Projecto Forró de Lampião was founded by Enrique Matos, zabumbeiro, DJ, and dance teacher, on the 17th of January 2010, in Lisbon, to promote Pé-de-Serra culture through music and dance, and to spread knowledge of Brazil to other parts of the world.

Inspired by the work being done in Lisbon, and due to the passion for forró, divisions of Projecto Forró de Lampião were created in Dublin in March 2011 and in Rome in August 2012.

The project organises music events, dance workshops, film showings, and discussion groups, and welcomes the participation of anyone with an interest in or love for forró and the region of Brazil, regardless of their nationality.

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Dublin

Rome

Enrique was born in Conceição do Mato Dentro, Minas Gerais. He grew up listening to Luiz Gonzaga, Trio Nordestino, and Jackson do Pandeiro, and was influenced by a variety of rhythms including xote, xaxado, baião, arrasta-pé, forró, and also congado (marujada).

At the age of thirteen Enrique moved to Belo Horizonte and soon became involved in the "Forró Universitário" movement that was developing at this time.

Now, in his mid-twenties, Enrique is one of the key pioneers of the forró movement in Lisbon.

"Forró, like samba, has the same roots, i.e., both originated from the mixture of African and European influences [...] The origin of the word forró is controversial. The most popular version of its origin is that the name came from the English words "For All". With the inauguration of the first railroad in the interior of Pernambuco by the British company Great Western, a party was held to commemorate the event, promoted by the company, inviting everyone through the words posted at the entrance: "for all" (for everyone). From then on, popular dances were called Forró. This version was enhanced when the singer-songwriter Geraldo Azevedo made the song "For all para todos" in 1983 and when the film "For All - O Trampolim da Vitória" was released in 1998. The second version is given by historian and researcher of popular culture Luís da Câmara Cascudo, which says that the origin is the African term "Forrobodó" which means party - dances frequented by the common people – which over time has become simply "forró".

Baião: Originates back to the nineteenth century, in the northeast. According to many researchers the baião would have arisen from the union of African maracatu, with the Portuguese fado. The term baião refers to the state of Bahia – a variation of the term of Bahia. From the '40s, Luiz Gonzaga, who came from Pernambuco, travelled to Rio de Janeiro and recorded numerous songs that spoke of everyday life in the Northeast. This kind of baião was influenced by other rhythms such as samba and the conga. In the seventies, Gil and Caetano and the Tropicalism movement created interest in rescuing the genuine Brazilian rhythms, and thus gave new strength to the baião. The baião presents regional and temporal differences. The baião of Pernambuco is traditionally played with accordion, triangle and bass drum.

Xote: A dance of German origin appeared in the aristocratic halls of the Regency period - the end of the nineteenth century. Originally known by the name "schottische", dominated the period of the Second Empire after it was incorporating the popular urban functions, which then become known as "chótis" and finally "xote".

Xaxado: The name comes from the sound that shoes make on the floor when one dances; the dance was a wild Pernambucan dance, danced by men only, which dates back to the twenties. The music was purely vocal, with a simple melody, light rhythm, and satirical lyrics. Today the dance is no longer only the figure of male peers. It was made popular by Lampião’s goup of outlaws led by those who immigrated from Pernambuco to the interior of Bahia.

Arrasta-pé (quadrilhas juninas): Rural in nature, a European tradition of paganism. The Christian church created the feast of São João to absorb the pagan cults. In Brazil, the festival is accompanied by lots of music and dance."

- “Forró Origens e Manifestações Atuais”. Trabalho apresentado para a disciplina: CULTURA BRSILEIRA. GRUPO: BERNARDO SCOTTI - CRISTINA REIS - VANESSA HACON.