Forrobodó NY Festival (2018): Celebrating Luiz Gonzaga in New York
- Rafael Piccolotto de Lima
- Sep 2, 2018
- 2 min read
Updated: May 13
The Forrobodó NY Festival was a festival held in New York City in December 2018, created to celebrate the music and cultural legacy of Luiz Gonzaga, widely known as the “King of Baião.”
The event took place over three days and brought together live music performances, dance classes, workshops, and social dance events open to the public, with activities designed both for beginners and experienced forró dancers.
(Watch the promotional video for the 2018 event below)
This special one-time edition of the festival was centered around the work of Luiz Gonzaga and his importance in the formation and consolidation of Northeastern Brazilian music. The project sought to create a space for cultural exchange between Brazil and the United States, promoting Brazilian culture to New York audiences and to the international forró dance and music community.
The festival was developed through the collaboration of Brazilian musicians active in the forró scene in the United States, alongside local New York artists, educators, and invited guests connected to forró communities in the US, Europe, and Brazil.
One of the highlights of the festival was the participation of Chambinho do Acordeon, musician, actor, and composer who portrayed Luiz Gonzaga in the film “De Pai para Filho” (“From Father to Son”). He performed both in a traditional forró trio format and as a guest soloist with the Rafael Piccolotto de Lima Chamber Project in a concert featuring original arrangements inspired by the music of Luiz Gonzaga.
All performances throughout the festival were connected in some way to the repertoire of the “King of Baião,” resulting in different reinterpretations that linked traditional Northeastern Brazilian music with contemporary musical approaches.
The festival ultimately highlighted both the diversity and the continuing evolution of the forró tradition in an international context.
This event also became part of the broader historical development of the Forró New York project and the growth of the forró scene connected to New York City over the years.
Although Forrobodó NY Festival happened as a special standalone edition in 2018, many of the ideas surrounding cultural exchange, live music, workshops, and community building later continued developing through newer projects and recurring festival formats connected to Forró New York.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rafael Piccolotto de Lima is the Founder and Educational Director of Forró New York, as well as a Latin Grammy-nominated composer, arranger, and music director.
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