content? sami: when did forro become very in rest of brazil?

sami: well, i can't wait to see you play, 'cause he gonna be going on in a little bit, so what is your lineup for this concert? sami: i've been playing all sorts of festivals for over 30 years, but i never witnessed anything like this. this is some next level partying, an endless parade of unbelievable characters. old men with hunting rifles, trannies, mamacitas in their intricate traditional dresses. everybody's dancing together,

in peace. forro is the real northern brazilian music, and it's made for dancin'. sami: maureliano is one of the most distinguished drum makers in brazil. drummers across the planet, from japan to the u.s., want to own a

handmade maureliano drum. and i'm no eeption. sami: how long does it have to sit? sami: when bands like nazo zumbi started using this, so they took the rhythms in the way of the old maracatu, but they rned iinto new music.

sami: wow. so the big one's 40 years. 40 years. [singing] s

[singing] sami: is it--did maracatutart as a,more like a religious procession, or was it me kind of for people to celebrate and get out and have joy?

[band playing] sami: maracatu music is the heart and soul of paranambuco. the annual carnival in recife is called the carnival of brazil. rio is for tourists.

i'm in the village of nazare da temata. siba started his career in the days of manguebits and also lived here, studying the musical traditions of the countryside. whose house is this? siba: this is the house of bill, which is the main guy of our group. he's very brilliant. and in front of this house is where we always meet and begin the night. sami: oh, ok. siba: and also when we finish, we come back here. sami: you come back here, and this is the ground zero of the beginning and the end. siba: yes. sami: right on. siba: al in carnival we begin and finish here. sami: right, right. oh, man. that's amazing. siba: there's something prepared. i didn't know. sami: i didn't know it was here. it's amazing. siba: i didn't ask for this. sami: that's a hat. how many feathers? siba: 2,000. sami: 2,000, siba: of peacock. sa: ah. anall the pieces up here, these are all--

siba: these are also hats. sami: hat pieces, right? siba: for the free collectors. sami: yeah. it's like a funkadelic's home. siba: yeah, yeah. sami: serisly. siba: yeah, yeah. you can see these are a psychedelic thing. sami: yeah. oh, man.br look at that. siba: we call it gola, which is another part of--it goes together with these hats. it is not complete. sami: yeah, it's not complete. wow. yeah. that's incredible, man. siba: the guys that--the good guys in the past, you have to be real tough to be in this position. sami: right. siba: because it was kind of for real, you know? people will meets in the street and maybe fight each other and don't knowing--the friends will be not knowing each other. because this is the oral history of this thing. so it was not for play. you go for these, you... sami: you should be [indistinct]. yeah. siba: you should go for real. sami: yeah. what about the spiritual side of maracatu, the

celebration of the black queen, right? siba: no, for us it's different. sami: no. yours is different. siba: it's kind of maracatu. the maracatu also have this magic or spiritual, uh, other side, which is more related to perfection. each one does his own way. nobody talks too much about this. sami: right. exactly. but it's there. siba: it's very from inside. sami: personal. from the inside. exactly. this is the bass drum. sami: really? siba: yes. this is the bass. sami: wow. siba: this is the snare drum. sami: yeah. siba: uh, a frame. sami: uh-huh. siba: the double bell. sami: yeah. siba: and there is also shaker. and that's it. nothing more. sami: that's it? siba: only one each one, and that's it. nothing more. sami: oh, that's amazing. it's another world, man. siba: [chuckles] sami: ah. whew. amazing. [man singing in portuguese] [band playing]

sami: estrela brilhante is local band from the village and the most legendary maracatu outfit in paranambuco. in maracatu, the rhythm section can't be too big. 5 guys at the most. tempos are super fast, and too many percussionists would only cause chaos. [music continues]

[indistinct chatter] sami: this is some fast, fast music, man. you know what i mean? and the best thing to me was that it took about two hours to loosen up for the band, for the band to get comfortable, you know what i mean? and now they're gonna go on all night. siba: yeah, we have to close up just only in the morning. sami: i mean, it's so rich, it's with trevo, it's the ciranda, it's with maracatu, it's... siba: [indistinct]. but this is heaven and hell for us, because it's nice that it's so rich and different, but nobody understands. everybody

expects a rhythm from paranambuco. [conversation continues [indistinct]. sami: it's very african to me. siba: i feel the same. sami: you know, it really is, because it's a pause, it's a sing, it's a pause, it's a sing. what do they sing about in the middle? what does the cantor, what does he talk about? is it improvised or-- siba: yes. it's improvised. and this, uh, the concept of the improvisation heris--it means that people should not listen, try something. sami: right. siba: so they don't--don't worry if you prepared at home something. sami: right, right, right. siba: but if you sing it today and next year sing it again [indistinct]. listen the shifts. this guy can sing... so it's a lot of improvisation. and you will also prepare the more complicated things for the spots, and then you have to forget it or use it somewhere

else. sami: yeah, exactly, man. or make it up. siba: yes. sami: i think that's a beautiful thing, that it is at the moment, not pre-rehearsed, not pre-written, you have to think, you have to feel, you have to listen, and you have to see the audience, what it's all about. i heard that they sang around me, they sang about me, something about a turista. i hope it was a good thing. [both laughing] siba: it was. sami: i'm a very happy man right now. you know what i mean? it's like this--this place is magical to me. it really is. paranambuco is a magical [bleep] place when it comes down to music and when it comes to the creativity. and i'm finding out about artists now. you know, visual artists, you know, painters and all that that come from here. it's like the best kept [bleep] secret in the world, man. i'm telling you. siba: i--i never found anything that i could love more than this. anything. sami: you know, cachaza's good.

siba: yeah. sami: right? siba: [laughs] it works. sami: have a drink, then. [band playing] [whistle blows] [man singing in portuguese] sami: these men are carved out of wood. hard work in the sugarcane fields has made the villagers tough and fit. they don't tire easily. when the band starts playing, it can't even be stopped by the monsoon. the beat goes on and on and on, hour after hour. somebody gives me a trumpet. i try to tell them that i have no idea what to do with it. they smile at me and tell me, "don't worry, man, just blow.

have some fun." this memorable night lasted till 4:00 in the morning, at least for me. i later the grandpas had continued till 8 a.m. [whistle blows] [man singing in portuguese] [band playing]

[whistle blows] [man singing] [band playing]

sami: recife bleeds music. it floods over you from cars, shops, restaurants, and alleyways, from houses and homes everywhere. brazilians live for and from rhythm. it's therapy for the masses. parambuco may be one of the poorest states in brazil ecomically, t musicay 's onof the rhest. [saking ptuguese paranauco, bral. [womaninging iportuese]

man: [grunting]

sage: why do you go out at night to go to a party? you know, what is compelling about a night? maybe it's just this optimistic thing inside me thinking, like, "maybe tonight's theight that everybody just comes togetr and we just all experience nirvana." you know, maybe it's as simple as that. [electronic dance music playing] black coffee: any kind of problem i have i just throw out into the music. damian romero: i always said that it's a very colorful palette that came from chaos.