Carnaval Austin

A Peek at What to Expect at Carnaval Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Carnaval) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:36:00 +0000

Here's a little clip of Austin's "escola de samba", Carnaval group, if you will, Acadêmicos da Ópera, in performance 13 Feb, 2010 at Ruta Maya in Austin. This is a smaller version of the group that will perform at Carnaval this coming Saturday when they will also be wearing what they promise to be spectacular costumes based on an outer space theme. Should be out of this world!

Time to start warming up for the year's best party!

noreply@blogger.com (Carnaval) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:21:00 +0000

Now less than 3 weeks till the best party in town explodes once more: Februrary 20!

Our first official Carnaval event takes place this Thursday Feb 4 at the recently remodeled Star Bar at 600 W. Sixth at Nueces from 6-8pm. Bacardi will be offering free Bacardi cocktails from 6-7pm, and members of Academicos da Opera will be on hand to heat things up with some great samba drumming. Bryan Beck from KGSR will be on hand to host and he'll be drawing names for free Carnaval tix, posters and some great big surprise stuff.

And then next week on Friday, February 12 we'll have another explosive pre-Carnaval party at Speakeasy, 412 Congress, from 7-9pm. Free Bacardi cocktails from 7-8pm with reduced price drinks all night, body painting, live samba with the drummers and dancers from Austin's samba school, Academicos da Opera beginning at 8pm. 101X will be on hand with lots of giveaways including tickets, posters and a grand prize package including tix, a gift certificate at a costume shop and a hotel room at Homestead Suites for Carnaval night! Drop by, wiggle your thang, and have a drink on Bacardi.

Some Brazilian Music To Set The Mood

noreply@blogger.com (Carnaval) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:37:00 +0000

Carnaval is coming, it's only a month away. So, to get the mood going, I'm posting a link to six or seven streaming programs of Brazilian music originally broadcast on your Sambamaster's Internet radio program, Brazilian Wax which aired from Feb-June 2009. Sadly, the station dissolved, so the program did too. But we've saved a few for you to enjoy at your leisure. There is a very special two-hour tribute featuring a live recording of Paulinho da Viola in 1980 made by Mr. SambaMaster in São Paulo...this is an EXCLUSIVE recording. Enjoy....Aprovete!

http://www.sambaparty.com/brazilianwax.html

The Story Behind the 2010 Carnaval Poster

noreply@blogger.com (Carnaval) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:14:00 +0000

I can’t go to Rio without at least one visit to the fabled Feira Hippie, Hippie Market, that takes place every Sunday in Ipanema’s Praça Osário. This arts and crafts fair, which started “back in the day”, now features mostly crappy jewelry made in China and ugly t-shirts imprinted in cheap plastic ink with recipes for caipirinhas, or the image of Corcovado, or the otherwise lovely stone-inlay pattern of the area’s beachfront sidewalks. No thanks.

But there are dozens of painters, some artists, some hacks, gathered at the center of the feira displaying their works--most reasonably priced, and most absolutely dreadful. Ok, not dreadful, but not to my taste. Lots of happy, dancing sambistas, baianas, Corocovados and favela paintings. Yeah, I want a painting of a cheerful slum in full-bore party mode. But there are two artists from whom I've bought in the past.

One dude, a total whack who I’ll save for another time, paints lots of flying saucers into his images of Ipanema and Leblon, and I LOVE them!

The other is a fellow named Sebastião Vitorino Nunes, known as Vitorino. I met Vitorino back in 1999 when I bought a very large piece of his, maybe four feet by three feet. It is his version of the samba school Mangueira whose colors are green and pink. His style, or maybe it’s a technique, consists of repeating a handful of silhouetted figures in row after row, graduating from small to smaller from bottom to top. Sometimes he varies the colors in the figures, though even then, adhering to a limited palette, and sometimes the variations only exist in the slightly different positions of arms, hands, hair.

In the Mangueira painting, the figures, about a third of whom are playing drums, are in straight lines, and rendered almost like gingerbread men, as is his style, in silhouette. They are against a shocking green background, wearing dark green shirts and pink trousers. There are at least 150 figures in the painting. Nice.

I resolved then to somehow get Vitorino to create a poster for the Carnaval party I’ve produced in Austin since 1978. I’ve only used two Brazilian artists in the past, the legendary Rede in 1985, and the master of xilogravura (wood block printing) from Pernambuco, Jota Borges, in 1994, and wanted to have another Brazilian-created work in the gallery of our posters. I discussed this with his wife at one point in 2000 or 2001, but, owing to the distance involved, and the fact that I had no way to look at proofs other than snail mail, I was dissuaded from pursuing this course.

