Brazzil - Year 13 - Number 192 - March 2002

MUSIC: Erin Baymma, a fresh air from Ceara www.brazzil.com

ear 13 - No. 192 - March 2002

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4 BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

While the United States is starting a process of dismantling some of its affirmative action programs in search of a more equitable solution to the problem of discrimination and the lack of opportunities for minorities. Brazil is embarking in the same kind of civil rights actions initiated close to 40 years ago in the US. Isn't it too little, too late and too American for Brazilians to be experimenting with quotas now? Despite the once celebrated racial democracy. Brazil has been taking an inordinate time to address its racial—and minorities—injustices. The law that ended slavery in Brazil was only signed in 1888. after every other country in the Western Hemisphere had already freed their own slaves.

The problem with the implementation of an affirmative-action-like program starts with the fact that Brazilians don't have a clear sense of racial identity. Asked to state their color in a 1998 census survey people answered with more than 300 distinct colors including cinnamon, coffee with milk and filthy.

Most people, however, agree that something has to be done and fast. Close to half of Brazil's population is black, but amere 2.2 percent ofcol lege students are black.

Rare are the blacks who are college professors. Moreover, there are no blacks in President Cardoso's cabinet of 21 ministers or at the 11-judge Supreme Court. All these numbers, however, seem irrelevant when you find out that the inequality is much deeper. Whilethe average monthly income for whites in Brazil in $173, blacks make $73 in average. As for education. 29 percent of Brazilians are illiterate. Eighty percent of them are black.

RAI

Send mail to: P.O. Box 50536 - Los Angeles, CA 90050-0536 Ads/Editorial: (323) 255-8062 Info: (323) 255-8062 Fax: (323) 257-3487 Brazzil on line: http://www.brazzil.com E-mail: brazzil@brazzil.com Publisher and Editor: Rodney Mello Assistant Editor: Leda Bittencourt Art&Design Director: Marina Yoshie (marinayoshie@hotmail.com) Entertainment Editors: Sam & Harriet Robbins Book Review: Bondo Wyszpolski Music Editor: Bruce Gilman Brazil Bureau Chief: Marta Alvim E-mail: mItdalvim@yahoo corn

Is

Cover Brazil gets a taste of affirmative action Cover by Salvino Campos

Contents 011 Obituary Cassandra Rios, the obscene bestsellling author 87 Indians Health system dismantled again Energy High hopes for private sector 08 15 Opinion Time for radical political reforms Politics Government coalition splits 18 17

Law Courts shake presidential elections

18

Opinion President Cardoso's vanity and the UN

20

Taking advantage of the US religious war Impressions Brazilians and Swedes: a comparison

23 21

Opinion

Behavior The day the US took over the Amazon Impression Criticize Brazil? Only we can.

21 30 35 31 40 42 43 44 54

Short Story

"0 Funeral " by Adelaide Bouchardet Davis Language English for Brazucas VI

Jan gadas and old times in Ceara Music Ultimo Tipo: inventivity and irreverence Music Review Daniela Mercury's Sou de Qualquer Lugar Music Review Rita Lee's Aqui, Ali e em Qualquer Lugar Music Erico Baymma's quiet storm Travel Brazil, here we went Places

Departments

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14 Letters

WWW. blINA .COM BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

49 Cultural Pulse 51 Classifieds 52 That's Brazilian

loss The Queen of Smut Her mother heard her appeal and never read a line of the books the daughter wrote. In 1974, the generals who took over the power in Brazil from 1964 to 1985 agreed with the mother and prohibited 43 ofCassandra R los' s 46 hooks from being sold in libraries. The reason'? They were -unfit for Brazilian families". Rios. who died March 8 in Sao Paulo, never had the sophistication or the cosmopolitanism of an Andis Nin (1903 in Paris- 1977 in Los Angeles). but she used to sell 300.000 books a year, in the late 60s. more than any other Brazilian writer at that time.

Cassandra was born Odete Rios. in Sao Paulo, in 1932, daughter of Span iards and borrowed her penname from Greek heroine and prophetess Cassandra. She was only 13 when her first work was published: four short stories in the extinct newspaper 0 Tempo. Her mother gave her the money to publish her first hook (.4 Vohipia do Pecado—Sin's Sensual Delight) when she was 16. That was the first time Odete asked her mother Dam iana Rios not to open the book she wrote. When Damiana died in 1998 she hadn't read a word of her daughter's spicy work.

That first novel was a harbinger of stories to come: all filled with steamy bed scenes seasoned with adultery, homosexuality, voyeurism, frigidity, and nymphomania. More than 50 others would follow in the 50s, 60s. and 70s. Cassandra and another woman writer by the name olAdelaide Carraro (1925-1992) would become famous for their immorality and brushes with the military government censorship. Rios was careful to separate her public life from the private one, always refusing to talk about her own intimate life and sexual experiences.

Among her books there were Nicoleta Niqfeta (Nymphette Nicoleta), Came em Delirio (Flesh in Delirium), Tara (Sexual Perversion), Tessa, a Gata (Tessa, the Pussycat) and A Paranoica (The Paranoid Woman), which was made into the movie Ariel la directed by John Herbert. Ariella is a girl who finds out that the man who she thinks is her father is really an uncle interested in her fortune.

Upon this discovery she decides to become a prostitute. smearing in the process the name of the family.

Despite the highly erotic content of her books, the author considered herself a moralist. Curiously, her 400-page autobiography MezzAmaro does not talk about sex. Cassandra was labeled by her critics, who were legion, as "pornographer author". -cursed writer-, and "flag bearer for homosexuality". In the early 80s. with the end of the official censorship, all her books became available, but by then she had become in fact a moralist and only wrote religious novels. She also started to paint and launched her unsuccessful candidacy to the state assembly of SA° Paulo. Publishers haven't republished her books, but most of the old titles can easily be found in sebos (used books bookstore).

Cassandra used to complain that people were not able to distinguish between the writer and the characters she wrote about. In a long interview with TP NI- Trip Para Mu/her magazine in June 2001 she talked about being a woman writer: -1 was massacred for writing what I wrote being a woman.

Since the dawn of civi lization women fight for the right to talk and to think. If a man writes he is wise, experienced. If a woman writes, she is a nymphomaniac, a perverted. I alwayS wrote with the naïveté of someone who is born a writer."

She also confessed having made a chastity vow when her mother was admitted to the ITU. Cassandra says that she has trouble reading what she wrote: "Sometimes I tell myself, "God, did I write this?" When I see one of my books in which the characters are on fire, I skip the page. But art is spontaneous. Sometimes 1 try to write a light book and, suddenly, things start to happen." The author contends that people who read her books attentively will notice that she is conservative and moralist.

I'm living very well and very happy by myself'. she told TP M. "I believe that people who are always trying to find someone don't like themselves. I live in a home by myself, I love to be by myself, and I never felt loneliness. It is easier to be unhappy when you are with someone else than when you are alone. You don't need to be all snuggled up. Snuggling is for people who are lacking sex and affection."

As American Henry Miller who preferred to be called obscene instead of pornographic, Cassandra likes the sound of obscene: -It's a beautiful, sensual word. Pornographic is something else. My books are not pornographic, they are love books. They talk about the attraction one person has over another."

The author became furious, however, when the interviewer asked her about the book Literatura daCultura de Massa (Mass Culture Literature) by Waldenyr Caldas in which her work is classified as paraliterature: "Paraliterature is his mother. Motherfucker. Look, I just said a four-letter word. He knows nothing about literature and doesn't know how to write. 1 haven't read and will not read this book. Anyone can write a book, I want to see who can sell. This kind of stuff pisses me off."

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BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

Brazil's most prestigious literary award is up for grabs now that the CBL (Camara Brasileira do Eivro--Brazilian Book Chamber) '- has announced the nominees for the 44' edition of the Premio Jabuti. The prize is more symbolic than anything a mere 1000 reais ($427) but the hundreds of authors vying for it like the distinction the prize confers. For novice writers the award might mean the difference between having to beg for a publisher and having a publisher knocking on their door for a change.

Winners of Book ofthe''Year in fiction and non-fiction willalso get I 5,000 reais (S6400) besides respect, admiration, and possible.

This should happen on Apri125 during the Sao Paulo Bienal do Livro (Book Biennial).

There are ten nominees running for the year's best novel and they include the best and sometimes the most promising Brazilian writers, among them: Barco a seco, by Rubens Figueiredo; A utopia burocratica de Maximo Modesto, by Dionisio Jacob; Cine Odeon,

by Livia Garcia-Roza, Umajanela para. Copacabana, by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza; and El es cram muitos cavalos, by Luiz Ruffato. Brazzil published Ruffato's short story "0 Ataque" in its December 2001 issue (www.brazzil.com/shodec0 1 .htm).

In poetry, new releases by old and dead poets (Manuel Bandeira and Cecilia Meirelles) will be competing against contemporary names like Claudia Roquette-Pinto with Corot(' and Valeria V i lela with 0 peso do Buque. See the complete list of nominees at Brazzil online: WWW.brazzil.comirpdmar02.htm

Books

Time for Prizes

, The news was subtly announced by the Brazilian media on February 19th. The National Health Foundation (Funasa), the agency in charge of implementing the ila tional indigenous health policy, was officially closed down. The Indigenous Health System and the Federal Agency for Disease Prevention and Control (APEC) were created to replace it. According to Provisional Measure 33, published in the Official Gazette, the Indigenous Health System will be directly linked to the Ministry of Health and inspected by the APEC. Closing down Funasa is part of the policy adopted by the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration, which has been replacing governmental structures with control agencies. The way the foundation was closed down, however, gave rise to an odd feeling, because the decision was not based on comprehensive discussions around the Special Indigenous Sanitary.' Districts (DSEls). Health professionals have no idea of what will happen to the districts, to the training programs for Indigenous Health Agents, to the so-called Homes for Indigenous People (Casas do Indio, which provide emergency care to indigenous people), and to the hospitals that provide health care to. indigenous people exclusively.

The indigenous health care system has been dismantled for the second time. Under the administration of ex-President Fernando Collor de Mello (1990-1992 ). the indigenous health care system was decentralized. Public policies for health and education, which used to be centralized at Funai, were placed under the responsibility of the ministries of Health and Education. The Ministry of Health delegated health care actions to Funasa, an independent governmental agency operating within the in in isterial framework. Funai remained in charge of a health sector and as a result jurisdiction conflicts began to emerge. In the regions, technicians and indigenous people have been trying to contact the two agencies for assistance, causing a lot of confusion.

For some time CIMI (Conselho Indianista Missionario...-...--Native Missionary Council), has been warning that outsourcing indigenous health care services is dangerous. Responding to requests Of indigenous communities, the government created the DSEI s, but other segments can provide health care services to indigenous populations, Such as NGOs and city halls. The policy for agreements between the agencies and the Ministry of Health has been defined.

Complaints and problems are piling up. Indigenous peoples began to report cases of corruption, misappropriation of equipment, neglect, professional incompetence, and prejudicial treatment. The last report reached CIMI last week. The Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR) reported that the budget earmarked for health care agreements was sharply reduced as a result of the standardization of salaries which may lead to the dismissal of part ofthe staff.

The fact that Funasa was closed down raised doubts in relation to the future of the indigenous health care system and gave rise to apprehension in indigenous villages. In February, about 250 indigenous people representing 42 peoples of states of the Northeast, Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo held a meeting in Caruaru, state of Pernambuco, to evaluate the indigenous health care system, define strategies to deal with the new national policy adopted by the federal administration for the sector, and debate the consequences of closing down Funasa.

BRAZ2 IL - MARCH 2002

7

"New" market prices should be high enough to encourage private investment and push the government to invest in the electric sector, but only to maintain existing facilities.

CONRAD JOHNSON With rainfall onlythreepercent above normal Brazil's reservoirs and hydro generation capacity are recovering fast.

The present supply crisis is over, at least in the absence of an immediate and unexpected drought. According to Mauro Arce who heads the Sao Paulo Department of Energy and is also amember ofthe national electric energy crisis committee GCE Camara de Gestao da Crise de Energia) if present levels of rainfall continue, we will need neither natural gas generation nor emergency diesel and still have yet 10 percent capacity in our reservoirs at the end of the year".

Attention of the GCE has therefore turned to long-term sector considerations. Although means and ends are yet in the discussion phases, the federal executive branch has given clear signs that the model for the electric sector is changing. The government seems committed to governing an electric sector that avoids both future rationing and politically unpopular price increases to consumers.

With recently failed state privatizations in Parana (COPEL), Goias (CEG) and Sao Paulo (CESP-Parana.), the federal government is, for the foreseeable future, retaining permanent control of all federal generation companies while restricting their role in creating new capacity. Given the difficulties these federal companies have created (Furnas in delivery of contracted electricity to the wholesale market, and Eletrobras defying regulatory rulings concerning new Itaipu generation capacity, e.g.) for advancing self-governance and free market pricing, the federal energy ministry (Ministerio das Minas e Energia) and the independent federal regulatory agency (Aneel—Agencia Nacional de Energia Eletrica) will now control the prices of federal generators through anew pricing institution (MBE—Mercado Brasileiro de Energia) which will as well replace the MEC ,the present wholesale market institution. There is even a strong indication that the non-privatized remaining generation of individual state-owned electric firms will, as well, be price-controlled by these federal institutions.

The clear GCE purpose is to divide the generation market in such a way that there is incentive to create "new" generation capacity that will be left sensitive to market prices, while "old" energy (that produced by already fully depreciated facilities) is priced so as to mitigate consumer rates thereby diminishing overall inflationary effects while still maintaining hydraulic reserves in the event of future drought. The previous plan called for a staged liberation of all prices beginning in 2003, and that has definitely changed. The GCE feared spiraling prices that would have untoward political consequences because of consumer dissatisfaction and effects on the Treasury Ministry's overall (IMF agreed) inflation targets.

"New" market prices are hoped to be high enough to encourage private investment and relieve the government of reason to be an investor in the electric sector beyond maintaining existing facilities. The old state companies will be sold to private individual shareholders after they are separated into separate generation and transmission firms— though, since they are not competing in the "new" market, it is hard to imagine much investor interest for them. If the firms owned by individual states were part of"new" market generation, the division would be something like 47 percent "old" and 53 percent "new". If individual state firm generation is to be controlled by federal regulators, the division will be something like 80 percent to 20 percent.

The GCE is taking note of interested sector criticism. (No doubt optimistic: the Secretary of Energy in the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Afonso Henrique Moreira Santos, responsible for reformulating sector policy unexpectedly resigned over a new proposed subsidy for transporting Bolivian gas, but noted, have no support, no resources and no staff") The most obvious structural criticisms, in the interim, are from free market proponents like Adriano Piers who heads the Institute of Infrastructure Studies at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. "What the sector was waiting for was a remedy based more on the laws of the market and less on government intervention," was his response.

Pires points out that under any scenario, the government will own and control a large proportion of total supply of electric energy. How much of federally controlled energy sells, and for what price, will be ever dependent on winning political approval from political interests the governing groups care to please, as well as on how much water should be providently retained in dam reservoirs.

-What changed was the philosophy," he says. "Before we had a self-regulating market, now the market will be regulated by the State. It is not a re-monopolization by the state, wherein it is buying firms previously privatized. The government is proposing a hybrid model in which a large part of generation continues in State hands and distribution is privatized. Federal generation will no longer be privatized. It was a change of the rules in the middle of the game," Pires opined.

Private generation may receive a boost, though skeptics are easy to find. A ES, with $US 6 billion already invested in Brazil has announced they are continuing with plans to invest another US$ 1.2 billions in generation, mostly thermo. Several months ago they had suspended further energy investments in Brazil because of "regulatory impasse".

Conrad Johnson, the author, is an American attorney, permanently residing in Brazil. He writes for various publications on development and legal issues in Latin America. You can reach him at conradriealternativa.com.br

8

BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

Mixed Rage, Mixed Up Feelings The debate over affirmative action is encouraging. If nothing else, it forces people in Brazil to reassess Brazilian racial contradictions and their impact over society.

MARIA AL VIM

BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

Nearly 40 years after the first affirmative action programs were introduced in the United States, the Brazilian government is gradually beginningto implement similar programs, including the controversial system of quotas as a means of dealing with social inequalities. At both state and federal levels, several projects are already underway.

These programs establish quotas for women, blacks and disabled persons, and most likely they will expand to all government agencies and state-funded universities.

However, the new proposals have sparked a heated national debate, especially since the vast majority of such projects have focused only on increasing the number of blacks in federal jobs and universities. In a society that has long prided itself on being a "racial democracY", the adoption of a racial preference system would inevitably be met with criticism. Some see the new policies as just another attempt by the government to import U.S-based initiatives while disregarding the real needs of Brazilian people. In a nation where the populace still grapples with the very definition of race, how could we implement fair affirmative action programs based on the race criteria alone?

Indeed the definition of color or race has always been a problem in Brazil. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (I BG E), a governmental body in charge of the nation's Census, has established five categories under the "Color or Race" heading: white, black, yellow, pardo (mestizo) or indigenous. However, based on respondents' answers to several of its surveys, the Institute has registered more than 300 descriptions for skin color, including cgfe-com-leite (coffee-withmilk), canela (cinnamon) and suja (dirty).

Even when admitting that discrimination exists in Brazil, many disagree on the strategies that should be adopted to fight the country's racism. They argue that it's foolish to try to import the U.S. model of affirmative action without consideringthe social, historical and cultural differences between the two countries. Moreover, many believe that the United States is not the best example of integration. They point to the modern version of American segregation disguised under the "multiculturalism" designation, which has transformed the U.S.A. into a hyphen ised society of African-Americans, Native-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and Asian9

Americans, just to mention a few.

The Statistics To overcome objections to affirmative action, government officials and black leaders refer to numerous surveys and official statistics showing disproportionate levels of unemployment, illiteracy and mortality among black Brazilians. One such survey was conducted by DIEESE (the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies) in the Sao Paulo metropolitan region, which has the largest population of Afrodescendants in Brazil. The area's unemploymentrate reaches 22 percent of blacks and 16'percent of whites. The average salary ofblack women is $170, against $320 for white women. Black men earn an average of $256 in Sao Paulo; white men, $469.

Nationwide, the unemployed rate is 7.5 percent for whites and 11 percent for blacks, according to the Applied Economics Research Institute (IPEA), an agency of the Ministry of Planning. The average monthly salary for black Brazilians is $73, compared to $170 for whites.

On another front, IBGE surveys reveal that life expectancy for black Brazilians is 64 years; for white Brazilians, it's 70 years.

The mortality ratio among black children under the age of 5 is 76 per 1,000; among white children, 45 per 1,000. Afro-descendants inhabit 50 percent of Brazilian households that lack basic sanitation; poor whites inhabit 26 percent of these types of households.

According to IBGE, 29 percent of Brazilians are illiterate; 80 percent of those are blacks. White Brazilians study an average of 7.6 years, whereas black Brazilians study an average of 5.2 years. Only 2.2 percent of Brazil's 1.6 million college students are of African descent.

The insignificant number of black professors in Brazil's universities is also a fact. At the University of Brasilia (UnB) less than 1 percent of its professors are black, and black professors are non-existent at the university's Medical and Dental Schools, as well as at the Law and Foreign Relations Schools. UnB is not alone, though. The prestigious School of Philosophy, Letters and Humanities at the University of Sao Paulo (USP) has 540 professors, but only one of them is black—and born in Zaire.

Black Brazilians also remain underrepresented at the government level. Of the country's 21 cabinet ministers, not one is black. The same is true at the Superior Federal Tribunal, Brazil's highest court, which has not one black judge among its 11 judges. At the Ministry of Foreign Relations, a.k.a. 1tamaraty, there are only three Afro-descendants among 1,000 diplomats.

The Chamber of Deputies has 12 black representatives among its 513 members, and at the Senate there are only 2 blacks among 81 senators.

While the government has sponsored affirmative action legislation in the past, those initiatives have benefited mostly women, the handicapped and indigenous people. The recent push for the measures focusing on Brazilian blacks is a result of the 2001 Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa. Most ofthe preexisting initiatives in Brazil were from the private sector in conjunction with non-governmental Afro-Brazilian organizations.

One such program, focused on education, is called Geracao 21 (Generation 21). Sponsored by BankBoston in partnership with the Palmares Foundation and the Black Woman Institute (Gelecles), this program will be supporting the education of 21 previously selected black teenagers all the way up to the university level. In addition, the program invests in the student's family by offering supplemental education to those mothers who never finished high school. Geracao 21 started in 1999 and is restricted to the Sao Paulo metropolitan area, but Xerox of Brazil is planning to import the model to Rio de Janeiro.

As far as employment is concerned, Levi's Strauss was one of the pioneers in applying affirmative action policies to its hiring process. The initiative dates back to the 1970s, but the company was never able to increase the percentage of black 10

employees beyond 10 percent. Although Levi's would like to see more Afro-Brazilians working at the company, very few black candidates meet two of the job selection requirements: speak English and have a college degree.

Racism Versus Economics Another argument against affirmative action based on racial preferences is that the bottom line of Brazil's social ills is not racism but economics. Critics point to the disparity of income distribution, the sad state ofthe health system, and to the failure of public education as examples of inequalities that affect all Brazilians regardless of race.

According to the United Nations' Human Development Report released in 2001, Brazil ranks fourth among the nations with the highest income concentration in the smallest segment of the population—behind only Swaziland, Nicaragua and South Africa. Brazil's richest 10 percent hold 48.7 percent ofthe nation's wealth. Based on the per capita income alone, it ranks 57th among 162 countries, but it ranks 79th in education and 95th in health. There are 37 million Brazilians living with less than $2 a day.

Consequently, admission to public universities based on racial quotas would be unfair to poor Brazilians in general.

Moreover, it would not fix the basic problems, such as the lack of good public schools or the high number of school dropouts who often must make a difficult choice between school and work. Even black Brazilians are split on the subject. Recently, the Laboratory of Public Policies at the Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ) conducted a survey among 2,400 UERJ students and professors. The results showed that 57.4 percent of the 2,328 students polled were against the quota system. Among •black students, the opposition to quotas was 49.6 percent.

To tryto compensate for the deficiencies ofbasic education, several groups have joined a movement whose goal is to prepare black and needy students for the vestibular, the grueling entrance examination required to admission to the country's universities. The movement, known as the pre-vestibular for Black and Needy Students (PVNC), had humble beginnings at a church in Sao Joao de Meriti, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro in 1994. Since then, many groups from other states have joined the program, and in the state of Rio alone there are now 150 groups (religious or not)linked to the movement Aside from the traditional subjects such as math and Portuguese, students discuss human rights, ecology and racial issues. The lessons, given by voluntary teachers in improvised classrooms, are either free of charge, or the students are charged a symbolic fee.

Approximately 4,000 students have enrolled in the program and an average of 28 percent of those have managed to pass the vestibular.

Will it Work?

There is no doubt that the debate over affirmative action is encouraging. If nothing else, it forces people in Brazil to reassess Brazilian racial contradictions and their impact over society as a whole. Whether the government will succeed in implementing a preference system is another story. A 1997 law, for instance, determines that at least 30 percent of each political party's candidates must be women. To date, not one party has been able to meet this quota.

In a similar manner, most of Brazilian companies ignore legislation that was supposed to benefit the handicapped. Since 1991 Brazilian companies with more than 100 employees must set aside 2 to 5 percent of their jobs to handicapped people.

However, there has been no penalty thus far for those who haven't complied with the law.

According to the World Health Organization, between 15 and 18 million Brazilians have some sort of physical or mental impairment. The majority ofthem don't have jobs, and many are kept out of school for lack of adequate infrastructure, such as BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

ramps or elevators, special books, and skilled teachers to deal with the special needs of those students.

Nevertheless, true to the Brazilian spirit, many of the nation's disadvantaged persons refuse to be labeled according to the politically correct lingo and choose to deal with discrimination and life's daily hurdles with a sense of humor instead.

Open displays of gender discrimination still abound, as is evident from the numerous sexist phrases printed on T-shirts and bumper stickers in Brazil. (See table) However, most Brazilian women simply laugh at them.

Sometimes humor is the best defense. A corn ical,example comes from blind Mineiro (from Minas Gerais state) Geraldo Magela, who put together a hilarious comedy act—Ceguinho é a Mae (The Little Blind One is Your Mother)—to educate people about the daily struggles of blind people. (See the accompanying press release for the show.)

Asked about the proper translation of the word ceguinho, which in Portuguese has a condescending overtone (without being offensive) American multilingual translator Andre Fairchild, based in Denver, Colorado, replied: "I'm afraid! have never heard, in English, any diminutive for a blind person. We are so obsessively politically correct here, I don't think anybody in the U.S. nowadays dares to even say blind... We're supposed to say "visually impaired" instead.

Indeed! So let's hope Brazil can overcome its own inequities while preserving its identity.

The hue Blind One is Your Mother (Ceguinho é a Mdej To begin NN ith. ceguinho (the little blind one) is always a point of reference, just like fat and bald people... "Do you see that blonde? The one behind the fat guy?" Or. "Do you see that bald auy around the corner? Well, he's just standing by the store you're looking for." But the worst remarks are reserved for the ceguinho. People often say. -May I be blinded if I'm lying!"

As (fall blind people are liars...

Many people think that because Fm blind everyone else in mv family must be: wife, kids, the dog and the parrot.

Sometimes I'm even asked. "Ze do Banjo. is your wife normal?" And I say. "No, she's got antennas, little wheels and an input for Cl) players."

Some comments deserve a. special chapter. Like when people say, "Poor thing. so cute and blind!" "What do you mean? Besidesbeing blind. should I heals° ugly. have big feet and live far away?" Others will ask, "Are you totally blind?'

To \A hich I reply, "No, only until 6:00 PM: later on I drive a cab!" in cross the street is a big joke. Some people will help me cross a multilane street, and when we reach the central divider they'll ask me. "Do you want to cross the other half too?"

"No". I say. "I live here; let's go inside and have a little cup of coffee..." Just the other day I needed to cross the road, and I was in a real hurry, hut couldn't find ari one to hold on to. I thought to mysel -Do I stink, or what?" I looked around and couldn't see anyone since I'm blind... So! decided. "I'll hold on to the first person that touches my arm and I will cross the street!" And so I did: As soon as I felt someone touching my arm I held onto him and we crossed the street amid the honking cars. Once we reached the other side. I thanked him. "Why-, he said. "thank YOU. I'm blind..." "No kidding, you're blind too?", I replied.

