Brazzil - Year 9 - Number 143 - November 1997

MUSIC: CHORO WITH A MIKE MARSHALL TASTE

Vear 9 — No. 143 — Novem

BR/US: BILL CLINTON'S INCREDIBLE TRIP

INTERNET: THE TROUBLE WITH WIRING BRAZIL

BEHAVIOR: THE REWARDS OF GETTING NAKED

TOURISM: WILD-WEST TIMES IN ACRE & RONDONIA

SPECIAL: LIFE IN THE FIELDS OF BRAZIL

SHORT STORY: "TARCISO" BY DINAH SILVEIRA DE QUEIROZ

ACOMPANHE EM DETALHES 0 QUE ESTA ACONTECENDO NO BRASIL RECEBENDO GLOBO EM CASA OU NO ESCRITORIO. Edicao completa do GLOBO* a partir de apenas

$13.00 mensais** por dia da semana escolhido, corn entrega em qualquer cidade dos Estados Unidos e Canada.

LIGUE GRATIS HOJE MESMO PARA

1-800-985-8588 E FAA JA A SUA ASSINATURA

ANUNCIE NO BRASIL NO GLOBO Ligue 1-800-985-8588 para a Multimedia, Inc. e conheca as otimas oportunidades para aumentar seus negocios corn o Brasil e corn os brasileiros.

GLOBO 0 Brasil todos os dias corn voce

* Menos Classificados

** Promocao por tempo limitado. Aproveite!

is now fully indexed and bv, available for research and reference in electronic format on in Ethnic NewsWatch, a full text ge eral reference database of the publications of the ethnic, riinority and native

CDROM

.

press, dating back to 1990?

is one of[more than 180 newspapers, magazines and journals reflecting the ethnic, minority and native Compiehensive access to ihe ethnic and minority press in America— newspapers, magazines, journals English and Spanish.

D.Irodery La Oa le rm.

1.

Mao

Ohyr.

Lt.+

V•••.1••-• Co1

YAW

to-mi .11.44,Affil

SOFTWARE SY

press (African American, Caribbean, Arab and Middle Eastern, Asian American, Eur pean/Eastern European, Hispanic, Jewish, Native American and M ti-Ethnic) that are now part of the Ethiic NewsWatch database.

For the first time Ethnic NewsWatch gives you fast and easy electronic access to more than 270,000 complete articles, editorials, columns, book, movie, and theater reviews (and more) reflecting the ethnic diversity of America. And, with Ethnic NewsWatch you have news, culture and history with the other sides of the stories.

NOW Ethnic NewsWatch is available in academic, public, school and government libraries nationwide.

Ask for

atazji

and Ethnic NewsWatch on CDROM at your public

library as well as local high school and college libraries.

For more infomiation, contact SoftLine Information, Inc.

20 Summer Street, Stamford, CT 06901 • (800) 524-7922 • Fax (203) 975-8347

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

SAYEGH PROMOTIONS PROUIEY PRESENTS"

NEW Y4111325 EVE PARTY EEHBRATION BRAZIbIlIN STYLI WEDNESDAY BEEEMBER 3 1 , 1997 "

••• 11107141

DRESS EBBE: WHITE St WHITE

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY WITH

TICKETS: $25 (DINNER INCLUDED) AT THE DOOR: $30

BRAZIL 'N' YOU DJ AND FOR THE FIRST TIME APPEARANCE

TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR RESERVATIONS:

"OS SONIQUEIROS GROUP" "THE HOT BEATS OF BRAZIL BAND"

15621863-3463

DON'T MISS THIS EVENT! COME AND CELEBRATE WITH US TO WELCOME THE NEW YEAR 1998!

Vtv Ptans 4

1410T1( fflG.HTc IM 1110

alto availalile:

• All major credit cards • Same day shipping Call 1-800-750-1941 MONDAY—FRIDAY • icAM-7PV

Brazil Carnaval '97

45 45 45 45 45

• Separate versions for Windows 3.1x or Windows '95!

• Works inside your favorite Windows word processor, application, Windows Write, Notepad, WoniPad and more!

• Thousands of words, phrases and translations with all parts of =T fully identified! There's nothing like it ANYWH • Translate to/from English or Brazilian Portuguese word-by-word and phrase-by-phrase. Spell-checks in either language!

• Over 20.000 Portuguese verbs and verb phrases! (Ill size) • Three different sized bi-directional English-F3razilian Portuguese dictionaries available: • Ill = 143,000+ combined entries--US$ 174.95 + US$ 5.00 ail • II = 80.000+ combined entries—US$ 124.95 + US$ 5.00 s&ii • I = 40,000+ combined entries—US$ 69.95 + US$ 5.00 s&ti • Separate Conjugation Utility available to help conjugate 15,000 regular Portuguese verbs in the dictionary! (included with III size). It adds thousands and thousands of words!

• Includes Portuguese grammar help (in English) and English grammar help in Portuguese)!

• Customize your dictionary by adding your own minds, phrases and translations—for business or personal correspondence.

• Speech Utility with iltfindows 15 version to help you practice your pronunciation of English or Portuguese!

Mail, phone or fax your order today or call (303) 329-8716 for more eft-matron. We accept

Mai-AerCard and checks & money orders in US Dollars drawn on a U.S. bank Credit 45 Visa orders must include type of card, card number, expirabon date, signature, address and 45 card phone number. Shipping &handling via First Class Mail $.5 00 in the USIC anada —$1750for 45 egistered Air Mail delivery elsewhere

-s

45

A-VD Internationai

;5

Visit our website at www.a-vidinternational.com

EVAlitiAN PRIUGVCSE Mention this ad and receive a 10% discount!

or send checker money order to 729 8th St. SE • Washington, DC 20003

-s

Word Translator., for Windows

Absolutely the most gorgeous bronze Brazilian beauties captured on video.

• $19.95 + $4.00 S/H • Both just $34-95 + $4 5 / H

te spell-ChM'

45

Translation Experts USA PO Box 18035 • Denver, CO 80218 (303) 329-8716 • Fax (303) 388-

VISA.

ii. ii .

11 I, t101i1111

4 BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

Was it all a farce concocted by the Brazilian intelligence to extract as many concessions from the White House as they could? Some Brazilian analysts would support this theory.

Just a few days before Bill Clinton's November trip to Brazil, the local media was inundated by bad publicity against the United States and its arrogance. A document from the Commerce Department, which for months was available on the Internet, was the fuse that started the ensuing unilateral war of words. The paper didn't have

any outright lie, but it talked about "endemic corruption" in Brazil.

Veja, Brazil's most traditional and most read weekly magazine, calred Clinton a "street-vendor president, playing hardball to make Brazil buy what it does not want." With the same passion and lack of criterion that it attacked the U.S. the media then started gushing over Clinton's charisma and statesmanship when the Yankee President turned on his charm, stating among other things that Brazilian Alberto Santos Dumont and not the Wright Brothers was the real father of aviation.

In all this story, the American press had a less than commendable behavior.

It showed once again that it could care less about what happens in the world's eighth largest economy even when its

11

CONTENTS

http://www.brazzil.com President is there trying to get business. News of the visit was relegated to inside pages when it was mentioned at all. During the press conference given

by Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Clinton, the American journalists not even once asked a question from the host President and among the questions not even one had to do with Brazil. They were more interested to know how the scandal-plagued President was reacting to news from home. Talk about news.

Talk about manners.

R.M.

35

Cover

Travel

The car boom is just starting

Rondonia and Acre like in the Old West

18 Charm

39

Clinton and the Pope dazzle Brazil

23

Music Cover by Aylan Mello

Internet

Mike Marshall, Yankee greatest chortio

On line with a vengeance

28 Short story

Dinah Silveira de Queiroz's "Tarciso"

31 Short story

Helena Silveira's "Aida Arouche Magnocavallo"

43 Rapidinhas 16 Letters 46 The Cultural Pulse 47 Por at 49 Classifieds 50 U.S.A. Calendar 52 That's Brazilian

Music

Judith Kay: Brazil for inspiration

54 Special

Rural unions and the State, an uneasy relationship

Send mail to: P.O. Box 42536 - Los Angeles, CA 90050-0536 Ads/Editorial: (213) 255-8062 - Subscrip.: (21 ) 255-4953 Fax: (213) 257-3487 - WEB page: http://www.b azzil.com E-mail: brazzil@brazzil.com

TIME TO RENEW? Sorry, we don't send reminders. Look at the label to know when your subscription ends.

ns / Book Review: Bondo Wyszpolski / Publisher and Editor: Rodney Mello / Entertainment Editors: Sam & Harriet Robb 0096- Valeria Mendes (Calendar)!

Music Editor: Bruce Gilman / Representatives: MIAMI: Nosso Guia (305) 374 eshopping.com.br BRAZIL: Celso Sawaia (011) 885-9288 E-mail: csawaia@br.hom BRAZZIL (ISSN 1091-868X) is published monthly by Brazzil - NOT mailing address: 2039 N. Ave. 52, Los Angeles, CA, 90042-1024. Periodicals is $3 (three dollars) in the U.S., $15 in Canada Postage rate paid at Los Angeles, CA. Single copy sold for $2. One year subscription for 12 isspes and Mexico, and $18 (surface mail) in all other countries. No back issues sold. Allow 5 to 7 weeks to receive your first issue. You may quote from or reprint any of the contents with proper copyright credit. Editorial submissions are welcome. Include a SASE (self addressed and stamped envelope) if you want your material mailed back. Brazzi/ assumes no responsibility for any claims made by its advertisers.

POST MASTER: Please, send address changes to: BRAZZIL - P.O. Box 42536 - Los Angeles, CA - 90050-0536

5 BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

Pretty in Pink In Nhandeara, a little town of 15,000 souls in the interior of Sao Paulo state, the municipal administration seems to make its mark by the color it paints the city's properties. In the last 15 years the official color in town has changed from yellow to green to blue.

And nobody complained until the new mayor, Oedina Aparecida da Silva ColOsio, 52, decided to repaint everything pink. She has received even death threats from the machos in town.

After one year in power.

ColOsio has already turned pink the facades of public buildings, the municipal vehicles' bumpers, and trash cans. Next in line are the church and the gardens that will soon receive pink roses. ()Mina's cabinet room seems more like a I3arbie house, with pink curtains, pink folders, and pink trash bins. The mayor signs with a pink pen, and naturally dresses in pink, as does her receptionist. She also confided to having eight pairs of pink bras and panties.

The rumor that she was buying 2,000 pink men's briefs for free distribution almost provoked a revolution. The rumor proved to be unfounded. Some of the men in Nhandeara are worried, however, that their city will be known as a gay town like Campinas in sao Paulo or Pelotas in Rio Grande do Sul. "Nonsense," says the mayor, who has three "macho sons." "A human being's first residence is his mother's uterus. He who does not love pink does not love his own mother."

Naking It Would you like to get ahead in Brazil? Try taking your clothes off. Pretty-face and jobless Debora Rodrigues, 29, was going nowhere and getting no respect while taking part as an activist in the noisy demonstrations of her colleagues at the MST (Movimento dos Sem-Terra--Landless Movement). All of this has changed since her naked body became the cover attraction of the October issue of the Brazilian Playboy.

Separated from her husband, she didn't have the means to take care of her two children— Jacqueline, 11, and Joao Paulo, 9. Now, the former tractor driver, after getting her $20,000 check from the magazine, has her kids back and is getting more offers ofjobs and business opportunities than she can handle.

She was again invited to disrobe for another men's magazine for double the fee she got from Playboy, but this was just the beginning. Debora has already appeared playing a prostitute in A Indomada (The Untamed Woman) a prime-time novela (soap opera) at Globo TV network and was also invited to act in Mandaearu, another spicy novela, at Manchete TV network.

The MST has expelled Rodrigues from its ranks since her magazine peeling. Joao Pedro Stedile, the president of the movement, has accused the former muse of the MST of prostitution, which made the new-found model and actress cry during an interview on TV. Answering her critics, she defended her right to show her body and make money with it. "I didn't sell my body, I've just sold an image," she stated.

But there were some celebrities who came to her defense, including Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, president of the PT (Workers' Party) and twice a runner-up in the presidential elections. "The MST should be proud of Debora," he said, adding: "She has two children and a pretty body."

Since the Playboy debut, the former landless belle has graced the cover of other magazines.

She also posed in panties and bra for a magazine campaign for lingerie manufacturer DuLoren. In the ad, Debora is shown soaked in milk, while the double-entendre-laden, risque copy says: "I learned to love milk at my little cousin's farm."

Can't Spell Relief If you need a public bathroom in Rio, which has a population of 5.3 million people, and have to wait before everybody else relieves himself, it might take three years or more

6 BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

before you get your turn.

That is because the city has only one public restroom for every 167,000 residents.

It is then for sheer necessity that the "marvelous city" sometimes seems and smells like an immense latrine with people relieving themselves on trees, poles, back of buildings, and secluded alleys.

In a recent article, Jornal do Brasil found out that for 1,600 squares and 50 parks in Rio there are only 9 restrooms in working order.

And in the 24 stations of the subway, which transports 350,000 people a day, there is not even one bathroom.

At the beach the situation is a little better. But maintaining these places can be frustrating for the authorities. The administration is now refurbishing the restroom at the Parque do Flamengo. Vandals invaded the place, filled it with graffiti and took the sinks and toilet bowls.

Wit* 11. PV**1.100

A RitRitiii

gaz

DE DEBORA

Who's Second?

In January, the prettycountry-girl-turned-star will be launching a line of products with her name. Before then, however, she has plenty to do. A TV commercial for an aquatic park and a calendar for a label company, for example. A TV station wants her to anchor a rural-life program, a toy company suggested launching a line of toys bearing her name, and at least three recording companies have invited her to record a CD. Debora is seriously thinking about running for office. And what does the new celebrity think about women who go to bed with a man just to get what they want, weekly magazine Manchete asked her. "I think they are...To be honest, I even admire them because I am not that brave."

A long-lasting feud between the Mesquitas and the Frias, the clans that control 0 Estado de S. Iaulo and Folha de Selo Paulo , the two traditional and m st important daily papers in Sao Paulo, has flared up a ew with barbs flying all over.

Coming from behind, Folha that prints m re than 1 million copies on Sundays compared to a little less than 800 thousand for the rival, has been able to ov rcome its arch-enemy, printing as much as double the c pies of 0 Estado on some days. For a time, Folha has Is° been getting more ads than the competition. In one field, however, victory continued elusive: the lucrativb Sunday classified section. But now the Frias' family p per guarantees that this last bastion has fallen.

0 Estado didn't take this news lying down, however, and went into the attack with full-page ads ii its own pages and in magazines. In one of them, the 11 -year-old institution states: "The second paper has been beaten so much in the last 75 years that it ended up getting used to it." And then, with the help of a graphic, 0 Est4dilo, as it is friendly called, informs that it published 1944 more pages of classifieds than the competition from January to September of 1997.

In a two-page spread, the offended paper rebuffed: "The Folha published 40.1 percent more paid classified ads than the second newspaper. But they have printed more pages of classifieds. That means that they are leaders in wasting paper."

In Rio, 0 Globo and Jornal do Brasil, the city's most respected papers are also at odds. Badly losing he war for the audience to 0 Globo— the daily belon s to king maker Roberto Marinho, the same man wh owns the near-monopoly Globo TV network empire Jornal do Brasil started a very smart, but not too subtle, war of nerves for the minds of the readers.

The underdog has been publishing pictur s from the recent non-democratic past of the country an taking the higher moral ground. In one of these piece , students protesting in the streets are face to face wit a hostile police force. "Where was your paper that day "has been the solitary and constant punch line in eve y ad. The implication being that the other paper always avored the men in power.

0 Globo has responded by tooting its ow horn in a piece that says: "We have shown the truth of a guerrilla, we questioned the Lamarca case (guerrilla leader killed by the military), we unmasked a robbery with pictures, we put Peace on our front page and now we can talk about more pleasant subjects like prizes." And then it lists several prizes for design and content that the paper has won in the last two years.

Rivalry among publications are second nature in Brazil. Reporters are taught not to mention names of other publications as not to give them free publicity. So it is common to see references to "a national magazine" or "a local paper" without ever spelling its name. Veja and Isto E, the two national weekly magazines also live up in arms and they do not pronounce each other's name unless it is something so bad that it might help bring the foe's circulation down.

I.

Making Room While the rest of the world has been ostracizing its obese people. Crist6vam Buarque, the governor of the Federal District, has signed a law requiring that all cultural room and spaces in Brasilia have at least 3 percent of its seats reserved for the overweight. All buses also need to reserve a minimum of one seat for the obese. The law must be implemented in 120 days.

Not That Bad

.1

A new research work by USP's (Universidade de Sao Paulo) Faculdade de Saade Pablica (College of Public Health) intends to shed new light on the street children phenomenon in Sao Paulo.

The study, based on 390 interviews with the families of these kids, revealed, contrary to common sense, that for the most part the parents of street children are employed, have their own home and are poor, but not miserable.

Some numbers: 77.7 percent of the families live in

7 BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

houses with running water, public sewer, and electricity; 66.8 percent own the house they live in; 62 percent of the parents have only one or two children, and 74 percent of the kids lived with their legitimate parents when they opted for the street. Conclusion of the study: street kids are not the product of dysfunctional families, but of the lack of public places for leisure and culture.

Dropping Names The latest issue of the American magazine "Foreign Affairs" presents a list of the 62 most important books for the world intelligentsia written since 1922. The compilation, organized by a group of scholars, presents the usual suspects with a little surprise: the inclusion of two Brazilian authors. They are Gilberto de Mello Freyre (1900-1987), with Casa Grande e Senzala (The Masters and the Slaves) and President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and his work Dependencia e Desenvolvimento na America Latina (Dependency and Development in Latin America).

The Brazilian President scored another international hit by being listed by American magazine Vanity Fair as one of the 65 more powerful world leaders. Cardoso appears in 26th place, before the Dalai Lama, Fidel Castro, Bill Gates and Pope John Paul II. "Cardoso, 66, has moved Brazil away from decades of political and social repression and reintegrated it into the global marketplace.," the publication wrote. The Vanity Fair list includes another Brazilian: Roberto Marinho, the owner of the Globo media empire, whose TV network is the fourth largest in the world, losing only to ABC, CBS, and NBC, the three main U.S. TV networks.

Illustrated Man He adopted as his artistic moniker the name of a Bahia pap that he loved. Renowned painter and illustrator Caryl* born Hector Julio Paride

1.11 The Rat that Roared Don't try to find any logic or coherence in Ratinho, 41, the newest rising star of the Brazilian airwaves. Mixing interviews with politics, screams against the national corruption, and stories with child molesters and sanguinary gangs he has become a hit among the poor and a cult figure to some from the middle class and the intelligentsia.

Some critics have been hailing him as a faithful mirror of Brazil's dichotomy. He was just the target of a bidding war among all the major Brazilian TV networks that appreciate his clown-cum-bully style. TV Record won him over with a $100,000 a month salary and a package of benefits.

Born Carlos Massa in the interior of Minas Gerais, Ratinho got his nickname when a child. He recalls always being rejected by his peers when he wanted to play with them with a "get outta here, ratinho (little rat)." Lazy, Ratinho as a child used to fake that he was working on the fields in the state of Parana while his siblings sweated their shirts.

Not too crazy about books and school either, he tried several odd jobs: butcher helper, farmers' market salesman, country music presenter, police reporter and councilman for three terms, one of them in Curitiba, capital of Parana state. "I talk like the people on the streets," he says recognizing his precarious grasp of the Portuguese language. "I am the most common of mortals, an empty guy."

His Ratinho Livre (Free Ratinho) show can be surrealistic. The TV presenter has been brandishing a nightclub as a Don Quixote—even though his chubby persona is closer to that of Sancho Panza—fighting real and imaginary foes. In one recent program he smashed his own fax machine before the cameras when it didn't work properly. The stories follow one another without any apparent order. And Ratinho can be more than just annoying. While recently interviewing live a guest from the Landless Movement the showman took the man's hand and examined it to check if the guy worked hard. His conclusion immediately conveyed to the audience: "He only has some shitty little calluses." emory

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore The recent conversion of Rio's Casa Rosa (Pink House) into a restaurant and bar called Projeto Casa Rosa was considered so newsworthy by Jornal do Brasil, the most respected and traditional paper in town, that it made the subject the cover story of "Domingo", the newspaper's Sunday slick supplement.

AlStS r Stilted. do Cass Ross. I rosts '1Si:rm.:sits do 44o, 4,1r Ps.tirlistrnollis Casa Rosa, on Rua Alice, 550—according to smr, metre r raw Ur rsstrutants some, Alice was the name of the first owner of the place—has been in decline for many years, but starting in the 30s until its glory days in the 50s, the place became Rio's most famous whorehouse, being frequented by the powerful, the rich, and the famous. Legend has it that in some special afternoons clients were pampered by high school students in uniform. Casa Rosa had the best sex money could buy, including the imported product, which came from Poland, Denmark, Japan, and France.

