Meninos do Morumbi is made up of teenagers from the poorest neighborhoods of São Paulo, Brazil who play, dance, and sing diverse styles such as samba, maracatu, funk, and Aguere.
What makes these kids special, apart from their music, is that they are part of a self-sustaining not-for-profit project that has benefitted over 14,000 kids over the years. The band is an educational alternative to drugs and juvenile delinquency.
Through music, the group provides an escape from hunger, exclusion, abandonment, social inequality, and to situations of personal and social risk in which they live. The formative role and transformative art emerges as a collective voice for citizenship.
Founded by Flávio Pimenta in 1996, the group has given over 500 concerts in Brazil and in Europe, including a performance for a visiting US president.
During their visit to Notre Dame, Meninos do Morumbi students will participate in numerous social and cultural events on campus and in Notre Dame classrooms and perform with the University of Notre Dame Marching Band during halftime of the Stanford game on October 13.
This is the second collaboration between Meninos Do Morumbi and the University of Notre Dame Band. In May 2011, members of the Notre Dame Concert Band performed with the group in São Paulo as part of their five-city concert tour of Brazil.
Sponsored by The Program in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, the Brazil Club, and the Portuguese Language Club