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Let The Games Begin: A Playlist For Rio

Album art for Brazilian band Bixiga 70's 2016 Record Store Day release, <em>The Copan Connection: Bixiga 70 Meets Victor Rice</em>.
Courtesy of the artists
Album art for Brazilian band Bixiga 70's 2016 Record Store Day release, The Copan Connection: Bixiga 70 Meets Victor Rice.

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know that a few little sporting events are about to begin in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil's "Marvelous City" (Cidade Maravilhosa), as the locals call it, is rightly celebrated for beautiful beaches (and the beautiful people on those beaches), raucous Carnival and the spectacular view atop Corcovado Mountain. Over the next few weeks, as the Summer Olympics unfold, the focus will be on all things Brazilian. Here are an introduction to and playlist of what may be Brazil's most important commodity — its music.

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Tom Huizenga is a producer for NPR Music. He contributes a wide range of stories about classical music to NPR's news programs and is the classical music reviewer for All Things Considered. He appears regularly on NPR Music podcasts and founded NPR's classical music blog Deceptive Cadence in 2010.
Anastasia Tsioulcas is a reporter on NPR's Arts desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards and the myriad accusations of sexual misconduct against singer R. Kelly.
Mark Mobley