Recife is one of the oldest cities in Brazil with almost 500 years of history. With approximately 1.6 million inhabitants, the city is also one of the most populous nationally. Tradition, creativity, and cultural diversity are great identity markers for Recife’s residents in which music plays a strategic role by mobilizing a wide network that involves cultural actors and services. Recife is renowned for its street Carnival. The annual Galo da Madrugada, is the largest carnival group in the world. The event brings together unique musical expressions such as frevo and maracatu, as well as movements that are well known internationally, for instance Manguebeat. The city has a long history of musical innovation with Frevo, a 19th century Recifian rhythm, inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Furthermore, Recife’s annual Abril Pro Rock is the first independent music festival in the country, leading to the creation of many more festivals including Porto Musical and Rec’n Play, which nurture a favorable environment for business and innovation in the field of music.
As a Creative City of Music, the following steps will be important:
• Creating governance mechanisms for the cultural sector;
• Raising creativity as a recognized strategic factor for the city’s urban sustainable development, present in local long-term plans;
• Strengthening Recife’s culture and creative economy, stimulating new partnerships involving the public and private sectors, as well as international cooperation with other Creative Cities of Music;
• Promoting professional training to enrich the production, distribution and especially dissemination of cultural manifestations, thereby broadening opportunities for professionals in the music sector, especially those from marginalized communities; and
• Fostering urban and cultural activity development in the city centre to improve access to and participation in local cultural life.
