{"id":32102,"date":"2011-08-12T05:14:13","date_gmt":"2011-08-12T11:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wend.ca\/?p=32102"},"modified":"2020-06-20T17:52:07","modified_gmt":"2020-06-20T21:52:07","slug":"samba-drumming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wend.ca\/?p=32102","title":{"rendered":"Samba Drumming"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a rather hot day, I headed to the Centro Cultural Drag\u00e3o do Mar<\/em> for a coffee — hoping to catch the Santa Clara Cafe when it opened. <\/p>\n

As I approached the entrance to the cultural centre I could hear strong drum beats coming from two different directions — almost competing with each other for air time. <\/p>\n

When I walked over Buoni Amici’s, a restaurant we passed on the previous evening, I could tell that one drumming group was inside here and I had to see them play.<\/p>\n

Upon entering the building I could see a small group of people with drums and shekere gourds playing a samba beat. They finished their practice as I entered and everyone was congratulating the new people for sticking through the practice. More experienced players were pulling junior players aside to show them proper shekere technique.<\/p>\n

I had barely gotten a taste of drumming and wanted more so I headed towards the next building where the noise was much louder. This was the Orbit, a place where Unidos da Cachorra<\/a> play every Saturday at 2pm.<\/p>\n

I can’t even begin to describe how amazing the experience was… you have to hear and see for yourself<\/a>. Somehow the samba became a part of this odd roofless and floorless building. <\/p>\n

I couldn’t pull myself away until the practice was over. By this time the building was humming with activity and I’d long forgotten about grabbing a coffee from the Santa Clara Cafe. <\/p>\n