BIROSCA CARIOCA
THE PROJECT
For the last 33 years Birosca has been witness to the magic that music brings to a place and to the people that frequent it. We can testify to its unique place in our memories and the way it invites us to grow almost effortlessly beyond our immediate surroundings and appreciate the infinite ways there are to exist. Understanding these observations to be of greater importance than our commercial value, our goal is to establish a platform preserving this particular spot between music and people.
Considering the obstacles the city of Merida has faced in the last decade we believe it is time for us to shift our focus. We have seen too many long term businesses fail. As an underground bar we cannot rely on the marketing structures of today without losing something fundamental to the music and movement that created us. Nor can we rely on our past popularity. We identify deeply with this town in this strange parallel we have shared through the last three decades, somewhere between an unidentifiable future and a bright past, but with that uniqueness only Meridenos can fully comprehend.
It has been a privilege for us to witness the remaining population of this city focus on getting through this crisis despite the extraordinary challenges presented daily. At this point, not only our livelihoods but also our actual perspectives and personalities have been altered by our particular experiences, and yet Merida continues on, often in good spirits. This resilience is our inspiration. We hope that this project will be of some logistical and personal assistance to these efforts. Out of difficult situations often emerge thought-provoking projects and solutions, and we hope to be present to be part of this awakening and support it.
Music, whether it originates in the remote Australian outback or a busy city corner, is intrinsically tied to its surroundings. These musical environments are constantly evolving. In stark contrast to today’s music industry, often dominated by global trends and mass production, Birosca Carioca, in the 1990s, miraculously provided co-existing musical environments and sustained them for three decades. This unique model of preserving music through the subcultures it is able to create serves as a crucial reference point. We believe that the music of the past, with its authentic connection to local communities, has a role to play in shaping the future and can be tangibly represented in local spaces like ours, and hopefully others around the world. This not only bridges a tangible gap between talents and influences, and generations, but also provides a bridge between the future and the past.
