Daniel Haaksman, founder of the Man Recordings label, has published a new book that maps the musical and social history of Rio de Janeiro through 50 songs spanning more than a century. Titled It Began in Ipanema, the work moves beyond the city’s postcard imagery to spotlight tracks from favelas, nightlife, and political undercurrents.
A Two-Decade Relationship with Rio
Haaksman’s connection to the city began in 2004, when a friend brought him funk carioca CDs from Brazil. “I was so blown away by the music that I decided to fly to Rio to check out the music myself,” he said. That first visit led to the compilation Rio Baile Funk: Favela Booty Beats. Since then, he has traveled to Rio roughly twenty times, worked with numerous carioca artists, and released many Rio records on Man Recordings. “Musically it’s the most exciting city for me; every time I visit, I discover new records and new artists.”
Curating a City’s Soundtrack
Haaksman explained that while classics like “The Girl from Ipanema” and “Chega De Saudade” are widely known, he sought songs that reveal less visible aspects of Rio. “To avoid the postcard views I was interested in songs that revealed aspects of the city the classics tend to leave out,” he said. He likened the book’s structure to a DJ set: “The classics are there, but they’re not left alone to do all the work, the real revelations often arrive in the records nobody knew.”
Among the selections, he highlighted tracks such as Cartola’s “Sala De Recepção,” which reflects the dense social networks of favela life; Junior Mendes’s “Copacabana Saida,” capturing the freedom of early 1980s Copacabana nightlife; and Quarteto Em Cy’s “Santo Amaro,” whose vocal lines mirror the geographical and social ups and downs of a favela.
Uncovering Hidden Histories
Haaksman pointed to several other tracks that avoid Rio’s clichés:
- “Eu Sou O Rio” by Black Future: a document of late 1980s Rio, when the Lapa neighbourhood became an experimental zone for musical collisions after the military dictatorship loosened its grip.
- DJ Edgar’s “Flamengo”: a 2007 baile funk rework of the Flamengo football club anthem, deconstructed on an MPC sampler into a dancefloor staple.
- Ivo Meirelles’s “Barra, Shopping, Gasolina E Celular”: a reflection on the hollow materialism of a new middle class that emerged in the Barra suburb during Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s first presidency.
Why Ipanema?
For many outside Brazil, the first musical encounter with the country came through “The Girl from Ipanema,” one of the most played songs in history. “Through the beach of Ipanema and the sound of bossa nova, Brazilian music entered the global consciousness,” Haaksman said. The book’s title, he acknowledged, is slightly misleading: “For gringos, it began in Ipanema, but Rio’s true musical laboratory has been and still is the favelas.”
Politics and Violence in Song
Haaksman noted that he only briefly addressed Rio’s political complexities, finding few songs that offered outsiders clear insight into local politics. The book includes chapters on Putodiparis’s “Interlúdio Chico Buarque,” which deals with the brutality of the drug trade; Cidinho E Doca’s “Rap Das Armas,” addressing gun violence in the favelas; and MC Bob Rum’s “Rap Do Silva,” which examines discrimination against funk culture and harsh social realities.
