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3
Eu, Bart Negron, ex-proprietario de 50% da Vicky & Norton Corp. DBA Around The World Travel, estabelecida em San Marcos, California, inform째 a todos os fomecedores, cias aereas, clientes e amigos que nao faco mais parte da sociedade da empresa Around The World Travel desde o dia 01 de junho de 1998. Minhas empresas atuais, onde sou o tinico proprietario sao:
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Inform째 que nao me responsabilizo por nenhum ato praticado pela empresa Vicky & Norton Corp. DBA Around The World Travel e a Volta ao Mundo Travel. yambern nao mantenho nenhum vinculo comercial com esta empresa desde 01 de junho de 1998. Minhas logo marcas sao:
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Brasil te espera de bracos abertos! BRAZZIL -FEBRUARY 1999
- —„rT
1j
-— To secure his reele-c-tion attrie entre last year, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso made splashy promises. He vowed to create 7.8 million new jobs and stamp out child labor, when today 3.8 million 5 to 14-year-old kids are part of the workforce. Instead, unemployment is now at an all-time high and plans to use $320 million to pay for kids' scholarships was cut by 83%. The dream to have 98% of all children in school by the year 2002 now will be delayed at least two years. Another project, to place 100,000 computers in classrooms across the country had its resources reduced by 90%. No sector will be spared the knife.
6
The forecast for 1999 is gloomy: GDP will fall 3.5%, taking the per capita income lo 1980 levels and inflation might reach double digit after four years of low inflaAnd to think that according tO a tion. study by the Interamerican Bank for Development, Brazil would need 120 years obliterate misery with an economy growing 2% a year. On the positive side the return of inflation has been accompanied by a new attitude by society. While in the past consurnAs you might know, Brazzil is a verY small operation: one person and some volunteers who help as and when they caa. The magazine is coming out a little more than a month late and I'm sorry for that I don't see me catching up soon, but rest assured that the content is fresh and yOu will get all the issues you've paid fOr. Thanks and all the best R.M.
26 Short Story "Singularidade de uma Rapariga Loura" by Eva de Queiros
8
33
10
Cover by Saulo Petean
Life Style Nudism and naturism are thriving
DEPARTMENTS
11
Rapidinhas
Economy Time for political and social reforms
19 Culture Brazilian Carnaval takes on the world
Literature Capitu and Dom Casmurro just reached 100
18
ers would absorb any increase in price, today a threat of revolt and boycott has led supermarkets and other companies to refuse to accept products with abusive prices. Due to this, some items have been absent from the shelves while manufacturers and commerce try to reach an agreement. It happened for example to soy oil Liza, which suffered a 33% price boost and was taken out from a Sao Paulo market. Enough gloomy news though. It's Carnaval time and Brazilians didn't forget how to throw the greatest party on earth. R.M.
CONTENTS
Behavior Ever so well-behaved 1999 Carnaval
Cover How the Indians took their business to the Internet
http://www.brazzil.com
6 16
Travel Art, culture, and music on the streets of Olinda
36 Impressions Dancing and singing on Sugarloaf
39
Letters 47 The Cultural Pulse
Music Joyce, musical poet in full bloom
49 Classifieds
50 That's
52 Special Marcos Sacramento and the new samba
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Publisher and Editor: Rodney Mello / CommercW Director: Leda Bittencourt Entertainment Editors: Sam & Harriet Robbins / Book Review: B ndo Wyszpolski / Music Editor: Bruce Gilman BRAZZIL (ISSN 1091-868X) is published monthly by Brazzil - 2039 N. Ave. 52, Los Angeles, CA, 90042-1024. Periodicals Postage rate paid at Los Angeles, CA. Single copy sold for $2. One year subscription for 12 issues is $3 (t ree dollars) in the U.S., $15 in Canada and Mexico, and $18 (surface mail) in all other countries. No back issues sold. Allow 5 to 7 weeks to rece ve your first issue. You may quote from or reprint any of the contents with proper copyright credit. Editorial submissions are welcome. Include a S SE (self addressed and stamped envelope) if you want your material mailed back. Brazzil assumes no responsibility for any claims made by its advertisers.
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5
Déjà Vu All Over Again For the second year in a row the 1998 World Music Grammy Award went to a Brazilian . And the winner was the album Quanta Gente Veio Ver (Quanta Live) by Gilberto Gil who didn't go to the award ceremony at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on February 24 claiming that he was never invited for the party. Last year Milton Nascimento won in the same category with his Nascimento album, and for Gil this meant that his chances of winning would be slim, believing the jurors would be looking to give the prize to another region of the world. The singer-composer from Bahia was competing with strong nominees Canadian Robbie Robertson (Contact From the Underworld of Redboy),, Nigerian King Sunny Ade (Odu), Cesaria Evora from Cape Verde (Miss Perfumado), and Angelique Kidjo from Benin (Oremi). Gil saw the victory as vindication for a work that he considered important, but didn't get the backing he hoped for in Brazil, in particular from his recording company Warner. "For me this is a real prize," he told a reporter from his house in Bahia, the day after his victory was announced. "I had enjoyed the nomination. Getting the award gave me even more pleasure." The next day was spent on the phone receiving calls from friends and journalists wanting to congratulate him. Gil in interviews before the prize was very modest. "I don't think I am going to win," he said. "But I think this is one of the best records of my career. It is much better to tape live." The composer has changed in recent years what he thinks about the Grammy for non-Anglo music. He says: "I wrote in the past that the world's music is much more than world music. But I believe that the category works to open space to the music of peripheral countries that are not a part of the Euro-American axis. If it weren't for this category where would you place, for example, a Carlinhos Brown or an Ivete Sangalo?" Among Brazilian musicians who have already won a Grammy are Tom Jobim (a posthumous award in 1997), Sergio Mendes (with Brasileiro, em 1992), and Joao Gilberto with Getz/Gilberto in 1964. Laurindo de Almeida (five trophies between 1960 and 1964), Astrud Gilberto, Eumir Deodato and Roberto Carlos also won the prize in the past.
=MI Humdrum Follies By national standards this year's Brazil Carnaval was too tame and way too well-behaved. Among the frolic's hit tunes were some religious hymns sung by pop sensation Father Marcelo Rossi and among the exposed women celebrities' breasts a fair amount were not legitimate ones, but made of silicone. Not every woman was willing to admit to her fake boobies though and confess that they had gone under a plastic surgeon's scalpel. That's why dozens of Rio's socialites, in what was considered a faux-pas by many, decided not to participate in Caprichosos de Pilares escola de samba (samba club) parade when it was announced that world renowned plastic surgeon Ivo Pitangui would also be parading. For Solange Gomes—the model who paraded with Salgueiro and about whom all the media were talking —parading on Carnaval was her big chance of showing an improved frame of herself, or so she believes: "It's no secret that I had plastic surgery on my breasts two months ago, but only now I'm doing the premiere. I waited for the impact to show them on the Sambedromo and I am very happy with the result." Another model, Luma de Oliveira, drew repeated applause by exhibiting her scalpel-improved breasts leading the Escola de Samba V iradouro' s percussion wing. Although some criticized her for improving a little too much what nature had already given her generously, Luma herself was ecstatic with the results. "I'm feeling great," she said. "The plastic worked the way I wanted. And, best of all, it passed the avenue test with flying colors." Viviane Araujo, another bare-breasted beauty, who paraded in front of Unilio da Ilha, having opted for the natural look chided her colleagues: "These are really mine, I'm glad with them and have no plans to have plastic surgery." Luciana Gimenez, the Brazilian model that British tabloids say is carrying the child of rock star Mick Jagger, was parading her uncovered seven-month pregnant belly. Radiant and accompanied everywhere by two security agents, Gimenez was maintaining the mystery by not naming the baby's father. Dressed in a skimpy wedding gown the proud mother's float was a church and she was accompanied by a "priest" who continually blessed her. While the street Carnaval in o Paulo didn't bring to that city's Sambedromo more than 32,000 p4ople, Father Marcelo, also from Sao
BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
Valeria's ola nakedness
Paulo, was able to gather 100,000 faithful on Monday of Carnaval for what was called Trio Eletrico do Senhor (The Lord's Carnaval). "Erguei as !Altos" (Raise Your Hands) was one of the most popular songs by the singer priest heard across Brazil during Carnaval. In Sao Paulo, in an odd tribute, the escola de samba Unidos do Peruche paid homage to Microsoft's founder with the story "Bill Gates—The Brain of the Future". So nobody would have doubts, his bespectacled and uncarnavallike portrait was plastered down the imposing float Back in Rio, the winner of the Carnaval parade was escola de samba Imperatriz Leopoldinense, the club from the Ramos neighborhood which presented the story "Mostra a tua Cara no Theatrum Rerum Naturalium Brasiliae (Show Your Face in the Theater of Brazil's Natural Things), a portrait of Brazil inspired by 17th century paintings by Dutch artists. From a total of 270 points possible, Imperatriz, made 269.5, losing only half point in the allegories category. Beija-Flor came in a very close second with 269 points, followed by Viradouro (267.5) and Mocidade (266.5). The Imperatriz presentation, however, didn't stir higher emotion among the public or the critics. The jury was apparently swayed by the perfect technique of the group. With the exhibition of genitalia banned in Rio's parade, it was in the streets of Goiania, capital of Goias that model Kellene El izandra decided to show it all with just a little leaf to cover part of her pudenda. She paraded with escola de samba Unidos da Mangueira. Gorgeous Elizandra, 20, who was born in Campo Grande (state of Mato Grosso do Sul), talked about her dream: to pose in the nude for a men's magazine. And spoke of her pride for disrobing in the avenue: "In Goiania this kind of thing doesn't happen. I am a pioneer and I hope that others will follow in my steps." The stunt has worked. The model, who didn't have a job for four months, was already contacted by Colegio Objetivo to promote that high school. For years the Salvador (capital of Bahia state) Carnaval has been competing—and winning—with Rio's world-famous Carnaval. It is estimated that this year's street revelries in that northeastern town drew close to one million visitors from Brazil and overseas, generating around $60 million. While Rio offers a more showy party, Salvador presents a more participatory bash in which spectators get dragged to the streets jumping behind the famous trios eletricos (wired-forsound trucks) playing Carnaval songs. This year, American President Bill Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky affair were the inspiration for a song by one ofthe top composers, Baiano Carlinhos Brown.
BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
Puxada e Clinton Brought Down by Clinton Carli os Brown NM ode parar, nao ide parar... Aqui Salvador n tern crise, NA° em M8nica E nAo exis e Lewinsky Quando a b lsa ta baixa Di de cara corn o cinto Danco, balan o e brinco... Quem jogo lá pra baixo Foi puxa a de Clinton Danco, balan o e brinco... E que o so do atabaque Tit corn c a de quinto Dances, bala o e brinco... Quando findar a farra Vou pra c a corn cinco Danco, bal co e brinco... Eu quero é bumb , burn bum... (n • pode parar) Solte o seu co o pm relaxar Bote a nitto no ombro do ou o e comece a apertar No clima a massagem... o pode parar) NA° va sacanagem... ao pode parar) Aperta, aperta, aperta! (661..) Apert aperta, aperta! (Monica...) aperta, aperta! Ape (Muauia...)
You can't stop You can't stop Here in Salvador there is no crisis There is no Monica There is no Lewinsky When the stock market is low It's facing the belt I dance, swing, and play... Who threw it down there It was brought down by Clinton I dance, swing, and play... The atabaque sound Seems like a fifth I dance, swing, and play... When the frolic ends I'll go home with five I dance, swing, and play... I want a bumbo, bum, burn (you can't stop) Loosen up your body to relax Place your hand on another's shoulder and start to squeeze In the massage mood... (you can't stop) Debauchery is not allowed... (you can't stop) Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze! (hey...) Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze! (Monica...) Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze! (Muauia...)
7
Still Those Eyes Arguably the most celebrated Brazilian novel, as well as the most intriguing female character of the nation's literature, are celebrating their 100 anniversary. She is Capitu, the wife and object of desire and suspicion of Dom Casmurro, the male character who gives name to the Machado de Assis's book. Brazil is also celebrating the 160th anniversary ofthe writer's birth. Machado de Assis, considered Brazil's greatest writer ever, was born on June 21, 1839. Dom Casmurro was published in 1899 by H. Gamier, Livreiro-Editor and printed in Paris as all other books from that publishing house at the time. Only in the following year, however, did the book appear in Brazil. Few people were impressed by it and it would take many years before the critics and the public would go back to its pages and find there what today almost every critic considers to be Assis's masterpiece. The book opens reporting facts that happened in an afternoon of 1857 when Capitu was 14 and Bentinho (Dom Casmurro), 15. The narrator is Bentinho (Bento Santiago) who tells the story late in life. He is a seminarian, who against the wishes of his mother who had vowed to make him a priest, abandons a religious career to become a lawyer and marry his childhood sweetheart, Capitu (Capitolina Padua). For many years it seems like an uneventful tale and similar to many other families who are happy or seem to be. Capitu and Bentinho have a boy, Ezequiel, and the three of them lead a petit-bourgeois and peaceful life with family and friends. One day, Escobar, a family friend, drowns and Dom Casmurro notices a tear for the dead man in Capitu's eyes. From that day on, suspicion and jealousy start corroding his soul and little by little he puts together— Machado de Assis always without proof—a puzzle that shows him how Capitu has betrayed him with his best friend. All of this is aggravated by the fact that there is some physical similarity between Escobar and Bentinho's son. A tortured life leads to the separation of the couple while suspicions of having been betrayed make Dom Casmurro obsessed and taciturn. Capitu never has a chance to expose her own viewpoint in the book. This ambiguity that permeates the book seems to be one of the biggest attractions of the story even to today. Capitu has been portrayed as a woman with "a gypsy's eyes, oblique and sly". In one of the most memorable lines of the novel, the author ponders in length about the eyes of the protagonist: "Lovers' language, give me an exact and poetic comparison to say what those eyes of Capitu were like. No image comes to mind that doesn't offend against the rules of good style, to say what they were and what they did to me. Undertow eyes? Why not? Undertow. That's the notion that the new expression put in my head. They held some kind of mysterious, active fluid, a force that dragged one in, like the undertow of a wave retreating from the shore on stormy days. So as not to be dragged in, I held on to anything around them, her ears, her arms, her hair, spread about her shoulders; but as soon as I returned to the pupils of her eyes again, the wave emerging from them grew towards me, deep and dark, threatening to envelop me, draw me in and swallow me up." Dom Casmurro graduated from law school in Europe and the narrative seems like a long accusatory piece by a prosecutor asking for the condemnation of a voiceless and lawyerless defendant. Has Capitu betrayed Bentinho or not? This burning question has tormented generation upon generation of critics and readers. Books have been written about the subject, seminaries and conferences have discussed it, but no one believes that an answer will ever be found . According to one of the top experts in Machado de Assis, Brazilian writer Antonio Carlos Villaca, the novelist "took this secret to his tomb." In his 1967 book 0 Enigma de Capitu (Capitu's Enigma), Eugenio Gomes concluded he couldn't reach a verdict. Some scholars believe that Dom Casmurro is a veiled self-portrait of the author himself who is believed to have fallen in love with Georgina, the wife of his good friend and renowned writer Jose de Alencar. The publication in 1897 by Silvio Romero of Machado de Assis, a very critical book, would have encouraged the author to write what he thought was his most intense and vivid story that he kept under wraps until then. The death of Alencar in 1877 had profoundly shaken Assis. The ABL (Academia Brasileira de Letras—Brazilian Academy of Letters), which was created and first presided over by Machado de Assis, has planned a series of conferences and debates to celebrate the Dom Casmurro's centennial. The so-called Ciclo Machado de Assis (Machado de Assis Cycle) will have several of the 40 Academy members addressing different topics on the author. On April 21, there will also be a ceremony when the remains of Assis and his wife Carolina will be transferred to the ABL mausoleum at the So Joao Batista cemetery in Rio. Arnaldo Niskier, ABL's president, emphasized that the Academy is intent on celebrating the life and work of its founder. Said Niskier, "We are absolutely committed to these celebrations to the greatest Brazilian writer ever." 8
BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
Beat me Up Please From a little role as a cutely-teasing sadistic brunette masked woman in the H show from obscure TV Bandeirantes network, from So Paulo, Tiazinha in nine months has become a national phenomenon. Extremely sensual, 20-year-old ballerina trained Suz.ana Alves who has a communications major, has given life to the character and has become Brazil's S&M diva. During Carnaval her trademark outfit—Zorro-like black mask, skimpy lacy lingerie and a riding crop—was adopted across the country by women of all ages, starting with little kids. The boycott promoted by all-powerful Globo TV Network against her for being from another TV station was not enough to keep her out of the limelight Although she is a Paulista (from So Paulo), rivalries between Sao Paulo and Rio were put aside and she became the main attraction of Rio's Carnaval parade this year, showing up at the Escola de Samba Tradielo. And her face is already selling notebooks, clothes, shoes and all kinds of stuff. She is releasing her own CD in which she sings tunes such as "Uh, Tiazinha", composed by Vinny for her. Psychologists and other experts have been studying the media-made sensation. Said child psychiatrist Christian Gauderer to Jornal do Brasil: "The media is always in search of a mirage. The human being needs to be fed with this kind of fantasy." To that Bruna Franchetto, a UFRJ (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro—Rio de Janeiro Federal University) anthropologist added: "She has a series of elements that stir the fantasies. Tiazinha is active and she seems to be able to invert roles, keeping stereotypes. This touches upon deep fantasies, fear, and attraction archetypes. Other women expose themselves to be devoured, she devours." Psychoanalyst Chaim Samuel Katz stresses the importance of the sadomasochistic tendencies of the human being and the role of the seducing aunt to understand the success of Tiazinha (Auntie): "The character satisfies a very old yearning. The occidental man dreams of having in his family someone who can beat him up, sensually speaking. Tiazinha exists because she wears a mask. The mask protects her identity, so she can be at the same time familiar and not familiar." The success of Tiazinha as dominatrix has also popularized the use of whips and they have been selling fast in sex shops and motels— the place for sexual trysts in Brazil. In Rio, the Motel Villa Regia's Sado suite has been booked solidly lately and couples must have reservations to use it for a few hours on weekends. For around $30, a couple can use the black-walled theme suite for six hours, which includes a dance ring that also serves as a jail with rings to tie feet and hands. For an additional price, guests can also get handcuffs ($20) and riding crops ($18).
BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
0 BRAZILIENSE
mist.osm. iromow.. ==i9S1217.
totem cameos-atm WM*, Comb
Tiazinha Ditty Uh, Tiazinha
Ooh, Auntie
Vinny Ela vem cheia de amor pra dar Ela faz t do mundO delirar Ela tern u jeito de provocar Bol que bole, menina Bole que mole que di
She comes full Of love to give She makes everybody go crazy She has a way of teasing Tease, tease, girl Tease and provoke and flirt
Ele v cheia de tara no olhar Ele tá qu rendo me devorar Ele dá b deira sem se tocar Bole • ue bole, menino... Eu v u te fazer suar, aha Eu you e fazer tremer, aha Eu vo te fazer pirar, aha Eu vo te mostrar, menino Tudo que voce quer ver! Uh, Tiazinha! Mexe • sa bundinha e vem Uh, Tiazinha! Mexe a ui pm mim tambem Pira, pira, pirou Pi a, pira que pirou!!!!
She comes full of perversion in her eyes She wants to eat me up She shows off and doesn't care Tease, tease, boy... I'm gonna make you sweat, aha I'm gonna make you shake, aha I'm gonna make you crazy, aha I'm gonna show you boy All that you want to see! Ooh, Auntie! Shake your little butt and come Ooh, Auntie! Shake here for me too Crazy, crazy, crazy all Crazy, crazy, all is crazy
9
Bare Market
1W1
Despite its reputation as a place where anything goes sexually, Brazil sometimes can be as prudish and hypocritical as mainstream America. Case in point — until ten years ago Brazil's 165 million people had but one place for those in the mood to bare it all in public: the Praia do Pinho, a beach on the littoral of Santa Catarina, a state in the south of Brazil. The options for going disrobed have increased in the past few years to a couple dozen places, but they are still concentrated in the south where German and Italian colonization has created a more tolerant and European culture. Most of the these places are sea beaches (there are seven official nudist beaches) and some have already built a reputation for themselves including Tambaba, in the northern state of Paraiba and Pinho in the southern state of Santa Catarina. Created in 1988, the Pinho nudist beach was the first one of its kind in the country. In the Northeast, the most famous naturist site is Tambaba, a secluded beach in Conde, a little town in the state of Paraiba. Tambaba is always full, with up to 1000 naked people on weekends. These sites were enriched more recently with inland nudist colonies in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and the Amazon. It is estimated that 60,000 Brazilians have embraced the no-clothes-is-our-clothes way oflife. Compare this to 16 million nudists in Germany, for example. The growth has been by leaps and bounds recently. According to the Federacao Brasileira de Naturismo (Brazilian Naturism Federation) the number of nudists has increased by 25% in the country last year. Celso Rossi, director of the naturism magazine Naturis and co-owner of Colina do Sol— a naturist resort in the state of Rio Grande do Sul—commented about these changes in an interview with weekly newsmagazine 1st° E: "This reflects a change that happened in the decade when naturists stopped being seen as an indecent assault and had their activity regulated." A five-year-old nudist place, the Clube Rincao in Guaratinsueta in the interior of Sao Paulo, which uses what used to be a cattle ranch, has given a new impetus to the nudist cause. The naturist resort, with 100 families as members, has recently been promoted in the mainstream press. It presents itself as respectful and wholesome only taking couples and families as members. The Rincao nudist club is the brainchild of Alexandre Tsanaclis, 50, a physician who has been a nudist since his late twenties. He is also the president of the three-thousand-member Federacao Brasileira de Naturismo and explains the purpose of his club: "Here we have a space for those who are bothered by the compulsive use of clothes, by this hypocrisy of wearing a bikini, a skimpy swim suit." In the state of Goias, the Goiasnat, the state's only nudist club conceived two years ago in Bela Vista, is thriving. With 112 members the Goiasnat was created by Jodenon Borges de Sousa on his own farm. Sousa, who raises his small children in the club, doesn't forget all the opposition from his own friends and family when he started the club. The mother argued that this practice wasn't something approved by God. His answer: "If God wanted otherwise, everybody would be born dressed." The couple Marcos Juliano de Oliveira Pinto and Sheyla Goncalves Pinto also bring their three children to the Goiasnat. They have two boys who are 5 and 7 years old and a girl who is 4. "They love the place," Sheyla said in an interview with Goias daily Didrio da Manha. "When we say we are going to the club they take their clothes off in the car." There are several sites dedicated to Brazilian naturism on the Internet. One of the more complete, with links to several other sites, is the NaturisNet (http:// www.naturis.com.br/), which publishes the magazine Naturis and houses the homepage for the FBN (Federacdo Brasileira de Naturismo). http://www.naturis.com.br/ fbnet/fbnOl.htm. Created in January of 1988, the FBN is responsible for coordinating the naturism movement in Brazil. More links to several naturist sites in Brazil can be found at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Workshop/ 6690/naturisites.htm, http://www.g_eocities.com/ Yosemite/1328/natbm.htm and http:// www.naturis.com.br/fbnet/fbnasscl.htm
BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
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Pluggin the JungTe Residents of Pukanu, a Mebengokre Indithi village in Brazil, faced numerous hazards before logging on the Internet. Chief Pykati-re made several trips by single-engine Cessna acroSs 240 miles of rainforest to plug his community s Macintosh PowerBook into a phone line. Pykati-re effort has become a.paradigm of how the Internet can be utilized by even the smallest players in the global economy. Whatever the future role of the Internet in solving the problems of the rural poor, the Pykany Trading Company is a proof that a small enterprise can do business in the global marketplace and a practical example for other indigenous and peasant communities. With their use of the Internet the inhabitants of Pukanu village are responding to their critics and showing the world that they can be responsible players in the global marketplace, while at the same time preserving their traditions. LINDA JEROME AND SAULO; PETEAN
Living deep in the Amazon rainforest, the Indians of Pukanu village took to the Internet to describe how they developed a rainforest-sustainable source of income in the global economy by negotiating a long-term contract with the British retailer Body Shop to export Brazil nut oil produced in a l tiny factory for use in a worldwide line of hair and skin products. Their Brazil nut oil business has attracted worldwide press art ntion since a description of its workings was chosen as the best case study entered in the first Fidamerica electrode conference of indigenous peoples and peasant communities. Fidamerica is supported by the International Fund fo Agricultural Development (Ifad) an agency of the United Nations. [I] One of the community groups from 18 Latin American cou tries taking part in the 1996 conference, the indigenous enterprise shared its socioeconomic development exp riences with a 110-member working group of community leaders, field advisors, economists, aid officials, polic makers and academic researchers from around 11 BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
the world. Conference participants faced numerous hazards before logging on. Chief Pykati-re of Pukanu village made several two-hour trips by single-engine Cessna across 240 miles of rainforest to connect with the Internet by plugging his community's Macintosh PowerBook into a phone line in the city of Redencao. Other groups had to deal with power outages caused by electrical storms in Huehuetenango, Guatemala—also known as the "Capital ofThunderstorms"—and by Hurricane Hortense in the Dominican Republic. All obstacles surmounted, everyone came together to discuss the rural poor's common problems and to suggest solutions. The sponsors of the Fidamerica network were surprised by the successful networking skills the participants displayed. The Pukanu village residents, for example, used the opportunity to explain their plan to set out on the road to a dignified life, stop the destruction of the rainforest, and develop an ethical and fair commercial partnership. The First Fidamerica Electronic Conference and Pukanu village chief Pykati-re Kayapo's Internet skills have since become a paradigm of how the Internet can be utilized by even the smallest players in the global economy to find financing and technical assistance to set up their own company and locate an international partner to buy their products. In June 1997, the World Bank and the government of Canada co-sponsored the Knowledge for Development in the Information Age Conference in Toronto, Canada, which was attended by nearly 2,000 participants from around the world and focused on the challenges facing developing countries at the end ofthe 20th century and the dawn ofthe information age. In a front-page, July 7, 1997, Wall Street Journal article, Bernard Wysocki Jr., comments upon how Chief Pykati-re's participation in the Fidamerica Conference captured the imagination ofthose present at the Toronto conference as "just a tiny example of how the latest information technology might improve the lot of the rural poor." "How much can the rural poor realistically gain from the Internet and modern telecommunications technology?" asks Heather Bourbeau in the August 12, 1997, Financial Times of London, questioning the "big leap" needed by developing countries to close the information gap between rich and poor peoples and nations. Some participants at the Toronto conference suggested that simpler communication technology, such as the wind-up radio, would better serve the purpose. "You need to do both," stated James Wolfensohn, president ofthe World Bank, offering India as an example of a country that has both an educated elite involved with the latest communication technology and a poor majority with simpler needs. Whatever the future role of the Internet in solving the problems of the rural poor, the Pykany Trading Company team's participation in the Fidamerica conference has brought it recognition, both as a small enterprise doing business in the global marketplace and as a practical example of development strategy for other indigenous and peasant communities. As these experiments spread, they can form a body of best practices for even the most basic sorts of enterprises. And as they circulate via the Internet, they will bring the power of information, once reserved for giants, to even the smallest players in the global
economy. The Indigenous Company In 1992, Pukanu villagers set up the trading company as means of freeing themselves from financial dependence upon the gold miners and loggers working inside their forest reserve, a 49,000-square-kilometer [18,900-square-mile] area, called the Mekranoti, which was demarcated by the Brazilian government in 1994. [2] The Pykany Trading Company, which functions under the principle "one village community, two systems," was formed to meet long-term business objectives, thus turning into reality the dream of nearly every indigenous community: locating an international partner who will provide help in financing a sustainable business. Once provided with technical assistance and a market for its products, the business was structured so that the Mebengokre could gain sufficient skills to run their own trade activities through a partnership of34 villagers operating under the rules of the traditional community association. The villagers honed the skills necessary for dealing directly with the market economy as equals, finding a market for a natural resource which they consider the heritage of future generations, and creating a sustainable form of economic development which would allow them to stop, or at least diminish, the pace of rainforest destruction by loggers and miners. The growing power of "green consumers"—and their influence in preserving the forests and protecting endangered indigenous forest populations—is a factor in setting the price of Brazil nut oil without dependence upon intermediaries and a reason the British company agreed to pay a higher market price for the high-quality oil. Not only did the buyer offer to pay the costs of long-term, interest-free financing for the Pykany Trading Company enterprise, it also paid for a consultant to work full time with the village residents until they had attained the skills needed to run the enterprise on their own and to distribute profits under job assignments consensus. The village's status as preferential partner contributed towards the success of the undertaking, since the importer guaranteed the product a market for 15 years, underwrote the Mebengokre until they could achieve financial autonomy, and supplied technical aid and training to assure the product quality required. The enterprise's managers are chosen every two years by consensus, according to the criteria of competence, trustworthiness, and willingness to exercise the duty. Uncompensated for their organizational work, the directors also take part in the Brazil nut harvest groups and oil manufacturing. They are paid only for their production work. The Brazil nut oil extraction factory consists of two mechanical presses, 40 shelling machines and six nut grinding machines, four pots to heat the nut mass, and ten filter drums. The factory is housed in a 26- x 46-foot building constructed according to traditional techniques, with mud walls and a straw roof. A cement floor was added to ensure the necessary cleanliness. To maintain high quality, the community built water tanks near the production unit, and in the following years the use of these tanks, and also of septic latrines, was extended to all the houses in the village. BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
One Community, Two Systems The role of the business is better understood if it is seen symbolically as the coat and tie that Brazilian men are required to do in order to be admitted to governmental agency offices. The Mebengokre acquire the legal garments necessary to export Brazil nut oil and wear them to enter the Brazilian integrated foreign trade system: Brazilian commercial law governs the Pykany Trading Company's participation in the market economy. Within Pukanu village, however, the company—formed exclusively by Indians residing there—is governed by the social organization, objectives and traditional communal laws of the village. Residents take offtheir symbolic coats and ties and wear their body paint as they make the decisions about production, marketing, investments, and profit distribution that remain under the control of the indigenous community's traditional systems and norms. The traditional Pukanu village decision-making process certainly did not previously include terms like "marketing" and "profit distribution," nor did past community meetings center upon whether or not to make an investment, but now the existing institutions decide how profits are to be distributed: once those who participated in gathering the nuts and producing the oil are paid, the money is distributed according to the rules of kinship. The entire process extends over eight months and involves two traditional kinship groups (moieties), composed of approximately 100 men and women in recent years, who collect nuts in the forest, transport them to the village and produce Brazil nut oil for sale. The villagers must gather twenty tons of nuts yearly to produce two tons of Brazil nut oil. Once the work crews bring the Brazil nuts back to the village, the work shifts to the oil extraction process, conducted in the months of August and September, after the nuts have been left to dry under the village sun during the months of May, June and July, the time of little rain. The business has meant an average increase of 70 additional workdays on the community calendar of annual activities—five weeks dedicated to Brazil nut collection and five weeks, to oil production. Since collecting Brazil nuts is a traditional village activity, the impact of this change on the community has been lessened. While camping in the forest during the months of March and April, the Mebengokre dedicate part of their time to collecting Brazil nuts for oil production and part to hunting and to collecting the basket-making materials and the plants used in village work and traditional medicine. The income obtained from the Brazil nut exports is managed by the business directors under the coordination of the communal association and effectively reaches the hands of those who conduct the Brazil nut harvest expedition, transport the nuts to the village, extract the oil, and deliver it for exportation. When the enterprise was established, the 34 partners represented a significant part of the community (chiefs, warriors and youth), but their number was limited because the other villagers interested in participating in the enterprise did not hold the valid Brazilian identification documents required by legislation. In view ofthis document problem, the community opened BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
participation i the Brazil nut oil business to all the village members, regardless of whether or not they were partners in the enterprise. The collective team is chosen from among all village residents and organizes resource production, sales and management. Like subsistence planting, hunting group expeditions, and nomination festivals, the company business became one of the indigenous community's principal activities during its annual life cycle. Bekwyi-i, Bekwyi-ti and Pykatire, the three village chiefs, coordinate their respective production groups, each aided by two assistants. Careful Profit Distribution Arrival of the export payment—which usually occurs in the month of October—is the high point of the Brazil nut business, but during the eightmonth Brazil-nut oil production cycle the Pykany Trade Company workers begin each work day by discussing how the money will he used. Since earning money for the individual and collective needs of the; community is the enterprise's principal purpose, this daily discussion is a key component in the production process bedause group unity could be undermined by any future doubts about the proper management and distribution of the company's finances. Production expenses are recorded in a cash book by the financial directors Doto Takak-ire and Teka-re Kayapo, who give an accounting as often as necessary so that the production groups can' plan the allocation of money to individual distribution, to the investments to improve the community's standard of living, and to an emergency expense fund. With the members of the village production groups and chiefs in attendance, the decision-making process culminates in a meetihg lasting for one or two days, which is held in the "men's house" (ngabe), a space in the center of the village reserved fix the men's gatherings but where the women also are preserit when important decisions are made. At the Ineeting the directors use a blackboard to display the balance of the receipts and the expenditures: the total amount of moneyl obtained from exportation; the expenditures summarized by item; and the balance on hand. The corroboration ofthe expenditures remains available for detailed verification in the meeting room awaiting final approval. The *counting period covers the production season lasting from March to October. Group members evaluate the results ahd explain their proposals, while the chiefs and assistantS lead the discussion of the various distribution and investment ideas to be approved by community consensus. Everyone has the right to speak with no time limit. Profits are distributed to individuals according to each members participation in the collection of Brazil nuts in the forest (Measured in sacks collected); and in the production of Brazil hut oil, its exportation, and the management of the businesi (measured in days of work). The money is then distributed according to the rules of kinship. Sales for the accounting period of May 12 to October 30, 1995, fir example, were US$ 68,230.00. After covering the expenses of production and the needs of the village (US$ 31,701.77), the 63 men and 39 women received US$ 34,025.00 as indiidual profit distribution, based upon each person's participation in the nut collection and the oil production. In the last five years, income has been utilized in the 13
