Nightlife in Brazil

Nightlife is for me one of the best parts of traveling. When you are coming back from your travel, the first thing you will tell your friends is about the crazy nightlife stories you had, and the rest after.

And Brazilians love to party! Compared to English guys, who drink a lot of gin, rum and vodka, Germans, who drink a lot of beer, Americans who combine drinking and smoking and just get wasted, Brazilians drink not that much but are just happy. Even the clerics in Brazil like to party, like the catholic priest below, when I went out with him and his friend in Londrina after he gave me a ride by BlaBlaCar.

A funny fact about nightlife in Brazil is that the government encouraged students to party. Students get a discount on cinema, theater and also concerts and clubs. Ones I was entering a club in Fortaleza when I mentioned I didn’t had my student card in my wallet. However, my driver license from Tennessee, which I still had in my pocket from my exchange in the US, was enough to convince the cashier that it was a student card and I paid half price to enter the club.

Nightlife is also a good reflection to see the shape and form of a culture. Mostly in Brazil, where you will find a big difference between rich and poor. You will find these differences back in the different kinds of nightlife.

A friend from Cuiaba told me the social classes in Brazil are split up from A to E. To understand the differences, it’s good to have a quick view on that.

Class A: 2,7% of the population. For example: investors, business owners & major landowners.

Class B: 23,1% of the population. For example: judges, prosecutors and doctors.

Class C: 47,5% of the population. For example managers, mechanics, electricians and nurses.

Class D: For example: housemaids, bartenders, bricklayers, small store owners and uber drivers.

Class E: People who earn the minimum salary (R$900) or less. For example cleaners, street sweepers and unemployed people who only have money to eat or sometimes not even.

Class D & E are together 26,6% of the society. Sometimes it’s hard to see the differences between D & E, most of them live in the favelas.

If you are interested to know more about the social classes in Brazil check this link.

A night out in Brazil can be very different depending on the party where you are going. I will try to describe it for each gender.

Street parties

In Brazil it’s allowed to drink on the street which results in parties on the streets, mostly on Fridays and Saturdays. You will find them in every big city. Often you see a Samba band playing or someone brought some speakers with loud music. Those parties are mostly found in and around the public squares or outside bars/nightclubs, surrounded by food trucks selling the Brazilian hamburgers. You will find mostly people from the C, D and E classes here. The disadvantage is that you always have to watch your phone and your wallet because pickpocketing is, unfortunately, common at those parties.

Forro

Typical Brazilian music, originally from the North-East. If you can dance it’s nice to go or if you are able to buy a big bottle of vodka to impress the girls. So far I’m not a good dancer and don’t have the money for big bottles of vodka, these parties are not really interesting for me. A typical Forro dance will you find here.

Sertanejo

The worst music with the best parties. Really the music is awful, the sound sometimes doesn’t fit between your ears and the lyrics make you start crying because they are so bad. Lyrics for example about your girlfriend who cheated with your best friend, she broke up with you and now you are still missing her?!? At some parties, I wished I hadn’t learned Portuguese so I couldn’t understand what they were singing. The samba parties are better, it’s about happiness. However, the hottest girls you will find at Sertanejo parties, mostly from C & B class in the society.

MPB

Music Popular Brazil. A relaxed kind of music mostly played in bars/restaurants. Also good for a Sunday afternoon when you are recovering from a heavy night before. Almost all the Brazilians like this kind of music. Check out a good song here.

Brazilian Reggae

Mostly popular in the North and the Center of Brazil, but as far I’m never been to those parties, I do not have a good opinion on it.

Funk

The popular sexy music, original from the favelas and more for the bit younger people in Brazil. Parties go normally like this. You enter the club around midnight, grab a beer and after 10 minutes a gay guy comes to ask you if you want to kiss with one his girlfriends. No problem of course, unless they have a great personality;).

This happens not only at Funk parties by the way. It’s common in Brazil that when you get connected with a group of girls and guys, the guys introduce you to one of their friends. Totally different compared to Europe where there is no way you will help a stranger to get connected with one of ‘your’ girls. Funk is popular in favelas, where I unfortunately have not been so much yet, but also in small night clubs all over Brazil. The most known song, but not always supported by Brazilians, is this one (prepare yourself).

Brazilian Rock

Popular in Brazil, mostly the older generation. Once every two years, there is a big Rock festival in Rio what is called, very difficult, Rock in Rio. Not only rock but also pop bands like Coldplay are playing there.

Techno parties

Upcoming all over Brazil. It’s an interesting fact to see that in Brazil at techno clubs you see a lot of gay people. Not only techno, but all the electronic scenes in general. I think because it’s a new kind of music, embraced by gay people and now a place in nightlife where they can be themselves.

I’m not so much into these type of electronic music, it’s all the same. I prefer house music. However, Brazil is known for some very good techno clubs. Mastre Plano in Belo Horizonte, Warung in Camboriu and several in Florianopolis and Sao Paulo. You will mostly find people from B and C class there.

Psy Trance

A genre already for a long time popular in Brazil with a small group of fans. Its a bit different compared to the popular progressive trance you will find in Europe, but psy trance is still very good. A famous festival is Universo Paralello, every year between Christmas and New Years Eve on the beach in Bahia, in the North-East of Brazil. Good thing about this music is that you will meet people from every class in the society and every different kind of origin. Lots of drugs also at these parties, mostly XTC and LSD, what in my opinion isn’t a bad thing as long you take care on it.

Brazilian Bass/Low BPM

For me by far the best music and the best parties! Brazilian bass is a kind of house/deephouse mixed with some hiphop elements and a sweet sexy Brazilian flavor in it. A new style original from America but since 3 years integrated in the Brazilian electronic music culture. Brazilian dj Alok is promoting it all over the world at the moment followed by even better djs as Illusionize, Cat dealers, Vinn!e, but most of all Vintage Culture. The absolute boss when it comes to these kind of parties. Check one of his sets here.

Good places to go for Brazilian Bass are Green Valley in Balneario Camboriu, P12 in Florianopolis and D-EDGE in Sao Paulo. You will find people mostly from B class here, also C class, but less than other parties and people from A class only in the VIP areas, of course. Interested to see more people from the highest class? Go to Club Posh or Café del Mal, sometimes a entrance of R$2000 what is like €700. What didn’t fit in my travel budget unfortunately.

So far my blog about nightlife, this weekend the biggest party in Brazil: Carnaval in Rio!!