Frevo is a type of dance and music that comes from Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. It is connected to Brazilian Carnival. The word "frevo" comes from the Portuguese word "frever," which means "to boil." The sound of frevo makes people feel as though they are boiling on the ground. The word "frevo" is used for both the music and the dance.

In 2012, UNESCO declared frevo as an Intangible Cultural Heritage under the title "Frevo, performing arts of the Carnival of Recife."

Origins of Frevo

The frevo music began first. By the end of the 19th century, bands from the Brazilian Army regiments stationed in Recife started a tradition of marching during Carnival. Since Carnival originally connected to Catholicism, the bands played songs from religious processions and military music. A few infantry and cavalry regiments had well-known bands that gained many followers in the state. Soon, people began comparing the bands and cheering for their favorites. The two most famous bands were Espanha (meaning Spain), led by a conductor of Spanish heritage, and the 14, from the 14th Infantry Regiment. The bands began competing with each other by playing faster and louder music.

To stop the violence, police chased capoeira players and arrested many during their performances. The capoeira players responded by using umbrellas instead of knives and hiding their movements by pretending they were dance moves. This led to the development of a unique dance style known as the frevo dance.

Development

Frevo is over 100 years old (1907). Over time, it has changed to become what it is today.

Frevo was created by changing movements from capoeira into almost acrobatic dance steps. Dancers practiced hard to create new moves that needed strength, endurance, and flexibility. The competition between groups shifted from physical contests to focusing on beauty and skill. Frevo dance includes jumps, fast leg movements, and tumbling.

Today, Frevo is called passo, and the dancers are called passistas. Their clothing changed from regular clothes to short, colorful outfits that help them move better. These outfits are bright so they stand out in crowds.

The umbrellas used in Frevo also changed. They started as simple black umbrellas with wooden handles and became small, colorful ones. Moving umbrellas is part of the dance. Passistas often throw umbrellas in the air, move, and catch them again. They also pass umbrellas between their legs. The most common move is swinging the umbrella and passing it between hands while dancing.

In the 1950s, a man named Nascimento do Passo helped shape the dance. He added over 100 new moves to Frevo. He also started the first Frevo school in Recife in the late 1990s. The image of the passista is a famous symbol of Pernambuco’s carnival.

American singer Cyndi Lauper dances Frevo while singing her song "Maybe He'll Know."

Frevo-de-Rua, the most common type of Frevo, is an instrumental style played with brass instruments like trumpets, trombones, saxophones, and tubas. It is often compared to polka by listeners in the United States.

Frevo-de-Rua bands play during football matches in Recife, acting like pep bands. A well-known song is "Vassourinhas." A famous conductor in this style is Maestro Duda. In the 2000s, the SpokFrevo Orquestra, a big band from Recife, became well-known for spreading Frevo music worldwide. This band has 17-18 musicians, including skilled drummers and a percussionist. They started their first U.S. tour in March 2012.

Brass instruments used in Frevo include trumpets, cornets, flugelhorns, trombones (valved and slide), mellophones, tubas, euphoniums, and sousaphones. Saxophones used are tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones. Marching percussion includes snare drums, bass drums, clash cymbals, surdos, and repiniques.

Frevo de Bloco is a style that includes singing and string instruments. Capiba was a famous composer in this style, and others include Getulio Cavalcante. Claudionor Germano and Antonio Nóbrega are well-known performers.

A version of Frevo adapted for smaller groups uses Bahian guitars, drums, bass, electric guitars, keyboards, and a singer. This style began in the 1950s in Bahia, inspired by performances by the "Clube Carnvalesco Misto Vassourinhas of Olinda" and the band Trio Elétrico Armandinho, Dodô & Osmar. This led to the trio eléctrico tradition in Bahia’s carnival, blending Frevo with Western pop rock.

Frevo performances at military ceremonies and cultural festivals in Pernambuco helped musician Capitão Zuzinha and his band, the Military Police, connect the state police with civilians. The band later became known as the "Captain Zuzinha Frevo Band" in his honor. Zuzinha and his band created thousands of music scores from the early 1900s to the early 2000s. These scores document Frevo’s history and its rise in Brazilian pop culture. The Modern Endangered Archives Program at UCLA Library digitized nearly 700 of these scores. These digital copies are available through the UCLA Library.