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Washingtonians rarely get an opportunity to experience Brazilian forro music, but Saturday night they’ll get two opportunities. The Brazilian Film Festival will be featuring “The Man Who Bottled Clouds/O Homem que Engarrafava Nuvens”, a documentary about Brazilian forro composer Humberto Teixeira, while National Geographic will be hosting a concert by New York City-based Brazilian ensemble Forro in the Dark, who have covered Teixeira songs.
Forro, a rural dance music sometimes compared to zydeco, was once sneered at by middle- and upper-class Brazilians as music for hicks, maids, and cabdrivers. But it was later endorsed by musicians in Brazil’s hip tropicalia scene and more recently received the support of David Byrne and others. Byrne has referred to Teixeira as a “Brazilian phenomenon — the composer of popular songs who was also an intellectual, a power in the law (he established song copyrights) and politics.” Forro in the Dark was long led by Mauro Refosco (zabumba, a bassdrum) and Rob Curto (accordion). Curto has since been replaced by Jorge Continentino (pifano, a wooden flute). On their latest effort, Silence is Golden, the marching beats and twangy guitar keep things rhythmic, while the pinging triangle and the flute provide country roots.
Sat. Dec. 5 at 6:00 p.m. The Man who Bottled Clouds/O Homem que Engarrafava Nuvens (documentary about the life of Brazilian “forro” composer Humberto Teixeira) for free at The Greenberg Theater, 4200 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington, D.C.
Sat. Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. Forro in the Dark at National Geographic, 1600 M Street, NW