'The more the merrier' couldn't be more true when it comes to our Bloco. But we want to make sure you know what you're in for when you join. Here's a taster of what it's like to be part of the community. 

High profile events

As a community group, all of us get out as much as we put in. And when the perks include playing gigs like Reed College's Renn Fayre Festival, Nike's World Cup corporate event, Dandy Warhol's encore at the Crystal Ballroom, and Latin Gay Pride, as well as benefits and walks through the year... Well, we're all happy to put in the time and effort to give our public an unforgettable, quality show. 

Join us today! 

If you are interested in joining Bloco Alegria, then please join us during our open rehearsal hour. We'll get you started learning either agogo (bells) or chocalho (shaker), and hopefully you'll be a sambista in no time!  

Open rehearsal hour is every Monday from 6-7pm, at the Musicians’ Union Local 99, 325 NE 20th Ave, Portland, OR 97232.

Tribal knowledge

We're made up of a mix of true enthusiasts and seasoned veterans, so joining us means you get to learn from them. And we've even collected up all that knowledge into an online library of resources (video, audio, documents, charts and links) to help you with our repertoire and about Brazilian rhythms in general. 

We also have strong ties to local, national and international masters of Brazilian and Afro-Brazilian music. We're always proud to host them and often have them give workshops. 

Democracy at its finest

Of course having you at rehearsals is great. But being communally run means we all put in time outside of rehearsals too. So we use Workgroups to make sure nothing falls through the gaps. From our Purse Strings workgroup to our Gigs workgroup. From Soundsystems to Logo. As a Bloco need comes up, a tight workgroup is formed and chaired by the people who can contribute the most to that need. It goes back to the whole getting back what you put in. By joining, you could have a say in how we progress and how we continue to improve.