following proportions: 40% to be distributed among the members ofthe production groups according to the amount of work accomplished by each member; and 60% to go towards investments and community expenses, including money set aside for the next year's Brazil nut harvest. Community expenditures sustained by the enterprise include air transport, medicine purchases, treatment and lodging for sick Indians in the city of Redencao, hospital stays, supplies and ammunition for the hunting expeditions, and expenses for fuel and maintenance for the village electricity generator. The community utilized a portion of their first year's profits from the Brazil nut oil business to buy an iron-sided boat with a 12-ton capacity and a 116-horsepower MWM motor, valued at US$ 30,000; two pieces of radio-communication equipment; and solar energy panels. The business has meant an increase of approximately US$ 70,000 in the community's annual gross income. Yearly exports average 2,000 kilos (4,400 pounds) of Brazil nut oil at the price of US$ 35 per kilo. Managed by the directors under control ofthe communal association, the money all goes to the benefit of the indigenous community. Responding to Critics But the Pykany Trading Company was not created merely as a source of income. It was also founded as a response to media accusations that the Mebengokre were enriching themselves at the expense of plundering their natural resources. Earlier in the decade, newspaper, magazine and television reports in Brazil, the USA and Europe accused "the icons of the global green movement" of destroying their own forest and environment. Matt Moffett, writing in the December 29, 1994, Wall Street Journal and referring to the Mebengokre as "the Kayapo," explained that in the late 1980s the Indians leaped to the center of the international environmental debate with their opposition to a hydroelectric project that would have submerged a vast expanse of the rainforest. "But now," Moffett continued, "the erstwhile environmental heroes have acquired a less flattering moniker, `Kayapo Inc." He maintained that the chiefs of the Mebengokre villages were cutting illegal deals with loggers and miners who had set their sights on the natural resources in the Mebengokre reserve. In a follow-up story, the Brazilian newspaper Gazeta Mercantil proclaimed the Mekranoti Reserve and the protection given by the government to the Indians a national scandal and added, "Ten square kilometers [4 square miles] of land were distributed per Indian, or, in other words, including women, children and the newborn." Portraying the Mebengokre as multimillionaires and owners of a considerable parcel ofthe national territory and calling this land distribution "mouth watering," the Gazeta Mercantil observes, "In President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's government, the theft of public heritage disguised as aid to the Indians cannot continue." Four months later, Chief Pykati-re Kayapo toured five European countries—Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Holland and the United Kingdom—to respond to the accusations directed against the Mebengokre and to explain Pukanu
t a
village's successful entry into the global economy. At the United Nations' Geneva session of the Working Group of Indigenous Populations, he declared, "In the same mistaken way that the non-Indians have mixed up even the name by which we are known, by calling us the `Kayapo,' even though we call ourselves the 'Mebengokre,' we are now being mistaken for those who are destroying the forest and contaminating the rivers of the Amazon." In addition he stated, "It was the economic activity of the non-Indians infiltrating our lands that led to the cutting down of the forest in order to extract gold and timber. Brazilian farmers have destroyed large tracts of Amazonia for pasture to breed cattle. Traditional Mebengokre culture lives off the forest without destroying it." Chief Pykati-re blamed the economic expansion into the rainforest for the depredation of the Mebengokre Reserve's natural resources: "Instead of fulfilling its obligation of protecting and giving education and health care to the indigenous peoples, the Brazilian government has abandoned us in the face of the advance of prospectors, timber companies and commercial farmers on our lands. "Without the training that would have permitted a more controlled use of our natural resources and prevented the destruction of the forest and the pollution of the rivers, we were forced into accepting the deals proposed by the miners and timber companies in return for small commissions on the gold and timber extracted from our lands. "Without assistance from the government to regulate these activities and control the white man's economy, we have never been able to tell exactly how much gold and wood is being extracted from our land nor the value ofthe goods which we receive in payment." With their use of the Internet to make public the internal workings of the Pykany Trading Company, the inhabitants of Pukanu village are continuing this campaign to show the world that they can lbe responsible players in the global marketplace, while at the same time preserving their customs and traditions. Who Are the Mebengokre? Pertaining to the Ge linguistic family and the Macro-Ge language group, they call themselves the "Men'bengokre," which means "people from within or between the water(s)," and reside in 25 villages, each one constituting a politically and economically independent unit and social organization. Often referred to as the "Kayapo," they are a group of nearly 4,500 Indians occupying the indigenous reserves of Bakaja, Bau, Kayapo, Kararao, Katete and Mekranoti, located in an area measuring approximately 120,000 square kilometers 1(46,000 square miles) in the southf ern part ofthe Brazilian state ofPard and the northern part of Mato Grosso tate. Before contact with mainstream razilian society, the Mebengokre telationship system was characterized by matrilocal residence and movement between group hunting expeditions and base villages. Relationships also focused upon institutions emphasizing categories of age, gender, communal association and ceremonial moiety structures. The most radical change caused by the Mebengokre's fairly recent contact with mainstream society was the loss of
14 BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
their relative self-sufficiency. Coming in part from their need to defend themselves against the advancing settlers, this change was also due to their growing dependency upon Brazilian society for essential goods, like guns and tools, as well as for "luxury" items, like beads and cloth. The Mebengokre were one of the last indigenous peoples in Brazil to establish peaceful relations with Brazilian society. But even before this occurred in the 1950s, the Mebengokre had begun to leave behind their previous way of life as socially, politically and culturally autonomous groups based upon a system of large communities in which the villages had two "men's houses" in the east and west parts of the plaza surrounded by three concentric circles of houses. The internal structural changes and the functional adaptations that took place in Mebengokre society, such as the dependence upon Brazilian goods and technology, occurred—or, in most cases, at least began— before peaceful contact was established because the Mebengokre's attacks upon, and other conflicts with, Brazilian society were, above all, caused by the Indians' wish to obtain that society's goods. For the Mebengokre, therefore, the treaties signified nothing more than the continuation of the war by other means but with the same objective: obtaining guns, tools, beads, cloth, flashlights, medicine, services. This explains why one group after another entered into peaceful contract with Brazilian society so rapidly. Along with the increase in contacts and the lessening of external hostilities, changes in the Mebengokre's social organization acquired a new dimension and significance. The inability to reproduce the original community's customary structure of halves (moiety structure) brought about a marked reduction ofthe groups' mobility, both in terms ofthe physical relocation of villages and in terms of the frequency and duration of the community hunting and collection expeditions. This fragmentation into smaller communities resulted in the accumulation of private property in the form of Brazilian merchandise, the consequent erosion of the extended matriuxorilocal family, and a growth in the importance of communitarian rituals to counterbalance the centrifugal tendency brought about by contact with Brazilian society. The Indians and Brazil Nuts Traditionally the Mebengokre collect Brazil nuts (pi-y) to eat and to extract nut oil (pi-y kango) used in body massage as treatment for physical and nervous exhaustion. Fond of the taste ofunripe Brazil nuts, the Indians climbed the trees to pick them. This technique proved to be rather dangerous and is no longer used; the nuts are now collected after they fall to the floor. In the 1960s and 1970s the Brazilian Federal Indian Agency (Funai), the executive agency of the Brazilian federal government's indigenous policy, compelled the Mebengokre to collect Brazil nuts at a low rate of pay. At that time Funai sold about 300 tons of Brazil nuts annually to exporters in the city of Belem. At the end of the 70s, unhappy with the low price and with their relegation to the position of mere Funai employees, a status which ignored their legal standing as owners of the natural resources existing on their lands, the indigenous communities halted their Brazil nut work.
1 At that time the Assurini Indians in the Xingu River basin and the Parakateje, Ku ikatej e and Surui in the Tocantins River basin were also engaged in Brazil nut collection. In 1975, the latter three grOups declared their independence from Funai and until 197 ran the entire Brazil nut business themselves, beginning witn collection in the forest and ending with sale to the exporters in the city of Belem. I Nowadays, Brazil nuts constitute one of the most important non-timber forest products to local extractive communities for both subsistence and commercial purposes. A large number of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in the central and eastern Amazon region subsist either partially or entirely upon Brazil nut harvest and sales. Several new Amazon extractive reserves have been decreed or proposed in recent years with the sole purpose of safeguarding these traditional practices. Brazil nuts have become a key forest product since the end of World War II brought about the collapse of the second Amazon rubber boom due t6 the scarcity of Asia rubber. 1 [This aiiicle was written at the request of the Mebengokre Indians living in Pukanu village to make public the internal workings of the Pykany Trading Company. The information given and Opinions expressed are the sole responsibility ofthe authors.] 1 [1] The authors ofthe prize-winning case study are Pykatire Kayapo,1 chief of Pukanu village and president of Pykany Trading Cempany; Doto Takak-ire, financial director; Claudia L' Amoreaux, Website designer; Aldo Gamboa, journalist; Renato Athias, anthropologist; and Saulo Petean, indigenous peoples siiecialist. Fida erica, a network of 28 projects and institutions in 17 countries is dedicated to fighting rural poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean by means of improving information and knowledge systems to increase the efficiency and the impact of sustainable agricultural development initiatives in poor rural areas. Twenty-seven organizations from 14 Latin American countries submitted case studies to the conference. Fidamerica maintains an English-language Website (http:// www.fidamerica.c1/fidaing.htm) and has posted the Pykany Trading Company case study in Spanish (http:// www.fidamerica.cl/te2p51.htm). i [2] Located in the southern part of Para State, 240 miles west ofthe city of Redencao, Pukanu village is situated on the left bank of the Iriri River, a tributary of the Xingu River. Linda Jerome (lindajerome@compuserve.com) is an Ameilcan freelance translator of Portuguese and Spanish. 1 Her translation of The Man Wino Dribbled Time by Cristovam Buarque, the ex-governor of Brasilia, is in press. Heil study of Latin American dictator novels, lludidos por uma Civilizacdo de Emprestimo [Led Astray by a Borrowed I Culture], may be published in Brazil. 1 Saulo Petean (saulopet@hotmail.com), a 46-year-old Brazilian, has lived and worked with indigenous peoples for two decades. From 1990 to 1996 he was contracted by Body 1 Shop to mediate and help the trade links with the I Mebengokre. Currently he acts as an independent consulta!it researching ethical markets for Indian communities. 1 I 15
BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
Letters KID'S PLAY Asout t e etter rom ernan so le Oliveira (Brazzil, December 1998) I would like to say that's only _immature not accepting being criticized. Unfortunately we Brazilians as a nation are very immature. Listening to what others have to say is the only way to see what is wrong and try to fix it. There's a lot to fix, but we pretend everything is fine instead of fighting against it. Mr. John Miller has the right to communicate his experiences about Brazil as any of us visiting another country including Australia. Insulting his wine for that matter is just childish
Aurea de Maia San Francisco, CA POINT MISSED "Life is Adventure" (Brazzil, Decem er 1998) was a great article! 'The author didn't yvrite about the physical beauty of the Brazilian woman though!
Henry Harper jhenry@trinidad net
I am a stu ent at t e Sniversity o out Florida. I am currently in an International Marketing class and we have picked Brazil as our featured country. I need to find specific info on Brazil and I was wondering if you could help me get the info or could point me in the right direction. I need info on ethnic groups—population, geographic concentration. Also info on language spoken and written and religion within the country and its impact. And it possiblea brief relevant history of the country and how it impacts the people.
Wayne Wood Miami, Florida JOB HUNTING I wonder i you can help me? I am an International Business degree student from England, currently on academic exchange at New Mexico State University. As part of my degree U.K. program, my third year (effectively commencing June of this year) is an industrial placement, or internship, year. Having spent my first year in the U.K. and my second studying here in the U.S., I would very much like to spend the third year working for a company in Brazil—particularly in Salvador da Salm.
Greg Clark New Mexico State University highbpm@yahoo.com
(December 1998). It brought back fine memories of my two visits to Rio, in '95 and '96. The sound of a jackhammer will always remind me of RiorMy last visit I stayed in an apartment on Atlantica Blvd, overlooking Copacabana. My three weeks there will remain in my mind to the end of my time. And, fortunately for me, I too had a bidet at my disposal and what a blessipg that was. (Sun stroke and dehydration.) Thanks again for the remembrance. I enjoyed it very much.
MORE DEAR JOHN
A THANKS FROM BRAZIL
Gary Carlson Escanaba, Michigan
o n Mi er al sti anot er great artic e on Rio, taking the lighter and informative approach to the country. I noted that there were several congratulatory and appreciative letters in the recent Brazzil on line (January 1999). Keep it up. and thanks.
Frank A. Harris Via Internet
A GOOD RESOLUTION As we start t e new year, et s ope at the Brazzil magazine will be more prompt with delivery. It's a shame that a very good magazine doesn't have more support from the-Brazilian and American community. I hope this year will bring more volunteers to help out.
Prof Esdras Othon Leitclo Rancho Palos Verdes, California JOINING:THE TEAM I wo.0 I hst veto say t ati ove your
publication. I am a recent college grad with interests in all things Brazilian as well as jpumalism: I would ove to become part of Brazzil magazine team in any capacity that you may need. I have noticed that there are often typographical and/or minor grammatical mistakes in the magazine which I would be more than happy to catch and correct as I have a _great eye for detail. Please let me know if could use my services.
Prince Kusi New York, NY
You are ins lied to participate in this dialogue. Write to: Lettersto:the Publisher P.0.136x 50536 1.0s .‘ngeles, 'CA 900511-0536 or send E-mail to: brazzil.coth • Please. include a phone ntunber in the es cut ise need to reach you... Thanks!
Jeff Old Orchard Beach, Maine
Hi, re you to ow ow muc I ve enjoyed your e-zme, its the best I've ever seen, and it gives me more and more pride of being Brazilian... Thanks
Felipe Bauru, Sao Paulo, Brazil TOON TUNED I loved the message an o about Mauricio de Souza Productions.. I would appreciate though ifyou informed people who are looking for pictures of the cartoons on the net! They are
25¢ A COPY
Margaret Graham Via Internet I thñiLTiazinha is a spectacular woman. She has a very pretty body, she is gorgeous and I would like an autographed picture dedicated to Camilo so thatl can hang it on my bedroom's wall.
Juan Camilo Martinez Via Internet EVIL NO MORE
I'm a student at Old Orchard Beach High School, Maine U.S. and I am in a class called America's Cup Technology. My teammates and I are involved in a .project/competition called the Young America Cup Challenge, which is a scaled down model of the America's Cup. What we do is pick a country and we have decided to represent Brazil and do a report about your country. We also have to design and build a display that represents Brazil. I'm seeking information about Brazil. Could you please send me a copy ofyour magazine? P.-S. I will be in contact on a weekly basis.
SOUNDS OF RIO I just ma. Jo n MI er s artic e on Rio
so cute and need to be appreciatedthroughout the world.
As a result of searching articles on Hermeto Pascoal, I stumbled upon your page. The applet from pews3.newsindex.com on your index page is very "evil." It hogs processor time. CPU utilization is maxed out at 100 % because of this applet. It is poor Java programming. Please get rid of it. I would like to see the rest of the pages, but it is very hard. I couldn't even use your search engine. I hope you improve your site by getting rid of this inefficient applet.
Satoshi Shinozaki Software Engineer Digi International 1st eTe a way to uy a o l99sissues. 1 would like to buy some back issues. Send the prices please. I am going to subscribe ASAP. I think that the material in .your magazine is top notch and extremely interesting. Please continue to speak out the truth!
Mark Via Internet
MORE KARATZAS, PLEASE I oun. t e attic eon economy ey Basi Karatzas insightful and well-written, an excellent article. I hope that he will be writing regular commentaries.
Barbara Man ousso Houston, Texas FOR MORE LETTERS LOOK AT http://www.brazzil.com
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Still Time? President Fernando Henrique Cardoso has been unsuccessful at attacking "organized" interests of certain interest groups. En an attempt to maintain social peace, he has kept his balance on a political tightrope. Now, with the country under the mandates of the IMF, Cardoso has a perfect alibi to re-allocate political resources, a fancy name for "pork". He should use the opportunity to drive the knife as deep as needed and lay the foundations of Brazil as a modern country. BASIL M KARATZAS Brazil, a country until recently mostly identifiable with Rio's spectacular Carnaval and Brasilia's other not-so-spectacular Camaval of corruption and 3,000% annual hyperinflation, had managed in the second part of our decade to gain its financial footing. In 1994, then Finance Minister Fernando Henrique Cardoso introduced the Real Plan, and within months, both inflation and unemployment decreased as if by miracle. Although not perfect by any means, the Brazilian economy had been managing since 1994. Inflation and unemployment were down and for the first time the less fortunate could buy home appliances and other "luxuries" on credit. Taking advantage of its locus on the American continent, its recent stellar financial performance, its abundant natural resources, the political will of President Cardoso and the serendipity of its circumstances, Brazil was able to secure a $42 billion line from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As of early this year, the only painful remnant of the old days was a consistently high level of current account deficit as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It was such a high deficit that made Brazil a suspect by association when Russia defaulted on its debt. It was obvious then that the infamous Asia contagion rather than be contained in one part of the world, it was getting closer to Wall Street. Currency speculators assumed that Brazil would be the next pawn to topple in the domino effect of the world equity markets. As a result, $20 billion hemorrhaged out of Brazil's foreign currency coffers. Brazil has come a long way from a dictatorship to a developing country. Especially during this decade, the Cardoso government had made as much progress as financially feasible. However, from a certain point on, political and financial progress has to be accompanied by social betterment. Brazil, a country where 1% of the population holds 45% of all land and 2% of the population makes more than 50% of the GDP, is desperately in need for social fairness. So far, President Cardoso has been miserably unsuccessful at attacking "organized" interests of certain interest groups. In an attempt to maintain social peace, he has masterfully kept his balance on a political tightrope. However, now that Brazil is under the mandates of the IMF, President Cardoso has a perfect alibi to re-allocate political resources (a fancy name for "pork"). Cardoso should fully exploit the serendipity of present circumstances to pass an agenda that goes beyond the financial requirements of the Real Plan and IMF guidelines. He should use the opportunity to drive the knife as deep as needed and lay the foundations of Brazil as a modern country. Instead of tiptoeing on previously arranged political menageries, he could build a legacy as the founder of the new country by modernizing the public sector, allocating land to peasants and privatizing most of the public sector. Brazilian civil servants retire at the tender age of 40 and live happily thereafter on social security checks. At an age when most employees have just
climbed the learning curve of their profession and are ready for maximum productivity, Brazilian servants are heading for the exits. In the past, serious efforts to curtail such benefits for public servants and especially to increase the retirement age have been met with strong opposition, to say the least. Most recently, the Lower House of the Congress (Chamber of Deputies) proposed a 59% increase in their salaries. Although their salaries are fair by American standards (around $120,000 per annum), Brazil sports an emaciated $4,000 per capita GDP (US' GDP is $26,000). The current turmoil could give an excellent excuse for President Cardoso to severely oppose this piece of legislation when it comes to due in February. Present circumstances offer an opportunity for a more equal distribution of land. This is a fair piece of legislation for landless peasants who slave away in plantations. The Landless Party has strongly come with this agenda. Ownership of land will motivate poor farmers the same way that has motivated similarly in Mao's China when productivity reached abysmally low levels. More than 50% of the land is concentrated in the hands of 2% of the population. Brazil should also grasp the opportunity, and other creditor countries should strongly encourage this policy, to utilize "nature-for-debt" swap. In the past, creditors have partially forgiven Brazil's debts every time the latter implemented environmentally friendlier legislation for one of the richest ecosystems of our planet, the Amazonian jungle. Now Brazil can use an increased initiative to go ahead with even friendlier policies of the Amazon that would show up in the balance sheet. Vice President Gore definitely could be a supporter of such an approach in partial exchange for the $5 billion IMF package that was paid directly from the US. The latest economic data from Brazil show a significant deterioration of its financial house. The foreign reserves are in the lowest level since 1994, the economy is shrinking for the first time in many years and the trade deficits keep increasing while the debt has ballooned to more than $240 billion. However, Brazil has probably the last opportunity to be given the benefit of the doubt and come up with political and social reforms that had to be done some time ago and most importantly will place the country on the right track for sustainable long-term growth. Basil M. Karatzas is graduating in May 1999 with an MBA degree in international Business from Rice University, in Houston, TX. Basil also serves as President for Platinum Holdings International, an international management and capital consulting firm, and can be reached at karatzas@rice.edu
18 BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
Move Your Body! What is Carnaval? What is that special public feast that Brazilians call Carnaval? The English word "carnival" does not mean the same as our Portuguese (and French) "Carnaval." The English expression that most closely translates Carnaval is the French term Mardi Gras, which means "Fat Tuesday." Carnaval has become a yearfong event that happens practically every month in different capitals or big cities in the Brazilian Northeast. So there is no need to wait an entire year for the next Carnaval. There is always a Carnaval coming by. BERNADETE BESERRA
When I went to the Hollywood Palladium Carnaval in Los Angeles for the first time, it took me a while to convince myself that I was in the right place. How could people dressed like that be going to a Brazilian Carnaval ball? My first thought was that either they did not know what to expect from Carnaval or the weather was destroying the spirit of Carnaval that I was used to. Indeed, most of the people I met at the Hollywood Palladium entrance were dressed in dark colors. Long black dresses with high heels were relatively common attire for women, and nice slacks and casual shirts for men. That Saturday night (February 21, 1998) it was raining. The temperature in Los Angeles was below 50° F. It was 8:30 PM when my husband and I got in line to pick up our tickets. Strangely enough, we did not hear any Portuguese. We could only hear parts of conversations in English or Spanish! As a matter of fact, the two people in charge of the entrance were not Brazilians. I spoke to them in Portuguese and one of them did not even bother to try to understand me. The other one asked me: "LHablas Espaflol?" If most of the people were not "appropriately" dressed for a Brazilian club Carnaval, many of them were dressing even less appropriately for a rock concert, suggesting that something different should be happening at the Hollywood Palladium that night. For instance, our neighbors in line, two blonde American girls and a Colombian guy, wore costumes. Their excitement and anticipation could be seen by their helpless talk. I asked the girl next to me if she had ever been at the Palladium Carnaval. Her reply was negative. She explained that she and her sister were there because her sister's boyfriend, a Colombian, had been to Rio de Janeiro's Carnaval and wanted to show BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
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them the craziness of Brazilian Carnaval. Since I have been insisting on clothing, what does it mean to be appropriately dressed for a Brazilian club Carnaval? In Brazil it usually means to be dressed in clothes and shoes that allow you to jump and dance freely. In that fashion, people usually wear short skirts or pants, and colorful T-shirts. The Carnaval playful spirit also requires that some people wear fantasias (costumes), and they do so for the sake of the game, whether costume contests are expected or not. What, however, is notoriously an indispensable component of the Brazilian club or street Carnaval is the colorfulness of the outfit. In other words, color is certainly one of those symbols of joy and happiness connected to the general spirit of Carnaval that cannot be missed. By the way, what is Carnaval? Or in other words, what is that special public feast that Brazilians call Carnaval? First, it is necessary to clarify that the English word "carnival" does not mean the same as our Portuguese (and French) "Carnaval." As a matter of fact, the English expression that most closely translates "Carnaval" is the French expression "Mardi Gras", which means "Fat Tuesday." For the word "carnival" Webster's New World Dictionary lists the following definitions: 1. The period of feasting and revelry just before Lent, including Mardi Gras; 2. A reveling or time of revelry; festivity; merrymaking 3. A traveling commercial entertainment with side-shows, rides, games, etc. 4. An organized program of festivities, contests, etc. Even though the first two definitions are equivalent to the ones we find for the word Camaval in Portuguese dictionaries, in the United States the word Carnaval usually refers to the last two definitions (3 and 4). Cathy Bruington, an American woman who works at the University of California, Riverside, and has attended the Hollywood Palladium Carnaval several times, explains: "It took me a while to figure out that Mardi Gras is the same thing as Carnival. But I had no clue at all that Mardi Gras was celebrated anywhere else in the world, besides New Orleans. I don't think that many Americans do. Yet the idea of amusement is clearly present in both words, but what we call Carnaval in Brazil has a meaning closer to the one that Bakhtin (1968) found for Carnavals in medieval Europe. In the Introduction of Rabelais and his World, Bakhtin summarizes the elements that confer to Carnaval its uniqueness: 51
"Carnaval does not know footlights, in the sense that it does not acknowledge any distinction between actors and spectators. Footlights would destroy a Carnaval, as the absence of footlights would destroy a theatrical performance. Carnaval is not a spectacle seen by the people; they live in it, and everyone participates because its very idea embraces all the people. While Carnaval lasts, there is no other life outside it. During Carnaval time life is subject only to its laws, that is, the laws of its own freedom. It has a universal spirit; it is a special condition of the entire world, of the world's revival and renewal, in which all take part. Such is the essence of Carnaval, vividly felt by all its participants." Bakhtin also explains that the spirit of revival and renewal, which is the essence of Carnaval, "was most clearly expressed and experienced in the Roman Saturnalias, per20
ceived as a true and full, though temporary, return of Saturn's golden age upon earth. The tradition of the Saturnalias remains unbroken and alive in the medieval Carnaval, which expressed the universal renewal and was vividly felt as an escape from the usual official way of life." At a first glance, the theatrical performance of the samba schools parade in Rio de Janeiro does not seem to have much in common with the medieval idea of Carnaval. However, they are both fed by the same idea of renewal and the need to escape from the usual official way of life. A similar idea of renewal is present in all other expressions of Carnaval in different regions of Brazil. Olinda and Salvador The Rio de Janeiro Carnaval has been the model of Brazilian Carnaval diffused worldwide. Proclaimed in a well-known song lyrics as "the biggest show on earth", the samba-school parade in Rio de Janeiro is only one among the many facets of street Carnaval in Rio. Beside the Carnaval parade, which is an obviously centered spectacle (with welldefined actors and spectators), all the other expressions of Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro as well as in Brazil as a whole are more or less decentralized, including Carnaval balls. Another element common to all famous versions of Carnaval in Brazil is that they happen in cities where slavery took place, that is, they are strongly connected with the presence of Africans and its different blends with the Portuguese. The Carnaval of Olinda, Pernambuco, for instance, is considered the most democratic (or socialist?) Carnaval in the country. Because of being very well attended by people from all social classes, it has become the favorite Carnaval among Brazilian progressive politicians, intellectuals and artists. Olinda is also the Carnaval most influenced by European medieval style. For instance, wind instruments predominate over percussion instruments and the dance, which is totally different from samba, is calledfrevo. The blocos carnavalescos (Carnaval groups) are the most important organization of the Olinda Carnaval. A bloco is a group of people that get together to "play" Carnaval. There is always some sort of identification between the members of a bloco: neighbors, widows, gays, "virgins", teachers, students, and so forth. Some blocos take the names of their legendary founders, for instance, one of the Olinda's most famous blocos is Potato's Bloc in honor of its founder, Mr. Batata. Each bloco has a band, which is composed by the members of the bloco themselves; a portaestandarte (the standard's bearer), and the others members who may or may not be wearing a special fantasia. In some cases there is nothing to distinguish the members of a bloco from people who join in during the parade. In general, people follow each bloco for a little while and come back to a certain place where their party agreed to meet. As well known as Olinda' s, the Carnaval of Salvador, Bahia, is a clear expression of the hegemony of African culture over European. There, the percussion instruments predominate over others in the musical bands. Different African groups have different blocos and members of each bloco are distinguished by their diverse fantasias. The music varies from one tradition to another. During the parade the members of a bloco are separated from people in BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
school parader in Rio de Janeiro. Thus it has been a while since images cf dental floss bikinis replaced images of tuttifrutti hats. Sti I these stereotypes portray Brazilians as joyful, sexy, beainiful, happy, crazy, playful, colorful, funny and promiscuous. Despite reactions against the stereotype, these are the iniages promoted by the exportation of Camaval. Brazilians living in Brazil or abroad generally know the limitations of such images because they know about different ways of being Brazilian as well as having at least heard about different ways of celebrating Carnaval. 1 1 Carnaval for Export 1 1 I believe that two major factors contributed to the spread of Brazilian Carnaval worldwide: the international commercialization o TV programs and Brazilian emigration, which has notorio sly increased during the last 20 years. In the process of tr nsnational acculturation, samba and Carnaval are, with soc cer, the best-known elements of Brazilian culture. They ork as bases for different social processes or institutions uch as Brazilian cultural business abroad, congregation o Brazilian immigrants and the creation of a Brazilian tr nsnational identity. Carnav 1 and samba also work as privileged opportunities in the market of international emigration. In other words, by founding samba-schools or becoming samba teachers or simply sambistas many Brazilian immigrants have gone up in the social ladder. If such Tutti-frutti hats and "dental floss" social ascent does not necessarily mean considerable amounts of money, it means at least As a matter of fact, Carnaval has been one prestige, respect and an enlargement of social of the most important bases for creating stenetworks. reotypes of Brazil and Brazilians all over the In the recent history of Brazilian internaworld. I'd say that the international spread of S6 urns secretaria vai cuidar dos fiscais de Sao Paulo tional emigration, Brazilians have been led in a Brazilian image connected to Carnaval was one way or another to identify with and reinpromoted by the Hollywood movie industry force these widespread stereotypes of Brazilduring the 1940s. Walt Disney's Los Tres ian culture. In other words, if in Brazil, or Caballeros (1945), for instance, is an exeven within Brazilian communities abroad, ample of a very romanticized image of Latin people are distinguished based on their state America that the United States created and of birth or regional accents, for instance, at diffused worldwide during the times of the the level of international exchanges they are Good Neighbor Policy, when the U.S. was all Brazilians and as such they have to deal interested in creating alliances with South with Brazilian national stereotypes. American countries to guarantee its political —Ah, Brazil? Carnaval uh? Sexy and and economic control over this part of the ... beautiful women on the beaches! world. The movie depicts Brazil as the land of Beside the United States, which does not samba, joy, jokes and Carnaval, and Carmen share thej passion for futebol (soccer), with the rest of the Miranda as the embodiment of Brazilian and Latin American world, nost of the other countries to which Brazilians female grace and rhythm. emigrate also connect Brazilians with soccer and besides Brazilian women and Brazilian artists and press have referring to "sexy, beautiful women dressed in dental floss' always complained that the Hollywood version of Brazil and bikinis t ey also refer to soccer stars Ronaldinho, Pete, Brazilians was way too Americanized! Aware of the BrazilRomario etc. ian disclaimer other image of Brazilianness, Carmen Miranda Sandra Hirata, 25, a Brazilian from Belem, capital of tried to explain that she was still very much Brazilian and Para stat , was born and raised in the confluence of Brazilian also emphasized that in a song that became very popular and Jap ese cultures. Her father, a Japanese immigrant in "Disseram que eu voltei americanizada" (They said that I Brazil, t ught her and her siblings Japanese and many details came back very Americanized). Despite her particular efof the Japanese culture. When they had to emigrate to Japan forts and declarations, the Hollywood image was stronger five yeats ago the culture shock was bearable because even and prevailed over less powerful versions, including her in Brazi they were already used to live between two worlds. own. Having gotten used to transnational moves, Sandra is now at Today, among the new generations, there are not many the Uni ersity of California, Riverside, improving her Enpeople who know about Carmen Miranda and her tutti-frutti glish arid wondering whether to go back to Japan for a hat. Carmen Miranda's image of sensuality has been recollege education or to stay here. placed with the idea of sensuality carved out by the samba-
general by a rope held by private security guards. About 30 years ago, the incorporation of the electric guitar in the Bahia Carnaval produced a revolution in the way of "playing" Carnaval in the whole Northeast. Even though named after the number of people who invented it, trio-eletrico now refers to any electric band playing on a motorized stage (a truck especially refitted for this purpose). They have become a second version of the Carnaval spectacle, but, unlike the samba-school parade, everyone can follow the trio-eletrico and there are no tickets to buy, unless one wants to be inside the rope. It is also part of the Bahia Carnaval tradition to have a couple of Carnavals outside the conventional time for Carnaval in other cities of the state, since the big Carnaval is concentrated in the capital, Salvador. These Carnavals are called micaretas. Over the last eight years, the trios-eletricos spread micaretas everywhere, transforming them in one of the biggest cultural businesses in the country. They have made Carnaval a yearlong event that happens practically every month in different capitals or big cities of the region. Hence there is no need to wait an entire year for the next Carnaval. There is always a Carnaval coming by. And the fashion has been exported. Last year, for example, the northeastern Brazilians living in Miami had their first international micareta.
