The caxirola () is a Brazilian

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

created by

Carlinhos Brown Antônio Carlos Santos de Freitas, known professionally as Carlinhos Brown (Brazilian Portuguese: /kaʁˈlĩɲus bɾaw̃, -iɲuʃ/, 23 November 1962), is a Brazilian singer, percussionist, and record producer from Salvador, Bahia. His musica ...

and consisting of a closed plastic

basket A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff Fiber, fibers, and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, Stolon, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials ...

with a flat-bottom filled with small synthetic particles, in an attempt to create a sustainable product. It was based on the

caxixi A caxixi () is a percussion instrument consisting of a closed basket with a flat bottom filled with seeds or other small particles. The round bottom is traditionally cut from a dried gourd. The caxixi is an indirectly struck idiophone. Like the ...

, and thus it is also an indirectly struck

idiophone An idiophone is any musical instrument that creates sound primarily by the vibration of the instrument itself, without the use of air flow (as with aerophones), strings (chordophones), membranes (membranophones) or electricity ( electrophone ...

, sounded by shaking. The caxirola was certified on September 27, 2012 by the Brazilian Ministry of Sports and was created to be the official musical instrument of the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

in Brazil. However, it was not allowed inside stadiums of both the World Cup and the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourn ...

as the government considered it a security risk.

Background and concept

Carlinhos Brown has expressed concern about the potential unpleasing sound of the official instrument of the Cup, as it happened with the

vuvuzela The vuvuzela is a horn with an inexpensive injection-moulded plastic shell about long, which produces a loud monotone note typically around B♭ 3 (the first B♭ below middle C). Some models are made in two parts to facilitate storage, ...

s of the previous tournament. According to him, "''the caxirola respects the sound limits. It reproduces sounds of nature, of the sea, because of that, we worked with the best acoustic engineers so that the sound was nice, pleasant.''" "Researchers at Brazil's

Federal University of Santa Maria The Federal University of Santa Maria (, UFSM) is a Brazilian public university located in Santa Maria, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, funded by the federal government of Brazil. It was founded in 1960, by Professor José Mariano da Rocha ...

determined .. that it would take 30,000 caxirolas to produce the same sound pressure level as a single vuvuzela." Brown also said

Aldo Rebelo José Aldo Rebelo Figueiredo (born 23 February 1956) is a Brazilian politician and a federal deputy elected by the state of São Paulo. He was President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil from 2005 to 2007. With President Luiz Inácio Lula da ...

and FIFA representatives followed the creation of the instrument closely, and it is now part of the official licensed products of FIFA. The instrument was presented at the opening of a festival called "O Olhar que Ouve" (''The Look that Hears''), made up of 19 works of art by Brown. The caxirolas were tested by Brazilian president

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the ...

, who claimed they were "more beautiful than the vuvuzelas". She also stated:

Controversies

In March 2013, FIFA tried to forbid the usage of the instrument during games, claiming it could be used as a weapon or as a method of publicity. The instruments resemble the shape and design of

hand grenades A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade g ...

. Indeed, during the

derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

between

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

's two biggest clubs,

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

and Vitória on 28 April 2013, the first match in which the caxirola was given to the public, Bahia supporters threw hundreds of them on the field of

Arena Fonte Nova The Casa de Apostas Arena Fonte Nova, also known as Complexo Esportivo Cultural Professor Octávio Mangabeira, is a Association football, football-specific stadium located in Salvador, Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil with a maximum capacity of 47 ...

as a result of their team's 5–1 loss to their rivals. In late May 2013, it was confirmed by

José Eduardo Cardozo José Eduardo Cardozo (born 18 April 1959) is a Brazilian lawyer, politician and former Attorney General of Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of count ...

, Brazilian Minister of Justice, that the instrument would not be allowed into stadiums during both football events to take place in Brazil in 2013 and 2014. The instrument was met with criticism by people who work towards the preservation of traditional cultures of Brazil, claiming that the caxirola is nothing but a copy of

, simply adding slots for the fingers (such as

brass knuckles Brass knuckles (also referred to as brass knucks, knuckledusters, iron fist and paperweight, among other names) are a melee weapon used primarily in Hand to hand combat, hand-to-hand combat. They are fitted and designed to be worn around the kn ...

) and that the native and ancient cultures of Brazil should be recognized as the true creators of the instruments and, as such, be benefited with that.

References

{{2014 FIFA World Cup Brazilian percussion Idiophones 2014 FIFA World Cup