If the the music you think of when you hear the words "Brazilian Carnaval" is the traditional samba played during the parades of Rio de Janeiro, you may be in for a surprise if you go to the Carnaval show taking place at the YMCA on 17th Street on Feb. 16. During the show, which was organized by the The Brazilian Center For Cultural Exchange Of Sacramenton, the drums will be a bit heavier, the rhythms funkier, and the dancing, a little more freeform. "People outside of Brazil, they think Brazil is only traditional samba with girls dancing with small bikinis and a lot of feathers", said Ney Rios of BatuAxe, one of the bands scheduled to perform. "But we do it different, we try to show the

Mary Mackey will receive the PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles Award for excellence in literature for her 2011 book, "Sugar Zone," on Saturday, Dec. 1 at the Oakland Public Library, Rockridge branch. The public is welcome at the event which runs from 2 – 5 p.m. and includes a reception and book signing. Mackey will be closer to home in Sacramento on Monday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. for a reading at the Sacramento Poetry Center. She’ll likely speak about the upcoming award that she says is “one of the best things that can happen to a writer in terms of being acknowledged as a serious writer, as a contributor to American literary culture.” And she'll read from her collection, "Sugar Zone." Mackey re

The Brazilian Center for Cultural Exchange of Sacramento hosted Carnaval 2012 on Saturday night. The event was held at 1616 I Street amidst a venue full of festive music, dance and traditional Brazilian celebration. Brazilian food and drinks were available for guests, as well as information about the Brazilian Center and the services that it provides. The Brazilian Center for Cultural Exchange of Sacramento is a local non-profit organization that strives to assist at-risk children and bring the community together through culture, education and social justice. Several acts were featured on and off stage as they provided an evening of lively entertainment. Fenix Drum and Dance and the Hen

This Saturday marks the 2nd year of the colorful and energetic Brazilian Carnaval celebration. Behind the scenes of this celebration is the Brazilian Center for Cultural Exchange of Sacramento, a local non-profit organization striving to assist at-risk children and bring the community together through culture, education, and social justice. At the time of the Center’s founding in 2010 there were about 4,000 Brazilians living in the Sacramento area, yet, Executive Director Saara Burga says, “Brazilians had to constantly travel great distances in order to stay in touch with social life, entertainment, translation services, documentation, and their Brazilian Culture.” Seeing a need for these

The Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro is a world-famous festival held before Lent every year, featuring elaborate floats and parades, street festivals, music and dance. Sacramento held its own scaled-down version Saturday night, the first annual presented by the Brazilian Center for Cultural Exchange of Sacramento. Held in the very chilly McCulley Brothers parking garage on 1616 I St., the inaugural event featured performances by the Fenix Drum & Dance Company and SambaDá, drumming and capoeira demonstrations by Agua de Beber, and several food and product vendors. Vendors in attendance were a hodgepodge not restricted to a Carnaval theme, including natural skin cream product-makers Love Down

In it’s 19th year, Capital Swing Dancers, a nonprofit dance club, hosted its annual Presidents Day Weekend Convention. The event has grown steadily, bringing in competitors nationally and worldwide. Bruno Silva, 24, is a visiting student from Fortaleza, Brazil. He participated in the West Coast Swing 101 Jack & Jill designed for newcomers. He wanted to experience a World Swing Dance Council sanctioned event in the United States before going home from his university break. He was visiting Tennessee on work exchange with Hard Rock Cafe. Unlike the United States, Brazil’s winter break runs from December to the end of February. Though he has only been dancing West Coast swing for one and a

The Brazilian Center will have a Brazilian Night on April 24th at 8:30 pm, with live music, brazilian food and our tradicional Capoeira. This fundraiser is to help the Brazilian Center to create more programs for the community at large. Come to experience a wonderfull brazilian night and meet other brazilians in the community, be expose to our culture and help us help others, by participating in our events what is tax deductable, you will be part of a positive difference that we are trying to make in the life of others. We are asking for a donation of $8.00  in advance or $10.00 at the door. To become part of the Brazilian Center family or to volunteer you can find us at www.braziliancen

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus Directed by Terry Gilliam By Tony Sheppard Capitol Weekly This is a movie that will be seen for two reasons: The movie itself and morbid curiosity associated with the death of its star, Heath Ledger. Ledger had completed “The Dark Knight” and was shooting this when he died of an accidental drug overdose, leaving Director Terry Gilliam with half a movie, no lead actor, and an uncertain future for the project. Gilliam is still best known by some of us as the wacky animator for the original Monty Python shows. But he’s also an accomplished director of not just Python movies, but also “Brazil,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” and “Twelve Monkeys,” amongst

Going into the Blue Lamp on Friday night, the bouncer underwent his normal procedures of checking IDs and collecting cover fees. Noticing my notebook, he asked, “Is this your first SambaDa show? You are not going to need a book, I can guarantee that.” Although not a book for reading, it was difficult to find a moment when I even wanted to stop to take some notes. The energy surged from the very first beat. The Band's collage of instruments was fascinating, from large gourd shakers covered in shells, to tambourines and triangles. These supplemented the bass, guitar, and overwhelming amounts of percussion instruments, which are the backbone to almost all of their songs. The audience was in