The proper way to help a blind person cross the street is by letting hint or her get a hold of your arm, so that he or she can teel your movements. You may run: jump Over a pothole, walk up and downstairs. No problem! But most people will grab the blind person's arm, lift it, and squeeze it so hard that you'd think we were trying to escape. No. we don't want to escape; we just want to cross the street! Sometimes it happens that two people will grab my arms at the same time, one on each side. And I think, "Great, they're going to carry me over!"

Others will push me across using the cane. And they'll push. and push... Then I'll let go of the cane and when the person gets to the other side oldie street, the guy'll freak out and ask. "I ley!

Where is that blind guy who was just here?"

Affirmative Action in Progress

The Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA) has established that 20 percent of its jobs must be reserved for blacks. The Ministry plans to increase that percentage to 30 percent by 2003.

In the beginning of this year, the first black candidates were hired under this new quota system and filled 6 of the 20 new job slots offered by the MDA. The Labor Ministry has unveiled a plan to set aside 20 percent ofa $150 million job-training budget for black students.

The courses vary from hairdressing to software design.

The Ministry of Foreign Relations will be offering 20 scholarships to black students who wish to take Itamaraty's entrance examination.

The Superior Federal Tribunal will reserve 20 percent of its job openings for blacks.

The Ministry ofJustice has adopted a quota system that will reserve 20 percent of its job openings for women, 20 percent for blacks, and 5 percent for the handicapped.

The Chamber of Deputies is discussing a bill that would reserve at least 25 percent of television roles for black actors, and 40 percent in movies and TV commercials.

Marta Alvim is a Brazilian journalist, freelance translator and interpreter. You can reach her at mItdalvim(&vahoo.com BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

For more information. contact Gerald° Magela. phone: 0115531-3411-1736. cell: 0115531-9983-0401, fax: 01155313411-1807 - httn://www .ceguinho.com.br/ (in Portuguese)

A Melting Pot, The Brazilian Way Below is a sample of the groups that resulted from Brazil's miscegenation tradition. Others exist, but in a smaller scale, such as the -ai-no-ko- or -konketsu-di---the descendants of Japanese and ofJapanese descendants and Brazilians.

Mulatos- descendants of wh ite s and blacks Caboclos or Mamelucos - descendants of whites and Indians Cafu.:os- descendants of bl acks and Indians Jugaras- descendants of whites and cafuzos: of blacks and caboclos, or of Indians and mulatos

• • •

Double-Edged Poetry Inspired by the wave of "Brazilianness" that swep : az dining the Modernism movement of 1922, de Lima's poem was Intended as a tribute to the beauty of the African rac However, many nowadays consider it offensive to Af Bra:Mans.

Essa Negra Ado That

Jorge de Lima (1895-1953) Ora, se deu que chegou sso ja faz muito tempo) no bangue dum meu avo tunanegrabonitinha chamadanegraFulo.

It so (al arriv

hat ' • 4: • Negro girl ,gro "the fa the Miss to took and to iron for her Mas TIlt

6 Fuld! 0Fuidf

y, Fuld!

(Fritz falada Sinlak) ks e Missus speaking) vent me ajudar, ôFuld, •onojp me, hey Fuld, my body Nem thaw o tneu at :sweaty, Fula! que eu estou son& F ' verncocarminbacoceink • oughtapfatch my itching, vent me caw came, tome,tarojce my head.

Cemelnintiny hammock vembalanear minharede, come ittlea0a story, me contar umahistdria, estou awn sono, Fuld! ' 7 for I'm tdcaPy, Fuld!

That

Essa negra FA!' Essa negra uld?

Fulee 0F, Vai tinter pain &Wait •'Go take these kids , 'to bed, Fuld! asses meninos; 'nha mac me pentneu '.'My mother combed my hair Madrasta me mantra :my stepmother buried m by the fig tree's fig los figos da that the Sabia nib Sable belisetax at Negro girl Fuld!

'NegrO

Fu18? 6 NM Falb? Hey, Era.a fala da Sinha (ft was tb a negra Fuld.) calling 12

at Negro gir t Nego girl Fu Hey, Fuld? Hey, Fuld?

Where's is my lace handk e where's my belt and my brooch where's my gold rosary atnurl

0 Sinho foi acoitar inho a negra Fuld.

A mgr. tirou a saia

e tirou o cabecelo, de dentro dele pulou nuinha a negra Fuld.

Essanegra Ful '6! ssanegra Fuld!

6 Fuld? 0 Fuld?

Cade, cade teu Sinho que nosso Senlwr re mandou?

Ah! foi voce que roubou, foi voce, negra Fuld?

Essanegra Fuld!

in Fuld!

tare was a princes mum dia uma princesa que vivia num castelo wlo lived in a castl possuia urn vestkla who had a dress peixinhos do mar,. 'with little ocean fiSh. na perna dum pain She went through the duck's leg ferna than pinto tcame out of the chick's leg Smite me mandcm .'King-Massa has ordered Os contasse mata that ltd you five more '

Essa negra Issanegm Fifa

Sinhe foi VET a negra evar couro do feitor. negra tirou a roupa 0 Sinho disse: Foto!

A vista se escureceu ue nem a negra RIM.)

Q

Esse negra Ful Essanegra Fuld!

Essa negra Fuld! ThatNegro girl Fulo!

Essa negra Fuld! That Negr?

Essa negra Fuld!

J

6 Fuklf ? 6 Fuld?

Cade meu lenco de rendas cade meu cinto, men broche, cade meu miry° de ouro ue feu Sinhe me mandou?

Ah! foi voce que roubou. ' voce que roubo

O FulO! 0 Ful'Ol (Era a fala da Sinha) Vai forrar a minha cama, pentear os meus cabelos, vem ajudar drar a minim roupa, Fula!

Essa negrinhaFtd4 ficou logo pra mucama, para vigiar a Sintai pm engomar pro Shiite!

Ah! foi voce que rou Ah! foi voce que roubou!

Essa negra Fuld! negra Fuld!

Essa negra Fuld!

Essa negra Fules!

Essa negra Fuld!

ade meu frasco de Chem> ue teu Sinh6 me mandour,l

$ac$ssuli Actin Legs arc the body pans men likeliast , in. „ first thing they put aside.

All men are in favor of feminists. legs, a tight butt, firm breasts and grOcti; Not all womeii get fulfi ilmenf,nt happiness only at the sink.

Not all women like to be span 4.4, Women will have their place in invents kitchens with a sunroof.

Women are likawine: you've got tok4e. in the-dark, and with a cork in their mouth.

Sheis intelliget* in spite of being a wo Women are like mosquitoes. They swat. , • t, All women should fight for their interfere with their housework.

Since modern couples have to spL with my wife about rights and dutie7 If your woman demands more leash.

Women are like bad penalty shoo catches.

Women and photos are bes I've always cared about a w inside... It's beautiful!

BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

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DISCUSSION ON RACE am a ac cma esenionn ig isc oo . ast summer! spent six weeks in Rio as an exchange student and \\ hen I returned home I became interested in race relations in Brazil. particularly when relating to women. I have read numerous articles aboufthis on your website and they have been very helpful. .Over the ?text few months I have to write a senior thesis and I am considering focusing on this topic. I would like to get in contact via email with some black students (especially females) my age in Brazil if possible to exchange ideas, thoughts, experiences etc. Do you have any suggestions or ideas on how I would be able to do this?

Shaunya TweeBir@aoLcom

You are invited to participate in thisdialogue Write to Letters to the Publisher P 0.Box 50536

LosAngeles,CA90050-0536 or send E-mail to.

brazzil@brazzil.com

UNFAIR BADMOUTHING razi is my wor an. my passion. t irings me peace every time I lie down to think. How come you write so many bad things on Brazil?

Brazil has a lot to offer. Give it a chance!

Xica Chicago, Illinois NOT FUNNY AT ALL n trie , irazi isa country we prepare to deal with terrorism Is this what you call a joke? ("Why Terror Won't Bloom Here" - htt_p:/ /www.brazzil.comlpO6novOl .htm) I am a 21year-old femaje. living in New York, I go to school in the city and the twin towers are brooks away from me. I find this -humor" insulting as welt as disrespectful to those who lost their lives. There is no joke about people who lost their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. Maybe you should pay a visit to all the graves that have been freshly made these paSt few months.

Would that be funny? Sadly, you.would probably think so. This magazme obviously has no respect for other human life.

Stacey Zahariadis New York, NY FULFILLING FRIENDSHIP an you or your won • er we ewe. am an American who met a BEAUTIFUL family from Brazil. Our kids go to the same school. I've never met people Who (and I mean the entire family) made "ME" feel like family.

They are just like you described in your website.

They are very warm_people. I feel as though my friend is my sister. Now I see why when I am invited to lunch it's not sandwiches, but a full course meal. (smile)

razi is aversati e an aring country. e fashion and trends thatyoung people explore in Brazil are unconventional compared to their American counterparts. For example. the Brazilian bikini wax talked about during HBO's sitcorrhS'exanclthe CioThas reached the popular level in American culture. Also, many current musicians have expressed a distinct Brazilian influence on their own personal sound. .Readers of BraziI.are interested in entertain ing pieces highlighting Brazilian influences on, popular cult-tire. An .article depicting the ettectsthe culture of Brazil has on our entertainment, fashion and trends would add an interesting twist to serious articles. Thank ou for your time.

Jocelyn Hoshauer Shillington, Pensylvannia VERY SOUND PIECES ear • ruce. vk ruing to t an you or a your great Brazilian music coverage in Brazzil.

I'm a freelance music writer based inNew York and just got back from Brazil where! covered Camay a Fin Bahia for NP R. and conducted other research. in Rio. I felt fortunate to find so much substanti \ c information online.al l3razzil.com— definitely informed me for the. lob, especially for the impressionism ol an inters few with Carlmhos Brown. Please let me kilos\ it you ever happen to play in New York. I'd love to hear you.

Michelle Mercer Brooklyn, New York LAND OF THE FREE AND FUN .m rom razi an. rom • itoria, state o Espirito Santo and I really think that you don't know anything about my state (www.brazzi I. com/traaprO I .htm). Not too inspirins Espirito Santo' ? What areyou talking about?' A place without much interest to the traveler?" Oh my God! You really don't know anything about it. Maybe you were epectiu a lot from Espirito Santo and you didn't find anything interesting.

FOR MORE LETTERS AND ENTIRE LETTER SEE: http://www.brazzil,com

STAND UP AND SCREAM

Ebony Los Angeles, California 14

Via Internet Ebn27@aol.com • M as rI 2 Artrt "rom eaIIP ing K eUIP Finest can from1 Pinnerand it is agreat article. It was li ke hearing the voice of all those artists who never had the opportunity of showrng their art. It is the reality ()lever)/ place (mine is Puerto Rico). In my case I'm not an artist, but an art lover and it was refreshing reading that people of my generation have the same concerns as some of us. Congrats for a great article!

Cristina Beras San Juan, Puerto Rico IN LOVE

-lave just returne rom two wee s not long enough) in Brazil and AMO BRA IL! Never have I traveled to a country with so much emotion, happiness and people who have a loye for life. My body is in Canada but my head is in Brazil.

I will be moving to Vancouver in May and would dearly love to meet some Brazilians, to learn to speak Portuguese better and to learn the dances of Brazil. Please send me some information on who I should contact in Vancouver.

Brazil has opened up a new world to me and I want to explore it.

Wayne Bertrand- Angelparasiel@aoLcom Canada BRAZIL FOR SALE rep _y enjoye. t e y in ormative article 'Getting a Piece of Brazil" ('a ww.brazzil.comiecojan 02.htm). It mentions that it is taken from albook. Can, you tell me M here I could obtain a copy of this book?

Randy Bell Via Internet

Can't you find Brazzil at your Brazilian consulate?

Don't ask us why, ask the consulate.

Allow 5 to 7 weeks to receive your first issue. No back issues sold. No subscoiptions by phone.

Use your credit card or make check to Brazzil and mail it to:

BRAZZIL - P.O. Box 50536 - Los Angeles, CA 90050-0536 El I'll take 1 year (12 issues)

El NEW El RENEWAL

Janet Ramsay Via Internet t n it is orri e t at t e majority in Brazil is Black but there are no black executives or black actors and actresses. I'm ashamed that the black people in Brazil have not screamed at this issue. I come from a middle-class black family in California and yes we have our issues but never this bad.

The whites of Brazil should be ashamed of themselves. I have seen shows from Brazil that still show blacks as slaves and maids. This is horrible! Whatare the rich black Brazilian people doing? Please stand up against this issue, this 2002! I am proud to be black and I would never put up out: this!

I don't know where you come from, but you don't know bulhufas about natural beauty.

Every city in the state has its pwn characteristics, not very much appreciated by you of course. The way you say it, it means that the states that surround us are much better than us.

I love Rio, Minas and Bahia, I love all the states in Brazil, and you sound like Espirito Santo is there for a mere coincidence of the. destiny.

Outrageous, I feel that I have to say something.

When people ask me where I'm from, they are so enchanted by my city and state, not just Brazilian people but also from other nationalities. The say that the city is so bright, the people, the food, everything. Now ifyou are from a First World country, the likelihood of you being capitalist is 100 percent.

I've lived in the USA, and people only think about themselves they are born, and the doctor gives the new baby a manual, 'How to be an American. " They are all the same, it is like a cloned population. People don't know the meaning of really enjoying life.

And Why Brasirwith two Zs? Disrespect

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BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

Demur Undress Brazil longs for radical cha reorient its future, while radic Ily adhering to the conquests already achi • ved.

CRISTO AMBUARQUE

The first months of 2002 will be forever known as the days when Brazilian democracy shed its clothes. And it was not a pretty sight.

During the entire month of January, the public relations people were more important than the candidates, as if form were more important than content in our democracy. Instead of offering leaders with proposals and dreams to change the country's future, the political parties seem to be preparing to show off candidates made over to conform to the latest public opinion polls.

In February, the PR people gave way to the judges, who defined the election rules through their own interpretation and not in conformance with the rigorous standards the population expects of them. Suddenly, just a few months before the elections and after the candidates had already formed their alliances and the voters were assessing their options, a court 'finding—which in the long run will probably prove to be correct and positive—is forcing a total reorientation of the electoral process.

March has begun with a near grand finale to the democracy striptease: a woman candidate claims the government committed a brutal, arbitrary act against her family to halt her rising popularity in the polls. At the same time, she is still helping undress the democracy even more by demanding privileges inadmissible in a serious democracy: the protection of the governing alliance to impede the police from carrying out their judicial mandate. One ofthe two alternatives is the correct one, but either of them—a government that acts arbitrarily or a governor with special privileges—brings shame to Brazilian democracy.

As ifthis were not enough, Brazil is entering an election year in the midst of external crises: a country in civil war caused by violence; an economy almost stagnated; a society divided by inequality; shameful social indicators; fragile monetary stability. And none of the candidates is explaining the fundamental reason that he or she is seeking power. They want the power without stating what they are thinking about changing, or thinking about keeping, in Brazil.

The country longs for radical changes that will reorient its future, while radically adhering to the conquests already achieved. Each candidate must show Brazil what he or she will

leave behind at e end of his or her possible term. But this is not part of the d bate in these first months of 2002, when the democracy is ca ght in a vise between the image-making of the PR people and th will ofthe judges—the first, not always telling the truth; the se ond, not always acting impartially.

For years no , voter perplexity and indignation have been fueled by a soci marked by both wealth and poverty, capable ofmanufacturin and exporting airplanes while at the same time engendering an exporting children for adoption abroad. Able to set up the wo d's most sophisticated vote-tabulation system but unable to de me the electoral rules ahead of time. A people perplexed by th inability ofdemocratic politics to transform our resources and o r past conquests into a future without poverty, a future with, i stead, independence, respect for the environment, growth a d income distribution. With hope and mysticism to offer, a ove all, to the young.

Perhaps vo er indignation is Brazilian democracy's only current wealth. If this nudity fosters licentiousness, vote selling, and the c sting of votes for corrupt politicians, then democracy wil be more than merely undressed. It will be dead.

Its nudity will e that of the morgues.

Fortunate! , nothing indicates that our democracy is a naked cadaver. It is still alive with the people's hope that their agents will ass metheir responsibilities: that the candidates will transform the selves into leaders; that the judges will be impartial; that he public relations people will be merely advisers; and that i will be clarified if we have a government that arbitrarily use the Justice Department, the police, and the Public Minist against a candidate, or if we have a candidate accustomed to her privileges and unwilling to conform because the governing alliance has imposed the law upon her.

Brazilians iave the right to ask that their politicians, judges and PR peopl begin to dress the democracy that had such a difficult birth. And we have the right to transform our indignation into an el ctoral force to be reckoned with.

Cristovai4 Buarque - cristovambuaraue(&uol.com.br - is a professor at the University of Brasilia/Center for Sust inable Development and the author of the book Admirdvel mundo aMal (Brave real world). ranslated by Linda Jerome - LinJeromeAes.com

15 BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

Sarney Blarney A Federal Police raid, to check on allegations of misappropriation of public funds by PFL presidential By its sudden withdrawal from the governing coalition this past week, the PFL has shown itself unworthy of the faith placed in it by those electors candidate Roseana Sarney who voted for it. Its probable presidential candidate, Maranhdo state led to the party's decision to Governor Roseana Sarney, has also shown herself unfit to be in charge of the country. Her pique over a raid by Federal Police checking alleged "leave" the governing financial malpractice at a company where she is a partner, and her claims that she is being discriminated against because she is a woman, show how vain coalition. But several and selfish she is. Ms. Sarney is making a big mistake and, more importantly, hundred party appointees so is her party.

She and her husband Jorge Murad—a career public servant currently in are staying put, in their a high-ranking position with the state administration held by his wife, often cushy federal positions. at the receiving end of allegations involving mismanagement of public funds—are being investigated for allegedly taking part in a scheme to defraud SU DAM, a development agency forthe Amazon region. Magnitude JOHN FITZPATRICK ofthe alleged misdeed: over R$40 mullion (about US$17 million). SUDAM was so rife with corruption that President Fernando Henrique Cardoso shut it down last year.

We won't go into specifics about what is being alleged to involve the Sarneys, but it's the type of behavior that doesn't surprise anyone who follows the Brazilian political scene. It goes something like this: well-connected politicians are often owners of companies, or partners in companies that make huge profits, often from public contracts. The spoils are then hidden away in "front" companies and tax havens abroad, or invested in land and property in Brazil. Roseana Sarney is probably no better or worse than others accused of much the same routine.

She correctly said that it is not a crime for a company to have cash funds in its office. This was a reference to R$1.3 million (about US$540 thousand) in cash found during the federal police raid—voters are still wondering where the piles of cash came from. Outwardly at least, the attitude of Roseana Sarney and the PFL seems to be that, because she is a politician, she should be above the law—a strange attitude from someone so keen on taking the presidential oath to uphold the constitution.

The timing of the raid though is certainly fishy, and one can understand the PFL suspicions that the PSDB is out to embarrass Ms. Sarney, as she is well ahead of its candidate, former Health Minister Jose Serra, in opinion polls. However, politics is a rough game and not for the faint-hearted. If Roseana Sarney is to win the respect of voters as a politician, she would be better off following the examples of England's Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, than imitating a bodiced Barbara Cartland heroine clutching a tear-stained handkerchief. The PFL leadership may have shown admirable loyalty in backing its words by actions, but it has acted with a measure of haste it may come to regret. We can expect to see lots of squirming and turning in the coming months, as the party tries to share the credit for what went right, with a government of which it is no longer part.

About a year ago, when Roseana Sarney was a real outsider as a presidential candidate, I wrote an article about nepotism in Brazilian politics.

The Sarney family was mentioned as, at that time, its politically active members included former President, now Senator Jose Sarney, his son, thenEnvironment Minister Jose Sarney Filho, and Roseana herself, the state OS BASTWORES DA Governor of Maranhao. I asked somewhat rhetorically whether "President GUERRA SUM ENTRE Roseana Sarney" would feel obliged to have her brother in her government.

As it turned out it was, in fact, her brother who showed that blood is thicker ROSEANA E SERRA than water by resigning as environment minister because of the police raid.

Within a couple of days, the PFL leadership had announced that the party

Emus.

GRAMPOS, CHANTAGEM E BAIXARIAS

16

BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

was pulling out of the governing alliance, although, pointedly, it did not join the opposition...

The elder Sarney has also been making plenty of noise, and has threatened to make a public attack on President Cardoso.

The President must be hoping Sarney will do so, because the egg will fly back on his own face, Sarney was an incompetent, inefficient president, who only took office because the elected president, Tancredo Neves, died before taking office after the end of the military regime that ruled Brazil between 1964 and 1985.

While Sarney the elder cannot be blamed for the economic chaos he inherited, he accomplished next to nothing to combat hyperinflation, and Brazil defaulted on its foreign debt during his term in office. In fact, his daughter has been unbelievably fortunate not to have been tarred by her father's brush. Sarney pere has illusions of grandeur, and any bull-in-a-china-shop action by him could wreck any chances his daughter might still have, simply by reminding people ofthe last Sarney presidency.

Curiously enough, the elder Sarney is a member of the PMDB, not the PFL. He has naturally been trying to get the PMDB to back his daughter, rather than find its own presidential candidate. As for Sarney junior, when he resigned as Environment Minister, he held a press conference to boast about all the achievements he claims to have made during his tenure. The Sarneys seem to think Brazil revolves around them. The Globo newspaper had a nice cartoon summing them up: it showed the younger Sarneys, dressed like children in pretty frock and short trousers, having a tantrum in the street and screaming at the top of their voices — "Daddy, daddy!"

The mystery is why the PFL has followed such a fragile leader. There are echoes of the PMDB, marching behind Jader Barbalho, the Senate leader who quit a year ago to avoid being impeached over serious corruption allegations. Barbalho was recently taken into custody briefly by the Federal Police, and his party, the PMDB, continues to lose face over the affair.

Some commentators say the PFL is hoping to distance itself from the government in its final year, and put all its bets on Roseana Sarney. However, the PFL has been a loyal supporter of the government for seven years, and has already said it will not alterthe government's economic policy, so how exactly will it distance itself? As it is a right-wing pro-business party, it cannot suddenly veer to the left and adopt a social conscience.

The PFL has often been accused of sucking up to whoever is in power, and it has been a member of every coalition since the restoration of democracy in 1985. In fact, it goes beyond that—key PFL memberswere staunch supporters of the military regime prior to 1985, so they've had a foot in government for decades. The way the party has "pulled out" of the government coalition, while hundreds of its appointees have remained in their cushy government positions, actually speaks volumes about the way the PFL has done things over the years. For now, the party says it will not "harm Brazil," yet by pulling out of the government it will delay much-needed reforms which it has supported up to now.

Ironically, Brazil's Vice-President, Marco Maciel, is a member ofthe PFL. He is not resigning because he is not an appointee—the electorate actually voted for him. But a repeat might not be in the cards. Unless Roseana Sarney comes clean, and the PFL behaves more consistently, it is unlikely that in October electors will put its candidate in the Planalto Palace—either as president or vice president.

BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

The great Scottish poet Robert Burns once wrote that: "The best-laid schemes o' Mice and Men gang aft agley..." For readers unfamiliar with the auld Scots tongue this means basically that you should never take anything for granted as, at any moment, your wellplanned dreams could be Lula's recent tactic of ruined just as Burns himtrying to weave an alliance self had accidentally destroyed the little mouse's with the right-wing nest while ploughing. evangelical PL party has Brazil's politicians would have identified with upset many of his own Burns' "wee sleekit followers. It highlights the cowrin tim'rous beastie" this week after the Sucynicism of politicians preme Electoral Court who want the best of both made a ruling altering the rules on electoral alliworlds. ances. Unscrupulous, immoral, hypocritical, power-hungry politicians JOHN FITZPATRICK who would link up with the devil if it suited their ends found that their room for maneuver ha been drastically curtailed in this presidential election year.

The court r ed that parties which contested the elections in partnership w th others could not have different partners for the presidential nd state elections. The Rio de Janeiro newspaper 0 Globo escribed the decision as an "electoral earthquake," which d upset practically every political leader.

No wondert e decision came under fire immediately. Rio de Janeiro state go ernor Anthony Garotinho, who is a possible presidential can date for the PSB (Partido Socialista Brasileiro-Brazilian Social st Party), said he would challenge the ruling in the Supreme Co rt. Virtually every party is furious because the ruling poses a reat to the cynical alliances they have been making with str nge bedfellows up and down the country.

The Worke s Party's probable candidate, Lula, and the PFL's (Partido Frente Liberal—Liberal Front Party) Roseana Sarney could b losers as they have been looking around for partners which could boost their chances and also give them more time on television for their propaganda. Lula' s recent tactic of trying to weave an alliance with the rightwing evangelical PL (Partido Liberal—Liberal Party) party has upset many of his own followers. Althongh this controversy is not related to the ruling, which arose from a challenge made last August by the small left-wing PDT (Partido Democratic° Trabalhista—Democratic Labor Party) party, it highlights the cynicism of politicians who want the best of both worlds.

There is not enough room here to enter the alphabet soup of Brazilian politics and the myriad of links but, while there are a few winners from this decision, the party which could be least affected is the PSDB (Partido

Poetic Justice

17

da Social Democracia Brasileira—Brazilian Social Democracy Party). It has problems with members in Minas Gerais who do not want it to link up with the PMDB in the state but, overall, it has fewer conflicts than the other governing parties or the PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores—Workers Party).

However, the PSDB's anointed candidate, former health minister Jose Serra still has a huge fight on his hands as his poll ratings at the time of this writing are still modest while those of Sarney are rising. In one recent poll she even overtook the long-time frontrunner Lula. It remains to be seen whether this ruling really is an "electoral earthquake" and it may end up as footnote in the history books. Brazilian courts are used to jumping to politicians' commands and it would be no surprise if the Supreme Court overturned it and the electorate was once again treated with contempt. The helpless Brazilian voter who, incidentally, is forced to vote under another law which politicians will never petition the Supreme Court to overturn, can, at least, turn to another of Scotland's finest products, whisky, for some solace. While sipping a dram he should contemplate Burns' final address to the mouse: "Still thou art blest compar'd wi' me!