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While planning our anthropological observation of the Taking advantage of the coincidence of taking place on Brazilian Carnaval at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Valentine's Day, the ads for the Carnaval '99 read slightly Angeles, she tells me about ways of enjoying Brazilian different from the above. Carnaval in Japan. She says that in Tokyo, the Carnaval parade happens in August because Korean Air presents of the weather. A parade of sambaSamba e Saudade BRAZIL CARschools following the Rio de Janeiro NAVAL '99 — Los Angeles style takes place in Asakusa, The largest Brazilian Carnaval CelTokyo's old town. Based on what ebration outside Brazil returns to the HolCORREIO BRAZILIENSE she observed, she believes that the lywood Palladium for one night only. organizers are usually Brazilian The King of All Parties will take place WdetPra'RPCM samba professionals, who are con-!on Saturday, February 13, 1999 from tracted just to organize the event, 8:30 PM — 3 AM onvor • ito.rn and Brazilian immigrants who work This year's theme is THE GOD OF with cultural business. Everyone in LOVE brings love to all. rAci.eZe=4.3 the parade is apparently Japanese, Celebrate the last Carnaval of the milbut it is hard to tell because Japalennium, magically on the amorous eve nese-Brazilians are physically very of similar to the Japanese. Anyway, / Valentine's Day! Dance the night the Brazilian Carnaval in Tokyo is away with thousand of samba lovers... 7 a public event that attracts about 6 to 7 thousands people including par; During my interviews and observa0 Ito mv mm ticipants and spectators. tions of the Palladium Carnaval dynam( 43=11, )(AI() IN Outside Brazil, samba-schools 144.1.4V, ics, I heard many people curiously asking '4.ir Om' IMIllii41.14Inksii *M1M11.411) tITUI0 (DM ARM are institutions that attract Brazil%thy the largest Brazilian ball in Califorians and people interested in Brazil iia is sponsored by a Korean airline. That or Brazilians. Night samba houses part I still do not understand. However, are thus a place to meet Brazilians What many people do not know is that it is and non-Brazilians, a place to exa 13ortuguese lady, Maria Lucien, who pand networks, to find husbands otganizes the biggest Brazilian Carnaval and wives, to heal homesickness ball in California. Maria Lucien has been (matar a saudade), to get some sense organizing the Palladium Carnaval for of self or to create the sense of self the last 12 years. Under her direction the that the surrounding market rePalladium Carnaval more than doubled quires. its attendance, whichigrew from some 1,500 people to some 4,000 people. The Hollywood Carnaval She says that the isuccess of the Palladium Carnaval is a combination of her ptission for Brazilian music and people There are several Brazilian Carnaval balls in California with her experience as a producer of events with stars like during or around Carnaval time. The Mardi Gras ball at the Steve Miller, Tina Turner and Carlos Santana. But that is not Hollywood Palladium, which attracts some 4,000 people, all. Not counting on sponsors she had to mortgage her house seems to be the largest Carnaval ball on the West Coast. In to invest the money (one hundred thousand dollars) in the ranking of the largest ones, the Bay Area Brazilian Club/ organizing her first Palladium Carnaval ball twelve years Friends of Brazil Carnaval Ball comes in second place ago, in 1987. Although a bit resentful about the absence of attracting some 2,500 people. Brazilian sponsors, Maria Lucien is aware of the importance For Carnaval '98, the Hollywood Palladium Carnaval of Brazilian presence at the event. She says, "Brazilians are had been advertised in the papers and radio more or less in definitely the ones who give the Palladium Carnaval its the following terms: glamour. After all, how could a Brazilian Carnaval be missiffek, ;,. `-• ' performed with no Brazilians?" Korean Air and Samba e Saudade Productions present Celebrating this year its 18th anniversary, the Palladium Brazil Carnaval '98 Carnaval is a creation of its organizers, based primarily on 17th Annual Mardi Gras Ball — Hollywood Palladium Brazilian immigrants' need to gather and socialize as well as SATURDAY, FEB 2P'— 8:30 PM to 3:00 AM carve out a place for Brazil and Brazilians in Los Angeles. When you can't go to Rio for the Carnaval let the Rio However, its success is a product of Los Angeles cultural Carnaval come to you. market demands, which constantly create and recreate novThe biggest, the best, the most beautiful Carnaval outside elties and exoticisms. One way or another, beside promoting of Brazil! Brazil and Brazilians on a broader scale in Los Angeles, the Don't miss this night of food, fun, fantasy, non-stop Palladium Carnaval also plays an important role as an arena dancing and entertainment with the best bands of Brazil and where important alliances or circumstantial commitments beautiful samba dancers. " can be established between Brazilians and Americans as well Bring your love.., or find your love at the "Carnaval of as Brazilians and other immigrant groups, especially Latinos Angels"! Once a year, one night only!
Sounding Out Even though first created around Brazilians, the Palladium Carnaval is a party for all races, ethnic groups and nationalities. At last year's ball, for instance, I interviewed people from countries as varied as Syria, Greece, Lebanon, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, India, France and Peru, to say nothing of Brazilians and Americans. Eddie Sakaki, a Mexican journalist, who has been living in the States for the last 20 years, gives his impressions about the Palladium Carnaval; "This is my second time here and it is hard to believe that I missed several balls between my first time, 9 years ago, and now. I found out about the Palladium Carnaval through the press and, of course, I felt very attracted by the idea of a sensual celebration of all peoples and races. Beautiful and semi-naked women dancing and moving around the main ballroom is very attractive, isn't it?" A white-American male, about 40, whose name I did not ask, says that he connects Carnaval with music, dance, festivities, but mainly sexuality. He says: "Do you know, for me the whole thing is very sexual, but sexual in a very special way. It is like the celebration of the body with music, joy. Very positive way of bringing out sexuality to the public scene. The whole thing; music, freedom, costumes... all lead to a very special way of celebrating the body." Even though rooted in a ;11 stereotyped Brazilian way of representing and living life, the Brazilian Carnaval in Los Angeles calls for a universal celebration of the body. Eddie Salcaki explains again: "When I come to the Palladium Carnaval, the last thing to cross my mind is that I am coming to an ethnic celebration or this sort of thing. First, the Hollywood Palladium is not an appropriate venue for ethnic events, and second, the idea that I see in Brazilian Carnaval is moving beyond racial and ethnic segregation to celebrate the body." It is still, however, "a universal celebration of the body" proposed by a very specific culture, the Brazilian culture. In this sense even if working in a direction different from other ethnic events in Los Angeles, the Brazilian Carnaval is still fed by the logic of exotic consumerism. The impact of these ethnic cultural markets over Brazilian immiBRA7211. - FEBRUARY 1999
grants' lives i an important issue which cannot be explored in the scope if this article. The Frolicking Venue The 11,0 ft 0 square foot oval dance floor of the Hollywood Palladi makes it the perfect place for Carnaval balls and other s. icing parties, even though now the venue is used more f rock concerts. The Palladium main ballroom is like a thea e-in-the round, featuring a stage (about 30 feet wide) surro ded by the audience. The stage was decorated with colore • balloons whose ropes were hanging down, reminding e of our Brazilian serpentinas (paper streamers). Beauti masks and butterflies were decorating stage and ballroo . Hanging down on the left-hand side of the stage was a tg picture of Carmen Miranda, the Hollywoodmade symb 1 of Brazilian female grace and rhythm. The United of is Angeles samba school started out Carnaval '99 by play g samba and presenting its sambistas (samba dancers) dr ssed in typical Baiano clothing. After observing these first cers for a while, my eyes shifted to the audience. ost of the people were standing still in front of the stage, j st watching. Only a few were dancing. The pe formance of Brazilian Carnaval outside Brazil requires so chow educating the audience about Carnaval. Beside Br ilians and other non-Brazilians who have visited Brazil not many people in the United, States have been exposed to Carnaval, since New Orleans represents the Catholic exception in a Protestant world. In that manner, the role of the Master of Ceremonies is very important. He is the one in charge of guiding the audience into directions he and the organizers think the party should go. Differently from the Carnaval '98, this year the MC did not leave people standing still for a long time. He kept inviting the audience to become real participants of the Palladium Carnaval '99. People were invited to follow the music regardless of following the samba steps. "Move your body as you please but do not just stand still... Camaval has to do with moving the body with sensuality... Let's go - you can do it!" His invitation was heard and before I knew it almost everybody was dancing. Dancing and watching, of course. Even though I am Brazilian, and have been to several Carnavals in Brazil, I confess that it was hard not to watch the show of music and dance that the Palladium presents. During the first few hours, considering the "spectator attitude" of the people plus what was being shown on the stage made me see the show only as a commodity of the international colonized cultural market. In this sense, the performer seem to be selling a product that it is not that comin4i in the Los Angeles cultural market: a naive, artistic and joful sensuality, on the one hand, and a very special 23
way of dealing with racial diversity, on the other hand. Sexuality and racial mixture a la Brazilian are thus wrapped up with samba and sold to an interested, amazed, delighted and dreamy audience. However, the more time went by the freer people felt to dance and flirt. Borrowing from Roberto da Matta's Carnaval, Rogues, and Heroes (1991), I'd SUA cARA: E CAMPEA say that the possibility of having an erotic visual relationship with everyone seemed to become as central in the context of the Hollywood Palladium as it is central in the context of Carnaval balls or street Carnaval in Brazil. The costume contest (concurs° defantasias) can be regarded as the high point of the feast and a parting of the waters simultaneously. I do not mean that from the costume contest on people's mood magically change. As a matter of fact, people were getting into the Carnaval mood little by little and certainly the massive presence of Brazilians after 11 PM contributed a lot for the mood renewal. And later on, when alcohol began to take away remnants of shyness, or Ernpresario Fla° deka embus baker make people forget the world of lawsuits and sexual harassment, they started to dance closer to each other and even risked touching each other. irsCral Vrco.ole PP..% Conga lines weaving around the ones who were not dancing would make them fall into the contagious rhythm of samba and other old and new Carnaval rhythms. From the higher balconies where it is possible to have an entire view of the dance floor, we would see the crowd moving as one body. I felt then the same kind of energy I used to experience in the northeastern Carnavals in Brazil. In other BRAZIL CARGO SPECIALIST words, the spirit of the celebration had finally taken over. There were no more spectators on the dance floor, they had got into the dancing, BEST SERVICE + BEST RATES touching and flirting the occasion AIR - IATA 01-1-9279-012 was asking for. In brief, they had OCEAN- FMC 3853 finally got into the Brazilian Carnaval spirit.
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I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people whose help was essential to make my study on the Palladium Carnaval possible. Sergio Brito, my husband, and Sandra Hirata helped me with interviewing, observing and discussing data. With Lauren Holt and Eddie Sakaki I shared data and doubts. Maria Lucien patiently answered my questions in a three-hour-long (and very agreeable) interview as well as offering me press privileges and free ticket for Carnaval '99. In thanking Edna Grover and Cathy Bruington I take the opportunity to thank all anonymous interviewees who agreed to "stop-dancing" to answer my questions. Bernadete Beserra is doing research on Brazilian immigrants in Los Angeles for her Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside. She would like to receive comments about this article as well as talk to people who can help her better understand the history of Brazilian immigration in Los Angeles. Please send messages to brbeserra@aol.com
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Comecou por me dizer que o seu caso era simples—e que se chamava Macario... Devo contar que conheci este homem numa estalagem do Minho. Era alto e grosso. Tinha uma calva larga, luzidia e lisa, corn repas brancas que se lhe ericavam em redor e os seus olhos pretos, corn a pele em roda engelhada e amarelada, e olheiras papudas, tinham uma singular clareza e retidao—por tras dos seus Oculos redondos corn aros de tartaruga. Tinha a barba rapada, o queixo saliente e resoluto. Trazia uma gravata de cetim negro apertada por tras corn uma fivela; um casaco comprido cor de pinhao, corn as mangas estreitas e justas e canhOes de veludilho. E pela longa abertura do seu colete de seda, onde reluzia um grilhdo antigo— saiam as pregas moles de uma camisa bordada. Era isto em setembro; já as noites vinham mais cedo corn uma friagem fina e seca e uma escuridao aparatosa. Eu tinha descido da diligencia, fatigado, esfomeado, tiritando num cobrejao de listras escarlates. Vinha de atravessar a serra e os seus aspectos pardos e desertos. Eram oito horas da noite. Os cells estavam pesados e sujos. E, ou fosse urn certo adormecimento cerebral produzido pelo rolar monotono da diligencia, ou fosse a debilidade nervosa da fadiga, ou a influencia da paisagem escarpada e chata, sobre concavo silencio noturno, ou a opressao da eletricidade que enchia as alturas, o fato é que eu—que sou naturalmente positivo e realista--tinhavindo tiranizado pela imaginacao e pelas quimeras. Existe no fundo de cada urn de nOs, é certo--tdo friamente educados que sejamos—um resto de misticismo; e basta as vezes uma paisagem soturna, o velho muro de urn cemiterio, um ermo ascetic°, as emolientes brancuras de urn luar—para que esse fundo mistico suba, se alargue como urn nevoeiro, encha a alma, a sensacao e a ideia, e fique assim o mais matematico, ou o mais critico, tdo triste, tdo visionario, tao idealista— como urn velho monge poeta. A mim, o que me lancara na quimera e no sonho fora o aspecto do Mosteiro de Restelo, que eu tinha visto, na claridade suave e outonal da tarde, na sua doce colina. Entao, enquanto anoitecia, a diligencia rolava continuamente ao trote esgalgado dos seus magros cavalos brancos, e o cocheiro, corn o capuz do gabdo enterrado na cabeca, ruminava no seu cachimbo— eu pus-me elegiacamente, rid iculamente, a considerar a esterilidade da vida; e desejava ser um monge, estar num convento, tranqiiilo, entre arvoredos, ou na murmurosa concavidade de urn vale, e enquanto a agua da cerca canta sonoramente nas bacias de pedra, ler a "Imitacao", e, ouvindo os rouxinois nos loureirais, ter saudades do Ceu.—Ndo se pode ser mais estirpido. Mas eu estava assim, e atributo a esta disposicao visionaria a falta de espirito—a sensacao que me fez a historia daquele homem dos canhOes de veludinho. A minha curiosidade comecou a ceia, quando eu desfazia o peito de uma galinha afogado em arroz branco, corn fatias escarlates de paio—e a criada, uma gorda e cheia de sardas, fazia espumar o vinho verde no copo, fazendo-o cair de alto de uma caneca vidrada.
