Something that has always captured my attention about Brazil is its perpetual mutation. It is always in movement, always transforming and intermixing. In this process of constant creation, new ways of being, speaking, acting, living, enjoying and suffering emerge. One of the ways in which creation is showing itself is through the blending of musical styles. Its as if the effects globalization were to pertain to one country only, and in a cultural sense, regional and state lines fade away. Its a neverending experiment. For these reasons, I present Cordel.

Cordel do Fogo Encantado is a Brazilian band from Arcoverde, Pernambuco who mix different Brazilian musical genres, such as samba de côco, toré indígena, embolada, and reisado, with pop-rock melodies. The band derives its name from cordel, a type of hand-made illustrated pamphlet literature made by woodcut artists in northeastern Brazil. Cordel do Fogo Encantado is associated with Pernambuco’s Mangue Bit (erroneously called Mangue Beat), a musical movement that is repopularizing traditional northeastern Brazilian folkloric musical genres by mixing them with rock and funk music.