The present only toucheth thee; But och! I backward cast my e'e, On prospects drear!

An' forward tho' I canna see, I guess an' fear"

18

So Vain Why does President Cardoso want Brazil as a permanent member of the UN Security Council? It's a case of misguided vanity. A place in the Security Council would give him the place in history he would love.

JOHN FITZPATRICK President Fernando Henrique Cardoso used February's visit to Brazil of German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, as an opportunity to pursue one of his dreams—making Brazil a permanent member ofthe United Nations Security Council. After their meeting both leaders called for a reform of the UN to allow Brazil and Germany to join an enlarged Security Council.

"Brazil and Germany have similar visions on the structure of the UN and the Security Council.

Brazil strongly supports the inclusion of Germany in the Security Council and this support is reciprocated", Cardoso said.

The agreement appeared in a document called "Brazil-Germany Partnership: Action Plan" which stressed the "strategic" characters of the bilateral relationship.

Brazilian diplomats believe that Germany"s open support for Brazilian membership of the Security Council was not only a sign of mutual back scratching but also highlighted the growing coordination between them in multilateral questions. The Brazilians also claim that Russia supports Brazilian participation in the Security Council.

Even ifthe Brazilians are right the chances ofthem real ising their dream are slight. Any radical change in the makeup of the Security Council will involve many other countries and there is no chance of it happening without American support. The Americans have been two-faced, if not hypocritical, about the UN. On one hand they have stuck firmly to resolutions which suit them— on sanctions against Iraq for example and ignored those which do not—Israel withdrawingfrom the occupied territories.

The Americans have also broken the membership rules whenever it suited them by holding back payments for political reasons. However, there is little the rest of the world can do and, with their minds on the Afghanistan conflict, the Americans will be in no mood to consider shaking up the Security Council. They will certainly not do so for a country like Brazil which is ambivalent, to say the least, in its relations with Washington.

By hitching his cart to Germany, Cardoso is also making a big mistake. Germany nowadays may be a model democracy but there are many people in Europe with long memories who recall German power with fear. Visit virtually any village in every country in Western Europe and you will find war memorials to those killed in two world wars against Germany.

The fall ofthe Berlin Wall and German reunification caused misgivings in many countries even those which were Germany's allies. The then French president, Francois Mitterrand, and UK Prime Min* * ister, Margaret Thatcher, were among those who • expressed concern at the birth of a new Germany.

Russia would definitely not accept a permanent German seat on the Security Council So against this background why Cardoso—and many other Brazilians—are keen on attaining this goal? The reason stems, I believe, from Cardoso's misguided vanity. He is notoriously vain even in a I country as self-conscious of its image as Brazil. He loves to show how cosmopolitan and multi-lingual he is and constantly reminds people ofhis academic background as a sociologist. Getting Brazil onto the I Security Council wouldgive him the place in history he would love and nicely counterbalance his main domestic triumph, the Real Plan.

As to the other Brazilians, many naTvely believe their country should be on the Security Council just I because of its huge size. However, there are many other big countries such as India, Canada and Indonesia which do not make such an issue of it. If Brazil was promoted would they then demand simiBRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

lar treatment? Would Brazil's neighbor and rival, Argentina, also demand a permanent place as well?

There are also many more countries like Japan, which are economic giants compared with Brazil and accept the status quo. Would they remain quiet? Another pipe dream of Cardoso is for Brazil to join the G-7 group of wealthiest nations. Again this is highly unlikely and even if it did happen would relegate Brazil to a similar humiliating position to Russia which is a hanger-on at the so-called G-7 plus Russia meetings.

Being a member of the Security Council would bring prestige, some Brazilians believe, but what aboutthe responsibilities it would bring? One would be the need to take tough public decisions at critical moments and this is not Brazil's forte. Where would Brazil stand? On the side ofdemocratic members like the US, UK and France or with emergingmarket members like Russia and China?

At the same time would the present members actually want Brazil on board? With the exception ofChina(which tendsto use its armed power within its borders, suppressing Tibet and menacing Taiwan) the others are used to operating far from home, often in unpopular wars. By sitting at the top table Brazil would be alongside countries which expect words to be backed up by action at times. Brazil has shown itself to be reluctant to push its influence in its own back yard, South America, so can we really believe it will be more forward globally? Would it be prepared to send troops to fight in UN operations if necessary?

For the sake of argument let's rule out any active military role in combat. What about peacekeeping then? Brazil's record as a UN peacekeeper is uninspiring. Figures from the United Nations show that in October 2000 the top five contributors to peacekeeping operations were India, Nigeria, Jordan, Bangladesh and Ghana. The small island nation of Fiji has taken

fl

part in virtually every UN peacekeeping operation, as has Canada.

What about Brazil? I have not been able to get up-to-date figures but its record is pretty poor and, compared with tiny places like Jordan and Nepal, pitiful. Figures from around three years ago show 27 peacekeepers in Angola, 33 in Croatia, 15 in El Salvador and arcund 100 in Mozambique.

As can be seen, Brazil has also been selective, preferring to send men to former Portuguese colonies like Angola, Mozambique and most recently East Timor. Now, none ofthese places is a soft option but is there not something a bit timid about this penchant for Portuguese-speaking nations?

Finally, to get onto the Security Council Brazil will have to sharpen up its armed forces. Military, Brazil is weak with a small, poorly-trained, badly-equipped army, which is basically made up of conscripts. One cannot seriously imagine the Brazilian armed forces lining up in combat with American or British forces.

Unless Brazil makes major changes in its attitude to the US and the rest of the world and proves itself ready to assume real responsibility and take tough decisions, its international image will remain focused on the Carnaval and football. In any case, Brazil has more pressing problems than sitting at a top table and pretending it is a world power.

John Fitzpatrick is a Scottish journalist who first visited Brazil in 19P7 and has lived in Sao Paulo since 1995. He writes on pol'tics and finance and runs his own company, Celtic Comunicacties, which specializes in editorial and translation services for Brazilian and foreign clients. You can reach him at Johnfitz(&,osite.com.br These articles were originally published in Infobrazil (www.infobrazil.com), an E-zine on Brazilian culture and current events.

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Folly September 11, 2001 all the religious war that changed the USA To wage a war on terrorism is an absurd idea.

The USA Patriot Act is an American economic war and Brazil can take advantage of all the money leaving the U.S. for safer havens.

RICARDO C. AMARAL

Since the beginning of this holy war against the U.S. starting on September 11,2001 I have been trying to make sense of this situation and understand what is happening in the world. I am puzzled also by what lies ahead of us as the consequences of the actions and reactions of the U.S. government towards terrorism and how all of this will affect the economies of the United States and also of Brazil. I wrote this article because I have many questions on my mind related to what is happening, but I don't have many answers to resolve these problems.

After President Bush declared war on terrorism, the U.S. government took some drastic measures to wage war on terrorism. On October 26,2001 the American President signed into law the USA Patriot Act of 2001. This law is based on the assumption that Americans are willing to give up their civil liberties in exchange for safety. A legislative analysis of the USA Patriot Act by the American Civil Liberties Union shows the following: • For immigrants, the law is a dramatic setback that gives the government the authority to detain—indefinitely in some cases—non-citizens who are not terrorists, on the basis of vague allegations of a risk to national security.

• Allows for indefinite detention of non-citizens who are not terrorists on minor visa violations if they cannot be deported because they are stateless, their country of origin refuses to accept them or because they would face torture in their country of origin.

• Minimizes judicial supervision of federal telephone and Internet surveillance by law enforcement authorities.

• Expands the ability of the government to conduct secret searches.

• Gives the Attorney General and the Secretary of State the power to designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations and deport any non-citizen who belongs to them.

• Grants the FBI broad access to sensitive business records about individuals without having to show evidence of a crime.

• Leads to large-scale investigations of American citizens for "Intelligence" purposes.

The war on terrorism When President Bush declared war on terrorism he also indirectly declared war on every Mafia around the world, including the Italian Mafia, the Chinese Mafia, the Russian Mafia, the Colombian Mafia, the Japanese Mafia and soon.

There are 23 pages in this new act dealing with the subject of money-laundering. This extensive section of the USA Patriot Act also gives the government new powers and makes it easy for the government to freeze and confiscate assets of anyone. I believe that the USA Patriot Act will have a major future impact on the USA economy.

This became an economic war against all the mafias around the world, since every year these mafias handle billions and billions of dollars and they use money laundering techniques to move the money around the globe. The Electronic Journal of the U.S. Department of State, May 2001, reported that "...worldwide money laundering activity amounts to roughly $1 trillion dollars a year".

This money laundering war also became a war against the tax haven countries around the world. This new law also will affect many wealthy American citizens who have money outside the U.S. for tax reasons. It does not matter that these 20 BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

people are not involved in terrorism; they still will be affected by the new law.

As Time magazine reported on October 22,2001, in an article about banking on secrecy, "...tax havens are one of the world's great growth industries. There are more ofthem than ever, from Liechtenstein to Panama to Vanuatu, a tiny rock sticking out of the Pacific, well-wired into the world financial system. And the amount of money they harbor around the globe is staggering— as much as $5 trillion dollars, according to the U.S. State Department.

The Cayman Islands (pop. 35,000) has more than $800 billion dollars on deposit—fully one-fifth as much as the entire U.S. banking system (total U.S. banking system is equal to $4 trillion dollars). And those Cayman deposits are swelling by an estimated $120 billion dollars ayear. Not all offshore money is linked to crime or terrorism. Much of it belongs to wealthy people who are avoiding taxes in ways that often are legal under current law or—as the ads for "asset protection lawyers" on CNBC make blatantly clear—are shielding money from business partners and spouses".

As ofJune 2001 there were about 35 nations and territories classified as tax havens and potential money-laundering venues. Fortune magazine's issue ofOctober 29,2001 had an article

by Peter Elkind about money-laundering in which he mentioned the following: "...When President Bush launched his war on terrorism, he vowed to "starve the terrorists of funding."

The Senate enthusiastically backed that pledge by launching the toughest attack on money-laundering in years. The money-laundering measure should make it easier to nail all kinds of criminals—drug kingpins, tax cheats, mobsters, and corrupt dictators—who have stashed money in countries with strict bank-secrecy laws. Unfortunately, terrorists may not feel much pain. The goal of terrorism is to generate chaos—not cash—so terrorists are far less likely to leave a conventional money trail.

Terrorists make use of the hawala system, an ancient network for moving money around the globe without using wire transfers, banks, or any other part of the conventional financial structure. Hawala traders don't keep records".

The Inquisition I would like to suggest that people read a book by Edward Burman called The Inquisition to learn about the economic and cultural effects that the Inquisition had in Europe. Quoting from this book: "...Mariano da A latri has argued that among all the punishments used by the Inquisition, that of confiscation had the greatest social repercussion, and we shall see how the obviously attractive elements of such a policy were soon to be perverted for political motives. One of the most disastrous aspects, especially for wealthy suspects, was the widespread practice of confiscating property even before a trial had taken place... .inquisitors held the important privileges of being able to sell goods confiscated from heretics. ..the possibilities for corruption are evident". Many wealthy people became a target of the Inquisition, and the goal was to confiscate their assets and property. Don't we ever learn any lessons from past history? I guess not!

A Disguised Economic War As I mentioned before, the money harbored in the tax havens around the world is estimated to be around $5 trillion dollars. This was a growth industry before the U.S. passed the USA Patriot Act; now business will be even better.

The USA Patriot Act increased substantially the risk of BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

doing business in he U.S. because of the possibility of confiscation of assets and property. If anything, a lot of money will leave the U.S. for la safer place, in turn decapitalizing the U.S. economy.

It is naïve of the USA to expect that these 35 nations and territories, which were identified as tax havens and potential money laundering venues, would give up an estimated $5 trillion dollars in profitable business because they are intimidated by the USA. In many ofthese nations being a financial center is the major source of busine!ss and income for their economies. They provide anecessat'y service to global capital markets. What kind of business does the USA government propose that these nations replace their current business with?

The USA Pattiot Act wrapped with the American flag the money laundering and tax haven issue, but in reality this is an American disguis d economic war. This is about getting a piece of the profitable nd growing $5 trillion dollars international money business.

A Golden Op • ortunity for Brazil.

Brazil, being among the major capitalist countries in the world, can take a vantage of this unique opportunity caused by the money that ill leave the U.S. for safer havens. Brazil can strengthen furth r its position as a financial center by passing new banking law to give maximum protection to clients, such as in the major b nking centers. Brazil will be able to get a big piece of this ne pie by taking the following steps: 1)As the firs step for this strategy to work, it is imperative that Brazil adopt the Euro as its new currency to give monetary stability to the sountry and to give confidence to people to invest in Brazil.

2) Brazil wo Id pass new laws giving maximum protection to the owners of nancial assets and property to protect them against any for of government confiscation.

Ifanything,t e money-laundering laws in the U.S. will make the money-laun ering business even more profitable because of the higher ris s involved in that business, and the tax haven countries will h ye even more profits from this new situation.

I believe th t in the long run this U.S. war on moneylaundering will i e as successful as the war on drugs that the U.S. has waged in th last 30 years. You can't change human nature by legislation; t o many human beings are greedy and corrupt.

The other pr iblem is: who can define what war on terrorism o decides which group is a terrorist group? really means?

There are hundreds of groups fighting different governments for different re sons. The problem is that to wage a war on terrorism is an .bsurd idea.

I wonder wItat the long term full impact of the USA Patriot Act will be on the U.S. culture and economy the capital flight from the U.S. elconomy, the impact on immigrants and their families who are living in the U.S. today, the impact on new immigration to the U.S., and the impact on civil liberties of the American peop e.

The USA Patriot Act represents the victory of the terrorists over our free society.

Ricardo C. Amaral, the author, was born in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He attended Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA, where he received a BA degree in Economics arid later an MBA degree in Finance. He continued his Academic studies towards a PhD degree in Economics at Fordham University, but then elected to immerse himself totally into a professioual corporate career. You can contact him by email at amaral(&alumnadu.edu 21

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"Know ourselves", I think this is the first and most important thing all of us should do. One of the ways to understand ourselves is to understand the culture of our country and our own people, in order to find out the way it has shaped us. As OrtegaY Garcia said: "Yo soy Yo y m is circunstancias". Living in another country with a different culture is a good way to understand and see clearer how relative the truths we have learned are, and to comprehend and relate to people who were brought up in another environment and culture than ours. It is pointless to argue which one is better, for there is no such thing as a "superior" culture. They are just different, but as an individual it is really difficult for me to see them as equally right and equally good.

I arrived in Stockholm almost one year ago, during the Swedish spring, which forme felt colder than a Brazilian winter.

I was impressed. Stockholm is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. The city is extremely organized and clean. It is a well-planned city and, since I come from Sao Paulo, it is totally different from what I am used to. Nature is everywhere.

Parks, lakes and rivers are all over the city.

For four years, I have worked in a Swedish company before deciding to come here. It helped me understand the Swedish management style, which differs in many ways from the Brazilian one. During this time I got acquainted with many Swedes and also made really good friends, who gave me some insights about life here and briefed me on the Swedish way ofliving. This helped me prepare myself and avoid some basic gaffes that are common when dealing with a culture where silence is the golden rule.

Swedes speak in a low voice, slowly, with long pauses and they make little use of body language. Their answers are laconic. If you compare it with sports, a Swedish discussion is more like a ping-ponggame, where you haveto waittill it is your time to play. A Brazilian discussion on the other hand is a soccer BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

A

11111C3 in weden We can start a new fri ndship in five minutes.

Of course, we Brazilians ha e real friends; possibly th y are quite few mpared to the total a ount of people we call fri nds.

ROBERTO DA SILVA VAZ 23

t

AL.

game, where everybody plays at the same time alid wen participate. Both of them probably will get to the bottom and to the solution. People from a more temperamental culture, like us from a Latin country, just enjoy a more heated discussion that Swedes are careful to avoid. If you tie the Brazilian hands together, he probably won't be able to talk anymore. They may see this as pretentious, vulgar, immature or unintelligent. On the other side we may interpret their way as a sign of arrogance, superiority, shyness or less intelligence. Possibly we, Swedes and Brazilians, just think each other as "way out of it". It is funny how we can misjudge people, if we base ourselves only on our cultural values and this may cause a lot of confusion and frustration.

To keep cool, no matter what happens, is a common Swedish behaviour. A good example is the subway. Sometimes when the subway breaks down and stops unexpectedly a message is read over the public address system. They just keep cool and stay silent minding their own business. They remain calm since for them the situation is perfectly clear. No animated discussions among the passengers, no complains, no swearing, not a single joke to loosen up, just a placid and untroubled atmosphere. Displaying emotions, especially as we Brazilians do, has a very low status for them.

The other day a Brazilian, who has been living in Stockholm for few years, was carrying a big and heavy box. He dropped it on his foot. In a few minutes his foot became blue and swollen, really painful. Someone took him to the hospital and after waiting for a couple of hours the doctor came to see him. The doctor examined it, confirmed that it was broken and told him to go home.

Really surprised by the way he was being treated, like any other Brazilian in his position, he got excited and demanded for a better treatment, at least for an X-ray confirm whether his foot was really broken or not..

The doctor remained cool and stressed that there Was no reason to be aggressive, explained again that the X-ray was not necessary and told him once more to go home and rest. I still can't understand how a doctor can send someone home with a broken foot. It is amazing how we can adapt without noticing it.

Few days ago I caughtmyself acting like a Swede. The bus driver closed the door on my face when I was getting in; as for them punctuality is regarded as something of noble quality, proof of rationality and efficiency. My reaction was just to turn around and walk to work instead without even getting angry. After all it was a perfectly clear situation. I was two seconds late. I still can't believe it!!

In Brazil, during the week, we usually spend more time with work colleagues than with our own friends. We like to relate to people we work with. For us, personal relationship is the base fora good work environment. At a Negotiation Skills course, the instructor told me that when he books a meeting with a Brazilian he always adds some extra time for a small talk. It is important for us to know the people we are doing business with. Like Plato once remarked; "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation".

Swedes don't like to talk about personal matters, but in contrast when applying for a job in Sweden, personal questions are the main ones. After getting the job, no more chitchat. They

put a strong empTiasls on independence, which explains the positive attitude they have when being alone, working and living alone. Joking and teasing at work in Brazil is most of the time a good way to make friends and influence meetings or company relationships.

If you try this in Sweden you will probably face some disappointment since this lively cheerfulness doesn't work very well here. There is a strict line between work life and personal life. You are not expected to reveal anything about yourself as an individual, but they usually enjoy technical discussions and can spend hours on it. This creates a difficult environment for us where friendship comes before business.

Silence is worth gold here. Swedes are reflective and introvert. It is amazing how they can sit for hours without saying a word. When I touch this subject with a Brazilian friend ofmine, he always remembers when he spent six hours in an airport, during a business trip, together with a Swede waiting for the connection. Not a single word was spoken! This is almost an offence for some of us.

If you manage to get them on a coneversation, it will probably be very diffi„cult to keep it up. You are goingto realize that it wasn't a good idea, if you try to tell a story that you spiced up a little bit.

The Swede probably will correct you as your story deviates from what really happened or will ask annoying questions about every detail.

When the subject is work, they wait until you finish the explanation to give their comments.

Honesty is im rtant and Swedes hold a stereotype of themselves as honest people. In the company where I am currently working. some employees bring sandwiches to sell.

They leave them near the coffee machine together with a small box where you should put the money for the sandwich you take.

Oddly enough, most of them don't cheat. They pay for what they take, even though nobody is looking.

There was a game that, together with some friends from other Latin countries. I liked to play. We called it tempting the Swedes. Everyday one of us would leave a coin on the coffee room's table ofour company. The idea was to find out how many coins we could leave there before someone would take them. It was a complete failure, as after some time some of us started cheating, taking instead of adding.

But they are not as virtuous as they think they are. Swedes have their own malandragem too. It is really difficult to find a good translation for malandragem. The way I see it, malandragem is the application of ourjeitinho, the way we try to bend rules, use our charisma, adaptability and personal connections in order to get things done faster. They do like to joyride on the subway and jumping queues is a major sport.

When caught they look at you as an innocent child.

Rousseau in his work The Social Contract described how the climate affects the needs and consumption behaviour of the people. I believe that the weather also influences how we

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BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

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socialize with others. In Brazil it is common and expected that kids should spend their childhood outside playing w ith friends.

After all, almost everyday is sunny and too warm to stay inside.

We go out and meet other kids. It is expected that we learn as early as then to make friends as fast as possible and it becomes natural for us.

Friends come and go so fast that we don't have the time and the capability to get attached to all of them for a longtime. We can start a new friendship in five minutes, but it doesn't mean that it will last forever. As once I was told: "If you want to be remembered, make yourself present-. Usually, this kind of friendship is too superficial to last, but we still call and treat the new "friend" as a real friend. Of course, we Brazilians have real friends; possibly they are quite few compared to the total amount of people we call friends. Swedes on the other hand have a much clearer distinction between colleagues and friends, it is really hard to make friends with Swedes, but if you manage to do it possibly it will last a long time.

Brazilians are internationally known for their sensuality and sexuality. Once one American told me, -The amazing thing with you, Brazilians, is that you love sex". I took that as a compliment. Swedes also like sex; they talk about it openly and freely. They talk about sex among each other as if they were talking about the weather. It is easier for them to explain to their children what sex is and the pros and cons of it. This is a kind of taboo for us; even though sex is taken as an everyday happening, we have some difficulties to talk about it as freely as they do.

For them there is nothing to be ashamed of, but they are not sensual. At least they are not as sensual as we are. We like to be sensual and behave in a sensual way. In their sensual behaviour Swedes are almost puritanical, ifcompared to us. Our sensual behaviour: light talks, an affectionate gesture and sometimes a simple look can be misinterpreted and in certain cases as abusive.

But things are changing. Globalisation, influences from immigration, foreign travel and international mass media are closing the cultural gap between Brazil and Sweden. The old cultural boundaries are being swept away. Global entertainment companies are shaping the behaviour and dreams of ordinary citizens, wherever they live. In a near future the gap between Brazil and Sweden will be much smaller. This is already visible in younger generations.

Some Brazilians and Swedes genuinely characteristics are still going to be untouched. Swedes probably will keep their solitariness, independence, control of emotions and love for silence. We, Brazilians, will preserve our sensuality, jeitinho, flexibility, adaptability and our dreams.

Most of al I, Brazilians will continue saying that God is Brazilian and Brazil is the country of the future. And I'll keep telling everyone that it is true and I am proud of being a Brazilian!

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- THE EORMER NY L ST RESERVE OF ift4 nce SesCa To8 the Trwport3tt1 1.4v,t West oasseg to t* taspormatoMy S'a* at ft. Uwe* • s Asitad as FINFIAF • Istvarlatona Resolve o! cot Foreic, an* is bundabol v* 1ac1 twe Amazon s .co aAiaieoitr.a OP, Num _anti 0 passatve, Crag 1a Cxifttr.es. was - svanga natant, 411411

This land is their land U.S. international policy is rife with "America knows best" practices and policies. So, to the common Brazilian, it is perfectly plausible that if we see something that would serve our interests, we will take it.

JOHN ROSCOE

I received an e-mail that inflamed my sensibilities the other day. It was from Freddy (pronounced Fred-gee). Fred is a lawyer. He's also a drummer in a band, a pot-smoker and a part-time English eacher. But the point is that Fred is a lawyer; not just a guy with a law degree, but one on the minority of Brazilians that is nationalistic, with a true love of his country, AND he thinks a lot about national and international policies.

So, anyway, he forwarded me an e-mail that he had received. It contai ed an example of what was purportedly an American junior-high textbook that described our annexation ofthe Amazon ainforest. It was accompanied by a note from Fred, saying, "Now do you understand why you saw that anti-American po ter at the University of Brasilia?" I had seen a poster of an American flag with a red slash across it, and the motto: "Re ist".

The "American" textbook was very interesting.

The graphic was a classic American textbook, complete with maps, illus rations etc. It described our righteous, North American indignation that the care of the Amazon be left to the "cruel, and pr mitive peoples of South America." It showed that the Amazon had already been unilaterally annexed by us and other fir t-world countries.

With this evidence, I could understand exactly why I had seen that post rat the University. Brazilians need someone to blame for their lack of progress and development. They need a "boogie- an" to relieve them from the responsibility of their own complicity in their nation's failures, and they are willing to supp rt their accusations with false evidence.

The example ofthe textbook was very compelling, except, upon closer ex min ation ofthe actual text, I noted many errors or formations of strange syntax common to my intermediate and advanced E glish-language students here in Brazil. It was a complete forgery. Intermediate and lower levels of English speakers may ha e missed the errors, but to an American English teacher they were glaring.

Of course, I was angered by this disinformation, but it also led me to po der how we had arrived at this state of affairs.

Brazilians are genuinely worried that the U.S. and some "coalition du jour" ill come in and seize its territory. Perhaps, it sounds irrational to us well-informed, well-educated, first-worlders. Perha s.

But there are those of us that remember that the U.S. created a Latin merican country from the lands of cruel and primitive peoples, so we would have someplace to put the Panama Canal. W en the admittedly criminally ruthless Manuel Noriega stopped playing our game, by our rules, getting "uppity" and all, w sent in a few divisions of troops to arrest him.

Do we have jurisdiction in the sovereign territories of other nations? Are e allowed to arrest foreign heads of state, on criminal charges, in their own countries? It's hard to imaginethe French or the Germans arresting Richard Nixon for violating BRAZZIL -MARCH 2002

27

international law.

The U.S. helped to create and maintain the state of Israel, its base in the Middle East. Remember South Korea, South Viet Nam and even my home state of Hawaii? All political creations of our illustrious democracy.

Fidel Castro is well-respected throughout much of Latin America, and Brazil is no exception. His country is relatively isolated, its economy insufficient to advance the status of its people, its political system aligned with a defunct and discredited superpower.

Yet, Castro is a heroic icon. Why? Because he alone has been successful in repelling U.S. domination. His tiny island nation took back their lands from U.S. criminal elements and commercial interests, militarily defeating the proxy forces ofthe U.S. If Americans want to understand what kind of image this portrays to Latin Americans, think of "Rocky" against "Apollo Creed", in the Sylvester Stallone movie.

