CARNAVAL WEEKEND: Post-Parade Samba Pagode de Mesa: Community Open House w/ Jorge Alabe and Friends

In celebration of the 38th Annual Carnaval San Francisco, The Red Poppy Art House is pleased to present three days of Carnaval-inspired performances beginning on Friday and wrapping up Sunday afternoon. We are bringing in artists from across the Bay Area to celebrate community, culture and art, all centered around the beloved festival.

To round off the weekend, the Poppy will hold a traditional open-house Pagode de Mesa led by master drummer Jorge Alabe and some of the finest musicians in the Bay Area. Pagode, meaning “party,” is the small group style of samba that is played in samba schools, bars, cafes and backyards of Rio de Janeiro. Just like on any Sunday in neighborhoods all over Rio, numerous guests will gather and perform around the table for an authentic roda (“circle”). This is a free event, and all are welcome to join in on the celebration!

A true Carioca, Jorge Alabê grew up in Rio de Janeiro immersed in its rich musical culture, becoming a master in samba percussion as well as in the Afro-Brazilian religious tradition of candomblé. The title of “Alabê” means that he has obtained the highest level in drumming and signifies deep experience and authority. He has also played with the leading samba schools in Rio and has performed with Milton Nascimento and Martinho da Vila among others. Jorge toured the world for 15 years as Percussion Director of the internationally-known Brazilian performing group Oba Oba. Since 1995, Jorge has continued to perform and teach throughout the United States as well as lead the Bay Area samba group and SF Carnaval award winner Samba Rio since 2005.
 
More on Carnaval SF:
Carnaval San Francisco is a beloved Memorial Day Weekend event featuring a Grand Parade and 2–day Festival that cultivates and celebrates the vibrantly diverse Latin American and Caribbean roots of the Mission District and the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Under the guiding principle that music, dance, and art have the power to heal and unite people, the festival aims to create spaces of harmony and revelry in which cross-cultural relationships can grow and flourish. Now in its third decade of celebration, Carnaval San Francisco has been an opportunity for many cultures to come together in one spirit to share their creative expression.

Admission: Free. Doors at 7:00pm. Show at 7:30pm. All ages welcome.

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