Bio of our founder:
Carlos de Oliveira is a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He moved to New York in 2000 and has been living in Brooklyn since. Carlos studied Psychology at Rio Grande do Norte University, Theology
at Methodist Institute Bennett, and Music at UNIRIO, in Brazil. He is an
Educator, Community Organizer, and Master Percussionist who started playing
drums at the age of 6 at his aunt’
s Afro-Brazilian religious temple and began
playing Capoeira at age 14. His passion for drumming, social change, community organizing and education has led him to travel many regions of Brazil studying and researching the influence of Afro-Brazilian culture, shaping Brazil’s cultural identity, and the influence of the Afro Diaspora in Brazilian music. He has worked for Rio de Janeiro’s Department of Education, Department of Culture, Museum of Image and Sound, and Department of Social Development. Carlos de Oliveira’s knowledge and experience as an educator and percussionist and his deep involvement in the culture of samba has led him to be invited to judge Sao Paulo’s Carnaval Parade in 1995 and he was appointed by Rio de Janeiro’s Department of Culture to represent Brazil in Africa at Dakar International Music and Culture Festival. Carlos was part of the foundation of several percussion groups in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil such as Meninas do Rio, an all female percussion group, Agbara - Dudu, an Afro-Bloco Olodum style group, and has paraded with several Rio de Janeiro samba schools such as Imperio Serrano, Vila Isabel and Mangueira. In New York he has performed in venues such as SOB’S, Cafe Wha?,BAM, Brooklyn Museum, American Museum of Natural History, Lincoln Center, Museo del Barrio, Queens College, Long Island University, Sushi Samba and countless others. As a master percussionist, he is not limited to just Brazilian music. He has performed with several Jazz musicians such as Chip Jackson and Ron Carlton. Recently, Carlos gave a lecture at Westchester Community College on "Samba and Carnaval: A Movement of the People" and will be giving the same lecture again at DeSales University in PA. Carlos de Oliveira’s over 30 years of experience in Brazil’s social, educational, art and cultural scene and musicianship has made him an expert in his culture, Brazilian culture.