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dd Blon She was a young lady, maybe 20 years old— fine, fresh, blonde as an English vignette. Her skin whiteness had a kind of tranparency of old chinas and there was in her profile a pure line as in an old medallion. Old picturesque poets would have called her dove, ermine, snow and gold. EA DE QUEIRDS
0 homem estava de fronte de mim, comendo tranquilamente a sua geleia, perguntei-lhe, corn a boca cheia, o meu guardanapo de linho de Guimaraes suspenso nos dedos—se ele era de Vila Real. — Vivo la. Fla muitos anos—disse-me ele. —Terra de mulheres bonitas, segundo me consta—disse eu. 0 homem calou-se. —Hem?—tornei. 0 homem contraiu-se num silencio saliente. Ate al estivera alegre, rindo dilatadamente; loquaz e cheio de bonomia. Mas entdo imobilizou o seu sorriso fino. Compreendi que tinha tocado a came viva de uma lembranca. Havia de certo no destino daquele velho uma "mulher". Al estava o seu melodrama ou a sua farsa, porque inconscientemente estabeleci-me na ideia de que o "fato", o "caso" daquele homem, devera ser grotesco e exalar escarnio. De sorte que the disse: —A mim tern-me afirmado que as mulheres de Vila Real sao as mais bonitas do Minho. Para olhos pretos Guimaraes, para corpos Santo Aleixo, para trancas os Arcos; é la que se veem os cabelos claros cor de trigo. 0 homem estava calado, comendo, corn os olhos baixos. —Para cinturas finas Viana, para boas peles Amarante—e para isto tudo Vila Real. Eu tenho urn amigo que veio casar a Vila Real. Talvez conheca. 0 Peixoto, um alto, de barba loura, bacharel. — 0 Peixoto, sim—disse-me ele, olhando gravemente para mim. —Veio casar a Vila Real como antigamente se ia casar a Andaluzia— questa() de arranjar a fina-fior da perfeicao. —A sua satide. Eu evidentemente constrangia-o, porque se ergueu, foi a janela corn urn passo pesado, e eu reparei entdo nos seus grossos sapatos de casimira corn sola forte e atilhos de couro. E saiu. Quando eu pedi o meu castical, a criada trouxe-me urn candeeiro de latao lustroso e antigo e disse: —0 senhor esta corn outro. E no n° 3. Nas estalagens do Minho, as vezes, cada quarto é um dormitOrio impertinente. —Vã—disse eu. 0 n°3 era no fundo do corredor. As portas dos lados os passageiros tinham posto o seu calcado para engraxar. Estavam umas grossas botas de montar, enlameadas, corn esporas de correia; os sapatos brancos de urn cacador, botas de proprietario, de altos canos vermelhos; as botas de urn padre, altas, corn a sua borla de retros; os botins cambados de bezerro, de um estudante; e a uma das portas, O n° 15, havia umas botinas de mulher, de duraque, pequeninas e finas, e ao lado as pequeninas botas de uma crianca, todas cocadas e batidas, e os seus canos de pelicamorcaiam-lhe para os lados corn os atacadores desatados. Todos dormiam. Defronte do n° 3 estavam os sapatos de casimira corn atilhos e quando abri a porta vi o homem dos canhoes de veludilho, que amarrava na cabeca urn lenco de seda e estava corn uma jaqueta curta de ramagens, uma meia de ia-, grossa e alta, e os pés metidos nuns chinelos de ourelo. BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
- 9 senhor no repare—disse ele. —A vontade.—E para estabelecer intimidade tirei o casaco. No direi os motivos por que ele dal a pouco, já deitado, me disse a sua historia. HA urn proverbio eslavo da Galicia que diz: "0 que nao contas a tua mulher, o que ndo contas ao teu amigo, conta-lo a urn estranho, na estalagem." Mas ele teve raivas inesperadas e dominantes para a sua larga e sentida confidencia. Foi a respeito do meu amigo, do Peixoto, que fora casar Vila Real. Vi-o chorar, Aquele velho de quase sessenta anos. Talvez a historia seja julgada trivial. A mim, que nessa noite estavanenfoso e sensivel, pareceume terrivel—mas conto-a apenas como urn acidente singular da vida amorosa... Comecou pois por me dizer que o seu caso era simples e que se chamava Macario. Perguntei-lhe entdo se era de uma familia que eu conhecera, que tinha o apelido de "Macario". E como ele me respondeu que era primo desses, eu tive logo do seu carater uma ideia simpatica, porque os Macarios eram uma antiga familia, quase uma dinastia de comerciantes, que mantinham corn uma severidade rel igiosa a suavelhatradicao de honra e de escrupulo. Macario disseme que nesse tempo, na sua mocidade, seu tio Francisco tinha, em Lisboa, um annazem de panos, e ele era urn dos caixeiros. Depois o tio compenetrarase de certos instintos inteligentes e do talento pratico e aritmetico de Macario, e deu-lhe a escrituracdo. Macario tornou-se o seu "guarda-livros". Disse-me ele que sendo naturalmente linfatico e mesmo timido, a sua vida tinha nesse tempo uma grande concentracdo. Urn trabalho escrupuloso e fiel, algumas raras merendas no campo, um apuro saliente de fato e de roupas brancas, era todo o interesse da suavida. A existencia, nesse tempo, era caseira e apertada. Uma grande simplicidade social aclarava os costumes; os espiritos eram mais ingenuos, os sentimentos menos complicados. Jantar alegremente numa horta, debaixo das parreiras, vendo correr a Agua das regas—chorar corn os melodramas que rugiam entre os bastidores do Salitre, alumiados a cera, cram contentamentos que bastavam burguesia cautelosa. Alem disso, os tempos eram confusos e revolucionarios; e nadatorna o homem recolhido, conchegado a lareira, simples e facilmente feliz—como a guerra. E a paz que, dando os vagares da imaginacdo, causa as impaciencias do desejo. Macario, aos vinte e dois anos, ainda ndo tinha—como Ihe dizia uma velha tia, que fora querida do desembargador Curvo Semedo, da Arcadia—"sentido Venus". Mas por esse tempo veio morar paradefronte do armazem dos Macarios, BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
para urn terceiro andar, uma mulher de quarenta anos, vestida de luto, uma pele branca e bap., o busto bem feito e redondo e um aspecto deSejavel. Macario tinha a sua carteira no primeiro andar por cima do armazem, ao pe de uma varanda, e dali viu uma manha aquela mulher corn o cabelO preto solto e anelado, urn chambre branco e braos nus, chegar-se a uma pequena janela de peitoril, a sacudir urn vestido. Macario afirmou-se e, sem mais intencdo, dizia mentalmente aquela knulher, aos vinte anos, devia ter sido uma pessoa c tivante e cheia de dominio porque os seus cabelos violentos e Asperos, o sobrolho espesso o !kit) forte, perfil aquilino e firme, rev e am um temperamento ativo e imaginacOes apai onadas. No entanto, continuou serenamente aim i ando as suas cifras. Mas a noite estava sentado fu ando janela do seu quarto, que abria sobre o Ono; era em julho e a atmosfera estava eletrica e orosa; a rabeca de urn vizinho gemia umaxacara ourisca, que entao sensibilizava, e era de urn me °drama; o quarto estava numa penumbra doce e cheia de misterio—Macario, que estava em hinelas, comecou a lembrar-se daqueles cabelos negros e fortes e daqueles bract:6 que tinham cor dos marmores palidos; espreguicou-s , rolou morbidamente a cabeca pelas costas da adeira de vime, como os gatos sensiveis que se es regam, e decidiu bocejando que a sua vida era mo otona. E ao outro dia, ainda impressionado, sent. -se A sua carteira corn a janela toda aberta, e I lhando o predio fronteiro, onde viviam aquele cabelos grandes—comecou a aparar vagarosa ente a sua pena de rama. Mas ninguem Sc chegou janela do peitoril, corn caixilhos verdes. Macd io estava enfastiado, pesado—e o trabalho oi lento. Pareceu-lhe que havia na rua urn sol al gre, e que nos campos as sombras deviam ser mi osas e que se estaria bem vendo o palpitar das orboletas brancas nas madressilvas! E quand fechou a carteira sentiu defronte correr-se a vid aca; eram de certo os cabelos pretos. Mas apar ceram uns cabelos louros. Oh! E Macario eio logo salientemente para a varanda aparar u lapis. Era uma rapariga de vinte anos, talvez— na, fresca, loura como uma vinheta inglesa; a • ancura da pele tinha algumacoisa de transparenciodas velhas porcelanas, e havia no seu perfil uma tinha pura como de uma medalha antiga e os velhos poetas pitorescos ter-lhe-iam chamado—pomba, anninho, neve e ouro. Macario disse consigo: —E filha. A outra vestia de luto, mas esta, loura tinha urn vestido de cassa corn pintas azuis, irn Ingo de cambraia trespassado sobre o peito, as mangas pendidas corn rendas, e tudo aquilo ra asseado, moco, fresco, flexivel e tenro. Macario, nesse tempo, era lour°, corn barba curta. 0 cabelo era anelado e a sua figktra devia ter aquele ar seco e nervoso que depois do seculo XVIII e da revolucdo foi tdo vulgar nas raps plebeias. A rapariga loura reparou naturnImente em Macario, mas naturalmente descekt a vidraca correndo por tras uma cortina de cassa bordada. Estas pequenas cortinas datam de Goethe e elas tern na vida amorosa um interessante destino: revelam. Levantar-lhe uma pont* e espreitar, franzi-la suavemente, revela urn fm; corre-la, pregar nela uma for, agita-la fazendo sentir que por tras urn rosto atento se move o espera—sao velhas maneiras corn que na realidade e na arte
comeca o romance. A cortina ergueuse devagarinho e o rosto louro espreitou. Macario ndo me contou por pulsacoes—a historia minuciosa do seu coracdo. Disse singelamente que dai a cinco dias—"estava louco por ela". 0 seu trabalho tornou-se logo vagaroso e infiel e o seu belo cursivo ingles, firme e largo, ganhou curv as, ganchos, rabiscos, onde estava todo o romance impaciente dos seus nervos. Ndo a podia ver pela manha. 0 sot mordente de julho batia e escaldava a pequenajanela de peitoril. So pela tarde, a cortina se franzia, se corria a vidraca, e ela, estendendo uma almofadinha no rebordo do peitoril, vinha encostar-se mimosa e fresca corn o seu leque, leque que preocupou Macario. Era uma ventarola chinesa, redonda, de seda branca corn dragOes escarlates bordados pena, uma cercadura de plumagem azul, fina etremula como uma penugem, e o seu cabo de marfim, donde pendiam duas borlas de fib de ouro, tinha incrustacOes de ndcar a linda maneira persa. Era urn leque magnifico e naquele tempo inesperado nas indos de plebeias de uma rapariga vestida de cassa. Mas como eta era loura e a nide tdo meridional, Macario, corn intuicao interpretativa dos namorados, disse a sua curiosidade: "Sera filha de urn ingles". 0 ingles vai A China, A Persia, a Ormuz, A Australia e vem cheio daquelas joias dos luxos exoticos, e nem Macario sabia por que é que aquela ventarola de mandarina o preocupava assim, mas segundo ele me disse—"aquilo deu-lhe no goto". Tinha-se passado uma semana, quando urn dia Macario viu, da sua carteira, que eta, a loura, saia corn a mde, porque se acostumara a considerar mde dela aquela magnifica pessoa, magnificamente palidaevestida de luto. Macario veio a janela e viu-as atravessar a rua e a entrarem no armazem! Desceu logo tremulo, so frego, apaixonado e corn palpitacoes. Estavam elas ja encostadas ao balcdo e urn caixeiro desdobrava-lhes defronte casimiras pretas. Isto comoveu Mackie,. Ele mesmo mo disse. —Porque enfim, meu caro, ndo era natural que elas viessem comprar, para Si, casimiras pretas. E MO; elas ndo usavam "amazonas", ndo queriam decerto estofar cadeiras coin casimiras pretas, *do haviahomens em casadelas; portanto aquelavinda ao armazem era urn meio del icado de over de perto, de the falar, e tinha o encanto penetrante de uma mentira sentimental. Eu disse a Macario que, sendo assim, ele deveria de estranhar aquele movimento amoroso, porque denotava na mde uma cumplicidade equivoca. Ele confessou-se "que nem pensava em tat". 0 que fez foi chegar ao balcdo e dizer estupidamente: —Sim, senhor, vac, bem servidas, 27
estas casimiras ndo encolhem. E a loura ergueu para ele o seu olhar azul e foi como se Macario se sentisse envolvido na docura de um ceu. Mas quando ele ia a dizer-lhe uma palavra reveladora e veemente, apareceu ao fundo do armazem o tio Francisco, corn o seu comprido casaco de pinhao, de bothes amarelos. Como era singular e desusado achar-se o senhor guarda-livros vendendo ao baled() e o tio Francisco, corn a sua critica estreita e celibataria, escandalizar-se, Macario comecou a subir vagarosamente a escada de caracol que levava ao escritorio, e ainda ouviu a voz delicada da loura dizer brandamente: —Agora queria ver lencos da India. E o caixeiro foi buscar urn pequenino pacote daqueles lencos, acamados e apertados numatira de papel dourado. Macario, tinha visto naquela visita uma revelacdo de amor, quase uma "declaracdo", esteve todo o dia entregue as impaciencias amargas da paixdo. Andava distraido abstrato, pueril, nao deu atencdo a escrituracdo, jantou calado, sem escutar o tio Francisco que exaltava as almondegas, mal reparou no seu ordenado que lhe foi pago em pintos as tres horas e nao entendeu bem a recomendacties do tio e a preocupacdo dos caixeiros sobre o desaparecimento de um pacote de lencos da India. —E o costume de deixar entrar pobres no armazem—tinha dito no seu laconismo majestoso o tio Francisco.— Sao doze mil reis de lencos. Lance a minha conta. Macario, no entanto, ruminava secretamente uma carta, mas sucedeu que ao outro dia, estando ele a varanda, a mde, a de cabelos pretos, veio encostar-se ao peitori I da janela, e neste momento passava na ma urn amigo de Macario, que, vendo aquela senhora, afirmou-se e tirou-lhe, como uma cortesia toda risonha, o seu chapeu de palha. Macario ficou radioso; logo nessa noite procurou o seu amigo, e abruptamente, sem meia-tinta: —Quern é aquela mulher que tu hoje cumprimentaste defronte do armazern? —E a Vilaca. Bela mulher. —E a filha? —A filha? —Sim, uma loura, clara, corn um leque chines. , -Hal! sim. E filha. —E o que eu dizia... —Sim e entdo? —E bonita. —E bonita. —E gente de bem, hem? —Sim gente de bem. —Esta born! Tu conhece-las muito? —Conheco-as. Muito nao. Encontrava-as dantes em casa de D. Claudia. —Bern, ouve la. 28
E Macario, contando a historia do seu coracdo acordado e exigente e falando do amor corn as exaltacOes de entdo, pediu-lhe como a gloria da sua vida "que achasse um meio de o encaixar la". Ndo era dificil. As Vilacas costumavam ir aos sabados a casa de um tabelido muito rico na Rua dos Calafates; eram assembleias simples e pacatas, onde se cantavam motetes ao cravo, se glosavam motes e havia jogos de prendas do tempo da senhora D. Maria I, e as nove horas a criada servia a orchata. Bern. Logo no primeiro sabado Macario, de casaca azul, calcas de ganga corn presilhas de trama de metal, gravata de cetim roxo, curvava-se diante da esposa do tabelido, Sr.* D. Maria da Graca, pessoa seca e agucada, corn urn vestido bordado a matiz, urn nariz adunco, uma enorme luneta de tartaruga, a pluma de marabout nos seus cabelos grisalhos. A um canto da sala ja Ia estava, entre urn frufru de vestidos enormes, a menina Vilaca, a loura, vestida de branco, simples, fresca, corn o seu ar de gravura colorida. A nide Vilaca, a soberba mulher palida, cochichava corn urn desembargador de figura apopletica. 0 tabelido era homem letrado, latinista, e amigo da musas; escrevia num jornal de entdo, a "Alcofa das Damas", porque era sobretudo galante, e ele mesmo se intitulava, numa ode pitoresca,"moco escudeiro de Venus". Assim, as suas reuniOes eram ocupadas pelas belas-artes—e, numa noite, urn poeta do tempo deviavir ler urn poemeto intitulado "Elmira ou a Vinganca do Venesiano"!... Comecavam entdo a aparecer as primeiras audacias romanticas... As revolucOes da Grecia principiavam a atrair os espiritos romanescos e saidos da mitologia para os paises maravilhosos do oriente. Por toda a parte se falava no paxa de Janina. E a poesia apossavase vorazmente deste mundo novo e virginal de minaretes, serralhos, sultanas cor de ambar, piratas do Arquipelago, e salas rendilhadas, cheias do perfume do aloes onde paxas decrepitos acariciam lees. De sorte que a curiosidade era grande—e quando o poeta apareceu corn os cabelos compridos, o nariz adunco e fatal, o pescoco entalado na alta gola do seu fraque Restauracdo e um canudo de lata na mdo—o Sr. Macario é que ndo teve sensacao alguma, porque la estava todo absorvido, falando corn a menina Vilaca. E dizia-lhe meigamente: —Entdo, noutro dia, gostou das casimiras? —Muito—disse eta baixo. E, desde esse momento, envolveu-os urn destino nupcial. No entanto, na larga sala, a noite passava-se espiritualmente. Macario ndo Ode dar todos os pormenores histOricos e caracteristicos daquela assembleia. Lembrava-se apenas que urn corregedor de Leiria recitava o "Madrigal a Lidia". Lia-o de pe, corn uma luneta redonda aplicada sobre o papel, a perna direita lancada para diante, a mdo na abertura do colete branco de gola alta, e em redor, formando circulo, as damas, corn vestidos de ramagens, cobertas de plumas, as mangas estreitas terminadas num fofo de rendas, mitenes de retros cheias da cintilacdo dos andis, tinham sorrisos ternos, cochichos, doces murmuracOes, risinhos, e urn brando palpitar de leques recamados de lantejoulas. "Muito bonito", diziam, "muito bonito!" E o corregedor, desviando a luneta, cumprimentava sorrindo—e via-se-lhe um dente podre. Depois, a preciosa D. Jeronima da Piedade e
Sande, sentando-se corn maneiras comovidas ao cravo, cantou a sua voz roufenha a antiga aria de Sully: Oh Ricardo, oh meu rei, 0 mundo te abandona. 0 que obrigou o terrivel Gaudencio, democrata de 20 e admirador de Robespierre, a rosnar rancorosamente junto de Macario: —Reis-viboras!... Depois o conego Saavedra cantou uma modinha de Pernambuco muito usada no tempo do senhor D. Jodo VI: "Lindas mocas, lindas moos." E a noite ia assim correndo, literaria, pachorrenta, erudita, requintada e toda cheia de musas. Oito dias depois, Mackie, era recebido em casa daVilaca, num domingo. A aide convidara-o dizendo-lhe: —Espero que o vizinho honre esta choupana. E ate o desembargador apopletico, que estava ao lado, exclamou: —Choupana! Diga alcacar! Formosa dama! Estavam, nesta noite, o amigo do chapeu de palha, urn velho cavaleiro de Malta, tropego, estupido e surdo, um beneficiado da Se, ilustre pela sua voz tiple, e as manas Hilarias, a mais velha das quais, tendo assistido, como aia de uma senhora da Casa da Mina, a tourada de Salva—terra, em que morreu o conde dos Arcos, nunca deixara de narrar os episodios pitorescos daquela tarde; a figura do conde dos Arcos de cara rapada e uma fita de cetim escarlate no rabicho; o soneto que um magro poeta, parasita da Casa de Vimioso, recitou quando o conde entrou, fazendo ladear o seu cavalo negro, arreado a espanhola, corn um xairel onde as suas armas estavam lavradas em prata; o tombo que nesse momento urn frade de S. Francisco deu na trincheira alta, e a hilariedade da corte, que ate a senhora condessa de Povolide apertava as mdos nas ilhargas; depois el-rei, o senhor D. Jose I, vestido de veludo escarlate, recamado de ouro, todo encostado ao rebordo do seu palanque, fazendo girar entre os dedos a sua caixa de rape cravejada, e atras, imoveis, o fisico Lourenco e o frade seu confessor; depois o rico aspecto da praca cheia de gente de Salvaterra, maiorais, mendigos dos arredores, frades, lacaios, e o grito que houve quando D. Jose I entrou:—Viva el-rei, nosso senhor!—E o povo ajoelhou, e el-rd i tinha-se sentado, comendo doces, que urn criado trouxe num saco de veludo atras dele. Depois a morte do conde dos Arcos, os desmaios, e ate el-rei todo debrucado, batendo corn a mao no parapeito, gritava na confusdo, e o capeldo da Casa dos Arcos que tinha corrido a buscar a extrema-uncdo. Eta, Hi laria ficara atarracada de pavor; sentia os urros dos bois, os gritos agudos das mulheres, os BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
ganidos dos flatos, e vira entdo urn velho, todo vestido de veludo preto, corn a fina espada na mdo,... debater-se entre fidalgos e damas que o seguravam, e querer atirar-se A praca, bradando cheio de raiva! "E o pal do conde." Eta entao desmaia nos bracos de urn padre da Congregacdo. Quando veio a si, achou-se junto da praca; a berlinda real esta A porta corn os boleeiros emplumados, os machos cheios de guizos, e os batedores corn pampilhos; el-rei ja estava dentro, escondido no fundo, palido, sorvendo febrilmente rape, todo encolhido corn o confessor; e defronte, corn uma das mdos apoiadas a alta bengala, forte, espadarldo, corn o aspecto carregado o Marques de Pombal falando devagar e intimativamente, e gesticulando corn a luneta; mas os batedores picaram, os estalos dos postilhOes retiniram, e a berlinda partiu a galope, enquanto o povo gritava:— Viva el-rei, nosso senhor!—e o sino da porta da capela do pacotocava a finados! Era uma honra que el-rei concedia A Casa dos Arcos. Quando D. Hilaria acabou de contar, suspirando, estas desgracas passadas, comecou-se a jogar. Era singular que Macario ndo se lembrava o que tinha jogado nessa noite radiosa. S6 se recordava que ele tinha ficado ao lado da menina Vilaca, que se chamava Luisa, que reparara muito na sua fina pele rosada, tocada de luz, e na meiga e amorosa pequenez da sua mdo, corn uma unha mais polida que o marfim de Diepa. E lembrava-se tambem de urn acidente excentrico, que determinara nele, desde esse dia, uma grande hostilidade ao clero da Se. Macario estava sentado A mesa, e ao pe dele Luisa. Luisa estava toda voltada para ele, corn uma das mdos apoiando a sua fina cabeca loura e amorosa, e a outra esquecida no regaco. Defronte estava o beneficiado, corn o seu barrete preto, os seus 6culos na ponta aguda do nariz, o torn azulado da forte barba rapada, e as suas duas grandes orelhas, complicadas e cheias de cabelo, separadas do cranio como dois postigos abertos. Ora como era necessario no fim do jogo pagar uns tentos ao cavaleiro de Malta, que estava ao lado do beneficiado, Macario tirou da algibeira uma peca, e quando o cavaleiro, todo curvado e corn urn olho pisco, fazia a soma dos tentos nas costas de urn as, Macario conversava corn Luisa, e fazia girar sobre o pano verde a sua peca de ouro, coma um bilro ou um pido. Era uma peca nova que luzia, faiscava, rodando e fazia A vista como uma bola de nevoa dourada. Luisa sorria vendo-a girar, girar, e parecia a Macario que todo o ceu, a pureza, a bondade das flores e a castidade das estrelas estavam naquele claro sorriso distraido, espiritual, arcangelico, corn que eta, gira, gira, seguia o giro da peca de ouro nova. Mas, de repente, a peca, correndo ate a borda da mesa, caiu para o lado do BRAWL - FEBRUARY 1999
regaco de Luisa, e desapareceu, sem se ouvir no soalho de tabuas o seu ruido metali o. 0 beneficiado abaixou-se logo cortesmente; Mocario afastou a cadeira, olhando para debaixo dalmesa; a mde Vilaca alumiou corn um castical, eI Luisa ergueu-se e sacudiu corn pequenina pancad o seu vestido de cassa. A peca ndo apareceu. —E celebre—disse o amigo de chapeu de palha.—Eu nao ouvi tinir no char). —Nem eu, nem eu—disseram. 0 beneficiado, curvado como um F, buscava tenazmente, e Hiiária mais nova rosnavao reSponso de Santo Ant6nio. —Pols a casa rid° tern buracos— dizia a mde Vilaca. •No entanto Macario exalava-se em exclamacOes desinteressadas: —Pelo amor de Deus! Ora que tern! Amanha aparecera! Tenham a bondade! Por quern sdo! Entdo Sr. D. Luisa! Pelo amor de Deus! Nao vale nada. Mas mentalmente estabeleceu que houvera uma subtraccdo—e atribui-a ao beneficiado. A peca rolara, decerto, ate junto dele, sem mid°, ele pusera-lhe em cima 0 seu vasto sapato eclesiastico e tachado, depois, no movimento brusco e curto que tivera, empolgara-a vilmente. E quando sairam, o beneficiado, todo em rulhado no seu vasto capote de camelao, dizia a Macário pela escada: —Ora o sumico da peca, hem? Qu brincadeka! —Acha, senhor beneficiado?—disse Macario parando, absorto de impudencia. —Ora essa! Se acho! Se the parece! Umapeca de sete mil reis! SO se o Senhor as seme a! Safa! Eu dava em doudo! Macario teve tedio daquela astacia fr ria. NA° the respondeu. 0 beneficiado e que acrescentou: —Amanhd mande la pela manha,i homem. Que diabo... Deus me perdoe! Que di bo! Uma peca nao se perde assim. Que bolada, em! E Macario tinha vontade de the bat r. Foi neste ponto que Macario me di se, corn a voz singularmente sentida: —Enfim, meu amigo, para encurtarniosrazOes resolvi-me casar corn ela. —Mas a peca? —NA° pensei mais nisso! Pensav eu tá na peca! Resolvi-me casar corn eta!
II
r I Macario contou-me o que o detem iinara mais precisamente Aquela resolucdo p ofunda e perpetua. Foi urn beijo. Mas esse ca o, casto e simples, eu colo-o—mesmo porque a 6nica testemunha foi uma imagem em ravura da Virgem, que estava pendurada no seu aixilho de pau-preto, na saleta escura que abria para a escada... Um beijo fugitivo, superficial, efemero. Mas isso bastou ao espirito reto e severo para , D obrigar a toma-la como esposa, a dar-the uma ft imutavel e a posse da sua vida. Tais foram os seuS esponsais. Aquela simpatica sombra de janelOs vizinhas tomara-se para ele um destino, o fim moral da sua vida e toda a ideia dominante do seu Itrabalho. E esta historia toma, desde logo, um alt carater de santidade e de tristeza. I Macario falou-me muito do carat e da figura do tio Francisco; a sua possante estatura, os seus oculos de ouro, a sua barba grisalha, em colar, por
baixo do queixo, urn tique nervoso que tinha numa asa do nariz, a dureza da sua voz, a sua austera e majestosa tranqiiilidade, os seus principios antigos, autoritarios e tiranicos e a brevidade telegrafica das suas palavras. Quando Macario the disse, uma manha, ao almoco, abruptamente, sem transicoes emolientes: "Peco-lhe licenca para casar", o tio Francisco, que deitava o acucar no seu café, ficou calado, remexemio corn a colher, devagar, majestoso e terrivel; e quando acabou de solver pelo pires, corn grande ruido, tirou do pescoco o guardanapo, dobrou-o, agucou corn a faca o seu palito, meteu-o na boca e saiu; mas A porta da sala parou, e voltando-se paraMacario, que estava de pe, junto da mesa, disse secamente: —Ndo. —Perdao, tio Francisco! —Mas ouca, tio Francisco... —NA°. Macario sentiu uma grande colera. —Nesse caso, faco-o sem licenca. —Despedido de casa. —Sairei. Nao haja dirvida. —Hoje. —Hoje. E o tio Francisco ia a fechar a porta, mas voltando-se: —0161—disse ele a Macario, que estava exasperado, apopletico, raspando nos vidros da janela. Macario voltou-se corn uma esperanca. --De-me dal a caixa do rape--disse o tio Francisco. Tinha-the esquecido a caixa! Portant° estava perturbado. —Tio Francisco...--comecou Macario. —Basta. Estamos a doze. Recebera o seu mes por inteiro. Va. As antigas educacOes produziam estas situacOes insensatas. Era brutal e idiota. Mackio afirmou-me que era assim. Nessa tarde Macario achava-se no quarto de uma hospedaria da Praca da Figueira corn seis peps, o seu bail de roupa branca e a sua paixdo. No entanto estava tranquil°. Sentia o seu destino cheio de apuros. Tinha relacOes e amizades no comercio. Era conhecido vantajosamente: a nitidez do seu trabalho, a sua honratradicional, o nome da familia, o seu tato comercial, o seu belo cursivo ingles, abriam-the, de par em par, respeitosamente, todas as portas dos escritorios. No outro dia foi procurar alegremente o negociante Faleiro, antiga relacdo comercial da sua casa. —De muito boa vontade, meu amigo—disse-me ele.—Quem mo dera ca. Mas, se o recebo, fico de mat corn o seu tio, meu velho amigo de vinte anos. Etc declarou-mo categoricamente. Bem 29
ye. Forca major. Eu sinto, mas... E todos a quem Macdrio se dirigiu, confiado em relacOes solidas, receavam "ficar de mal corn seu tio, meu velho amigo de vinte anos". E todos "sentiam, mas...". Macdrio dirigiu-se entao a negociantes novos, estranhos a sua casa e A sua familia, e sobretudo aos estrangeiros; esperava encontrar gente livre da amizade de vinte anos do tio. Mas, para esses, Macdrio era desconhecido, e desconhecidos por igual a sua dignidade e o hdbil trabalho. Se tomavam informacOes, sabiam que ele fora despedido de casa do tio repentinamente, por causa de uma rapariga loura, vestida de cassa. Esta circunstancia tirava as simpatias a Macdrio. 0 comercio evita o guarda livros sentimental. De sorte que Macario comecou a sentir-se num momento agudo. Procurando, pedindo, rebuscando, o tempo passava, sorvendo, pinto a pinto, as suas seis pecas. Macdrio mudou parauma estalagem barata, e continuou farejando. Mas, como fora sempre de temperamento recolhido, nao criara amigos. De modo que se encontrava desamparado e solitario—e a vida aparecia-lhe como um descampo. As pecas findaram. Macario entrou, pouco, na tradicao antiga da miseria. Ela tern solenidades fatais e estabelecidas. Comecou por empenhar. Depois vendeu. RelOgio, andis, casaca azul, cadeia, palet6 de alamares, tudo foi levando pouco a pouco, embrulhado debaixo do xale, a uma velha seca e cheia de asma. No entanto via Luisa de noite, na saleta escura que dava para o patamar. Uma lamparina ardia em cima da mesa; era feliz ali naquela penumbra, todo sentado castamente. Nao a via de dia porque trazia ja a roupa usada, as botas cambadas e nao queria mostrar a fresca Luisa, toda mimosa nas suas cambraias assentadas, a sua miseria remendada. Ali, Aquela luz tenue e esbatida, ele exaltava a sua paixao crescente e escondia o seu fato decadente. Segundo me disse Macdrio—era muito singular o temperamento de Luisa. Tinha o cardter louro como o cabelo-se é certo que o louro é uma cor fraca e desbotada; falava pouco, sorria sempre corn os seus brancos dentinhos, dizia a tudo "pois sim"; era mais simples, quase indiferente, cheia de transigencias. Amava decerto Macdrio, mas corn todo o amor que podia dar a sua natureza debil, aguada, nula. Era como uma estriga de linho, fiava-se como se queria e As vezes, naqueles encontros noturnos, tinha sono. Um dia, porem, Macdrio encontroua excitada; estava corn pressa, o xale tracado a toa, olhando sempre para a 30
porta interior. viagens ao interior das terras negras e —A mama percebeu—disse ela. melancolia das caravanas que o E contou-lhe que a mile desconfiava, Wilda costeiam por violentas noites, durante rabugenta e ispera, e que decerto farejava aquele dias e dias, os rios tranqUilos, donde piano nupcial tramado como uma conjuracao. exala a morte. —Porque nao me yens pedir a mama? Voltou. —Mas, filha, se eu nao posso! NAo tenho E logo nessa tarde a viu a ela, Luisa, arranjo nenhum. Espera. E mais um mes talvez. clara, fresca, repousada, serena, Tenho agora a! um negocio em born caminho. encostada ao peitoril da janela, corn a Morriamos de fome. sua ventarola chinesa. E, ao outro dia, Luisa calou-se, torcendo a ponta do xale, corn sofregamente, foi pedi-la a mae. os olhos baixos. Macario tinha feito um ganho saliente— —Mas ao menos—disse ela—enquanto eu te e a mae Vilaca abriu-lhe uns grandes nao fizer sinal da janela, nao subas mais, sim ? bracos amigos, cheia de exclamacOes. Macario rompeu a chorar, os solucos saiam 0 casamento decidiu-se para dal a urn violentos e desesperados. ano. Luisa.--Nao chores —Porque?—disse eu a Macario. E alto!... ele explicou-me que os lucros de Cabo Macario contou-me a noite que passou, ao Verde nao podiam constituir urn capiacaso pelas ruas, ruminando febrilmente a sua tal definitivo, eram apenas um capital dor, e lutando, sob a nudenta friagem de janeiro, de habilitacao. Trazia de Cabo Verde na sua quinzena curta. Nao dormiu, c logo pela elementos de poderosos negocios; manha, ao outro dia, entrou como uma rajada no trabalharia, heroicamente, e ao fim quarto do tio Francisco e disse-lhe abruptamente, poderia, sossegadamente, criar uma secamente: familia. tudo o que tenho.—E mostrava-lhe tre$ E trabalhou. POs naquele trabalho a pintos.—Roupa, estou sem ela. Vendi tudo. Daq forca criadora da sua paixao. Erguia-se a pouco tenho fome. de madrugada, comia a pressa, mal 0 tio Francisco, que fazia a barba a janel4 falava. A tardinha ia visitar Luisa. corn o lenco da india amarrado na cabeca, voltoui Depois voltava sofregamente para a se e, pondo os oculos, 45ou-o. fadiga, como urn avaro para o seu cofre. —A sua carteira la esti. Fique—e acrescento4 Estava gross°, forte, duro, fero. Serviacoin um gesto decisivo—solteiro. se corn o mesmo impeto das ideias e —no Francisco, ouga-meL.. dos musculos; vivia numa tempestade —Solteiro, disse eu--continuou o tio Fran- de cifras. As vezes Luisa, de passagem, cisco, dando o fio A navalha numa tira de sola. entrava no seu annazern. Aquele pousar —NA° poss.?. de ave fiigitiva dava-lhe alegria, valor, —Entao, ma! fe, reconforto para todo o mes cheiaMacario saiu, estonteado. Chegou a casa, mente trabalhado. deitou-se, chorou e adonneceu. Quando saiu, Por esse tempo o amigo do chapeu noitinha, nao tinha resolucao, nem ideia. Estava, de palhaveio pedir a Macario que fosse como uma esponja. Deixava-se ir. seu fiador por uma grande quantia, que De repente uma voz disse de dentro ' ele pedira para estabelecer uma loj a de de uma loja: ferragens em grande. Macario, estava —Eh! Pst! Old! no vigor do seu credit°, cedeu corn Era o amigo do chap& de pill& 4 alegria. 0 amigo do chapeu de palha é Abriu grandes bracos pasmados. que lhe dera o negocio providencial de —Que diachp! Desde manila que te Cabo Verde. Faltavam entao seis meses procuro. para o casamento. Macario já sentia, E contou-lhe que tinha chegado da por vezes, subirem-lhe ao rosto as febris provincia, tinha sabido a sua crise e ; vermelhidoes da esperanca. Ja cometrazia-lhe urn desenlace. cava a tratar dos banhos, mas um dia o —Queres? amigo do chapeu de palha desapareceu —Tudo. ; corn a mulher de um alferes. 0 seu Uma casa camercial queria um estabelecimento estava em comeco. Era homem habil, resoluto, e duro, para ir uma confusa aventura; nao se Ode numa comissao dificil e de grande ganho nunca precisar nitidamente aquele a Cabo Verde. imbroglio doloroso. 0 que era positivo —Pronto!—Disse Macario.—Pronto! Ama- é que Macario era fiador, Macario devia nha. reembolsar. Quando o soube, empaE foi logo escrever a Luisa, pedindo-lhe uma lideceu e disse simplesmente: despedida, urn ultimo encontro, aquele em que os --Liquid° e pago. bracos desolados e veementes tanto custam a E quando liquidou, ficou outra vez desenlacar-se. Foi. Encontrou-a toda embrulhada ,pobre. Mas nesse tnesmo dia, como o no seu xale, tiritando de frio. Macario chorou. Ela, idesastretiverauma grande publicidade, corn a sua passiva e loura docura, disse-lhe: ",e a sua honra estava santificada na —Fazes bem. Talvez ganhes. Ppiniao, a casa Peres & Cia, que o E ao outro dia Macirio partiu. tnandara a Cabo Verde, veio proporConheceu as viagens trabalhosas nos mares lhe uma outra viagem, outros ganhos. in im i gos, o enjoo monotono num beliche abafado, —Faz outra vez fortuna, homem. 0 os duros sobs das col8nias, a brutalidade tiranica senhor oDiabo!—disse o Sr. Eleuterio dos fazendeiros ricos, o peso dos fardos Peres. humilhantes, as dilaceraceies da ausencia, as ; Quando se viu assim, sO e pobrel BFtAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