Since that time, Castro has on various occasions given the political equivalent of "the finger" to the bully-of-the-North, sending his "undesirables" to the states as wretched masses yearning to be free, and by putting the U.S. into a perplexing situation regarding Elian Gonzales.

U.S. international policy is rife with "America knows best" practices and policies. So, to the common Brazilian, it is perfectly plausible that if we see something that would serve our interests, we will take it.

Now imagine i f you are part of the Brazilian nale-elite; the 10 percent of the population that exploits its own country, and perpetuates a system that keeps 90 percent of the national wealth in its own hands. Perhaps you want to deflect attention from yourself, by calling attention to "American Imperialism."

You point to the crushing burden of interest on loans made by the first-world and the International Monetary Fund. Ofcourse, you neglect to mention that it was the Brazilian elite that were responsible for agreeing to the loans in the first place, or that a very large percentage ofthat money found its way into their own pockets instead of the development projects they were intended for.

Imagine i f you are apolitical scientist teaching at a Brazilian University, and you are aware that the Brazilian elite axe prostituting themselves, and your country to first-world interests.

It's a difficult prospect to confront those that could take your job. Perhaps an oblique attack, against those who support the practices of the Brazilian elite is safer. If whores didn't have customers, there wouldn't be any whores.

Imagine ifyou are a well-educated Brazilian nationalist, who abhors "globalization" and "American cultural imperialism".

You call for a boycott of American culture and consumer products although fully aware that, with few exceptions, national products (versus natural resources) are unable to compete in the domestic or international free marketplace. You neglect to mention that your countrymen have a natural preference for styles and products that are consumed all over the globe, not just the U.S. and Europe.

Imagine if you are part of the emerging generation of educated Brasileiros; the first generation in nearly 40 years, that has the ability to freely express its ideas and rancor regarding the status of Brazil.

Your leaders, yourteachers, and your inspirational icons are all pointing to the aggressive bully-of-the-North. You aren't completely beguiled. You know that much of your country's problems are because of the inertia of the people. How do you get them motivated to throw off the system that impoverishes them? A little cut-and-paste and voila! A textbook-example of American oppression.

28

Built to Break Brasileiros in daily life complain continuously about shoddy Brazilian-workmanship, and the poor quality of national brands and services, yet, they are very sensitivelo criticism from non-Brazilians.

JOHN ROSCOE "Built to last"„"Ford-Tough", "Takes-a-I ickin ' -and-keepson-ticking", "Die4hard", "Still-going".

Yes, just a few ofthe first-world idiomatic-slogans that don't translate well in Brazilian culture. Ifthe U.S. and Europe have a consumer throw-away society by design, Brazil has its own version by default. Products that are labeled durable-goods in the U.S. are not so durable here, while construction and maintenance standards here, more than likely, would lead to lawsuits or even prison-time in the states.

When the Petrobras offshore drilling platform capsized last year, a newly graduated engineer explained to me, "Maintenance isn't part of our culture." Brazil has installed many modern and innovative structures throughout the country, only to have them poorly operated, utilized or maintained. In the Parque da Cidade (City Park) of Brasilia, a beautiful wave-pool was installed to alleviate the beach lessness of this landlocked capital.

Within a few years of its inauguration, it now lies beneath a luxuriant carpet oT algae. A German-designed nuclear power plant is still in oper pion in Rio de Janeiro. After several decades, however, it has never produced more than a small-fraction of the power it was meatt to generate. Then there is the Brazilian submarine that s k at the dock.

But these are the obvious, eye-catching items.

More interest* is going to the construction-site of a new house or apartrnajt complex. Rebar, the steel reinforcement within concrete strictures, has a slightly greater diameter than a drinking-straw here, as opposed to triple or more the thickness in U.S. design standards. The plumbing here is almost entirely of plastic, and people don't flush toilet paper after using it, but instead deposit it in a wastebasket with all the other previously used toilet paper. The reason for this is that the plumbing won't tolerate the bulk of toilet paper.

Beds here are similar, to "French beds", in that they lack a box-spring. The difference is that French beds are sturdy, while the Brazilian version supports its mattress on lattice not much thicker than a garden trellis. While it is possible to sleep on this arrangement if done delicately, with care; more strenuous activities commonly result in the need for repairs or a new bed.

BRAZZIL -MARCH 2002

I personally know three active married couples that now sleep on the floor.

In a country that has a great need for locks on its doors, it is amazing that many doors are secured with mechanisms better suited for a screen door than a front door. It's the type of lock that you have to keep the key in at night, in case you need to make a quick exit because of a fire or other emergency.

Even the sub-culture here is affected by the "Quality is job 3,987-mentality". Instead of buying rolling papers to smoke marijuana, paper napkins are routinely used. The irony is that the paper napkins here are much better suited as rolling papers then as napkins.

In a moment of frustration and pique, I angrily responded, via e-mail, to anti-American propaganda that used some poorly crafted "documented proof'. I wrote: "... if you wish to distribute disinformation, you should strive to produce something of higher quality, above the usual Brazilian standard of mediocrity".

If I wanted to make him as angry as he became, I should have just called his mother a "whore". Brasileiros in daily life complain continuously about shoddy Brazilian-workmanship, and the poor quality of national brands and services, yet, they are very sensitive to criticism from non-Brazilians. It's as if to say, "I can criticize my family, but nobody outside my family can do this in front of me," which is understandable.

To be fair, economics, of course, are a major determinant of standards everywhere in the world. You can only use, buy and provide the best that you can afford. But this doesn't explain the poor maintenance of public facilities, poor customer service in the retail sector, and the strong demand for premium-brand foreign products.

However, there are "islands ofbrilliance" in Brazilian manu-

facturing. The aircraft industry of Brazil is becoming increasingly renowned for its competitiveness, and well-designed products. And there are consumer goods, such as stoves and refrigerators that are manufactured in the Euro-centric south of Brazil, that are relia le and well suited to Brazilian needs. When it comes to traditional, handcrafted products such as roughhewn furniture, objet de arte, and clothing the workmanship is quite often superior, as well as beautiful.

Brazilian media and Brazilian economists routinely point to the inadequacy of internal markets for Brazilian goods and services, as a major ii)bstacle in advancing the Brazilian economy as a whole. One reason postulated for this state of affairs is the relationship between consumers and manufacturers in Brazil.

Each side holds the other in low esteem, with a lack of commitment to develop the other, while maintaining customary low expectations. It is a self-perpetuating, vicious-cycle.

The Brazilian manufacturers will produce "crap" because they think that this is all that masses can afford and because this is what the masses will accept. Those that demand, and can afford, better quality will, of course, buy anything stamped with "Made in USA, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, or UK." And Brazilian shoppers, if given the opportunity and means, with few exceptions will pass over national goods because of their traditionally dubious reputation.

John oscoe is a 43 year-old Hawaiian-American l living in Brasi ia. He studied journalism and communications at the niversity of Hawaii and has written, folksy, feature-stol ies for small island newspapers, as well as rĂŠsumĂŠs for all of his friends. He currently works as an English teacher and can be contacted at johnthemedic@hotmail

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She couldn't understand why the men with whom she got involved were always surrounded by mystery. Time passed and their relationship cooled off little by little They became friends, but he was still enigma for her.

"E talvez ele fosse tambem o Unico que me pudesse entender. E se estivesse vivo diria o mesmo que Cu agora" Chico Buarque e Ruy C uerp Calabar, 0 elogio da traicdo Isabel chegou ao cemiterio no meio da tarde de quarta-feira. Estacionou o carro, desceu e bateu a porta num s6 movimento. Olhou para o bar onde, enquanto conversavam, alguns homens tomavam cerveja e comiam jiI6 em conserva—sentiu inveja deles. Um menino veio corTendo e pediu para tom ar conta do carro. Elateve raivadacrianca e pensou "contra quern?". Nao disse nada, apenas acenou corn a cabeca consentindo.

Caminhou apressada para o predio dos velOrios. 0 vestido amarelo, I eve e solto, dava-lhe urn ar jovial. Estava corn trinta e oito anos mas parecia mais nova: tinha cabelos pretos ate os ombros, urn rosto interessante e a boca cuidadosamente pintada. Os olhos cram muito bonitos, as sobrancelhas bem desenhadas, e o nariz reto lhe dava uma aparencia de gente que sabe o que quer. Nao era alta mas tinha urn corpo berr feito que cam inhavacom elegancia natural. Tinha certeza de que no iria encontrar muitos conhecidos all no fazia parte do circulo de amizade do morto—mas veria alguns rostos familiares.

Varias pessoas entravam e saiam do predio. Algumas vinham acompanhadas, vestidas discretamente; umas choravam, outras apenas tinham uma expresso seria e apropriada; algumas conversavam e outras fumavam em silencio. Isabel tirou os eiculos escuros e conferiu o nome na placa da entrada do velOrio ntimerotres. Exitou urn pouco, pensou ern nao entrar, em sair dali e esquecer tudo aquilo. Repensou e resolveu ir ate o fim.

Entrou e olhou a sala ampla de paredes brancas. 0 caixao estava numa extremidade, corn a cabeceira junto ao meio da parede de onde pendia urn Cristo em agonia. Dois casticais de pe sustentavamvelas enormesque queimavam.

30

BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

0 cheiro delas lembrava aos presentes que au i estava urn ausente. Varias coroas de flores se amontoavam de urn lado da sala e as faixas roxas, escritas em dourado, diziam A familia que os amigos já estavam sentindo saudades do morto. Varias cadeiras estavam colocadas na outra extremidade, perto da porta. Tambem, de um lado do caixao, havia uma fila delas convidando os mais intimos a compartilharem a dor de uma forma menos desconfortavel.

Assentada bem junto ao caixao estava uma mulher gorda, clara, aparentando uns sessenta anos. 0 vestido cinza claro, corn fibres mindas de varias cores, cobria os joelhos; os sapatos baixos pareciam tao cansados quanto a dona deles. Tinha os cabelos brancos penteados para tras ern urn coque sobre a nuca.

0 rosto sem maquiagem, corn a pele cansada e palida, mostrava toda a dor que aquela mulher sentia. Chorava muito e, vez por outra, era abracada por algum visitante. Estava rodeada por homens e mulheres que pareciam ser seus filhos, filhas, genros e noras. "Entao aquela é a vinva", pensou Isabel.

0 irmao do morto estava de pe do outro lado do caixao e, muito circunspecto ern seu terno escuro, recebia tambem os abracos e condolencias muito propriamente. Tinha os olhos inchados, e a todo momento levantava os Oculos para enxugalos. Estava afastando algumas moscas que insistiam ern passear pelas flores e pelo rosto do morto, quando Isabel foi ern sua direcao para lhe dar os pesames. Eram colegas de empresa e ele pareceu contente de ve-la au. Outras pessoas vieram falar corn ele e abraca-lo tambem.

Isabel se voltou para o caixao e olhou o homem que estava la. Como parecia velho! A morte nao lhe fora complacente—ele estava muito feio! Nao que tivesse sido bonito ern vida, mas o rosto e as maos estavam muito roxos. Algumas pessoas comentavam que ele sofrera urn infartomuito violento; o coracao safenado nao resistira. Isabel olhou novamente para as maos cruzadas sobre o peito, imoveis, frias, e depois para o rosto conhecido. Sentiu pena. Era urn homem importante, de tradicional familia mineira, rico e muito conhecido nos meios politicos.

Agora estava ali, como qualquer outro defunto, simplesmente morto, sendo observado, sendo comentado, sendo velado.

Isabel se afastou nervosa e foi apresentar seus sentimentos viava. A mulher nao se levantou e nem mesmo viu de quern vinha aquele abraco—nao conhecia Isabel—apenas agradeceu enxugando o narizjA muito vermelho.

A sala estava cheia e o cheiro das flores, misturado corn o cheiro das velas que queimavam, embrulhava os estomagos mais fracos. LA fora oar estava fresco e respiravel. Isabel sentiu alivio quando saiu; foi caminhar um pouco pelos jardins.

Passando perto da flora, viu Adélia, uma amiga da faculdade, comprando fibres e foi conversar corn ela. As duas se abracaram e Addlia comentou surpresa "nao sabia que voce conhecia algum dos parentes do mono!" Ern seguida apresentou Isabel As am igas—eram todas vizinhas da familia enlutada. Depois da troca de cumprimentos as mulheres sairam e ficaram no corredor, voltando a conversa que tinha sido interrompida. Falavam sem parar sobre todos os assuntos possiveis e imaginarios; tinham muito tempo para fazer isso porque o enterro seria no final da tarde.

Isabel ficou corn elas e as observava. Todas pareciam uma na sua forma de vestir, de falar, de se movimentar; comentavam sobre o morto e sua vida tao correta e dedicada A familia. Uma, que parecia um barrilzinho de chopp, disse cheia de conviccao "ele era tao fiel! Elvira foi a unica mulherda suavida! nuncateve urn pensamento sequer para outra!" Isabel quase riu alto masse conteve a tempo, cobrindo a boca corn a mac) fechadaem concha e disfarcando umatosse falsa. As mulheres continuavamnaquela lenga-lenga, numatagarelice cansativa e interminavel. Falavam BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

sobre suas prOpri s vidas, seus casamentos, seus filhos.

Algumas reclamav m dos maridos; diziam coisas loucas sobre aqueles senhores ue pareciam tao distintos, conversando baixo no outro lad da sala. Deixando de lado o ar digno que vinha sustentando té entao, e como se tivesse esquecido que estava em urn vet& o, a que parecia a mais velha disse As outras, cheia de rancor, q e seu marido era um crapula. As amigas olharam para ela, t das ao mesmo tempo, corn ar de completo espanto; ela, senti do-se o centro das atencOes, continuou dizendo que desco rira, ha pouco tempo, que havia existido uma amante no pa sado dele. Deixou claro que o casamento esfriara e ela so na se separava porque era urn grandississimo desaforo, e porque eram muitos anos, e muito sacrificio para ajuda-lo a constru r o que tinham; nao ia deixar, de maneira alguma, que uma si igaita qualquer gastasse o dinheiro que, por direito, era dos fit os do casal. As outras, passado o choque inicial, concorda m plenamente apoiando a decisao que a am iga traida tomar . E os casos se sucediam corn todas expondo seus infortnnios. s maridos foram literalmente denunciados, julgados e conden dos no ato. Elas, as vitimas, nao tiveram compaixao e eram s • lidarias namesma dor. Poucos foram os que escaparam ilesos d quele julgamento insano. Enquanto isso, os acusados, sem sab rem o que estava se passando, continuavam trocando iddias c m os "comparsas". Durante a sessao de denUncias o Unico onsiderado realmente inocente era o morto que, Aquelas altura , ja havia se tornado o modelo de marido que todas sonhavam t r tido.

Isabel sentiu ena daquelas mulheres tab ricas e tao frustradas, tao am gas e tao perdidas em seus problemas, se queimando em se s infernos particulares. Quando teve uma oportunidade, pedi licenca e se afastou do grupo que continuou sua funcao judicia Devagar ela f i caminhando ate o bar na Area do velorio, comprou uma Co a-Cola e se assentou em urn dos bancos do jardim. Ficou ohs; rvando o entra-e-sai das salas onde estavam os mortos—coro s de flores que chegavam, pessoas que passeavam calada , urn grupo de homens que pareciam estar contando piadas, e, naturalmente, alguns moradores das redondezas que, m smo sem conhecerninguern, sempre vinham dar uma olhadinha os mortos do dia. "Velorio sera sempre essa doidice! Urn mun ode gente que esta sempre pronta a se juntar em ocasioes espe iais, essas pessoas pegas de surpresa, entre nervosas e confo es, essa mistura de sentimentos e Noes tao desencontrados" ensou Isabel. "Positivamente a morte nao é uma coisa facil p ra o ser humano entender e encarar como sequencia da vid . Todos se confundem muito, pensam que estao se comport ndo corn naturalidade mas nao passam de vivos agitados co medo de solidao". festa de mo to é ladainha, medo de vivo é solidclo A lembranca a mnsica de Gil vinha se misturar a outras e vinha na sua memoria, trazia e levava tantas; o tempo sentimentos gua dados por tantos anos. 0 silencio era perturbado pelo s m monotono de vozes baixas e de solucos.

0 calor sufocava; ra final de abril e aquele estava sendo um ano sem chuvas. As pe soas continuavam chegando e se abracando.

0 homem gordo, e pe junto a uma pilastra, espremido em seu terno marrom esc ro, enxugava o rosto corn um lenco branco ja bastante usado. U a senhora, de cabelos azulados e protegidos por uma fina rede guardava umas mitenes delicadas dentro da bolsa. Algumas cr ancas brincavam de esconde-esconde. Isabel olhava de longe a cena quase surrealista. Sentiu que nao fazia parte daquele q adro; tudo parecia apenas urn pedaco de sonho. ... so sinto fri na alma, estou vazio de sentiment° ...

A mnsica co tinuava insistente na sua cabeca e ela se 31

lembrou da voz de Nara Ledo—"tao nova para morrer! e de cancer! doenca estupida!"

Pensou no homem que estava sendo velado pela familia, pelos amigos e por desconhecidos. o vivo morreu cercado, de muita luta e alegria„t seu sorriso agora é nuvem, sua festa ladainha , Eta ndo viera ate au i paradaros pesames ao irmao dele ou a familia, para ouvir as lamtkias e as maluquices daquelas vizinhas pateticas, para se impregnar de cheiro de flores e velas, para se sufocar naquele calor ridiculo.

Eta viera para colocar urn ponto final numa historia de dezoito anos. 0 homem no caixdo, durante todos aqueles anos fora apenas uma voz pelo telefone.

Os telefonemas comecaram quando Isabel estava corn vinte anos de idade. Fora um acaso no carnaval de 1970. Ela estava se preparando para fazer o vestibular.

0 telefone tocou e Isabel atendeu repetindo o flamer° do aparelho. A voz que veio do outro lado era bonita e perguntava se poderia falar corn Marilia. Ndo havia ninguem corn aquele name na casa, explicara eta; o homem fez urn comentario qualquer e disse que tinha gostado da sua voz; perguntou se pocleria telefonar depois do camaval; eta disse que sim. Na quarta-feira de Cinzas ele ligou, e depois e depois e depois ... A mae implicava perguntando que tipo de homem seria aquele que tido aparecia nunca, que ficava escondido atras de um fio de telefone. Isabel ndo tinha as mesmas preocupacdes e se sentia feliz recebendo as chamadas do misterioso Carlos Laredo Leite. Foi facil se apaixonar por ele; tinha certeza de que urn dia eles se encontrariam, era sa questdo de tempo. Carlos the disse que era pediatra e que tinha urn consultorio na cidade— para Isabel aquilo era suficiente. Ele era urn homem inteligente, falava sobre coisas interessantes, os dois se divertiam ao telefone. Mas ela nunca o via. Clam que tentara algumas vezes convence-lo a se encontrarem mas nuncativera sucesso porque ele sempre tinha uma desculpa para evitar os encontros.

0 ano passou rapid°. Isabel fez os exames para o vestibular e teve sucesso; ficou entre os primeiros colocados em Fisica.

Carlos ficara feliz quando soubetlo resultado..Ela disse a ele que talvez pudessemsair para comemorar-- era aquela a sua chance de ver o rosto de telefone cor de cinza. Mas Carlos lhe disse calmamente "acho melhor deixarmos como esta, Isabel. Eu sou muito mais velho que voce; ha pouco tempo sal de urn casamento que nao deu certo, tenho um filho e uma filha que ficaram corn a tilde. Ndo quero me envolvercom alguem tdo cedo e nao quero correr o risco de me envolver corn voce porque you acabar atrapalhando a sua vida, e voce ndo merece uma coisa dessas.

Um dia, quern sabe, eu apareco. Mas nao quero the prender.

Voce estalivre pra n am orar, pra ter um mundo de amigos. Agora que voce esta indo para a faculdade, vai ver como tudo sera diferente, excitante, quanta coisa voce vai aprender, principalmente sobre a vida. Vamos fazer um trato; quando voce arranjar urn namorado, voce me diz e eu nunca mais telefono".

Isabel tentou argumentar mas acabou aceitando as ponderac des dele; ndo insistiu mais nos encontros e os telefonemas continuaram.

0 primeiro anode faculdade trouxe umavida diferente e eta foi amadurecendo e olhando tudo corn olhos de descoberta.

Mas Carlos continuava ainda sendo parte importante da sua vida. Tudo o que acontecia eta contava a noite para ele, e os dois se deliciavam corn as novidades.

Certa vezela comentou sobre os telefonemas corn Graca, sua melhor am iga; a mop ficou curiosissimaquerendo, de qualquer forma, desvendar aquele misterio. Graca ndo entendiacomo uma coisa assim estava se prolongando por tanto tempo sem que 32

Isabel fizesse nad para descobrir "quem era a voz do telefone" ou acabar corn aquela loucura de uma vez por todas. Mas tido havia uma forma de puxar a linhadocomplicado novelo, e o caso acabou sendo esquecido.

Isabel nao disse nada a mais ninguem sobre o assunto. Eta nAo tonseguiria explicar mesmo o que a levava a cultivar o misted°, o que a fazia continuar al imentando a fantasia. Como fazer as pessoas entenderem que era a primeira vez que tinha alguem que the dava tanta atencdo, que a fazia sentir tdo especial. Passara anos cheia de complexos, fechandose no seu mundo, escondendo seus medos, sua vontade enorme de ser gostada, notada, desejada.

Ndo queria arriscar uma rejeicao, nao queria perder definitivamente a anica chance em tantos anos de ter alguem como Carlos. Para ela, ele deixara de ser um misterio—ela o conhecia tao bem! Ele era real, ele ex istia, ele conversava corn ela e a tratava corn um carinho muito grande. Aquila era suficiente; ndo precisava de mais. Que importava se quando ia dormir levava para a cama suas fantasias e sonhava sonhos impossiveis! Pelo menos eta podia preencher assim o vazio que sentiae que ndo conseguia disfarcar, mesmo quando se afogava em livros e projetos, ou quando sala corn os amigos.

Uma tarde Carlos ligou e disse que a tinha visto naquela manila; eta estava usando uma calca comprida azul claro e uma blusa I istrada de branco e vermelho. Isabel quis saber onde ele a vira, como ele estava vestido, se estava sozinho, e mais uma porcdo de detalhes. Ele the disse que fora em frente a casa dela; a prefeitura estava fazendo uma grande obra de beneficiamento da rede de esgoto naquela regido e ele estava la corn urn grupo de seis amigos vendo o trabalho. Disse que a vira entrando numa casa de dois andares, corn gressite verme I h o na frente. Eta tentou se lembrar do grupo masndo tinha a menor ideia de como cram aquelas pessoas. Perguntou por que ele estava visitando aquela °bra; ele disse que era apenas por curiosidade. Perguntou o que era gressite; ele resppndeu que cram os tijolos de revestimento do exterior da casa. Continuou fazendo mais uma serie de perguntas e ele continuou dando respostas evasivas, fazendo-a se sentir cada vez mais frustrada.

Veio o tempo em que ela comecou a se sentir cansada daquela histOria. 0 entusiasmo diminuira urn pouco corn a certeza de que Carlos seria, sempre, apenas umacara de telefone cor de cinza. Podia acabar com tudo aqui lo, pedir a ele que ndo telefonasse mais, que a deixasse sossegada. Mas era uma decisdo dificil de ser tomada porque havia ainda um restinho de esperanca naquele coracao bobo e vazio. 0 melhor era mesmo continuar do jeito que estava; afinal de contas, ndo fazia mat nenhum e ele era sempre tdo carinhoso e paciente corn ela que valia a pena continuar a sua fantasia.

Num sabado depois das aulas, Isabel estava conversando corn seu amigo Decio, no centro da cidade, perto da escola.

Quando estavam se despedindo, um homem extremamente charmoso se aproxirnou deles e cumprimentou Decio. Os dois se abracaram como sendo se vissem ha muito tempo; Isabel ficou olhando para eles, e pensando "como este homem pode ser tdo sexy!". Milton tinhatalvez uns trinta e seis anos, era alto, tinha bigode, g usava Oculos escuros muito elegantes. Decio apresentou-the a amiga e disse que já estavam indo para casa.

Milton insistiu para que fossem almocar corn ele. Depois de algumas ponderacdes, os tres acabaram indo almocar juntas.

Isabel estava encantada corn todo aquele charme e atencdo; ndo queria que o tempo passasse tao depressa. Deck) foi embora nuiis cedo queos outros dois; Milton disse que levaria Isabel BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

para onde ela quisesse ir. Ficaram no restaurante por mais um tempo. Passearam de carro antes de ele leva-la em casa.

Conversaram sobre muitas coisas mas ele se mostrou especialmente interessado nas atividades politicas dela na faculdade. Contou que era professor de matematica e que estudava russo. Ela achou um tanto esquisito--russo! Ele disse que urn dia ainda leria Dostoyevsky no original, e riu da propria iddia. Quando a deixou em casa, deu-lhe urn beijo e convidoua para urn passeio no dia seguinte; disse que passaria la As tres da tarde e que poderiam visitar o museu de arte moderna. Ela entrou em casa flutuando. Contou a mde o que acontecera; estava feliz. Em todos aqueles anos de sua vida tivera muitos amigos, mas nunca tivera namorado; agora tinha urn que era especial. Pensou em Carlos tdo invisivel; pensou em Milton tao real—um nal° precisava saber do outro. Um era fantasia, o outro existia de verdade. Ndo quis mais pensar no assunto; so queria se preparar para o encontro do dia seguinte.

No domingo Milton chegou na hora combinada. Passaram um dia Otimo; ele era divertido, contava casos engracados, e falou que ela era bonita. Mas Isabel sentiu que aquele homem era um pouco estranho. Quando ela the perguntava alguma coisa mais especifica da vida dele, as respostas eram evasivas, como se ele estivesse tentando esconder alguma coisa.

Continuaram se encontrando durante quase urn ano e ela nunca ficou sabendo nada de muito concreto a respeito dele, a nao ser que trabalhava para a Mercedes Benz e que seu nome era Milton Claudio Lins de Carvalho. Algumas vezes conversava corn Decio a respeito mas ele estava sempre brincando e dizendo que Milton tinha nove filhos corn nove mulheres diferentes. Elando conseguia entender porque os homens corn quern se envolvia estavam sempre cercados de misted°. 0 tempo passou e o relacionamento deles foi esfriando aos poucos. Ficaram amigos e ele continuou uma incognita para ela.

