Centro Nacional de Folclore e Cultura Popular, Folk culture museum in Catete, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Centro Nacional de Folclore e Cultura Popular occupies two adjoining historic buildings at 179 and 181 Rua do Catete, in the Catete neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, and is listed by IPHAN. It is a federal institution of the Ministry of Culture, linked to IPHAN, and houses the Museu de Folclore Edison Carneiro, the Amadeu Amaral Library and documentation, research and conservation divisions. Its holdings number 14,000 objects, 130,000 bibliographic documents and about 70,000 audiovisual documents.

The institution grew out of the National Folklore Commission, created in 1947 in Brazil under a UNESCO-led effort to document traditions seen as disappearing. In 1958 the Campaign for the Defense of Brazilian Folklore became the first permanent body in the field, linked to the Ministry of Education and Culture. In 1976 it was incorporated into the National Arts Foundation as the National Institute of Folklore, and in late 2003 it joined IPHAN under its current name.

The center houses handcrafted traditions from different Brazilian regions, including religious objects and traditional instruments still connected to regional celebrations. You can observe how these items remain meaningful in local festivals and rituals today.

The museum sits in a residential neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro easily reached by public transit. Best visit in late morning or early afternoon to explore the galleries without crowds and take in the exhibits at a comfortable pace.

The center's website offers a digitized collection of cordel literature, the string-hung chapbooks from northeastern Brazil. The museum holds 14,000 objects, 130,000 bibliographic documents and about 70,000 audiovisual documents, making it the only federal institution dedicated to documenting Brazilian popular knowledge.