House Representative Fernando Gabeira from the Partido Verde (Green Party) suggests that the place be marked as a historical building. History professor, Milton Teixeira, has asked that the neo-colonial building be expropriated by the government and converted into a museum. And famous old men talk with nostalgia about their experience on the super large and luxurious beds from Casa Rosa and the special lavaboes used by the courtesans before and after the love session.

Oswaldo Sargentelli, 73, the man responsible for the world-renowned Oba-Oba show, reminisced to the Jornal do Brasil: "The beds they had there were ventilated spring beds. The bed didn't shriek, you were the one who did it." Drault Ernanny, 92, a senator during the 50s, says that he saw many important figures having fun at Casa Rosada, including minister and Ambassador Graca Aranha.

Business started to go down on the 60s with the spread of pleasure motels around Rio. The sexual liberation of the 70s was an even ruder blow. Massage parlors, sauna houses and a number of free-lance call girls announcing their product on the classified section of the major daily papers was the final nail in Casa Rosa's coffin. In the last 10 years its remaining prostitutes couldn't get more than $15 for a half and half.

Rua Alice, 550

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

Barnabe in Argentina, had become one of the more illustrious Bahianos when h died of cardiac arrest on October 1st, at age 86. He was taking part in a religious ceremony at the he Axe Opo Afonja candomble terreiro (temple). He had been drawn all his life by the Afro Brazilian cult and created a vast gallery of candomble gods. "I love the AfroBrazilian religiosity." he used to say. "I love its modest and humane gods who have to face today these contemporary terrible and voracious gods that are technology and science."

A resident from Bahia since 1950, Carybe was naturalized Brazilian in 1957. Of all his titles, he was the most proud of the one given him by the candomble hierarchy: Oba de Xang& There is no higher distinction in the religion.

Carybe, who called inspira tion "nonsense," had been working at several simultaneous projects until his last day. He was able to live form his drawings and paintings, which can fetch as much as $30,000. It was in the drawing department that he" excelled. He illustrated books

by Jorge Amado, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Mario Vargas Llosa.

Not So Rosy The opposition has gained an unlikely ally. He is Antonio Ermirio de Moraes, 69, the owner of the Votorantim Group, a holding company with activities ranging from aluminum to citrus concentrate. Until recently. de Moraes was a staunch supporter of the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration. "The problem with the administration," he told weekly newsmagazine Veja, "is that after three years it still hasn't done anything in the social area." Re-election is not going to be a walk in the park, the Votorantim chief stressed. "We are facing a deep recession and there are no jobs," he added. Ermirio de Moraes should know. He

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

Carla in the picture she sent...the couple... Carla now -

rnn

E-Love Story In less than one month, former beauty queen Carla Patricia Coelho, 29, and jobless college dropo t Flavio Oliveira e Silva, 37, lived a fairy tale roma ce that started with a chancy meeting in an Internet c at room and ended up with the couple being chased by t e police of several states in the Brazilian Northeast and t en were caught after leaving a trail of 38 bad checks in hi tels and shops.

Oliveira e Silva, after being detained, is out if prison on bail. From all the evidence, Coelho was just gullible victim who fell for all the sweet lies of her vi ual Don Juan. "It was love at first link," she told r porters, adding: "No woman was more loved than I no more deceived." She did her own deceiving thoug . When asked to send a picture of herself she mailed one taken eight years ago, when she was still a 21-year old gorgeous girl 40 pounds lighter than today.

But this little cheating was nothing compa ed to the story Oliveira e Silva concocted. He portrayed imself as a rich farmer who traded in bovine semen and to prove how wealthy he was, the fake millionaire eve sent via computer pictures of what he said was his Lear j t and his properties.

They were talking eight hours a day on line and were having virtual sex. The passion burned so fa 't that on October 2, 12 days after their first virtual e counter, Wolf and Little Bunny—these were their nick ames on the Internet—met in Goiania, capital of Goi's. Bunny paid for the ticket with the promise that she ould be reimbursed as soon as they met. Wolf had e erything planned for a big honeymoon spree. Disconne ted from the world, they started a tour of the best beach resorts in the Brazilian Northeast.

What the former Miss Mato Grosso do ul didn't know is that the money she was spending so la ishly was her own. Wolf had stolen one of her checks fr m Banco Real and transferred $10,000 to her Banco o Brasil account. What he told her, however, was that is proxy was taking care of everything and had deposite • $10,000 of his money on her account. She even insisted that she called her bank to confirm that the money had been deposited.

The police caught with them on October 19 in a hotel in Teresina, in the state of Piaui. The whole ci ntry was following the chase and Carla's parents fear ;d that the daughter had been kidnapped or worse. The e was no happy ending. The Big Bad Wolf is being pros cuted for embezzlement, Little Red Riding Hood is $15 000 in the red, and there is no love left.

has laid off 20,000 workers from his own companies in the last three years.

Despite the creation of 12,000 new jobs in the commerce sector in September, Greater Sao Paulo has reached a peak in its unemployment rate because in the same period, the industry has laid off 39,000 workers. According to the DIEESE (Departamento Intersindical de Fstatistica e Estudos Socio-EconOmicos-Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socio-Economic Studies), 16.3 percent of the region population, or 1.409 million people, were without jobs. This is the highest unemployment rate since these data began to be compiled in 1985. In August that number had been 15.9 percent.

Pushing the Envelope At the end of September, Rio de Janeiro woke up plastered with billboards showing a gray-haired old lady and the copy: "How to plan the death of your mother-in-law." Many people didn't think the idea used by ad agency Doctor to sell funeral assistance plans for Sinaf (Sistema Nacional de Assistencia 6 Familia— National System of Assistance to the Family) was funny. But the message worked. In the first day of the campaign, 150 people called inquiring about the plan that charges monthly fees anywhere from $3.50 to $8.50.

Another billboard that didn't please many people showed up in Porto Alegre. the capital of Rio Grande do Sul. Exhibiting an immense syringe, the advertisement said: "A Di Trevi jeans cost as much as three grams of cocaine and you'll rock much more." The display, however, was shortlived. The federal police demanded it be taken out, alleging that it was an apology for drugs. Their authors protested that the police had not understood a thing. All the controversy was good for business anyway.

ongs

Recouping Innocence "Atirei o Pau no Gato" (I Threw a Stick on the Cat), a traditional Brazilian cantiga de roda (children's song)frnight not be a politically correct tune, but this is not the reason why this and other kids ditties are not known by the new generation of children. Traditional and more recent songs have been buried in the fever of improper-for-minors melodies like "Danca da Garrafa" (Bottle Dance) and "Daiwa da Bundinha" (Little Butt Dance).

But there has been a backlash to this trend by parents an educators willing to give children a more innocent aid challenging musical repertoire. In Sao Paulo, Sefc (Servico Social do Comercio—Commerce Social Service) has been leading a movement to train musical conductors, and teaching them how to start children's choirs, which have been springing up here and there. Some recently released CDs for kids have had reasonable success. Here-is a sample of the new crop of children's songs: Jogo do Contrario Lyrics: Jandyra Masur Quem for curioso e quiser saber o que e o jogo do contrario venha conhecer se dia d claro e de dia é escuro o que d assim de dia, de noite o contrario quem de dia no claro fica muito animado de noite no escuro sempre fica emburrado quem tern a certeza que o que faz é sempre certo de noite deve achar que é o amigo que é correto se dia que é claro a gente pensa no passado de noite no escuro tern • saudades do futuro A Lagartixa Que Queria Set Jacare Lyrics: Izomar C. Guilherme Coitada da lagartixinha Que queria ser jacard Dormia, sonhava, acordava, pensava Queria ser jacard (repeat) Foi consultar o doutor que chamava doutor Lele Ezplicou-lhe o problema, `•-• contou-lhe o dilema Queria ser jacard (repeat) Doutor Leld a informou que seria um jacard Que era s'o colocar uma serra na boca e seria urn jacard (repeat) A lagartixinha vibrou pois seria urn jacare Mas nao lembrou que podia urn dia Virar uma bolsa de jacard (repeat)

Ready to Ball

Getting in f e mood for the 1998 World Cup in France, soccer power and tetra (four-time) world champion Brazil has The Opposite Game t already chosen .a mascot, or a muse if you prefer, for the coming soccer kvar. She is Andrea de Oliveira, the same Whoever is curious and wan heartbreaker who during the latest cup in the U.S. stole soccer to know ace Rornario's peace of rriind. Burning with passion for the What is the opposite game come and find out diminutive striker, she used to circumvent the heavy security if by day is light and by night around the secluded players to spend the night with her thenis dark married sweetheart. what is so by day, by night is Andrea, who has kept herself in the news even after her the opposite stormy separati1 from Romario, has adorned the latest cover he who by day in the light of Sexy, amen's $lagazine. With a soccer ball, soccer socks and gets very excited by night in the dark gets shoes, and not ng else, the beauty has revealed all her always moody sportswomaashi . Her bare-it-all show has made her even a he who knows for sure that bigger celebrity p the condominium where she lives with her what he does is always right little son. . by night should think that his Fans have ben so insistent at her door that Andrea had to friend is the correct one organize an autograph afternoon to sign all the magazine if by day when is light we think about the past copies that neighbors yverehringing to her. Talking to weekly at night in the dark we are news magazine 4sto E, 15-year-okl Gustavo Gomes, who is nostalgic for the futirre sometimes invit ` to go with her to the mall, revealed: "Andrea used to complain hat her breasts were too small. She is looking much better no after the surgery " These boys know everyThe Lizard Who Wanted thing. The belle h ada silicone breast implant recently. to Be an Alligator On the samewavelength, Petrobras, the Brazilian state oil monopoly, has prepared its 1998 wall calendar inspired by a ball and a naked woman. The Petrobras muse is Viviane Poor little lizard Araujo, 22, who finished in 6th place in a recent competition Who wanted to be an alligator to find a brunet ' dancer with prominent buttocks for the She slept, dreamed, woke up, highly, success 1 musical thought She wanted to be an alligator (repeat). group E o Tchan, as a counShe went to see the doctor who terbalance for blonde Carla was called doctor Leld Perez, the star of the band, Explained the problem to him, and the most famous and covtold him about the dilemma • eted butt in the country.

She wanted to be an alligator (tepeti) Viyiane has already been Doctor Leld informed her that she would be an alligator a model for six years and has All she had to do was to place a already had a chance to show saw in the mouth and she her goodies on / e e Ea, a would be an alligator. (repeat) men's magazin , and on The little lizard got all excited

because she would be an alligator But she did not think that one day She might turn into an alligator purse (repeat)

Globo TV's Girl Of Fantast-

ico, a Sunday prime-time variety program with tabloid journalism and titillating touches.

BFtAZZIL -NOVEMBER 1997

On the Road Car manufacturers from around the world have been investing feverishly in Brazil. The country will be producing two million automobiles this year and there are plans for three million new units by the year 2000.

Francisco Dornelles, the minister of Industry and Commerce, announced recently that $23 billion will be invested in the next five years in 141 projects in the auto sector. With this, the nation will become the world's fourth largest car consumer and the fifth largest producer. The Brazilian fleet has 18 million cars today. By 2003, this number will double. While going through boom times, the car culture in Brazil has to deal with the lack of good or even reasonable roads and Brazilian drivers need a crash course on driving and civility.

JENNIFER DA SILVA 11 BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

F

or most Brazilians willing to free them selves from a usually inefficient public transportation, the first step is buying a used car. A person waits for the opportunity to trade it in for a newer model, and continues to upgrade until they are able to purchase a brand-new vehicle. Since last year, the length of time it takes to complete this cycle has shortened immensely.

More people are making first-time car purchases, and others, attracted by lower prices, are buying new models. The news displayed in various publications about changes in the production of motor vehicles is exactly what many Brazilians have been waiting to see. Headlines displaying record-breaking figures on auto sales have been reassuring consumers that purchasing one's own car is no longer only a dream, but has become a possibility.

The industry is celebrating the year in which it achieved the once-dreamed goal of producing two million cars. The Volkswagen Gol 1.0 peaked this summer with sales of 25.7 thousand units. The Italianproduced Fiat has dominated as the popular vehicle, seeing growth of 14.18% in 1996, and its manufacturer expects to make over 500 thousand vehicles this year.

The figures for car sales from January to July of this year display a slight margin separating the two companies, with Volkswagen at 32% compared to Fiat at 25.8%. Having invested $1 billion since 1996, Fiat has plans to spend another $1.5 billion before the year 2000. Part of these funds will be used to open a factory in Sete Lagoas, state of Minas Gerais, for the production of commercial medical vehicles under the name Iveco.

Investors have been attracted by the ratio of cars to inhabitants in Brazil, which is approximately one vehicle to ten people, (in Mexico the ratio is one to seven; in Argentina, one to five and in the U.S., one to two) and the increasing demand for automobiles indicated by those numbers. While automakers estimate production totals, dealerships are planning ways to entice customers with discounts, offers of financing for up to 42 months and free insurance. According to GM executive Antonio Carlos Machado e Silva, such bargains are offered because of the drop in resale value that occurs after purchase and the need to clear the way for the 1998 models.

General Motors has plans of investing $3.6 billion in Brazil until the year 2000, and also plans to open factories in Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. Volkswagen, in order to compete with other companies, joined with Audi to open a factory in sao Jose dos Pinhais (PR) set to begin production by the end of 1998. Ford Motor Corporation has made its own comeback accompanying the auto industry's take-off.

Many predicted the company would disappear from the Brazilian market after it embarked on the Autolatina venture with Volkswagen and was reduced to 10% production. During the first half of this year, however, the numbers rose to 13.3% and are expected to reach 17% by December.

These increases are being attributed to the company's strategy of renovating Escort and Fiesta models and releasing the Ka, the first subcompact

vehicle in the country. John Peart, Ford's Manager of Distribution and Planning, said "We are not interested in being the first or second in sales, but in guaranteeing our position before the new companies which are soon to arrive in!the country".

Toward. the end of this decade new production centers wilt be emerging in various cities and are expected to attract their own parts manufacturers.

Curitiba will be the site for companies such as Renault, Chrysler, and Audi-Volkswagen. Toyota and Honda will open at locations in Campinas, adding to existing companies auch as Bosch, Varga and Bendix, as well as Mercedes' local bus manufacturer. Mercedes will also be installing a plant in Resende (Rio de Janeiro) and Juiz de Fora (Minas Gerais). General Motors will be opening a third site in Rio Grande do Sul, while Asia Motors plans to open one in Bahia. Other manufacturers, such as Hyundai, are considering investing in Brazil and making similar moves. All of these openings signal the country's ushering-in of the modern age of car production.

MODERNIZATION Since ex-president Fernando Collor de Mello started the expansion of the automobile industry in Brazil six years ago, car manufacturing has undergone significant changes. Having reaped the benefits of post1980's economic growth, factories are now more efficient, making newer and better parts. In addition, new products have been coming in as a result of Brazil's opening up to foreign markets.

Production in the auto industry rose from a little over 1 million vehicles to 1.8 million between 1992 and 1996.

Domestic auto sales jumped from 756,000 to 1.7 million.

Since 1990, the length of production time shifted from 12 years (as compared with 2.5 years in developing countries) to 6 years in 1996.

While eight new models were launched during the 1980's, 12 new models were produced within the first half of the '90's. Modernization was more significant in the small car sector, which is the highest in . volume. To be renovated through the end of the decade are medium-sized cars such as Golf, Astra, Civic, Corolla and Megane. Future renovations on large cars will depend on the flow ofthe market and on the politics of its opening market, as it is determined whether to produce internally or import.

Automakers plan to invest $15 billion over the next five years in car building ventures. Analysts estimate that Brazil's annual auto sales, nearly 2 million last year, could exceed 3 million by the year 2000—more than double the 1990 total. Major industry players General Motors, Volkswagen, Fiat, Ford, Toyota and Chrysler are competing in Brazil. Some of the world's most innovative, efficient auto plants are going up, replacing decrepit, World War II-era factories. Prospects of opening plants in Brazil are attractive to car companies because its market offers them opportunities to test new manufacturing techniques, free from union oppositiOn, regulatory red tape, and high costs.

XPANDING INDUSTRY Economic olicies such as President Fernando

12 BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

The State of Public Transportation Every day 685.000 people travel by inter-municipal buses in Brazil. The 250 bus companies that transport these masses of human beings also provide over 15,000 jobs and circulate 5.5 billion per year. Regardless of the importance of public transportation, the population has not seen an improvement in its services, insurance or facilities. In reference to public transit, Secretary of Land Tr nsportation Claudio Ivanof said, "During the last two decades, few things have changed in the means of operating the Brazilian bus enterprises."

Last year the Federal Road Police calculated that 8,439 accidents involv ng buses had occurred on federal roads alone—a 40% increase since 1994. "Taking into consideration the state of the highways New Rules •and the type of maintenance performed by most companies, it would be best to retire each bus of the Road after five years" said Luso Ventura, director of Mercedes-Benz. Companies that operate with buses older than five years include five of the - A driver's license will only be given after a year experience largest in the country: Itapeof driving with a permit. mirim S.A., Penha, Pluma - Fines and ticket fees will go up.

Conforto e Turismo - Driving drunk or without a license now constitutes a crime S.A., V iacao Motta worth up to 3 years in prison.

Ltda. and V iacdo - Points are accumulated with each violation, with a maxiAnapolina Ltda. mum of 20 points before suspension of license.

Another factor - Pedestrians can be fined for walking outside of designated contributing to the areas. high incidence of accidents involving buses is the long work hours bus drivers are required to complete. Many us drivers admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel and many passengers admit that they d not feel safe while riding public transportation. A recent survey done by the federal universities of Sao aulo, Goias and Uberlandia (state of Minas Gerais) found that 25% of the 400 bus drivers interviewed admi ted to drinking alcohol beverages while on duty and 20% to falling asleep at the wheel. Drivers sometimes ork several days in a row without a break.

Bus companies, alarmed by the 12% drop in ticket sales last-year, have pent over $200 million in an effort to modernize their fleets and have already begun to see consumers resp nd to the changes. One complaint regarding public transportation is the manner in which customers are re uired to pay in cash, a seemingly archaic way to conduct transactions in this age of checks and credit cards.

Some steps toward improving the Killing Roads system have already been made, - 1.4 million traffic accidents left 100,000 however, such as the use of dead and 600,000 wounded over the last two mileage cards. years.

Other steps taken to im- In 1996, 115.305 accidents occurred on prove customer service are ofthe 33,000 miles of federal roads. fering customers tea, coffee, wa- 40% of the accidents were caused by ter and even meals served on board motorists' carelessness. during longer trips. Newspapers, magazines - In every five accidents involving buses, and television are now offered on some travel lines. Another common complaint among users of public transporthree involve trucks or trailers. tation involves the uncleanness of vehicles and particularly - 10% of truck drivers surveyed in the lack of sanitary restroom facilities.

Pernambuco had ingested amphetamines.

Offering incentives has appealed to those who began - 1% of the motorists interviewed in Sao traveling by plane only because they were turned off by Paulo admitted to using cocaine or marijuana. bad conditions on buses. People not as concerned with arriving at their destination in the speediest manner often prefer taking the more scenic route and travel on land.

Another factor influencing consumers is cost. Air fare is usual y considerably more expensive than other travel options. Bus companies are regulated by cart Is what makes them less responsive to the needs of their customers. The losses in sales, ho ever, have obligated some of these groups to work toward improving their services.

For years, analysts have been predicting a crisis in the transportation systems in large cities, and have been talking about possible travel options for the future. Among the possibilities are electric cars, technologically advanced transit control devices and re-routing systems. Since it is utilized by a high percentage of the population, public transportation has been the focus for improvement and remains a high priority.

13 BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

•

•• ••• •• •••

• • • • • • •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

A Nation of Potholes and Jams Traffic congestion is a part of life in a big city like Sao Paulo, but Brazilian roads and highways are notorious for their unsatisfactory conditions in both metropolitan and rural areas. The number of accidents has been increasing due to problems such as dangerous curves, inefficient or non-existent signaling, badly preserved bridges, steep inclines and declines and an excess of cars, trucks and semis on the roads.

Due to congestion, there is no longer a "rush hour" in Sao Paulo. On June 28, a Friday, the city had its worst traffic jam ever: a 150-mile long line of halted cars. The conditions on the roads have worsened while the number of cars has increased every year. Over the last ten years, the number of registered 1 vehicles in sao Paulo grew from 1.6 million to 4.7 million, with 200,000 more vehicles being added each year. The conditions of the roads, according to Gilberto Lehfeld, president of CET, are inseparable from the economic conditions in the country. "With 1 Plano Real, we had a 10% jump in cars travelling main roads." He likened the effect of this growth on the traffic situation to a person gaining ten pounds and trying to fit into the same tight jeans they wore before. "It doesn't fit," he said.

In Brasilia, the nation's capital, governor Cristovam Ricardo Cavalcanti Buarque was so appalled by the number of fatalities on the roads that he insisted that the Department of Transit exchange its bureaucratic duties for the task of organizing traffic. As a result, 740 km of asphalt were painted, thousands of traffic signals were installed and road signs were erected. Electronic radars were placed at various points within downtown and the city of Taguatinga. The number of traffic and speeding tickets has also increased as a result of the governor's order. The second and third infractions double in cost, and upon the fourth infraction, motorists pay five times the original amount and have their license suspended.