Macdrio desatou a chorar. Tudo estava perdido, findo, extinto; era necessaxio recomecar pacieatemente a vida, voltar as longas miserias de Cabo Verde, tomar a tremer os passados desesperos, suar os antigos suores! E Luisa? Macario escreveu-lhe. Depois rasgou a carta. Foi a casa dela. As janelas tinham luz; subiu ate ao primeiro andar, mas al tomou-o uma magoa, uma covardia de revelar o desastre, tremulo de uma separacdo, o terror de eta se recusar, negar-se, hesitar! E quereria eta esperar mais?! Ndo se atreveu a falar, explicar, pedir; desceu, pe ante pe. Era noite. Andou ao acaso pelas ruas. Havia um sereno e silencioso luar. la sem saber. De repente ouviu, de uma janela alumiada, uma rabeca que tocava a xacara mourisca. Lembrou-se do tempo em que conhecera Luisa, do born sot claro que havia entdo, e do vestido dela, de cassa corn pintas azuis! Esta na rua onde eram os armazens do tio. Foi caminhando. Pos-se a olhar para a sua antigacasa. A janela do escritorio estava fechada. Quantas vezes dali vira Luisa, e o brando movimento do seu !aqua chines! Mas uma janela, no segundo andar, tinha luz. Era o quarto do tio. Macario vai observar mais de longe. Uma figura estava encostada, por dentro, a vidraca. Era o tio Francisco. Veio-lhe uma saudade de todo o seu passado simples, retirado, placid°. Lembrava-lhe o seu quarto, e a velha carteira corn fecho de prata, e a miniatura de sua rade, que estava por cima da barra do leito; a sala de jantar e o seu velho aparador de pau-preto, e a grande caneca de agua, cuja asa era uma serpente irritada. Decidiu-se e, impelido por urn instinto, bateu a porta. Bateu outra vez. Sentiu abrir a vidraca, e a voz do tio perguntar: —Quern é? —Sou eu, tio Francisco, sou eu. Venho dizer-lhe adeus. A vidraea fechou-se, e dal a pouco a porta abriu-se corn urn grande ruido de ferrolhos. 0 tio Francisco tinha urn candeeiro de azeite na ink). Macario achou-o magro, mais velho. Beijou-lhe a mdo. --Suba—disse o tio. Macario ia calado, cosido corn o corrimao. Quando chegou ao quarto, o tio Francisco pousou o candeeiro sobre uma larga mesa de pau-santo, e de pe, corn as mAos nos bolsos, esperou. Macario estava calado, anediando a barba. —Que quer?—gritou-lhe o tio. --Vinha dizer-the adeus; volto para Cabo Verde. —Boa viagem. E o tio Francisco, voltando-se as costas, foi rufar na vidraca. Macario ficou imovel, deu dois passos no quarto, todo revoltado, e ia sair. —Onde vai, seu estupido?—gritouBRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
lhe o tio. midade do balcdo, em cima do vidro da —Vou-me. montra, um reluzente espalhado de aneis —Sente-se al i ! de ouro, de pedras, lavrados, esmalE o tio Francisco falava, corn grandes paSsadas tados; e Luisa, tomando-os e deixandopelo quarto: os corn a ponta dos dedos, ia-os correndo —0 seu amigo é urn canalha! Loj a de e dizen,do: , ferragens! Ndo estamd! 0 senhor é urn homem de —E feio. E pesado. E largo. bem. Estdpido, mas homem de bem. Sante—Ve este—disse-lhe Mase all! Sente-se! 0 seu amigo é um canalha! cario. 0 senhor e um homem de bem! Foi a Cabo Era um anal de pequenas Verde! Bern sei! Pagou tudo. Esta claro! perolas,. Tambem sei! AmanhA faz favor de ir para , —E bonito—disse eta.— a sua carteira, la para baixo. Mandei Or E lindo! palhinha nova na cadeira. F az favor de Or —Deixa ver se serve— na fatura Macario & Sobrinho. E case. disse Macario. Case, e que lhe preste! Levante dinheiro. E tomando-lhe a mdo, 0 senhor precisa de roupa branca e de meteu-lhe o anel devagarinho, mobilia. E meta na minha conta. A sua docemente, no dedo; e ela na, cama Id esta feita. corn os seus brancos dentinhos Macario queria abraea-lo, estonteado, finos, tpdos esmaltados. corn lagrimas nos olhos, radioso. —E muito largo—disse —Bern, bem. Adeus! Macario.—Que pena! Macario ia sair. —Aperta-se, querendo. —Oh! burro, pois quer-se ir desta sua Deixe a medida. Tern-no casa? pronto amanhd. E indo a um pequeno armario trouxe geleia, —Boa ideia—disse Macario--sim um covilhete de doce, uma garrafa antiga e Porto senhor. Porque é muito bonito. NA° 6 e biscoitos. verdade? As perolas muito iguais, muito —Coma. claras. Muito bonito! E esses brincos?— E sentando-se ao pe dela, e tomando ak c hamar- acrescentou, indo ao fundo do balcdo, a the estdpido, tinha uma lagrima a correr-I e pelo outra montra.—Estes brincos corn urn engelhado da pele. concha? De sone que o casamento foi decidido para —Dez moedas—disse o caixeiro. dali a urn mes. E Luisa comecou a tratar do seu E, no entanto, Luisa continuava enxoval. exam inand o os aneis, experimentandoMacario estava entdo na plenitude do amor e os em todos os dedos, revolvendo aquela da alegria. delicada montra, cintilante e preciosa. Via o fim da sua vida preenchido, completo, Mas, de repente, o caixeiro fez-se radioso. Estava quase sempre em casa da noiva, e muito palido, e afirmou-se em Luisa, urn dia andava-a acompanhando, ern compras, passando vagarosamente a mao pela pelas lojas. Ele mesmo !he quisera fazer um cara. pequeno presente, nesse dia. A mde tinha ficado —Bem—disse Macario, aproxinuma modista, num primeiro andar da Rua do mando-se—entdo amanha temos o anel Ouro, e ales tinham descido, alegremente, rindo, pronto. A que horas? a urn ourives que havia em baixo, no mesmo 0 caixeiro nAo respondeu e comepredio, na loja. cou a olhar fixamente para Macario. 0 dia estava de invemo, claro, fino, fio, corn —A que horas? urn grande ceu azul-ferrete, profundo, I inoso, —Ao meio-dia. consolado. —Bern, adeus—disse Macario. —Que bonito dia!—disse Macdrio. 1 E iam sair. Luisa trazia urn vestido E corn a noiva pelo braco, caminkrou urn de Id azul, que arrastava urn pouco, pouco, ao comprido do passeio. dando uma ondulaedo melodiosa ao —Esta!—disse ela.—Mas podem reparar; rids seu passo, e as suas maps pequenas sos... estavam escondidas num regalo branco. —Deixa, esta tdo born... —Perddo!—disse de repente o —NA°, ndo. caixeiro. I E Luisa arrastou-o brandamente parda loja do Macario voltou-se. ourives. Estava apenas um caixeiro, trigueiro, de —0 senhor ndo pagou. cabelo hirsuto. Macario olha para ele gravemente. Macario disse-lhe: —Esta claro que nAo. Amanhd —Queria ver aneis. venho buscar o anel, pago amanhd. —Corn pedras—disse Luisa—e o mais bo—PerdAo!—disse o caixeiro.— Mas nito. o outro... — Sim, corn pedras—disse Mabario.— —Qual outro?—disse Macario corn Ametista, granada. Enfim, o melhor. uma voz surpreendida, adiantando-se E, no entanto, Luisa ia examinando aS montras para o baled°. forradas de veludo azul, onde reluziam as grossas —Essa senhora sabe—disse o pulseiras cravejadas, os grilhoes, os colares de caixeiro.—Essa senhora sabe. camafeus, os aneis de armas, as finas1 aliancas Macario tirou a carteira lentamente. frageis como o amor, e toda a cintilacdo de pesada —Perddo, se ha uma conta antiga... ourivesaria. 0 caixeiro abriu o baled°, e corn 1 —Ve, Luisa—disse Macario. aspecto resoluto: 1 0 caixeiro tinha estendido, na outra extra—Nada, meu caro Senhor, 6 de 31
agora. E um anel corn dois brilhantes que aquela senhora leva. —Eu?!—disse Luisa, corn a voz baixa, toda escarlate. —Que 6? Que esta a dizer? E Macario, palido, corn dentes cerrados, contraido, fitava o caixeiro colericamente. 0 caixeiro disse entao: —Essa senhora tirou dali o anel. Macario ficou imOvel, encarando-o. —Um and corn dois brilhantes. Vi perfeitamente. 0 caixeiro estava tao excitado, que a sua voz gaguejava, prendiase espessamente. —Essa senhora nao sei quem é. E tirou-o dali... Macario, maquinalmente, agarroulhe o brag°, e voltando-se para Luisa corn a palavra abafada, gotas de suor na testa, livido: —Luisa, dize...—Mas a voz cortouse-lhe. —Eu...—disse eta. M as estava tremula, assombrada, enfiada, descomposta. E tinha deixado cair o regalo ao chao. Macario veio para eta, agarrou-lhe o pulso fintando-a; e o seu aspecto era tao resoluto e tao imperioso que eta
meteu a mao no bolso, bruscamente, apavorada, e mostrando o anel: —Nao me faca mal—disse, encolhendo-se toda. Macario ficou corn os bracos caidos, o ar abstrato, os beicos brancos; mas de repente, dando urn puxao ao casaco, recuperando-se, disse ao caixeiro: —Tern razao. Era distraccao. Esta claro! Esta senhora tinha-se esquecido. E o anel. Sim, sim, senhor, evidentemente... Tenha a bondade. Toma, filha, toma. Deixa estar, este senhor embrulha-o. Quanto custa? Abriu a carteira e pagou. Depois apanhou o regalo, sacudiu-o brandamente, lirnpou os !nips corn o lenco, deu o braco a Luisa e dizendo ao caixeiro: "Desculpe, desculpe", levoua, inerte, passiva, extinta e aterrada. Deram alguns passos na rua. Urn largo sot aclarava o genio feliz; as seges passavam, rolando ao estalido do chicote; figuras risonhas passavam, conversando; os pregries ganiam os seus gritos alegres; urn cavalheiro de calcao de anta fazia ladear o seu cavalo, enfeitado de rosetas; e a rua estava cheia, ruidosa, viva, feliz e coberta de sot. Macario iamaquinalmente, como no fundo de um sonho. Parou a uma esquina. Tinha o braco de Luisa passado no seu; e via-the a mao pendente, a suamao de cera, corn as veias docemente azuladas, os dedos finos e amorosos; era a mao direita, e
aquela mao era a da sua noiva! E, instintivamente, leu o cartaz que anunciava para essa noite "Palafoz em Saragoca ". De repente, soltando o braco de Luisa, disse-lhe baixinho: —Vai-te. —Ouve!...--disse eta, corn a cabeca toda inclinada. —Vai-te.—E corn voz abafada e terrivel:—Vai-te. Olha que chamo. Mando-te para o Aljube. Vai-te. —Mas ouve, Jesus—disse eta. —Vai-te!—E fez um gesto, corn o punho cerrado. —Pelo amor de Deus, nao me batas aqui—disse ela, sufocada. —V ai -te, podem reparar. Nao chores. Olha que veem. Vai-te. E, chegando-se paraela, disse baixo: —Es uma ladra! E, voltando-lhe as costas, afastou-se, devagar, riscando o chao corn a bengala. A distancia, voltou-se. Ainda viu, atraves dos vultos, o seu vestido azul. Como partiu nessa tarde para a provincia, nao soube mais daquela rapariga loura. In the original this short story was called "Singularidades de uma Rapariga Loura" and was published in Contos, a book from 1902.
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xudin Culture
Beautiful Olinda, placed on a hill Overlooking Recife and the Atlantic, is one ofthe largest and best-preserved colonial cities in Brazil. Although many of the buildings in Olinda were originally constructed in the 16th century, the Dutch burnt virtually everything in 1631. Consequently, most of what you now see has been Olinda is a living city always in reconstructed at a later date. a celebration mood withbohemian While Recife plays the role of an quarters, art galleries, museums, administrative and economic center, and music in the streets. If you are Olinda is recognized as its cultural counterpart: a living city with driving with an out-of-statelicense plate, wearing a backpack or bohemian quarters, art galleries, dawdling in front of a church, museums, music in the streets and you'll be app,r,pazted by a kid always some kind of celebration in offering his or herservices s a the works. guide. Orientation Olinda is six km north of Recife. The historical district, which constitutes about 10% of the city, is concentrated around the upper streets of the hill and is easily visited on foot. The beaches immediately adjacent to the city, Milagres for example, suffer from pollution and swimming is not recommended. Casa Caiada, the district at the foot ofthe hill, has several restaurants. Throughout Olinda you'll no doubt hear the cryguia (guide). Olinda has more kids throwing their services at you than anywhere in Brazil. Ifyou (chapel) and the Igreja de Nossa Senho a das are driving with an out-of-state license Neves (church)—approximate daily openin hours plate, wearing a backpack or dawdling for these are 8 to 11.30 am and 2 to 4.30 m. in front of a church, you'll be At the end of the street, turn left onto R a Frei approached. If you do take a guide, Afonso Maria and you'll see the Semin rio de make sure the price is fixed before Olinda and Igreja Nossa Senhora da raga you start the tour (1549) on the hill above. Daily visiting hi,rs are Information from 8 to 11.30 am and from 3 to 4:30 p Tourist Office Continue up the street and then on o Rua Whatever services you don't find Bispo Coutinho. Climb up to Alto d a Se, in Olinda you can secure in Recife ('Cathedral Heights'), which is a good pot to (e.g. airline offices and car-rental enjoy the , superb views of Olinda and ecife. agencies). The main tourist office There ate outdo* restaurants, and a sin 11 craft (429-1039)7 at Rua do Sol 127 (in the market with woodcarvings, figurines and j welry. grounds of the Hotel Pousada Sao The imposing Igreja da Se (1537) is ope from 8 Francisco), has maps, walking-tour am to noon on Saturday and Sunday. brochures and information about art Continue a short distance along Ru Bispo exhibits and music performances. The Coutinho until-you see the Museu de Art Sacra office is from 8 am to 1.30 pm Monday de Pernambuco (MA SPE) on your right MASto Friday. PE is housed in a building, constructed i 1696, Money that once functioned as Olinda's Episcopa Palace The Banco do Brasil is on Avenida & Camara (Government Council). The useum Gettilio Vargas. Take a bus marked contains a good collection of sacred and a 'Our° Preto' from Praca do Carmo to photographic homage to the city. It's open uesday the Bank Itati stop, then walk about to Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm. 100 meters further north. About 75 meters further down the str et, turn Post & Telephone right into a patio to visit Igreja Nossa Sen ora da The main post office, on Praca do Conceigao (1585). Carmo, offers apostarestante service Retrace your steps and continue d wn the (CEP: 53001-970). International telestreet, now named Ladeira da Miseric rdia, to phone calls can be made at the TELPE Igreja da Misericardia (1540), which as fine office nearby. azulejos and gilded carvings inside. I 's open Walking Tour daily from 8 to 11.30 am and 2 to 5 pm. Starting at Praca do Carmo, visit From here, turn right onto Rua aldanha Igreja Nossa Senhora do Carmo Marinho to see Igrej a Nossa Senhora do mparo (1580), which reopened recently after (1613), which is currently under renova ion. restoration. Then follow Rua de Sao Descend Rua do Amparo until yo see the Francisco to Convento Sao FrancisMuseu do Mamulenco on your right. The useum co (1585), which is a large structure houses a colorful collection of antique wooden containing three elements: the puppets, which chart the history of pu petry in convent, the Capela de Sao Roque theatre and education in the Northeas . A few BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
doors down, at Rua do Amparo 45, is the house of Silvio Botelho, the creator of the Bonecos Gigantes de Olinda, giant papier-mache puppets which are used in Carnaval festivities. You should be able to pop your head in to watch him at work. Continue along Rua do Amparo to join Rua 13 de Maio to see the Museu de Arte COntemporfinea (MAC). This museum of contemporary art is recommended for its permanent and temporary exhibits. The museum is housed in an 18th-century ajube, a jail used by the Catholic Church during the Inquisition—with its new paint job it's hard to imagine its grim past. It's open Tuesday to Friday from 9 am to noon and 2 to 5 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 5 pm. Rua 13 de Maio continues in a tight curve to a junction with Rua Bernardo Vieira de Melo and Rua Sao Bento. If you turn left here up Rua Bernardo de Melo, you'll come to Mercado da Ribeira, an 18th-century structure that is now home to art galleries and souvenir shops. If you retrace your steps down to Rua Sao Bento, you'll reach the huge Mosteiro de Sao Bento (1582), which has some exceptional woodcarving in the chapel. Brazil's first law school was housed here for 24 years (it's difficult to say what lawyers actually did in colonial Brazil, but it had little to do with justice). The monastery is open daily from 8 to 1 1 am and 2 to 5 pm. Beaches The city beaches are polluted, and not recommended for swimming. However, there are many excellent beaches north of Olinda, which are described later in this chapter. Olinda's Carnaval has been very popular with Brazilians and travelers for several years. The historic setting combined with the fact that so many residents know each other provides an intimacy and security that you don't get in the big-city Carnavals. It's a participatory Carnaval: costumed blocos parade through the city dancing to frevo music and everyone else follows. In recent years, there have been complaints of commercialization creeping into Olinda's Carnaval. On the other hand Recife's Carnaval has been getting better reviews lately. Since the two cities are so close, you could try out both ofthem. Publications with full information on Carnaval schedules and events are supplied by the tourist office in Olinda. Carnaval in Olinda lasts a full 11 days. There are organized Carnaval events, including balls (of course), a night of samba and a night of afoxe, but everything else happens in impromptu fashion on the streets. The official opening events—with the pomp and ceremony of the Olympic games—commence with a bloco of 33
more the 400 'virgins' (men in drag), and awards for the most beautiful, the most risque and for the biggest prude. Everyone dresses for the Carnaval, so you'll want some sort of costume. The Carnaval groups of thousands dance the frevo through the narrow streets. It's playful and very lewd. Five separate areas have orchestras playing nonstop from 8 pm to 6 am nightly. Apart from Carnaval, we also highly recommend the festival known as Folclore Nordestino, held at the end of August, which features dance, music and folklore from many parts of the Northeast. Places to Stay The main choice to make regarding accommodation is whether you want to stay in the old city, which has fewer hotels, or north oftown, near the beaches at Bairro Novo or Farol. If you want to stay in Olinda during Carnaval, reserve several months in advance and be prepared for massive price hikes. During summer, prices are up to 30% higher as well. For long stays outside high season (mid-December to March), the transport company Viagens Sob 0 Sol (429-3303; mobile 971-8102), at Rua Prudente de Moraes 424 (opposite Pousada dos Quatro Cantos), lets a beach apartment (capacity of five people) for $170 per week. Places to Eat The old city has a variety of restaurants tucked away in its cobbled streets—some are pricey, but there are usually a few reasonably priced dishes on the menu. Cantinho da Se has a great view from Alto da Se, but it's a bit of a trap. Ponto 274, at Rua Sao Bento 274, is a garden restaurant with tasty, home-cooked fish, chicken and beef dishes for $7 to $10. The service is comically disorganized (our waiter spilt three drinks during our meal, mixed up several orders and changed her outfit three times!)—so it helps if you're not in a hurry. In a more expensive range is Mourisco, one of Olinda's best fish restaurants—although the servings are large and enough for two. A few doors away, at Rua 27 de Janeiro 65, Viva Zapata is a stylish Mexican restaurant open Thursday to Sunday from 7 pm to midnight. Oficina do Sabor, at Rua do Amparo 329, is an elegant place with views—it could be worth a splurge. The Pousada Flor de Manhei has great-value seafood and salad dishes for around $6—Luis has been known to cook up a storm. For the flavors of France, there's a cute creperie at Rua 13 de Maio 3, and Olinda's fine-dining capital, Restaurante L 'Atelier (429-3099), at Rua Bernardo Vieira de Melo 91. Down on Praca do Carmo, John's Cafe is a friendly café serving homemade pies, pastries and delicious ice cream. Nearby Pizzaria Leque Moleque, on Rua Manoel Ribeiro, has 34
great-value pizzas in a nice outdoor setting—it's a pity about the woeful 'live' music at night. Along the beachfront, opposite the post office, try Donana, at Praca Joao Pessoa 55, for Bahian food. Out in Barra Novo, Restaurant Taipei, at Avenida Marcos Freire 1161, has passable Chinese food. Entertainment There are several music bars and a live-music venue in the old town, near Pousada Quatro Cantos, that are busy on the weekends. Alto da Se has bars/restaurants that open late with live music. Closer to the beach, Atlantic°, on Praca do Carmo, has livefrevo and samba music and dancing until daylight over the weekend, or there's Pub Poco Loco, at Rua do Sol 225, and Fruta Pao, at Rua do Sol 349. A nearby nightspot for music and dancing is Las Vegas, at Avenida Marcos Freire 1571. On Friday and Saturday nights the beach restaurant/bars north of town come to life. The Ciranda de Dona Duda, on Janga beach is famous for its participatory ciranda (round dance). The market at Milagres beach has a folk-music show Tuesday night. Getting Around Viagens Sob 0 Sol (429-3303, mobile 971-8102), opposite Pousada dos Quatro Cantos, has a variety of vehicles for hire, with or without guide/driver. This is an interesting option if you can form a group of four or more. Trips can be arranged to Porto de Galinhas, Itamaraca, Caruaru, Fazenda Nova (Nova Jerusalem), Olaria Brennand and various art and handicraft showrooms. Sample prices for a minibus (maximum eight passengers) are $15 per person (minimum four) for trips along the coast to Itamaraca or Porto de Galinhas. A good deal is offered for transport to the airport—$15 for up to five people. The company is run by two affable `ghostbuster' look-alikes, Mauro and Felipe, who are always keen to embark on 'night sorties', trips to remote beaches or any other wild schemes! Pousada Flor de Manila organizes several day trips each week to Porto de Galinhas and other beaches. BEACHES NORTH OF OLINDA You've got to get out of town for a fine, clean beach. Head north to Janga beach (eight km) or at least Rio Doce (six km), and beyond to Praia do 0 (12 km), Praia do Pau Amarelo (14 km), Praia da Conceicao (17 km) and Praia da Maria Farinha (23 km). The road goes along close to the beach, but don't be deterred by the ugly development beside the road: the beaches are generally undisturbed except for barracas and crowds on weekends. Enjoy the local sini (small crab) and caranguejo (big crab) at the barracas. There are local buses to these beaches from Praca do Carmo. IGARASSU One of the oldest cities in Brazil, Igarassu is 35 km north of Recife and 20 km shy of Ilha de Itamaraca Igarassu is small, untouristed and full of colonial buildings History On 27 September 1535, the day of Saints Cosme and Damiao, it was a busy day for town hero Duarte Coelho and his men. They managed to fight off both the Potiguar Indians at the mouth ofthe Rio Igarassu and the French pirates offshore. Later in the afternoon, after a big meal, Duarte Coelho founded the village, naming it Sao Cosme e Damiao in honor of the saints. It later came to be
known as Igarassu. Information Igarassu's tourist office (543-0435), at Praca da Bandeira 42, has brochures and beautiful free posters. It's open daily from 9 am to 6 pm. Historic Section Walking up the hill to the historic section, you'll find Igreja dos Santos Cosme e Damiao, which dates back to the foundation of Igarassu and is the oldest church still standing in Pernambuco state. Next door, on Largo Sao Cosme e Sao Damiao, the Museu Histerico de Igarassu (city museum) displays sacred art, weapons and furniture from noble families. It's open from 8 am to 2 pm Tuesday to Sunday. The Convento de Santo Antonio (1588), on Avenida Hermes, contains the Museu Pinacoteca (art museum), which has paintings depicting folk tales and popular legends. The convent and museum have recently been superbly restored and are well worth a visit. Both are open Tuesday to Sunday from 8 am to 2 pm. Festivals On 27 September, the Festa dos Santos Cosme e Damiao celebrates the founding of Igarassu and honors its patron saints with Bumba Meu Boi and the ciranda dance (which actually originated in Itamaraca). The Festa do Coco is held during the last week of November. C41 '1 AROUND IGARASSU Engenho Mojope The area surrounding the town also has a few treasures. The Engenho Mojope, an old sugar estate built in 1750, has ruins of a mill, casa grande (plantation owner's mansion), chapel and slave quarters. It's now a campground belonging to Camping Clube do Brasil, and worth a stop if you're going by car: take BR-1013.5 km south from the Igarassu turn-off and turn right at the 'Camping Club' sign. The former plantation is one km further down the road. alCittm, It a pissu m a About 10 km from Igarassu is the small town of Itapissuma, which is worth visiting to see the Igreja Sao Goncalvo do Amarante (1795), on Rua Manoel Lourenco. Excerpts from Brazil A Travel Survival Kit 3rd edition, by Andrew Draffen, Chris McAsey, Leonardo Pinheiro, and Robyn Jones. For more information call Lonely Planet: (800) 275-8555. Copyright 1996 Lonely Planet Publications. Used by permission. BRAZZIL -FEBRUARY 1999
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Postcards from Rio Ibrmosmsmenensminfi., This is my second time to Sugarloaf, but the first at night. The place is starting to pack. It is after 1:00 AM and still people are arriving by gondola. Marta and 1 have a few dances, we lose a few inhibitions, and umm, it's kind of feeling groovy time. The live music starts at 2:0-0 PM with Fernanda Abreu. She sings passionately about the spirit of the Carioca, Brazil, love, Rio, dreams and music. JOHN MILLER On Saturday night, Marta and I met with avery cool Moosehead by the name of Bryce. We planned to go to a concert at Sugarloaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar). So after a bit of stuffing around, we go by taxi to Sugarloaf at about 10:00 PM at night. The traffic is very bad as we approach Sugarloaf, and I suspect that we may not get in as all the tickets may be sold ($25 each). However, this is not the case and we get tickets to go up to the first level. It is worth describing Sugarloaf Mountain at this stage, even though you have seen this in countless James Bond movies, etc. It is the most famous sight in Rio de Janeiro along with Corcovado (Cristo Redentor—Christ the Redeemer). The area around Rio is very famous for its mountains and rock formations (hey, I am no geologist, so I can't give you the technical explanation). The mountains are a very distinct conical shape. In the case of Sugarloaf, it consists of two separate conical mountains; the first one is about 180 meters high; the second is 280 meters high. These two mountains are linked to the ground by gondola cable cars, and they ascend to the top of the mountains in two legs at a very rapid rate. The angle of incline from the base would vary from 15-45 degrees, almost like going up in an elevator, except you are out in mid air. The cable car ride is very exhilarating, a real highlight of any visit to Rio de Janeiro. The cable cars have been in operation for over 50 years and only one accident in 1972, when a cable broke, and the occupants had to be rescued by helicopter. Definitely a very safe experience, it is maintained to very high standards, but also a bit of an adrenaline buzz for Pepsi Max drinkers. This is my second time to Sugarloaf, but the first at night. In the day, you can see all of Rio de Janeiro and it is breathtaking. The sights include (in a clockwise direction) the inside of Rio Harbor, the bridge to Niter6i (14 km long), Niteroi itself, then sweeping around to the Atlantic ocean and the islands off Brazil. Further around to the south you see the beaches stretching south including Leme, Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon. Further around again you see Lagoa, then Corcovado and the statue of Christ, and onto Botafogo, Flamengo, then to Rio Centro itself, and the domestic airport of Santos Dumont returns you to the harbor again. Rio harbor would be at least 20 times the size of Sydney harbor, maybe more, and holds hundreds of large ships all the time. It is the second most important port in Brazil (Santos feeding Sao Paulo is the first). At night, the view from Sugarloaftakes on another perspective. The lights of Rio come on, which are mirror reflected in the harbor. Coffee table books, postcards, photos, film, IMAX Theater could not catch this sight, this is one to experience first hand. A lot of countries say that Jesus Christ was really born in their country, here you can believe it, as the hand of God has been working to make this place so special. Christ stands illuminated at the top of Corcovado like a beacon announcing "I will look after the Carioca and Brazil". The favelas (shantytowns) are lit up like the stars in the sky at night, a slight yellow tinge to the lights from the low wattage 36
BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
