Rio de Janeiro radio stations
6 · List updated on November 3, 2026No stations found. Try another name or remove a filter.
Culture
Founded in 1565, Rio de Janeiro was Brazil's capital from 1763 until 1960, when the government moved to Brasília. The city sits between sea and mountains, and that landscape, with Guanabara Bay, Sugarloaf Mountain and the Tijuca Forest, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. Cariocas live outdoors: on the beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, at the samba circles of Lapa and Pedra do Sal, in the bars of Botafogo and on the steep streets of Santa Teresa. The year has two big peaks. Carnival, with the samba schools parading at the Marquês de Sapucaí Sambadrome and hundreds of street parties (blocos), and New Year's Eve on Copacabana beach, with millions of people dressed in white watching the fireworks at midnight.
Things to see
Local food
- Feijoada — Black beans with pork, collard greens, toasted cassava flour and orange. A Saturday ritual.
- Polvilho biscuits and iced mate — The pair sold by beach vendors walking along the sand.
- Salt cod fritters — A classic bar snack, served with an ice-cold draught beer.
- Street-market pastel — Crispy fried pastry, with fresh sugarcane juice on the side.
- Açaí bowl — Frozen, topped with granola and banana, after the beach.
Accent and slang
- “Coé”
- "What's up?", a greeting between friends.
- “Maneiro”
- Cool, nice.
- “Sinistro”
- Amazing (or scary, depending on the tone).
- “Caô”
- A lie, nonsense.
- “Partiu”
- "Let's go!"
- “Mermão”
- "My brother", a way of calling a friend.
Tip: play a local news station to hear the accent.
Local music
Rio is the home of samba, born in the early 20th century in the Little Africa area near the port. Bossa nova appeared here in the late 1950s with Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes and João Gilberto, and funk carioca grew in the 80s and 90s. Choro, MPB and pagode complete the city's sound. Rio's radio stations play samba, pagode, MPB, funk, gospel and plenty of flashback hits.
More cities
Sources: Wikivoyage — Rio de Janeiro (CC BY-SA) · Wikipedia — Rio de Janeiro (CC BY-SA) · UNESCO — Rio de Janeiro: paisagens cariocas entre a montanha e o mar.