Madame Underground Club, the São Paulo nightclub widely known as Madame Satã, has been named as the venue for a party organized by banker Daniel Vorcaro in 2023.
Vorcaro is the founder and chief executive of Banco Master, a Brazilian bank.
The club addressed the reports in a statement posted to its social media accounts on Friday, September 11. It said that on days when the venue is not running its usual cultural programming, its facilities are available for rent for a variety of purposes.
Regarding the date on which the party reportedly took place, the club said the venue had been rented to an outsourced events agency or production company, and that there had been no direct negotiation between the club's management and the individual named in recent reports.
The statement added that the organization, guest list, content and conduct of the event were the sole responsibility of the contractors and producers who booked the space.
A Symbol of São Paulo's Underground Scene
Madame Satã is considered a symbol of São Paulo's underground culture, bringing together the city's alternative scenes since the 1980s. The nightclub sits in Bixiga, officially part of the Bela Vista district, one of São Paulo's oldest neighborhoods and long associated with Italian immigration, samba schools and bohemian nightlife.
The venue takes its name from Madame Satã, the stage name of João Francisco dos Santos, a capoeira fighter and drag performer who became an emblematic figure of Rio de Janeiro's bohemian nightlife in the Lapa district. His life later inspired the 2002 Brazilian film "Madame Satã," directed by Karim Aïnouz.
From New Wave Landmark to Rock History
The club's peak came in the 1980s, when it emerged on the crest of the new wave movement while also functioning as a kind of discotheque that embraced other genres. Major figures in São Paulo's cultural scene passed through its doors, including Rita Lee, widely regarded as the queen of Brazilian rock; the actress, singer and television presenter Marisa Orth; João Godo; and Kid Vinil.
Bands such as RPM, Titãs, Ira! and Legião Urbana, central figures in Brazil's "BRock" movement of Portuguese-language rock that dominated national radio through the decade, played some of their earliest shows at the venue.
Reopening as a Heritage Site
After a long period of closure, the nightclub reopened in 2012 under the shortened name Madame and has since been recognized as a historical heritage site of the city of São Paulo. It now includes a burger restaurant alongside its performance space, which has a capacity of 350 people.
The venue has regained a prominent place in São Paulo's underground scene and currently hosts events dedicated to gothic, post-punk, dark wave and EBM music, the last a genre that blends electronic and industrial dance sounds and emerged in Europe in the 1980s.
