By Ana Catalina Varela
avarela@atlantalatino.com
03/17/2005

From a corner of the Mambo Room, the enticing sounds of Brazilian rhythms, reggae, salsa, merengue and even Latin jazz, lure music-lovers into the second floor of the Bridgetown Grill in Midtwon.

With dimmed lights and a scent of excitement in the air, alluring beats embrace the senses of all who have discovered this room.

Music, passion and fun are only but a few of the things that you can expect when you step into this hidden treasure.

There are two sayings, one that dance is the poetry of the foot and that without music, life would be a mistake.

Roberto Goncalvez and his band Tropicus are the poets of the Mambo Room that make living so much more enchanting every Friday night.

At around 9:30 p.m. Goncalvez, Matt Stellard, Jose Manuel and David Holland get ready to delight an audience with their international musical repertoire.

With flaring musical notes from the guitar, keyboard, drums and bass, Tropicus delights the crowd with three musical sets, each set lined with varied types of tropical music.

With a little Bob Marley, a little Joa Gilberto and some Carlos Vives, the band plays into the late hours of the night.

Tropicus is first Brazilian Latin band in Atlanta. Co-founded by Goncalvez, the band has been performing around the metro Atlanta area since 1997.

"The mission of Tropicus is to bring quality tropical music like merengue and salsa to the Atlanta music scene. Here there is a lack of good live music and people need to have more options for good music," shared Goncalves.

TROPICUS' GONCALVES

Brazilian native, Roberto Goncalves, decided he wanted to be a musician many years ago when he was still living in Sao Paulo, Brazil's biggest city. Whether he is playing, composing or producing music, Goncalves is always ready to give an audience the best show.

He played in the army band and then got involved in music production. He even composed music for TV Globo, one of South America's leading television channels. He began playing lead and rhythm guitar in clubs in his native Brazil in 1982

Goncalvez moved to the United States in 1992, where he started his US musical career in Florida and performed in shows with renown Brazilian Artists such as Luiz Airao , Eduardo Dusek, Eliana Pitman and Marquinhos Sata.

"In Brazil you don't really get to play Brazilian music, you play more funk, rock, etc. The first time I ever played "The girl from Ipanema" was in Miami," shared Goncalves.

After a couple of years in Miami, Goncalves decided to move to Atlanta and pursue a degree at the Atlanta Institute of Music, where he graduated from with a degree in guitar performance.

Once in Atlanta, he went back to music production and worked as a freelance music producer for Turner Networks, writing and producing numerous music tracks for promos and cable series and stayed connected with the live music scene.

In 2000 he joined the band local Brazilian band Rua 6 and produced the band's first CD. By 2001 he became co-founder of the Brazilian Jazz Band, Tropicus 22 that performed in important venues in Atlanta such as the Atlanta Jazz Festival, year 2000 and 2001 and some festivals in Nashville.

Goncalves went back to Brazil in 2002 and joined Bananeira Band in a two and a half months tour to Monaco.

He is now back in Atlanta and performs with Tropicus (which dropped the 22) and plays around metro Atlanta and every Friday at the Mambo Room. Goncalves produced Valerie Hines' newest CD and the Serenata Band' s CD as well.

UPBEAT LATE NIGHTS

If a night filled with Latin rhythms, dancing, drinking and beautiful people, is your kind of party, you can enjoy a great evening among friends every Friday night starting at 9:30 p.m.

Robert Goncalves and his group, Tropicus, can sure add spice and flavor to an evening out in the town. So if you are heading to Midtown, coming out of a show from the Fox Theatre or are just want to enjoy, join the fun in one of Atlanta's newest hot spots