According to statistics, imprudent actions, impulsiveness and underestimation of danger are responsible for at least half of the traffic accidents that occur in the state of SAo Paulo. Youths between 18 and 34 suffer the highest rate of death on the roads and highways: 47% of those registered in the metropolitan area of the city. The youth, according to some people, have an unrealistic perception of risks and lack the experience, familiarity with vehicles, and self-confidence that are necessary in driving.

Youths are disadvantaged not only by their inexperience as drivers, but also must deal with badly paved roads, inefficient signaling and the high speeds of other motorists. According to Sergio Max Lins, Chief of the 5th Superintendency of the Federal Police, driving at excessive speeds is the leading cause of accidents. The number of accidents during the first half of this year more than tripled, due to the fact that, Lins said, "the motorists insist on stepping on the accelerator, mostly on the highways." It is on these highways that the majority of accidents occur, as implied by a five-mile-long stretch of road nicknamed

ora..001

‘00.

l

t

14 BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

the "highway of death."

According to the DNER (Departamento Nacional de Estradas de Rodagem—National Department of Roadways), 45,000 vehicles travel from one state to another daily. Entering Sao Paulo, the numbers jump to 150,000 vehicles; in Rio, 100,000. NovaDutra, the private organization in charge of the roadway, said that the number of vehicles traveling on the 250 miles of road between Rio and Sao Paulo averaged 20,000 to 25,000 daily.

Stretches of road that are notorious accident sites include a 14-mile-long stretch outside Rio, which intersects with the Baixada Fluminense, and a 9-mile roadway outside of Sao Paulo. Out of these accidents, approximately 55% of deaths are caused by irrational driving. According to Fabiano V ivacqua, from the DNER, most of the accidents involving pedestrians are caused by carelessness. "People prefer to crossing the middle of the road to using the crosswalks."

NovaDutra, which constructed 80 miles of dividing walls and road barriers during its first year of operation, has plans to build more, according to Fabio Abrita, manager of operations.

These types of barriers, however, don't prevent accidents but can only lessen some of their detrimental effects.

In order to deter careless drivers, national transit laws have recently passed which set stricter regulations and fines. Infractions can now be classified as minor, medium, serious or very serious and points are given for each violation. Under the new system, infractions like speeding can earn up to 7 points. The fine for 20 points earned within a year, for example, is approximately R$910,80 with a 12 month suspension of driver's license. This recently implemented legislation requires driver training for children from preschool through college, and labels infractions such as driving under the influence, driving without a license or not stopping to help accident victims as crimes. Obtaining a license now requires a year of driving experience, and the penalty for drunk driving can be up to three years in prison. Even pedestrians are susceptible to fines for jaywalking or not staying within specified boundaries.

A study done by the Federal Highway Police found that 90% of accidents are due to human error, while 6% are due to road conditions and 4% are attributed to lack of sufficient upkeep and maintenance of the vehicle. Psychologist Maria Elizabeth Marques de Souza, coordinator of a course that retrain driver in Rio, attributes the accidents to the temperament of drivers.

"The Brazilian is polite, but on the highway turns into a monster," said Marques de Souza.

In Rio de Janeiro, 300 licenses are issued each day. Most driving schools send their students for driving tests with an average of 10 hours of training. Paulo Rubens, instructor at a driving school for 28 years, said "Seventy percent of them don't know how to drive. They're going to learn in traffic, hitting other cars."

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

Henrique Cardos 's 3-year-old Real Plan have contributed to Brazil's ris as an auto industry power. The rate of inflation, which as once 7,000 percent annually, has been tamed. In 19 4, Cardoso pegged Brazil's currency, the real, to the U. . dollar, and began privatizing industries and pouring money into improving the country's infrastructure.

Brazil is the c untry with the second highest volume of investments m de by the German automobile industry in foreign marke s. In Sao Paulo, there are 4.6 million vehicles. That,is, pproximately one automobile for every two inhabitants- an average that is similar to that of Germany, Great ritain and Belgium. The third largest number of Amer can investments in the automobile industry outside of the United States is in Brazil.

Corporate giants like Toyota Motor Corporation have been reassured by these changes, as evidenced by Toyota's opening of a $l0 million Corolla plant that industry watchers expect t be among Brazil's most sophisticated.

Industry chiefs fr DM both Japanese and American companies have voiced their confidence in the auto market's continuing growth in Brazil.

Foreign companies are being offered Cardoso's generous incentives, aimed at luring investors to the poorer, remote areas awai from the well-developed Atlantic coast.

Trade minister Francisco Dornelles recently said a 100% tax break on auto plant equipment at sites in midwest and northeast Brazil ad attracted $2.7 billion in deals from GM, Suzuki, Su aru and South Korea's Hyundai.

Growth can Iso be attributed to the tariffs that are placed on cars not built in Brazil. Charges on domestically built cars contai ing Brazilian-made parts average half (31.5 percent) hat they average on imports. Within Brazil, automak rs compete on equal terms, regardless of where they're f om, because there is no domestic auto industry in exist nce which needs the government's protection.

The auto ind stry's rebound occurred as automakers set off on a glob 1 expansion spree, looking to build cars and expand sal s outside their stagnant home markets, without spendin too much money. All were looking for places where w ges and benefits are much lower than the $40 an hour typical in the U.S.. They found that in Brazil.

Workers in Sao aulo earn about $1,100 per month. Last year in Resend , halfway between sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, autowo kers in the Metal Mechanic union agreed • on a monthly p4ment rate of $500, less than half of what • • workers in Sao Paulo get. They agreed to this because • regional unemp oyment hovers at 18 percent. Metal Me•• chanic preside t Luizinho de Oliveira Rodrigues said, • "We're dealing with a different reality. For every person • hired, four others are waiting for a job."

CHANGING TIMES • The auto industry has been adjusting to increased •• • demands for more 4-door vehicles as well as automatic • transmissions. Today, four-door cars represent 50% of • those producec nationally. The popularity of automatic • vehicles was d layed due to the lack of mechanics able to • • service them and the scarcity of appropriate parts. Some • resisted the sp ead of automatics with arguments that • standard engi es were more pleasurable to drive and • offered more of a sense of control than automatics.

• Others hail the advantages automatics offer, citing • • positives such as the lesser amount of physical exertion • they require (particularly in big cities where traffic is • congested) and the electronic components they contain • which make rcceleration and deceleration smoother.

• Another facto is durability. Automatic engines tend to •• last longer th n standard engines, and generally incur • • fewer mainten nce and repair costs.

••••••••••

15

As a reader ofBrazzilI always appreciate the magazine and just for that I am interested in helping as a volunteer. I'm a 20-year-old economy student at Unicamp ( University of Campinas) and have a lot of interest in music. culture, art, politics and economy.

Fabricio Oliveira Camargo Herreros Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil

SCHOOL MATERIAL EINSTEIN WAS TRASH TOO I am amazed at the lack of criterion and even the disrespect that Brazzil, a magazine that until now I classified as good, has shown by publishing the article

by Janer Cristaldo C'The Sting; The Adventures of a Brazilian Cheat,'October 1997J. First, a translator should stick to translation instead of expressing his strange thoughts on anthropology. -Second, it is unethical to publish out-of-context fragments and then criticize someone based on them. And last, this gentleman is trying to discredit the work of thegreatest Brazilian anthropologist of all times by criticizing his personal- life. You might also call Freud and Einstein human trash although they were geniuses. I can't say that I was shocked, but I certainly felt dirty reading it.

Jorge Eduardo Los Angeles, California

WELL DONE I wanted to thank Janer Crtstaldo for his great article on Darcy Ribeiro. Well written and better thought.

Eliseo Cardona El Nuevo Herald, Miami, Florida

NO MORE I received your October issue today.

It is the first issue we have received. Our family was shocked by the sexually explicit pictures, especially the one on page 15. Please do not send our family A.I\FY more issues if this type of pictures are going to appear again. Just keep my $3. I am sorry I agreed to this. I just did not know what to expect.

Darrell S. Richey Indianapolis, Indiana

TAKING NOTES I stumbled upon Brazzil a couple of months ago in the New York Public Library. The copy in question was the April 1997 issue. A number of articles and items were so interesting to me that I took notes and saved the notes. I have—going back to when I was a kid ( I was born in 1950)— always been interested in foreign countries.

You printed song lyrics in Portuguese and in English. There were movie reviews: Corisco e Dada, Crede-Mi, Pequeno Diciondrio Amoroso. There was an article by Emerson Luis about learning disabilities in the Brazilian school system.

I have a writing background. I've written about movies and television, so I was definitely interested in anything having to do with filmmaking in Brazil.

Drew Simels Bronx, New York

HELPING HAND First of all, congratulations on your good job as a bridge between us in Brazil and our brothers and friends in the U.S..

We'd like to reprint part of Emerson Luis's article, "Learning Disabilities," (April 1997) for our Brazil Reader, which we are putting together aimed at undergraduate students. May we have your permission? We will cite Brazzil fully.

Robert M. Levine Miami, Florida

E-MAIL ANYONE? We greatly enjoy your magazine and look forward to every issue. My husband and I really miss Brazil, and it is so nice to hear Brazilian news, gossip and stories on a regular basis. Thank you and /Jaraberzs! My (Brazilian) husband and I have been living in Oregon. We greatly miss the fun we used to have dancing lambada and samba in the wonderful Brazilian clubs in London (where we met, and both used to live).

We are both looking for Brazilian contacts here in the U.S. to organize Brazilian events and to stave off loneliness! If anyone is interested in corresponding with us (in Portuguese or English) please e-mail us at: kathleenstraub@juno.com or: valterdasilva juno.com Kathleen Straub-da Silva Portland, Oregon

CHURCH COMFORT First and oremost, I would like to congratulate the staff ofBrazzil magazine for the outstandingjob. It is very important for those who are so Tar away from Brazil to have, at a very affordable price, great articles in a diversity of subjects, keeping us well informed about everything that concerns Brazil. It was very refreshing to read the beautiful article about religion in your September issue, especially, in a time when materialism is replacing spiritualism.

In my recent trip to the city of Sdo Paulo, I had the opportunity to witness how Brazilians are finding comfort and shelter in the HigherPower. Iwould like to take the chance to mention the wonderful job Father Pedro Sbalchiero Neto ofthe Church Nossa Senhora da Salette is doing. In less than five years, he turned a small church in a big worship place where there is something for everybody. I strongly urge all readers to take a minute and

25¢ A COPY

Allow

bto

visit their web site at: http://www.nsrasalette.org.br Marisa Kemiji Sacramento, California

SOS FROM BRAZIL I am a student of communications in Brazil. I saw some information on your WEB site and I think that you can help me.

As I'm working on a film production, lam looking for material related to the discovery of Brazil. Here in Sao Paulo it is so difficult to find anything. If you have some maps, paintings or anything about the Brazil colonization, please, contact me at julianalopesa,hotmail.com .

Juliana Martins Lopes Sao Paulo, Brazil

WOW, THANKS! This is just a quick note to tell you how much I enjoy reading Brazzil. Over the past 25 years I have had the pleasure of becoming friends with several Brazilians.

One is my closest friend and we've visited each other several times. In order for me to stay in touch with my friends I rely on resources such as yours. You are wonderful. While I'm American, I think my soul is Brazilian.

Jim Cummer Via Internet

NO PORTUGUESE, SORRY I was .just reading some of your articles on the Net. I was so amazed with the amount of great information you have on it that I decided that I cannot live without it anymore. What do I have to do to subscribe? Do you have issues in Portuguese as well? lam dying to hear more about my country.

Mara Rufino Rohnert Park, California

JOB HUNTER I am a teacher in Maryland, and my student from Rio gave me a copy of your excellent magazine! I rushed to get a subscription and I love every issue! My mother's family is from beautiful Bahia, and hopefully I will be teaching there this summer. If any readers know about jobs in Bahia, or Rio, feel free to e-mail me.

Angela J. Brown ajbrown@rocketmaiLcom

Can't you find Brazzil at your Brazilian consulate?

Don't ask us why, ask the consulate.

II

For info: (213) 255-4953 E-Mail: brazzil@brazzil.com

5 to 7 weeks to receive your first issue.

No back issues sold.

Make check to Brazzil and mail it to:

SORRY, NO CREDIT CARD FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS

BlIAZZIL - P.O. Box 42536 - Los Angeles, CA 90050-0536

3 0 I'll take 1 year (12 issues) 0 NEW

ta NE \A/Al

WHY NOT SEND A GIFT TO 10, 100, EVERYONE YOU KNOW? NO COUPON NEEDED

NAME: You are invited to participate in this dialogue.

Write to: Letters to the Publisher P.O.Box 42536 Los Angeles, CA 90050-0536 or send E-mail to: brazzil'ilbrazziLcom brazilnewsrieaolcom Please, include a phone number in the e‘ent v.e need to reach you. Thanks!

COMPANY: ADDRESS: CITY, ST, ZIP: TEL.:

E-MAIL:

Yearly rate for Canada & Mexico: $15. All other countries: $18 (surface mail).

16 BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

CINCA RRA21-11

SHIPPING TO: BRAZIL - ARGENTINA AND SOUTH AMERICA 4

l?ce ;LT;6 714t bi Ciff a Restgurestiol CrilkS

Times

UNIQUE DINING EXPERIENCE TO BRAZILIAN BEAT

NEAR DISNEYLAND

FALAMOS PORTUGUES

✓ FREE STORAGE V ALL RISK INSURANCE ✓ EXPORT PACKING

1 \ HOME MADE BUFFET • CHURRASCO RODIZIO ivE BRAZILIAN MUSIC FRIDAY & SATURDAY NIGHTS Cali for Reservations

Op en Tuesdays thru Sundays

✓ HOUSEHOLD GOODS ✓ SEA & AIR SHIPPING V ANTIQUES & FINE ART ✓ CARS

Visa • MC •

(714) 77S • 0286 821 North Euclid, Anaheim

ATM

BY BRAZIL

Restaurant CANT VAT tiA,L "Z011

T161457

ri rxm xiAxtlazavz

BR

E-MAIL: info@omegashipping.com PLEASE VISIT 04 WEJ3SITE

www.omegashipping.com

Beef, chicken, pork, sausages flame broiled and senred on skewers.

FREE •

(

.1"(R8( MEGAPL t.es — Li z

SHIPPING (CA.),INC. 4379 SHEILA ST LOS ANGELES CA 90023

CANON • XEROX • SHARP • MITA ; MINOLTA • KONICA • LANIER • COPYSTAR

Tuesdays - Fridays; 1130 am - 930 pm Sat. & Sun.'. :12;00 - 9:30 pm (Mondays closed 1615 Cabrillo Ave.Torrance, CA 90501 (310) 787.7520 . 1104 Wilshire Blvd. - Santa Monica, CA 90401 (310) 393-0447 NEW!

The Peal hornemcd N'1 Authentic Brasilia) Food Fresh squeezed juices No Dairy - No Fat

Established 1985

canon item

Open Every Day: 11 am - 10 pm INV parnisseamm M I NOI_TA

(310) 837-8957 10831 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90034 (2 blocks W. of Overland)

SALES • SERVICE • SUPPLIES • LEASE • RENTALS • NEW & DEMOS • FAX MACHINES NO TRAVEL CHARGE • LOW FLAT RATE NON-PROFITS: USE YOUR 503/503-C STATUS FOR REAL SAVINGS

FACTORY TRAINED TECHNICIANS

Fast Response • Same Day Service WE SERVICE ALL MAJOR BRANDS

FAX 8-7064506

(81g)

Absolutely Free& Tears No Risk Onsite lharraoly With Copier Purchase Longest & Strongest In The Industry

706-1120 ®

30313 GARWOOD SuotT, SURE

. AGOURA HiUS

BRAZILIAN CUISINE ONE BLOCK FROM [THE 405 FWY

latid/www4librasdcoikitifiiiii;

LiNGUA - BIFE - FRANGO RABADA - BACALHAU FEIJOADA ADS FINAIS DE SEMANA FILE A CUBANA - CAMARO BAIANO BIFE E FRANGO A ROLE

4809 W. MARINE AV LAWN DALE, (A 90260 (3

1O) 676-9962

OPEN 7 DAYS FROM 10 AM TO 9 PM - ON SAT. AND SUN. CLOSES AT 10 PM

RICOH • TOSHIBA • SAVIN • PANASONIC • KODAK • PITNEY BOWES

COMBINATION OF COUPONS NOT , ALLOWED

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

SUMBA, MASADA, MOLHO PIMENTA, _ CHOCOLATE, CAFE, COIMBRA°, SABONETE PHEBO FL MUCH MORE

WE ACCEPT VISA, MASTERCARD & ATM CARDS

&BRICK gdr

SHARP®

SUCOS OE TROIA (ACEROLA, PC iii ETC.]

Executive lunch from Monday to Friday 11 am - 4 pm - $5.95

ALL BRAND COPIERS Authorized Dealer Mita COPYSTAR

BRAMAN PRODUCTS AVAILABLE

FREE

FREE

2 BOLINHOS DE

1 CAN , OF GUARANA WHEN YOU SPEND $5 OR MORE

BACALHAU WHEN YOU BUY A BRAZILIAN DISH

FREE BUY A BRAZILIAN DISH AND GET L

THE 2ND FOR HALF THE PRICE 17

Charming Duo Just a few days apart in October, Pope John Paul II and President Bill Clinton were guests in Brazil. Very sick, but still quite alert, the Holy Father was received with the enthusiasm that you would expect from the "largest Catholic nation on earth. For Clinton, however, lack of diplomatic finesse and mishandling by his advance men had set the field -for what promised to be a disastrous trip.

More than anything else this is the story of how the Yankee President charisma and charm won the hearts of Brazilians and converted an almost-sure fiasco into a glaring diplomatic success that made even TV presenters choke with emotion. During his visit to a favela (shantytown) community in Rio, TV Bandeirantes reporter Claudio Petraglia commented, "That's too much emotion.

You feel like crying. That line made you puke, said TV commentator Joao Carlos Pedroso.

ELMA LIA NASCIMENTO

The two most powerful men on earth, Pope John Paul II and President William Jefferson Clinton, visited Brazil in October. The way both were received, however, was quite different, highlighting the awkwardness of the U.S. public-relations apparatus compared to that of the Holy See and the power of the press in creating crises and then manipulating public opinion.

While Clinton did not bring throngs to the streets, was booed, had to face signs of "go home," was burned in effigy while meeting Brazilian congress' leaders, and even had his limousine hit by horse excrement, John Paul—visibly sick and having a hard time to walk—was constantly followed by an adoring crowd that shouted "If God is Brazilian, then the Pope is Carioca (from Rio)," "Ah, I am Catholic," and "John Paul, we love you." He was also offered a ticker-tape parade through the streets of Rio and an estimated 2 million people were present at an open-air mass celebration at Aterro do Flamengo (Flamengo beach landfill).

It was quite a different scenario for the White House tenant. When Air Force One touched down at the international airport of Brasilia, capital of Brazil, on October 13, you could almost hear a collective boo from 160 million Brazilians. Mirroring the mood of the nation, Veja, the nation's main weekly news magazine, with more than 1.2 million copies, headlined on its cover under a picture of a visibly annoyed and haughty Clinton: "The Empire's Arrogance".

The Veja piece was just a summation of a flood of bad press on the days leading to Bill Clinton's visit. Among other things, the U.S. President was compared to Rambo on a mission to subjugate uncivilized Amazon natives.

18

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

zilian newsp er, published a cartoon in which AmeriBut the love-hate Brazilian ambivalence towards Vritle can special a ents raid the Brazilian President's cabiSam wouldn't have so acutely shown its thorny side if net in prepa tion for Clinton's visit. While one of it weren't for several mistakes and miscalculations them frisks t e President himself the others rummage committed by the advance troops in charge of preparthrough his r om. Not everybody was outraged though. ing Clinton's visit.

The same F lha published the opinion of Fernando The demands and lack of diplomatic finesse by the Rodrigues, o e of its columnists: "It is logical that American handlers of the President with special Men. Clinton sho Id want to guarantee his personal tion to American ambassador Melvyn Levitzky—he ng that in this Third World country people safety...know was called "the newest villain from Gotham City" by have a habit f dying from stray bullets fired from who rock composer and songstress Rita Lee—opened a can knows where." And he continued: "They published a of animosity. In Rio, personnel from the American document sa ing that 'corruption in Brazil is endemic.

