Throwback blog: North Zone Rio De Janeiro (Madureira)

Madureira is a neighborhood in the North Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Its population is basically middle class and lower middle-class, including some favelas. It’s the hub to several bus lines that reach several parts of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The suburb is famous for being home of the samba schools Portela and Império Serrano, two of the most traditional samba schools of Rio de Janeiro. The area has a large population of Afro-Brazilians that are proud of their culture and they show it by wearing African inspired hairstyles, clothes, throwing afro-centric themed parties, and community gatherings. For some tourists, it may be overwhelming, but for us we get nothing but love because of the friendships we have made and parties we have attended.

On Sunday evenings, the city gathers in an area called Parque Madureira where they have live samba and Baile charme events. Baile Charme is a style of dance similar to “the electric slide” or “the wobble” in the United States but more complex. Fridays and Saturdays, we normally attend Viaduto Madureira where we know numerous DJ’s, MC’s, owners and event planners. When you first arrive to the Viaduto, view the people and hear the music, you get a feeling of the United States in the 90’s; people coming together to listen to R&B, Hip Hop, Afro-Trap, Baile Funk, and Soul with no drama. It’s an amazing site to see! It’s not unusual for us to be there until 6 or 7 in the morning! Take a ride out to the north zone with us in a two part video as we visit Parque Madureira and the Club simply known as Viaduto!