Rio de Janeiro's Original Carnival Queen
Madame Satã--João Francisco, 1930's Queen of Drama
Feb 1, 2009
Lapa is awakening after a 50-year hibernation while its name was congruent with danger. Bohemian mansions restored as nightclubs and bars are breaking down their boarded doors. The forgotten sound of laughter, and clinking glasses is returning to the corner bars, those similar to The Blue Danube where João Francisco, or Madame Satã, entertained from the bar.
João Francisco lived in the bohemian quarter of Rio, where he sought refuge in the mansion-lined streets of Lapa—crammed with artists and scoundrels, musicians and prostitutes, cabarets and drugs.
The rage inside him, built up through years by prison time and rejection, was the beast that he unleashed on the police or unknowing fools that picked a fight. His persona is demonstrated in the remark, “I was born an outlaw, and that’s how I’ll live.”
Francisco's Passion for Theatre
However, his strongest desires did not lie in crime, revenge, his adopted family—a prostitute, her child and his flamboyant roommate, or his male lover, but the longing to perform. João’s passion for theatre began in a Rio cabaret where he worked as cook. He admired the lead singer so much, he dressed in her clothing and imitated her show, ultimately leading to his dismissal.
After a ten year stint in a Rio prison for murder, Francisco began bartending at The Blue Danube, a bar he had frequented before jail. Atop the bar, he awed his first audience there, when he donned a sequined shimmering costume, painted his dark skin in exotic designs and performed his own rendition of Cecil B. De Mille's Madame Satan.
Francisco’s passion had found a mode of release. As Madame Satã, all of his suppressed fury was channeled into his electrifying and shocking performances. Whether he was spending time behind bars or on top of them, Francisco was Lapa’s queen of drama until President Vargas cleaned it out in the 40’s.
The troubled Francisco was finally able to “flee this stinking world” when he died in 1976.
Modern Day Lapa
Rio Scenarium—the type of club where João would not have been admitted—is one of modern Lapa’s hippest clubs. In contrast to the sleek lounges and techno-pulsating clubs in touristy Ipanema and Leblon, Rio Scenarium has a floor for all tastes. Live bands, featuring rock, samba, or forro, northeastern Brazilian folk music, entertain minglers on the bottom floor, while wine-guzzling diners converse over traditional Brazilian dishes on the second and third floor. In the left wing is another room with a DJ spinning hip hop, techno, and Brazilian funk.
The building doubles as an antique gallery by day, the random decorations, ranging from Chinese porcelain and old-fashioned barber chairs to cash registers and bicycles, are displayed around the nineteenth century mansion. Colorful carnival masks that could have been worn by Madame Satã himself greet the visitor at the entrance to the funhouse of historical treasures.
Rio Scenarium is situated in Rio Historical Center on Rua do Lavradio, nº 20. It is advisable to take a taxi there at night since it is located in a shady area.
Perhaps the best way to experience Lapa is on the street. The artists, musicians, cross dressers, and modern day Madame Satãs once again fill the tiled sidewalks, creative souls merrymaking together.
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