Passaram-se mais dois anos e os telefonemas ainda continuavam. Carlos nunca soubera a respeito de Milton.

Um dia, Carlos viajou para Sao Paulo e nao disse nada a Isabel. Durante umasemanaela nao recebeu nenhum telefonema.

Era a primeiravez que ficavatanto tempo sem falar corn ele, sem ouvir a voz dele, e achou que aquilo era muito ruim. Depois do terceiro dia em que ele rid° the telefonava, elarecebeu urn calla°.

Nele Carlos dizia "Sabe, de repente me deu um a vontade enorme de escrever para voce ..."

Em julho de 1974, Isabel conheceu Jose Eduardo.

Comecaram a namorar e ela, mais uma vez, nao contou nada a Carlos. E os telefonemas continuaram.

Jose Eduardo levou-apara jantarno dia do aniversario dela. Quando chegou em casa a irma lhe disse que Carlos ligara para the dar os parabens; ela dissera que Isabel saira corn o namorado para jantar. No dia seguinte Carlos voltou a ligar; disse que aquela era a Oltima vez que se falavam; ,ndo telefonaria mais porque jã existia urn namorado de verdade na vida dela. E assim, depois de quatro anos, os telefonemas foram interrompidos.

0 tempo passou, Isabel terminou seu curso e comecou a trabalhar. Nunca mais recebera um telefonema, e acabou colocando tudo aquilo num cantinho da mem6ria.

Seis anos depois; num sabado a tarde, como magica, a voz voltou a chamar. Ele se mostrou impressionado corn a memoria auditiva dela que o identificou assim que ele falou "como vai?"; depois disse que estava de passagem pela cidade, que voltara a viver corn a mulher e os filhos e que estavam morando em Goiania.

Disse que viera visitar uns amigos na cidade e que resolvera BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

verificar sea garota do telefone ainda morava no mesmo numero.

Ela ficou feliz em falar corn ele mas sentiu que já nao era como antes; mudara muito, estava mais madura. Contou a Carlos que tinha uma filha d quatro anos e que nao se casara; disse que estava feliz, toca do a vida para a frente e trabalhando demais.

Despediram-se elancolicos e ela nunca mais falou corn ele.

Em 1988 Isa el foi a Brasilia assistir uma conferencia no Hotel Carlton. E controu-se la corn seu amigo Pablo que a convidou para jan arcom ele e urn grupo de amigos engenheiros.

Ela aceitou o co vite—nao estava mesmo corn vontade de passar a noite so nha, assistindo televisao em seu hotel que ficava a uns cent e vinte metros do Carlton. Chegou na hora combinada e Fab o a recebeu no "hall" do hotel, levando-a ate o bar para urn c quetel; enquanto esperavam pelos outros, poderiam conve ar bebendo alguma coisa leve. Urn pouco depois, dois hom ns vieram se juntar a eles. Pablo se levantou quando os viu chegar, cumprimentou-os e fez as apresentacoes— esar, Fernando e Isabel. Em seguida foram para o restaurantr do hotel e pediram uns drinques. Enquanto conversavam Isa el notou como Cesar era calado e parecia alheio ao que se el ssava ali—"homem esquisito!", pensou ela.

Os outros foram •hegando e se acomodando. As apresentacties foram feitas etod rn s se mostraram muito amaveis corn Isabel que era a imica mulhe A mesa, e a &Ilea que ndo fazia parte do grupo.

Quiseram saber o que ela fazia e por que estava em Brasilia. Ela explicou que trab lhava no reator atomido da universidade em Belo Horizonte e viera para uma conferencia naquela tarde; o apresentador era um professor da Universidade de Stanford.

Isabel continuou ntrigada corn o silencio de Cesar; viu-o trocar umas poucas pala ras corn Fernando e, asssim mesmo, de forma que o que era dito ficasse apenas entre os dois. Ela percebia que todas as vezes qu dizia algumacoisa, Cesar virava o rosto e nao parecia interess o no assunto; sentiu-se incomodada corn aquela atitude del - , bastante deselegante. Ficou muito irritada— o homem era real ente muito antipatico. Ele passou assim toda a noite e ndo fez • estdo nenhuma de disfarear seu desinteresse por ela ou pelas soisas que ela dizia. "Urn perfeito grosseirao, chauvinista!" pe sava Isabel corn raiva.

Ao final do j ntar, pediu a Pablo que a levasse de volta ao hotel onde estava hospedada. Imediatamente Cesar se ofereceu para fazer sso. Ela ficou surpresa corn aquela del icadeza repentina ndo gostou nada da iddia de ter que tolerar aquele suj •itinho mal-educado pelo caminho, mesmoque fosse urn caminho curto. Mas acabou aceitando o oferecime to porque Pablo parecia muito envolvido na conversa om o resto do grupo, e ela ndo queria ser desagrada el. Sairam e foram caminhando quase ern silencio. le the fez algumas perguntas que exigiam respostas m pouco mais longas do que ela queria realmente ar. Quando chegaram Isabel agradeceu-lhe a gentileza, •isse boa noite e fez mencao de entrar. Ele estendeu-1 e a mdo e ela ndo se negou a estender-the a sua. Cesar a deteve assim por um momento e, olhandoa de frent , disse que tinha tido urn imenso prazer ern conhece-1 e que gostaria muito de leva-la para urn cha numa tard qualquer, assim que voltassem para Belo Horizonte Isabel sorriu pouco A vontade e pensou "oh! ndo! into ar cha corn voce! ai ja é pedir demais! nao vai ser possiv Agradeceu o convite e disse que teria muito pra er; ele pediu o telefone dela que, muito a contragos o, repetiu os numeros. Finalmente ele Ihe deu boa noite foi-se embora. Ela entrou no hotel corn uma sensacdo extern ente desagradavel. Era um alivio ndo ter mais aquele homem t o proximo, olhando para ela, segurando sua mao e fazendo o convite corn aquela voz arrastada!

33

Voltou para casa dois dias depois daquele jantar. Envolvida em sua rotina, no pensou mais no que acontecera. Fabio ligou uns dias depois dizendo que todos tinham gostado muito dela e que Cesar comentara como ela era interessante. "Irrck!!! Que homem mais desagradavel! Espero que ele se esqueca que eu existo!" pensou ela, mas ndo comentou nada corn o amigo.

Na semana seguinte, sexta-feira a noite, ela estava se preparando para ir a uma festa quando o telefone tocou. Foi atender correndo porque queria ficar I ivre logo para poder sair.

"Como vai?" disse a voz do outro lado da linha. Ela ndo p8de acreditar. "Carlos Laredo Leite!!!", disse numa mistura de surpresa e descrenca. 0 homem do outro lado da linha disse corn voz pausada "Carlos?! Ndo! No sou o Carlos!". Isabel, um pouco agitada, corn o coracdo batendo apressado disse quase gritando "no ha engano! nunca you esquecer esta voz e voce sabe disto! Meu Deus! depois de tantos anos!!!" Ele disse "sinto muito mas no sou o Carlos. Voce me encontrou em Brasilia na semana passada; jantamos corn Fabio." Ela parou assustada e perguntou "qual é o seu nome?". Ele falou seri° "pra dizer a verdade eu sou o Carlos, mas este ndo é o meu nome verdadeiro. Voce ndo pode adivinhar quern era eu naquele grupo?" Isabel ficou urn pouco nervosa e se sentiu incomodada corn aquela brincadeira de mau gosto. Disse que ele se identificasse logo e que ndo continuasse corn aquele jogo. Ele entdo falou "meu nome é Cesar". 0 choque rid() poderia ter sido major. Ela ficou calada por uns segundos e Cesar perguntou corn voz ansiosa "esta decepcionada?" Ela respondeu apenas "se isto é verdade, é muito estranho que depois de dezoito anos eu o conheca dessa forma." Ele Ihe disse que aquela fora uma estranha coincidencia e que custara a acreditar quando a vira conversando corn Fabio. Lembrou-se dos cabelos longos da menina que ele havia visto algumas vezes na mesma rua onde seu irmdo morava—ela nunca soubera daquilo! Ele ndo acreditara, a principio, mas sabia que nao havia engano. Para ter certeza absoluta de que era ela, durante o jantar, quando Isabel falava alguma coisa, ele tentava ouvir apenas a voz dela e para isso virava o rosto. Depois de uns poucos minutos ele tivera certeza de que realmente ndo havia engano. Continuou dizendo que estava muito feliz em poder, depois de todos aqueles anos, reencontrar alguem que era tdo importante para ele. Como se quisesse provar para si mesma que aquele nao era o seu Carlos, o Carlos corn quem ela sonharapor tanto tempo elao interrompeu dizendo "OK! Eu acredito no que voce esta falando se me disser duas coisas: a primeira é como eu dizia que imaginava o seu rosto, e a segunda é qual era a nossa musica?". As respostas vieram como uma unhada no coracdo dela "Voce dizia que eu tinhacara de telefone cor de cinza, e a musica era Love is a many splendored thing". Ela sentiu uma moleza invadindo o corpo e tomando o lugarda alma—aqueles eram detalhes que apenas ela e Carlos sabiam. Teve vontade de correr, de gritar, de chorar.

Antes que ele continuasse, Isabel falou secamente que estava saindo para uma festa e que talvez fosse melhor conversarem numaoutra ocasido. Ele disse que ligariadepois. Isabel ficou ali, imOvel, sentindo que alguma coisa fora perdida em sua vida. Foi para a festa, mas ficou la todo o tempo remoendo sensacao de perda.

Na semanaseguinte ele voltou a telefonar e ela Ode the dizer algumas coisas que guardara por tantos anos. Ele entdo Ihe contou a verdade. Disse que Carlos Laredo Leite era uma farsa e que ele era engenheiro e nao pediatra; escondera-se atras daquela identidade para ter os melhores momentos de sua vida.

Não poderia, aquela epoca, the contar a verdade toda e parte dessa mesma verdade acabaria complicando muito mais as coisas. A cada tarde, depois que todos saiam do escritOrio, ele pegava o telefone e podia, daquela forma, se encontrar corn ela, conversar corn a menina inocente que do outro lado da linha 34

dividia corn ele sonhos e fantasias. Ela era a sua grande alegria naqueles anos. Isabel finalrnente the perguntou se ele tinha consciencia do que havia feito corn ela, e Cesar disse apenas "pra dizer a verdade, eu sempre fui urn tremendo egoista! eu era feliz corn aquilo e pramim era o bastante. Pra disfarcar o remorso que as vezes sentia eu racionalizava dizendo a mim mesmo que voce tambem era feliz". Ele inventaratudo, nenhumdetalhe fora esquecido—a histaria da mulher, do casamento infeliz, da separacdo, das criancas, a reconcil lack, corn a familia, a mudanca para Goidnia—tudo uma grande e impiedosa mentira! Isabel lembrou-se de sua mde e teve vontade de chorar. Ouviu-o dizendo "em Brasilia pude realizar meu grande sonho daqueles anos—pegar na sua mdo e olhar nos seus olhos." Isabel sentiu raiva, magoa, pena—dele e de si mesma. Era apenas urn homem velho e solitario, nada mais. Mas tinha sido injusto--ela era apenas uma menina boba! Ele fora perverso, abusara de sua ingenuidade, de sua estupidez. Sentiu que alguma coisa agonizava dentro do coracdo. Preferia que nada daquilo tivesse acontecido; preferia que o misted() tivesse continuado para sempre.

Quando ele parou de falar ela the pediu que nao ligasse mais.

Ele tentou insistir, disse que entendia que ela estava magoada e pediu que ela o perdoasse. Como se ndo ouvisse mais nada, Isabel se despediu e colocou o telefone no gancho lentamente.

Dois meses depois, na quarta-feira pela mantra, enquanto tomava o café, dera uma olhada rapida no jornal e vira o obituario. 0 nome deleestava la—Cesar Tomini Castero. Chegara o momento de enterrar aquela histOria toda.

A Coca-Cola gelada acabou de descer pela garganta dandothe prazer.

Viu o movimento no velorio flamer° tres. Estavam levando o morto. Os amigos carregavam o caixdo solenemente. Isabel se levantou, deixou a garrafa de refrigerante vazia sobre o banco, pegou a bolsa, ajeitou o vestido com cuidado e foi se juntar a Adelia que, finalmente, parara de conversar corn as vizinhas.

Todos caminhavam em silencio seguindo o cortejo. A vinva acompanhava de perto o caixdo e era amparada pelo cunhado; suas pernas pareciam extremamente pesadas. Ndo chorava mais; as lagrimas se transformaram em saudade, daquelas de carregar para sempre. Cesar ndo estava mais corn ela, ndo estava corn mais ninguem. seu amor cama vazia, numa varanda do ceu, seu amor cama vazia, numa varanda do ceu Isabel teve saudade da crianca que tinha sido urn dia mas que naquele momento estava desaparecendo de vez. Olhou para Elvira e sentiu uma grande pena dela.

0 calor sufocava, mesmo que a tarde já estivesse se transformando em noite. Isabel olhou para as pessoas que ainda estavam por la; o homem gordo de terno marrom, andando corn certa dificuldade, a senhora de cabelo azulado que cam inhava segurando o braco de uma mocinha corn o rosto cheio de espinhas. As vizinhas estavam agora muito quietas. A que parecia urn barrilzinho de chopp limpava o nariz corn urn lenco de I inho rosa. Isabel lembrou-se do que ela havia dito sobre a fidelidade do morto—"nunca tivera um pensamento sequer para outra". Sentiu vontade de rir, mas aquele nab era o momento nem o lugar.

The original title of this unpublished short story is "0 Funeral." Its author, Adelaide Bouchardet Davis, born in Visconde do Rio Branco, Minas Gerais state, is a writer and professor of Portuguese at Denver University, state of Colorado.

You can reach her via e-mail: addavisAdu.edu BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

English for Brazos The Case of the Amputated Toe Why did Americans—who got rid of is Majesty's Redcoats, and of the ncient pound-shilling-pence currency —preserve to this day the most illogical, unscientific, truly lunatic collection of Measures the world ever used?

WILSON VELLOSO

As soon as Brazilians settle in the USA, they notice that in any non-English words are widely used here: pizza, burrito, limousine, chutzpah (effrontery, impudence, nerve cara'de-pau, desfacatez, impudencia). So they wonder "What an iniperialistic language!"

Referring to Portuguese, I might comment:"What a long-winded language! Look: Mafalda dos Anjos from Itapecerica-da-Serra, Fatima comes from Nupora ga, Maria Lucia comes from Pindamonhangaba, Jul inhaJuju comes from Itapecuru-mirim !N wonder you prefer Joe, Bob, Al, as well as top, cash, up, pin, down, toe, chin. It's shorter!"

All that said and done, in Brazil many short Port words hay been discarded for no valid reason and longer ones substituted. That is the case of my old fri nd artelho. It used to mean toe when I was a little boy. Today it means...zilch, NADA! It as replaced by dedo dope.

Why? Perhaps under the influence of Italians and Spaniards w o called toes ditta del piede and dedos del pie. A phenomenon of contagious ignorance? ell, not exactly. Just one of many ways languages change, contort, fumble, juggle, grow, a d decline.

French has retained its orteil, an obvious cousin of artelho. ut few French emigrated to Brazil. Thus poor artelho became obsolete, archaic.

Why do words seem to be fashionable at a time, then fall off us ? For as long time asfutebol (soccer) has been established as a business in Brazil, footbal fields were surrounded by cercas. Then suddenly cerca.s were out. They became alambr ad s, wirefences. A friend bets that sportswriters--yearning to introduce a few foreign words of eir own—are to blame. The same guys, he says, who brought alambrado call a football a /do, either from the Italian pal/one or the Spanish balon (of the portefios Spanish). The oil word existed for hot air balloons, the traditional paper and tissue bardes inflated by ot air from a burning wick (mecha). They set so many destructive fires that they forbade hem.

Taking a foreign word—with a totally diverse meaning that is I as in the source language— is a common linguistic phenomenon. In Rio Grande do Sul, Brall, the humble and very useful bidet (the French term actually means "small donkey") was orphed into a mesinha de

cabeceira, bedside table.

I believe that we owe Helena Bechuat Sangir-ardi—who had treacly appropriated the title joy of cooking for her famouscompilation A legria de Cozinhar the introduction ofthe term toboggan in Brazil spelled tobogti and with a wrong meaning. us, a proud ancient North American Indian (Algonquian) word, a racing sled—a long n ow vehicle of wood planks bent in front—was demoted and humiliated into a mere sli ng slope, an escorrega ou escorregador for Rio kids. • It was the latest, a tiltima nov'dade, of new parquinhos,

playgrounds.

BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

Elevated to the rank of colunista, Helena next attempted to christen with a new vocabular invention the 8-door limousine that had been introduced as a lotacCio, collective taxi. Bechuat floated the name basset, to be pronounced basse, after a "sausage-dog" sim ilar to a dachshund. But the owner ofthe new fleet preempted the blow: he had his cars painted fire red and called them lagostas, cooked lobsters.

Meanwhile, the true toboggan, the North American Indian sled, perhaps demoralized by the Bechuat coup dVtat , lost its name to bobsled but as bobsled earned many medals in Winter Olympic Games. It survived as a very fast non-engine adult toy that zips like crazy on a U-shaped track of natural ice, helped by gravity and the skill of its crew.

Linguistically, the Olympics, being international by definition, are fairly free of one toughest set of words that Brazucas ever encountered: the U.S. Customary Units of Weight and Measure—the craziest, archaic, superannuated "system" ever invented by men. A "system" put together by the British over untold centuries, based on the sizes of hands, arms, and legs of their kings and other personages.

Why did Americans who got rid of the British in 1776, got rid of the King, of His Majesty's Redcoats, and of the ancient pound-shilling-pence currency, adopted a Constitution that is a marvelous political document-.preserve to this day the most illogical, unscientific, truly lunatic collection of measures the world ever used? It's is a phenomenon that defies a clearly explanation.

In the 18'h century, the American Revolutionists adopted a decimal system of currency, taking the old word dollar for its basic unit, but divided it in 100 cents. That was really revolutionary but perhaps it scared the framers of the Constitution: they left untouched the old amazing crazy quilt, the jumble ofordinary measurements. And we have been faithful to it all the way into in the TwentyFirst Century!

As the decimal metric system was adopted by every country, even the crusty British shed their oddities and oldities and went metric. In America we remained chaotic.

It is really an enigma. You see, our weights and measurements have no substance, no definition of their own: they can only be defined in terms of metric units! Of course, doctors, chemists, scientists use the metrical system and have done so for a long time. Even in supermarkets, notice that electric scales faced with the problem of having a pound, uma libra, divided in sixteenths show pounds divided in tenths.

Then, if you are a traditionalist and ask for 4 ounces, (4 °nos!) of cheese, for example, the attendant has to figure out that 4 ounces is 1/4 pound, which shows in his scale as 2.5 tenths of pound. Isn't that absolutely ridiculous? You have to be a mathematician to be a sales clerk? Managgia la miseria, as seu Rocco exclaims.

So you know (or figured out while reading the previous paragraph) that 16 oz make a pound. But have you ever heard of a hundredweight? Abbreviation (in a mĂŠlange of Latin and English) cwt. Well, isn't so hard, a cwt weighs 100 pounds.

(Although the British one was 112 pounds).

What is the next unit of weight? Brazucas, you guessed it, it is the tonelada, a measure of 1,000 kilograms. Americans also

have tons but, as we hate simplification, we have two tons: the long ton, which weighs...2240 pounds; and the short ton, equal to 2,000 pounds. Isn't it nice, dandy, and obvious?

Things get really thick, though, when we delve into fluids and drinks. Here the basic unit is also called an ounce, to make things a bit more convoluted. But, to make it clearer, we say fluid ounce. If an oz of weight is 28.350 grams, an oz of liquid is ...29.573 milliliters! Sixteen fl oz are a pint (pinta). Ifyou have 2 pints ofm ilk you have one quart (no Port name). Now, careful. if you have FOUR quarts you have a gallon (Port gala()) which contains 3.785 litros.

(Before the Brits got metrically enlightened, they used the Imperial gallon, which was 115 larger, that is, equal to 1.201 U.S. gallons, or 4.546 liters.) American drivers, refueling in Canada, had fits when they saw the high price of gas per gallon (and had troubling understanding that a Canadian gallon was larger). Now they give somersaults of joy when they buy Canadian gas by the liter, which to gallon-thinkingAmerican looks a real bargain. Soon they complain again when the fuel does not last long.)

The "system" of length measurements is also a dilly. The basic unit is the inchpolegada, that is, 2.54 centimeters. Twelve inches add up to 1 foot pe and there are 3 feet pes in a yard, which measures 914.4 m ill imeters, just under a meter. Then comes the road mile, milha, also "logical" at 1.760 yards (1609 meters). But, wait! There is also a nautical mile milha nautica, which measures 1852 meters. Yet for sentimental reasons, the sailing community kept it as the international mile milha internacional.

If my name were Torquemada, the Inquisitor, instead of Velloso (which only means hairy or peludo), I could line in, among measures oflength, the rod, fathom, and furlough.

And the acre which measures areas = 1 acre is equivalent to 4,047 square meters. And the barrel barril, so cute that its sizes vary from 31 to 42 U.S gallons. And the tub and the hogshead both variable.

And the peck that my crazy grandfather would call acelamim and holds 8.81 litros of I iquid or small items such as rice, beans, etc. And the grain greio of84.798 milligrams, the dram or dracma equivalent to 1.772 grams. And the scruple that was slightly more (1.296) than a gram, and the apothecary's ounce ono de boticario which at 31.108 grams was bigger than the usual ounce.

And hand of 4 inches, used to measure horse's sizes, the bushel of apples, the stone of 14 pounds that was used exclusively to weigh human beings.

Let us forever honor the Greeks, who divided the day in 24 hours, the hour in 60 minutes, and the minute in 60 second, in application of their base-60 sexagesimal sexagesimal numbering system.

Let us all go metric!

And may the United States of America join the world!

The author, who was good at arithmetic but clumsy at algebra and calculus, from time to time undergoes brain purges like this just to remind himself that, like Horace, he is nothing but pulvis et umbra , dust and shadow, and he's ready to return to dust.

E-mail: vewilson3oaks.com.

BRAZZIL -MARCH 2002

Jawla Days In Prainha Canto Verde, locals tend to view visitors not as invaders or usurpers. They have a genuine interest in outsiders and little kids ask foreigners in giggly English, "where are you from?"

TEXT: JESSE LEVINSON PHOTOS: RAFAEL JACINTO

BRAZIL_ -MAC{ .

When Beto de Lima Ribeiro speaks about his vision for the fishing hamlet of Prainha Canto Verde, it is easy to mistake him for an internationally renowned expert on sustainable development. Only when you shake hands with "Seu Beto," as he is known to locals, is it noticeable that his hands are unmistakably those of a fisherman— thick, strong, and smoothly callused from years of labor on the open sea. Lately, Beto has had many opportunities to demonstrate his breadth of knowledge to the scores of journalists, government officials, scholars, and artists that have made the journey along the barren coast of the Brazilian state of Ceara to get a glimpse at what Beto and his neighbors have achieved. As Beto puts it, "we know we've done something special."

At first glance, traveling in isolated coastal r gions of Ceara feels like a journey into a bygone era. Villages dot the coast between massive sand dunes that roll lazily intO the tropical Atlantic waters. Cattle weave idly in and out of the fbw paved roads. In the afternoons, people take respite from the exhausting climate on hammocks set up on ventilated front porches. Fishermen still make the journey into the alto mar in the same way that they have for centuries, aboard small rugged sailboats known as jangadas.

Despite the s mplicity of their design, jangadas have endured through sefreral centuries of change in the Northeast.

This unique vess I represents the fusion of a raft invented by the Tupiniquin In ians of the Northeast with technologies such as a sail, centerb ard and bench seat which were first introduced by Portug ese colonists. The sail arrangement, which involves an unsta ed mast and a sail bench, allows a triangular sail to be angled 15 degrees to port or starboard with a system of pegs.

The deck of he raft sits intentionally low so that waves wash easily over he deck, allowing two to three person teams of fishermen to egotiate the choppy, fish abundant waters of the Northeast. W en not in use, jangadas are hauled up and parked on the be ch, later requiring a daring launch right into the crest of the ayes at the start of any journey.

Not surprisin ly, jangadeiros—as artesanal fishermen are known—have a ardy windswept look to them and a physique that shows the i print of lives spent working at sea. The local fishermen are d scended mostly from a mixture of escaped slaves and Indige ous tribes who first began settling at the fault line of the Port guese and Dutch Empires in the early 176 century. As a re ult of their relative isolation, Northeastern fishing communi ies traditionally have enjoyed a large degree of autonomy fro local, state, and national authorities.

Reflecting th ir status, jangadeiros have played a progressive political rol in the history of northeast Brazil, beginning with a popular re olt in 1884 when local fishermen blocked the transfer of slave from drought ridden Ceara to the booming sugar plantations of Pernambuco. Marking this historic protest in the national emory, Francisco Jose do Nascimento, the 'Dragon of the 'eas,' traveled to Rio de Janeiro aboard the jangada Liberda e.

Even though he Emperor refused to meet with him, the trip was a political v. tory for the abolitionists, heeding the abolition of slavery i 1888. As recently as 1991, fishermen from Prainha Canto Verde attracted national attention by making the same sea journey again to protest the marginalization of the jangadeiros by predatory land speculation and environmentally destructive fishing techniques.

The emergence of tourism has given rise to a host of other 37

problems. Northeast Brazil boasts some of the most beautiful and unspoiled beaches in the world and traditional fishing communities still predominate in the litoral region of the coast.

The stark beauty, tropical climate, and exotic cuisine have long proved an attraction for adventurous vacationers from southern Brazil, Europe, and the United States. Unfortunately, many impoverished fishing communities that have tried to cash in on the lucrative tourist market have instead found themselves opening the door to previously unheard of problems such as sex tourism, urban blight, and drug trafficking.

