Samba Carnaval

Old Town Chinatown

When

Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025

9 p.m.

Cost: Starting at $18.00

Where

Barrel Room

120 NW Couch St
Portland, OR 97209

The following description was submitted by the event organizer.

Samba Carnaval featuring Bloco Alegria. Portland’s favorite Brazilian carnival night is full of drumming, dancing, and celebration. Bloco Alegria is Portland’s own percussion and dance ensemble modeled after the traditional samba schools in Brazil.

This fun-loving community of diverse drummers and dancers loves performing the musical styles from Rio de Janeiro to Bahia, Brazil, and more. The goal is to bring the beauty and joy of Brazilian Carnaval to Portland. The origin of samba lies in African drumming music. Samba developed as urban music in the 1950s within the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Portland saw the beginning of samba in the 1990s with The Lions of Batucada. The seed was planted. Bloco Alegria was founded in 2011 to continue spreading the joyfulness of samba music to the community. Bloco Alegria includes singers, string players, and percussionists and dancers.

These shows celebrate the music, dance, and culture of Brazil, always bringing high energy and lots of fun. The performances vary between all-percussion bateria shows and dance-party stage shows with Brazilian song favorites.