On stage with Madonna! Rhythmists from Viradouro are anxious about playing alongside the ‘Queen of Pop’: ‘It hasn’t sunk in yet’

Under the command of musician Pretinho da Serrinha, who assembled a drum kit with 20 children and young people from samba schools to perform alongside Madonna, Caio Gonze (16 years old), Nicole Gonçalves (19 years old) and Pedro Felipe (11 years old). ) are in the select group.

The lucky trio is enjoying every moment of contact with Madonna, who rehearsed with the group for four days in a row, from 2pm to 2am. A routine that is not at all difficult for those who know that they are experiencing a unique moment that will forever mark their promising careers.

“We are all living a dream. She is very cool, she is the queen of pop and treats everyone very well”, says Caio Gonze, who plays the repique at Viradouro and is drum master at the Virando Esperança children’s school.

Madonna coordinated the rehearsals directly and instructed the cast to interact with her a lot. Singer Pabllo Vittar trained together, as her number with the biggest star of the “Celebration Tour” is precisely in the presence of the young drummer.

“Madonna said she was impressed that we were so young and played well. And she always asked us to look directly at her during rehearsals when dancing, to interact with the choreography and smile a lot because we were living a moment of joy. She made us feel very comfortable”, adds the young percussionist.

For young samba dancers, ‘the penny hasn’t dropped yet’

Nicole Gonçalves, also a rhythm player at Viradouro and the junior school, will play the cowbell at the show and I didn’t expect to find Madonna so excited during the long meetings.

“She is wonderful, lively, super friendly. I feel butterflies in my stomach, my hands are sweating all the time. After all, it is unimaginable to be living this gigantic experience. My penny hasn’t sunk in yet, I’m making a dream come true”, celebrates Nicole, a little anxious to play at the event.

Also from Viradouro, Pedro Felipe, who will play the snare drum on the drums set up especially for the show, was more economical when it came to expressing what he thought of the historic moment:

“I’m very happy and Madonna also said she’s very happy. She is very cool”.

The performance by young people from Viradouro and other guest percussionists alongside Madonna will last approximately 5 minutes. The most anticipated show of the year so far starts at 9:30 pm, on Copacabana beach.