Banda Calypso

Banda Calypso was a Brazilian brega pop band, with influences of regional rhythms of the state of Pará. The band was formed in Belém, the state capital, in 1999 by singer/dancer Joelma da Silva Mendes and guitarist/producer Cledivan Almeida Farias, better known as Mestre Ximbinha. Early exposure of their work was restricted to only the North and Northeast regions of Brazil. The band now enjoys success throughout Brazil and has begun to establish its career abroad with tours to the United States, Europe and Angola. Despite initial resistance by music distributors because of its genre and origins, the band became a leader in CD and DVD sales in the 2000s, with approximately 15 million albums and over 5 million DVDs distributed in Brazil, making it one of the record-breaking bands of the country in sales. The band plays an engaging rhythm known as Brega pop and Calypso. Banda Calypso also plays a mixture of several Pará rhythms as well as Cumbia, Merengtheue and Carimbó. In 2011, development began on the feature film This is Calypso – The Movie, which will recount how Joelma and Ximbinha met, the band's formation in 1999 and its recognition in Brazil and abroad. The film is being directed by Caco Souza and will star Deborah Secco as Joelma; the actor who will play Ximbinha has not yet been named. On 19 August 2015 the couple announced their separation. The announcement stated that the band would honor its current commitments until the end of its performance calendar in December 2015.

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