electric lighting. Just beautiful. And to top this all off, we have a clear sky, a slight breeze and a full moon. There is magic happening. You can feel it. We have experienced this magic about six or seven times now, the first night we were together, at Btizios, when we were driving along the great ocean road in Vitoria. Music brings out chemistry in us, really strong feelings, and we are very connected tonight. We arrive at the summit of the first mountain, and I had forgotten how large the summit is. This place has been very tastefully kept, a blend of tropical vegetation, sheltered walkways, and panoramic 360° viewing. The place is a buzz. Security on entry is serious (the odd body search), but not over the top. At the summit, lam expecting the place to be wall to wall security, but it is not, just the right amount of gorillas, but instead of scowling at everyone, they say hello and smile a lot. I estimate the crowd at about 4000. Alcohol (beer, caipirinha, vodka, whiskey) is cheap and very available. I am a little concerned at this initially, as I have been to many functions in OZ like this, and you know how alcohol can make some young men a little hot headed and over zealous. But it is evident very early on that the atmosphere has very good karma, the whole place has a 'feel and be good' about it, and the consumption of alcohol is largely moderate, with one or two exceptions. The Mary Jane is pretty popular too, this may be adding to the chill out factor. I am very impressed by the mood of the place. The average age would be early twenties, and even number of men and women. Dress is casual, but as usual, the ladies take that little bit extra care on special occasions and look very attractive. We get a couple of drinks and wander round looking at the sights, and Marta shows me all the facilities available on Sugarloaf. This place has an indoor restaurant that would hold 300400 people, and then outside seating for another 1000. There is an indoor/ outdoor discotheque area with large screens and seating, plus an amphitheater (dance area would comfortably hold 800-900, and the terraced area another 600-700). This is where the live music will be and it is already packed with people in the mood. The usual mirror ball and banks of computer controlled TVs. A DJ plays a mixture of current and golden oldies, Brazilian and international. Lots of good video clips playing on the big screen of U2, David Bowie, Tina Turner playing Maracand, Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, etc. The Brazilians know their music very well. Hey, is that the Beach Boys playing, yes it is. "I'm thinking of good vibrations, she's giving me excitations." The place is starting to pack in now. It is after 1:00 AM and still people are arriving by gondola. When does the show start? Marta and I have a few dances, we lose a few inhibitions, and BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
umm, it's kind of feeling groovy time. T e live music starts at 2:00 PM with Fernanda A reu, a female vocalist and 8 piece-backing band. She is electric, the music is very modern Brazilia . She sings passionately about the spirit of the C rioca, Brazil, love, Rio, dreams and music. It is ne of the best small-medium venue live concerts I have been to. The music continues for about two hou s, and the guitarists start a long solo piece. We iecide that this is a good opportunity to split, get drink and go before the queues form for the g ndola. We step outside the amphitheater and I th nk for a moment that the special effects peopl have gone overboard, and turned on the bigge t fogmaking machine. After a minute or two I re lize it is God that has turned on the fog-maki g machine. All you can see is Christ and the mo n, and a cloud has descended below Sugarloaf t make an island in the sky. It is a very magical m ment. We get our drinks and see the queues have lready started. No problem, we have much to talk about. And we do, for about an hour we sit and talk about some heavy-duty stuff between us. Like chi ...still have trouble with this word, but maybe... I want to change the topic to selling wine, netw rking, getting an Australia Day Party in Rio de J eiro, an Aussie Rules football game at Marac na, an Ipanema Beach Cricket Club, hitting sand vedges on the beach at Leblon, these are my dreams. How can my Carioca wife possibly understand the importance of these things? We sit and watch the fog and mist roll in, clear out and roll back in again. About 5:00 AM we decide to join the queue to the gondola to escend Sugarloaf. This is going to be about an ho r wait. So be it, we are in good company. Two young people, maybe only 20, start talking to u . They have not paid to come in to the party, d have climbed up Sugarloaf Mountain under c ver of dark, and have fresh scratches on their rms to prove it. This is quite a feat of courage in t e dark, and I am just in awe at the risks Carioca te nagers will take to go to a party and not pay tog in. As a side comment, the tallest of the two mo ntains that constitutes Sugarloaf was first climb d by a woman in 1876. More Bus Adventures Buses can also be an excellent plac to go shopping. On most city metro bus journeys, a Carioca (someone from Rio) will get on the front of the bus, start peddling his wares for 60 seconds, then walk down the aisle of the bus hawking his goodies. This usually takes about 1-2 km or 5 minutes, and then he gets off, transacting all the way. Then he repeats the process in the opposite direction. There appears to be defined turf's to sell in, as frequently they get off the bus Iwithout completing the sales at the back of the buS (tip, if you do not want to buy anything, get a sedt at the back of the bus). They have an excellent sense of baldnce, as they must carry their goods in one hand, noney to change and dish out the products in the ot er, and hang on for grim death with their elbows nd feet as the bus rockets around the back st eets of Copacabana. The products range from c mbination toenail clippers and scissors (it woull appear that no self respecting Carioca would be without one), chocolates, bonbons, Chiclets, bea s, cigarettes, and just about anything that has f lien off the back of the truck or cannot find shelf pace in a supermarket. Between the buses and the beaches, I see no
future for shopping malls in Rio de Janeiro. Medicine Medicine seems to come in industrial strength form. I think they must use elephants or horses to test things on for humans. One penicillin tablet here would cure you of Ebola fever forever. Sure can knock you around if you are sensitive to medication. Definitely when they say take one tablet three times a day you can halve this dosage and still get the desired effect. Perhaps this is why most medicine is so expensive here. But what isn't expensive here? Vanessa Marta bought her some warm clothes the other day. We went down last weeknight to give her the clothes and some food. One ofthe highlights so far. You cannot buy moments like this (OK, we spent $15). The joy on her face was just so precious. Oh shut up, John, you are pathetic. While Vanessa was eating, I took her Chiclets and tried selling them in the street. Most of the car drivers just looked at me with a wild expression, wound up their windows, and drove off at a fast pace. So I hit the Garota de Ipanema Bar. The manager and bar staff were really pissing themselves laughing, and I sold all the Chiclets in one sale to a couple of Swiss back packers. Enough Chiclets to keep the Swiss back packers' chewing gum all the way through Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil. And enough money for Vanessa to go to school for 4 weeks. Vanessa did not even pay me a commission. (Well, I got another cuddle). She can be brutal sometimes. Rule No 2 - Don't go looking for business Do not go looking for business. Wait for the business to come to you. The key to the process is putting yourself in a position where you will meet the people you need to connect with. Then you can relax, socialize, and build a relationship without the tension of business driving discussions. And it is more fun this way and you'll learn more before the discussion turns to business. Example. I have been looking for a slide projector since I arrived. I need a Kodak 35 mm slide projector with a high quality lens, 1:100 focal, remote control and carousel. I am prepared to spend good money to get this tool. We have been looking everywhere. A new one will cost $1,400, out of the question. We have traveled to the city, to suburbs in Rio you would not believe looked in the Rio trading post and come up with zip. I have seen the most weird slide projectors you have ever seen and a few other unknown brands that I would not trust or get a spare bulb or parts for. So I have been looking, looking, looking.... 37
Yesterday, we paid the rent to the landlord. Guess who had exactly what I wanted? He also did not want us to pay for it as he was about to toss it away. Christ is helping me I am sure. Food, glorious food No shortage that is for sure. And I have one or two perks in my job of eating at the odd five star hotel/restaurant. Rio de Janeiro has not made its name as the cuisine capital of the world, but you still should prepare your taste buds for a combination of Portuguese, Indian and African cooking. When you eat corn, beans, cassava and fish, think of the Indians. When savoring such desserts as doce de leite (a soft caramel) and ovos queimados ("burnt eggs" made of sugar, cinnamon, cloves and egg yolks), think of the Portuguese. The practical colonizers endowed stews, codfish, and empadas (turnovers with a variety of fillings, like little pasties). The strongest influence in the Brazilian foods undoubtedly came from the Africans. Slaves spiced up the local cuisine with peppers, ginger, coconut milk and dende, a thick palm oil. One of their major contributions is the national dish,feijoada. Feijoada Fe/do means beans, and feijoada is a casserole of black beans and everything from a pig, and I mean everything: tails, ribs, ears, nose, and trotters. Feijoada Completa is a banquet offeijoada accompanied by pork chops, bacon, pork tenderloin, jerked beef, Portuguese sausage, smoked tongue, usually in separate cauldrons, plus fluffy white rice, sliced oranges (essential for aiding digestion), couve (kale or collard greens), Milanese bananas, ground cassava (manioc) and a small drink concocted with pinga (sugarcane liquor). Be careful with the very hot malagueta pepper sauce. Traditional feijoada is offered Wednesday and Saturday; the latter preferable so one can sleep off the meal. Post-feijoada behavior should not include playing any energetic form of sport, wild sex or extensive pre coital behavior, bending at the waist, or wearing tight jeans. Appropriate post-feijoda behavior should include rest, sleeping in hammock, listening to bossa nova, with possible soft and gentle foreplay only. Churrasco Cowboys (Gauchos) from Southern Brazil introduced churrasco, grilled or barbecued meat. It can be marinated in olive oil, onions, garlic, and other condiments (very much tomato sauce used), but more often it is salted and grilled over the charcoal fire on a long skewer. To eat the meat in true Gaucho style, dip it in cassava or manioc meal. Churrascaria is a restaurant, which serves this grilled meat or churrasco. There are two types of churrascaria: one in which you order the meat of your choice and another called rodizio, in which an endless variety of meats, ranging from sausages, chicken hearts to a shank of beef is brought to the table on the skewer and sliced. It is common behavior to not eat all day prior to churrascaria, and then to gorge on this 38
'Cigarette smoke. Noise. 'Toothpicks for cleanin.g hunks ofmeat Seafood It's all here: salmon, codfish, prawns, out. What you will not snapper, coral trout, shark, whitebait, crab, find in a Rio restaurant sea urchins. And the fresh water fish are •"Have a nice day", "Please come back awesome and great variety. My first customer in Rio runs the best Italian seafood soon", "What d'ya want, love?", "Hi, I'm restaurant in Rio, Grottomare. The cook- Bruce, ya want a VB" or other banal exing, the decor, the water color paintings on pressions from waiters. 'Waiters informing you of the "catch of the walls, and the hospitality of the owner Angelo Neroni and his staff are first class. the cay". -A non-smoking section ( they do, but His presentation of food is 5*, the portions generous, and the service would leave you no self respecting Carioca would follow gasping and it is also delivered with good. such a law) 'English speaking waiters. humor. Thursday 13th July I dined here', 'Decaffeinated coffee ( you must be with the Oz Consul General and a couple ;. of Cariocas and had a great night. Drank kidding) 'Correct spelling in English on the an absolute tanker 'load of Oz wine too. menus 'Vietnamese or Thai food (does not For the Vegetarian Sorry, Brazil has great vegetables, just exist). 'English mustard. not too many spet1st vegetarian restauPrompt and timely service, it is more rants. the drought or flood approach. Tepper mills or shakers. Beverages Now you're talking. Something also Iva - Hygiene Cleaning close to my heart and the Carioca. Cachaca Engineer and Consultant or pinga as the Paulistas (those from Sao Paulo) call it, is a potent, devastating, Once a week Marta outsources the diabolical, rocket fuel, sugarcane liquor. It major cleaning projects of the apartment to is drunk straight (as in your cars fuel tank), a long-standing assistant. Iva (pronounced or served as mixed drinks —caipirinhas or t Eva) usually arrives about 9:30 AM and batidas. A caipirinha consists of crushed finishes about 7:30 PM. Her standard rate limes (peel and all), sugar, cachaca and is $25 but Marta insists that we pay a little ice. A batida contains cachaca, fruit juice, extra to cover the "Aussie Babe factor" or coconut milk plus generous amount of (Notice how I was able to carefully sidesugar. This is shaken (batida) with ice. A step using more direct pork terminology). caipiroska is the same as a caipirinha but Now Iva is one of those gems of people, with vodka instead of cachaca. shy like you would not believe, is so conFollow? You will not if your have fident of her cleaning abilities that she eats more than two of these drinks. A lot of on the floor. She works without complaint, home distill work in this area and the always has a smile for me, and is just the alcohol content can vary from 40-50 proof most delightful person to help Marta and I. to 100 proof. The 100 proof cachaca is As for her work, I am sure she is using also good for cleaning the family silver, the proverbial toothbrush and cotton bud taking rust off your car, loosening bolts, as to clean the apartment, top, bottom, inside antifreeze, test firing NA SA rockets, break- and out. Iva certainly cleans in places I ing land speed records, cooking, oxy-weld- would not consider (no surprises I hear you ing, as a flame-thrower or Molotov cock- say, well check this out). We are 10 stories tail, removing the lining of your throat and up, the ledge is 9 inches wide, she cleans stomach, and other medicinal purposes. the windows on the outside with no harness" Now you have to understand, I What you will typically have a huge phobia about heights, always find in a Rio restaurant have, and always will. I just don't like even 'Waiters in white jackets two sizes two leaning out windows too much. lam strictly large for them. two feet on the ground stuff. Sometimes 'Unusual signs that make it difficult to this place just leaves you gaping in awe determine which is the men's and which is 'when you see someone working for $30 the ladies bathroom. per day and they take these risks with their 'Very large menus in Portuguese and ' lives. possibly some other language which attempts to be either English, French, Italian, German, or a combination of all or John Miller is an Australian, living none of the above. in Rio de Janeiro, selling Australian •A guy standing in the restroom who wine. 'Postcards from Rio' is a journal hands you coarse paper towel, and looks at of his journey in the land you while you have a pee. of the Cariocas. 'Tables with uneven legs. For contact: 'Tins of olive oil with pin prick holes in John and Marta Miller them for drizzling on your food. Rua Joaquim Nabuco, 106/ 'Creative accounting and large roundApt 1001 Copacabana ing up errors on the bill ( accidental, or CEP 22080-030 deliberate, you choose). Rio de Janeiro 'Blank newsprint paper (butchers paBrazil per) thrown over the top of very old white Tel: +55 (021) 521 8568 table cloths E-mail: millerario.nutecnet.com.br fixed price banquet.
BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
The last few years have seen so much new work, so much development in musical technology, and so many fresh stylistic approaches, that there has been of late a disposition to ignore, as something out of date and wholly superseded, the work of a singer whose originality and temperament affected all it preceded. Elis Regina was a singer who could stamp a song's meaning with her own personality, bringing to it an additional dimension and lending it "authenticity." Her voice, a combination of sensuality, artistic precision, and volcanic emotional power, made sound and image virtually inseparable. From the very beginning of her career, Regina's remarkable rhythmic security and distinctive vocal styling attracted songwriters, one of whom was Joyce. Anyone who has penetrated the imagery of Joyce's lyrics can understand why Elis recorded it. Joyce writes poetry, but poetry in a musical context where words acquire a particular resonance and reinforcement by the counterpoint or juxtaposition of her musical accompaniment. She has an uncanny ability to draw the listener into the special world of her imagination. Like all great musicians, Joyce has the capacity to communicate, instantly captivating and involving her listeners in the musical moment. The very personal way she expresses herself combines a distinctive vocal timbre and subtle sense of timing with the ability to set and sustain a mood. What emerges with great clarity from any listening to Joyce's music is her profound instinct for the melodic arc of a song. An acknowledged master of her craft and one in the full flush of her career, Joyce has crowned her achievements with the release ofAstronautaSongs of Elis on Blue Jackel Records. BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
of Excellen An acknowledged master of her craft and one in the full flush of her career, Joyce has crowned her achievements with the release of Astronauta-Songs of Elis. BRUCE GILMAN
With this latest challenge Joyce has embraced a celebrated repertoire she is passionate about. Each tune is a profound marriage of words, melody, and harmony that arrives with a subjective dimension already built in. Besides two Joyce compositions, the repertoire includes works, by Jobim, Gilberto Gil, Nelson Cavaquinho, Baden Powell, Edu Lobo, and Milton Nascimento among others. Joyce's voice, with its haunting purity and subtle use of tonal inflection, holds each song up to the light where it gleams anew, as if it were being sung for the first time. It takes a fertile imagination to conceive of such an approach to a recording and a truly great artist to keep the results from degenerating into just another gimmick. And it is testimony to her great artistry that Joyce's approach to the Songs of Elis is fully responsive to its special demands. The unusually consistent artistic level that prevails throughout this project (in addition to Joyce's music, voice, and guitar playing), is due to the exceptional accompaniment provided by the fine musicians who appear with her and who give us some idea of the respect fellow performers have for her. This group plays ecstatically, marking these performances among Joyce's very best. Renee Rosnes on piano never gets in Joyce's way with the superfluous or superficial. He has the technique and the imagination to complement rather than complicate. The other pianist on the date, Mulgrew Miller, is a familiar enough figure in musical circles to eliminate the necessity for formalities. Suffice it to say that what he plays on piano has an almost frightening logic. Tenor sax man Joe Lovano demonstrates remarkably creative freedom within the forms, impeccable control, and his infallible intonation. Romero Lubambo on guitar has influ39
enced nearly every guitar player for at least the last decade, and as always, his playing on this date is magnificent. Rodolfo Stroeter, as producer, creates the perfect setting for Joyce's voice. As bass player, he is a technical marvel, accomplishing his infinitely fine musical embroidery by means ofunderstatement. He is strong and direct without ever spilling over into aggressiveness. Tutti Moreno, a massively accomplished drummer with an unflagging rhythmic acuity, maintains the project's momentum with eloquent, yet powerful dynamism. And percussionist Guello, is simply the epitome of taste married to a superb technique. Joyce's achievements on Astronauta should be praised for their scope and ambition, but Jack O'Neil of Blue Jacket Records must also be applauded for his acumen. In a business where there is little margin for error and few are willing to risk, O'Neil's Blue Jacket Records has done more to enhance appreciation and awareness of Brazilian music than any other label in North America. Artists whose works may never have reached our ears have come to us from Blue Jacket beautifully packaged, well promoted, and with copious liner notes in English. At the end of 1998, the top-ten lists of most Brazilian music reviewers here in the United States reflected this exactly. I had the great pleasure of speaking with Joyce when she was in New York in January on an abbreviated tour. Our conversation touched on Astronauta, Elis, the past, and Joyce's current projects. I found her enthusiasm, wit, and warmth refreshing. Brazzi/—You've always had this close connection with jazz musicians, and I was wondering if you see yourself more as a player than a composer or a singer? Joyce—It's probably more of a musician than just composer, or just singer, or just a player. The musician stands in the middle with the composing and singing and playing being different forms of expression for the musician. But, I think, all of those. Three at a time. Brazzil—How did you actually get started in music? Joyce—Well, I have this brother who used to be a guitar player when he 40
Brazilian music, and now everything is MPB. Whether it's country music or axe-music from Bahia, or whatever it is, people call it MPB. So, there are a lot of people who are a bit upset. Musicians especially are upset about that. And so I just said, "No, I don't do MPB any more; I do MCB." I started Brazzll—Who did you hear when you were to use this label, and people really liked the idea, the concept. Now there growing up? Joyce—When I was a kid I listened to Ella are a lot of people saying, "Oh, I play Fitzgerald a lot, right? So, that was one. And MCB" (laughs). I think this is great next Miles Davis-forever, always. And, of because it fits. We are creative people. course, Thelonious Monk too. My brother and I was explaining it the other day to my cousin who lived in our house had wonderful another journalist who was asking me about the TV program that I have tastes in jazz. going on now, Cantos do Rio. He Brazzil—You were listening to my favorites. asked me what kind of music I was Joyce—(Laughs) Oh, okay. And in Brazilian going to promote on the program. I music, I grew up listening to the bossa nova, told him, "Creative music, no matter which appeared when I was around nine or ten what it was. It could be samba, it years old. I grew up listening to this great could be music from the Northeast, it music, to Joao Gilberto, to Jobim, and to a could be instrumental music. wonderful Brazilian singer, the late Sylvia Whatever, bossa nova, everything. If Telles. She was really a great singer. I grew up it's creative, it's okay." MCB is a listening to those people and also to samba good label because it doesn't label at music because samba is the music of my city. all. It can be used in several segments It's the music from Rio, and it also made a big without getting stuck in any. It's creative, and that's it. impression on me as a child.
was younger. He's thirteen years older than me. And I grew up listening to good music because he had all these great records at home. That really was the start for me. Seeing him play with other people and bring his musician friends home and hearing the new recordings that he was always buying, was great encouragement for me.
Brazzil—And today who do you listen to? Joyce—Today, I listen to a bit of everything. I listen to Ravel's music, that I love very much and directly related to Ravel I could say Bill Evans. I listen to different types of music. I have a huge collection of records. I still like to listen to the old bossa nova records more and more because I think everything's there. Brazzil—And as you became more involved with the music scene, did you participate in a lot of the MPB festivals? Joyce—I did, in the beginning, yes. Not later because the record companies took over, and then it wasn't that fair any longer. But in the beginning I did, and it was very nice. That's how I met everybody. That's when I made all my friends who are still friends today. So, that was initially really nice. Brazzil—Today you're playing MCB instead of MPB? What specifically is that? Joyce—Creative Music of Brazil is something that has no defined borders as long as it's creative. It's very funny because I just made this label up during an interview like this one I'm giving to you now. I was promoting my book... Actually, it wasn't my book, it was after my book. I was doing a concert in Rio. We were promoting the release ofIlha Brasil (Blue Note/ World Pacific, 1996), and somebody from the Brazilian newspaper Jornal do Brasil, asked me about MPB. Everybody is very upset because MPB used to be a way of referring to good
Brazzil—Is Cantos do Rio an ongoing TV series? Joyce—It's a monthly feature, a onehour show divided into three parts. Cantos do Rio means both Songs of Rio and Rio Corners. It's all related to the city, to the people who live and make music in Rio. We never tape anything in studio. It's all outside. We go to museums, to theaters, to nightclubs, to places where the music is being played or where the musicians live. We relate the music to the places. We went to Hermeto's house, for instance. Right now we have six programs already taped. One was already aired, the first one. The series started in January, and it's great. I'm very happy. I've had great response from the press. Everybody loved it, wonderful reviews. In the first program, we had, on air, Epoca de O'uro, the choro group that Paulinho da Viola's father plays in. We went to his house and taped a big story on choro music and the roots of choro music, and they played. It was lovely. It was beautiful. The second part of each show is a musical encounter. We call it sarau (soirée) because it's a very intimate setting. People who don't usually play together meet and recall old tunes and play and improvise. For the BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
second part of the first show, we had a Brazilian pop artist named Paulinho Moska singing the music ofthe fifties, like samba-cancao that sort of... Brazzil—No kidding? That surprises me. Joyce—Yeah, yeah, it was surprising for everybody, and he did it beautifully. Yes!
seventies. Brazzil—What led you to start writin ? Joyce—Well, I did graduate in journali m, but then I dropped it for the music. I started iaking records, and I started going on the rod and working in music. Just dropped it. I was t entyone years old when I graduated.
Brazzil—Y ou wouldn't think he had a background in... Joyce—But he does. He does. He knows a lot of those songs. He played together with the Brazilian guitar player Mauricio Can-ilho. Mauricio is very specialized in this sort ofmusic and in choro music too. That was a very nice thing. For the third part we went to the favela (shantytown) in Madureira, Serrinha, to see thejongo. Jongo is a very traditional African dance that came to Brazil. It's only practiced by a single community in the city, that lives in this place in the hills of Serrinha. It was a beautiful thing. That was the first program. The next one will feature Hermeto Pascoal and the Jobim family. There's a lot of great stuff coming up. Brazzll—Sounds incredible. Joyce—Oh yeah. And it's very easy to do, you know, because all those people are friends. They've all known me for a longtime, so it's very easy to play with them and do interviews and all that. It's really fun. Brazzil—Joyce, you mentioned your book. Can you tell me about it? Joyce—It's called Fotografei Voce' na Minha Rolleiflex. The title comes from the song "Desafinado." It's a kind of bossa nova and beyond, with a collection of essays about people and memories. But it's not about me. I'm the observer, the one who's telling the stories. I talk a lot about howl met musicians and composers, how I saw them. I don't know if you've read the book But Beautiful. It's a lovely book Brazzil—And at that time what kind of songs written by an English guy about jazz were you writing? artists. At a certain point in the book Joyce—My very first songs, like the on s that he says, "I'm talking about them not I recorded on my first album 1968, wer very as they were, but as they appeared to much bossa nova oriented. That w s the me." I used this as an epigraph for my beginning of my career. It's very fun y to book because I talk about Jobim, about return thirty years later to something hat I Vinicius de Moraes, about Milton thought I would never do again. And beca se of Nascimento, about all those people, this book that I wrote, I was invited to rite a primarily about when I met them. weekly column in a newspaper in Rio. Most of the stories take place, more or less, in the late sixties, early Brazzif—Yeab, you did a piece on the passing BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
of pianist Michel Petruccianni, no? Joyce Oh, yes. Did you see this? Brazzi1-1 did. It was a sensitive piece. Joyce, you mentioned Vinicius. How did you meet him? Joyce—Well, you know, I met him at the very beginning of my career. He wrote the liner notes for my very first album. That was 1968, and we became very, very close friends. And later, in 1975, he invited me to tour with him, to replace Toquinho. He played with Toquinho most of the time, but Toquinho couldn't make one tour, so Vinicius asked me to replace him as the guitar player. Vinicius usually toured with a singer too, so I was going to replace both Toquinho and the singer. And that was the beginning of a two-year experience working as a side-musician for him. It was very nice. I really enjoyed it. He was an adorable, wonderful person to work with. We toured Europe and South America. Brazzil—Learn any lessons? Joyce—Many, many, but most of them related to life more than music. He was someone who really enjoyed life in every aspect. Seize the day, that sort of thing. He had been a diplomat and was a man of the world. He had traveled a lot. And as I told you, we made these tours in Europe and South America. It was incredible, amazing because every city we went to, there were friends waiting for him. He knew the best restaurants, the best places to go, the right spots, where you could hear music, everything. He knew everything and everybody. Brazzil—Wasn't there an album of yours nominated for the Premio Sharp that was connected to Vinicius? Joyce—That was 1988 with Negro Demais no Coracc7o, the Vinicius de Moraes album that I did. I was nominated both for best album of the year and best singer. I received this award in 1994, but that was for best song in a television sound track. It was something that I did with Edu Lobo for a children's show called RdTim-Bum on TV Cultura, S'ao Paulo. Believe it or not the tune is called "Sexy Silvia" and is about a snake in a cartoon. Brazzil—Y ou r tune"Misterios" has been covered by many artists. Joyce—Thank you, yeah, that has 41
been covered a lot. ikoza* Brazzil—Have you heard Wallace Roney's version? He also titled the CD after the tune. Joyce—Yes, yes, I've heard it. I know, I was very glad about it. It's beautiful. It's a beautiful recording.
he started to compose more "Beatleish" music, which was a different point of view for the same developments of post-bossa nova music. So anyway, I was in the middle of all that when Milton covered my music, and I was very, very happy. Also, I participated on some of his earlier albums doing backing vocals. His recordings were big feasts. Whenever he recorded, he called all of his friends. Everybody would go there and sing and play-huge records with big casts.
to do it. Brazzil—On the new album you covered "Essa Mulher," which also appears on Revendo Amigos. That harmony with Wanda SA on Revertdo just knocks me out. Are there any plans to work with Wanda again in the future? Joyce—Oh yes, she's coming to Japan with me in July. She'll be my guest at the Blue Note. We're doing one week at the Blue Note, Tokyo, and two or three at Blue Note, Osaka. And talking about this tune, it has just been recorded by David Sanchez— you know, the tenor player from Puerto Rico. He's been nominated for a Grammy with this album, so I'm very happy because I think that the jazz musicians around here are beginning to discover my music. And it's great.
