Clubbing Rio Style
One benefit of staying in a hostel is the opportunity to meet other travelers and explore the city together. This is especially beneficial when you are travelling on your own! I met Wassan at the hostel and she, also traveling alone, invited me to accompany her to a the Samba Festa at Arcos de Lapa on Saturday April 22. At night this area is buzzing, people spilling out onto the streets 
,music pumping out of every doorway (mostly samba, but also some western pop/rock cover bands and reggaeton or rap). The energy is electric. People dancing everywhere. The photo on the left doesn't really do it justice, but we were in an area where I had to be careful not to have my phone/camera out whilst in the street so I didn't get the best photos of the scene!
and Wassan and I stayed for a few hours dancing to the samba band and the reggaton DJ.
,music pumping out of every doorway (mostly samba, but also some western pop/rock cover bands and reggaeton or rap). The energy is electric. People dancing everywhere. The photo on the left doesn't really do it justice, but we were in an area where I had to be careful not to have my phone/camera out whilst in the street so I didn't get the best photos of the scene!The music and dancing was pure joy to me
and Wassan and I stayed for a few hours dancing to the samba band and the reggaton DJ. It was incredibly loud and took a while for my ears to adjust, and yes, they were ringing a little when I crawled into bed later on. The club was 3 stories high and had a net over the dance floor to prevent things falling (or being thrown?) into the crowd or band below. If you don't drink much then it's actually a very cheap night of entertainment. Including transport it cost me about R$40, less than AU$20.
The party atmosphere and fabulous music was tempered by this sombre message amongst the crowd on the street, about women stuck in domestic violence situations. The sign talks about 5 women being 'stuck' every 3 minutes. I don't quite understand the meaning - stuck like a pig? I.e. Stabbed? Beaten? Married? Are they saying marriage is being stuck? Or only when it involves an abusive spouse. In any case, the problem of the cascade of oppression is clearly present. The poor are oppressed and in turn the women are oppressed, the children, etc.
Life is made up of joy and tragedy side by side and this night was no different. Wassan and I finally managed to get a spot dancing directly in front of the band.
I attempted to capture the energy with video. It's only 15sec long. The link is following:
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