Rio Carnaval 2026
Welcome to the Gafieira New York Newsletter for upcoming events, gafieira insights from around the world, and tidbits of samba history.
MAIS UM CARNAVAL
The Grupo Especial parades took place on February 15, 16, and 17th of this year. Rio's top samba schools celebrated Brazilian icons like Lula da Silva, Rita Lee and Ney Matogrosso, as well as Afro-Brazilian religions and origin myths. After all the smoke and glitter settled, on Ash Wednesday the competition results were announced, and this year's winner was Viradouro, who paid homage to their mestre de bateria Ciça.
Carnaval isn't typically a gafieira-oriented time. The heavy percussion of samba schools' bateria drives samba no pé. However, many gafieira professionals work in carnaval, like Patrick Carvalho, who choreographed the comissão de frente for Imperatriz Leopoldinense, or Kellyn Rosa, celebrated director of passistas for both Acadêmicos de Niterói and Unidos de Maricá. Sometimes a school even features gafieira in their comissão de frente, such as Luiz Carlos and Natasha who danced for União da Ilha in 2018, or the choreography by Carlinhos de Jesus for Mangueira in 1998. Also, gafieira dancers often perform in the samba schools' quadra. Watch this classic clip of Marcelo Chocolate dancing with Sheila Aquino at the quadra da Mangueira!
Na Glória
This choro sambado is a classic! By Ary dos Santos and Raul de Barros, it bridges the gap between the traditional choro and samba genres. Fun to sing along and even better for dancing! If you catch Hugo Sanbone playing live in NYC, ask him for this song. It's one of his best numbers.
Worth the Trip
Todo Mundo Samba (April 16-19, 2026) is a gafieira festival organized by Gustavo Reis and Isabela Vieira. It aims to revive the origins of samba de gafieira in the popular streets and locales where it began. This year, the program includes a tour of Pedro do Sal, classes at Estácio de Sá, and bailes across the city, including the classic Antiga Estudantina. Of all the festivals, this one makes the most direct effort to link samba to its roots and cultural history. If you can make the trip down to Rio in April, you’ll be glad you did! More info here.
We want to hear from you!
We are back in NYC and are already planning great gafieira programming for us all to dance and celebrate together. Take this 2-minute survey below to let us know your availability and what kinds of classes, encounters, and socials you would be most interested in!
Until Next Time
Did you know we founded a non-profit? NYC Samba, Inc., is officially a 501(c)(3) dedicated to bringing you artists from Brazil and organizing events in the spirit of cultural exchange and learning. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, click here.
Beijos!
