Part of our intensive Italian language crash course includes organized outings to expose ourselves to the city of Rome. One of the events was a bossa nova concert held at the Circolo degli Artisti, an intimate bar where weekly concerts are held. Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music from Rio de Janeiro which originated from a combination of samba and jazz.
A bossa nova concert wasn’t exactly what I was expecting to see in Rome but being a big bossa nova fan myself, I couldn’t resist going to the concert. Following a contemporary art installation event at the MACRO, a group of us headed to watch Rosalia Souza and her group play. With several songs into the show, you could tell that the audience was really enjoying the catchy beats and the charisma of Rosalia herself. The night was a fantastic barrage of musical stimuli with its great mix of catchy rhythms and spirited tunes.
For a moment, the music brought me back to my time in Rio de Janeiro, where bossa nova is still is very much embedded in the culture of Brazil. The music inherits an attitude which Brazilians call “jeju brasilieu”, which means the brazilian spirit- basically, deal with things as they come and be content.