Filmed by Marco Perfetti in a Jamaica Plain kitchen.
Acadêmicos de Milton Friedman is a Brazilian music group based in Jamaica Plain that has been gaining huge attention since the year of 2014. Since their foundation, the Acadêmicos band has reached more than 8,500 followers on Facebook in Brazil, without even playing a single concert there.
With their music videos available online, their appeal have reached a wide young and mature audience all over Brazil, and these numbers keep ascending quickly, reaching its peak at the upcoming performance for the 2nd Forum of Liberty and Democracy on Oct. 19th this year.
Vinny da Silva is a Brazilian guitarist/mandolinist, songwriter and producer based in the US, graduated with a Major in Performance from Berklee College of Music (with a performance at the 2014 Berklee Commencement honoring Jimmy Page in person) and performs, writes and produces in bands such as: Acadêmicos de Milton Friedman, Amy & The Engine, Pam Steebler, Optic Yellow Felt, KeL do Nascimento, Perfect Mark, Sam James, and The Frotations.
Gustavo D’Amico is a saxophonist/flutist graduated with a Major in Performance from Berklee College of Music, has played with the Global Jazz Institute among many other renowned International Jazz and World artists, and is currently doing a Master Program at New England Conservatory.
The occasion in which the performance is happening is entitled 2o Forum Liberdade e Democracia (2nd FLD, or 2nd Forum of Liberty and Democracy). It is an annual event in Brazil happening in different cities since 2010, and in its second edition in Latin America’s most important city, São Paulo, will gather some of the most notable people currently in Brazil, and the Acadêmicos de Milton Friedman are the only musical act to be performing in the occasion. The purpose of this Forum is to “re-shape people’s way to see the world, at the same time that it causes a positive social impact” according to their website, gathering leaders that are presenting several innovations all across the world. There will be notable Brazilian and International people talking and presenting their experiences, such as:
- David Friedman, renowned author and son of the economist and Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman;
-Flávio Augusto, founder of Wise Up (English Educational System in Brazil) and owner of the soccer team Orlando City (FL);
- Danilo Gentili, famous Brazilian comedian and host of the talk show Agora é Tarde, one of the most influential TV shows in Brazil;
- Cladio Sassaki, founder of Geekie, start up company specialized in education for poor communities;
- Denis Cruz, founder of Clinica SiM, health care company that offers health care for poor communities (over 14 thousand people a month), winner of the Cerfificate in Public Management and Social Innovation by Stanford University;
- And many other Brazilian and International notable people.
Acadêmicos de Milton Friedman were invited to perform for this Forum, on October 19th, for an audience of over 1,500 people at Teatro Renault (Renault Theatre), in the heart of São Paulo, Brazil and Latin America’s most important city. They will be opening, co-hosting and closing the Forum on the whole of its program for the day. The Renault Theatre, famous venue founded in 1929, is where the event takes place. In the 60’s, it hosted the Brazilian Popular Music Festival by TV Record, where legendary artists such as Edu Lobo, Tom Zé, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, Elis Regina and many others performed. In the 2000s, it has offered a wide range of shows, musicals and plays, including Les Miserábles, The Beauty and The Beast, Chicago, The Phantom of The Opera, Miss Saigon, Cats, Mamma Mia!, The Lion King, among other renowned shows.
By clicking on this link, you can help bring Acadêmicos de Milton Friedman’s musicians Vinny and Gustavo to perform in one of Brazil's most famous theatres, and support Jamaica Plain's local artists: 
[/caption]