Consulate, after previewing the Vila Olirnpica sports Is that false? o, it is absolutely true." complex where Clinton was supposed to get close to Respecte political commentator, Manila Moreira the population, demanded among other things permisAlves, wrote n his column in Rio's daily newspaper 0 sion to bring in-heavy weaponry, the closing of the Globo: "As t e French say only the truth hurts.. .(The sports complex in the two days preceding the visit, the report) says that our education is second-rate, that installation of a 10-foot-tall bulletproof glass wall, and corruption is ndemic, that the Justice is slow and does that the suburban train that passes close by be stopped not work, b that despite all those blemishes Brazil for four hours the day of the visit. Marcello Alencar, offers excell nt opportunities for investment. Is there Rio state's governor, scoffed at the request and ignored it. any falsehoo s in these statements?. ..What the AmeriSome Brazilian journalists discounted these decans should ave said is that the Brazilian corruption, mands attributing it to an understandable Yankee parawhen big, gees completely unpunished. There is nonoia with their president's security. But even the most body in jail hr having robbed millions." understanding souls couldn't explain why the Accordin to Moreira Alves, Brazilians have plenty President's men requested that Brazil interrupt for one of reason to be mad at the U.S., but for much more day its daylight saving time so Clinton would have a serious matt -rs. "The trade barriers that they impose to full hour more to prepare for his evening schedule. important pr ducts in our line of export products are (This demand reported by the New York Times never scandalous," he wrote. "Their discrimination against occurred, according to the White House). At.the forBrazilian ga oline, for example, was condemned by eign ministry building in Brasilia, agents frisked flower the World T ade Organization." beds looking for explosives, they also wanted the The clos to 100 American journalists who accomBrazilian government to ban some pesky mosquitoes panied the resident during his trip to Brazil were from a lake across from the Alvorada, the presidential warned abo t the need for taking hepatitis A and palace. "Remember! That's the President of the United typhus shots They were also told that there would be States," the American advance men repeated ad nauseam. secure in th cities they were going to visit, but they For most Brazilians, however, being president of were also re inded that secure is "a relative term" in the planet's leading power didn't justify the president's Brazil. In a 20-page booklet they also learned the handlers' behavior. Ant8nio Carlos Magalhaes, the dangers of t king a bus in Rio and the problems of president of the senate, threatened to cancel a meeting chronic trafi c jams in Sao Paulo as well as what was scheduled between Clinton and the senators when it called the r tional use of space by Paulistanos. Acwas disclosed that the Yankee chief would only meet cording to t guide, the lack of areas for having sex is ten senators and that the entrance to congress should be so acute in a() Paulo that couples usually park their closed. Michel Temer, president of the House of Repcars along t freeways to make love. Journalists were resentatives (Camara dos Deputados) joined in argualso reminded not to ing: "Congress is the people's house. wear tennis shoes when We have no way to prevent the free HOMENS DE PRETO covering the visit since circulation of congressmen or choose Brazilians excel in who will be allowed to the meeting. If "pomp and circumthey persevere in this attitude we will stance." not be able to receive President Clinton."

The White House The president of the Supremo Tribrochure calls Brasilia, bunal Federal (Supreme Court), Celso the capital, a city withde Mello, decided to snub Clinton in. a out a soul, which makes very public way. He accused the U.S. of it perfect for the White "a gesture of imperial arrogance" by House reporters, themaking public the document criticizing booklet says with offiBrazil and then keeping its negative cial humor. At least they comments about the Judiciary even afknow their capitals. Reter apologizing for other criticisms. De cently, Peter Jennings, Mello then announced that he would the ABC World,News skip the dinner offered Clinton by PresiC.O.to co anchor, announced that dent Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

Pope John Paul II had Beware of Brazil U S agents search Brazilian presidents office "in the capital of arrived the leading Bra" "Homemade pizza " Folha de Selo Paulo, MAN IN BLACK - "What be this, BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

19

:41

Brazil, Rio de Janeiro." This is not true since April 1960.

Brazilians believe that they deserved a little more respect and consideration from the U.S. As weekly news magazine /sto 't informed, Brazil has become "a some of dollars and jobs for the gringos." " Our imports," the magazine wrote, "generate close to 200 thousand jobs in the USA and guarantee close to $5 billion more in their trade balance."

All for the Pope Nobody complained when more than 30,000 men from the Armed Forces and from the Federal, Civilian an4 Military polices were amassed in Rio to protect John Paul II with the help of 30 motorcycles and three helicopters for his promenade through the city.

During the whole itinerary police agents were never more than 30 yards apart. And there was hardly any protest against interference in internal affairs when the Pope scolded the government for not paying enough attention to Blacks, Indians, and the dispossessed.

"The social imbalances," he said in one of several speeches, "the unequal and unjust distribution of economic means, which generates conflicts in the city and in the countryside, the need of an ample diffusion of the basic means of health and culture, the problems of the unprotected childhood of the big cities, not to cite others, constitute a challenge of enormous proportions to Brazilian leaders."

It seemed also too natural to hear the Pope condemning any form of abortion or any birth control method besides the natural one approved by the Church. Nobody has accused the Pope of meddling in domestic affairs. On the contrary, it was the government that was scrambling for cover when First Lady Ruth Cardoso defended abortion in cases of rape and when the mother's life in danger.

The Church hierarchy's response to this so-called outrage was prompt and bishops hinted not so subtly that the President's wife might be hindering her husband's chances of winning a second mandate in the 1998 elections. Dom Lucas Moreira Neves, president of CNBB (Conferencia Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil—National Conference of Bishops of Brazil) didn't hide his annoyance: "It was extremely inopportune that Dona Ruth would talk about abortion one day before the Pope's arrival. It was unfortunate. She should renege on what she said."

On the same line of opposition, Veja, which considered all too natural the papal interference, published cover story on the eve ofthe Pope's arrival with 20 women celebrities together with two household maids confessing to have had an abortion. Since the practice is illegal in Brazil, they were risking prosecution and a three-year prison term by this disclosure. The women who made their confession had their mugs printed on the magazine's cover under the title: "I Had an Abortion."

According to a poll taken by the Gerp Institute and Rio's daily Jornal do Bran! just before the Pope's arrival,, 20

76 percent o Rio's Catholic families are in favor of abortion whe4there is rape or risk to the mother's life.

Anthropologist Ruth Cardoso, however, was the only one on the government circle brave enough to express what she feels and risk the wrath of the Church. "The relation between the Pope and congress is zero," the First Lady declared. "This is a problem of Brazilian society."

President FHC himself, with an eye on a second mandate, while waiting for the Pope's arrival at the Gala() Air Base in Rio, refused to address the controversy and showed irritation when approached by a reporter who wanted to know what he though about his wife's comments. "This is not the time to talk about this," he rebuffed. There are some, however, who believe that the Ruth Cardoso statement was the way that the President found to rebuke the intrusiveness of the Church on domestic affairs. The administration seemed particularly vexed with Pope's backing of the Movimento dos SemTerra (Landless Movement) whose members have radicalized the agrarian reform by invading farms. In an ironic tone, the President announced that he was going to seek the Church's advice on how to deal with unemployment, an increasing problem in Brazil and the butt of most of the criticism being directed at the administration nowadays.

The most controversial talk was reserved for the Palacio das Laranjeiras's 30-minute meeting in Portuguese between the President and the Pope. What is happening with the Indians, the Supreme Pontiff wanted to know. They are not more than 300,000 in a country of 160 million, reminded the President and they have reservations of close to one million square km, or more land than the whole of Poland. How about the• street children, the Polish Karol Wojtyla asked. The problem has being greatly exaggerated, guaranteed Cardoso. In Sao Paulo where the problems is more acute, there is no more than 800 (that is eight hundred) street kids. The President was ready to prove that the problems raised by the Bishop of Rome were non-issues.

The same Jornal do BrasillGerp poll cited above revealed that 74 percent of Rio's Catholics think priests should marry; another 58 percent are in favor of ordaining sisters; 54 percent defend sex before marriage; 84 percent approve of birth control; 58% favor the death penalty. All of these issues are against the teachings of the Church. The study has also shown that even in fundamental questions of faith like the existence of heaven and hell, only 69% are in tune with Rome. Eighteen percent of Carioca (from Rio) Catholics don't believe there is an eternal life and 13 percent of them have their doubts. All of them insist, however, on being called Catholic.

Just before the arrival of the Pope, authorities in Rio promoted a super cleansing of the city. The cleaning up included a $600,000 paint job of 15 churches, most of them on the route of the Pope, and the hiding of some embarrassing people: beggars, homeless, and street children. They were all removed from their habitual habitat around town and taken to the city's so-called model farm.

In response to a request from Rio's Cardinal Eugenio Sales, the police occupied the favelas (shantytowns) of BRAZZ ' IL - NOVEMBER 1997

Turano, Salgueiro, Chinelinho, and Bicao, all in the Tijuca the Americas k own as ALCA in Latin America) when neighborhood where the Pope stayed. And the media was the United Stat doesn't give the example and doesn't so enthralled with covering the Holy Father that it practiopen its econo y to some Brazilian products," cornmented foreign mister Luiz Felipe Lampreia. The Americally ignored two massacres that occurred during the can President w uld like to see FTAA up and running by Pope's visit. On October 4, the day John Paul arrived, 2005. Brazil, a aid that it will be deluged by better and military police killed five men at favela Rato Molhado (Wet Rat). Two days later, the same group from the 3rd cheaper product from the U.S., however, would prefer stretching this d adline as much as possible. military battalion massacred another six people at favela On his priva talk with Clinton, Cardoso complained Aguia de Ouro (Golden Eagle) about the trade arriers against Brazilian products. The The security apparatus during the Pope's excursions American chief aid that he understood where FHC was through the city was so extreme that John Paul II made it coming from, b there was not much that he could do. For known that he didn't like it. So the next time he went to the one thing, ther is the U.S. Congress, and the issue streets the police hid their heavy weapons and stopped involved a serie of areas including laws and regulations, using dogs to maintain the public at a distance. But the as well as indus al lobbies and American jobs. He promHoly Father was not informed that at the Turano Comised, however, o take a close look at the subject and plex, 200 men from Bope (Batalhao de Operacoes review the barni rs.

Especiais—Special Operations Battalion) took over the When a Br zilian reporter told Clinton at a press spot, frisking people and detaining suspects. "The Pope is conference in B asilia that Brazilians felt "mistreated" by alive, whole and well," declared a triumphant colonel harsh security easures and by the Commerce DepartEduardo Bacelar, coordinator of the CML (Comando ment report th described corruption as "endemic" in Militar do Leste—East Military Command) just before razil, Clinton apologized. The security John Paul's departure. "There was recautions, he explained, were not caused no incident with the population. We CLINTON SOBE 0 MORRO, JOGA 80 A E TOGA TAMBORIM y mistrust of the Brazilian people, but have accomplished our mission." eflected a constant American concern.

Magic Clinton s for the report, he called it "an appallBrazilian authorities saw the ng error ofjudgment." Talking to reportClinton trip as a big boost for rs on Air Force One on its way to Brazil, Mercosul, the South American comhe President had said when asked about mon market comprising Brazil, Arrazilian hurt feelings: "I don't know gentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and nything about the facts. If we did anyChile. After Clinton revealed during hing we shouldn't have done, I'm sorry. a closed-door meeting with Cardoso ut I can tell you this, the relationship that that he was not against Mercosul, the hope that we have with Brazil is better Brazilian President exulted and told an it's been in a very, very long time, his guest: "Tell this outside." And so Clinton goes up the hill, aybe ever—but certainly in a long time. plays ball and tambonm Clinton did soon afterwards during " Next time we will give him a joint nd the relationship we need to build with his press conference: "I am in favor razil is critical to the future." of Mercosul," he said. "It was a posiIt took Clint n and his proverbial marketeering talent tive thing for Brazil, for all the member countries and it just a few state ents, plenty of smiles and pressing of was also very good for the United States." flesh to dissipat all the bad vibes brought in by his White Clinton was reciprocating the praise made by BrazilHouse arrogant and tactless advance men. As in a magic ian ambassador in Washington, Juracy Magalhaes 30 show in which ou see the tricks being done, but cannot years earlier. In 1964 Magalhaes had declared: "What is explain them o believe your eyes, the American Presigood for the United Sates is good for Brazil." Saying that dent mesmeriz d the country. He gave a "show of presiwhat is good for Brazil is good for the United States, dential diplom cy," wrote weekly news magazine Lsto Clinton made his country more trustworthy as a commerin a glowing c er story about the Clinton visit. cial partner in the eyes of Brazilians. Brazilian diplomats But the des ription that most people, including jourwere ecstatic. "When the president of the world's main nalists and colu fists, thought to be the most fitting was economic power says that Mercosul is a good thing, our the one given b Jamelao, 84, one of the deans of Brazilbargaining power naturally increases," exulted Jose ian samba an a patrimony from Escola de Samba Botafogo Goncalves, the foreign ministry's general Mangueira. "H re he was happy as a chick on trash," he undersecretary for economic integration affairs. said about the resident's demeanor during his visit to The American President signed seven agreements with Mangueira, ad ing: "He is a very humble and nice guy.

Brazil dealing with such matters as education and nuclear All they talke about him was just intrigue from the energy, but they were all more symbolic than substantive. opposition."

The visit was important to bring the two countries closer The one-h ur-and-forty-minute tour of Mangueira together. From the Brazilian point of view, however, seemed more I ke a campaign stop. "Hello," he started, serious problems like the barriers imposed on Brazilian being answere 'Hello' by screaming children. Accomproducts by the U.S. were not discussed. Brasilia doesn't panied by socce legend and sports minister Pele—Clinton believe any progress can be made in this area in a bilateral apparently kic ed him on the shin when playing with the discussion and is ready to appeal to the WTO (World ball—the Yank e President kissed babies and youngsters, Trade Organization) against the surtaxes on Brazilian wore a cap an a pin from Mangueira, gave autographs, steel. posed for pict res, scored a penalty kick, tried to play "It is useless to talk about FTAA (Free Trade Area of BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

21

tamborim with the sambistas, and was gently roughed up protectionism. by sweaty and enthusiastic young girls. "He let his guard Once again, the President bewitched the down and I kissed him. I am still moved," declared a audience by talking about some very Paulista visibly happy Josy Rodrigues, a 14-year-old girl athlete, (from Salo Paulo) characteristics like the Italafter a very close encounter with the White House chief. ian-origin bohemian neighborhood of Bexiga And a group of protesters who had prepared a large and Liberdade, the area with a heavy concendisplay against Clinton, weighed the circumstances, rolled tration of Japanese people. And Clinton was their cloth sign, and joined in the cheerful welcome. loudly applauded when he declared, "If BraEverybody had forgotten by then that 200 U.S. police zil is the country of the future, Sao Paulo is agents together with 30 men from the Brazilian Federal already the future."

Police were heavily armed, keeping a watchful eye over According to former minister Marcus Clinton's entourage and the 2,000 guests, and that the Vinicius Pratini de Moraes, the president of Mangueira hill and surrounding areas were occupied by AEB (Associacao de Comercio Exterior do military police.

Brasil—Brazil's Foreign Trade Association), And Hillary Clinton was given flowers by two grand tariffs and other barriers imposed on Brazildames of Mangueira, Dona Zica and Dona Neuma, the ian products by the U.S. are costing $3 billion same Dona Neuma, 75, who just a few days before had a year to the nation's economy. Textiles, said in a burst of anger: "If President Clinton's people steel, orange juice, and shoes are some of the trust us so little, he might as well not come. Let him stay products that suffer restrictions.

• home and take advantage of his United States."

Oozing Charm Clinton turned on his charm the night he arrived in Brasilia. While every American learns that the Wright Brothers AIR - IATA 01-1-9279-012 are the fathers of aviation, the Yankee leader OCEAN - FMC 3853 deferred to his host country's beliefs, recognizing that Brazilian Santos Dumont is the real TO ANY AIRPORT IN BRAZIL father of aviation. On the same speech at Itamaraty—the Brazilian foreign ministry—Clinton has shown that he had FULL CONTAINER & CONSOLIDATIONS done his homework. He TO ANY PORT IN BRAZIL talked about writer Jorge Amado, painter Candido (EXCELLENT CONTAINER RATES) Portinari and declared his love for Brazilian music citing bossa nova and the tropicalismo movement from the late sixties.

SHIPPER'S DOOR PICK-UP I'm* AIR/OCEAN FREIGHT miiik Compare this to Ronald Reagan, who on his visit CUSTOMS CLEARANCE (INCL. ALL DUTIES) momil to Brazil in December 1982, during an official DOOR DELIVERY TO BUYER IN BRAZIL banquet in Brasilia raised a toast to the "people of Bolivia."

In Sao Paulo, talking to business leaders, Clinton was again a charmer and got applause even when defending protectionism, what Brazil is accused of doing. In this case, much of the applause had to do with the Brazilian opposition to what they see as Yankee

BRAZIL SPECIALIST BEST SERVICE + BEST RATES

AIR EXPORT

OCEAN EXPORT

THE BEST FULL PACKAGE SERVICE

TOUCHDOWN FREIGRT CO, 121i33 SIMMS AVE. - HAWTHORNE, CA 90250

TEL: (310) 973-7112

FAX: (310) 973-7113 E-mailti@touchdownco.com VISIT OUR WEB SITE: http://www.touchdownco.corn

CALL JULIET - FALAMOS PORTUGUES

22 BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

0- Cade? - Netscape

Plig 1E3

File Edit View Go Communicator Help

CI

Bookmarks jt, Location: I hllp.//wwwcade.combr/

',Writhes

Consulia

everites vela

Busca

.Y?"-rormac5es

T

com.br

The number of Internet users in Brazil has surpassed the 1 million mark and the Institut° s Cent country is catching up fast with the most Net-savvy countries after a late start on the information highway. Brazilians' The chaotic, mind-bogefforts to become part of this new wired gling world of the Internet society have been extremely tough due to keeps spreading its million precarious telephone lines and wings all over the planet. In computers' prohibitive prices, to local Brazil, more than one miltelephone fees, to Internet providers. lion users are already conBetting on the Net market potential, over 17 thousand businesses have set up shop nected to cyberspace. Braon cyberspace oblivious to these zilians' swift response to the drawbacks. revolution on the informa-

Ciencia

Os

segments of the Brazilian population.

USERS PROFILE Last year, Cade? (the Brazilian equivalent of Yahoo ) and IBOPE (Brazil's largest market research institute) teamed up to conduct a survey among 18.225 "internauts". The results tion highway follows the MARIA ALVIM revealed that Brazilian usbooming of the nation's ers are at the top of the computer market, which has country's income pyramid, placed Brazil as Latin Amewith two out oft ree respondents (64%) having a monthly rica's leading force in the acquisition of modern technolofamily income o more than 20 times the minimum wage of gies. The visible result of the growing computer sales is the R$120 (approxi ately $109); another 21% earn more than country's strong presence on the Internet, with an increasing 50 times that am unt. number of web sites brimming with personal, educational, Furthermore, Brazilian users represent the most highly governmental and business information. educated segme t of the population, whereas 37% have a It was not until 1990 that the RNP (Rede Tilacional de university degre ; 40% have a high school diploma or are Pesquisa—National Research Network), an entity linked to currently attendi g school; and 62% speak English—althe Ministry of Science and Technology, was created to though the kno ledge of the language is more prevalent provide Internet access to the scientific community. Before rs, with 70% of these being bilingual. among young then, Brazilian universities and technological institutions As for the res ondents' occupational profile, one out of were connected to overseas computer networks via Bitnet, a four (24%) owns a business or is an executive, while 22% network similar to the Internet, but with only file transfer work with computers or in related areas. Another 7% work and e-mail services available. In April 1995, the government in administratio , and the rest of users have occupations in decided to launch an integrated network between academic a range of differe t areas. When it comes to gender and age, and business institutions, and RNP began acting as a nationthe survey clear y shows that Brazilian women are still wide Internet network for private service providers. T6day, unfazed by the n w trend with 8 out of ten Internet users RNP's extensive backbone connects most of the country's being male, while 78% of all respondents are between 15 states to the Net. and 39 years of age.

However, Brazilians' efforts to become part of this broad However el it st the profile may be, the presence of such networked society has not been without challenges. In addia large number of affluent users hasn't gone unnoticed by tion to the struggle to understand such a complex and Brazilian businesses. Although the Cade?/IBOPE survey anarchic source of information, their troubles are comrevealed that ne s pages are the main destination on the pounded by precarious telephone connections, high Internet Net for 82% oft e respondents, it also showed that 18% of access charges, and poor technical and customer service users (of which 0% are men, against 9% of women) have support offered by the numerous newly established Internet bought somethi g on-line, and 68% indicated interest in Service Providers (ISPs). On top of that, users pay timebuying from the Net some day. Which opens a flood gate based charges on local phone calls, which raises the costs of for Brazilian coripanies to the promising electronic comeven moderate Internet use to unaffordable levels for most BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

23

merce.

Virtual Business Despite pessimistic talks about the profitability of electronic commerce in view of its slow growth since the Internet boom, an increasing number of Brazilian companies—big and small—are betting on the market potential and establishing themselves on the Net. Over 17 thousand businesses have done just that, facing the risks involved in such a pioneering environment, while trying to adjust themselves to the reality of the digital world.

In the United States, major enterprises have long realized that making money on the Net is not an easy task, yet setting up a Web site has become a must for most of America's Fortune 500 companies. The lesson learned by American businesses was that, instead of focusing primarily on increasing revenue through direct sales, they could reduce transaction costs immensely by both marketing their products on the Internet and by providing on-line customer service to their clientele.

