Instituto Cravo Albin

Hi!

This day began very inspired. I went to Urca, one of the areas that I think has this “totally extra-Rio” feeling: it is a beautiful neighborhood, with small and old buildings, that give you a sense of ancient Rio. When I go there, I feel like I’m returning to 30’s/40’s. Besides that, the view is quite amazing - one side shows the Baia da Guanabara; the other has one of the best view of the Sugar Loaf!

I started my day in Institute Cravo Albin, a place I had only heard about, but did not know much what it was – in fact, I only knew that they had some connection with Brazilian music. The institute is located in an old (as it should be!) and very charming building next to the bar Belmonte, right in the middle of Urca.

When I got there, I touched the intercom and they told me to take the lift and go to the fourth floor. I had scheduled a tour with Eduarda, by the way a very nice girl! She left me very comfortable, told me to leave my bags on the table and take whatever I wanted with me, like the camera.

She began the tour in their acquis linked to Brazilian popular music. They have many books, videos and LPs - I found amazing the amount of material! For those who need to do some work about it, it is very worthwhile to go there. Then she showed me some trophies and some photos of Brazilian artists hanging in the walls. This material was donated by the artists themselves.

Soon after that, Eduarda told me a bit of the history of the Institute, which is a civil, non-profitable organization that seeks to help in the research, reflection and promotion of the sources that feed the culture, especially Brazilian music. Even though they usually receive all kinds of materials - even the ones not connected to Brazilian music – their focus is mainly the Brazilian music. The Institute carries the name of its founder and president, Ricardo Cravo Albin, which seeks to save the history of Brazilian music along time, avoiding that items often belonging to collections or personal property get lost while passing from generation to generation.

Then we went to another room where she showed me some relics: a Carmen Miranda’s sandal, a hat donated by Gonzaguinha, a Luiz Gonzaga’s accordion from the 70’s. Next, she showed me how they clean LPs, which I found much more interesting than it sounds…

After that, we went up to the next floor and then I felt that I was somewhere in the past. I entered into a room full of old radios, phonographs and the most amazing studio of an antique radio. She told me that the material came from the radio Mairink Veiga and the Cassino da Urca which, by the way, was very close of the institute. I thought it was all incredible! Best of all, Eduarda even took my picture in the middle of the studio. Later, I saw other items still in the room and in a very big balcony that has the most beautiful view of the Urca.

Going up to a different level of the Institute, we arrived at a very beautiful open space. There is even a small pool and a view that I loved, because its trees cover up the scenery a bit, just enough so that I could see a heart around the landscape looking like a frame for that masterpiece. Is my love for this city to blame?

Then she took me to another room that had an exhibition about André Midani and the recording industry. On the way there, a stair had several tributes to musicians such as Roberto Menescal, Marcos Valle and João Bosco, among others who made presentations at the institute. Getting to the exhibition, she gave me a leaflet with the story of Midani and asked me to sign the attendance book in the exit.

I found the story about Midani very interesting: he was born in Syria but was living in France at the age of three and, because of the Algerian War, he took the first ship out of there and ended up at Rio de Janeiro, where he started his career in music calling the Odeon Records; as he was not fluent in Portuguese, he had his call transferred to the presidency, unbelievably got himself a meeting and finally, in a mixture of luck with competence, he came out employed. 

This made me remember some of those stories of American movies that you don’t believe that can happen in real life. And the coolest thing was to know that he was very important in launching the Bossa Nova, as music for youth, something that didn’t exist before in Brazil - even after that, he focused on the national rock. I became very curious about all of it, so as soon as possible I will read his book, which I found on an site, but only in portuguese - I'm sure it will turn into a movie shortly!

At the exit, I signed the attendance book and she warned me that the exhibition would end in mid-February – still no information about the new exhibition... I want to return there next month to check it out. Oh... they still make some music events there. And if you want to use the space for your event, it’s also possible to rent.

Kiss kiss and good tour,
Tati.


Registration Form:
Site: Instituto Cravo Albin
Visit’s Date: 05/02/2014
Adress: Avenida São Sebastião, 2. Urca.
Telephone:(21)2295-2532/2542-0848
Directions: Using the subway, just get off at Botafogo station and take the subway express bus to Urca, or any bus that passes by Avenida São Sebastião – there are many options, click here to find out more: english or spanish
Working Hours: Monday to friday, from 9am to 4pm, closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
Guided Tour: you can talk to Eduarda.
Entry Price: Free, just schedule a guided tour.
Toilets/drink water fountains: toilet and cold water are available.
Cafe/Restaurant/Convenience Store: no cafe nor restaurant nor convenience store.
Accessibility: not so much, because the building has a narrow stair and to go inside the institute, there are many floors, all of them connected only by stairs, too
Audio guide: none, but Eduarda said she can explain in Spanish and English too.
Lockers and space for stroller: yes, and you can let your things in the table too.
Recommended duration of stay: hum…I stayed around 1 hour there.
Parking: there isn’t one, you can parking in the streets around and at Praça General Tibúrcio (but in this case you will have to walk about 20 minutes to get there, but with very beautiful views)
Camera: You can take pictures without flash.
Air Conditioning: only in the first floor, where the acquis is; the other floors do not have because they stay opened, but they are very fresh.