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Samba Soul Tour: History and Culture
5.0
10 Ratings
Centro
Explore Rio’s Samba history, visit cultural spots, and dance in colorful costumes. Discover the soul of the city on this vibrant tour.
Duration:
5 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- Maua Square - Plaza Mauá marks the beginning of Avenida Rio Branco avenue and also of the Port Region. From 1910 on, with the inauguration of Porto do Rio (“Rio’s Port”), it began an important place to welcome ships and brought tourists to the city. Around the square there are important buildings, such as the Rio Art Museum (MAR) and the Museum of Tomorrow, as well as the Night building, the first skyscraper of the city, built in 1930.
- Pedra do Sal - Pedra do Sal, at Conceição hill, makes part of the region historically known as small Africa, that stretched from around Plaza Mauá to Cidade Nova. On the backyard, it has happened the rural samba, played with the hands, with tambourine, plate and knifes; and dancing with tap dancing, sieved and “umbigadas”. It was there that was born the urban carioca samba, that came from “popular samba” and old ranches of the carnival.
- Etnias - Mural de Graffiti (Estúdio Kobra) - One of the largests graphites panels stared the world, according to the Guinness World Record, is the new tourist attraction in Rio de Janeiro was inspired by the Olympic rings representing the five continents and received the name of “ethnic groups”. The art is signed by Eduardo Kobra.
- Cidade Do Samba - Following the same exploratory tour, the Carnival Experience, promoted by Grande Rio Samba School, opens the workshop for visitors who want to know a little more about the creation and production of the parade, long before it takes place at Marquês de Sapucaí Sambadrome. This unique experience shows how the allegories and customs of the school are produced, the carnivalesque designs, how the customs and the assembly of the big cars are done by hand, and shows up close the hard work of the professionals involved in the production of a parade
- VLT Carioca - We will be public transportation during the whole tour.
What's Included
- TRAM tickets
- City of Samba tickets
What's Not Included
- Lunch
- Private transportation
Additional Information
Let’s walk through the history of Samba, following the steps of this rhythm symbol of Rio cultural identity, icon of local african heritage and afro-brazilian resistance.
Visiting the main cultural spots in Cinelandia and the Mauá Square, we talk about how the Portuguese culture developed carnival as a political party and samba as a afro-brazilian identity.
Walk with us through the Portuary Zone to see the biggest open-air street art gallery and learn about cultural resistance at Pedra do Sal, icon of africanity in Rio.
Let yourself vibrate with Carnival magic doing some steps and taking pictures with the colorful costumes at City of Samba, headquarters of the Samba Schools.
The main idea is that you enjoy the stories that made Samba the soul of our lovely city. We want you to feel safe, confident and relaxed while we are going through the downtown area of the marvelous city.
Location
Rio Museum of Art
Praça Mauá
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(10 Ratings)
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Lisalisa6000
Mar 31, 2020
Full of Soul! - This tour definitely lives up to its name—it is full of soul! The guide, Celi, was very welcoming and knowledgeable. She provided loads of unique information about Brazilian music and culture that went beyond what is the norm on a typical tour. I would highly recommend the Samba Soul tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Martin_a
Feb 28, 2020
Discovery of Samba and Rio. - The entire tour was a discovery of things beyond samba itself, such as the social, economic and political aspects that started samba and continue to this day. It's a tour worth doing to give you a lot of context and history of samba, including the city of Rio.
Review provided by Viator
Larryk
Feb 21, 2020
Highly Recommend - This was one of the best tours I have done. Celine, my guide was a delight to be with. She thoroughly explained the not only the history of samba but also a brief history of Brasil. Once we reached the samba school we joined others on a behind the scene look at how the floats and costumes are made. Some special surprises were included but you will have to go on the tour yourself to find out. I highly recommend. Also a big thank-you to Celine for making the tour wonderful!
Review provided by Viator
Corinnoverboard
Dec 29, 2019
Samba Tour with Fabiana - This was a fun and informative tour. Fabiana is awesome and clearly has a lot of passion for educating visitors about the history of the people and traditions.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ctdt_89
Oct 13, 2019
African Soul Tour - We did a variation on this tour, more focused on African Heritage: the African Soul Tour. Fabiana was a great guide who I would recommend to anyone. She is extremely knowledgeable about the history of Rio and connects the history to the culture and cityscape of Rio today.
Fabiana customizes each tour a bit and she did an excellent job giving us the understanding of the city and its relationship with the rest of the African diaspora that we were looking for.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
O6585ijbryans
Sep 18, 2019
Informative Tour - I absolutely loved this tour. Fabiana is extremely knowledgeable about Brazilian history and culture. This tour highlights how most of Brazilian culture developed and how things like slavery, decolonization, labour, Samba, and favelas are all interrelated. The visit to the Samba schools was also highly enjoyable and fun.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tatideo
Jul 25, 2019
Amazing experience, I felt so inspired. - I really recommend this tour as a culture experience. This was a beautiful journey and at the same time so awakening from the stories and historical facts of the samba as a way of resistance. It took us back on time with the party included. The guides were so lovely and knowledgeable. You can’t miss this tour before your leave the city. Thanks, Fabi and Celi.
Review provided by Tripadvisor