Brazilian firms are gradually assimilating the dynamics of a successful participation in electronic commerce. Take, for instance, Credicard, which holds 50% of the country's credit card market. The company expects to save close to $10 million a year, by increasing on-line customer support, and subsequently reducing the high costs of its toll-free phone operations. However, it took two years after the set-up of its first Web site for Credicard to realize that its initial expectations to make money by attracting new credit card holders on-line was completely misguided. The company learned that most visitors to its site had already a credit card and were lookirfg for account information and other convenient customer service add-ons, which led Credicard to the creation of a whole new site based on its customers' demands.

On the other hand, reducing transactions costs for the vendor alone is not enough to attract potential buyers. The ability to offer unique new services may also explain why some on-line businesses will fare better than others. GPO Empreendimentos Imobil idrios is a good example of a company with a well-conceived Internet marketing strategy. The Mineiro (from the state of Minas Gerais) real estate conglomerate maintains a page on the Net since October 1995, and it was the first Brazilian company of its kind to set up a Web site. In addition to its own page, GPO also created a real estate directory (see "Interesting Sites") which has become the sector's largest on-line classified ads. Free of charge, the ads are a great source for private parties, building contractors, realtors, insurance companies and anyone interested in researching real estate prices. According to GPO's marketing director, Ariano Cavalcanti, Internet sales account for only 5% of the company's revenue, yet he is a strong believer in the potential of electronic commerce, and credits the medium for expanding GPO's businesses both domestically and abroad.

Among other reasons, Cavalcanti—like many Brazilian executives—also blames the insignificant Internet sales on consumers' "ignorance and subsequent prejudice" against on-line transactions. Brazilian users fear, for instance, that their credit card numbers could be stolen by hackers, although more and more virtual stores use software that encrypts this type of information— besides the fact that there is no evidence that credit card numbers have been stolen over the Net yet.

The reality is that the industry players are still struggling to define Internet commerce, but the ultimate potential of on-line business remains indisputable, which can be attested by the rapid growth of Brazilian virtual malls. (See "Interesting Sites") Web of Obstacles While businesses try to figure out ways to overcome Brazilians' resistance to on-line shopping, the users themselves have 24

•••••• MMMMMMMMMMM ••••••• • • • •• INTERESTING SITES • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • •s • mu • • • • • • • • • • • • • a • s •

a Brazilian Embassy in Washington D.C. s - Portuguese and English. Links to nu- • • merous Brazilian and Brazilian-related s sites: business and finance, federal and • state governments, research institutes, • tourism, weather, culture and educa- • tion, environment and human rights. • • <http://www.brasil.emb.nw.dc.us/> w • Brazilian Business Connection - Portu- • • guese and English. For foreigners seek- • ing commercial ties with Brazil. Links s to many different types of businesses, • • big and small—from local bars to mul- • tinational companies; services, fash- • • ion, and much more. a <http://www.brazilbiz.com.br> • • American Chamber of Commerce -Bra- • P zil- Portuguese and English. Extensive s • information on business, economics and • politics between Brazil and the US. • Links to Rio's and Sao Paulo's branches • • of AMCHAM. • <http://www.amcham.com.br> • is • • Sao Paulo Stock Exchange - Portuguese • • • and English. For the latest stock bulle- • • tins <http://www.bovespa.com.br> • s Rio de Janeiro i Stock Exchange - <http:/ • • • a /www.embratel.net.beinfoserv/bvri> w • • •• E i & Negocos i -Mostly osty Portu- • • guese. Exchange rates between the Bra- • • • zilian real and the U.S. dollar, plus • • links to Universal Currency Converter • ii • and to other Brazilian and Latin Ameri- • • • can economic indicators. <http:// • • www.super.com.br/home/ • • •• econeg.htm> e • • • NETimoveis - Portuguese. Extensive • sl • data on reall estate market, including • • free classified ads.

• • • <http://www.netimoveis.com.br> • • • • e Shopping Virtuais Portuguese and En• • • glish. Virtual shopping directory, from • • supermarkets, department stores to • • • Mercosul businesses.

• • s <http://www.sercomtel.com.br/ • • cswbrasil/shopping.htm> • • • • • Eu Odeio a Telerj (I Hate Telerj) • s • Portuguese. Good-humored page cre- • • • t by frustrated Telerj user Romulo aed • • Fritscher. The site has over 500 mes- s • • sages of support to Fritscher's anti- • • • Telerj campaign as well as complaints • • from other unsatisfied users, whose tales • a • border on the bizarre. <http:// • • www.pagebuilder.com.br/ s a • odeioatelerywelcome.htm> • • s • ••••••••••••••••••••••••

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

plenty of problems of their own. For one, the ever increasing number of ISPs operating in Brazil often accepts more customers than they can handle, which makes all but impossible to get an available phone line. It is not unusual for users to be without Internet access for nearly a week, as can be confirmed by Rio de Janeiro resident Rainer Hopperdietzel.

The German expatriate, who uses the Internet mostly for his work as a chemical engineer and technical translator, has changed ISPs four times in a period of twelve months, and is currently looking for a fifth one. According to Hopperdietzel, finding a good provider requires extensive price research and luck, above all.

What is even more frustrating, he says, is that "whenever users have a connection problem, ISPs always try to blame us for it. Furthermore, to reach live technical support can take several days and attempts through phone calls often handled by answering machines, message services and faxes that can get totally ignored, as it happened to me with my first ISP." To add insult to the injury, the high prices charged by ISPs can range from $3 an hour to close to $109 for unlimited access. (The latter deal is offered by Brasilia's APIS - Internet Solutions, although most providers charge for limited usage as per monthly hours.) IBM, for instance, charges $36.15 for 12 hours, plus the same amount for the enrollment fee, and $2,50 for each additional hour. Yet complaints about the company's services abound, specially among Carioca (from Rio de Janeiro) users. IBM is said to perform better in Sao Paulo, but for some obscure reason its users must take a long road to Florida, with a stop in New York, just to access a page from a Rio de Janeiro server, which only increases the risks of inadequate connections.

Users' troubles don't stop here. Brazil's obsolete tele-

communicati ns system is also responsible for painfully slow connec ions. For one, very few phone carriers work with digital I nes, which means that the speed of information is trans itted at 30 bits per second—or nearly a thousand times slower—for those using a 28,800 bps modem.

It is also estimated that for every 100 local phone calls placed in the ountry, only 45 to 50 are completed, while 35 to 42 get a b sy signal or no answer, and 6 to 16 are not completed at all due to system failures. In Rio de Janeiro, the nation's second largest concentration of internauts after sao P ulo, frustration with local phone company Telerj runs si high that it led to the creation of a Eu Odeio a Telerj (I Hate Telerj) Web site by one of its users. (See "Interesting ites".)

Says Ho perdietzel: "When complaining about ISPs one has also t • take in consideration the difficult conditions under which they operate, dependent as they are on the ailing natio al phone network. Bottom line, the whole structure is r tten."

Despite II the problems, the collapse of Internet connections for II razilian users is unlikely to happen, given the determinati n of the government to proceed with the privatization of the telecommunications sector, which will undoubtedly bring the much needed modernization of the system.

Greedy a d inefficient ISPs will in turn be forced out of business by major industry players, such as TV mogul Silvio Santos whose group recently invested around $7 million in t e ISP market. His newly created enterprise, SBT On Lin (http://www.sol.com.br), is already present in 2.855 Bra il i an cities, offering Internet access for $32 a month for u limited hours—still an expensive rate compared to those charged in the United States, but by far the best bargain in Brazil so far.

•

THANK YOU for making us #1!

L.A. to BRAZIL

$587 ow* $626 rt* MIAMI to BRAZIL $560 rt* We have space for Christmas Call us now It is very limited. *RESTRICTIONS APPLY Mari, a Siegert receiving first place award for Tropical Travel from VASP Brazilian Airlines

1 (888) 7BRASIL

7-day Hawaii package

$399+tvc BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER

CALL TOLL FREE.

TROPICAL

1 (888) 727-2745 E-mail: tropical@slip.net TEL: (510) 655-9904 FAX: (510) 655-9229

TRAVEL

4168 PIEDMONT AVE., SUITES C & D - OAKLAND, CA 94611 25

RIO-SP

INTERNATIONAL TOURS LOS ANGELES INC.

FROM LAX

THE BEST OF BRAZIL FOR A VERY LOW PRICE

bbVw (RI)

.,

EXAMPLES:

*RESTRICTIONS APPLY

Sit0 PAULO OPEN RETURN $599 RIO/SAO PAULO $499 VICTORIA $619 PORTO ALEGRE/IGUAZU $689 RECIFE/SALVADOR/MANAUS $644 VISIT BRAZIL 5 COUPONS $444

OTHER DESTINATIONS AVAILABLE. PLEASE CALL US, AND COMPARE OUR PRICES AND OUR SERVICES. THEY STAND ON THEIR OWN MERIT AND YOU ARE THE JUDGE.

f: BRAZIL TOURS

$699 $720 $743

BUENOS AIRES SANTIAGO, CHILE MONTEVIDEO

WORLD WIDE SERVICES Established 1963 - Same Ownership

Visit Lis at http://www.braziltours.com

PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE

1-800-927-8352 688 W. BAKER ST. - SUITE 3 COSTA MESA, CA 92626

321 E. 2ND ST. - SUITE 1001 LOS ANGELES, CA 90012

Tel.: (818) 990-4995

Fax: (818) 990-3114

71 1.44 66811 01 57 1t (ESN 2130 SAVVTELLE BLVD - SUITE 112 LOS ANGELES CA 90025 (310) 575-4544 (ERG. ONLY)

9841 AIRPORT BLVD - SUITE 506 LAX, CA 90045 (310) 641-4894 (ERG. ONLY)

E-mail: bfoster734@aakcorn 14615 Ventura Blvd. Suite A, Sherman Oaks, California 91403

Viaje para qualquer parte do mundo corn o jeitinho brasileiro e o padrao internacional da Cheviot Hills RIO DE JANEIRO SUPER SPECIAL PACKAGE

ONE-TIME-ONLY LOS ANGELES TO RIO DE JANEIRO OR SAO PAULO

ROUND TRIP AIR TICKETS HOTEL PACKAGE AND HALF-DAY CITY TOUR

CHEVIOT HILLS TRAVEL SERVICE

1 (800) 585E8023 -

311 202-6264 818 501-4426 310 837-2214(FAX) voral _.F Sua agencia brasileira em L.A. 9819 National Blvd., Ste. #1 - Los Angeles, CA 90034

VASP 26

DELTA

KOREAN AIR

VARIG

UNITED BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

BRAZIL-USA International Service

BRAZIL AIR TRAVEL SERVICES EXCELLENCE IS A HABIT.

" Empresa one voce pode Condor"

REVOLUCIONARIO

TONY BANOS, OWNER 40,1IXARS 'IRA'VEL INDUSTRV EXPERIENCE.

FALA-SE PORTUGUES.

Programa de : Mudancas Cargas Aereas e Maritimas

SOT# 2032791-40

Pergunte sobre nosso : "PET" Pacote Economieo de Transportee Reduza drasticamente suas despesas de frete e mudancas para o Brasil.

It $683* RIO DE JANEIRO HOTEL PACKAGE 6 morn. BASED ON DOME OCCUPANCY

pip $284* Low Season • Plus applioable taxes.

Gratis :

Pacote de InformacOes como preparar sua mudarica para o Brasil Tel. :(310) 542-9594 a Fax:(310) 542-0479

(8OO) 441-8515 10700 %a Roma Rya, SurtE 15 Lesko:ma, CAUFOINBA 90025.

(310)441-8500 FAX (310)441-8502.

E-Mail : brazilusal@aol.com

e tram! AlrTrevel &nun, 1997

WAREHOUSE:2280-208th Street -Torrance-CA- 90501

BIOGENESIS CONSULTING lir ND• Q. vizt.,,,,,.., /.

• A. -t.cs2144.0.z •c

li erAttean

• p7d4

id Y,,,,/,,,,A

Retadeo

INCORPORAITO

HAS THE BEST BRAZILIAN SERVICE

•

• gee/

SEABORNE

INTERNATIONAL

FROM LOS ANGELES,— AND TO ARGENTINA AS WELL!

Dr. Tony C. Leite, N. D. Board Certified Naturopath

'Call us before you ship., we can save you a lot of money"!

(805) 274-6179

P.O. Box 902211 Palmdale, CA 93590

E-mail: DrLeite4yo@aol.com

- Wk./

- pi/4,4.1

* By Appointment Only *

For Business Opportunities Get the Right Connection

,p1/4„os poouc'u's Ocean freight services from anywhere in the USA to anywhere in South America t

Brazil - California Regular sail gs at competitive rates, local transportation, marine insurance, documentation, specialized packing and crating services.

For quotations, bookings and information contact:

Chamber of Commerce Call Now Tel/Fax: (310) 665-0166

SEALIORNE INTERNATIONAL, INC. 11222, La Cienega Blvd., Suite 470, Los Angeles, CA 90304

Tel: (30) 216-4225 / Fax: ( 310) 216-1124 (04tside the Los Angeles Area: 800-662-6722) Internet bsite: www.seaborne-inacom email: carlaroBaol corn

5777 Century Blvd., Suite 1160 Los Angeles, CA 90045 BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

27

Alem da ponte cinzenta e empedrada comecava o muro dos Vilares.

Por cima dele se inclinavam alguns chorOes desgalhados e sofredores, pendendo para o chao poeirento, ansiando por um descanso. Urn vento morno e enervante rocava-lhes as folhas mais altas, fazia tremer as janelas vermelhas do sobrado, como se as forcasse de prop6sito.

0 jardineiro dos Vilares, de joelhos sobre a terra, arrancava, corn cuidado para nao magoar as fibres, aqui e au, pequenas plantas daninhas.

De vez em quando olhava o ceu. A terra pedia chuva, e era s6 aquele vento seco e ruinoso soprando em cima das plantas e das criaturas, corn impiedade. Estava no seu trabalho, quando a porta da frente se abriu, e Maninha apareceu corn os cabelos voando, o vestido branco palpitando igual a uma asa, fininha, comprida e panda: —Se chegar alguem de automovel, espie a entrada da ponte. Avise para ter cuidado corn a vala.

— Esta direito — assentiu o jardineiro. Eu aviso. Espera cá a menina!

POs-se em pe, apanhou urn molho de algumas altas flores vermelhas, inchadas, grandes, tao vicosas que pareciam artificiais, e levou-as Maninha — Estas sao fortes. Nao ha vento que de cabo delas.

Maninha sorriu, apanhou as flores, e voltou correndo. Ao entrar na sala sentiu a mesma atmosfera tensa e irritante que all deixara havia poucos momentos. A mae e o pai continuavam a discutir, corn aquele modo especial.

Feriam-se mutuamente numa guerra severa e contida. Nem gritos, nem desabafos, nem acessos de Ira, ou crises de choro. Mas uma batalha fria e metodica, em que todos os gestos eram estudados, todas as palavras determinadas e inflexiveis, nunca apaixonadas e descuidosas. Passou Maninha como uma lufada branca e leve pela sala de moveis escuros e pesados, corn a mancha vermelha das flores em uma das maos. Subiu a escada de ferro. La em baixo, fitando a filha, disse Carlos Vilares a sua mulher — Luisa.

— Já sei para que sao estas flores!

0 menino esta doente, talvez em perigo de vida, e voce impele a sua prOpriafilha para fazer o irmao piorar, num exagero de beatice!

Carlos havia dito isto mais como ironia, com urn repuxar nos labios finos, que queria ser urn sorriso, tornar menos graves suas palavras, mas Luisa respondeu erguendo a face fina de ave, fixando-o de perfil, corn urn olho apenas, como prestes a dar uma bicada violenta, a traicao: — Sao flores para o altar, que Tarciso mesmo fez quando era pequenino. Seu filho sempre foi crente e calmo. Voce o mergulhou na clUvida.

28

Tarciso The dreams started to become confusing: those men full of open wounds would get smaller and smaller, and Tarciso felt big and strong. They embraced him with their skeletal arms, filled with wounds, begging for alms, or something else that Tarciso himself did not know what it was. "Don't leave us! Don't leave us!" they screamed. And Tarciso felt like letting them embrace him, he also wanted to kiss them.

DINAH SILVEIRA DE QUEIROZ Voce, corn seu materialismo, corn seus discursos fora da moda! Nao foi a minha fe; nab foram as flores corn que eu e Maninha enfeitamos os pas de Nossa Senhora, que confundiram o menino, que o desuortearam. Foi voce! —"Meu filho ha de ser mais feliz do que eu, ter mais prazeres na vida. Tome dinheiro, meu filho! Eu nao tive.

Voce tern. Va divertir-se. Deixe as saias da mae." Lembre-se! Lembre-se de que foi isso que precipitou a crise—os seus conselhos.

Carlos Vilares desabotoou o palet6, comecou a dar passadas e mais passadas, que pareciam calmas e medidas: —Chamei Tarciso aqui como qualquer pai o faria. Dei-lhe algumas explicacOes. E claro! Meu filho nao podia continuar como urn maricas. Quantas vezes eu mesmo— vendo-o do meu tamanho, já quase urn homem

feito, me envergonhava da sua timidez. Incrivel!

Luisa virou a face magra, de todo, focalizou o marido corn seu olhar duro: —Sua vaidade sacrificou o menino. A verdade é que de repente voce sentiu que ele me pertencia. Era meu!

Toda a sua eloqUencia, e todas as suas ideias de urn materialismo grosseiro nao encontraram apoio em Tarciso. 0 que voce fez... foi crime. Sim! — eu digo corn a maior clareza e assumo a responsabilidade do que estou dizendo: voce fez o menino ficar doente; talvez para sempre!

— Minha familia nao tern malucos.

A sua já nao é a mesma coisa. Aquele seu tio que vestiu uma opa — e saiu pelo mundo: — "Esmola para os pobres! Esmola para os pobres! " Deu tudo que tinha, botou dinheiro fora corn toda a especie de vagabundos.

Minha familia é de gente equilibrada!

A face de Luisa tremeu, mas sua voz era firme e aspera: —Voce?... Nem se deu o respeito.

Mostrou livros indecentes a Tarciso...

Isto é, nab mostrou, mas "esqueceu" de proposito para o menino ler! 0 que esta acontecendo corn nosso filho que... foi urn choque que ele teve— grande demais para sua inocencia.

Carlos passou a mao pelos belos cabelos grisalhos: — Quando o Doutor Laertes chegar — voce me chame logo.

A fala de Luisa subiu urn torn: nunca ela se pareceu tanto corn uma ave arisca: —Charnel Padre Nicolau. Os meus direitos sao iguais aos seus. Voce acha que Tarciso precisa de urn medico. Eu acho que nab. Prefiro urn sacerdote 0 marido pas o pe na escada, pronto para subir: —Coitado! Ate tenho pena de voce meter o Padre Nicolau nessa hist6ria. Aquele jeito dele—nao sei se escrirpulo, se falta de inteligencia— de pensar meia hora, antes de dizer qualquer coisa! Pode chamar a vontade. Chame o jardineiro, se quiser, tambem... contanto que o Doutor Laertes venha. Isso é que é o principal.

E Carlos foi subindo devagar. No meio da escada encontrou Maninha; vinha correndo para junto da mae.

Enquanto o pai entrava no quarto de Tarciso, Maninha se chegava a Luisa, corn maneiras assustadas: —Mamae—eu jurei, mas pra senhora eu conto: ate nao foi mesmo um juramento, eu enganei Tarciso, e disse: "Juro por Deus!" bem depressa, ele pensou que eu estava jurando. Eu agora sei tudo! Ele falou! Ele contou!

—Fez alguma coisa... malfeita, quando saiu de casa? Hein? Fez? Fale, mas fale baixo por causa de seu pai.

Senao tudo arrebenta em cima de mim...

— Foi horrivel, mamae. Nao sei.

BRAZZIL -NOVEMBER 1997

Acho que ndo fez. Mas teve vontade de fazer.

Maninha ergueu os olhos, olhou para a porta de Tarciso. Estava fechada, ndo havia perigo: — Tudo foi por causa de uns sonhos. Foi por isso que ele foi embora. A senhora se lembra quando ele ficava acordado, estudando noites e noites? A senhora zangava e ele dizia que ndo tinha sono. Mas estava enganando... Etc ndo queria dormir... corn medo dos pesadelos. Meu Deus, como é que uma pessoa como Tarciso pode sofrer tanto?

A campainha tocou.

— Deve ser o medico. Quieta!— disse Luisa a Maninha, enquanto rapida se encaminhava para a porta.

Mas, para sua surpresa, quern chegara era o lento e ofegante Padre Nicolau.

— Vim depressa — disse ele, corn pequenas pausas para respirar.-0 Coronet Juliano me trouxe... de autom6vel. Que hd... entdo?

E se atirou pesadamente numa poltrona, antes que Luisa o mandasse sentar: — Este vento... me faz mal. Por pouco que o carro rid° bateu... na quarta da ponte. Quando levamos o susto... apareceu... seu jardineiro para nos avisar... que tivessemos cuidado...

