Brasilipinas Rio de Manila 2011

It was Trency’s idea for us to go party at this event. It was an idea she got from her sister, who attended a yoga retreat in La Union. They had invited the students from this samba school to play, and while they played, you just lose yourself to the music. It was that feeling that Trency wanted to feel for herself that night.


So after a cool Spanish dinner over at the Power Plant Mall, we headed on over to the Rockwell Tent for the Rio de Manila 2011. That night we danced to the lively beat of the drums, it was not your ordinary club scene. It was like Makati was transformed into Rio de Janeiro.

Right smack in the middle of the hall, was this samba group of Brazilians. They were singing and the Filipinos and Brazilians alike were dancing and going wild. The beat was totally infectious! And it was just sooo amazing that Filipinos KNEW Brazilian music. They were singing along to the music like it was a regular OPM being played on the radio station.








Turns out the lively group of Filipinos were capoeiristas, or people doing Capoeira. I’ve had the chance to interview Professor Fantasma (the guy with the tattoo sleeve in a yellow and green hoodie) before our health magazine, giving me a bit of background on the martial art.


There were also guest performances, like this guy, who sang like 3 songs. Since it was in Brazilian, I couldn’t understand it.

They also invited a chef who specialized in Brazilian cuisine. We didn’t have the chance to taste Brazilian food, since we were still stuffed. And Trency was just delighted to have a swig of flavored beer, Super Bock. It’s the only beer she could handle.



But the performance we were waiting for was from the Escola de Samba, the group Trency’s sister was talking about. I was surprised at how young they were! And they just brought the house down! Everybody was dancing to the beat, it was amazing!




I’d love to attend another event such as this. It’s amazing to discover other cultures without having to leave the Motherland! I swore we all became Brazilians that night! It was just so fun and no one cares if you have two left feet, just DANCE!

Rio de Manila was a free event sponsored by the Embassy of Brasil, Havaianas, and the Power Plant Mall.

If you guys are interested on Capoeira, here's the link to the first Capoeira school in the Philippines where Professor Fantasma teaches, Escola Brasileira de Capoeira Philippines.

For those interested in learning Samba here's the link to Escola de Samba.