Samba, Bossa Nova, Sertanejo and Forró are the most famous Brazilians styles of music. Today we will talk about Forró, a genre of music very popular originated in the Northeast part of our country. Check it out:

This genre of Brazilian Music was first born in the Northeastern region of Brazil and it’s very closely related to Brazilian June Festivals (where Brazilians celebrate Christian Saints, especially Saint John’s day). There is many theories about how this name was created, some people say that it was created by Brazilian people trying to say “for all” and others say that the word forró is derivated from “forróbodó” which means “great party”. Either way, is funny that “forró” means “hot” in Hungarian.

This music style is played by a combination of 3 instruments: an accordion (with dry tunning), triangle and zazumba (responsible for the rhythm section). This combination was determinated by Luiz Gonzaga, one of the most famous Brazilians Songwriters and Singers of Forró. Other instruments such as  fiddle, flute, pandeiro, bass, cavaquinho and acoustic guitar can be added to compose a forró song.

There is 3 rhythms of Forró: xote (a slower-paced rhythm), baião (the original forró) and arrasta-pé (the fastest of the three), and amongst these, many styles of dancing, which varies from region to region.  Forró can only be danced in pair and for those interested in getting inside of Brazil’s dance world, we must say that that Forró is easier than samba because it has a simpler dance form. Specialists affirm that even those who have never danced in pair but has good rhythm can learn how to dance forró in four lessons!

The dance of this music style nowadays consists of two parts that the man will alternate between each song depending on how he wants to lead. The first part is called dancing “juntinho”( literally means “close together”). Ideally, this is chest-to-chest and cheek-to-cheek, very close, with legs interlocking, but we know that this might seem a little bit too peculiar for foreigners or even for people from the South of Brazil (where people tend to be more reserved and some women prefer about the width of one’s hand’s distance between torso’s). You can check one example of how to dance Forró here

Now check it out our selection of top 10 Forró songs:

1- Asa Branca – Gilberto Gil 

2- O Xote das Meninas – Alceu Valença

3- Eu só quero um xodó – Dominguinhos

4- Xote da Alegria – Falamansa

5- Esperando na Janela – Gilberto Gil

6- Menina mulher – Forroçacana 

7- Boi de Walkman – Baião de 4 

8- Beijo Roubado – Rasta Pé

9- Rindo a toa – Falamansa

10- Um Anjo do Ceu – Rasta Pé