Likewise, the tourist market has often unleashed destructive, and sometimes violent, patterns of land speculation that force residents to abandon their homes for more isolated and impoverished regions. In an area of Brazil where most neighbors are related and many residents can trace their lineage in a single community back several generations such problems have proved markedly destructive to the traditional culture of jangadeiros.

In Prainha Canto Verde, however, extraordinary community leadership has given way to a different pattern of development.

As one resident summarized the community's struggle, "We knew tourism was going to arrive, whether we wanted it or not.

So we decided to take control, rather than let tourism take control of us." The fight to maintain command over their own destiny has been a long and hard fought battle for residents of Prainha Canto Verde.

In 1976, a professional developer bought several plots of land near the community and used political influence to gain title over the beach where fishermen have traditionally built their homes and gained their livelihood. Despite the fact that the first settlers had arrived in Prainha in 1850, none of the residents had managed—or bothered—to gain title over their land. In Brazil, gaining legal title to land can be a costly and litigious process that often effects the de facto exclusion of large sectors of the population, especially in regions such as Ceara where people of mixed Indigenous and African descent predominate.

Residents still recount this period of their history with subdued terror. "We didn't know what was going to happen. All of a sudden they (the developers) were saying we didn't exist...that what had always been ours was someone else's...at night we had to look out for pistoleiros (gunmen)." In an area of the world where small property owners often do not enjoy official legal title, and land conflicts are often settled at the butt of a gun, rather than in front of a judge, the extinction of the community was credibly at stake.

Many men in Prainha can still recount incidents where they stared down hired thugs and stood up to developers who swaggered into the community making veiled threats against the lives of local leaders. In response to these pressures, residents of Prainha Canto Verde founded a residence association and got in touch with the Centro de Defesa e Promocao dos Direitos Humanos (Center for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights), beginning a legal struggle that is still going on today.

The experience of organizing against an outside threat, however, has proved a galvanizing and binding force within the community for confronting a variety of social concerns. "With the struggle for land, we created faith that we could improve our own situation," says Dona Mirtes, a founding member of a mother's group that has effected substantial gains in health and education. Since 1995, Prainha Canto Verde has boasted an infant mortality rate of zero, and pre-natal care rate of 100 percent—achievements that remain elusive in much of Ceara.

In addition, community members have instituted a system of scholarships and transportation, so that all children of residents have the opportunity to attend high school in the nearby municipality of Beberibe. Since the beginning of the education projects, arts education in the elementary schools has blossomed. Prainha Canto Verde boasts a children's choir and, more recently, a local resident and respected musician has begun giving guitar lessons to young men in the community, keeping the songs of the "Litoral" alive for another generation.

Prainha Canto Verde's most innovative project, however, has been their effort to implement tourism in a way that gains income for the community without promoting the sort of social unraveling that has taken place elsewhere. Through the resi38

dents association and tourism cooperative, the tendency has been to assert autonomy over services that might normally be associated with local government in the US. Recognizing that a system of land rights and urban planning was essential to preserve the integrity of their project, residents of Prainha have instituted their own system by which land title is recognized and new construction projects are approved.

Furthermore, the cooperative provides necessary services for the local tourist industry, such as advertising, security, and sanitation. In exchange, the cooperative taxes member families who provide services to tourists, such as housing, food, and transportation. The cooperative then redistributes that money with a fund for social and education projects, providing a tangible benefit for the entire community. As a result of their willingness to take the needs of their community into their own hands, Prainha probably enjoys the best social services of any community of its size on the "Litoral."

Substantial adaptations have also been made to the local fishing economy. In 1987, a Swiss tourist and frequent visitor to Prainha, Rene Sharer, went to a meeting of the residents association and proposed the establishment of a fishing cooperative, offering to use his contacts and business knowledge to acquire the startup capital. The venture has been a remarkable success. In the past, fishermen had only one market for their fish, a local marketer, popularly referred to as the "Capitao" (Captain) who, by right of his monopoly over transportation to outside markets, could decide prices.

The cooperative ensures that fishermen get a competitive price for their fish and a fair price for necessary industrial items such as hooks, rope, nets, and ice. Today, the "Capitao" and the cooperative exist side by side on the beach in quiet competition.

According to Rene, in the first year of the cooperative, the price paid for fish doubled while the price paid for lobster tripled— previously unthinkable gains in income. Since then, prices have held their value with the devaluation of the Real, an achievement that few businesses in northeast Brazil have managed.

Increasingly, Prainha's residents have articulated their struggle as one incorporating economic, social, and environ-

BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

mental concerns. The last weekend of November of every year marks the annual Ecological Regatta, a community tradition that has been running now for eight years. The race itself is a hotly contested competition in which jangadeiros from throughout the region gather to compete for a purse that often exceeds several hundred dollars. More than a boat race, the regatta fuses the cultural and political energies of the community in a festive celebration of resistance, environmental activism, and local traditions.

The decorative sails designed by children in the town are equally important to the actual competition, and involve months of careful planning, design, and construction. The environmental theme chosen by the community this year is the plight of the endangered peixe boi (manatee). Increasingly, this event has attracted visitors, supporters, and media attention, but the race itself still remains close enough to heart of the small community that locals take on hushed and excited tones when they speculate about who will prove this year's winner.

Traveling by jangada can be an exhilarating and somewhat perilous experience. It's a rare novice that makes it back to shore without getting ill at least once. The light-weight boats are driven off the sand into the sea with a system of boards and rounded wedges. Once situated in shallow water, the mestre or captain lifts the 200-pound mast into place, hoists the sail, and tacks at an angle to the coast. Waves roll over the deck throughout this process, requiring jangadeiros to possess unusually sure balance and nerves of steel. Once in deep water, the jangada bobs easily with the sea and experienced fishermen can move about the small deck with relative ease.

In the 20th century, jangadas were adapted to include a cabin beneath deck about the size and width of three men lying on their backs. Since then, jangadeiros have been able to sleep and take respite from harsh weather. Because of the perilous size of their craft fisherman still have to wake up several times at night to make sure that no ships large enough to send off a dangerous wake are approaching. Jangadas can carry fisherman as far as 40 miles off coast and are regularly employed in 2-3 day journeys at sea. To tap the abundant wealth of the sea, jangadeiros employ every mode of fishing instrument, including nets, hooks, and traps, sometimes bringing back as much as 250 pounds of fish.

Jangadeiros tend to play down the dangers of their craft with a certain bravado when faced with questions about the risks of braving the Atlantic aboard boats that Pagina: 6 Patrick Heffernan, author of "The Jangadas of Northeast Brazil," has described as resembling a "prehistoric windsurfer."

Every year a few fishermen die from work related accidents.

Tellingly jangadeiros are quick to discuss the safety features of other types of fishing boats, but the prevailing attitude remains one of not so subtle defense of their craft and their way of doing things. "Driving is dangerous too," they will remind you, if you push too hard about their fear of the sea.

Prainha Canto Verde's success at managing development has given way to a different sort of interaction between outsiders and locals than one typically experiences in other coastal communities. Locals tend to view visitors not as invaders or usurpers, but as contributors to the community's ongoing social projects. Tourism is still new enough that it remains a novelty. Locals have a genuine and refreshing interest in outsiders. Little kids chase after foreigners to ask them in broken, giggly English, "where are you from?"

If you take a walk along Prainha's one road at the right time of day on a Sunday, it's not unusual to be invited in by local families for a hardy lunch of fish soup. Community pride and continuity make it possible for a different sort of interaction BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

between outsiders a d residents. Residents of Prainha even take pride in the sort of p ople who come to visit their community, and will tell you that th ir tourists are "different" and even "better" than the sort of riff- aff that end up spending time at more welltrodden destination', such as Canoa Quebrada and Jericoacoara.

As Joao Fernandes ilho, the owner of Prainha's only Pousada,puts it, "Most peop e here are related so we're still not used to all this coming and going...we make friends quickly and when people leave we fee saudade—Brazilian for longing, loneliness, the blues." • New economic opportunities have not come without new conflicts and contr dictions in the community. Not everyone has taken well to th land regulations implemented by residents association. "Some people just don't get it," comments Beto, with evident frustrat on, "Some people say, 'hell I was born here, why can't I build w erever I want?' They don't understand that what we're doing i Making sure that Prainha doesn't turn into afavela (shantytow In the past, fishermen would simply pick an attractive space nd build a house. The connection between curtailing this sort f development and realizing gains in health and education rema ns less than completely clear to everyone in the community.

Outside pressur s have also begun to affect life in Prainha, as families seeking r spite from northeast Brazil's chronic drought and the displacem nt of fishermen from other communities encroach ever great .r on the borders of the community. Prainha's struggle, implementing rules based development while providing decent social services, is one that Brazil has not been entirely successful at on the macro level, and communicating and maintaining that vision i a monumental task even on a small scale.

Already, change are taking place in Prainha as a result of tourism. "You sacri ice a little tranquility," says Pele, who at 57, is o e of Prainha's oldest fishermen and an emin nt leader of the land struggle. Never is this fact more self-evident than on Sunday afternoo along Prainha's beachfront. The younger gene ation mixes easily with the crowds of daytripp rs from Fortaleza and beyond who in the past ear have quickly learned to take advantage of P ainha's freshly minted road. he many beach stalls are doing a brisk busi ess in beer and cachaca (sugarcane liquor), while scantily clad crowds of locals and outsiders bounce sensuously to the northeastern rhythms of pagode and .forro. From a safe dist ce, fishermen tinker absentmindedly with thei colorful boats, and suspiciously eye the nois spectacle taking place on their beach.

"So e of them (his grandchildren) don't want to lean anything about the ways of the sea already," says Pele r flectively, gesturing across the dunes.

Not everyone though takes a pessimistic view about the changes taking place within the community. Beto likes to tell a story about his fath r who, during a period in the 1960s, briefly left the community t work as a captain on a mechanized fishing boat. During this p riod in Brazil's history, repeated economic crises and state polities that regarded jangadas as long overdue for placement in m seum exhibits had put intense pressure on fishermen to abandon their communities.

Despite the hig er pay and safer working conditions on the commercial trawler, Beto's father found that he simply didn't enjoy commercial fi hing as much as being out on the open sea in a small boat with few friends. "He came home, fixed his boat, and has not left sin e," explains Beto, "We (jangadeiros) fish because we love it. here's something about it. Out there on the ocean, no one can t II you what to do, you take what you need from the sea, and w n you come back to shore you keep the best fish for your family and sell the rest. There's something about it that makes you fe I free."

Jesse Levinson is a recent graduate of Geo getown University and a Fulbright Scholar livi g in Fortaleza, Ceara. Feel free to forward any comments or inquires to iesselevinsonAhotmail.com 39

A new CD release comes to enrich even more the already Meiada, where the title plays with the expression "o fio da meada" (the clue to the puzzle), turngreat quality of the MPB (Brazilian ing it into something like "theyarn of Popular Music). The group is called the stockings", and the singers are Ultimo Tipo, an ambiguous name that tied to each other by stockings they can either mean "the newest type" or wear on their heads. "the oldest type", with a certain preBesides interpreting their own dominance for the latter one in this compositions, Jara, Deo and Lora case, since the logo of the group is an also give new life and a touch of old VW Beetle with a flat tire. humor to songs of other famous BraUltimo Tipo is a vocal group that zilian singers and composers such uses lyrics, acting and irreverence to as Chico Buarque, Premeditando o express their ironic and good humored Creativity has been a trademark Breque, Mutantes, Roberto Carlos songs. The troupe appeared in Goiania and Erasmo Carlos, Lamartine Babo, (capital of Goias State), in 1988, and of the group Ultimo Tipo since it was Itamar Assumpcao, etc. The interacwas initially composed of the talents founded. In Cabaca Magica, for tion with their public is also always ofJara Carvalho, Deo Piti and Marisa a crucial part of their concerts, as we Damas. In 1989 it was elected the best example, they introduce to their can see in Tipo (Type), where they musical group in Goias State, and in audience the pinicocabacofone, a throw bananas and invite members 1990 Marisa left the trio and was reof the audience to play the role of a placed by Lora Brito. musical instrument composed of a train in the song "Ponta de Areia" The musical accompaniment durgourd, an iron pan and an aluminum (Sand Point Train Stop), by Milton ing the group's concerts is restricted Nascimento and Fernando Brant. to a guitar, played by Jara Carvalho, chamber pot.

For Ultimo Tipo, the connection whistles and percussion instruments, between music and theatre is very played by Deo Piti and Leira Brito. This GILSON P. BORGES strong. In 1993, the artists composed apparent simplicity is just one of sevthe soundtrack of a play called eral steps that set the mood of their Morreumas Passa Bern (It Died, But musical performances. This mood is also influenced by their costumes, manufactured by themselves It Is Ok), by Hugo Zorzetti, and acted in Aurora da Minha Vida out of recycled materials, which bring a special touch to their (Dawn ofMy Life), by Luiz Roberto Pinheiro, in 1994. In 1995, they produced A Noiva do Condutor (The Bride ofthe Conducexotic appearance. tor), an operetta written by Noel This constant state of creRosa and Arnold Glackmann, and ativity has been a trademark of directed by Nilton Rodrigues. the group since it was founded, A third important element in and can be noted in all their perthis junction between music and formances as, for example, in theatre are children, as we can Cabaca Magica (Magic Gourd), see in the following plays dediwhere they introduce to their aucated to them: Use a Imaginac do ' dience the pinicocabacofone, a (Use Your Imagination)— 1991 — musical instrument composed of Through songs composed by a gourd, an iron pan and an aluVinIcius de Moraes, Caetano minum chamber pot. Another Veloso and others, children learn interesting case is 0 Fio da

New Oldie

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that the only thing they really need to have fun is using their imagination; Circo de Lard° (Brass Circus) — 1998— A little girl, living in a very small city, experiences, forthe first time in her life, all the magic brought by a circus where a magician makes things disappear, but does not have any idea of how to bring them back; Outra Festa no Ceu (Other Party in the Sky)— 1999 — Based on the story A Festa no Ceu (The Party in the Sky), recorded on disc in 1960, over compositions by Joao de Barro, it tells how all animal's on earth are invited to a party in the sky, but just the ones who have wings can arrive there, a fact that does not prevent the frog Ado from taking part in it; and Mciquina da Preguica (Laziness Machine) — 2000 — A percussionist who hates singers because, in his opinion, they get all the attention, and nobody notices his presence in the concerts, decides to build a "laziness machine" and uses it against a fairy which, according to him, would be the one to be blamed for making him a percussionist. All these plays, as well as many of the songs in their soundtracks, were written by the members of Ultimo Tipo, and can be seen in the schools and theatres of Campinas and other Brazilian cities all year long.

In 1995 the trio moved to Belo Horizonte (capital of Minas Gerais state), and one year later to Campinas (Sao Paulo state), where they live nowadays. In Canyinas, after a "long and winding road", as the Beatles' song reminds us, ultimo Tipo has just finished its first CD, also entitled Ultimo Tipo, that was produced by the percussionist and musical director Roberto Magrao. The songs available on the CD are: Maria Vai... (Maria Goes...)— Jara Carvalho/Deo Piti.

Alice - Jara Carvalho/Deo Piti.

Palhaco (Clown) - Jara Carvalho/Deo Piti.

Mzsica Maldita (Cursed Song) - Jara Carvalho/ Deo Piti.

A Mais Nova GThe Newest Song) - Jara Carvalho/ Deo Piti.

A Tra:ida de Volta (The Brought Back Song) - Jara Carvalho/Deo Piti.

Vera - Jara Carvalho/Deo Piti„ 0 Monjolo do Seu Lindotfo (Mr. Lindorfo' s Water Mi 11)- Jara Carvalho/Deo Piti/Marisa Damas.

Trajes intimos (Underclothes) - Jara Carvalho/ Deo Piti.

Goiania - Jara Carvalho/Deo Piti/Marisa Darnas/ Jonatas Davi.

Infanta Antropojagica(Anthropophagic Infancy) - Jara Carvalho/Deo Piti.

You can get more information about Illtimo Tipo in theirwebsitehttp://uttimotipo.vilabol.uol.com.br, where you can also see many pictures of this interesting and talented troupe.

Gilson P. Borges is a graduate studentat Indiana University, Bloomington, where he also teaches Portuguese. You can reach him at gilson borges(&,hotmail.com BRAZZIL -MARCH 2002

A good ,sample of Ultimo Tipo's creativity can be seen in the songs "Alice" who is not part of Wonderland anymore, and "Musica Maid ita," which has already killed "more than twenty tenors, contraltos, sopranos and a deep bass": Alice

Alice

Alice ja nao mora aqui Alice does not live here anymore Se mudou pra Vila Mut rao She moved to Vila Mutirao* Ninguem mais conhece Alice Nobody knows Alice anymore E o seu pals de Oz agora é o Brasil And her country of Oz is now Brazil Nao tern mais o cavalo de pau There is no wooden horse anymore 0 espantalho passarinho carregou The scarecrow a little bird carried away E o homem de latas ve has And the man made of old cans Virou ferrugem vento veio 'Became rust and was carried away e le vou by the wind Alice entao adormeceu So Alice fell asleep E o principe nao veio pra beijar And the prince did not come to kiss her E aquele pesadelo teve fim And that nightmare was over Quando a vizinha veio a gritar: When the neighbor shouted: Ei, Dona Alice, vem ver o que seus Hey, Mrs. Alice, come here to see what your filho tao fazendo no meu quirtal! children are doing in my backyard! • Contudo nao perdeu a esperanca However she has never lost the hope De rever o seu cachorro Tot6 Of seeing her dog Toto again Mas ja nao sabe qual est6ria But she does not know anymore which one é a sua is her story E hoje ela tem medo daquela maga. And today she is afraid of that apple. * A Goiania suburb

Mtisica Maldita Cursed Song Cuidado corn a musi maldita A musica se virgula Am sica letal Ela se esconde urn tema Por tras de urn poema de ri a banal Matou mais de vint tenores Contraltos, sopranos e m baixo rofundo Profunda inganca Negra pajelanca de um se anormal Nao se sabe de onde ela vei se pelo correio De burro ou de jegue mas ela a ersegue os riossos cantores Mortais conclutores das floss. proezas Tristezas riquezas belezas hist6rias Simplorias a eglorias Per seculas in secul in glOria E C dessa maneira que o • se esvai E cara cai Sorrind egelado sfixiado E o povo ja s be que o pobr coitado Cornoolha vidrado Morreu engasgado porque o fraseado alern de quadrado ra longo demais!

Be careful with the cursed song The song \ ithout commaThe lethal song It is hidden in a theme Behind a poem of banal rhyme It has killed more than twenty tenors Contraltos sopranos and a deep bass Deep revenge Black page of an abnormal being Nobody knows where it came from if by mail or By donkey but it pursues our singers Mortal conductors of our feats Sad wealthy beautiful simple Stories of glories Per seculas in seculas in glOria And this is how the air vanishes And the guy falls down Smiling andcold Asphyxiated And people already know that the poor fellow With glazed eyes Has died choked because the phrasing besides being square was too long!

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Sou de Qualquer Lugar, Daniela Mercury, BMG Music. Available in most stores I must tell you that I'm not exactly a fan of Daniela Mercury, the Brazilian songstress whose new album, Sou de Qualquer Lugar (I' m From Anyplace)recently hitthe world music section of most record stores.

In fact, when the axe music (the nickname of the tropical Afro-influenced beat that came from Bahia) invaded the airwaves and the streets of Brazil, the rocker in me looked with disdain to the growing numbers of performers who poured out records at a pace that would make Motown look like a mom-andpop record shop.

When Ms. Mercury appeared about eight years ago, her sound wasn't much different from everything else that was going on back then. Her songs were basically made to be tirelessly played on the radio, especially during Carnaval. Sou de Qualquer Lugar, however, is much more pop-oriented than her earlier works. In this release, Daniela explores a variety of beats, such as electronic pop, funk, and other beats.

Take, for example, the title track, which opens the album.

Although the Afro elements are all there, the song is much more suitable for a dance floor than behind a trio eletrico (the popular moving stage which is used in Bahia during the Carnaval festivities and also during micaretas, the off-season traveling party that has already invaded our shores—through Florida).

Penned by Lenine and Dudu Falco, the song is a patriotic message in which a person born in Brazil, wherever he or she is, will always have his or her roots: Sou de qualquer lugar I am from anyplace Eu sou minha nacao I am my nation Tenho somente o sonho I have but a dream E o mapa do mundo em And a map of the world minhas maos in my hands Por onde eu passar Wherever I go Vao lembrar de mim They will remember me Finco minha bandeira I plant my flag Eu sou brasileira. eu nasci I am Brazilian, I was born assim this way

Life of the Party Other surprising track is Daniela Mercury's remake of "Mutante", a Rita Lee hit from the early eighties. The arrangement suits the song well without trying to be too creative.

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J

ERNEST BARTELDES

Other surprising track is her remake of "Mutante" (Chameleon), a Rita Lee hit from the early eighties. While the original version was a romantic song, this one is clearly intended for nightclubs. The arrangement suits the song well without trying to be too creative. As a fan of Rita Lee, I believe that Daniela's version has Brazil's rock queen's blessing.

"Aeromoca" (Flight Attendant) is another good surprise.

Penned by Daniela herself and Gabriel Povoas, it is clearly influenced by Adriana Calcanhotto, another young talent of the current wave of Brazilian singers. It is a mixture of psychodel ia and eastern sounds in which Daniela laments the fact that she can't stay with her lover because she has "to fly."

"Estrelas" (Stars) features Brazilian reggae singer Toni Garrido from the band Cidade Negra. The song, obviously Jamaican-inspired, has a nice melody despite the lyrics, which tend to be a bit naïve: Do ceu estdo caindo as estrelas Meu bem voce precisa ve-las Brilhar The stars fall from the skies Honey you should see them shine A final highlight is "Quem Puder Ser Born Que Seja" (Whoever Can Be Good, So Be It), penned by Gilberto Gil for the Eu, Tu, Eles (Me You Them) movie soundtrack. It is quite a change of pace for the record, played inforro, the recently rediscovered rhythm from the Brazilian Northeast.

Of course there are the songs that are clearly intentioned for Carnaval and micaretas. Sadly, those are the weakest—musically speaking—tracks on the CD. However, they do sound pleasant enough if you want to strut your stuff to a different beat. Some examples are Baiana Havaneira (penned by Carl inhos Brown) and the Ata-Me (Tie Me Up), which has much less sexual innuendo in the lyric than the title suggests.

Sou de Qualquer Lugar is an album with very hummable pop songs, which is a good selection for fans of contemporary Brazilian music.

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Fah Four Resung "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was the track that amused me the most. In that remake, Rita Lee took on forro. It is quite weird to listen to that kind of beat with English lyrics.

ERNEST BARTELDES

Rita Lee—Aqui, All e em Qualquer Lugar (Here, There and Everywhere) Available on world music stores. Average price: $18.

Rita Lee has always been one of my favorite Brazilian rock performers, and I have admired her work ever since I was a kid.

Her career, which began with her participation in the Caetano Veloso-led Tropicana movement—it was Brazil's response to psychedelics—in the late sixties, has spanned through decades, great moments (in the late seventies and early eighties), a downward phase (the early nineties) and a successful comeback.

Her latest album, Aqui, Ali e em Qualquer Lugar (Here, There and Everywhere) is a tribute to the band that inspired her musically and drove her into her long, fruitful musical career: The Beatles.

Aqui contains fourteen tracks in which she remade several Fab Four tracks in a very personal manner—she blended the pop feel of the songs with Brazilian sounds in a very unique, personal way. Four of the tracks are sung in Portuguese— versions penned by Rita herself after difficult negotiations in which the songs' editors (Northern Songs/Sony/ATV) only let her remake four of the songs in that language, which forced her to record the remaining tracks in the original language.

The album opens with "A Hard Day's Night"—the song that gave the Beatles' first movie its title. In Rita's version, the song reminds us of the kind of sounds developed by Brazilian guitaristJorge Benjor (known in the US for his plagiarism lawsuit against Rod Stewart) in the 1970s—a mixture of samba and electric sounds, which takes the song to a complete new direction.

Other tracks, such as "With a Little Help From My Friends," "All My Loving" and "She Loves You" are performed in a discrete bossa-nova style—much different from what The Beatles did, but not so original —other performers have attempted the same kind ofapproach to some ofthose songs. The difference in these is that Lee shows us that she can actually take yet another idol, bossa nova great Joao Gilberto—with whom she performed a number oftimes—in his own territory quite successfully.

The Portuguese versions to "If I Fell" ("Para Voce Eu Digo Sim"), "Can't Buy Me Love" ("Tudo por Amor"), "In My Life" ("Minha V ida") and "Here There and Everywhere" ("Aqui, Ali e em Qualquer BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

Lugar") do not soun too far from the original, but also with her own trademark, whi h includes quite a lot of sense of humor— something that was never absent with the Beatles.

"I Want to Hold Your Hand" was the track that amused me the most. In that re ake, Rita Lee took on forro, which is a traditional rhythm fr m the northeastern part of Brazil. It is quite weird to listen to tha kind of beat with English lyrics. However, the naiveté of the rds blends well with the beat that moves many weekend nig tclubs in the Brazilian states of Ceara, Pernambuco and ot ers.

The most impre sive track on the album is, however, one of the Beatles' most c ntroversial, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." The song b gins very much like the other bossa-novastyled tracks until it ets to the refrain, which then is transformed to an Enya-styled t ne, with all the backward instruments and that New Age feel.

Aqui, Ali e em ualquer Lugar is a great listening experience, which I recom end to all fans of Brazi lian pop music or to anyone interested i new versions of classics of one of the world's favorite ba ds.

For more info mation on Rita Lee, log on to http:// www.ritalee.com.br rnest Barteldes is an ESL and Portuguese te cher. In addition to that, he is a freelance write who has been weekly contributing to the reenwich Village Gazette since September 199 . His work has also been published by The Staten Island Advance, The Staten Island egister, The SI Muse, The Villager, Brazzil ma zine, GLSSite and other publications. He live on Staten Island, NY. He can be reached at ebarteldes@nycny.net 43

"I don't like labels, for I make the most sincere music that comes to me at the moment of composing it."

