https://rollingstone.com.br/musica/formosa-hi-fi-templo-sonoroque-revitaliza-o-centro-sao-paulo/

There are places in the city that carry silent stories on their walls. THE Formosa Galleryin the heart of Anhangabaú ValleyIt was one of those urban secrets: a 500 square meter underground tunnel that remained closed for five decades, accumulating not only 120 kilos of dead cockroaches, but also memories of a São Paulo that few remember.

The space, which dates back to 1938, when the mayor Prestes Maia delivered an underground passage to connect the Shopping Light to the Municipal theaterwas born with the intellectual ambition of Mário de Andradewho idealized a fine restaurant dedicated to Brazilian gastronomy. The project never left the paper, but the gastronomic vocation of the place would persist for decades: in 1940, it became the headquarters of Ballet Municipal Schoolthen became the Catholic ladies’ league restaurantwhich served affordable meals for center workers. Nicknamed the Paulistanos “Xavier Passage”, from Xavier de Toledo Square, the gallery was gradually neglected by municipal administrations (never had even an official public place) until it was definitively closed in 1975.

Today, this same space houses the Formosa Hi-Fithe first hearing bar of high fidelity in Brazil entirely dedicated to quality music. And it is no exaggeration to say that it represents much more than a new gastronomic address: it is a sound manifesto in the historic center, a rescue both architectural and sensory of a city that has long lost the habit of listening in depth.

Poetic irony could not be greater: exactly 50 years after Elis Regina rehearse Fake brilliant in this same place (cleaning with their own hands the space abandoned by the city), the Formosa Hi-Fi resurrects the gallery with the same reverence for the music as the Pepper always defended. Behind the project, three entrepreneurs who make their business an ode to the city: Facundo Warahead of Vegas Group and responsible for iconic houses as Vegas Club, Yacht, Lions, Z Carniceria, Bar dos Arcos, Cine Joia And, more recently, Love Cabaret and BLUE NOTE; Ale Youssefformer secretary of culture of SP and one of the founders of the Studio SP; and Ale Natacciwho was ahead of spaces like Sonique and Pony. Together, Youssef and Natacci also created the Baixo Augusta Academics and the Bass slabimportant cultural initiatives of São Paulo.

The technical differential of the Formosa It’s impressive. José Augusto Nepomucenofrom the award Acoustic & Sonic (Responsible for Room sao paulo and by Artistic Culture Theater), signed a project that turned the limitations of the space listed into innovative solutions. The site is protected by the three public assets, Conpress, Condephaat and IPHANwhich prevented any structural modification. Therefore, as it was not possible to change the original structure, four internal walls were raised, creating a “box inside the box”.

The true revolution is in the “stereo bubbles”: more than 20 sound boxes strategically distributed throughout the hall, creating three sound lines that guarantee the same acoustic quality anywhere in the environment, that is, anywhere in space, you can talk and listen to music clearly and in the same volume. What if you were in doubt about the sound being at the right time? Don’t worry, you can check it out in a decibel meter.

Ritual in Formosa Hi-Fi It starts with the entrance through the staircase next to the Shopping Lighta literal dive in the city’s underground. The main hall, almost all marble, holds 160 people sitting, distributed between wooden counter and sofas. On the ceiling, 420 LED lamps connected to an automation system create infinite combinations of synchronized lighting with music, turning each session into a unique visual experience.

The program follows a specific liturgy: every day, an album is touched from end to end in the early evening. Then the “musical selector” (never DJ, always curator) builds sound narratives from the collection of 6,000 records of the house or the vinyl themselves. The gastronomic menu, signed by JOSEANE MARQUESit is a conceptual tribute to the unregistered ideas of Mário de Andrade For the restaurant that never existed in this place. Dishes such as Boeuf Bourguignon with Milk Pirão and Angu Pastel with Brie translate into flavors the proposal to unite tradition and modernity. The cocktail, commanded by Michelly Rossioffers copyright drinks that talk to the night soundtrack, a liquid extension of musical curatorship.

With very disputed entry (reservations by the app Get in for a maximum of six people, waiting line from 10 pm for the unsuspecting), the Formosa It has already been consolidated as a point of convergence among generations of Melomans. The membership club, with monthly fees from R $ 390, offers exclusive experiences such as vinyl draw, lineless entrance and a free drink with each visit, as well as the possibility of listening to its own records. But the true value lies in the democratization of access to sound of high fidelity.

The project integrates the revitalization of the Anhangabaú Valley, but goes further: redefines what it means “going out to listen to music” in São Paulo. Different from traditional listening bars, which prioritize the environment about technology, Formosa Hi-Fi It is positioned as a space of high sound fidelity, where technical quality is as important as curatorship. In times of algorithmic playlists and listens fragmented, the bar offers an alternative: the possibility of listening to music with time and attention, in an environment specifically designed for it.

I visited the Formosa On a night of Thursday, when the selector, an old friend, varied the sound of Eletro-Indie until reaching the Latin rhythms of our favorite port, Bad Bunny. I reinforce here the house’s LP collection, which is great and varied. Of Rationals MC’s the Lana Del Reyfrom Buena Vista Social Club the Velvet undergroundor Corner club and Xuxawhy not? In fact, in a vinyl of Xuxa It was where the menu came from, curious and fun detail. Another highlight also goes to the fumodrome, which gives the newly restored source that stays below the imposing stairs Municipal theatera way to Anhangabaú Valley. We could be in any city in Europe, but this jewelry is in the center of the city of São Paulo.

Between a sip of one of the house’s copyright, I realized that the Formosa Hi-Fi It’s not just a bar. It is a temple dedicated to listening, a space where music recovers its sacred place in urban experience. And in times of hurry and infinite playlists, they give us something precious back: the time of music. And they do it exactly where Elis ReginaHalf a century ago, he cleaned the floor so that his voice could echo. The gallery she prepared for Fake brilliant Now it really shines, illuminated not only for the 420 ceiling lamps, but for the same passion for the music that moves Paulistanos forever.

SERVICE
Formosa Hi-Fi
Operation: Tuesday to Sunday from 19h. Closes at midnight, except on Friday and Saturday, when it operates until 2am;
Address: Coronel Xavier de Toledo Street, 23 – Formosa Gallery (near Anhangabaú Metro). Artistic cover: R $ 20.
Tickets and information: here
Instagram: @formosahifi

• Ale Natacci

• ALê Youssef

• Facundo War

• Formosa Hi-Fi

• JOSEANE MARQUES

• Michelly Rossi