Luisa disse, polida: — 0 senhor desculpe. Sinto muito.

Mas foi so o susto, ndo foi?

— Isso mesmo. Que é que a senhora... quer? Alguma... dificuldade? Esta menina...

Maninha disse, vjva: —Ndo é comigo. E corn meu irmdo Tarciso. Eu ndo tenho nada.

Luisa fe-la interromper-se corn um gesto brusco: amaciou a fala, dirigindo-se ao padre: — Tarciso anda esquisito. Meu marido acha que ele esti. doente.

Porque deu pra fugir de casa, e ficar horas e horas, depois, sem querer dar a palavra a ninguem.

— Ah! —fez Padre Nicolau.— Entdo o Tarciso... aquele que brincava de dizer missa, quando era... pequenino... deu para fugir?

—Nos pensavamos... que fosse coisa de meninote—disse Luisa.

— Ate uma paixdo...—era a Maninha quern falava, e coma gravidade de irma mais velha: 0 padre se abriu num sorriso: —Isso deve ser... urn excesso de amor. Talvez... mimos. Mimos demais.

—Mamde, eu posso falar? Posso contar ao Padre Nicolau?

— Decerto, Maninha. Mas fate baixo. Olhe seu pai. Seu pai e capaz de ouvir.

—Padre Nicolau, — comecou Maninha — e uma coisa tremenda.

Nem sei como comecar.

—Minha filha, pense que e como se voce... estivesse no confessiondrio.

Ndo tenha medo.

—Sdo os pesadelos de Tarciso.

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

No principio, ele disse que sempre fazia urn esforco... e acordava antes... Era horrivel, mas depois...

A mocinha fixou o padre e a me con os olhos mergulhados num medo denso.

—Etc via chagas. Uma porcao de cha as.

Homens sem rosto, os ossos de fora, a c rne escorrendo para o lado, como trapos sangrentos.

Via pernas inchadas, via gangrenas, via Idhios comidos de ferida, via tumores exalando pus, e o pron..

Os olhos de Maninha estavam rasos ua: —0 pior é que tudo isso agradava Tar iso.

Ndo sei. Etc disse assim mesmo: "Maninh , eu ndo quero mais guardar segredos de voce. em uma daquelas... posso falar, posso, P dre Nicolau?... Nem uma daquelas figuras de mulheres dos livros—que e pecado a g nte ver—me atrairam tanto! Em vez de me en her de nojo, tinha vontade de apalpar aqu las feridas... de beijar aquelas chagas, de mergu har o dedo no pus."

Houve urn silencio. Depois Mani ha prosseguiu: — Tarciso disse que no comeco rea ia.

Vinham aqueles homens horriveis a sua fren e...

Luisa comprimiu os labios. Logo disse ilium tom fundo, doido: — Pobre do meu filhinho!

Padre Nicolau se tornara vermelho, e ais ofegante ainda, quase apopletico. Corn voz dificil perguntou: — Depois?

Ouviu-se o ruido de uma porta que se a na.

— Depois os sonhos comecaram a car confusos: aqueles homens cheios de chagas iam ficando pequeninos, pequeninos, e Tarcis se sentia grande e forte. Eles o enlacavam om seus bracos esqueleticos, cobertos de feri as, pedindo uma esmola, ou o que, nem Tar iso sabia: —"Nao nos deixe! NA° nos dei e!", gritavam. E Tarciso sentia vontade de se de xar abracar, queria beijd-los tambem. Uma von ade louca de ficar corn eles, de se unir a eles. Mas meu irmao ndo podia explicar direito o que sentia, como era aquela atracdo terrivel, a riais terrivel... Mas de repente ele ficava corn m do, fug ia. E os homenzinhos desfigurad s o perseguram, agarravam-se As suas pernas cbmo anoes pavorosos..."

— Entdo era isso!

Carlos, muito pdlido, estava diant de Maninha: —Conte para seu pai—disse ele.—Eu evo saber! Eu preciso... NA° acontece nada. Eu nao faco nada! Mas quero saber! Por que Padre Nicolau hd de entender melhor o que se passa em minha pr6pria casa? Por que esconder de mrm? Diga, entdo!

—SO isso, papai! Nos dias seguintes a e ses sonhos tremendos, Tarciso... tinha vontad de ir a rgreja...

Carlos balancou a cabeca, num gesto raivpso: — Justamente como eu pensava. E ent o?

— Entdo ele se chegava a escada, fica ficava olhando fascinado para os mendi os.

Sabe? Aquela mulher corn erisipela, a p ma inchada—o homem corn uma chaga no lug r do nariz... Tarciso ficava olhando, olhando. De tro dele subia uma vontade esquisita. Be jar!

Apalpar aquela chaga, acaricrar a perna do nte.

Depois fugia dali, e dizia para si mesmo: — "Meu Deus! Salvai-me! Estou ficando lou o!"

— Uma noite andou, andou sonhando co fusamente corn chamados misteriosos... e dia

veio, e ele sempre sonhando de olhos abertos e andando como Sc fosse empurrado.

Carlos olhou Luisa corn um ar ao mesmo tempo vitorioso e triste: —Eu tido the disse? Ainda imagina que eu sou o culpado?

E voltando-se para Padre Nicolau: — Luisa pensou que certas revelacoes... tivessem chocado demais Tarciso. Pensou, ora, pensou que tudo fosse obra do meu "materialismo".

Diga the o senhor mesmo que isso — de Tarciso é uma doenca, uma doenca cuja culpa ndo me cabe. Como esta. vendo!

Padre Nicolau estava ansioso: — As vezes... dois... o pai e a ink, em seu excesso de amor... podem fazer mal... levar urn filho a confusdo.

Querem imprimir sua alma... na alma de seu filho. E lutam, por estampar o proprio retrato no coracdo da crianca.

Querem destruir seu espirito, por urn egoismo natural, As vezes...

Luisa baixou os olhos: — Padre Nicolau, vamos ver o menino?

—Tarciso esta dormindo. Esti extenuado. Ndo devem acordd-lo agora—disse Carlos.

Maninha falou aflita: —E o medico que nao vem!...

Tarciso me disse que essa forca que ele sente e tar) grande... Ele tern medo de ir ndo sabe para onde! Eu tirei a chave Id de cima da porta do quarto que dã para a escada. Primeiro— tranquei, naturalmente. Acho que tranquei direito, nem vale a pena ver — concluiu baixinho.

Padre Nicolau, visivelmente perplexo, atirava palavras a esmo: — 0 menino sempre me pareceu... calmo... normal.

E se dirigindo a Luisa: — Minha filha, Deus 6 bondade, docura. Em vez de combater seu marido... dele deviatentar aproximarse tanto quanto ele da senhora. Ndo oferecer a Tarciso essa contradicdo tdo viva... que, decerto, feriu o rapaz.

Pobrezinho! Ndo sabia em quern devia crer... Na sua confusdo... ficou-lhe perturbado o cerebro, sim... deve ser isso. Ndo the parece... Dr. Carlos?

Tambem ndo pensa assim? Agora? E preciso que se ndo esquecam—neste momento—do poder da oracdo...

Mas Carlos dardejava sobre Luisa urn olhar carregado de intencdes: — "Eu ndo falei?"—parecia significar.

Enquanto isso, Maninha abria a porta.

Entardecia. A inda ventava. "E o Doutor Laertes que ndo chega!" pensava. * * *

0 automOvel veio muito devagar.

Um homem Os a cabeca para fora. 0 jardineiro gritou: — Passe por aqui que passa, sim!

Por aqui!...

Logo que atravessou a ponte o 29

homem freou o carro, e saltou: —Eu bem reconheci voce! Logo no mesmo momento...

0 jardineiro ficou livido: —Doutor Laertes!

— Eu mesmo! Voce pensou que pudesse escapar do hospital, assim?

A figura do medico tomava certa atitude suficiente, autoritdria, semelhante A de um chefe militar: — Por que fez isso? Eu devia punilo, Mandar o carro dos doentes pegdlo aqui mesmo, diante de todos, e depois prende-lo! Prende-lo na cela!

— Doutor... eu nao estou doente...

E o jardineiro cruzava os bracos atras das costas, ao mesmo tempo que olhava sirplice para o medico.

—Voce estd doente: sabe que esta doente. No esconda as maos. Quer enganar-me? Pensa que me engana?

0 homem tremia de emoc5o: ando muito velho para acostumar-me no hospital...

Trinta anos cuidando das fibres, mexendo na terra. Ai! Que triste a vida Ia, "seu' doutor, para urn pobre como eu, que nem sabe ler, nem gosta de ouvir radio, como os outros...

Doutor Laertes... por Deus que esta no ceu, nao me faca voltar!

E o pobre homem rompeu em solucos, como uma crianca. Depois, continuou: — Mesmo dizer que eu viva corn esta familia—isto nao vivo, nao!

Durmo num quarto Id para os fundos da casa... Tenho os meus pratos, fop minha comida... o medico.—Sou —E obrigado a dar parte! Se nao quiser ir por bem—agora mesmo—pior para voce! 0 carro vird buscd-lo!

0 doente limpou os olhos corn a manga da camisa: —Nao é pelo dinheiro que perco, nem pela liberdade de andar pelas ruas... E pelo amor que sinto As plantinhas de Deus. E tambern pelo menino. Pode-se Ia governor o coracao? 0 pequeno vinha por aqui, dava-me prosa... Por alma de minha mae! Nunca vi uma crianca daquele jeito. Gosta-se logo dele, como... um filho. Mas doutor! SO converso corn ele assim, como estou falando corn o senhor... Nunca the ponho as maos.

0 medico consultou o relOgio, a fisionomia fechada: —Arrume-se, e vá embora; ja lhe disse. Se quiser, invente uma desculpa qualquer para se despedir. Mas ande depressa!

E o Doutor Laertes, corn seus passos rigidos, tomou a direcao da casa dos Vilares. 0 jardineiro ent5o, resolutamente, se encaminhou para os fundos do quintal. Diante do seu quarto, porem, hesitou, e, voltando, comecou a subir a escada que dava para o quarto de Tarciso. *** 0 homem estavatremulo, comovi-

do, e sentia o suor correr pela face, como se levasse em si um peso descomunal. Bateu fracamente na porta. Depois, quis torcer o trinco.

Mas, ao encostar a mao, a porta cedeu. Talvez fosse o proprio vento que a abrisse e nao ele. Ld no canto, sobre a cama de madeira, uma vaga claridade descia da janela alta, semicerrada.

0 jardineiro aproximou-se, devagarinho.

Sentia a fronte latejar. "0 menino estaria adormecido? Deus o guarde. Deus o guarde", pensavA. Tarciso, ainda imovel na cama, abriu os olhos. Rodou-os pelo quarto, viu o jardineiro.

— Ah, é voce?Pode entrar. Sente-se. Euinao estava dormindo. Estava so de olhos fechados.

0 empregado chegou mais perto do leito: — Poisentao aqui venho eu... dizer adeus ao menino.

—Voce? Voce vai embora? Por que? Entdo nao gosta mais da gente?

—Bern ,que eu nao queria dizer... Mas corn o menino Tarciso eu nao sei mentir. Eu queria continuar... sempre.

—Quem sabe se voce esta ganhando pouco?

Quer que eu fate corn papai?

— Nao, meu pequeno. I\Ido precisa falar corn seu pal. E que me you... por andar doente...

— Mas ñão parece!

Tarciso sentou-se, e continuou: —Parece vender saucle. Tao forte! Acho que voce ndo quer 6 mais morar conosco. Deve ser isso.

—Pois se nao confia em mim... Foi o medico, que agora esti la em baixo, que me mandou... voltar para o hospital. Tenho que estar internado... 0 menino nunca reparou... que trago doentes as maos? Verdade 6 que as tenho sempre sujas de terra.

A expressdo de Tarciso subitamente mudou, num pressentimento. A tarde declinava, e urn raio de luz alaranjada, o sot filtrando atraves da poeira, descia reto sobre seu rosto. A pele estava estirada, brilhante, cor-de-rosa, tao lisa como se fora de louca. Podia-se acompanhar, transparecendo profundamente, como estava, em seu rosto, uma intensa emocao que the ia no intimo.

—Pens'ei que fosse do trabalho. Mas... Deixe ver suas maos—ordenou Tarciso, corn um estranho tom.

—Meu pequeno... *** 0 *homem ainda estava na sombra, e vinha mais e mais perto do leito iluminado. Porem, .chegando rente a cama de Tarciso, parou. Juntou as maos atras de si, corn receio, envergonhado.

Tremia. Balbuciou "nao", debilmente, medroso, de subito, quase como uma crianca.

—Quero ver suas maos. As suas maos. Ande!

0 homem parecia hipnotizado. Relutou por segundos, depois estendeu as maos, que penetraram na claridade, ganhando logo um rridgico relevo. Eram maos manchadas e tortas, pisadas, roxas e crescidas. Tarciso nunca reparara nelas. Estavam au i diante de seus olhos, pedacos marcados pela morte proximo, e no entanto vivos, bulindo como dois animais feridos, condenados.

Entao o menino sentiu em si aquela impetuosa onda de esquisito carinho, avassaladora como urn doce fogo de amor, e agarrando as pobres maos doentes—paralisado o jardineiro por forca invencivel—inundou-as de longos

beijos, de transbordantes beijos, juntando-lhes seus ldbios devagar, interminavelmente.

Depois que Carlos explicou ao Doutor Laertes a doenca de seu filho, disse o medico corn certa gravidade afetuosa: — Corn quinze anos! Hum! Nao deve ser tao grave quanto o senhor pensa. Tudo faz supor que se trate de uma crise de puberdade. Nab vi ainda o garoto... Mas assim... como me contam... o caso parece revestir-se de urn aspecto facil ate para a moderna psicologia. 0 temor religioso, infundido pela mae—desculpe-me, Padre Nicolau! — desviou, corn certeza, uma tendencia normal. As chagas, as deformidades... tudo nao passa, senao, de instinto sexual mascarado, que se nao quer revelar... ao proprio menino, de indole t5o religiosa, como o senhor disse.

Luisa e Padre Nicalau se entreolharam. Maninha fixava o medico corn modo indagador. Nao estava entendendo, via-se logo.

Doutor Laertes consultou novamente o relOgio: —Bern. Agora vamos ver o doentinho.

Mas urn grito, um grito de homem, forte, cortante, encheu o ambiente. 0 jardineiro abriu a porta do quarto, projetou-se quase caindo pela escada, e chegou diante de todos rindo e chorando ao mesmo tempo, como um louco: —Deus do ceu! Deus do cell!

Doutor Laertes perguntou severo: —Que e isso, homem? Que é que tern? Por que ainda esta aqui? Quer entao ser levado pelo carro do hospital?

— Eu you dizer-lhe, doutor, you dizer-lhe... Aconteceu uma coisa...

Precis° falar e nao posso! Eu me fui despedir do pequeno, Id no quarto.— Nao, nao fique zangado,"seu" doutor.

Eu pensava em sO dizer adeus... nem queria que ele soubesse... da minha doenca. Ent5o... As Idgrimas desciam livremente pelo rosto.—Nao sei... ele quis ver as minhas maos quando sem saber como, fui-the dizendo que eram... doentes.

Luisa apertou a boca contendo-se apavorada.

—"Seu" doutor, aconteceu... aconteceu que o menino ao ve-las ficou mudado de rosto, tao diferente, que causava espanto, parecia outra criatura.

Todos cercavam o jardineiro, at6nitos, abismados. Algo de terrivel sucedera—eles sentiam.

0 homem continuou: — 0 menino Tarciso pegou-me as maos... Meus bracos pareciam de pedra. Quis retird-las, doutor; por Deus que nao tive forcas! E Tarciso comecou a beija-las... Beijd-las corn BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

uma decisdo muito meiga e muito carinho, que nem se pode contar direito... E entdo... aconteceu...

0 jardineiro sufocava, quase.

Por fim, disse corn voz liberta, num impulso delirante: —Urn milagre! Urn milagre! Doutor Laertes: olhe para minhas mao!... Elas foram branquejando corn os beijos daquele anjo de Nossa Senhora... Foram desaparecendo as nodoas. Ate que se foram de uma vez as manchas!

Rep are!

E o homem estendeu para O medico as mdos puras, lisas, finas, como nascidas de novo.

Enquanto todos contemplavam o prodigio, e Padre Nicolau dizia baixinho, como que se lamentando: "e eu que nao soube...", "e eu ndo vi...", Maninha subiu a escada: —Tarciso!—gritou.

Abriu a porta e, depois de urn momento, tornou a descer: — Ele saiu! —di sse, e acrescentou: — mas juro que fechei a porta... Eu me lembro perfeitamente!

— Nao ha mais portas que segurem o menino Tarciso!

—gritou o jardineiro.

Maninha, acompanhada de Carlos e de Luisa, precipitou-se para o jardim. Os pais foram ficando para tras.

Maninha corria leve, o vestido branco flutuando como uma vela no mar. Atravessou a ponte... Mais adiante ia indo Tarciso.

— Tarciso, ndo vá embora! Espere, espere por mim, Tarciso!

Apesar do esforco sobrehumano, nab conseguiu alcanca-lo. De longe ele acenou sereno, dizendo adeus. Maninha sentiu vertigens imaginando o mundo tremendo de doentes, de miseraveis, de infelizes e deformados para o qual — ela adivinhava agora — seu irmao partia sem re tomo, numa ansia de amor.

Todo o crepiisculo, tdo violentamente sangtlineo, parecia concentrar-se na sua figura, que estranhamente crescia, ganhando em majestade, em vez de diminuir, na distancia sempre major.

"Tarciso" was originally published in Maravilhas do Conto Moderno Brasileiro, Editora Cultrix, Sao Paulo, 1961

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

That torture with her name had astarted when she entered the French sisters' lycee. All the agrarian nobility educated their daughters there. Her own mother had studied there and could not think of any other education for Aida.

HELENA SILVEIRA

Ida, jã no portico, beijou a mao e Mere

okAgnese, fez uma graciosa reverenc , viu-se corn os olhos do espirito, tao distin a, a saia .1_ azul-marinho pregueada abrindo-se como as v retas de urn leque. Foi a Ultima a entrar no Onibus do colegio.

Dorina Quedou-se entre Judite de Vasconcelos Montalvdo da Cunha. Todos os assentos estavam ocupados e mesmo sem volver a cabeca ela imaginava que a pequena Souto Vilela estaria ao lado de Maria Carlota Leme de Alcantara. Uma como que atraia a outra! Alias era natural, cuidou Aida, pertencendo as duas as mais antigas familias de Sao Pauli Nesse instante preciso de seu raciocinio, veio-lhe a voz da governanta, assentada ao fim do carro, veijicendo a distancia:

—Parece que mademoiselle Magnocavallo sera a Ultima a descer.

Sua rua em que bairro fica mesmo, mademoiselle?

E a menina a responder corn dificuldade, sem voltar a cabeca, num vermelhdo subindo-lhe ao rosto: —No Born Retiro, mademoiselle.

--Como se pode morar tao longe—ciciou a bela Judite, para logo em seguida declarar que, em compensacdo, ela seria a primeira a descer, pois morava au i mesmo, ao fim da Avenida Higienopolis.

—Quase que ndo precisava tomar o onibus— aventou Aida, ligeiramente tremula.

—Mamde ndo gosta que eu ande a Pe. Dias passados, as duas meninas haviam sido designadas para colher flores a fim de enfeitar a capela. Aida aproximava-se do canteiro de lirios corn uma grande tesoura, quando Judite indagou: —De que familia voce é mesmo?

Sem titubear a companheira respondeu: —Sou dos Arouche de Campinas.

Com leve impertinencia a outra redargtliu, deslocando urn lirio da haste: —Pois me parecia que a sua gente era italiana.

Com rapidez, quase comendo as palavras, Aida ciciou: —De urn lado apenas...

Sim, aquela tortura de seu nome comecara corn a matricula no colegio de freiras francesas. Toda a nobreza agraria paulista la educava as filhas.

Sua propria mAe havia cursado a classe rouge e a classe blanche e achava que Aida ndo poderia ter outra educacdo.

Ao primeiro dia de aula quando a freira da portaria a deixou no patio de recreio, as outras alunas circundaramna: —Pra que classe voce vai?

—Ndo sei ainda, mas acho que para a verde.

—Qual é o seu nome?

Ela respondeu descuidadamente e ouvira risos abafados. Julgou, mesmo, ouvir de uma alta espinhenta: —Gente cafajeste!

Ao principio ndo entendeu, mas logo, merce de conversas e comentaribs, verificou que a tratavam um pouco como se fora estrangeira.

—Mas meu pai s6 que e italiano!

