Choro Music Circle at the Public Library of Brasilia

The event is held on the last Friday of every month and choro instrumental music, bossa nova, traditional samba, and Brazilian popular music classics all feature in the program. Of course, the event wouldn't be the same without a lively audience that is always keen to sing along.

The cultural projects run by the Public Library of Brasilia depend on the communal harmony that has always existed in the area. The Library's Choro Music Circle is a tribute to the unique culture of choro music in the Federal Capital.

With this spirit in mind, the local community and library staff got together in March 2019 to set up yet another cultural project and bring music back to the library.

The Choro Music Circle started thanks to some well-known faces on the Brasilia scene. These volunteer musicians are willing to give up a little of their time to spread some joy and ensure that all those present have a good time. 

This "musical collision," to quote the conductor Batista Siqueira, came from the merging of lundu, an African percussion-based music, with some European genres. Choro music is primarily based on a trio of flute, guitar, and cavaquinho (a four-stringed guitar similar to a ukulele). 

Choro musicians didn't play for money. They were basically bohemian musicians who would meet up in the homes of friends or local people to have a good time. Each one was well rehearsed in their own techniques and artistic tricks to challenge their fellow musicians. 

Choro music—or chorinho as it is more commonly called—is a Brazilian music genre that first emerged in the town of São Sebastião in the state of Rio de Janeiro. 

The first choro ensembles appeared in the 1870s and they became known as chorões, possibly an amalgam of chorar—Portuguese for crying—and the Latin word chorus.

At the official opening of the Catetinho Palace on November 10, 1956, the musician Dilermando Reis played the choro piece Exaltação a Brasília, which he had composed in honor of the new capital. The Catetinho Palace—also known as the Tábuas Palace—was designed by Oscar Niemeyer to be the first presidential residence in Brasilia. It was home to President Juscelino Kubitscheck and his family while the city was being built. 

From that moment on, choro music spread to the most diverse corners of the Federal District, even becoming part of the migrant workers' life and cultural identity. 

Before becoming Brazil's rock capital, Brasilia was the epicenter of choro music. Brasilia's cultural soul owes much to the talented and passionate choro musicians who came to the city and made history.

As thousands of workers flooded into Brasilia to build the new capital, skilled choro musicians started appearing at dances and other kinds of artistic events. 

The volunteer musician Carlos de Paula (seen in the photo with a tambourine in his hand) is a student at the Brasilia School of Music and a member of the Brasilia Choro School. For him, the opportunity of playing in a place that prioritizes culture is his way of sharing what he has learned from music with the local community.

"When we give what we have, we get double back, and so it's a great pleasure to join this rewarding project, which interacts directly with the community," the musician told the Agência Brasília media company.