Brazil 2025

Roberta Kirn
May 18
4 min read

Spring has arrived in New England and summer is right around the corner! I am looking back at the past winter and want to share some photos and video

from my second annual trip to Brazil before summer really kicks in.

It was as wonderful as my 2024 trip and I am already dreaming of 2026!

This year's trip began in the city of Salvador in Bahia where I met up with several friends who I have gotten to know from previous musical adventures with Musica Do Circulo. We had all traveled to Brazil for a Musica Do Circulo retreat in the São Paulo area but had met up early in order to explore a different part of the country. I had always wanted to travel to Salvador, where some of the traditional musical forms that Brazil is famous for originated. I was not disappointed. The streets of Salvador are full of music. In Pelourinho - the historic city center of Salvador, we found Capoeira, the famous band Olodum and a women's percussion group called Banda DiDa which was created in response to the exclusion of black women within the percussion community. Amazing! What a treat!

Below are several photos and videos to give you an idea of our experiences.

Capoeira on the square in Pelourinho

Waiting for Banda DiDa

Worth the wait! For more about their story check out this article -

The Story of Salvador's Banda DiDa

We couldn't get very close to the stage but it was enough

to be part of the huge pulsating crowd.

So many different kinds of people crammed together enjoying the music!

For more about Olodum click on this link.

In addition to Banda DiDa and Olodum local bands could be found around pretty much every corner. This is one we encountered after leaving the crush around Olodum.

Enjoying a Caipirinha - a famous Brazilian cocktail

post concert, with Joni NehRita!

A highlight of my time in Salvador was a shekere class that Annalena Doss,

Joni NehRita and I had with Gio Paglia under the palm trees.

The view from our class location was spectacular and everyone who knows me can guess that I spent some time in the water while in Salvador!

In addition to our focus on music we visited some traditional tourist sites in Salvador including the Church of Our Lord of Bonfim

And The Statues on the Dique do Toro

We also did a little shopping - at a music store

And ate at a couple of wonderful restaurants. Casa Tereza, a restaurant with great food which is also a gallery, stood out.

The road that runs along the waterfront in Salvador is spectacular. One afternoon we rented scooters. Definitely an adventure for me!

There was plenty more to explore in Salvador and I hope to be back someday but it was time to fly off to São Paulo for the weekend before traveling to the

Musica Do Circulo retreat in Cunha.

One of my favorite things about São Paulo is the public support of art. There are many, many murals all over the city. All of these photos were taken from Ubers as I traveled around the city. There are murals EVERYWHERE! So cool!

During the weekend in São Paulo we attended a performance that included talented friends from all over the world who are part of the Musica Do Circulo family and also participated in several classes, musical and otherwise. The performance and classes were wonderful but my most favorite part of the weekend was spending time with beloved friend and teacher Dodô Martins. Dodô had asked me if I would share some songs in English with a group of very sweet students. What a delight!

After singing and dancing with Dodô and his students I headed to Parque Ibirapuera for a gathering called Frittura Livre, a wonderful free flowing

improvisational experience led by the founders of Musica Do Circulo

that has been meeting monthly since January of 2013.

It is hard to describe but here is a short video to give an idea.

At this particular gathering there were 150 participants. It was magical!

Next stop on this year's adventure -

Espaço Flor das Águas in Cunha for the Musica Do Circulo retreat.

A beautiful place to experience the magic of the practice of Musica Do Circulo which "aims to provide people with the experience of being part of a creative musical community that shares values such as diversity, cooperation, lightness, fun, authenticity and expression and contributes to building a world inspired by these values". I have totally fallen in love with the practice and have signed up to train over the next two years in order to learn how to lead it.

The training takes place in Northern California but retreats are in Brazil. Here are some photos from my time in Cunha at Espaço Flor das Águas.

The flowers!

I don't have video from the music making during the retreat sessions. I was too busy participating but here is a sample of what happens during the breaks!

And a glimpse of just before and during the afternoon rains

The days at the retreat flew by and we made music up until the last moments. Here we are waiting for the bus to take us back to São Paulo.

We had one more night in São Paulo before returning to the states so, of course, we went out dancing - Forró - to a great band led by master accordion player Mestrinho. So much fun! I am hoping to convince an extremely talented Brazilian musician friend