Minha rude e brasileira e eu nasci aqui em Sdo Paulo. As meninas se dispersavam erguendo os ombros e propunham logo jogos de amarelinha decretando que quem jogava primeiro era Maria Helena, em segundo lugar Euridice, em terceiro Donna, em quarto Maria Carlota. Alinhavam nomes e nomes, deixando-a sempre por Aos poucos Aida foi compreendendo aquelas pequenas e orgulhosas hierarquias, foi achando justo que a relegassem. Quando entraram para sua classe Mafalda Mastrolongo e Karime 31

Abibe, nao entendeu logo que, pressurosamente fossem recebidas corn aqueles nomes pelas Bulcdo Pousada, Arruda de Albuquerque, Souto Vilela, Leme de Alcantara e toda a banda. Mais tarde, ao fim do dia, quando o onibus parou a porta do palacete de Mafalda, na Avenida Paulista, comecou a entender e, ao dia seguinte entendia por completo ao ver Karime enfiar-se num automovel lapidado e longo, todo vernizes espelhantes, corn dois chauffeurs no assento dianteiro e uma corneta acustica onde a menina dava ordens, muito enfatica, o nariz comprido nascendo do traco espesso das sobrancelhas. Tratava-se de uma outra nobreza a deitar raizes na terra. Essa era uma nobreza de arrojo e de dinheiro, mas pelo luxo que podia ostentar, pelas posicOes politicas que podia comprar, conseguia um lidimo pe de igualdade corn a gente mais antiga. Aida percebia que as freiras pronunciavam Mastrolongo ou Abibe, corn a mesma uncdo corn que proferiam Castro do Vale ou Prado D'Altavila. Em casa ouvia o pai comentar corn uma pronuncia cantada, as vogais bem abertas, no seu jeito alegre e simplOrio que as fabricas de Giuseppe Mastrolongo faziam-lhe uma renda major que qualquer dos Estados brasileiros, excluindo-se Sdo Paulo e que, Nagib Abibe estava a caminho de alcanca-lo.

Urn dia, a hora da sopa a menina fitando o pai perguntou-lhe a queimaroupa: — Por que o senhor nao da urn jeito de abrasileirar o seu nome?

E fazendo que ndo via o espanto do pai, propos: —Qualquer coisa assim, em portugues, que lembre como parecenca Magnocavallo: — Carvalho, Carvalhal, Carvalhais —0 pai sorriu, achou que aquela menina tinha cada ideia, mas cada ideia! Empurrava a esposa, mostrando a filha, embevecido—que estava ficando cada dia mais bonita, sim! E so isso ndo: inteligente, desembaracada... * *

*IN Entretanto, nunca se sentira Aida diminuida como aquela tarde no 6nibus. Já devia ter-se habituado ao suplicio de percorrer bairros chiques, parando diante de grades suntuosas, enquanto as companheiras desciam, convidavam-se umas as outras: — Entdo voce vem no sabado na hora do lanche, ndo é?

A ela ninguern convidava. Quem ia convidar Aida Magnocavallo se bem que corn aquele Arouche envergonhado no meio? Para ciimulo do desespero, a superiora inventou a historia de mandar a governanta acompanha-las. Quando iam sO corn o chauffeur, a menina apenas dizia que ficava por Oltimo, morava longe, 32

s6 o empregado era conhecedor da sua desdita: morar no Born Retiro. Contudo, aquela tarde, cuidara adoecer, (ao ouvir a indagacao da outra e o comentario calmo de Judite). E Judite desceu, em frente a Ultima casa da Avenida Higienepolis, uma que tinha dois pequenos torreOes ladeando o edificio, dando-the uma aparencia de castelo frances de gravura. Já ao empurrar o portdo, gritou para Maria Anton ieta Prado Branddo: —Amanhd, espero voce para brincar, de tardinha. Aida nem via mais as criaturas. Quando entrava alguma nova aluna no colegio ndo Ihe mirava o rosto, ndo Ihe notava os modos, o falar. Ouvia-Ihe, apenas, o nome. 0 mundo comecou a dividir-se-lhe, na imaginacdo em Albuquerque, Leme de Alcantara, Prado Silva de urn lado e, do outro, separados por barreiras, numa especie de dependencia de empregados, Magnocavallos, Barbettas, Fuscellas, de Grado e mais os de nomes sirios ou poloneses como daquele rapaz que morava na casa ao lado da sua, estudava violino e tinha olhos azuis.

0 rapaz vizinho, já era uma outra historia.

Uma histOria acumpliciada de suspiros e perplexidades. Chamava-se Isac Werebeiczyk e, evidentemente, era de origem semitica. Foi o responsavel por urn caderno inteiro que Aida encheu corn a elaborada caligrafia do colegio, mais ou menos assim: — Aida Arouche de Magnocavallo Werebeiczyk, Aida Arouche Werebeiczyk, Aida Werebeiczyk, Madame Werebeiczyk, Madame Isac Werebeiczyk.

Filomena Arouche Magnocavallo e Andrea Magnocavallo—Lisa Wengorski Werebeiczyk e Samuel Werebeiczyk tern o prazer de comunicar a V. Exa. e Excelentissima Familia, o contrato de casamento de seus filhos, Aida e Isac. Entretanto, apesar de escrever isso tudo na mais heraldica das letras (as hastes dos "II" ascendendo como lirios, os "uu" de base quadrada, os "aa" ovalados e altos), a mocinha resistia aos olhos azuis, boiando sobre o arco do violino e a mecha de cabelo inspirada, nadando na testa. Aqueles nomes acabrunhavam-na em demasia e acabrunhava-a o pai de 'sac, fulvo nos pelos do rosto, nas mdos felpudas. Foi por essa altura, entretanto, que viu um filme passado num bairro judeu de Nova lorque, sendo her6i urn violinista que, depois de muito penar pela arte, atingia o apogeu da fama e casava corn uma Cynthia de "Park Avenue" cheia de perolas e cachorrinhos pequineses. Ate que a mde do violinista era muito mais vulgar que Dona Lisa e o pai bem que valia o velho Samuel. Ao sair da matine do Cine Republica, vendo o rosto de Isac nos cartazes, sobrepondo-se ao do astro, Aida esbarra nada mais nada menos corn Maria Carlota Leme de Alcantara acompanhada de uma Fraulein esgalga e silenciosa. Venceu a timidez e a modestia, encostou-se, confidencial, corn a colega, de encontro aos antincios, e indagou, mostrando corn o ombro, o artista em tres cores, empunhando o violino: —Se fosse corn voce, voce casava, apesar da gente dele? Fervorosa, Maria Carlota Leme de Alcantara respondeu: —Casava.—E entrou num carro longo como o seu pescoco. Aida ficou a ve-la, atraves dos cristais, tdo distinta, meu Deus do ceu, tdo distinta! * * *

Sim, Aida Arouche Magnocavallo achou jeito de racionalizar o namorado, mas quem

escapava a qualquer racionalizacdo era seu proprio pai. Andrea continuava Magnocavallo. 0 que era indesculpavel. E pior do que isso: ndro conseguia ganhar o dinheiro suficiente para ser perdoado de sua Calabria, da sua falta de etiqueta a mesa, fungando enquanto tomava sopa, e da sua prontincia corn vogais abertas como casas escancaradas em dias de sol.

— Mamde, por que a senhora casou corn Ele?—E aquele "Ele" era evidentemente admoestacdo de malfeitoria.

—Casei porque gostei dele. Ele honesto. Ele é bona. Minha gente ndo queria. Pois eu ndo me arrependi nunca de ter casado. Voce parece que ndo sabe dar valor a seu pai!

—Preferia que a senhora tivesse casado corn brasileiro.

— Se eu tivesse casado corn outro, voce ndo seria voce!

A resposta alarmou Aida durante algum tempo: nao ter nascido. NA° conhecer minestrone nem queijo parmezdo.Nao ser distinta assim, corn seu uniforme: saia azul-marinho, blusa branca... Ndo dizer: Bonjour ma mere! Au revoir, ma mere! Nao conhecer Isac, sobretudo!

Uma tarde foi a casa de Isac.

Voce acha que voce cla mesmo para violino?

— Nao é que eu de, Aida. A mde é que quer que eu estude. Historia de urn tio meu—irmdo dela, que era violinista famoso e morreu numa revolucdo na Polonia corn uma granada explodindo no peito. Eta botou em mim o nome de Isac porque era o nome dele. Tern o retrato la no quarto dela.—Foi buscar. Aida viu urn homem de olhos fanaticos e cabelos loiros, os tracos esmaecidos na fotografia amarelada.

— Mos voce acha que tern vocacdo?

Isac ergueu os ombros, pegou o violino: —Que é que quer que eu toque?

Eta pediu a Reverie de Schumann.

Estava-se fazendo uma cultura musical, para o gasto. * * *

No colegio das freiras, Aida Arouche Magnocavallo percorreu toda uma escala cromatica. Foi "verde", foi "rosa", foi "azul", foi "lisre", (que era uma cor vermelha debruada de listinhas brancas), foi "violeta", foi "jaune", foi "aurore" (que era amarela debruada de vermelho), "branca", foi "rouge". Ao fim. do curso, guardou seus reminiscentes cadarcos coloridos e uma coroa de louros obtida no ultimo ano corn uma composicdo intitulada A Natureza e os Passaros. Fez uma Ultima reverencia em frente a Notre Mere, sorriu para uma fila de Camargos, Bueno Pais, Prado da Silva, Montalvdo da Cunha, Leme de Alcantara, BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

Abriu a porta aos olhos azuis. Abriu a porta corn variantes de Cunha Pais e Bueno mecha de cabelo indisciplinada. Abriu porta Prado e Leme Montalvao, e Sampaio Ulhoa, viu a mae: (gracas a Deus ela ao sobrinho do conspirador polones que to bara é Arouche! Tern ate uma praca corn o na neve, corn o coracao arrebentado. E q ando sobrenome dela!) no primeiro banco. ficou sozinha, desejou que o pai morres e.

Ignorou o pai. Pegou de urn canudo *** corn o diploma. Sorriu para a esquerda e para a direita. Sorriu, sorriu, sorriu, Desejou isso, meses seguidos, tensa e automatica, ja o coracao se espremendo de magoa: nao mais iria conviver dramatica. Desejou pelas manhas e pelas Uoites. corn a pequena Souto Vilela, nem Desejou diante de janelas abertas para o Isol ou corn Maria Carlota Leme de Alcantara, fechadas para a chuva. Desejou dentro do bairro nem corn Mafalda Mastro longo, populoso e pobre. Desejou, quando aSsistiu Judite de Vasconcelos, Karime Abibe, escondida atras de uma coluna da Igreja Santa nem corn Euridice D'Altavila e Nova Cecilia, ao casamento de Judite de Vasconcelos Friburgo, nem corn a francesinha corn Waldo Renato Augusto de Toledo e Lins.

Susanne Deschamps, tao alinhada, Ai, meu Deus! Se ao menos se chamasse da magrinha e sempre corn dor de Silva, ou da Costa, como todo o mundo Negou sua mao a Lorenzo de Luca, Salim garganta, dizendo: —C 'est ma gorge — numa Venue Salem, Romulo de Divinitis. Auscul ava o mae indicacao martirizada. Nem corn Mere silencio, pelas noites a fora, quando Agnese e Mere Marie Ambroise e entrava corn o pai no quarto de cas . Tao Mere Chrisostome e Mere Florence... distinta que é mamae, meu Deus do ce ! Tao Nesse ponto, lagrimas corriam dos distinta! E a imagem do pai corrompia visao materna e ela fechava os punhos sob as c bertas olhos de Aida. Ouviu o pai dizer e chorava. mae de Maria Helena de A rruda Entretanto, aqueles adios, aqueles Coelho DOria: desesperos, nunca encontraram palavras.

—Coitadinha de —A bencao mamae. A encao minha filha! papai.—Olhava sO a mae. 0 ai lhe Tern urn coraacariciava o rosto. cao que é ver —Essa menina quando ra pemanteiga, mesquena, dizia que estava no va do mo! papai! Acho que e por isso ue ela E no Born Reda o contra, agora, nos nam rados! tiro, os dias comeE na, o pai, terrivel de 'ncomcam a parecer-se preensao. uns corn os outros.

Aida esperou que as coisas Café da manha: ela mudassem quando Andra Maem frente da mae, que gnocavallo comprou u a casa o pai ha muito ja saira velha na Rua Barao d Tatui. para a "industria" coAquilo, pelo menos, n o era o mo ele chamava a peBorn Retiro. 0 italiano apurou quena fabricaridicula... algum dinheiro corn a v nda da Almoco e jantar diante fabrica, e como por esse temp comedos dois: ela nao fixando casse a sofrer dos intestinos, foi faz r uma o pai, tentando nao ouvir estacao de cura em Monte Catini. Emba cou de suas palavras, urn Odio avolumando-se como onda desespe- segunda classe. A mae foi acompanh -lo ate rada dentro do peito. Aos domingos, Santos. Eta ficou espanando os moveis dando Isac levava-a a um cinema de bairro, ordens, para a Unica empregada. Assisti -se a si coin criancas horriveis e barulhentas propria, vestida de azul-marinho, que sempre "torcendo" nas fitas de desenfreados foi cor de gente elegante, caminha do do galopes de cavalos. Logo, principiou aparador da sala, ao pequeno saguaO, entre a escolher os programas, nos jornais: poeira raiada de luz, como nos quadros dos —Se tern fita de cowboy eu nao predestinados, e de repente, nem sabe quando, p05-se a ver o navio em que viajava b pai, a you!

A verdade é que nao suportava afundar. Parou a limpeza, sustendo o espanador mais a vista de cavalos, fosse na tela, tat se fosse urn ramo. A empregada per untou, fosse nas ruas. Magnocavallo... Via- levantando por tras do sofa a cabeca a ada por se atrelada a carros. Via-se, apontada um lenco, a dar-the feicao de coelho: —A senhora esta sentindo alguma oisa? por dedos Albuquerques, Camargos, Como poderia responder que estav vendo Buenos, Laras, Toledos, Sampaios, o pai afogar-se e, o pior, ha a not ma nos Prados, Lemes, Cunhas...

Num mes de julho, Isac foi visita- jornais, e nome dele, au i entre os sinist ados de segunda classe? Todos leriam, nao so e a. Viu a la.

—Sabe de uma coisa? Eu resolvi mae de Maria Carlota lendo, viu as freir s, a voz da Madre-Prefeita, comentando:—Cett pauvre deixar esse raio de violino!

Adeus, sonhos de glOria! Adeus petite qui a perdu son pere! C'etait un brave salas repletas de uma turba admira- homme, il me semble! — como se se tratasse de tiva:—Aquela é a esposa do grande urn carvoeiro...

E, naquela ausencia demorada, dia apos dia, Weugorsky Werebeiczyk.

E a inspiradora, a companheira seu pensamento matava o pai. Via-o imPrensado num vagao de estrada de ferro ou embaixo das dedicada...

—Voce nao volte mais aqui, sabe? rodas de urn carro. Via-o adoecendo, chamando a familia, de uma cidade italiana qualquer. Elas Nao volte mais aqui, nunca mais!

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

embarcavam, as pressas, mas nao tanto que nao desse tempo para telefonar para uma das colegas e, meio sem jeito dizer:—sabe? embarco para a Europa amanha... Matou Andrea Magnocavallo de todos os feitios: por acidente e por molestia e, quando receberam o telegrama comunicando seu embarque, em Genova, ela susteve a respiracao, olhou a mae, atonita e pos-se a chorar, meio convulsa, misturando riso corn lagrimas.

—Voce pode ter urn genio esquisito, mas voce gosta de seu pai, Aida!

Quando o pai chegou, sO de ve-lo, a moca soube logo que ele ia morrer.

Tinha uma cor terrosa, emagrecera, o nariz se afilara e adquiriu urn jeito bondoso de entornar urn pouco a cabeca, na conversa. Mentalmente ela fez pianos, fria, alinhavando cifras.

Viu-se corn a mae, mudando de casa e de nome. Mirou seu cartaozinho de visitas, tarjado de negro :—Aida Arouche. Entretanto, a doenca do pai se prolongou, comeu-lhe dias e noites, tantos dias etantas noites que, quando ele se foi, de verdade, dois sulcos fundos punham entre parentesis a boca da filha e, ao redor dos olhos, a pele murchara, como petala de rosa que seca na haste. E corn o rosto, e corn o corpo, parece que se the mudava a alma. Ao voltar da missa de setimo dia, sentiu que a mocidade se the acabara, irremediavel; lembrou da face do pai, de sua voz de vogais tao abertas e de sua mao, dos altimos tempos, quando acenava para as visitas, "que estava urn pouquinho melhor, urn pouquinho melhor, obrigado..."

Entao Aida comecou a viver dobrada sobre si mesma, num remorso constante. Comecou a frequentar igrejas, a rezar muito, a encomendar missas por alma do pai, a invoca-lo a todo momento ativa e febricitantemente, o coracao espremido de ternura. Enquanto the restaram pequenos vestigios de mocidade, virava o rosto aos homens, na rua.

Urn belo dia, percebeu que nao voltava mais o rosto porque os homens nao mais a miravam. Persuadiu a mae de que devia transformar a casa em pensao. Eta prOpria providenciou tudo: compra de moveis, pequenas reformas internas. E mandou fazer uma tabuleta de fundo verde corn tetras brancas: PENSAO MAGNOCAVALLO Estritamente Familiar "Aida Arouche Magnocavallo" was originally published in Maravilhas do Conto Modern° Brasileiro, Editora Cultrix, Sao Paulo, 1961

33

IZOUND THE Wo

ROUND• THE

. *MI6 O'NEIL . '111111611111\ 1111.1111111, ASI f/111113"4/ nom* 1161111.1.11111.. Jr .14,...imAttormaldranir

MINIM An 1111/100.11/ 111111164K11 NNW. J. '.111\7160111111111NUNNAPI

THE AROUND W ORt .4111111V 11/1118hrIIIIIL 1111111Ri iI1111111160141/ 11101111111 MIRN////".. JP .1/411

TRAVEL

TRAVEL

TRAVEL

A

SS'

411

. • Al:

MOIL •111163111a

.// IATAN

01.%11111•10/MOVIAPOIP"

BOUND THE

WON

111 2.

arm .4111MIF ' &ha num ion ow MOMS ANIL 1011.1.:1111111MI

-

A ka/

1111414:74.

0r,,rer

1

TRAVEL

TRAVEL

AcLY PO 031a5ILL 800) 471-6333

SOT# 2003457-40

VA11 -

•111b.

NUM FOI TAO FACIL VIAJAR

E-mail: aroundtw@inetworld.net

LOS ANGELES TO SAO PAULO

a Partir de

$550 ida e volta

(Sujeito a restricees ou mudancas sem aviso previo)

SAO PAULO a partr de ftt.

NUM FOI TAO FACIL VIAJAR

TO

LOS ANGELES

n A -7

HO I

ida e volta

(Sujeito a restricOes ou mudancas sem aviso prom)

SF To BELO HORIZONTE a partir de $7

ida e volta (Sujeito a restricoes ou mudancas sem aviso previo)

LAX TO BELO HORIZONTE OR SALVADOR a park de $640

Ida e volta (Sujeito a restrigOes ou mudangas sem aviso previo)

RIO To LOS ANGELES

EXISTEM MUITAS AGENCIAS DE VIAGEM PARA VOCE ESCOLHER, E A ESCOLHA FINAL E SEMPRE SUL POREM NOS DE A CHANCE DE MOSTRAR•LHE QUE, COM 0 JEITINHO BRASILEIRO,_ VOCE VAI PODER VIAJAR SEMPRE POR MENOS!

EXCLUSIVO! GRATIS - LicapAo DE QUALQUER CIDADE BRASILEIRA

000-817-471-6333 NAO TEMOS A P,RETENSA0 DE,SER A AGENCIA NUMERO 1. pOREM„ ESTAMOS CERTOS QUE APOS VOCES VIAJAREM COM 0 JEITINHO BRASILEIRO SEREMAOS SEMF,RE A SUA AGENCIA NUMERO 1.

ASSENTOS LIMITADOS SWEITO A RESTKOES

SF TO RIO a partir de

$585 ida e volta

(Sujeito a restrigOes ou mudancas sem aviso previo)

NYC TO RIO OR SAO PAULO a partir de $

520 Ida e volta

(Sujeito a restrigoes ou mudangas sem aviso previo)

MIAMI

TO

RIO OR SAO PAULO

a partir de $

525 .Ida e volta

(Sujeito a restngOes ou mudancas sem aviso previo)

LOS ANGELES To RIO a partir de

$560

ida e volta

(Sujeito a restngOes ou mudangas sem aviso previo)

SF TO SAO PAULO

liOUND THE WORt a parfir de

$881

arm ..4111111

ida e volta

(Sujeito a restrigOes ou mudancas sem aviso previo) 34

mom'

/NM or .

1111•1111111 711111 1111101/20.

1111111.4•11 /MIL "VIViak..1111Mr•

TRAVEL

(Sujeito a restrigoes ou mudancas sem aviso previo) BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

44

The Madeira-Allamore railroad

Wild-West Taste Named after Marechal Rondon, a soldier who tamed the Amazon Rondonia was created in 1981. The area, together with the state of Acre, still keeps a frontier flavor as in the U.S. Old West. Here you can find landhungry cattle ranchers, fierce Indians gold prospectors and desperados of all kinds.

