Music is still king in Rio and the UK Guardian touched last week on the importance of the Brazilian sound within the city and how it continues to attract musicians from around the world.

The article notes that many Brazilians still dream of making it big, heading off to Rio at a young age to live their dreams. The Guardian notes this about a young musician still in his teens hoping to make it big:

When Luis Barcelos, a fresh-faced mandolin player from Brazil’s deep south, touched down in Rio de Janeiro for the first time in May 2005, he came in search of his musical heroes; revered samba and choro maestros he worshipped as a child.

“Most of the musicians I listened to were in Rio and I’d always wanted to live here,” said Barcelos, who was born in the small southern coastal town of Rio Grande but has now set up camp in Gloria, a historic neighborhood near Rio de Janeiro’s bohemian downtown that is home to many of the city’s top musicians.

Rio has long been known as a mecca for music lovers and musicians alike. However, the beginning of the 21st century has brought an influx of musicians from around the world “breathing new life into Rio’s traditional sounds and spawning some innovative if unlikely musical genres that infuse Bossa Nova with hip-hop, samba with Rio’s favela funk music, choral music with rap and north-eastern dance music with punk,” according to the newspaper.

What are your feelings on Rio as a music mecca? What are your musical experiences in this energetic city?