Meet Patricia Leao | Owner – Brazilian Nites Productions

We had the good fortune of connecting with Patricia Leao and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Patricia, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Ever since I was small, the mesmerizing culture of Brazil was very appealing to me. Since I was attached to it in one way or another it led me to my dream / goal of presenting and promoting the music, dance, food and arts of this country through my own company, Brazilian Nites. At first it was my own desire to be involved as much as possible and then it became a community outreach… it led into opening doors to opening minds about what Brazil was all about… people that had only heard became aware of the real deal… and people that hadn’t heard, well now knew about it and loved it. So not only was the community pleased to see and enjoy their favorite artists and dance to the many rhythms “matando a saudade” (killing the homesick), but we also had the many other cultures like americans, africans, europeans, latins, asians loyal to our events…
How not to love this outcome!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art was always dancing… I love the connection between the music and the movement! And that’s what started all… from dancing to producing, which I don’t do much of the dancing anymore but the producing compensates 🙂

I started in my early 20s as part of a Brazilian dance company, we did a few shows, toured in California until the Lambada Fever hit Los Angeles (also learned it and loved it right away)… In 1990 I was offered a club and I took it without knowing that I would be slowly switching sides… It became very successful for a few years until I decided I wanted something more… I wanted to bring Brazilian artists from Brazil and I did!!

1994 was my first Brazilian Summer Festival at the Ford Amphitheater that lasted 24 years (up until about 5 years ago). This allowed me to go onto the stepping stone of not only presenting the best of the Brazilian scene but also tour them… Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Milton Nascimento, Olodum, Lulu Santos, Daniela Mercury, Djavan, Fundo de Quintal, Diogo Nogueira, Tribalistas, Jorge Aragao, Ana Carolina, Seu Jorge, Monobloco, Dori Caymmi, Geraldo Azevedo, Elba Ramalho, Emperatriz Leopoldinese, Armandinho & Moraes Moreira, Hamilton de Holanda, Yamandu Costa, Adriana Calcanhoto, Vanessa da Mata among others.

Yes, hard… nothing that becomes big is easy… but if you are persistent and love what you do, doors open somehow. The support is there because they see what you’re doing, because its very transparent and there is not much like it… not everyone has the will to confront the responsibility to the public and to the artist. A job that takes many months and is over in a few hours, but leaves tremendous compensations!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We are fortunate to live in a city that offers so much diverse and authentic culture… starting with the amazing food / restaurants we have to the music bars to the nature of our beaches, trails, hidden outdoor hang outs and more…

It depends of what the interest are, but if it was my best friend, he or she would probably be like me…

I would spend a couple of days driving from LA to Santa Barbara, stoping at some beaches, eating some fresh sea food, and watching the sunset… I would do the same from LA to San Diego

Look for some good music pubs with some blues, jazz, latin beats and if we get lucky maybe some live Brazilian music… If its summer, definitely go to a concert in one of my favorite outdoor venues and prepare for a tailgate with delicious appetizers and a good wine! Makes the concert even better!

Love to get our bikes and go on a trail, so many to choose… and see the nature that only can be seen deep in the Malibu mountains…

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Well… there are lots of factors to be successful, and one of the main one is the audience, the followers, the loyal patrons that are present and allow us to pay for the high costs of producing an event (as small of big as it is). When we open doors there is no turning back, the show must go on… this means we must meet our responsibilities whether the house is full or not.

We also recognize the partnerships of entities of the community that have supported us as sponsors or spreading the word in their circle of followers (Brazilian Cosulate, radio stations like KPFK Global Village, KCRW Cafe LA, KXLU’s Brazilian Hour, TV Globo, Sling TV to name a few)

Website: www.BrazilianNites.com

Instagram: @braziliannites

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricialeao/

Twitter: @braziliannites @patricialeao

Facebook: facebook.com/braziliannites

Youtube: Brazilian Nites Productions