Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro

Who is Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro?

Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro, a Brazilian of African and Portuguese descent, is a percussionist best known for playing the pandeiro, and is one of the instrument's major proponents.

Born Carlos de Oliveira, Carlinhos grew up in Rio de Janeiro in the 1940s. He was immersed in samba, a style of music with roots in both Africa and Portugal. Its most famous expression is in the poor and working-class neighborhoods surrounding Rio, called favelas, which host performing associations known as samba schools. These groups compete every year in Rio’s spectacular Carnaval parade, with thousands of dancers in feathered costumes and hundreds of drummers playing samba rhythms.

One drum that can perform all the rhythms of the samba is Brazil’s national instrument, the pandeiro.

Carlinhos took up the pandeiro at age seven, starting with one of his mother’s cake pans. He visited the favelas to absorb samba styles, particularly at one of the greatest samba schools, GRES Estação Primeira de Mangueira. Carlinhos would join in during rehearsals, and he soon came to the attention of Mangueira’s legendary singer, Jamelão, who invited Carlinhos to become a performing member of Mangueira, a high honor.