Seattle Center Festál: BrasilFest Offers Virtual Music, Dance, Creation And Culture

Seattle Center Festál: Virtual BrasilFest takes place, 12 p.m.-3:20 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 16. The festival seeks to provide a safe space, free of stereotypes, for its own community and the community at-large, where people of all ages and backgrounds can come together to preserve Brazilian culture and create new ways to communicate using their Brazilian roots.

The online festival features a dynamic schedule that includes Brazilian artist Marcio DaLari, who drinks from the well of traditional and contemporary styles, from classical music to Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian chants passed through oral traditions. He has produced, toured, recorded and performed with jazz combos, rock and blues bands, Bossa Nova and Samba groups, African and Middle Eastern troupes, classical ensembles and more.

Virtual Festival Program:

• Official Opening: with City of Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, Seattle Center Director Robert Nellams and Festival Founders Eduardo and Ana Paula Mendonça
• Marcio DaLari (see above)
• iCAF (International Capoeira Angola Foundation) Capoeira: cultivating, preserving and growing the Afro-Brazilian cultural art of Capoeira
• Zum Zum Zum Dance: performing a Samba/Reggae Space Needle dance
• Cooking demonstration with Brazilian chef Eliana Patterson: sharing the traditional recipe of brigadeiros (Brazilian fudge balls)
• Brazilians and immigration in the USA: an interview with Dr. Moises Apsan
• Chorando na Chuva (Crying in the Rain): pouring decades of musical exploration into their upbeat interpretations of Brazilian music that blends African rhythm and European forms
• Dance with Dora: highlighting the joy, strength and diversity of Afro-Brazilian culture
• Out Journey Across: a young people's panel discussion
• Show Brazil!: expressing the soul of the Brazilian culture in high energetic performance
• Tambor e Cordas: drummer King Dre and guitarist Doug Jones focusing on world music with a Brazilian base
• Brazilian Swag: composed of young women coming together to share their passion for dance and other activities like Capoeira
• Closing: with Eduardo Mendonça

Learn more at: http://brasilfest.org

Seattle Center Festál, presented virtually in 2020, highlights the culturally rich communities who help shape the character and course of our region. The series provides a forum for Black, Indigenous, People of Color and other cultural groups to come together, where they can share their stories with the greater community--and where all can feel a sense of belonging. The series began in 1997 to offer a central place for festivals to invite the public to join in their unique cultural expression.

Seattle Center presents BrasilFest in partnership with Brazil Center and Show Brazil! Productions as part of a series that provides a stage and platform for the traditions and accomplishments of the participating communities. Festival production took place at Seattle Center Studios, located on the mainstage of Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, which offers the technology, equipment and professional and technical expertise to produce and digitally share programming. Viewing is free of charge. For more information, visit www.seattlecenter.com/festal or call 206-684-7200.

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