivering sophisticated melodies with ease and sensuality,” Silvia has opened for world music artists like Dona Onete, Céu and Luisa Maita and recorded vocals for national advertisements for brands including State Farm and McDonald’s. In 2016, she recorded the full-length ‘Aquarela’ with the critically acclaimed Paulinho Garcia under the GLP label featuring Brazilian classics designed to introduce children to the Brazilian Portuguese language. A bout with breast cancer in 2020 led her to refocus on her artistic career and this EP c