This downtown musical instrument store, one of three located on Rua General Osório, in Santa Efigênia, comes into its own on Saturday mornings when a half-dozen or so musicians, usually sitting in a circle at crowd level, play live samba on the first Saturday of the month and chorinho – a related, mainly instrumental musical genre – on the other Saturdays.

The Saturday morning sessions are one of the city’s oldest, going strong for 48 years now, with an intimate, up-close-and-personal format. As the musicians strain their memories to deliver the crowd’s requests, the audience leans in ever closer, transfixed by the ensemble's intricate melodies.

• Read more on São Paulo's samba hotspots