• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclaimer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog

The Sarau – Brazil's Open Mic Night

posted on June 30, 2012


(Source, Fábio Braga)

When I lived in San Diego almost a decade ago, in my college years, I frequented open-mic nights throughout the city and they remain some of the best memories I have of that time. There’s something really cool about a bunch of strangers getting together to share their artistic creations and ideas. It should be no surprise to anyone that knows me that I have lots of admiration for those who create.

It could be argued that the moment in which something is created, it is valuable, but some might say it is when that creation is shared that it gains value. In early modern Europe, this way of thinking corresponded to people’s notion of public vs. private where private actually meant deprivation, being deprived of public life (generally, ‘public’ meant of ‘importance to the court’). Being a writer and a bit of a poet, I think art, like knowledge, should always be shared.

It is with good reason, then, that what has intrigued me for the last few weeks is the idea behind the sarau, a sort of open-mic night in Brazil which may or not be themed. Think of a topic, gather some participants and audience members, pick a place to meet and Bob’s your uncle! Your sarau can be cultural, poetic, musical, philosophical, historical, theatrical or even political. It’s an excellent idea and I really think it has the ability to take the open-mic night idea and expand upon it by creating a sense of community.


(Fábio Braga)

Sarau do Binho

In São Paulo, the oldest sarau has been operating for eight years and is called Sarau do Binho. It operates from the periferia (the outskirts) and speaks to the issues such communities face, especially in São Paulo, when they find themselves forgotten and ignored. Binho, the event’s organizer and a poet himself, says, “The Sarau is a laboratory. Here people bring their creations and learn to have a taste for reading and writing. Out of the popular laboratory, more than just words, come a strengthened civic consciousness.”  

Almost as a test of their mission and purpose, the bar where they have always come together was recently closed by the local government, likely as a measure to silence the strong community movement that the sarau promotes. As a result, they’re taking the message to the streets of more well-known neighborhoods in the center of the city in order to raise the money to pay the R$20,000 in fines to reopen the bar and continue another project based on lending books to kids.

For more on Sarau do Binho, go here (in PT). To learn more about saraus that operate from the peripheries, see this video (in PT).


—————-

Schedule your Portuguese Demo Lesson.

Street Smart Brazil offers one-on-one and group classes online via webcam. We have a fantastic team of tutors, exclusive class materials, and complete programs from absolute beginner to fluent.  See what our customers are saying.

Share ... Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Email this to someone
email

Related Posts:

  • Valentine’s Day in Brazil - Dia dos Namorados
  • My Favorite Online Dictionaries to Learn Portuguese
  • To Turn On in Portuguese: 3 Different Verbs

About Adam Lee

Adam is a writer and a researcher who has studied Brazilian culture for over a decade and created several Brazil-themed blogs going back to 2008. Having taught himself Portuguese, he put it to practical use by spending three years doing Brazil on a budget (and living in favelas), from Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon.

He now resides in Lisbon, Portugal, developing a startup and dreaming about having a beachside B&B in the Northeast of Brazil.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to see your pic by your comment? Get a free custom avatar at Gravatar.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Categories

  • Brazil
  • Brazilian music
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

As a language lover, I have learned multiple foreign languages through multiple sources and media. I must say that Street Smart Brazil is absolutely the best language program that I have encountered. … Read more
Daniel
Loved the experience. All the material I have learned I have not lost. I continue using my Brazilian Portuguese on a daily basis. I continue to discover more on my own through literature, music, film,… Read more
Krystal
I always wanted to learn a second language, but as much as I tried, I couldn’t manage to do it on my own. Much to my surprise, after learning with Street Smart Brazil, I find myself speaking in sente… Read more
Michael
Street Smart Brazil is the best lessons you can get for such an affordable price. I was initially skeptical about doing virtual Portuguese classes, but after doing the trial class, I learned that Stre… Read more
Alexis

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian

You will learn each expression inside a real-life context: everyday situations that could happen to any of us.
Purchase Now >

Recent Posts

  • Learn the Numbers in Portuguese: All you need to know
  • The Difference Between ESTE, ESSE, ISSO in Portuguese
  • 4 language learning hacks for your Portuguese
  • War Vocabulary in Portuguese
  • Valentine’s Day in Brazil – Dia dos Namorados

Search

Cart

Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Preparation Course

Footer Subscribe

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese

Footer Video CTA

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the new video lessons

Subscribe

https://youtu.be/Q8ONwVoTG9M

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Preparation Course

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese


Street Smart Brazil, LLC

phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2022 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved | Website by Web Savvy Marketing