Brazzi/—Years ago Milton recorded "Misterios" on Clube da Esquina #2. What was your connection with the Clube da Esquina musi- Brazzil—Speaking of siblings, would you comment on the tune "Clareana" from your cians at that time? Joyce—This is something that I also Revendo Amigos album? talk about in my book. MPB was a bit Joyce—It was a very unpretentious tune, really segmented in the late sixties and early just a lullaby that I had written for my daughters. seventies. There were different groups There were two then, one named Clara and the of very creative people, the generation other named Ana. So; I wrote this, and yeah, it right after the bossa nova. And this was a smash at a song festival and a huge, huge generation was absolutely brilliant, hit nationally when it came out. I didn't expect in all aspects. You had people who that. It's amazing, because it's been almost were the second generation of the twenty years now, and when I finished the bossa nova, like Edu Lobo, Dori concert at S.O.B.'s, there was one table with Caymmi, and Francis Hime, and even like nine or ten Brazilians (laughs) who started Brazzil—On Astronauta you also Chico Buarque as a part of this group; screaming, "Clareanar "Clareana!" And I had repeat the words Essa Mulher at the end of "Samba Pra although Chico was also UI Elis." related to the samba. And Joyce—It's a quote. We're in the samba generation SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY just quoting because Elis we had people like PauRegina recorded this tune linho da Viola and Elton beautifully, and it was like a AstronautaMedeiros. And there were trademark for her. The Songs of Elis Blue Jackel /Omagatoki the guys from Bahia like 1998 /Pau Brasil Caetano Veloso and Gil11998 EMI-Brasil Brazzil—You're kidding? Performance berto Gil who were doing Joyce—Yeah, you don't The Essential Joyce it more in a pop environ1997 know that? Mr, Eongo (1970-1996) ment. 1997 Far Tardes Cariocas uf And then the guys from Brazzil—No, no, everyone (Remastered. Originally released-in 1983 on Feminina/ Minas, Milton in the front knows Billie Holiday had PolyGram) and all his disciples like 1997 "Strange Fruit" and Ella EMI-Brasil Vol.2 Meus Monentos Toninho (Horta) and Beto 1996/7 Fitzgerald had "A-Tisket, EMI-Brasil Meus Momentos Guedes, Lo Borges and Blue Note/World Pacific 1996 A-Tasket," but I was Ilha Brasil all the others. It was 1995 Omagatoki wondering if Elis had a Sem Voce interesting because none signature tune. Joyce: Live at the of these groups got along Motor Music/ Joyce—She had many Mojo Club very well with each other. 1995 PolyGram Verve signature tunes, and this was Later they all became very 1994 one ofthem. And I happen to Ave. Delirios de OrfeuNEC good friends. But at the 1994 EMI-Odeon have written it! So, that was Revendo Amigos very beginning, you 1991 Verve-Forecast great. That was the title tune Language and Love know, sibling rivalry was 1990 Verve-Forecast of her 1979 album Essa Music Inside happening. It was inter1989 EMI-Odeon Mulher on Warner Brothers. Joyce ao Vivo esting because I was It's one of her best, and best Negro Demais no Coraciio friends with all those 1987 selling albums. This one is Joyce/Vinicius de Moraes BK/CBS people, and I used to play 1987 Songs/CBS my favorite Elis album, and Joyce-Jobim in all their groups. But, I it's not because of my tune. Wilson Batista-0 Samba think, musically I bel1986 Continental It's the whole thing. I think Foi Sua Gloria onged a little more to the Pointer/RCA Si 1985 it's a very, very nice album. Saudade do Futziro second generation of 1983 Feminina/PolyGram Tardes Cariocas bossa nova like Edu and 1981 EMI-Odeon Brazzi/—When you were Agua e Luz Dori, those guys. I think 1980 EMI-Odeon young, you listened to a lot Feminina my music was more into 1976 Fonit Cetra of Ella Fitzgerald. Would Passarinho Urbano their field. 1972 EMI-Odeon you have liked her to record Nelson Angelo e Joyce But at the beginning, for 1969 Phillips one of your tunes? Encontro Marcado instance, Milton was apart 1968 Phillips Joyce—Oh, yes. She was Joyce of this group too, before UI I. 42
BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
one of my favorites. Definitely. Brazzil----How would you compare her with Billie Holiday? Joyce—Well, this is very difficult. I think, Billie Holiday is what we call "diseuse" in French. Diseuse is a person who speaks the lyrics, not only sings, but speaks the lyrics. Billie understood the full meaning of the lyrics, and she had this quality, which think was really amazing. It was emotion all the time. Ella had a different quality. Ella was perfection as the instrumental voice. She was a trumpet. She was a flute. She was really beautiful. I have been listening to her music since I was a child. So, she did influence me very much.
of my usual song list, so they were already mine too. I was really having fun choosing songs for the CD based upon my own taste. There are a lot of songs that were important in her career, in her way, the way she sang, and that were made famous by her. And some of those songs, I really didn't feel like singing very much. Actually, what I did was single out those that I feel passionate about, the ones that really give me pleasure. I like everything that is there, and everything is there for a reason. It's all music
Brazzil—When you said in the liner notes that all human pain and sweetness is in the voice of Elis Regina... Joyce—We can say that about Billie, right? Brazzil—Yeah, and with Elis, the way she always seemed to get inside a song, to enmesh herself in the lyrics. Joyce—Absolutely. Brazzil—W hen I hear other people record tunes that Ells recorded, it's sometimes hard for me to disentangle it from the memory of Elis's version. Joyce—Sure. I understand that.
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Brazzil—W as it a challenge to bring out your own voice in tunes that really had Elis's stamp on them like "Upa, Neguinho" and "Aguas de Marco"? Joyce—You know, I already sang those songs. They were already part BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
Brazzil—P au Brasil. Joyce—Exactly. So, being able to put all those people together was a very nice coincidence. Brazzil—There seems to be a lot of homage recordings lately, like Ivan Lins doing Noel Rosa and Eliane Elias doing Jobim. Did the commercial aspect play into the choice of material? Joyce—Yeah, that happens too, but I think it's more an "end-of-the-century syndrome." I think people are beginning to miss the century, the great things that happened in this century. I did a Jobim album myself, for instance, but that was 1987 and he was still alive. He wrote the liner notes for the album. That's when he turned sixty, and we paid tribute to him. It's very nice when you pay tribute to somebody who's still there, you know? There's a Brazilian song that says, "Give me the flowers in life." It's nice to give the flowers in life. And I had the chance to do this with Jobim. He wrote beautiful liner notes for the album. It was very nice. That was before this "end-of-thecentury syndrome."
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that I like very much. I wouldn't skip one track. Brazzil -Were you worried about that at all? Joyce—No, I never thought about this because it's a musician's approach all the time. So, it's not just the way I sing those songs, but the way I arrange them, the way I play them, the way I changed some harmonies, the people who are playing, the interplay happening between them and between myself. So, I think it was much more than just that. And besides I felt very at ease because vocally I wasn't influenced by Elis at all. We were contemporaries. She was only three years older than me.
songs. He is a great producer and has a label in Brazil that deals directly with Blue Jackel.
Braz,zi/—Ifyou could have included one more tune, which would it have been? Joyce—I would have included "Atras da Porta" (Chico Buarque). Lovely tune. Brazzil—Y ou usually write the compositions for your recordings. Was it unusual for you to have just two of your tunes on AstronaUta? Joyce—A little bit, yes. But also it was fun you know, because I really like to take other people's songs and make my own arrangements and make them my own a little bit. Brazzil—How did the concept for Astronauta come about? Joyce—The whole story is that I was about to make a new album, and the general idea of the new album was to have exactly this blend of American and Brazilian musicians, but there was nothing decided yet about repertoire or anything. It was already a co-production between the Japanese company Omagatoki and Blue Jacket, and I invited Rodolfo Stroeter to produce it and to help me with the choice of
Brazzil—T hat's a very good explanation, but I've seen so much of it lately. And I was starting to... Joyce—Yeah, but it's not only in Brazil. You can see that also in American music. For instance, Etta James did this beautiful record of Billie Holiday, and Tony Bennett did Frank Sinatra. And you always see people doing each other's music. It's a lot like that, I think. Brazzil—T here is great chemistry among the Brazilian and American players on the new CD. Were there a lot of rehearsals? Joyce—(Laughs) Isn't that amazing. You know what? When musicians are good, no, not good, but great like those I got for this recording, you don't have to rehearse too much. I just came with charts and everybody played, and that was it. We did it in three days. It was actually very easy to do because the music was good, the musicians were great, the studio was great, the sound engineer was great. So, that made things very easy. 43
Brazzil—Was there one tune that was harder to record than others? Joyce—I can't say so. They all went easily. Everybody understood the meaning and how we wanted it and how the thing was supposed to roll. And it really did. Brazzil—So you enjoyed collaborating with the North American jazz musicians? Joyce—Very much. Very much. And what I enjoyed the most was the situation, the environment that was created. Because although we recorded in New York with American jazz musicians, I felt like we were hosting them. We had invited them to come to our house, and they were really guests who presented their best. But it was our house, and the food that was being served was our food. That's what I loved about it, especially having a Brazilian rhythm section. I think it was the most important element because we never lost the pace, you know? We never lost the meaning of what we wanted to do. Brazzll—Guello's cuica on, "Samba Pra Elis" is unbelievable, sounds just like a human voice. Joyce—Yeah, that was very lucky because we got the perfect notes to respond to Lovano's playing and to the harmony, to the chords that were being played. That was really nice. Yeah, I really enjoyed that.
Brazzil—Is he a regular member of your group? Joyce—No, no, not really. He plays more with Zizi Possi. He's a regular member of her band.
Mb OM ow Gm •Im
Misterios Mysteries (Joyce/Mauricio Maestro) ce chegou feito um silencio Pra seduzir minha cancao Feito uma folha na correnteza Feito urn vento varrendo o ciao Voce chegou feito urn misterio Pra confundir minha visao Feito urn presente da natureza Quern mandou, coracao?
You came as a silence To seduce my song Like a leaf in a current of air Like a wind sweeping the ground. You arrived like a mystery To confuse my vision As if you were Nature's gift Who sent you, Heart?
Um fogo queimou dentro de mim Que nao tern mais jeito de se apagar Nem mesmo coin toda agua do mar Preciso aprender os misterios do fogo Pra te incendiar.
A fire burns inside me That cannot be doused Not even with all the water from the sea I need to learn the mysteries of the fire To inflame you
Urn rio passou dentro de mim Que eu nao tive jeito de atravessar Preciso urn navio pra me levar Preciso aprender os misterios do rio Pra te navegar.
A river passed inside me But I had no way to cross I need a ship to take me I need to learn the mysteries of the river To navigate you.
Vida breve, natureza Quem mandou, coracao? Um vento bateu dentro de mim Que eu no tive jeito de segurar A vida passou pra me carregar Preciso aprender os misterios do mundo Pra te ensinar.
A short life, nature Who sent you, Heart? A wind swept inside me But I had no way to hold it Life passed by to carry me I need to learn the mysteries of the world To teach you.
Brazzil—She did a piece for just voice and cuicas. Was that him? Joyce—I don't know. She used to play with Marcos Suzano. Guello replaced Suzano in her band. But anyway, he is regular with her, so it's always kind of hard to get him. We were just able to have him for the recording.
Brazzil—W hen did you first meet Elis? Joyce—I met her at the very beginning of my career. I was nineteen years old and she was already big, very famous. She became famous very early. I was taken to her house. I showed her a few songs, and she liked them. She said maybe she would record them, but she didn't. It took her two years to record a song of mine for the first time. It's called "Copacabana Velha de Guerra." It's on her album called Elis em Pleno Vera° (1970), the album where she launches Tim Maia. Yeah, so that's the first song of mine that she recorded. But we became friends, quite close for awhile. Then she moved to Sao Paulo in the midseventies. I was still in Rio, so we couldn't see each other that much, but we always kept in contact. Brazzil—What is your most memorable image of Elis? Joyce—Oh, there are many. There are many. What can I say. When I think of her, I see a very feminine woman and one very, very concentrated on her family. She was very involved with being a mother. She was always concerned about her house and loved that sort of thing too. She was not only into her career. Although she was a great career woman and a huge star, she didn't want to 44
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Omagatoki Home page: http:// www.dango.ne.jp/omagatold Joyce's pages at Omagatoki: http:// www.dango.nejp/omagatok/ • Joyce2.htm http://www.dango.ne.jp/ • omagatok/Joyce.htm • Pau Brasil home page: http:// • • www.paubrasil.com/ • Joyce's page at Pau Brasil: http:// • www.paubrasil.com/artistas/Joyce/ • • Joyce.html • Joyce's column in the newspaper 0 can be found at: http:// ▪ • Dia • www.odia.com.br • Blue Jackel web site: http:// •• www.bluejackel.com • The following are Elis Regina web • sites: http:// • • www.caravanmusic.com/Articles/ • ReginaE_StLouis.htm http:// • www.geocities.com/Nashville/Opry/ • • 4841/index.htm • Additional information concerning • Brazilian music can be found at: • • http://members.aol.com/ • thempbzone/index.html • • ms. BFtAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
I
Samba Pra Elis Samba for His
U
Essa Mu!her
That Woman
(Joyce/Paulo Cdsar Pinheiro)
(Joyce/Ana Terra) De manta cedo, essa senhora se conforma Bota a meSa, tira o p(5 Lava a roupa, seca os olhos Ah, como essa santa nao se esquece De pedir pelas mulheres, pelos filhos, pelo pao Depois sorri meio sem graca e abraca Aguele homem, aquele mundo Que a faz assim feliz.
In the early morning, that woman reconciles herself To set the table, to dust Wash clothes and drY her eyes Ah, how this saint remembers To pray for the women, the children, and for bread After, she smiles a little embarrassed and hugs That man, that world That makes her so happy
De tardezinha, essa menina se namora Se enfeita, se decora Sabe tudo, nao faz mat Ah, como essa coisa é tao bonita Ser cantora, ser artista, isso tudo é muito born E chora tanto de prazer e de agonia De algum dia, qualquer dia Entender de ser feliz.
In the afternoon, that girl goes out She dresses up, puts on her finery She knows everything, it doesn't matter. , Ah, such a pretty thing To be a singer, to be an artist, that is all so nice She cries as much for pleasure as for pain If only some day, any day She can understand what it means to be happy.
De madrugada, essa mulher faz tanto estrago Tira a roupa, faz a cama Vira a mesa, seca o bar Ah, como essa louca se esquece Quantos homens enlouquece nessa boca, nesse chao Depois parece que acha graca E agradece ao destino Aquilo tudo que a faz tao infeliz.
At dawn, that woman does so much harm She takes out the clothes, makes the bed Turns the table, dries the bar Ah, how this crazy woman forgets So many men are maddened by that mouth, in that place After, she finds it funny And thanks Destiny For everything that makes her so unhappy.
Essa menina, essa mulher, essa senhora Em quem esbarro a toda hora no espelho casual E feita de sombra e tanta luz, De tanta lama e tanta cruz Que acha tudo natural...
That girl, that woman, that lady Who I run into all the time in an occasional mirror Is like a shadow and so much light, So much mud and so much trouble Who finds everything is natural...
Clareana
E quad
M
miss perfe care much
I.
,ot sacred voice that ated d when heard, wanted not nemeopia even a copy luzque passa Like a ray of light that U so vez appears once in a lifetime quo deixa urn But leaves a hallowed sound in the air No longer exists for us or em pta voê for you que o l3rasir That voice that Brazil loved amou demais too much VOltou pro Like a star that returned to céu talvez the heavens perhaps cantar pros Or went to sing for 0 Orixas. is other part of her life. She wanted to be t in everything and really wanted to take f her kids and of her home and was very into all of those things.
Bra /—Joyce, I know your fans on the West Coas were hoping you would come out and... Joyc Yes, and so was I. We were supposed to make a longer tour this time, but the dates didn't matc and it was kind of complicated, so we decid 'd to save the West Coast for later. Braze —I know San Francisco was looking forw rd to having you. Joyc Yes, and me too. That is a city that I just adore so I am looking forward to playing there. Hope Ily, around June or July I'll be able to play the st Coast.
Clareana
(Joyce/Mauricio Maestro) Um coracao de mel, de melao sim e de nao E feito urn bichinho No sol da manila Novelo de la No ventre da mae Bate o coracao de Clara, Ma E quern mais chegar Agua, terra, fogo e ar.
Clara° Lightning I.uar 'Moon Vulcao VoIoaao No v go do se° °1har In the quint ofX° ,Quem e Who sees
A heart of honey, of melon Of yes and no Like a little bug In the morning sun Spool of wool In the mother's womb Beats the heart of Clara, Ma And whoever else arrives Water, earth, fire, and air.
Brazz —Thank you very much for taking your time. t was a pleasure. Joyc You're very welcome.
UI
Bru e Gilman, music editor for Brazzil, received is Masters degree in music from California Ins itute of the Arts. He leads the Brazilian jazz ense ble Axe and plays cuica for escola de samba LA. You can reach him through his e-mail: cuica@interworld.net
BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999 45
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FEIRA LIVRE OPEN MARKET BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
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Housecleaner Wanted -Energetic, reliable, nonsmoker, love animals. 2/3 days per week, references. (310) 458-1484 Afternoons/evenings [157] FOR SALE
BRAZIL - Wildlife Refuge 130 acres Atlantic Forest, near Recife. Also tropical fruits. Excellent income from tourism. Price: $100,000. (310) 832-4367 [156] JOB OFFERED
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BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999 49
Boston Books Livraria Plenitude (800) 532-5809 Consulate Consulado do Brasil (617) 617-542-4000 Dentist Sylvio P. Lessa (617) 924-1882 Food & Products Brasil Brasil (617) 561-6094 Jerry's Cachaca (617) 666-5410 Instruction Approach Student Ctr (617) 787-5401 Braz. & Amer. Lg. Inst. (617) 787-7716 Publications The Brazilian Monthly (617) 566-3651 Bossa: Braz. Jazz Guide (617) 262-9997 Restaurants Café Brazil (617) 789-5980 Ipanema (508) 460-6144 Tropicilia (617) 567-4422 Pampas Churrascaria (617) 661-6613
Chicago Consulate Consulado G. do Brasil (312) 464-0244 Translations Portuguese Lang. Ctr. (312) 276-6683
Dallas Restaurants Fogo de Chao (972) 503-7300 Travel Agency Brazil Brasileiro (972) 594-8894
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Marcos Sacramento is creating new samba hybrids. Marcos Sacramento is breathing new life into old sambas. He's a voyager who gazes forward and backward at the same time. And the voice— that glorious voice!
Perhaps the voice should be our point of departure. Once there was Orlando Silva, who for seven magical years between 1935 and 1942 was The Ideal Singer. He possessed a clear, beautiful tenor voice that never erred, high or low, and was capable of interpreting to perfection any style of song, be it samba, waltz, or choro. Orlando had no peer. Then the voice went, and no other replaced it. Brazil has always boasted an overabundance of wonderful singers—still does. But perfect voices are rarer than rain in the sertab. More than fifty years after Orlando Silva_ there's another perfect voice in Brazil, and more specifically in Rio, for Marcos Sacramento is a consummate Carioca. Like Orlando Silva, Sacramento possesses a clear, beautiful tenor voice that never errs, high or low. It is a voice of a thousand nuances, at once cool and warm, seductive and swinging, relaxed and precise, mellifluous and meticulous. A voice that captivates and entraps and commands a permanent place in your head, heart, and musical universe. Like Orlando Silva, Marcos Sacramento is capable of interpreting to perfection any style of song, be it samba, waltz, or choro—he even played the role of Orlando Silva and sang Orlando's hits in a TV series. But Sacramento doesn't stop there; he's been known to make forays into experimental rock, blues, and rap, among other genres. The twist is that Sacramento's rap and rock are firmly rooted in samba. And lest we evoke images of Brock and hit-parade pagode, let's clarify at the outset
that Sacramento's music is light years away from the interchangeable offerings of me-too bands that flood Brazilian airwaves from dusk to dawn. Guanabeat Not too long ago, the journalist Joao Maximo was reported to have said that samba is a used-up genre with few opportunities left for innovation. Marcos Sacramento is proving otherwise. His latest solo disc, Caracane (Dablift DB 0052; 1998), has plenty of new things to say, both musically and lyrically. Caracane is another name for Cara de cao, or Dog Face Hill, located just below Sugar Loaf on Guanabara Bay. It was between these two hills that the Portuguese captaM Estacio de Sá and his squadron landed in 1565 and founded the city of Sao Sebastiao do • Rio de Janeiro. Across the waters of Guanabara Bay, Cara de Cao faces Niteroi, which had its origins in the settlement of Sao Lourenco, established in 1568. This is where Marcos Sacramento was born. Thus, Caracane represents not only the mythical incarnation of Rio de Janeiro but also the artist's complex relationship with his city. It follows that Caracane is a cycle of love songs for Rio de Janeiro; a chain of witty, poetic picture-postcards exploring various aspects of the metropolis—some charming, some decidedly less so but fascinating nonetheless. Five of the nine Caracane songs were composed by Sacramento and Paulo Baiano, who've been a songwriting team since the early '80s. Among these five we find the samba "Ares do Rio," in which the poet Sacramento serenades his city as if she were a woman, her illuminated breasts the mountains of Sugar Loaf and Urca, fatefully located in that mythic spot of historic discovery. "Lilita," incorporating samba-de-roda and maculele patterns, celebrates the spontaneous music and dance people make in their backyards. "Pra Ver o Futebol" is a boisterous, whistle-punctuated hymn to soccer, in which Maracana stadium is portrayed as a palace of so many kings. The samba/hip-hop -Rapa da Lapa" investigates the physical space and some less tangible differences between two celebrated Rio squares, utilizing explicitly graphic terms rife with sexual, political, geographical. and literary puns. "Preta" is a tribute to Afro-Brazilian heritage and traditional samba. Like beads in a necklace, these songs are interspersed with "Caricas II" and -Camas III," by Ant6nio Saraiva and Sergio Natureza. The first is a mordant exposé of some well-known Rio problems—litter, pollution, endangered wildlife—while the second paints a tongue-in-cheek picture of the myth that is Rio. This myth is further probed in Caracane, a waltz by Paulo Baiano and Sergio Natureza that serves as a grand summation of the themes of illusion and reality, past and present, beauty and tawdriness. Scrving as glue to the Caracane rondo are two vignettes carved out from the song -Rio do Rio" by Fernando Morello, a funk tune turned leitmotiv.
Antonio Saraiva's imaginative arrange- ring themes). The malandro motif is blend d ments include all four shades of saxophone; with that of unrequited love in the mast trombones; flutes; piano; acoustic guitar and pieces "Pela Decima Vez" and "Fez Bobage " 7-string guitar; cavaquinho; contrabass; the Lost love is given further expression in "Mulh r full range of samba percussion instruments; Sem Alma," "Olhar Brasileiro " "Infid whistles; clapping; backup voices; and in the lidade," and "Labios Que Beijei," the latt r song "Caracane," a latter-day Greek chorus. one of Orlando Silva's greatest successe , The Caracane style of melding progres- here offered a fresh lease on life. Budding lo e sive musical concepts with traditional Brazil- is celebrated in "Morena," while Brazil's mix ian forms and acoustic arrangements has been heritage is honored in "Vela no Breu" and i dubbed Guanabeat by the poet/lyricist Sergio "Canto das Tres Raps," where Sacramen Natureza. The composer/journalist Mathilda proves that it's possible to go beyond Cla Kovak calls Caracane "The Sgt. Pepper of Nunes' famous interpretation. As always, the Samba" and even goes so far as to divide the are references to samba and to singing, as i history of popular Brazilian music—and espe- "Dos Prazeres das CancOes," "Genipap cially of samba—into two periods: Before and Absoluto," and "Apoteose do Samba" [se After Caracane. The eminent music critic discography for composer credits]. Tank de Souza noted with approval the creA Modernidade da Tradicdo was release ative spirit embodied in this disc and a few in Brazil on the SACI label, which ceased to be others of its ilk—creativity that persists de- a going concern following the untimely dea spite the Brazilian music industry's current of its founder, the composer Mauricio Tapajos focus on marketing mediocre genres for mass The fact that this landmark album is no consumption. available only on a French label is a sad corn How the past illuminates the future mentary on the state of the Brazilian musi Caracane is the latest manifestation of a industry. musical expression that began with Cao Sem In 1995 Sacramento added two classi Dono (Dog Without a Master, a reminder of soccer-related sambas to his repertorial treahow hard it is for the independent artist to deal sure trove. They are to be found (if you can find with record companies). This was the name of the disc) on the superb SACI album Estacio & Sacramento's and Baiano's first band, formed Flamengo-100 Anos de Samba e Amor. in the early '80s. In 1984, Cao Sem Dono A quick perusal of the Sacramento discogplayed Baiano's compositions on the sound- raphy immediately reveals the absence of any track of a medium-length film titled E a artistic false steps—a claim not many recordPropos ito do Rio, directed by Roberto Moura. ing artists can make. Everything Sacramento The band's only album, Ca° Sem Dono (1986), has done so far demonstrates astute judgement may best be described as experimental rock- and impeccable musical taste. For his fans, cabaret, where the reference to samba is more this is reason enough to look forward to his implicit than obvious. future recordings with great anticipation. While singing his own early technopop, These days, the singer is performing in a Sacramento also embarked on a parallel track stage show celebrating the life and music of for which he's become better known: he the great early samba composer Sinho. We emerged as a master interpreter of classic caught up with Sacramento (or Sacra, as his sambas—certainly the most outstanding of his friends call him) between performances of E generation and a natural heir to Orlando Silva, Sim, Sinho and the launches of two CDs. Mario Reis, and Joao Gilberto. His first re- Brazzil—Where did you grow up? cordings in this vein can be heard on the Sacramento—I was born in Niter6i, the old award-winning 1986 album Custodio Mesqui- capital of the State of Rio. Crossing by boat, it ta—Prazer em Conhece-lo. Here he interprets took twenty minutes to arrive at the then capitwo of the great stage composer's '40s stan- tal of the State of Guanabara: Sao Sebastiao do dards in a style that has since become his Rio de Janeiro. I am, therefore, a Carioca (or hallmark: crystal-clear delivery that exposes Carica) from Niter6i. the best in the music while avoiding any hint of Brazzil—W hat are the special characterismannerism or affectation. tics of Niteroi? Do you still live there? The Sacramento style came into full flower Sacramento—NiterOi is only a small beach in his first solo CD,A Modernidade daTradicao town. One of its principal characteristics is (1994), in which the singer, with the innova- that from there you can see the most beautiful tive accompaniment of guitarist/arranger view of Rio de Janeiro. I was born and raised Mauricio Carrilho and crack percussionist in Niteroi, but I've been living in Rio de Marcos Suzano, reveals hitherto unexplored Janeiro for twenty years: "Eu vim de barca, facets of classic and lesser-known songs dat- Cantareira da iluselo,..." remember? [From ing from several rich decades of Brazilian the song "Ares do Rio" in Caracane; see music. lyrics.] Still, my passion continues for this A Modernidade da Tradicdo regales us town of mine, which today is practically anwith beautifully juxtaposed examples of prime other district of Rio. It's a common pleasantry malandro (rogue) songs like "A Volta do among us that you can find people from Niteroi Malandro" and "Largo da Lapa" (Lapa being anywhere in the world. one of Sacramento's most frequently recur- A friend of mine from Niteroi who was living
in London fell into a depression one typical rainy London evening and decided to go to the movies. He entered a small, almost deserted cinema—there were only about six people in the theater. Behind him sat a young couple. A scene in the film showed a bucolic garden, and as this garden appeared on the screen, the girl sitting behind my friend whispered to her boyfriend in Portuguese, "Look, this garden is just like Campo de Sao Bento!" [Campo de Sao Bento is a bucolic garden in Niteroi.] Brazzil—What were your musical influences? Sacramento—My mother and my aunts used to frequent the live shows of radio programs. In the '40s and '50s, there was no television in Brazil. Radio—and in particular the Radio Nacional—was the great communication medium. And on the radio, the live shows were the stage for the great stars of popular music. I was raised by women who sang the repertoire of the great female singers of Brazil: Linda Batista, Dalva de Oliveira, Inezita Barroso, Ademilde Fonseca, Isaurinha Garcia, Elizeth Cardoso, Marlene, and Emilinha Borba, among others. I learned to like this. I grew up hearing, in addition to all these women, the equally powerful voice of my father, who imitated the great male singers ofthe period: Orlando Silva, Francisco Alves, Moreira da Silva, Jorge Veiga, Cyro Monteiro, and Miltinho. Brazzil—Do you remember any particular songs that your parents sang? Sacramento—I grew up hearing my mother sing, at the laundry sink and in the kitchen, a great success of one of Brazil's best singers, Elizeth Cardoso. The song is called "Caned° de Amor," by Chocolate and Elano de Paula. My father in turn took it upon himself to make sure that I learned the syncopated sambas of the great bambas [crack sambistas]: Geraldo Pereira, Jorge Veiga, Moreira da Silva, and many others. It's difficult for me now to remember specifically one samba or another, for my old man's repertoire was really varied. Brazzil—And later? Sacramento—I was transformed into an adult (is it possible?), imitating both the women who raised me and my father. It couldn't have been otherwise. I was, so to speak, predestined. I learned to sing. Through my adolescent friends I got to know the music of the world, different from what was performed in the live shows of the Radio Nacional: the Beatles, Frank Zappa, the Rolling Stones, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, Led Zeppelin, Chet Baker, Bola de Nieve, Mercedes Sosa, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis, and Henri Salvador, all of which led me to hear Brazilian music of another kind: Villa-Lobos, Egberto Gismonti, Hermeto Paschoal, Tom Jobim, Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque, and Elis Regina—the greatest of all the female singers. Brazzil—Did you take singing lessons? Who taught you to sing? Sacramento--When it comes to the study of singing, I had little class time during my life, but I always tried to get the most out of the little
BDA:ZZII rEBPHAR" 1999 53
contact I had with formal learning. In reality, my great teacher of Serenading the City singing (not to mention of music) was Elis Regina. I learned a lot Songs from Caracane hearing essa mu/her [that woman; also the title of a song by Joyce and Ana Terra that Elis Regina recorded on her album of the same name]. Caricas III Caricas Ill Brazzil—How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a professional singer? (Antonio Saraivai (Translation: Sacramento—When I was seventeen, I did some amateur theatre in Sergio Natureza) Edith Lacerda Niteroi and discovered that singing was what gave me the most pleasure. Since then I never lost contact with music. The rest, I think, Restinga da Marambaia Restinga da Marambaia2 you can imagine. Urubus na Sapucaia Black vultures in the Sapucaia3 pleasure of singing, combined with diverse musical Brazzil—The Um morcego de Atalaia A bat of Atalaie influences, yields what? , Jandaia desarvorou Jandaid disoriented Sacramento—When you consider a salad, you think of something in E permitida a gandaia Binging is allowed which the right ingredients are well mixed. It can all become even Cada um corn a sua laia Each one with its own kind more delicious, depending on the dressing. In the same way, the A manila fugiu da raia The morning ran away musical influences of my life are my parents singing, the radio Porque a tarde nao tardou Because the afternoon did not delay playing, and the '70s. I recognize that it's fundamental to be always 0 miche de mini-saia The miche in a mini-skirt seeking the future in the past. despachado em plena praia dispatched on the open beach in 1986. Clio Sem Dono, recorded your first album, Brazzil—You Quando o sol Cesardesmaia' When the sun faints' Sacramento—Paulo Baiano has been my companion on this journey no pontal do Arpoador in the point of Arpoadors since the early '80s. We met in the bars ofNiteroi and soon discovered Vem a noite de tocaia Comes the night in ambush our common passion for Elis. It was as a result of this encounter that 0 ceu cor de bala toffee' The toffee-colored sky' I began to make music seriously—to compose, to sing, to sing, to 0 bofe comendo um misto The guy eating a sandwich sing... It was there that I also began to learn a mountain of things— in the steam sauna dentro da sauna a vapor about music and about life. With Paulo Baiano (plus Paulo Roberto on And there, from above, well-loved E la do alto, benquisto bass and Bernardo Quadros on drums), I founded Cao Sem Dono, a Brilha o Cristo Redentor Shines Christ the Redeemer group that, almost fifteen years ago, defined itself as "tecnopop"— Perdoando os prejuizos Forgiving the damages long before this definition became fashionable in the media (now with inflicted by the heat. causados pelo calor. an H: technopop)— a sound that utilized the most up-to-date technolAh! Rio, who invented you? Ah! Rio, quem te inventou? ogy of that period (synthesizers, sequencers, and digital drums), at least here in Brazil. But we mixed our own music with all the influences I mentioned earlier: the whole tradition of Brazilian music. Notes: ' Caricas: contracted form of Brazzil—In 1986, the same year the album Ctio Sem Dono came out, you also participated in the Acervo Funarte album Custodio Cariocas (people born in Rio) Mesquita—Prazer em Conhece-lo. These two albums couldn't be 2 Restinga da Marambaia: more different, and they set your dual style of simultaneously coastal area outside Rio looking forward and backward. 3 Sapucaia: former island in Sacramento—The truth is that my musical universe has always been Guanabara Bay that was landcloser to Custodio Mesquita and his contemporaries, as you can filled to accommodate the perceive from my upbringing. It was Cao Sem Dono that was an campus of the Universidade incursion into experimentalism. My partnership with Paulo Baiano Federal do Rio de Janeiro led me to become acquainted with other universes. I myself am 4 Atalaia: coastal area near Rio surprised at this ability to move naturally through such different nandaia: a kind of parakeet 6 Miche: female, male, or styles. transvestite prostitute Brazzil—Y our recording of Custodio Mesquita's "Promessa" is the best version I've ever heard. How did you end up with this 'Cesardesmaia: a pun on desmaiar (to faint) and Rios former Mayor Cesar Maia gem? Sacramento—Thank you for the praise. "Promessa" is just that, a 8 Pontal do Arpoador: a point of sand at Ipanema beach pearl. I already knew this samba quite well. But I think that it's only 'Bala Toffee: name of a candy my contribution to an important disc in which I had the honor of being L invited to participate. Brazzil—As long as we're discussing your early recordings, I'd between the late '20s and the early '40s, where many musical stars like to touch on your singing style. What strikes the listener (at performed] was aired in 1989. The musical producer of the series called least this listener) about your singing style is that it was both me and asked if I had a "vozeirtio" ["big voice"]. I said yes (imagine if technically and emotionally mature and fully in control from the I'd let this chance slip by!). I sang two very well-known songs from very beginning of your recording career. No struggle with the Orlando Silva's repertoire. They were "Rosa" by Pixinguinha and material was ever apparent. It's as if you'd sprung fully formed "Carinhoso," also by maestro Pixinguinha, with lyrics by Braguinha. Brazzil—I adore Orlando Silva's 1937 recordings of these songs. It as a complete professional. What did you do to prepare? Sacramento—I don't know. I just like to sing. I like to do this. I like would be very interesting to hear your versions. Did you imitate it a lot—I sing every day. At times I have to force myself to think of Orlando's style? Sacramento—No, I didn't imitate Orlando Silva, but I sang like a singer other things. Brazzi/—You've played the role of Orlando Silva in the telenovela of the radio era. Kananga do Japtlo—a very fitting choice. In what year was it Brazzil—Y our first solo disc was A Modernidade da Tradictlo—an aired, and what were the circumstances? I assume this was a instant classic. Sacramento—This was a partnership with Mauricio Carrilho, already in singing role. What did you sing? Sacramento—Kananga do Japiio [a dramatic TV series about the the '90s, where the immersion in the rich tradition of our music becomes history of MPB; Kananga do Japao was a Rio nightclub that flourished even more radical than it was in Cdo Sem Dono.