In the last three years, Brazilian music has suffered with the lack of good releases in the CD market. I have noticed two very evident trends from the major labels: live recordings and compilations. Even though compilations are good products to introduce new listeners to an artist's work or even to reissue forgotten treasures, major labels are overusing this recycling of compilations to alarming numbers. Take a look at a few of the series currently out in the market: MPB FM, Super Popular, Gerac-ao MPB, Enciclopedia Musical Brasileira, Serie Bis, Serie Bis Bossa Nova, Serie Focus, Serie Millennium, Serie Sem Limite— already in its 3rd phase!—Serie 100 Anos de Masica, E-Collection and several others.

This state of affairs becomes worse when one takes into consideration that albums out of print are not being reissued, even though the demand is there.

Compounding this problem, the labels the rights to recordings and neither reissue nor negotiate with artists ways to release their works.

This market saturation directed me to search for Brazilian music through independent artists. Finding those works can be hard at times, but the results are often worth that arduous process. There is a tremendous number of artists to be discovered out there, and there exists a new market of independent producers and musicians.

Amongthose, for example, I introduce you to Erico Baymma, born in the state of Minas Gerais and now residing in Fortaleza, Ceara..

•Self-taught pianist Erico Baymma was born in Barbacena, Baymma began playing the and moved to Fortaleza in 1970, after a period of six years in sao Paulo. Selfpiano when he was six years taught pianist, he began playing the piano when he was six years old. At 22, old. M 22, he also learned to he also learned to play the guitar on his own. Whether playing the piano or the Play the guitar on his own. guitar, Baymma has a very intimate style that displays the sensibility of the music he creates. Vocally, bossa nova is clearly the most predominant style in his ;its always been the type compositions, which perfectly tits his instrumental minimalism. who dàes a. lot of things: Besides being an accomplished musician, Baymma is also a graphics artist and video maker. This combined passion of music and video has earned Baymma Ming, sculpting, several awards in Fortaleza as well as throughout Brazil. In 1996 he began recording his album .Irtesanato (Handicraft), which was released in 1997. The e says. "I am album was nominated for the Sharp Award (the Brazilian equivalent of a Grammy) in 1998 and in 2001, for the Nelsons Award of Cearense Music. His most recent award just happened this past November 2001 with best soundtrack of "Conto Logo o Quanto Louco (I'll Tell You Now Just How Crazy)," directed by Lilia Moema, in the II Festival Nacional of VitOria (state capital of Espirito Santo). The same soundtrack had previously won the Festival of Video in Fortaleza in 1992.

In one of my visits to Fortaleza, I spent several days accompanying Baymma to various shows, and we talked extensively about his music. Always smiling and with incredible, jovial disposition, Baymma opened up about his work, influences and future projects.

Brazzil—Reading the liner notes in Artesanato, I could not help but notice a name that stood out in your thank-you list: the one connected to your artistic name. What is the story behind it?

Baymma—I was born Erico Baima Rola and turned into Erico Baymma in honor of Nana Caymmi, who was directly responsible for my artistic birth. Through her name, I pay homage to the Caymmi clan, which I so admire. Nana was directly responsible for my self-discovery, making me aware of the fact that I make music, I sing. That was extremely important to me. It changed my life around, which 44

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;0

was previously directed to banking and other administrative to flower." I belie that Jarrett's album along with Lispector's work. It is my tribute to the Caymmis via Nana because of their thinking propose certain internal and artistic freedom with musicality, which so well represents Brazilian music. various options to ollow. Everything can be done provided one Brazzll—Besides the Caymmis, are there other influ- respects the perso al, technical and aesthetic limitations. I rely ences in your work? on that idea to m ke vocal and instrumental music. I can do Baymma—My MPB (Brazilian Popular Music or Musica everything, under y conceptualization, of what I see in the Popular Brasileira) musical formation was directed by the pres- world, of what I b lieve I can give the world. I love to sing and ence of Elis Regina, Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque, Paulinho da Viola to make music—a kind, any genre within my own parameters. and Gilberto Gil. Paulinho da Viola rules as the one I would It is a shame that it s still hard to record my vocal work, probably "officially" say is my most significant influence because of the because of my int mate style. lightness and melodious tone of his voice. Tom Jobim is also Brazzil—Befo e we discuss Artesanato, let's talk about dominant, a popular songwriter whom I respect a lot. Early on, your vocal works.

I was listening mainly to Elis, Tom and Chico. Later on, Caetano Baymma—Fro 1986 on, once the artist was "revealed," I Veloso, Nana Caymmi, Joao Gilberto, Milton Nascimento and began writing voc 1 and instrumental music more diligently. I the rest of the gang came into the picture, especially after 1979, already had severa songs, but I did not think they were worth when I was living in sao Paulo and had the opportunity to see recording. After m return to Fortaleza in 1989, I got closer to live shows and get to know more performers. local talents after t e first big impact of listening "Consolanca" Nowadays, I am paying more attention to independent (Comfort) in Apar cida Silvino's voice and Eugenio Leandro's productions. The numbers of excellent artists not being cov- acoustic guitar. It ought to myself that I belonged in that group ered by the media are outstanding. I include here the great Ze and it'd be worth hile. I began writing more frequently. There Luiz Mazzioti—his rendition of "Bambino (Voce Nao Me Da)" was some prejudic in me regarding the marketing logic and how is very moving—Ernesto Nazareth and Catulo da Paixao music is sold. Me ting Aparecida and Eugenio opened up my Cearense—whose works I more recently studied in depth—and eyes to the value nd beauty all around us being forgotten by Monica Salmaso. These are first-class performers besides be- the market and pub ic in general. Today I am more open to those ing very meticulous when choosing their repertoires and ar- discoveries and a more aware of the quality of music making. rangements. There are, of course, many other names in the arena My first song p rtnership was with Glicia Rodrigues in 1992. of jazz, such as Billie Holiday, Shirley Horn and, more recently, "Beco sem Saida" Dead-End Alley) was recorded for the album Diana Krall. I love their way of singing and how their sound is celebrating the 10 anniversary of Cais Bar (see discography produced. Horn's piano playing is fantastic with unparalleled and lyrics), a pub w ich promotes talents making music in Ceara. subtlety. I could not forget to mention Chet Baker. I used to sing That song entered he 1994 Festival Canta Nordeste. The song more or less like him and have now delved deeper into his happened almost accident, when Glicia Rodrigues gave me musical world. one of her poems. e were in an art gallery, and I had my guitat In instrumental music, my idols or sound influences include with me. In less th n half an hour, the music was ready. She was Philip Glass, Uakti, Egberto Gismonti, Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno thrilled, I was thril ed, and so was everyone else. Some people and Jan Garbarek among others. Their presence became stron- talked about the ha monies I had chosen. Since I have no formal ger also in 1986, when I was introduced to musical minimalism technical backgro nd, everything happens by instinct. Only and contemporary jazz. later did I realize he preciousness of the melody in the backI particularly pay attention to sound production, to the form ground of the bea tiful poem by my friend Glicia. that music "happens," the spice that turns an idea into music Brazzil--Fasci ating! Is that natural process what hapconcretely. When I say I am influenced by this or that artist, I pened with "Qual uer Dia" (Some Day)? am talking about how each one with his or her personal style and Baymma—As or Felipe Cordeiro, we had been friends for the way they produce their music gave me "my contents" and many years. Howe er, I did not know he wrote or played music. added to my way of thinking. One album that was fundamental I knew he liked usic, and soon we became partners. For in my formation as an instrumentalist was Keith Jarret's Kiiln "Qualquer Dia" th music had already been written. A friend Concert. His musical freedom expressed via improvisation and wrote some lyrics, but I didn't like them. I then showed Felipe intense emotions gave me the ability to fly anywhere. the music. It work d, even though the words were not along the By the same token, I see myself completely influenced by ideas I had propos d. I wanted to talk about free love and he any art form, such as literature, as in Clarice Lispector's and Jose chose to talk abou the pain of love. (laughter) Nevertheless, I Saramago's forms of expression, which are liberating and yet liked the lyrics ye much. Maybe he chose to write those words reflexive and amoralist in their never-ending questioning. I because of the mel dy and its lament. The harmony had a minor believe that those things induce freedom or its quest, and they descending tone fo its base. My intimist voice might also have affect me in various ways profoundly and mainly musically. contributed.

That is the way I think, and that is why I identify with those Brazzil—By th way, this intimist style is a very noticeable authors. characteristic in our performances. It is as if a part of you Brazzil—ls minimalism precisely how you define your would be pouring ut in the notes of the song. Those two song, music?

"Beco sem Saida" lyrics by Glicia Rodrigues) and "Qualquer Baymma—I love music and arts in general. Musically, it is Dia" (lyrics by Fe ipe Cordeiro), are gorgeous and, yet, very easy to define me as a minimalist or new age or world music. different from w at we hear in Artesanato. It is as if Erico Honestly, I don't like labels, for I make the most sincere music Baymma, the sing r, were different from Erico Baymma, the that comes to me at the moment of composing it. That is why musician. Do you have distinct processes of writing instrusome of the vocal music I perform is classified as bossa nova, mental and vocal usic? since it is an intimist musical form, not to mention that I am also Baymma—In oth areas of my work I mix popular and influenced by that genre. Nevertheless, in both musical scopes, erudite, urban and ural concepts always attempting to translate instrumental and vocal, I strive for the absence of tragedy and my instinctive and intimist way of expression. I also see in my the most expression of emotion—if it is at all possible to avoid songs an influenc of Maysa (Matarazzo), who was deeply tragedy expressing emotion. (laughter) I like music that does not melancholy and "c liente" (which is a paradox), as well as some struggle to call attention—which exists, absorbs and moves jazz, which I like. simply by being. That is the music I search for.

It is interestin your observation about the music in my Brazzil—How do you reconcile your vocal and instrumen- voice. I believe yo r assertion is accurate. Between each and in tal artistic veins? every note, I give myself to the emotion, and then there is Baymma—I mentioned previously the determining influ- renewal. That is hat I was talking about when I mentioned ences of Kaln Concert and Clarice Lispector among others. Maysa. Add to that little bit of Chet Baker. Maybe I'm a mixture Recently 1 had the opportunity to get in touch with Lispector's of those two. (lau hter) In instrumenta compositions I'm also intimist, but potenthinking more deeply through an interview she gave to the Brazilian TV Educativa in the 70s in which she said she "wanted tially more diverse nd open. That is what happens in Artesanato, BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

45

of being solely a singer/songwriter lingered on, and the project kept being put off.

Some people were of the opinion that I should have only one path: that of being a performer and writer of songs. For those people, their generalized idea left no room for alternatives. I've always been the type who does a lot of things: writing, painting, sculpting, dancing. 1 am restless. (laughter) How could I fit the idea of being only one thing? With a lot of patience—immense patience!-1 slowly started my mini-studio and began recording in a rudimentary way, like handicraft, even though I could have used minidisks.

Through overdubs, I composed the sound you hear in Santa Cecilia in which several faculty members wrote lyrics to be set to music by local musicians. You just finished Artesanato. Of course I'd have loved to have made Artesanato recording the song "Sonho Desfeito" (Broken Dream) for that more acoustic, with a grand piano (such as the Steinway I played in sao Paulo, with a fantastic sound and every note music in project. Was it much different from Artesanato?

Baymma—That CD was a challenge for everyone. Santa itself!), orchestra and other instruments. Nevertheless, to make Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians. The high school joined Artesanato "synthesized" was the way I found to accomplish forces with studio lracema—the same producers of Cais Bar— my work. To be quite honest, I like the result very much. It could with the intent of getting the faculty, who had no prior musical have been better, but it can always be better!

Thanks for your kind words about the CD artwork and liner experience, to write , music. The high school staff and studio producers selected the lyrics. The studio then decided which notes. That is yet another side of me: I work with graphic arts.

It is a challenge to accept the CD artwork composers identified better with concept because there is also that idea of each poem. The results were fan putting the artist's face on the CD cover. tastic, and the album came out in As with everything else, the work of an November 2001. We took the artist has to follow the concept of his work lyrics from people we did not more than having the image of the artist in even know and turned the words order to make his work concrete. The cover You can hear Erico Baymma's music at into music. The CD was very mp3.com/EricoBaymma. Artesanato is sold at has two meanings. The first is based on a eclectic and plural in every way.

Caravan Music (vvww.caravanmusic.com). story about Picasso. The story says that Valda Maia, who wrote the words Picasso used to spend hours in front of a for "Sonho Desfeito"—I wrote CDs: blank wall until he discovered the form he (Independent, e Sombra the music and performed the Erico Baymma: Imagem would give it to make a mural. in production) song on the CD—was very That is more or less the way I compose.

Erico Baymma: Artesanato (Independent, VICD happy with the final result of her 1487), 1997 One can imagine the CD cover as a wall poem becoming music. Aroldo being sculpted in layers. Among those AraUjo arranged it for the CD. Vocal participations in: layers, you can see faces and in the backThe album has some great gems, Alano Freitas (Independent, in production) ground a human torso—no head, arms or such as "A Poesia" (Poetry), by "Sax Dorido" (Hurting Sax) 8C`Cancao no Jardim" feet—in a sensual movement, very proTonico Lacerda Cruz and music (Song in the Garden) vocative. The other meaning of the cover and performance by Isaac CanFaces (Independent, 2001) is the ocean waves breaking on the sea -Sonho Desfeito" (Broken Dream) dido. There is forro, jazz, choro, shore, with Ceara white sandy beaches and Felipe Cordeiro: Outra Esquina (Independent, everything! green water highlighted. Thus the relation1999) As for .-Irtesanato, it was "Qualquer Dia" (Some Day) ship with the ocean theme on the CD. really a labor of patience and Pessoal do Cais Bar—Novos Compositores e Brazzil—Artesanato begins and ends much care. I spent a year recordInterpretes do Cearci (Independent, CAIS-95), with the same theme, "Reflexiies" (Reing the music at home, working 1994 flections). You connect that theme to Philip on the sounds, mastering and -Bee° sem Saida" (Dead-End Alley) Glass, urban sprawl and continuous movefinally editing the album. It was ment. Could it also be linked to the ocean, also a great challenge. The first Video Soundtracks: the other theme found in Artesanato?

Conto Logo o Quanto Louco (I'll Tell You Now challenge was the production Baymma—"ReflexOes," as I explain in Just How Crazy) (Direction: Lilia Moema) and then the release. I am thankBest soundtrack, II Festival Nacional de Vitoria, the CD liner notes, was a theme written for ful to two great friends as execu2001. a TV show covering philosophy, arts, politive producers, Rita Faco and Best soundtrack, Festival de Video de Fortaleza, tics, daily routine, etc. As I have said beAlexandre Santos. Without their 1992 fore, I identify myself a lot with the thinking assistance, the album would 0 Alvo (The Target) (Direction: Lilia Moema) process of Lispector and Saramago—two likely still be shelved.

Best soundtrack nominee at FestRio Ceara, 1994 "compulsive" thinkers—as well as the There is a tremendous differ.11 music of Jarret. However, I am not into ence in the process of producing I. academics. Quite the contrary, I run away Artesanato. The music was born in me of different times and places, but from within my world, my from that subject, even though I consider myself a thinker. As ideas, whereas "Sonho Desfeito" was written "to order" in such, I am constantly trying to keep myself up to date in the way record time. In both propositions, I was very satisfied and of being and thinking. I am urban. I've had a few chances of enjoyed the challenge. It is a challenge to be an artist anywhere experiencing the rural, and I like it.

I respect time as a norm: each second is different, but that in the world, and we don't choose who we are.

Brazzil—W ell, let's talk more in detail about Artesanato. doesn't suggest the urban neurosis of frantic movement, but How was the idea for the album born? Incidentally, the cover rather a slowing down of the movement. I see that in Philip Glass and Uakti, among others, and my proposition is just that: mainly artwork and liner notes you designed are really well done.

Baymma The music started being written in the early 90s, to see music and art as the best way of using time, the most right after my return from Sao Paulo to Fortaleza. A few were respectful way of living and cohabitating with time. My new CD, written before that time. I had the fixation that I would be only Imagem e Sombra (Image and Shadow), ends with these two a singer/songwriter of songs, just a vocalist. However, the tracks: "Triunfo do Tempo" (Time Triumph) and "Refletindo e music kept being born on the piano, and they didn't have lyrics. Vivendo" (Reflecting and Living). The ocean is the sign of work I don't even know that they could! The music stayed in the and confirms that world vision.

Brazzi1-43 Trem do Din" (The Train of the Day) is a drawer for a while because I wanted to record them on a good piano, which is something hard to access here in Ceara. The idea mixture of an electronic universe with regional elements,

where I propose a musical journey that comes from a concrete, superficial world and enters the intimism, more explicit in "Caca Submarina" (Undersea Hunt). In previous tracks, there was already some preparation for the internal chaos. Then there is the rebirth.

I believe I am coherent with my production. With vocal pieces, each song exists by itself, whereas in the instrumental numbers, there is a conceptualized trip internally. The work is a whole, but that does not preclude each piece from existing separately.

Brazzil—I am aware of the high school project for Colegio

DISCOGRAPHY

46

BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

which you refer to as "batidas tribais" (tribal beats). Can you elaborate more on that?

Baymma—As I said it before, Artesanato proposes an introspective ritual. "0 Trem do Dia" is still on the surface. It's my Mineiro (native of the state Minas Gerais) side speaking of "trem beio" (a Mineiro expression to denote something really good). It's also the fantastic side of Brazilian culture—maybe global—with the image of a train as a means of transportation. A train has a nostalgic ring to it, doesn't it?

"0 Trem do Dia" has this type of sound very urban and universal, sometimes similar to the sound con- ELi cepts of Jean Michel Jarre and Vangelis. Through that image, I begin to bring the listener into intimism. That is largely used as a technique (as in psychological works) to activate the movement of emotions through strong rhythms and cadenced and repetitive beats that induce one into a trance—thus the tribal connotation—leading into introspection. The whole process opens up to a self encounter and an encounter with the world. That song and its tribal beats prepare the listener to other moments in the album.

Brazzil—The next two tracks, "Iracema" and Carlinhos Crisostomo's "Litoral" (Seaboard), bring a noticeable change in style, now more acoustic and classic. The lyrical tone of those melodies inevitably makes us think of Chopin and Debussy. Your hands seem like they're floating and barely touching the keys.

Baymma—Let me just emphasize I'm not a connoisseur of classical music, and I can't really give a more technical opinion about this and that piece. I love erudite music, which I began to enjoy after CDs appeared on the market—better sound, less hiss and clicks. I know many people still love the sound from an LP, but I can't stand the needle friction and the resulting noise that comes from that. I love Chopin, Debussy and Ravel. Lately, I've been listening a lot to Debussy and Ravel. I wish I had the grandiosity of those composers! (laughter) Brazzil—Please tell us a bit more about "A Nave" (The Ship). For me, that is the most Chopiniesque of these tracks.

Baymma—Certainly. Since I wrote that piece and started playing it to other people, everyone kept telling me it was Chopin's. I'd smile with pride. I did not write it thinking of copying Chopin. To write music, for me, is something completely intuitive. I've taught myself how to play the piano and can't read music. The sentiment of Chopin's music must have been there when I wrote that piece. That must be it. It is a very passionate piece with tendencies and influences by Chopin, but it would never have the grand feeling of the music by that genius. "A Nave" is probably one of the best pieces I've written for piano, and it follows the same path of simple and repetitive harmonies found in minimalism, even though the melody here is more fluid.

Brazzil—The theme about the ocean, ships and fish does have a central point in Artesanato. How about the vivacious theme of "Os Peixes" (The Fish)?

Baymma—Within the ideas for the CD, the form to follow for gradual introspection was obtained through the elements found in the city of Fortaleza, Land of Light, and her wonderful beaches—a city and piece of land I love and have chosen to live in. "Os Peixes" is my dedication to the children I've known in my life. There is a certain oriental flavor, but it is also very vivacious and frolicsome. Since I was describing a path, it was essential that I speak of the joking manner that fish seem to have in their existence. In my vision, they look like toys. Furthermore, in the introspective path I've proposed, I believe that there has to be a rupture of the tension or else people will drown! (laughter) Brazzil—In "0 Mar" (The Sea), you refer to Jan Garbarek's "sonorous ideas." The melody grows in astounding progression.

BRAZZIL -MARCH 2002

Baymma—Those artists I cited as my influences are not just because of their techniques and sound production, but also for the feeling that overflows and with which my work identifies. I became acquainted with Garbarek through the album It's OK to Listen to the Gray Voice. (I had heard him before in some special appearances in Egberto Gismonti's albums, but that was the album I "found" him.) Two songs I especially like in that album: "White Noise of Forgetfulness" and "Mission: To Be Where I Am." The album is completely intense, but those two pieces melted with my thinking, not only because of their titles but also for the compositions t emselves. "0 Mar" shows how intense the ocean is, similar to he movements of life: quiet sea, rough sea.

The identification ith Garbarek's music is in the intensity and progression of the ay he plays the sax, generating a variety of emotions all compl te in themselves.

Brazzil—"Cac Submarina" (Undersea Hunt) is for me the most visual oment of Artesanato. You seem to have captured the enti e undersea world. Jules Verne becomes music.

Baymma—I Ii your comparison! I had not thought about that possibility. "C ca Submarina," as I mentioned in the liner notes, was born as a ignette for Vikking Eggeling's "Symphonie Diagonale," from 1 24, in which he shows the deconstruction of images. The mus c lasted just a little over a minute. The idea stayed in my mind. I had to write more about it. 1 gave in and submerged into th thought.

It's interesting.t notice that when I was masterizing the CD, I had some friends ver one night. As we watched TV with the sound off, the albu was playing in the background. At the very moment that "0 M "began until "Caca Submarina" ended, the images on TV wer that of rough, tempestuous seas. We were all surprised at how well the music fit those images! It is a very hard piece, I know. However, I do believe it's one of the best moments of the C as a whole and as my proposition to "flower," as Lispe or said.

Brazzil—Youh ve two feminine inspirations on the album.

First there was "I acema," a legendary female character in Brazilian literatur Now we have "Venus." How did that piece originate?

Baymma—Fun y, that was another piece I wrote in half an hour—composition, arrangement, recording. I started experimenting with sound , adding here and there... It was a moment of peace, rooted in odern jazz and ballad. The music is vibrant, insinuating and als has that Venus characteristic oftotal love.

Even though I don' give credit to considerations about sexism, I recognize that ce am n pieces do have feminine inspiration.

Brazzil—One c uld even think about a mythological trace in your music.

Baymma—Cert inly, I work with signs and myths, a little bit instinctively and a ittle bit rationally. Mythology is the best form of representat on of the human personality and its diversity. 1 like talking ab ut humanity, its feelings, visions or images.

My next album as the title Imagem e Sombra (Image and Shadow), and it is a so presented gradually from the stand point of the character A darilho (Pilgrim), from a poem in Scott Mutter's "Surration 1 Images." The verses go like this: "I'm a Pilgrim on the edge, on the edge of my perception, We're always travellers at the ed e, on the edge of our perceptions." There was a certain block during the character translation and understanding of the con ept of my work. Pilgrim can have different meanings in Portug ese. I wanted to talk about being free, as all of us are when e're born, and the process of learning and our relationship wit the world. It is the story of one person and of people.

Brazzil—Theso g written by Eugenio Leandro and Oswaldo Barroso, "Consola ca" (Comfort), perfectly fits the spirit of 47

Beco Sem Saida (Erico B aymma/G lic ia Rodrigues) Que desejos sat) esses que insistem e aos poucos afloram como cantigas de ninar V i eram de longe, restos de urn tenro olhar Dias antigos de muito aninhar Que desejos estranhos Imagens distraidas dos passeios e caricia,s a beira mar iguais aos primeiros quando aindatinhamos o que caminhar

Dead-End Altair What arethese desires That insist And slowly come to surface Like lullabies They came from far away, left-overs From a tender look Old days With lots of cuddling up What strange desires Distracted images Of strolls and caresses At the sea shore Similar to first times When we used to Whretgo

0 civet°, o frio, a noite he cigarette, the Oates de chuvana sacada Remnants of rain on Olho a lua refleticla j.look at the moon re ladrilhosflaealcada On the sidewalk tile tie ttoonteceu Look at what happeit Both of us, you and m e va* e eusit s eja s'543q6s, s voce Ambos There's flu emptiness enimim ess My heart still keep setredos A l] the warmth of y emos So many dreams we lived sem ter medo Endlessly without f j. flua aus'encia ,Today noseu silencio ushes lin seu coracao Tour heart pulsates in me O meu coracao parou naquela horn i'ky heart stopped at that hour Quando eu scnti nos is, ,olhos ,,r,When I felt in your eyes pr .What was lost forever o ctue, se' perdea , The cigarette, the dawn , 0, a leflecte4moonlight 41 iernembrance of your fa vtda Wbat todowtthrny life olhasdVete

48

e a look at this mess ves in the wind

your work. As with the other more acoustic pieces, "Consolanca" is very soothing, like a child's lullaby.

Baymma—It is intriguing this vision of calm songs. Sometimes they are labeled as new age. I recorded that piece because I adore Eugenio Leandro's melody and Oswaldo Barroso's lyrics. I also like the arrangement I wrote for the song very much.

I hope to record a vocal version of it in my vocal album. The arrangement for "Consolanca" fits the scope of my work as instrumental music and completes the trip from the superficial to a deep immersion in itself. It is reborn through Venus. The lyrics say, "If the rivers dried up, don't cry no, the waters of the ocean nobody will dry them." Though no words were used in Artesanato, the song "comforts" and eases the feeling of this traveler.

Brazzil—S peaking of vocal works, I have heard several of your special vocal appearances in other artists' albums. I've also heard you sing live. So, when is a vocal album being made?

Baymma—I've had a project for a vocal album for years. It'd be my interpretations of Brazilian classics, songs from Ceara and others I wrote alone and with friends. I'm also searching for music. I'm going through a rigorous searching process, and I want to make an album that looks very much like me. Who doesn't want that? (laughter) This is a time for growth as well as research. The search is very rigorous and the criteria strenuous. We have to find the right path. I want lyrics, I want music, I want ideas even if I already have some conceived somewhere in my head.

Brazzi1-1 recently had the privilege of hearing your sing "Summertime." Your ability to personalize songs outside the Brazilian songbook is remarkable. Are you going to be in charge of the arrangements in this vocal project you have in mind?