Fast forward to 2009. On my recent visit to the Cidade Maravilhosa, I went to the feira twice. My first dip into that mayhem found Vitorino to be absent. Was he sick? Dead? Asleep? (His wife had told me on another trip that he tends to paint all night and sleep all day.) But interestingly, I saw more than a handful of what I’d call Vitorino imitators. Seems his style has caught on, and several painters were displaying inferior renditions of the Vitorino cookie-cutter technique. Yeah, mostly trash.

But on my second trip to the feira, I was delighted to find him, actually his wife, showing new works exhibiting his familiar style, but imbued with more colors than his paintings I’d seen previously. I immediately saw one I thought would work as a Carnaval poster. This time the figures represented female dancers, male drummers, male dancers; the work exploded with color, energy and Carnaval. I had to have it. We started negotiating and finally hit a price we both liked. She wrapped it up. It was canvas secured to wooden stretchers, so I carefully packaged it to carry on the plane beside me. No way I was going to check that precious parcel.

So, I finally have a Vitorino poster. It’s printed, and looks great. To preserve the integrity and vibrancy of the original colors, we chose to print it with two additional colors instead of the traditional simple cyan, magenta, yellow and black of four color offset. It has been worth the wait and the expense. The poster is amazing, and I’m happy to have another Brazilian represented in our collection, and certainly a true work of art. Thanks, Vitorino!

Whoa...nearly a year has gone by!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Carnaval) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:27:00 +0000

Can't believe there have been no entries since last February or so. Time flies....

It's been a busy year. Your SambaMaster went to Rio to check things out, heard lots of great music, lots of samba, ate way too much great food, and managed to find a wonderful piece of art for the 2010 Carnaval poster. It is by a terrific artist named Vitorino whose work I've admired since 1999. About that time I talked to him about doing a poster, but things just never worked out. Until this year when I saw one of his paintings, and instantly knew it would make a great poster. (here is the URL for my blog entry on finding the painting: http://sambamaster.blogspot.com/2009/10/home-again-home-again-not-quite.html )

Anyway, hope you like it. It is VERY different, for sure, but I just felt we needed a change, so we get a totally different, but very Brazilian style, and our first horizontal poster. It's for sale in the gallery, at Ana Brasil on Rockwood Lane, and will soon be at Waterloo Records and other places.

Am happy to report Grupo Saveiro or Beleza Brazil as they now like to be called, will be back, once again featuring the fantastically charismatic singer Marianne Ebert who was with the group this year. Should be a great performance now that she knows Austin is a serious party town. I think she was taken by surprise in 2009. Make her welcome again!

We'll have an even better light setup...this year was the best ever. We'll outdo that in '10!

And the Austin Samba School, Acadêmicos da Ópera will be back bigger and better as well...

Here is a report from the SchoolMaster, Mr. Jacare:

"We did our first, pan-Samba School run through last night and the show is really professional quality. We'll keep running twice through/rehearsal till C. Brasileiro. Your guests have never seen anything like this. Very exciting.

In addition, I have a guy from Stomp helping me with some new arrangements and in fleshing out the existing Bahian stuff. This guy was the go-to soloist on djembe in Stomp. "Monster" is not really sufficient to describe him. In addition, I have several ritimistas who have risen to leadership level. They circulate in the bateria, bringing the groove to a new level. The rehearsals are finally starting to be exactly like rehearsals in Brazil. I'm taking them to Rio in January so it's only going to get better.

All that to say that you are going to absolutely love the show this year. Space Opera. Get your jet pack out."

So, stay tuned for more developments. We'll announce a couple of pre-Carnaval events to help fill in the space between New Year's and our party. If you are not on the mailing list, sign up here: http://www.sambaparty.com/maillist/?p=subscribe

And join our Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/carnavalbrasileiro.austin

Will be back soon!

Academicos Drummers on KGSR

noreply@blogger.com (Carnaval) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:18:00 +0000

KGSR's morning host, Bryan Beck, was gracious enough to invite members of the Austin Samba School, Academicos da Opera, into the radio studio this morning to offer a little taste of what the group will be doing this Saturday at Carnaval. Bryan is a long-time Carnaval fan and has probably not missed a year since, what, 1987? Anyway, he always allows us to come into the station to promote the event and this year, the drummers appeared on his Sounds of Our Town segment.

