Recording in Rocinha

(Renato Santos at his mother's home)

Last month I finally visited Rocinha for the recording session of my friend Renato Santos' first album. Rocinha is the largest shantytown in Latin America and today boasts banks, markets, cable tv, and bus lines. There is even a McDonald's.

It was fascinating to see the amount of traffic going up and down the main street that leads up through the community. Once we parked the cars we then walked through these winding pathways where people marched along in line going in both directions like an anthill. There were markets and butchers, barbers and bars, people's front doors, all tucked impossibly in between these unfinished brick houses that were stacked several stories high, right on top of each other in chaotic informal architecture.


(Maurício Araújo, helping with the repertoire)

Renato assembled many of his friends for the recording, and everyone pitched in to play a part. Even I did a photo shoot and shot some video to document the session.


(Lula Matos from Galocantô)

On the first day, Renato rounded up some of the fellas from Galocantô to lay down the base percussion tracks with accompanying voice, 7-string guitar and cavaco as guides.


(in the soundroom, which was about 3/4 of the entire space, with Leo Costinha from Galocantô, and Luiz Henrique on cavaco)


(Jorge Alexandre - he's actually a percussionst, though he can play the cavaco as well)


(Marcelo Correia from Galocantô)

I was amazed by the stamina these guys have for the studio. I was there from 10am until around 8pm, and some of them stayed and continued. What is especially warming is to see how they all contribute to each others' recordings, working long hours just for the love of it. I hope to provide you with a track soon. In the meantime...


(the eternal sunshine of Dedé)

...smile!