Baymma—This interpretation of "Summertime" was recorded for a video produced by a group of teachers and U.S. film producers members of the Partners of America program. It dealt with the way of living in the Brazilian northeast countryside.

That song was chosen as a modern symbol of the Brazilian northeastern lament mixed with the foreign culture through U.S. vestments and development norms.

I truly believe that we must personalize our interpretations.

Everything must look like the face of the person doing it.

Because of that, it takes me a lot of time selecting what I'll sing since I want something that looks and sounds like me and the my I think. I also do the same with Brazilian music. Sometimes, k'hen singing a Brazilian tune, people will only recognize the song later on with the refrain. That happened not too long ago, when I was singing an old forro (a northeastern musical genre) written by Carlos Santos. The song is "Quero Voce" (I Want You), which I arranged like a bossa nova tune.

I have a° peculiar characteristic: my identification with the music first before noticing the lyrics. Therefore, a song can be Brazilian, North American, European or whatever nationality. If include it in my repertoire, I'll sing it my way. That is why I tell I my musician friends that they must personalize what they do, bring it to their own style and arrange the music under their own concepts.

Probably in my vocal album I'll work in partnership with an arranger, but the end result will have to sound like me, have my ound stamp., Brazzli—Erico thank you very much for sharing these eas about you and your music with us.

Baymma—I am the one who should thank for the wonderful opportunity to share a little bit of the ideas that circle in my mind and motivate me to compose and play the music I make. This was a gift for me, especially since as an independent artist and also an instrumental performer, it is very rare that we are given a chance like this to expose our ideas and motivations surrounding instrumental music. It was a pleasure talking with you.

Egidio Leith() has written for Bossa—Brazilian Jazz World Guide, JazzTimes and Luna Kafe. His feature column "Terra Brasilis" appears at Caravan Music (www.caravanmusic.coml and BrazilMax (www.brazilmax.com).

A native of Fortaleza, Ceara (northeast Brazil), he lives in Austin, Texas, and can be contacted at egidio(&,ccwf.cc.utexas.edu BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

enfant terrible Gerald Thomas. With Fabi ana Guglielmetti, Amadeo Lamounier, an Marcos Azevedo.

A Descoberta do Mundo (The Discovery o the World)-Based on Clarice Lispector' (1920-1977) book of same name. Afte firing the maid a lonely woman, GH, decides to clean the house and reflect about her own life and the world. All the actresses pla simultaneously the same character. Directed

by Marco Antonio Rodrigues, with Cie Magalhdes, Fernanda Castello, Julia Ianina, Lilian Damasceno, Paula Weinfeld, Talit Ortiz and Thais de Medeiros.

Novas Diretrizes em Tempos de Paz (New Directions in Times of Peace)During the Second War, a Polish refugee tries to get his Visa to stay legally in Brazil.

Written by Bosco Brasil, directed by Ariela Goldmann, with Jairo Mattos and Dan Stulbach.

Dovies Just-released or re-released American movies: The Glass House (A Casa de Vidro), Gosford Park (Assassinato em Gosford Park), Training Day (Dia de Treinamenta), Se Correr o Bicho Pega, Se Ficar o Bicho In the Bedroom (Entre Quo.° Paredes), Black Hawk Down (Falcdo Negro em Come(If You Run the Beast Will Get You, rry Potter and the Sorcerer's If You Stay the Beast Will Eat You)-A Perigo), Ha new mise-en-scene for Oduvaldo Vianna Stone (Harry Potter e a Pedra Filosofal), and Ferreira Gullar's play from 1966. Monsters Inc (Monstros S.A.), Moulin Mocinha, a flirtatious daughter of a politi- Rouge (Moulin Rouge - A,mor em Vermelho), Shallow Hal (0 Amor E Cego), The Princal boss fall in love with Roque, a scoundrel who unwillingly ends up becoming a hero. cess Diaries (0 Diario da Princesa), The Directed by Antonio Pedro, with Leandra Man Who Wasn't There (0 Homem Que ,Não Estava La), Cradle Will Rock (0 Poder Leal and Murilo Rosa.

Vai Dan car), Lord of the Rings (0 Senhor Fim do Jogo (Endgame)-Classical Samuel dos Aneis), Ocean's Eleven (Onze Homens Beckett's text in which two men, a blind and a cripple take discuss the human condition e um Segredo), The Royal Tenenbaums (Os in a tragic-comic manner. Directed by Fran- Excentricos Tenenbaums), Small Time cisco Medeiros. Actors Edson Celulari and Crooks (Trapaceiros), A Beautiful Mind Caca Carvalho take turns-every week it (Uma Mente Brilhante) changes-interpreting the two characters.

Um Porto para Elizabeth Bishop (A Haven Latitude Zero (Latitude Zero)-Brazil/ for Elizabeth Bishop)-A monologue in 1999-Lena, who is pregnant and lives in a which American poet Elizabeth Bishop, who lived in Brazil between 1952 and 1967, tavern by the road, gets involved with a talks about the Brazilian people and her former policeman after being dumped by convoluted love affair with woman archi- her boyfriend. Directed by Toni Ventura, tect Lota Macedo Soares. Regina Braga is with Debora Duboc and Claudio Jaborandy.

Bellini e a Esfinge (Bellini and the Bishop.

Cocegas (Tickling)-Several women pro- Sphinx)-Brazil/200l-Detective Remo Bellini gets involved with a prostitute, who voke laughs and compassion while talking about their stressed life. Ingrid Guimardes helps him, while trying to find a mysterious woman. Directed by Roberto Santucci, with and Heloisa Peri sse wrote and interpret all Fabio Assunedo, Malu Mader, Maristane the different characters.

Dresch. Based on Tony Bellotto's novel.

Avassaladoras (Dominatrix)-Brazil/ 2001-Comedy. The growing up of Laura 0 Homem do Sobretudo Escuro (The Man who has to learn how to deal with her with the Dark Overcoat)-Based on Agatha desires and impulses. Directed by Mara Christie's short stories. A young couple Mourdo, with Giovanna Antonelli, Reynalwho owns a boarding house in England is do Gianecchini, Caco Ciocler, and Rosi visited unexpectedly by a police inspector. Campos.

Directed by Silvio Tadeu and Ina Carvalho, Duas Vezes corn Helena (Twice with Helwith the troupe Cia. Target de Teatro. ena)-Brazil/200l-Love triangle involvDeus Ex-Machina e os Super Ex-Herdis ing a woman, her husband and another man. na Terra do Impotente Viagra Falls (Deus The trio gets together in two different occaEx-Machina and the Super Ex-Heroes in the sions, 30 years apart. Directed by Mauro Land of the Impotent Viagra Fall)-De- Frias, with Fabio Assunedo, Christine spite the title, this is a drama about an Fernandes, Carlos GregOrio, Claudio Correa Indian who is expelled from his tribe after e Castro and Duda Mamberti. being seduced by deconstructionism and LavouraArcaica (Archaic Tillage) Released post-modernism. Written and directed by in English as To the Left of the Father-

III

SAI PAULI

BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

Brazi1/2001-The story of a Lebanese family in Brazil. One of the sons feeling oppressed by father, smothered by mother and sexually attracted by sister leaves home.

Based on Raduan Nassar's novel Lavoura Arcaica. Directed by Luiz Fernando Carvalho, with Selton Mello, Raul Cortez, Simone Spolidore, and Juliana Carneiro.

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lam looking for desktop publisher, copy & art advertising, mailing list broker, printing services Direct Mail Service-Marlene Soares (626) 453-075 1 Los Angeles (CA) [189]

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USW TICKET TO BRASIL * Bosse Nova and Brazilian Jazz group *www.tickettobrasil.com [203]

'ewspapers , ragannes Jornais e revistas do Brasil. Recebemos jornais diarios e todas as principais revistas, incluindo masculinas e femininas. Tel. (954) 785-2131

"oman See S man Best Case Scenario - Attractive, warm, sophisticated, soft-spoken, slender 5'5" American ex-pat (Denmark) finds cosmopolitan European/Brazilian/ American man, good soul, bright, secure, trim 56-63 for love inside friendship. (323) 851-2767 janessecret@yahoo.com [188] Educated DWF mid age +, attractive brunette, green eyes, petite, 128 lbs. Lover of Brazilian music, travel, country living, beach, people, good food, more, Seeking nice gentleman Brazilian or American/Euro. Medium figure, no vices, Christian believer, good sense of humor, outdoor lover. lam an American citizen and financially stable. Write, send picture full body to PO Box 87, Eagle Creek, OR 97022-0087 (Laura) [185] Brasileira, 35 anos, morena, atraente. Falo Portuguese Ingres. Procuro brasileirodeascendencia africana em Los Angeles, educado e culto. Enviar foto. E-mail: pmgutier@aol.com [185]

Educated, pretty Brazilian lady iso nice semiretired man. We'll teach English and enjoy beautiful • nature in Maceio, Brazil, most of the year. Write to 41 Sutter #1033 San Francisco 94104 [180]

ersona an ee s unman

Brazilian bottom, 33 ylo, 55", 123Ibs, white skin, seeks black, young top man who wanna move to Brazil and share a whole life. Valdeck - Phone 011 5571 981 1990, valdecka@hotmail.com [163]

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51

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same viewpoint.

The Argentinian side of the Falls was another big 'WOW'. We saw many rainbows as the sun shone through the thunderous spray. Took a boat trip to the base of the Falls and got well-soaked! After that the boat took us down through white water rapids for amile or two and dropped us off on a small beach, where there were hundreds of yellow butterflies—what a sight. (They seemed to be feeding off minerals in the sand.) A safari truck was waiting to give us a guided tour through the jungle, returning us to the starting point of our tour. Our clothes soon dried off in the heat.

After a brief visit to a Craft Centre we were taken back to the airport where we changed into some fresh clothes for the next leg of our adventure north to Manaus, Amazonia. What should have been a direct 4/2 hour flight to Manaus that afternoon (according to the Airtours brochure) turned out to be a 13-hour marathon via Sao Paulo, Brasilia, (then a change of plane), Porto Velho and—in the early hours—Rio Branco, (back of beyond, it seemed) where we were then fogged in for two hours! We finally arrived at Manaus at around 5.30 am the next morning. Then it was half-an-hour by coach to the river, followed by a 45minute boat trip that finally brought us to our jungle lodge in the Amazon Rainforest, where we arrived in torrential rain (!) This gave us another soaking! It did not matter as the rain was warm. Sleep deprivation really kicking in now.

8th September After less than 2 hours' rest, we were up again for a boat trip to visit a nearby monkey sanctuary, set up by the Living Rainforest Foundation, where spider, woolly, squirrel, and -red-faced" varieties came to greet us—one sat on Tony's shoulder. It's very hot and humid here, but bearable. The animals can roam freely, (only the babies are caged for their own protection), but all will eventually be rehabilitated into the deeper jungle. Either they have been orphaned or their habitat destroyed. Having said that, it must be made clear that the Brazilians are totally aware of the jungle being the 'lungs of the world' which must never be destroyed. This is why Eco-Tourism is now being actively promoted, so that money can be earned, whilst preserving the natural environment. Back to the lodge (Amazon EcoPark) for lunch, followed by a short siesta.

56

Off again on a high speed motorised canoe for a one-hour trip to visit an Indian village—'Caboclos' people, a mix of Indian/White—very beautiful. The children were of course, very curious.

This community lives very basically from the river and local plants, but do grow some manioc (tapioca) and fruit. They are virtually self-sufficient, and only need to acquire enough money for coffee, salt and soap. I bought a bread basket made by -Maria", aged 34, mother of 8 children and one on the way. One of her daughters, aged 14, already had one child.

They do not marry, but form a reasonably stable long term relationship.

Interestingly there are more girls than boys, so the boys often father children with several girls. At dusk each evening the women have to gather up the children, chickens, and everything else into their small family houses, away from jaguars, pumas and marauding all anacondas! As dusk falls at 6.00 pm each day, and there is nothing else to do, there are quite a lot of children!!

Back at the lodge we had a most delicious, exotic supper (and more caipirinhas!!) followed by a performance of traditional Amazon `13oi. music and dance. The band and dancers were excellent, again great rhythms and costumes, the girls were very beautiful, (caféau-lait in colour)—Tony fell in love that night! In fact, Brazil is full of very beautiful people, many of whom are of mixed race and colour over the 500 years since the arrival of the Portuguese, African, European and many other peoples. On this occasion it was my turn to join in the dancing at the end! At 5' 7" I was several inches taller than these 'petite' Indians.

Back to the lodge for bed at a reasonable hour. Although basic, we nevertheless have the luxury ofen-suite, h & c and airconditioning! (all eco-friendly, of course). And as for the dawn chorus, you've got it—Wow! 9th September Yet another early start, but anticipation for the next adventure (all-day river trip) helps maintain the momentum. (That and the increasingly attractive prospect of chilling-out at a luxurious Bahian beach resort for ,our second week!) Every exotic fruit you could think of for breakfast. The dining room is an open veranda style, and we were frequently joined by parrots and macaws! Yup, can't believe it, but the pictures in the brochures are true! One green parrot, 'Laura', could say hello in several languages, and when coaxed would also

sing and samba to the song -Brazil"! All these birds are wild and free, but very tame when it comes to tit-bits! More exotic birds, flowers and trees in the surrounding jungle, including hummingbirds and various lizards. Thankfully only tiny spiders, much to Tony's relief!

The sights and sounds of the jungle both day and night are quite magical. (Wow!) The river-trip down the Amazon headed for the place where the rivers SolimOes and Negro meet, and being different colours and temperatures, the waters, once met, travel alongside each other without mixing for five miles— one river is black and the other coffee/ cream. All part of the magic of the Amazon. Had lunch (and caipirinhas) at a floating restaurant on Lake January, then went on a raised wooden walk through the jungle to a giant lily-pond, where we saw young caiman (1.5 m long) being fed. An Indian boy, aged about 9 or 10, had followed us along, carrying a young 'pet' sloth, quite clearly to pose for photographs and, hopefully, to be paid.

Many children, in fact, ply tourists in this way, some in canoes, holding various young animals such as monkeys and anacondas. We then returned to the lake to a floating craft shop, bought some gifts for the family, and an 'Amazonia' baseball cap for me. (Impulse purchase?!) It ivas a very hot and humid 35°c. Next on the agenda was a motorised canoe trip up Lake January, and into the I garapes—j u ng le creeks—where we saw iguana, and many different birds, including those ofthe kingfisher and heron family. Still no spiders!

Returned to the Lake (still baking hot) for an hour's piranha fishing, and Tony caught a red-bellied piranha, around 8" long. This was carefully unhooked by our Indian guide who then demonstrated to us the sharpness its teeth by offering the fish a small twig, which it snapped in two like a bread stick. This piranha was returned to the river, but others took their catch back to the lodge to be cooked for supper.

Back to the riverboat for the twohour return trip to the lodge. Spotted pink dolphins, and also `Greenpeace' vessel in Manaus harbour. Watched a distant thunderstorm ahead getting ever nearer—eventually we met it head-on and the rest of the journey was in torrential rain. The thunder and lightning were like we have never known before. The river also became extremely choppy.

These rainstorms happen once a day for about an hour, then the rest of the time it's fine. Supper (more caipirinhas!!)

BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

then aquiet evening before much-needed sleep. Two large (pet) tarantulas were apparently let loose in the restaurant area that evening, but luckily for Tony, he did not see them!!

10th September Decided to keep this morning very quiet, opting out ofa jungle walk in view of the next long journey that would immediately follow. Quiet time also needed to re-order our suitcases, (much rummaged) and thus our brains, as we had not been able to unpack for a week. I took a stroll round the beautiful grounds taking photos, intrigued by the fruit of the cashew-nut trees lining the pathways. (Not so much 'Acacia' as 'Cashew' Avenue!) Tony enjoyed a relaxing cold shower, and then it was farewell to Amazonia for the final leg of our tour. I asked our guide, Paulo, to teach Laura (the parrot) the bossa-nova for our next visit!

Our flight from Manaus to Salvador, (via Brasilia), due at 2.30 pm, finally took off at 6.30 pm, (pilot apparently ill—a replacement had to be found) and so you will guess we missed our connection in Brasilia. With no further flights that night, arrangements were made, very efficiently, for us to stay overnight (courtesy of VASP Airlines). Just another aspect of our adventure if somewhat unexpected.

The hotel was very swish, The Nacionale, and we did feel just slightly grubby walking into dinner with all the dignity we could muster, having just emerged fresh off the plane from Amazon territory in shorts and T-shirts! A couple of caipirinhas and who cared, anyway? In my very limited understanding of Portuguese, I managed to translate a plaque indicating that HM The Queen and Prince Philip had opened the hotel in 1968.

11th September Early dawn revealed a hazy, pink sunrise which cast a mellow glow over this concrete capital, and from our fifthfloor bedroom window, we could just make out the top of Brasilia Cathedral.

The morning flight to Salvador was not only direct—oh, joy!—but reasonably punctual (i.e. only 30 minutes late). Had a wonderful view of the Rio Sdo Francisco.

As our coach turned into the palmfringed drive-way through beautiful Bahian tropical gardens leading to the Praia do Forte Eco-Resort, we could

BRAZZIL - MARCH 2002

barely contain our excitement and ticipation that this long-planned- r -paradise on earth" dream was about o become reality. Our courier's mobi e phone rang, and visibly shaking, he sto • d up to speak: "I am ,afraid I have so e terrible news " Couldn't take it in, of course. s numb as the rest of the world. Once n our room we forced ourselves to swit the TV on to CNN "just to get the b sics", but no chance of 'basics' with th s wall-to-wall US news-channel. Soo found the off-switch.

The general consensus among th guests was that, yes, it was an appallin • tragedy, but we were here on holiday. and as the days passed and more new trickled through, we, along with th world, had to resist the disruption it wa designed to cause. (In retrospect, w thought the pilot being 'off-sick' i Manaus the previous morning was a bi spooky, but no repercussions there) What! thought was very touching and interesting perception, though, was th Brazilian hotel staff saying how sor they were for us (the English) becaus the Americans are our friends. All the Brazilians we met are really lovely people.

The Praia do Forte Eco-Resort is just the most fantastic place. Described as Brazil's 'Polynesian Paradise', everything is so beautiful, exotic and colourful.

The sights, sounds and flavours all hit the senses full on. Flowers, birds, monkeys, lizards, cicadas, azure sea, silver sand, palm trees, and international food judged in a survey to be the 'best on the planet'. Many Brazilian guestshere, (the more affluent ones, I would guess) and there are girls (and guys!) from Ipanema' everywhere! WOW, WOW, WOW! The lilting Portuguese language is also most attractive and almost as sensual as the music. In the bar they play Brazilian CD's, Joao Gilberto, Caetano Veloso, etc,—magic! There was also a guitarist singing and playing by the pool area in the early evening. As we entered the 'Goa' restaurant for dinner, a live duo was playing 'Wave'. Couldn't believe it. It was more than we had ever dared to dream it would be.

The weather is hot, and we have breathtaking sea views from our

room. After a week of living out of a suitcase, it was luxury to unpack and have our belongings in some sort of order, instead of burrowing into cases for everything from sandals to sun-cream!

The staff are delightful, friendly and plentiful, and it shows in the way every corner of this beautiful complex is so neat and clean and cared for. The waitresses dress in traditional Baiano costume, blousy tops, billowing white lacy skirts, flowers in their hair and lots of beads. More beautiful people. Don't get many of them down our High Street! All the meals are buffet-style and the choice is gobsmacking. Live duo each evening, .then later on a samba-band in the pool area. All excellent. Brazilians know how to samba—it must be in-bred, as even small children have "the walk-! First proper night's sleep since we got here.

12th September Our 37th Wedding Anniversary, and where better to spend it? We walked to Praia do Forte village (15 minutes) and found some delightful little art and craft shops. Bought a few gifts, plus two bottles of cachaca from the local supermarket at £0.75 ($1) each (£17—$24—each in UK and hard to find at that). A very hot day. Reminiscent of India in many ways.

Another memorable dinner in the fantastic 'Goa' restaurant. The beer and fresh fruit-juices are inclusive—just try a delicious chilled double water-melon hiball. Pure nectar. Very sleepy this evening. Eithertoo much heat or cachaca or both!

13 September After a heavenly breakfast we walked to the village again and visited. the TAMAR Project—Turtle Sanctuary. The whole beach for 12 km along past our hotel is a protected turtle breed7 ing area. Saw some tiny recent hatchlings awaiting release into the ocean. We bought fresh roasted cashews— scrummy! On our way back through the village, we also bought a berimbau, the musical bow instrument with a metal string and gourd resonator.

The shop-keeper demonstrated how the sound is made with 'a stick, a stone'. (I start

57

humming "Waters of March") Opa!— How do we carry it home? (carefully!)

Also bought more camera-film (4 rolls used already!) Time is passing in a relaxed, gentle manner. Received delicious basket of fruit from the Hotel management for our anniversary. Asked the duo after dinner if they knew -Corcovado", and managed eventually to convey to them that we were asking if they would play it tomorrow (amanhei). They nodded enthusiastically.

14 September The sun rose at around 6.00 am as usual on another crystal-clear morning.

A busy day planned, relaxing by the pool, and taking photos of the beautiful grounds. It's a tough life! Sipped fresh coconut milk while watching the more energetic doing aqua-aerobics, although my foot got some exercise tapping to the music! Must take samba lessons—it's not just the hips, it's the footwork.

Tried the local Bahian speciality "acaraje" (spicy bean cutlets) for lunch.

Cooked with shrimps in the rich, strong dende-oil, it was really not to my taste.

However moqueca de camareio (prawn stew) was quite delicious, rather like Prawn Korml Took a short siesta (my first in a hammock). As I gently rocked in the shade of our patio, I looked up at the azure sky, listening to the rolling ocean, watching monkeys and yellow birds 'up high in coconut tree' and uttered a hushed `Wow!' Pinch me, someone! Have asked resident biologist to provide us with a check-list for local bird life. I adore the poetic Portuguese name for humming-bird—"beija-flor" (flower-kisser).

Dinner was yet another gastronomic delight. Infinite choice and as much as you want. The music duo obliged us with -Corcovado" and "Girl from Ipanema", sung and played beautifully and directly to our table. This is where I want to be I Exchanged a few pleasantries with them afterwards, courtesy of one of the staff who acted as interpreter.

wearing a multi-coloured `rasta' wig!) A game of water-polo followed. Mostly exuberant Brazilians who clearly enjoyed the game, shouting "Ole!" at the slightest opportunity. It was hilarious to watch their antics—great entertainment.

Then at 1.30 pm was Water Axe (pronounced 'ashay') exercise-class with appropriate regional Axe music. Same instructor—he must be the fittest guy here! Picking up various words of Portuguese—discovered after several attempts to order Rum and Coke, that what I should have been asking for was "Cuba Libre". In reciprocation, I taught the waiter the English word 'rum' which in his Portuguese pronunciation came out as 'hoom'. We're both learning.

That evening after dinner, we were treated to the fascinating and colourful spectacle of a Capoeira Show—a fastpaced and heart-stopping demonstration of martial art/dance of African origin, accompanied by spellbinding traditional drums/percussion. On the walk back to our room, it seemed some small 'rocks' had appeared in the gardens that we hadn't seen before. Closer inspection revealed that they were actually huge toads! (around 9" long).

16 September Our last full day of luxurious relaxation and pampering—we could get used to this! Made a few more gift purchases, then I took one more swim in that beautiful water. Began the process of reluctantly packing to go home. Enjoyed every last mouthful of our final spectacular dinner, this time accompanied by a different musical duo—a girl singer and keyboard-player, who were both excellent, highly-talented and with an undeniable jazz feel. They were gentle, nonintrusive and played lots of bossa stuff much to our delight, and obviously also that of others. Many people stayed on in the restaurant to listen after they had finished their meal, including us. The perfect ending. Thank you, God. 17 September

15 September Another glorious day. Got our birdchart from Sergio. There are so many lovely birds here, and we hear more than we see, I'm sure. Saw green lizard— about 10" nose to tail. Enjoyed a lazy swim before lunch. The pools are seawater, very soft and caressing, and of course, beautifully warm. The aqua-aerobics instructor continues to entertain his class with verve and enthusiasm, (often

Completed our packing, having to reactivate our dormant brains to decide whether items were for case or cabin.

Took one last stroll around the breathtaking gardens, then settled in the bar to complete the hotel questionnaire and await our coach back to Salvador Airport. One question asked "Would you come here again?" Our answer of course was "yes". Next question: "Why?" Answer: "We have found paradise!"

No travel problems had been predicted, but on arrival atthe airport for the evening flight home, we encountered an enormous queue which had accumulated due to obvious extra security on baggage checks. Just one more 'adventure! The upshot was—all luggage into the hold, including flight-bags. Having stretched our brains already that morning, this almost totally phazed us, and we just had time and presence of mind to retain one or two bits like travel documents, medication, etc. Tony was mostly concerned about his two bottles of cachaca which were now about to be sent on their way into the hold! A 'Fragile' label was provided and we just crossed our fingers and hoped.

We arrived safely at Gatwick next morning, (grey skies, pouring rain, and 13°—yuk!) but with the inevitable further delays, again due to security. We had to sit an hour in the plane after we had landed as there was no gate for us (everything was `backing-up'). As the baggage eventually arrived, damp patches appeared on the carousel. "There goes my cachaca!" thought Tony, but it was actually only rain off the cases, then—yes! the cachaca arrived intact, as did the berimbau, which had clearly travelled "percussion class" and was wheeled in with several others on a special trolley!

Although we are home, we have spiritually still not touched earth yet. Our trip of a lifetime has been exhilarating, exhausting and unforgettable, our travels during the first week being the equivalent to a tour of Europe. Each area was like a separate holiday and every one a gem. Two months later, we are still buzzing with our experiences, and those who know us say it shows. Brazil, how we miss you, but caipirinha is soothing the Cheers! saudade And as we promised Rio—the cidade maravilhosa—we will be back.

Liz Ashton, the author, is a part-time secretary to an Archdeacon in the Church of England, and also a semi-professional jazz singer with a particular love of Brazilian music. She is married with three grown-up daughters and two grand-children.

Contact her at liz(&,ashtonl.clara.co.uk or check her Web page: www.ashtonl.clara.net

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