Circo Voador

Circo Voador is a concert venue in the Lapa neighborhood, adjacent to the Carioca Aqueduct. The structure is tent-like: a cover over stage and spectators, with open sides.

The house began in Arpoador, between Ipanema and Copacabana, when artists put up a circus tent. The city later granted the Lapa land as a permanent home.

The Portuguese page dates the inauguration to October 1982. The venue was closed in 1996, stayed shut until 2002, and returned to its producers in 2004 after a court order rebuilt what the city had demolished.

Next door, Fundição Progresso occupies a former stove factory on Rua dos Arcos, the same block of music under the arcade.

Weekly bills are mostly Brazilian bands, with occasional foreign names. Go for the night, not a museum hour.

The walk from Lapa to Circo Voador is about 5 minutes on foot. Fundição Progresso is about 5 minutes on the same streets; both doors sit under the aqueduct.