WITH some friends, Andrézinho DJ decided to put together a pagode (typical Brazilian music) band. But they wanted to go further than simply making music. What they really wanted was to express themselves with lyrics, singing about the social inequality in the slums. So the group put together a social project. And what they created was Movimento na Rua.

This is music with an edge: music inspired by the social conditions of Brazil's streets, of the favelas.

Members
Thiago Thomé
Movimento na Rua's vocalist Thiago is the newest member of the group.

He grew up in a musical sphere, with his parents being samba singers, starting his musical career at the age of 13 singing samba. At 18 he started studying at the music school Villa-Lobos. He created various groups, and played in the best concert halls of Rio de Janeiro.

Thiago has explored a diversity of music genres. When he was 24, he expanded into musical theatre, and also had his first contact with classical music, enriching his knowledge and broadening his musical taste. Through creating some other projects he took the opportunity to explore genres like the hip-hop band EDJ, the samba-rock group Paralelo Samba-Rock and Feijoada, a conjoint that plays MPB with a very special "swing".

Paulo Sérgio Cardoso (Paulinho)
Paulinho is the percussionist and, like many Brazilians, is self-taught.

Paulinho worked quite some time for the drug trade in the slum. When his brother, one of the drug lords, got shot Paulinho promised his mother he would leave that world.

At the moment Paulinho works as a percussion workshop instructor with youth work in the neighborhood. There are about one hundred young participants.

Márcio Correia Eduardo
Márcio is the bass player.

He lives in the slum of Vila Aliança in the east-zone of Rio de Janeiro.

Márcio comes from a very musical family. His older brothers taught him to play the guitar and bass. At a very young age he already played guitar in a Bossa Nova group in the neighborhood.

Márcio works in a youth work project teaching guitar classes to over twenty youth.

Marcelo Ferreira da Silva
Movimento na Rua's guitarist and musical director, Marcelo has been a musician and composer for over 20 years.

He started to study music when he was 14, learning musical theory, harmony and improvisation. He was a teacher at the Brazilian Conservatory of Music and played together with famous Brazilian MPB artists.

He used to live in the United States where he played in night clubs.

Besides his work with Movimento na Rua, he also composes sound tracks for an advertising agency.

Carlos Douglas Pereira Lessa (Dudu Lessa)
Drummer and percussionist Carlos is 30 and has been studying music since he was 12.

He attended a course at the University of Musical Theory and Perception and has played together with famous Brazilian artists.

These days he teaches private classes of rhythmic theory and musical practice.

André Luiz dos Santos Silva (Andrézinho DJ)
After having lived in various parts of Rio de Janeiro, Andrézinho now lives in the Vila Aliança slum.

With a group of friends he decided to put a pagode (typical Brazilian music) band together, but the thing they really wanted was to express themselves with lyrics, singing about the social inequality in the slums. So the group of friends put together a social project.

These days André is the administrator and football trainer of the project and he is the DJ of Movimento na Rua.