Needless to say, they were wonderful. Director Robert Jacare Patterson was there, along with drummers Mike "The Don" Marchionetti, Spamapotomus (Tommy Spaminato), Lee "Chicken Legs" Clippard and Scott "BOOM BOOM" McClanahan. The sound was driving and full. So imagine what 40 of these guys playing samba sound like in person! Saturday is going to be amazing....and then there are the 40 dancers! Wow!

Thanks, guys, for coming out so early, at the tail end of that Winter Sto

rm!!!! And thanks Bryan Beck and KGSR for your more than 20 years of support!

Here are a few more pix:

Poster Signing Event at Sampaio's (plus Vicci and SAMPC photos)

noreply@blogger.com (Carnaval) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:53:00 +0000

Wow, we had a great time yesterday evening at Sampaio's. Poster artist AJ Garces came up from San Antonio to sign copies of his wonderful 2009 poster, 101X radio was there doing their "remote" thing giving away CDs, tshirts, Carnaval tix and posters and at least 100 folks showed up to enjoy the moment. Smiles were in evidence all evening, so it must have been a success. This is the seventh or eighth time we've done this and each year, it seems to just get better. Carnaval Queen Penny was there...without her, this thing would probably crumble into the sea...making sure all the eyes were dotted and tees crossed. Her right hand person Heather was there also, and we all had a great time recounting stories of Carnaval. Sampaio's folks were wonderful as always, the bartenders were swamped, but managed to pull it off with great finesse. Thanks to Magna and crew.

And thanks to all who showed up. Hope you had as much fun as we did!

We also want to thank Academicos da Opera for their participation in two other events, the Carnaval warmup at Vicci nightclub and at the opening of the now annual Carnaval Poster Show at the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture a week ago. Carnaval Queen Penny took the photos of them that appear below.

Here are some more photos of the poster signing event, and the two of the Academicos da Opera:

CORRECTION: Parking issue at Carnaval

noreply@blogger.com (Carnaval) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:23:00 +0000

We made a mistake...parking at the One Texas Center garage is no longer free, it will probably be $7, just as in the City garage next to Palmer. So, unfortunately the era of free parking nearby is over....

Parking might be an issue at Carnaval this year since, for the first time, the Long Center will hold a performance—opening night of the opera—the same night we’re getting down at Palmer. The good thing is, they will be finished around 10, so if you get there around that time, there should not be a problem.

But here’s a tip, and the mink-set at the Opera (hey, watch it...I like opera and used to be a season ticket holder!) will not know about this: There are 600 parking spaces available at One Texas Center in the garage on the SE corner of S. First and Barton Springs. Obviously this will be first come first served and will involve a walk of about a block and a half. If you have a car full of folks, you can drop them off at the front door of the center as outlined below, park the car and then only one or two will have to walk; great if it's raining or snowing.

There is a nice drop off at the front door, via the driveway on the southwest side of the building off of Barton Springs Road. But after passenger drop-off, you need to swing back around and to enter the “official” City/Palmer Events Center parking garage. The only entrance to the Events Center itself is this one facing Barton Springs, though you can also enter the garage on the Riverside side. Parking in this garage is $7. So, get there a bit early and park across the street as outlined above.

Some tidbits

noreply@blogger.com (Carnaval) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Carnaval is now just two and a half weeks away. Wow, it's hard to believe we are almost there.

I forgot to post these earlier, but here are some things you might want to know about that are happening before the event.

Saturday, Jan. 17:
Carnaval Poster Retrospective, South Austin Museum of Popular Culture, 1516B S. Lamar, 7:09 p.m. This now annual event will feature 32 years of Carnaval posters, as well as other Carnaval goodies...includes some rejected poster ideas, rough sketches and more. Drummers from Academicos da Opera will perform a tad after 7. More giveaways, and refreshments will be available....KGSR will be on hand with tons of radio station swag, CD giveaways and more.

Thursday, Jan. 22:
Poster Signing, Sampaios Restaurant, 4800 Burnet Rd., 5 p.m. till 7 p.m. Artist AJ Garces will be on hand to sign his wonderful 2009 poster which will be available at this event. Other giveaways, and more radio station swag, this time from 101X, as well as food and drink specials.

Also, don't forget about the special rates at the Homestead Suites across the street from Palmer, and the Townlake Holiday Inn. Go to the Info/Hotel page linked above under the INFO button to get all the info.

