Brazilian Hour Radio Hosts
A Tale of Two Nations: Nação Estrela Brilhante & Nation Beat
A Free Outdoor Carnivalesque Celebration
At Grand Performances
Celebrating the Radio Show’s 35th Anniversary
In Downtown Los Angeles’ California Plaza
Saturday, August 17, 2013
LOS ANGELES, CA – On Saturday, August 17, 2013, Sergio Mielniczenko, founder of the internationally-heard radio program, Brazilian Hour, hosted a private VIP reception and a spectacular outdoor carnivalesque event to celebrate its 35th anniversary on air at the Grand Performances at The California Plaza in downtown Los Angeles.
The Tale of Two Nations U.S. tour, featuring the award-winning Brazilian performance group Nação Estrela Brilhante and New York City-based Nation Beat, commemorated the 35th anniversary of the The Brazilian Hour. The celebration was produced by Grand Performances and supported by the James Irvine Foundation. VIP Guests received complimentary Brazilian Hour CDs.
VIP Guests included Brazilian percussionist Paulinho da Costa, Consul General of Brazil, Ambassador Bruno de Rísios Bath, Vice-Consul Dolival Carvalho, the Consulate’s Marcos Braga de Carvalho, LA City Councilman Tom LaBonge, Fashion designer Iliana Duboisnblanc, Aride da Costa, Deputy Consul Leonardo Valverde Corrêa da Costa, Executive & Artistic Director Grand Performances Michael Alexander, film producer Clinton H. Wallace, George DeCaprio, film director Christy Oldham, producer and radio personality Native Wayne Jobson, writers Susan Hornik and Amanda de Quincey, and Live365’s Juliete Bouquerel, Hong Lau CEO of Live365 and Tanya Forsberg.
The festive event marked the first time the ancient art of maracatú drumming was performed in Los Angeles. “Brazil is immensely rich, musically and culturally, and for us to have the opportunity to experience the tradition of maracatú rhythms and dance in Los Angeles is a rare opportunity” says Sergio.
About The Brazilian Hour Radio Show
Sergio Mielniczenko is the founder and host of the Brazilian Hour. Created by the Cultural Sector of the Brazilian Consulate-General in Los Angeles in 1978, the Brazilian Hour radio program showcases the country’s music and culture to provide audiences worldwide with a rich and deep taste of Brazilian culture. Its host and producer, Sergio Mielniczenko, has been at the helm for the show’s entire time, guiding the Consulate’s most important cultural export. In celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, the Brazilian Hour is readying its global audience for two significant events taking place in Brazil: the World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016. To coincide with the Tale of Two Nations concert, the radio show will launch two new stations in August via the Brazilian Hour website – La Hora Brasileña with Host Denise Lebré in Spanish and L’Heure Brésilienne with Host Ana Maria Fontoura in French. In Los Angeles, the show is heard on its original broadcaster, KXLU 88.9FM. One of the longest running international radio shows in the U.S., the show is heard on NPR stations across the country.
Made possible by the Ministry of External Relations of Brazil, the Brazilian Hour was first introduced at Los Angeles radio station KXLU 88.9FM on March 5, 1978. Since the beginning, the show has been hosted, written and produced by Sergio Mielniczenko. To this day it continues to be broadcast on KXLU 88.9FM on Saturdays and Sundays, 9:00-10:00am (PST). Show content is also available 24/7 through Brazilian Hour’s website, Live 365, and a new free application for iPhone, iPad and Android. In 1981, the Brazilian Hour started national distribution via satellite to public radio stations in the United States. Nearly 40 NPR stations across the country currently broadcast the show. Internationally, the show is heard in diverse lands such as Sri Lanka, Cuba and Gabon in West Central Africa. The Brazilian Hour also distributes the program internationally to hundreds of Brazilian diplomatic missions and cultural centers around the world. Currently, the show is produced in English, Portuguese and Mandarin, with Spanish and French shows coming in August. The show features not only the most popular styles of Brazilian music – bossa nova, música popular Brasilera (MPB) and samba – but also a full range of traditional and contemporary Brazilian music including choro, Brazilian jazz, forró, frevo, and many other styles.
Anyone who is anyone in the Brazilian music scene has been on the show. The “short list” of notable guests includes Tom Jobim, Sergio Mendes, Oscar Castro Neves, Laurindo Almeida, Moacir Santos, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, João Bosco, Ivan Lins, Dori Caymmi, Egberto Gismonti, Djavan, Gal Costa, Milton Nascimento, Chico Buarque de Hollanda, Jorge Benjor, Roberto Carlos, Céu, Luisa Maita, Bebel Gilberto, Tita Lima, João Donato, Tania Maria, Eliane Elias, Nana Caymmi, Joyce, Luciana Souza, Hermeto Pascoal, Azymuth, Martinho da Vila, Beth Carvalho, Alcione, Seu Jorge, Daniela Mercury, and Olodum, to name just “a few.”
For more info, please visit:
www.brazilianhour.org
Tuning into the
BRAZILIAN HOUR
In Los Angeles
KXLU 88.9FM – every Saturday & Sunday morning (9:00-10:00am PST)
In the U.S.
On almost 40 different NPR stations around the country
Around the world –
The Brazilian Hour also distributes the program internationally to hundreds of Brazilian diplomatic missions and cultural centers around the world. Currently, the show is produced in English, Portuguese and Mandarin, with Spanish and French.
Or, Brazilian Hour can be heard (streaming) online 24/7:
http://www.brazilianhour.org
http://www.live365.com/stations/brazilianhour
About Sergio Mielniczenko
Sergio Mielniczenko, Brazilian Hour Producer/Host & Event Host –
Sergio Mielniczenko, staff member of the Cultural Sector at the Consulate-General of Brazil in Los Angeles, has spent the past three decades of his professional career introducing worldwide audiences to the best of Brazilian music and culture. He is the producer/host of the Brazilian Hour, heard on KXLU 88.9FM in Los Angeles, NPR stations across the country, and beyond. Mielniczenko is also a weekly host of KPFK 90.7FM’s Global Village every Friday, an international open format program featuring live music performances and interviews from around the world. He is an accomplished musician, multimedia project producer, and film documentarist. After studying composition and conducting in São Paulo for two years, he moved to the States to finish his music education, but instead became interested in mass media studies resulting in a BA in Radio & Television Broadcasting from CSU Northridge and a Professional Designation Certificate in Recording Arts and Sciences at UCLA. He has been honored throughout his career by the Brazilian Government (Ordem de Rio Branco), three times by the Brazilian International Press Association, including this year’s special gold award, the City of Los Angeles, and KPFK 90.7FM.
Other Sergio Mielniczenko Radio Shows:
• KPFK 90.7FM – hosting the Friday edition of Global Village,
• The 24/7 online show, One Globe Radio via Live365.
About Grand Performances
Grand Performances (GP), Los Angeles’ premiere free outdoor summer performing arts presenter, is known for providing Angelenos with an eclectic mix of high quality performing arts by world-renowned artists across genres. Now in its 27th year, Grand Performances presents a 10-week concert series every summer of shows in Downtown Los Angeles featuring music, film, theater, and live talks. GP presents the best of global culture to inspire community among the diverse peoples of Los Angeles, reflective of the many cultural interests across the region. All are welcome to enjoy GP’s unique, awe-inspiring venue nestled under the spectacular Downtown skyline, surrounded by water. The venue is located right next to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Grand Performances is a 501(c)(3) located on Bunker Hill. http://www.grandperformances.org.
For the Grand Performances Facebook event page, see https://www.facebook.com/events/128062747389729.
Leave a Reply