Ares do Rio
Airs of Rio
Brazzil—So you are the one who determines the rhythm of a song? (Paulo Baiano/Marcos Sacramento) (Translation: Edith Lacerda) Sacramento—Also. Brazzil—And the other songs on Caracane? Teus seios, Your breasts, Sacramento—They were composed by os vi numa festa entre copos e luzes, I saw them at a party among glasses and Antonio Saraiva and Sergio Natureza, who, pessoas, olhares, sorrisos, lights, ironically, was recorded by Elis herself. sao seios, people, glances, smiles, Brazzil—With Clara Sandroni and the group sao seios pontudos, os bicos acesos, they're breasts, Lira Carioca, you've recently recorded 4 ares de Pao de Acucar, de Cara de Cao: they're pointed breasts, their nipples lit, CD and are performing in a show called E Sao Salvador, Sao Sebastiao. Gloria, Gloria, airs of Sugar Loaf, of Cara de Cao': Sim, Sinho. How did this project develop? GIOda. Sao Salvador', Sao Sebastiao.3 Gloria, Sacramento—Sinho is an admirable comOs brilhos, GlOria, Gloria.' poser of the beginning of the century. He's eu via de longe, e ate hoje me lambem teus The glitters, considered here the King of Samba. This project mares I used to see them from afar, and still today is the brainchild of Fernando Sandroni, Clara's batendo, batendo, your seas lap me while beating, beating, uncle. The work is still evolving, although Sao brilhos, They're glitters, we've been performing it for a while. In addifilhos das aguas que entram na barra sons of the waters that enter the sandbar tion to singing the amusing sambas of Sinho, I lavam o Pao de Acacar e o Cara de Cao washing Sugar Loaf and Cara de Cao also tell the equally amusing stories that exist Sao Salvador, Sao Sebastiao. Gloria, Gloria, Sao Salvador, Sao Sebastiao. Gloria, around this great composer. Gloria. Gloria, Gloria. Brazzil—Clara Sandroni seems to be a conEu vim de barca, Cantareira da ilusao, I came by boat, the ferry of illusion' stant presence in your career, at least since P'ressa chapada te amar, timbrar meu To this plain to love you, to stamp my heart your first Cis° Sem Dono album. You've coracao to stamp my heart sung backup on each other's discs. What is timbrar meu coracao and the brightness that makes this city my the special musical affinity between you? e a claridade que faz desta cidade meu chao ground Clara has published a book on singing. Do meu mais puro devaneio, meu samba is my purest daydream, my heavy samba you and she share the same theories about pauleiro it's my Rio de Janeiro (bis) this art? o meu Rio de Janeiro (bis) it's my Rio... Sacramento—Clara Sandroni is a great singer o meu Rio... and my friend since the days of Cao Sem Dono, Notes: as you can already perceive. As for sharing theories, that's inevitable, isn't it? All that ' Cara de Cao: Dog Face Hill at the foot of Sugar Loaf; time together in dressing rooms, warming up site of the founding of Rio de Janeiro in 1565 the voice... 'Sao Salvador: a square in Rio Brazzil—From hearing your repertoire-'Sao Sebastiao: patron saint of Rio; the city's historic songs like "Gol Anulado" (Canceled Goal), name is Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro 4 GIOria: a district of Rio "E o Juiz Apitou" (And the Referee 5 Barca cantareira: the ferryboat that crosses Guanabara Whistled), and "Pra Ver o Futebol" (To Bay from Niteroi to Rio Watch Football)—one can't help but draw the conclusion that you're a serious football Brazzil—How did you come to make this disc? The choice of Mauricio Carrilho and Marcos fan. Sacramento—Yes, I adore football. I root for Suzano as accompanists was absolutely perfect. Could you tell us something about the BOTAFOGO background to this production? Brazzil—And I was convinced you were a Sacramento--My encounter with Mauricio Carrilho was semi-casual. We were in his house and Flamengo fan... began to rehearse a repertoire for a series of shows in Rio de Janeiro. We became excited with Sacramento—please! IHI the results, and it all ended up inside a studio in Lapa. We were joined by Marcos Suzano, and Brazzil—Any other predilections? without rehearsals, in two weeks, the disc was ready. Mauricio adores working in this fashion. Sacramento—What I really like is Camaval. It was an absolutely jazz-like experience. Everything live and spontaneous, as in jam sessions, Ah! I'm a SALGUEIRENSEIHImm 111111 it only with samba. Mauricio Tapajos heard it, liked it, and launched it on his label SAC. Teca Brazzil—Do you parade with Salgueiro in Calazans also heard it, liked it, and released it on her label Buda Musique, in France. And thanks the Sambodromo? to all of that, we're here now, having this conversation. Sacramento—No. I don't like the SambaBrazzll—Another classic disc in which you provided unforgettable interpretations is dromo. It's an ugly and anti-musical structure. Esiticio & Flamengo-100 Anos de Samba e Amor. Once again, as in the Custodio Mesquita Samba has been seriously damaged since the album, you got to sing plums and turned them into definitive versions. How did you get Camaval parades shed their improvised charthose songs? Who made the decision? acter. When the grandstands were constructed Sacramento— Now you're embarrassing me. But here's the answer. It was another project of each year, there used to be anarchy more Mauricio Tapaj6s to get all his "cast" together in a tribute to the escola de samba Estado de Sá appropriate to the nature of Camaval. and to Brazil's most famous soccer team, Flamengo, which celebrated its centennial in 1995. Brazzil—What's the next station on your That year, Estado chose Flamengo's centennial as its Camaval theme. As one of the artists under journey? contract to SAC, there I was in order to sing two sambas that I had selected from a long list Sacramento—Continuing to frequent the presented to me by the producers. I'm glad you liked it. Here in Brazil the disc is absolutely botequins [bars] of Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Lonunknown and rare. Brazzil—Y ou've just released Cara cane, which includes five songs you wrote with Paulo don, Bogota, Baghdad, Buenos Aires, Canada, Austria, Cuba, and all, absolutely all of Africa, Baiano. How do the two of you collaborate? What comes first, the music or the lyrics? is certainly in my plans... Sacramento—I write the lyrics and send them to Paulo. He then sets them to music. In our case, I always write the lyrics first.
BPAZZli CFR Pl IAPY 1999
was to form another team to produce this album, but Fernando Morello was very busy, and Sergio Natureza also couldn't commit himself to working continuously Antonio Saraiva on the on this project. So I ended up doing the artistic and Caracane production musical direction of this album. Brazzil—And you also put your stamp on the mateBrazzil—How did you meet Sacramento? rial. Saraiva—Sacra and I have friends in corn- Saraiva—One of the songs that didn't make it into mon: Rita Peixoto, Fernando Morello, Paulo Caracane was an old song from the radio era. I proBaiano, Paulo Brandao (of Aquarela Carioca); posed to Sacra that he do an authorial album of previbut we weren't close. The first time we worked ously unrecorded material. In addition to being a good together was in a performance presented at singer, he's also a great composer! In doing the arEspayo Cultural Sergio Porto (a place where rangements, my task was to find a way backward in many of us had the chance—and the free- order to go forward. Paulo Baiano's songs and harmodom—to show our work). I did a song about nies have a natural sophistication and complexity. He Curitiba, a kind of bloco afoxe [Afro-Bahian is an MPB/jazz/progressive rock-influenced piano Carnaval parade group] called Filhos de player, and his songs have a definite idiomatic accent. Gdanski, a play on Filhos de Gandhi [Sons of I did it my way. I tried to put these songs in more of a Gandhi, a veteran bloco afoxe in Salvador, .roots' context. I wrote down the percussion, guitar, Bahia] and Gdansk, Poland. We were all and horn parts to produce this rootsy feel. All the parts dressed in suits and ties, like business execu- were fully written--even the percussion parts. Usually tives—very white, not Afro-Brazilian at all. It percussion parts are not written: musicians play a vamp was like a Wall Street afoxe, a joke about or a groove. I treat percussion as I would any other purism. I believe that in Brazil there's no room instrument in the orchestration. I like to create my own for either Sacred White or Sacred Black. patterns. This is also the case with the 7-string phrases Sacramento asked to sit in (there's a funny that traditionally are improvised. The idea is to make backstage photo of this happening). This was the arrangements part of the song. It's a pop-music in 1994. The same year, I was invited to give a concept. I love the contrast between rawness and course in 'free composition' (whatever that sophistication (Ellington & Mingus showed me the might be) in Curitiba, where I met the poet/ way). lyricist Sergio Natureza. He was at the same Brazzil—How did the songs change as a result of workshop, teaching lyrics classes.' We be- your arrangements? came close and decided to do something to- Saraiva—Baiano's style is more stylized (bossaljazzl gether. Sergio was one more common friend I funk flavored). 1 tried to reveal the basic aspects of his had with Sacramento. In 1996 I was invited to harmonies and sometimes I completely changed the play at the opening of a poetry magazine called mood or the rhythm of a song. "Rapa da Lapa" used to 0 Carioca, edited by the poet Chacal (many be a kind of hip-hop with jazzy parts. "Preta" was a musicians also write in this magazine), and I samba-funk. -Lilita" also was very different origiinvited Sacramento to sing the songs I had set nally. "Caracane" was exactly as it appears on the CD to Sergio's award-winning poems about Rio. but did not have the candomble rhythm with the chorus. This was the premiere of the "Caricas" suite. Fernando Morello's "Rio do Rio" was originally a I played the piano and Sacramento sang melodic funky tune with many parts and more lyrics. I -Caricas" I, II & III. We recorded -Caricas I" cut many parts of his song and made it almost a refrain. in 1996 on Ovo—Novissimos and "Caricas" II Fernando says that it's better now than when he corn& III on Caracane. posed it—this song got shorter but you can hear it many Brazzil—How did you get involved in the more times... production of Caracane? What I did was to listen to the tapes that Sacramento Saraiva—The production nucleus of Sacra- gave me with the songs he wanted to sing in the record, mento's previous solo disc, A Modernidade du write down the harmonies and melodies, and, from the Tradicao, consisted of Sergio Natureza, music and lyrics on paper, begin to think how to treat Fernando Morello, and Mauricio Carrilho. each song to (re)create a coherent unity. The idea was When Sacramento decided to make a new to have a link with A Modernidade da Tradicao and album, it was his intention to continue along take it a step forward, the same road as A Modernidade but maybe in Brazzil—I wanted to ask you about the 'Greek a new vehicle (or at a different speed). He chorus' you have in the song "Caracane." To my asked me to work on this project because, as he mind it ties in perfectly with that mask that Marcos told me, he was thinking that I could give it wears in the cover photo. Do you see any connec' something else' that he was looking for. Sac- tion? ramento gave me a tape with many songs that Saraiva—I liked very much this 'Greek chorus rehe was thinking of recording; some already mark. You create a beautiful connection. Marcos says had arrangements by Paulo Baiano. that this mask tells about velhos carnavais (old I can't remember now, but I think that only one Carnavals). Carnaval is connected to the Romans. or two of these songs didn't make it into Romans are connected to Greeks, so... Caracane. Marcos decided to record "Cari cas' Brazzil—Caracane took almost two years to finish. II & III as well. My job was to create a How did the recording sessions go? continuity between A Modernidade and this Saraiva—We recorded Caracane in a small studio at new record, to make this one a different record, a music school. As all the arrangements for all the parts and to create a unity within it. The original idea
A DISC IS BORN
SR
CLARA SAM-MOM MARCOS SACRAMENTO
BRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999
From Cao Sem Dono to Cara de Ca° The Marcos Sacramento Discography C'ilo Sem Dono (LP; 1986) Boas Producaes e Gravacties Ltda. I,PB-002; 992378-1 Marcos Sacramento ( voice) Paulo Baiano (keyboards) Paulo Roberto (bass) Bernardo Quadros (drums) Guests: Clara Sandroni, Laura de ison, Patricia Vergara, Julinho Moretzsohn, Luiz Claudio, Denise Grimming, and Paulo Cesar Soares. Side A Sinai Fechado (Paulinho da Viola) Eu Nao Sabia Nada (Paulo Baiano/ Roberto Moura) Tango (Paulo Baiano/ Marcos Sacramento) Side B Luz del Fuego (Claudio Lourenco/ Paulo Baiano) Nu Cinema (Paulo Baiano/Marcos Sacramento) Todas as Noites (Paulo Baiano/ Marcos Sacramento)
Promessa (Cust6dio Mesquita/Evaldo Ruy; 1943)—samba Marcos Sacramento (voice) Cristovao Bastos (piano & arrangement) Jorjao (contrabass) Rafael Rabello (7string guitar) Picole (drums) Clodoaldo (percussion)
Valsa do Meu Subiirbio (CustOdio Mesquita/Evaldo Roy; 1944)—waltz Marcos Sacramento (voice) CristOvAo Bastos (piano & arrangement) Jorjao (contrabass) Rafael Rabello (7string guitar) Lura (cello)
A Modernidade da Tradigdo (CD; 1994) SAC (Brazil) & Buda Musique 82920-2 (France) http:// www.budamusique.com/ US/BRESIL/00.html Marcos Sacramento (voice) Mauricio Carrilho (guitar) Marcos Suzano (percussion) Musical direction & arrangements: Matlack) Carrilho
A Volta do Malandro (Chico Buarque) Largo da Lapa Custodio Mesquita— (Wilson Batista/ Prazer em ConheceMarino Pinto) lo (CD; 1986) Pela Decima Vez Acervo Funarte/ (Noel Rosa) Atracao Fonografica Fez Bobagem (Assis ATR 32040 Valente) http:// Mulher Sem Alma www.atracao.com.br/ , (Nelson Cavaquinho/ fun arte.htm Guilherme de Brito) Morena (Mauricio An award-winning Carrilho/Paulo Cesar collection of songs Pinheiro) written between 1932 Olhar Brasileiro and 1946 by the (Eduardo Dusek/Luis important stage Carlos Goes) composer Custodio Canto das Tres Raps Mesquita. Also with (Mauro Duarte/Paulo Marlene, Ney Cesar Pinheiro) Matogrosso, Rosana Labios Que Beijei (J. Toledo, Amelia Cascata/Leonel Rabello, and Azevedo) conj unto Coisas Vela no Breu Nossas. (Paulinho da Viola/
Sergio Natureza) Dos Prazeres das CancOes (Pericles Cavalcante) Genipapo Absoluto (Caetano Veloso) Infidelidade (Ataulfo Alves) Apoteose do Samba (Mano Decio da Viola/Silas de Oliveira)
Estado & Flamengo-100 ,4nos de Samba e Amor (CD; 1995) SACI 8060/S A collection of classic sambas connected with the
escola de samba Estacio de Sá and the Rio soccer club Flamengo, recorded on the occasion of Flamengo's centennial, which Estacio used as its theme in the 1995 Carnaval. Also with Alza Alves, Amelia Rabello, Beth Carvalho, Cristina [Buarquej, Chico Buarque, Carl inhos Vergueiro, Dona Ivone Lara, Joao Nogueira, Paulo Malaguti, Paulo Cesar Pinheiro, Walter Alfaiate, Wilson Moreira, and Ze Keti. Special participations by Elton Medeiros, Luciana Rabello, MiCicha, MPB-4, Mauricio Tapajos, Pii, Sergio Santos, and Simone Cruz. Arrangements & production: Mauricio Carrilho & Mauricio Tapajeis
Go! Anulado (Joao Bosco/Aldir Blanc) Marcos Sacramento (voice) Mauricio Carrilho (guitar) _ Luis Otavio Braga (7string guitar) Luciana Rabello .(cavaquinho) Oscar Pelon
(pandeiro) Beto Cans (surdo &
reco-reco)
Marcos Suzano (matchbox & tan-tan) Alza (shout)
E o Juiz Apitou (Wilson Batista/ Antonio Almeida) Marcos Sacramento (voice) Mauricio Carrilho (guitar) Luis Otdvio Braga (7-string guitar) Luciana Rabello
(cavaquinho) Pedro Amorim
(bandolim) Beto Cans (repique
wl vassoura)
Marcos Suzano
(pandeiro grave) Tribute to the Old Sambistas of Estacio:
Mandei Pintar (public domain/ Herminio Bello de Carvalho) Singers: Amelia Rabello, Marcos Sacramento, Elton Medeiros, Miacha, Carlinhos Vergueiro & SAC1 Chorus
Nem E Born Falar (Ismael Silva) Singers: Chico Buarque & Marcos Sacramento
Ovo—Novissimos (CD; 1996) RioArte Digital RD/ 01696 An anthology of contemporary composers, featuring the work of Suely Mesquita & Rodrigo Campello; Bia & Mario Grabois; Pedro Luis; Ivan Zigg; Aricia Mess; Rodrigo Cabelo; Luis Capucho; Mathilda KOvak; Tuins; Fred Martins & Marcelo Diniz; and Antonio Saraiva & Sergio Natureza.
Caricas I (Antonio Saraiva/Sergio Natureza) Marcos Sacramento & Ant6nio Saraiva (voice) AntOnio Saraiva (keyboards, tenor & soprano saxophones) Arrangement: Antonio Saraiva Caracane (CD; 1998) Dabliir DB 0052;
distributed by Eldorado Marcos Sacramento (voice) Antonio Saraiva (piano, cavaquinho, saxophones, percussion, whistle, clapping, voice) Bruno Migliari (acoustic bass) Paulo Baiano (piano in "Caracane") Rodrigo Campello (7-string guitar,
cavaquinho) Ze Al (tenor sax, flutes) Quito Pedrosa (alto sax) Henrique Band (baritone sax) Aramis Guimaraes (trombones) Celso Alvim (percussion) Sidon Silva (percussion) horus in `Caracane": Antonio araiva, Carlos zeda, Marcos acramento, Paulo aiano, Pedro Luis, ergio Natureza, idon Silva & al fredo. rrangements: An tOnio Saraiva [ 1 Caricas III (Antonio Saraiva/Sergio Natureza) Lilita (Paulo Baiano/ Marcos Sacramento) Ri do Rio—vignette (F rnando Morello) Ar s do Rio (Paulo Baiano/Marcos Sacramento) Caricas II (Antonio Saraiva/Sergio Natureza) Rapa da Lapa (Paulo Baiano/Marcos Sacramento) Pra Ver o Futebol (Paulo Baiano/ Marcos Sacramento) Rio do Rio—vignette (Fernando Morello) Cara ane (Paulo Bai o/Sergio Naturëza
Sim Sinho (CD; 1999) Lira Crioca A trib te to Jose Barbosi da Silva— "Sinho '—the most famous Carioca compo'er of the '20s.
Considered the first great samba stylist, Sinho is known as 0 Rei do Samba (the King of Samba). Clara Sandroni & Marcos Sacramento (voice) Lira Carioca: Fernando Sandroni (piano) Jurandir Meireles (contrabass) Clarinha Teixeira
(cavaquinho) Sergio Magalhdes (soprano sax & flute) Adilson Roque (percussion) Arrangements & musical direction: Fernando Sandroni All songs by Sinho unless otherwise noted. A Favela Vai Abaixo Fala Meu Louro Mau de Amor Sabid Gosto Que Me Enrosco Burucutum Macumba Gege Amar a Uma S6 Mulher Coplas da Nota de Dez (A. Pimentel/M. Sampaio) Mugunz (Francisco Carvalho/Bernardo Lisboa)—a 19th_ century lundu Adeus (Noel Rosa/ Ismael Silva) Burro de Carga Jura Nao Quer Saber Mais Dela Pe de Anjo
Maruba (CD; prerelease) The debut album of composer/singer Dil Fonseca, featuring two songs lettered by Marcos Sacramento—one with his participation.- http:// members.tripod.com/ -DilFonseca Boreste (Dil Fonseca/ Marcos Sacramento) Dil Fonseca & Marcos Sacramento (voice) Dil Fonseca (guitar, percussive effects) D8do Ferreira (electric bass) Carlos Fuchs (voice & triangle)
Rapa da Lapa Rapa' of Lapa were pre-written, we recorded in many weird ways. It was impossible to ha e the whole band (or even the rhythm section) in the studio at the (Paulo Baiano (translation: same time, so we made a lot of overdubs to get the percussion parts Edith Lacerda) /Marcos Sacramento) (and the desired weight) recorded. Sometimes this was the last thing we did on certain tracks! I remember Bruno Migliari, the bass player, 0 que separa a Lapa da What separates Lap& from alone in the studio (where there was room only for himself and his Cinelandia Cinelandia3 acoustic bass) playing his written bass lines with just the metronome sao algumas calcinhas pretas e cor- are some black and pink panties and no other parts—nonsense music. Sacramento looked at me, and I de-rosa debauchery, could hear his thinking: "What the hell is this?!" sacanagem, It's what separates one square But we had a lot of fun doing this album. A lot! The recording sessions é o que separa uma praca da outra from the other or... went through the night, and we (me and Sacra) always looked for a beer ou... Some drinks, or some black Alguns tracados, ou umas pretas, shes,4 a bunch of roses, after the job, when people were having café da manhei [breakfast] at urn tufo de rosas, false roses, lapas5 of black shes, the botequins [bars], and we had talking parties at 8 am and going falsas rosas, lapas de pretas, debauchery, home saying goodnight to everybody at eleven in the morning. sacanagem, the black ones and the pink Brazzll—The instrumentals were recorded in 1996 and the voice in as pretas e as rosas, verdade. ones, truth, lie. 1997. What occurred to make this necessary? mentira. What separates Cinelandia from Saraiva—After we finished the recordings we tried a mix that didn't 0 que separa a Cinelandia da Lapa Lapa satisfy us, because the guy who worked on it treated this as an ordinary sao uivos de prazer, are howls of pleasure, samba recording. Sacramento was also not satisfied with the voice o Morro dos Prazeres, seres the Mount of Pleasures,' eternal sound and re-recorded it in another studio (one of the best in Rio) under etemos, beings, Fernando Morello's supervision. At this time I was busy working on Largos, Machados, sacanagem, Largos„Machados,7 debauchery, RioArte [Cheganca; ballet music for the choreographer PaulaNestorov vulvas e pirocas, pipocas e vinvas, vulvas and pricks, popcorn and Digital], so I was not in these sessions. Automovel Club. widows, Automobile Club.' The good thing was that Fernando was available again to join the team, Homens de verdade, True men, so he did the mixing. Fernando is an excellent musician with technofalsas mulheres no Passeio false women in the Passeio logical know-how—the perfect person for this job. He knows about Public°, Pitblico,9 music and doesn't discriminate between different styles. It was very sacanagem!!! debauchery!!! good to work with him to recreate from all those tracks the atmosphere Cecilias, Meireles, estreitos Cecilias, Meireles,' narrow (that in fact never existed, because the musicians hadn't played Goncalves, Goncalves," aladas marrecas, sacanagem winged marrecas, debauchery together) that we wanted for Caracane. The mixing sessions turned into a great discussion about aesthetics, technology, life, love, VillaCalices de pomba-gira, Chalices of pomba-gira' 3, latices de cala a boca, falices" of shut up, Lobos, electronic music, rock, Debussy. and many other topics. tapa na cara, sacanagem a slap in the face, debauchery Brazzil—The mastering didn't happen until 1998, and it was done o que separa uma praca what separates one square from in Paris, of all places. What an odyssey for this album. da outra é... the other is... Saraiva—After zillions of versions, Caracane was ready. But Sacra ...Sacanagem, ...Debauchery. was out of money and had to wait to master it (time is money). Meanwhile, he tried to sell the record to some labels. Much talk but no action. In February 1998 I got a call from Sacramento, telling me he Notes: was going to do some concerts in France during the Carnaval, but he ' Rapa: police; a pun on RAP (Rhythm and Poetry) had a problem: the guitar player of the band he had organized for these 2 Lapa: famous old bohemian quarter in Rio, now a well-known shows had left. I said that I knew somebody who could do the job, but prostitution zone Sacra asked me to play the guitar and take charge of the musical 3 Cinelandia: a square in central Rio; old cultural center full of direction. Okay! Here we go! The event was a surrealistic Camaval at cinemas; in the '60s it was an important stage for political demona ski resort near Switzerland called Meribel and Aix-les-Bains, with strations samba schools, parades, capoeira, etc. 4 Pretas: black women or transvestites nova—oriented repertoire, and he bossa Sacramento was asked to do a 5 Lapas: large chunks chose songs from Caymmi, Edu Lobo, and Tom Jobim. The band was 'Morro dos Prazeres: a slum hill in Santa Teresa, a district adjoining fine: Delia Fischer (piano), Renato Massa (drums), Marcos Cunha Lapa (bass) and myself on sax and guitar. After the concerts, Sacra's plan 7 Largos/Machados: Largo do Machado, a square in Catete, a district was to go to Paris and master the record there and also to make contact near Lapa with Teca Calazans from Buda Musique, the label that released A 'Automovel Club: a building in Lapa Modern idade da Tradiciio in Europe. The mastering was fine and easy 9 Passeio Publico: a square between Lapa and Cinelandia and cheap (Fernando did a very good job; his final mix was almost a "' Cecilias/Meireles: Cecilia ivleireles, a theater in Lapa named after mastering). We spent a week in Paris (the mastering was a single the Brazilian poetess afternoon's session) talking, drinking, and tasting the city with some " Goncalves: a street named after old and new friends. Back in Brazil, the third man reappeared: Sergio Natureza got the Goncalves Dias, a Brazilian poet connection with Dablin, and they released the record. 12 Marrecas: a street in Rio; teal Acknowledgements: My thanks go to Dil Fonseca and Edith ducks Lacerda for their invaluable and unstinting editorial contribuPomba-Gira: a tions. This article is dedicated to my dear friend Guido Assao, feminine entity of without whose help, support, and eagle eye I couldn't have Umbanda hoped to complete my Marcos Sacramento collection. 14 Falices: a pun on falar (to Daniella Thompson is a writer and preservationist living in speak) and caleNorthern California. She can be reached at daniv(itips.net se (shut up!)
ELRAZZIL - FEBRUARY 1999 58
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