Opanijé percussion on stage in Salvador — live performance
The Group · Salvador da Bahia

Rhythm raised in Bahia. Meet the people who carry it.

A Bahian percussion school — from Salvador to the world, rooted in Afro-Brazilian tradition and the diaspora. Behind it are the people who live the drum: masters from Salvador, artists of the diaspora, and a family raised in Samba de Roda.

Talk to us Meet the team ↓
Our story

A school named for a rhythm

Opanijé was born in 2020 as a platform for the memory of Afro-Brazilian and Afro-diasporic culture — percussion above all. The name comes from an old rhythm of the tradition: we named the house for the beat that carries this inheritance forward.

Our roots are the roots of Bahian music: a family line of Samba de Roda from the Recôncavo, the blocos and bands of Salvador — Timbalada to Olodum — and the classroom, where the tradition moves hand to hand, student by student, in Brazil and West Africa.

At the core, a pair: mestre Adson Junior "Pai de Santo", who teaches, and Rodolfo "Meu Velho Visconde" Ogliari, who produces and directs. One plays, the other records — and the culture travels.

Everything begins at the drum.

Drums of Tudo Começa no Tambor — where the tradition begins

Rooted in Bahia

Samba de Roda from the Recôncavo and Salvador's blocos — Timbalada to Olodum — run through everything we make.

Taught, not just played

The tradition is taught in the classroom — and Tudo Começa no Tambor holds the Prêmio Cultura Viva recognition.

A bridge to West Africa

From Mali's Festival Sur le Niger to an exchange in Accra, the drum travels with us between Brazil and West Africa.

The team

Masters, artists & the founder

Real roles, real stage names — no invented titles. The people on this page are the ones who play, teach and produce.

The pair at the core
Adson Junior "Pai de Santo" — portrait

Adson Vasconcelos dos Santos Junior "Pai de Santo"

Bahian mestre · lead teacher

A Bahian percussion master and educator. On the drum since age five — from the legendary Timbalada to stages with Carlinhos Brown, Marisa Monte and Olodum — he has trained more than a thousand students.

Read the full story

A boy in Salvador already living the drum, Adson joined the legendary Banda Timbalada in 1996 and held the timbau chair until 2000. From there: stages with Carlinhos Brown, Marisa Monte, Olodum, Baianada and Lua Cheia, plus tours across Europe and Asia. A teacher since his Salvador years (Ação Criança/FUNDAC), he moved to Brasília in 2012; more than a thousand public-school students have come through his classes, and hundreds more through Ijexá com Gana in Ceilândia. Today he leads the school Tudo Começa no Tambor at Cio das Artes and performs with Grupo Afirmação — from "Donde eu Vim" to Festa das Águas.

Rodolfo "Meu Velho Visconde" Ogliari, founder of Opanijé

Rodolfo Celliert Ogliari "Meu Velho Visconde"

Founder · Cultural producer & audiovisual direction

A percussionist and cultural producer raised in his family's Samba de Roda tradition. Founder of Opanijé, he bridges Brazil and West Africa — from Mali's Festival Sur le Niger to Accra.

Read the full story

Raised in a family line of Samba de Roda, Rodolfo turned professional in 2014. A multi-artist — percussionist, cultural producer, arranger, arts educator, writer and filmmaker — he founded the Opanijé platform and co-founded ensembles devoted to the diaspora: Grupo Afirmação, Gã Star and Ijexá com Gana. He co-created Tudo Começa no Tambor, recognized by the Prêmio Cultura Viva and built on a direct partnership with IPHAN. He has produced and performed from Mali's Festival Sur le Niger, with Grupo Afirmação on Malian soil, to a cultural exchange in Accra, Ghana — sharing stages with Carlinhos Brown, Cheick Tidiane Seck, Dona Jenice and Raimundo Sodré.

Talk to us

Want to play, learn or produce together?

A real person answers — no bots. Reach us on WhatsApp, set up a call, or write us an email — whichever works for you.

Book a free call