Things are heating up. Get your tickets now before it gets too crazy....

2009 will be the best yet!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Carnaval) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 01:42:00 +0000

Every year after Carnaval, I have people telling me, "This was the best year ever." I'm sure I heard this many times in 2008, in 2007, and so on. Maybe the show DOES get better each year.

But, I can predict with some safety that, 2009, will, in fact, be the best Carnaval ever. Lots of signs pointing in that direction---some I can talk about and others I want to be a surprise for that night.

Musically, the Austin Samba School--Academicos da Opera--are rehearsing what they are promising will be their best presentation since they began performing at Carnaval 4 or 5 years ago. Director Robert Patterson has been sending out emails describing their 2009 show as the best and is bragging about how good the drummers are this year with breaks better than ever and their overall playing much tighter. So, that should point to good things. Aida is the opera theme for this year, so come dressed as an elephant to fit in with their theme!

And Grupo Saveiro is rehearsing new material and will also be bringing a new, young singer for her Austin Carnaval debut. Mariani Ebert is her name and I've seen her perform in NYC and she is really great--a vibrant, engaging personality and wonderful voice. She is also an aspiring actress and has been on at least a couple episodes of Law and Order which is shot in NYC.

Other innovations will have to remain secret, but will be galvanizing, I promise. Just wait, only 5 more weeks.

Christmas is over, so things are about to move into high gear. All the local Austin ticket outlets should have their tickets by the time you see this, and online sales have been quite brisk. So don't risk that ever-looming possibility of a sellout...buy tickets soon! The new online sales system is rolling without a single hitch.

The legend of Austin's Carnaval is growing! If you have friends in Oregon, let them know we'll be launching Portland's first Carnaval Brasileiro on Feb 28, 2009 at the famous Crystal Ballroom (where Jimi Hendrix and the Greatful Dead played back in the '60s). It will feature Grupo Saveiro and Portland's own samba school drummers, the Lions of Batucada--website is www.CarnavalPortland.com Spread the word!

Gearing up for 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Carnaval) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:43:00 +0000

Well, Thanksgiving is over, at least the "official" day of gorging. Now we can get down to the business of throwing a party. Our new poster is printed, and we will have copies in hand to ship in a few days. Check out our available posters at the Carnaval Store, click the button at the top of this page.

We are working hard to have tickets on sale here on the site sooner than December 15, with any luck, maybe even by December 5, so stay tuned...it's in progress. We'll send out an announcement to our mailing list so if you are not signed up yet, do so on the Info/Overview page: http://www.sambaparty.com/info/overview the link is near the top of that page.

Grupo Saveiro has promised an even better show than ever for 2009, including an new young singer they say is super sexy. We'll post her photo by mid-December...so hang on.

In the meantime, enjoy the leftovers and tell your friends about the best party in town, only 2 months away!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Carnaval) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:30:00 +0000

Well, here we are at the beginning of a new Carnaval season. What constitutes the beginning of the season? Well, I suppose it's the printing of the new poster which occurred on Thursday, November 20, 2008. It's a doozy, or at least everyone who's seen it so far seems to think so. Artist AJ Garces has turned in another winner! We will have it up on the store, available for purchase sometime on Saturday and will be able to start shipping them sometime during Thanksgiving week, or immediately thereafter. It's visible now on the tickets pages on this site.

Speaking of tickets, we will make them available on this site sometime around December 15, but we may surprise you and launch them a bit earlier. Depends on how quickly we can reformat the system and get all the ducks in a row. So sit tight. By the way, all the kinks we had in online sales last year have been worked out. Most of these revolved around Yahoo's mail system filing the emailed PDF tickets in the recipients' junk mail folder...we had almost no problems with people using other email services. So if you are a Yahoo user, and experienced trouble getting your ticket for 2008, your email service is to blame, not us. Our automated system sent out EVERY ticket that was sold, but Yahoo took it upon themselves to protect you Yahooers from your very own purchase. But we have worked around this and there should be no problems this coming year. Also, we have purchased more scanners so the scanner lines will move much, much faster. In fact, with any luck, the lines will be minimal this coming year. And we apologize again for the screw up in 2008....we sold almost twice as many online tix as we had previously, and in prior years, one scanner was adequate.

Alright, enough for now. We'll send out an email as soon as online sales are on the immediate horizon so if you are not on our mailing list, sign up now, go to www.sambaparty.com/info/overview to find the subscription link.

More soon!