Bolero at Sunset

Brazil


Almost every Brazilian tourist in João Pessoa heads to the north of the city to Cabodelo (10km from Tambaú) for sunset to see saxophonist Jurandy play Ravel’s Bolero while being paddled up and down the Rio Paraíba in a canoe. The daily event is a supremely kitschy, classically Brazilian phenomenon; some people come from Natal and Recife just for this!

People can buy a ticket to watch from the water on catamarans (R$40), which also travel down the river for some sightseeing, or watch for free from the riverside where a loudspeaker amplifies Jurandy's notes.

Taxis from Tambaú are about R$30 each way; or ride bus 513 from Tambaú to the end of the line and transfer free to a Jacaré bus which is marked 'Cabedelo Intermares'. Don't linger afterwards – the area can get dicey once the crowds clear out.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Brazil attractions

1. Ilha de Areia Vermelha

3.37 MILES

Ilha de Areia Vermelha is an island of red sand that emerges off the northern beaches at low tide for roughly half the days in each month. Boats park…

2. Centro Cultural São Francisco

5.44 MILES

This is one of Brazil's most beautiful monasteries. São Francisco's construction was interrupted by battles with the Dutch and French, resulting in an…

3. Casa de Polvora

5.48 MILES

On the side of the hill halfway between the Cidade Alta and Cidade Baixa, this arched brick building was erected in 1710 to store the city's gunpowder…

4. Hotel Globo

5.48 MILES

Built in 1928, the old Hotel Globo has been recently renovated and is supposed to house a small museum, but the pieces have long been in storage. What…

5. Igreja de São Pedro Gonçalves

5.5 MILES

Down in what's called the Cidade Baixa, the adjacent squares Praça Antenor Navarro and Largo de São Pedro Gonçalves are both lined with pastel-colored…

7. Igreja NS do Carmo

5.55 MILES

The 16th-century Igreja NS do Carmo stands at the center of an impressive complex of church buildings on Praça Dom Adauto.