On June 29th, Brazil’s most prominent carnival band, Monobloco, came to perform at the historic Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park. At this concert, we saw people from all age groups come together to have a great time with friends and family. It was amazing to see the Brazilian community from the DMV area come to celebrate by singing and dancing to every song. The sounds of percussion, singing, and laughing gave us a little glimpse of the lively atmosphere of Carnaval back in Brazil. We want to thank our partners, the Center for Cultural Vibrancy and the Glen Echo Partnership for Arts and Culture, for helping us make this event possible.
One day before the Monobloco concert at Glen Echo Park, a few band members came to College Park to teach a special percussion workshop in our community. Not every day do you get the opportunity to jam and learn from Brazil’s most prominent carnival band, so this workshop was extra special. During our workshop, we practiced classic Brazilian samba and funk rhythms, and we had our brand new Contemporânea percussion instruments on site for participants to borrow. To make things even more exciting, the people who attended the workshop joined the band to perform the very last song of the concert! This workshop was jubilant—everyone was jamming and dancing to the music they were creating, creating a strong sense of community. We hope to see you at one of our upcoming workshops!
Watch the highlight videos from the concert and workshop below:
– by Jose Ceballos