The states of Rondonia and Acre, previously undeveloped frontier regions, have undergone rapid development, mainly as a result of the construction of BR-364; the highway already runs from Cuiaba to Rio Branco, via Porto Velho, and it's projected to extend as far as Cruzeiro do Sul. The two states are of intense interest to environmentalists studying the effects of deforestation, which has left vast tracts of land looking like the aftermath of a holocaust.

Many travelers will simply pass through these states en route to or from neighboring Peru or Bolivia, but all should be aware that both states, especially Rondonia, are major distribution centers for the Peruvian and Bolivian cocaine trade.

Travelers are generally left alone, providing they mind their own business.

Guajara-Mirim is an entry point for the 'Rota Formiguinha' (Ant Route), favored by the small-scale smugglers—hence the reference to ants—who arrive from Bolivia with the white stuff hidden within their baggage or concealed in their vehicles. Large-scale smugglers use avia-ozinhos (light aircraft) to pick up the cocaine in Bolivia and then fly it to the secret landing strips in Rondonia—for example, in the vicinity of Cacoal, Ji-Parand and Rolim Moura. From there, the goods are distributed to Rio, Sao Paulo and fazendas in Mato Grosso state.

Another of the so-called `Transcoca' highways runs is from San Joaquim (in Bolivia) to the Rio Guapore, where the cocaine is ferried across to the Brazilian town of Costa Marques for distribution in Brazil.

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

Some of th cocaine is destined for domestic consumption, but most of it s ultimately exported to the USA and Europe.

Recent report have indicated that drug kingpins in both Rondonia and 'cre have moved into the processing business.

It is an open s cret that various politicians in Rondonia are involved in dr g-running.

RONDONIA In 1943 G tali° Vargas created the Territory of Guapore from chunks if Amazonas and Mato Grosso. In 1981 the .

Territory of G apore became the state of Rondonia named in honor of Mar chal Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon, the soldier who 't med' the region. A legendary figure, Rondon was honored y the Indians he helped subdue. He linked Cuiaba, Porto elho and Rio Branco by telegraph to the rest of Brazil.

In recent ears roads and a gold rush displaced the Nordestinos f om the desert into the jungles, and the few remaining Ind ans from the jungles into the cities. Rondonia' s population is ostly made up by the poor but hopeful migrants from the Nort east.

Rondonia stat is one hour behind Brazilian standard time.

National arks & Biological Reserves In Porto elho, contact IBAMA (Tel.: 223-3607), at Avenida Jorg Teixeira 3477, Bairro C. E. Silva, for details about nationa parks and ecological reserves in Rondonia.

(Take the 'Ae porto' bus from the center and ask the conductor to tell you hen to get off.) Only Portuguese is spoken, and the office is c early overworked and restricted in its powers and facilities, but genuinely interested travelers who can travel rough ay be helped with introductions to park staff and details ab ut access options.

Reserva iologica do Guapork—The main attractions in this reserve a e flora and fauna similar to that found in the Pantanal—he ce the reserve's nickname, ' Pantanal de Rondonia'. Ts reach the reserve, take a boat from Costa Marques to P u d'Oleo (about six hours, 160 km). There is a governmentfa enda with accommodation (cabanas), and transport into the r serve. Prior to departure from Costa Marques, contact Senho Amos (Tel.: 651-2239), who is in charge of the local IBAM (Posto da Fiscalizacao) office, to check the latest informa ion on access and facilities.

Reserva iologica do Jaru—At present there are two ways to visit t is reserve, which is in the north-east corner of Rond6nia. T e long-distance option is to contact Senhor Erismar (Tel.: 421-4164), the regional director of IBAMA in the town of Ji Parana, 376 km from Porto Velho. The closest access to the park is provided by a private guide, Ubalde Almeida (Tel.: 521-2827). He arranges tours from Cachoeira 35

Chico Mendes Chico Mendes was born in 1944 at Seringal Cachoeira, in Acre, into a family descended from a rubber tapper. At an early age, he became interested in asserting the rights of rubbertappers to their lands. In the 1970s the Plano de Integracao Nacional (PIN), an ambitious government plan to tame the Amazon, attracted developers, ranchers, logging companies and settlers into Acre. In 1975, Chico Mendes organized a rural workers' union to defy the tactics of violent intimidation and dispossession practiced by the newcomers, who were destroying the forest and thus robbing the rural workers of their livelihood.

Mendes organized large groups of rural workers to form nonviolent human blockades around forest areas threatened with clearance, and soon attracted the wrath of developers, who were used to getting their way either through corrupt officials or by hiring pistoleiros to clear human impediments. These empates, or 'confrontational standoffs', proved effective in saving thousands of hectares of forest, which were set aside as reservas extrativistas where rural workers could continue to tap rubber and gather fruits, nuts and fibers.

International interest focussed on Mendes as a defender of the forests, but his role as a leader also made him a natural target for frustrated and infuriated opponents. Early in December 1988, he moved to establish his birthplace, Seringal Cachoeira, as an extractive reserve, defying the local landowner and rancher, Darly Alves da Silva, who disputed ownership of the land. On 22 December, Chico Mendes, who had received numerous death threats, momentarily left his bodyguards inside his house and stepped out onto the back porch. He was hit at close range by shots fired from the bushes, and died shortly afterwards.

For almost two years, there was much speculation about the murderers, although they were well known, the men were considered out of legal reach because of their connections with the influential landowners and corrupt officials of the region—a common arrangement in the frontierlands of Brazil. Intense national and international pressure finally brought the case to trial. In December 1990, Darly Alves da Silva received a 19-year prison term for ordering the assassination; his son, Darci, was given an identical sentence for pulling the trigger.

The verdict pleased rural workers, world opinion and the Brazilian government, which badly needed to demonstrate to Brazilians and foreigners a modicum of control in the Amazon region. But while the media spotlight moved on to other sensations, the murders continued. Documentation shows that this exhibition of justice was a rare flash in the media pan—of the hundreds of murders of union leaders and land-rights campaigners since the late 1970s, the only one that was thoroughly investigated and prosecuted was that of Chico Mendes.

Itamar Mendes, Chico's wife, was courted by 10 Hollywood producers to sell the film rights to her husband's story (The Burning Season was released in late 1994, directed by David Puttnam). International organizations made posthumous awards to Chico Mendes, and several parks in Brazil were named after him. In Xapuri, his house has been made into a commemorative museum. The rubbertappers and rural workers of the region are keen to keep up the pressure, not only to establish more extractive reserves throughout the Amazon region, but most importantly, to force the Brazilian government to enforce the laws governing the establishment of such reserves and to punish those who violate them.

In February 1992, the state appeals court in Rio Branco annulled the conviction of Darly Alves da Silva. For those who had hoped to see a glimmer of justice in Brazil, it was just another nail in the coffin.

Nazar& where he also offers accommodation (cabanas).

Parque Nacional de Pacaas Novas—As yet, there is no tourist access to this park, and no infrastructure. Those interested in a visit must seek permission from either Senhor Erismar or Gilson Macedo, at the IBAMA office in Ji-Parana (Tel.: 421-4164). These officials may be willing to arrange 4WD transport from Ouro Preto do Oeste, along Linha 81 into the park, where there is rough accommodation in camps.

EstacAo Biologica Cunia—Lago do Cunia, a biological reserve 110 km north of Porto Velho, on the Rio Madeira, contains the state's largest spawning area for fish and is renowned for its abundant birdlife. This reserve is accessible only by boat. Contact Doutor Eurico, at the IBAMA office in Porto Velho, for details.

PORTO VELHO Now capital of the young state of RondOnia, Porto Velho is rapidly losing its frontier feel. The streets have been paved, most of the Indians are dead and the forests are rapidly being felled. Nevertheless, 20th-century Porto Velho retains elements of the American Wild West: land-hungry cattle ranchers, fierce Indians, gold prospectors and desperados of all kinds.

The newspaper headlines tell the story with articles ranging from the gold strike to border cocaine-trafficking, from poaching to conflicting land claims settled at gunpoint.

History—During the 17th and 18th centuries, Portuguese bandeirantes in pursuit of gold and Indian slaves crossed the lines drawn by the Treaty of Tordesillas and entered what is now known as Rondonia, to roam the Guapore and Madeira river valleys. Since the Spanish were incapable of defending themselves from these incursions, the occupation was officially sanctioned in lofty Latin terms which meant that it was ignored. The Portuguese secured their new possessions by building the fortress of Principe da Beira (1783), at the confluence of the Mamore and Guapore rivers.

•The Treaty of Tordesillas was kept more in the breach than the observance; the Portuguese continued to push west and occupy Bolivian lands. The Brazil-Bolivia Treaty of Friendship (1867) and the Treaty of PetrOpolis (1901) addressed Bolivian grievances. The Bolivians ceded the region -known today as the state of Acre—in return for UK£2 million and the construction of a railway along the upper reaches of the Rio Madeira (to give landlocked Bolivia access to world rubber markets via the Amazon).

The Public Works Construction Company of London started work on a railway in 1872, but abandoned the project after two years, due to rampant disease and Indian attacks. These swampy jungle lands came to be known as the most hostile in the world.

In 1907, the North American company Jeckyl I & Randolph began work on a 364-km railway from the vicinity of Vila do Santo Antonio do Rio Madeira to the Bolivian border town of Riberalta, on the Rio Mamore. German, Jamaican and Cuban workers, and old Panama Canal hands, were brought in as laborers to do the job. The track was completed in 1912; however, this achievement claimed the lives of thousands of workers, who perished from malaria, yellow fever and gunfights.

Since the railway did not go as far as intended (above the rapids of Rio Mamore at Riberalta) and the price of rubber had plummeted on the world market, the project was effectively useless. However, the towns of Guajara-Mirim and Porto Velho were founded at either end of the completed railway, which functioned sporadically until it was officially closed, in 1972.

Today the line is used only as a tourist novelty, from the Porto Velho end. Marcio Souza chronicles the whole brutal story in his book Mad Maria (published by Avalon in an English-language paperback edition), which is mandatory reading for anyone interested in learning how a small parcel of the 'Green Hell' was briefly conquered.

During WW II, when the Japanese occupation of Malaysia cut Allied rubber supplies, rubber production in the Amazon picked up briefly once again. In 1958 cassiterite (tin ore) was discovered. The mining of cassiterite and timber extraction , now constitutes ndonia's principal source of wealth, but her minerals Id, iron, manganese and precious stones— BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

are also found in the region.

In fact, Porto Velho is riding out the tail end of a gold rush.

There are still a few gold shops along Avenida 7 de Setembro, all empty save for the old-fashioned powder scales in glass cases. The prospectors haven't seen much gold lately, but they're still dredging the rivers, dumping mercury as they go.

Most of the town's food is still brought in from Sao Paulo, half a continent away.

Orientation Porto Velho sits on the right-hand bank of the Rio Madeira, almost contiguous with the state of Amazonas. The Rio Madeira, a 3240-km-long tributary of the Amazon, is formed by the Mamore and Abuna rivers.

Porto Velho's main street is Avenida 7 de Setembro, which stretches almost two km, from the riverfront docks and Madeira Mamore train station to Avenida Jorge Teixeira.

The new capital is still a little raw—electric wires slump and dangle over muddy dirt roads and street vendors fry up potatoes and plantains for passers-by, but the mining-supply shops and gun stores have been replaced by electronics stores, record shops and clothing markets. `Compra-se ouro' signs indicate the few gold shops where prospectors still bring their gold powder to be weighed and sold. The powder is melted into bullion and smuggled out to avoid government taxes.

You can't fail to notice the appalling volume of distorted street music, which is brought to a crescendo by a cruising noisemobile, complete with a battery of eight giant loudspeakers mounted on the roof. We'd willingly have foregone the advertised 30% discount at a local clothing shop if the bloody machine had only stopped broadcasting immediately!

Estacao Madeira-Mamore & Museu Ferroviario The original terminal of the Madeira-Mamore railway is Porto Velho's main tourist attraction. Restoration work on the terminal and museum was completed in late 1993.

Housed in a huge train shed, the museum displays train relics, memorabilia, and photographs charting the construction of the railway and the history of the Madeira-Mamore line.

Completed in 1912, the railway quickly fell into disuse.

By 1931 the private railway had been nationalized, and was abandoned in 1966. Railway buffs will also get a kick out of the Colonel Church. Built in 1872, this dinosaur was the first locomotive in the Amazon The museum is open from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday.

Train Trip—In 1981, in tribute to its historical origins, the new state government reinstated 28 km of the famous Madeira-Mamore railway. The Maria Fumaga steam locomotive chugs to and from Santo Antonio (seven km from Porto Velho) on Sunday between 9 am and 6 pm.

Museu Estadual—The State Museum, at the intersection of Avenida 7 de Setembro and Avenida Farquar houses modest exhibits on the state's archaeology, mineralogy, ethnology and natural history. The museum is open on weekdays, from 8am to 6 pm.

River Beaches—There are several river beaches near the city center: ask at the tourist office for directions to Areia Branca (three km from town), and Candelas (20 km off BR364; take the Linha Novo Brasil bus). The fishing village of Belmont, 20 km from Porto Velho, is a calm place to swim or fish.

Parque Circuito—If you are interested in seeing rubber trees, but aren't inclined to launch an expedition into the wilderness to do so, visit the Parque Circuito, on Avenida Lauro Sodre, four km from town on the way to the airport.

Festivals—Indian legends and traditions were so corrupted

by Jesuit missionaries that the Indians circulated stories of the Virgin Mary visiting the Amazon. However, theatrical interpretations of authentic Amerindian legends, ritual dances and ceremonies are becoming popular among students in Porto Velho. Call the Teatro Municipal Secretaria da Cultura (Tel.: 223-3836, ext. 136) for information.

Along with the Northeastern settlers, folklore was also transplanted from the sena° to the jungle. The saints' days of Santo Ant6nio, sao Joao and Sao Pedro are celebrated in June.

AROUND PORTO VELHO Santo Antonio, a small riverside settlement seven km from Porto Velho, is popular with the residents of Porto MROWL-NOVEMBER1W

Velho, who ci me here to fish and swim. You can get here by boat. The fis mg village of Teot6nio (Km 23 off BR-364, 38 km from Porti Velho), situated by the longest waterfall on the upper Rio Ma eira, is the site of an annual fishing championship, held in ugust and September.

Salto do Jirau is an impressive waterfall on the Rio Madeira, 13 km south-west of Porto Velho on BR-364.

About 215 k down BR-364, south-west of Porto Velho and near the tow of Abuna, is the Cachoeira Tres Esses. Near this spectacul r waterfall on the Rio Abuna are some Indian rock inscriptiOns. VILHENA Vilhena, a the border between Rondonia and Mato Grosso, is a good acce • s point for a look at Brazilian frontier life. From Vilhena, take a bus east into Mato Grosso state, to Juina or further on to ontanilhas. These are towns straight from the Wild West, ci mplete with Indian wars, gold miners, rustlers and homestea ers. The real treat in the area is the route, north from Juina d rect to Aripuana on a dirt road. There is an alternate rout via Juruena, but it is not nearly as spectacular as the direct ute, which passes through the mountains.

Just outsi e Aripuana are the spectacular Dannelles Falls.

A local guide may be able to take you on some longer hikes through the a ea, though it's rapidly being deforested. Note that trees mar ed with painted bands indicate disputed Indian territory, and you are well advised to stay out of these areas.

FORTE P INCIPE DA BEIRA & CDSTA MARQUES Remote a d little-visited Forte Principe da Beira, 170 river km south of uajara-Mirim was constructed between 1776 and 1783 on t e eastern bank of the Rio Guapore. The fort has 10-meter-hig walls, with four towers, each holding 14 cannons (which ook five years to carry from Para).

The fortress walls, nearly one km around, are surrounded by a moat an enclose a chapel, an armory officers' quarters, and prison ce Is in which bored convicts have scrawled poetic graffiti. Underground passageways lead from the fortress directly to th river. Nearby, there's a mini 'Meeting of the Waters', wh :re the clear, dark Rio Baures flows into the murky, brow Rio Guapore.

The regio around Costa Marques has many Indian archaeological ites, inscriptions and cemeteries. Notable sites here are Pedlis Negras and Ilha das Flores.

GUAJARA-MIRIM Guajara-Mirim, on the Brazilian/Bolivian border, and its Bolivian couhterpart Guayaramerin, have gone through a reversal of roles in recent years. While the Brazilian town is now quiet an subdued by Brazilian standards, the Bolivian town is exper encing a boom since the upgrading of the roads from Porto V lho (on the Brazilian side) and Riberalta (on the Bolivian sid ). It's become very popular with crowds of Brazilians po ping over the border for shopping.

Museu Municipal—With a couple of old steam locomotives parked o tside, the marginally interesting museum housed in the old trai station on Avenida 15 de Novembro focuses on the history o the region and contains the remains of some of Rond6nia's fiercely threatened wildlife. Particularly interesting are the h ge anaconda (which stretches the length of the main salon) aid a pathetically hideous turtle (which inhabits the aquarium area). The museum's collection of photographs has an especially intriguing portrayal of an Indian attack—or defense, deperiding upon your reference—taken in the 1960s.

ACRE The state of Acre has become a favored destination for developers an settlers, who have followed BR-364 and started claiming Ian's, clearing forest and setting up ranches. The issues of Ian ownership and sustainable forest use have caused major conflicts between the developers and the indigenous tribes a d rural workers, mostly rubbertappers, who are descended fr m settlers who arrived many decades ago. This conflict recei ed massive national and international attention in 1988, wit the assassination of Chico Mendes, a rubbertapper and a opponent of rainforest destruction. (See Box) Most of he state operates two hours behind Brazilian standard tim RIO BRANCO Rio Bran o, the capital of Acre state, was founded in 1882 37

on the banks of the Rio Acre, which is navigable via the Rio Purus to the Amazon. There's a relaxed and surprisingly cosmopolitan feel to this city, which has a few attractions close to the center, and other points of interest, including intriguing religious communities, further afield.

Casa do Seringueiro—This museum has a collection of photos, paintings, replicas of housing and utensils, portraying the life of a typical seringueiro (rubber-tapper). There is also a small area devoted to Chico Mendes.

Museu da Borracha—The collection in this museum is divided into sections relating to the archaeology, paleontology, ethnology and recent history of Acre. It's well worth a visit.

Colonia Cinco Mil—The ColOnia Cinco Mil (literally Colony of the 5000) is a religious community, which follows the doctrine of Santo Daime, introduced in 1930 by Raimundo Irineu Serra, also known as Mestre Irineu. Mestre Irineu founded the first center at Alto Santo, seven km from Rio Branco. Various schisms amongst his followers led to the establishment of other centers, such as Casa de Jesus Fonte de Luz (in the Vila Ivonete district, three km from Rio Branco), Centro Fonte Luz Universal, or CEFLURIS (in the agricultural community of Colonia Cinco Mil, 12 km from Rio Branco), and Ceu da Mapia (a similar community, based at Mapia, which is reached by a two-day boat trip from Boca Acre, in Amazonas state).

Visits to Colonia Cinco Mil can be arranged through the Daimista family (ask for Raimundo or Marionete) at Kaxinawa, the Daimista restaurant in Rio Branco. The best time to make contact is on Wednesday morning, when they head out to the community for the main weekly festival. If you stay overnight, no fee will be charged, but you will be expected to share the cost of transport and food. It's possible to visit the community independently at other times—a taxi from Rio Branco costs around $12.

In the grounds of the Kaxinawa restaurant is a shop sponsored by the Fundacao de Tecnologia do Estado do Acre (FUNTAC), a state organization promoting sustainable use of forest products, which are sold here.

Horto Florestal—This municipal forest park in the Vila Ivonete district, three km from the center, contains a selection of Amazon flora, a lake, and various paths, which make a pleasant change from the traffic in the city center. A taxi from the center costs about $3. The park is open daily from 8 am to 4 pm.

Lago do Amapa—This large, U-shaped lake eight km south-east of Rio Branco is a popular spot for swimming and boat excursions. A taxi from the city center costs around $7.

Parque Ecologic° Placid° de Castro—In 1991 an ecological park was opened at Placid° de Castro, 94 km east of Rio Branco, on the Brazilian/Bolivian border. This park offers good swimming at river beaches, and it's possible to take walks through the forests along the paths that were originally used by rubbertappers.

XAPURI Xapuri, 188 km south-west of Rio Branco, was founded in the late 19th century on territory formerly inhabited by the indigenous Xapuri, Latiana and Maneteri tribes. In 1902 it achieved historical fame as the site where Placid° de Castro Excerpts from Brazil proclaimed Acrean indepenA Travel Survival Kit dence from Bolivia. In 1988, the town hit intemational and 3rd edition, national headlines with the asby Andrew Draffen, sassination of Chico Mendes, a Chris McAsey, rubber-tapper and an opponent Leonardo Pinheiro, of rainforest destruction.

BRASILEIA and Robyn Jones.

The small town of Brasildia For more information lies on the Brazilian border with call Lonely Planet: Bolivia, separated from Cobija (800) 275-8555. (its Bolivian counterpart) by Copyright 1992 Lonely the Rio Abuna and the Rio Acre.

Brasileia has nothing to interPlanet Publications. est travelers, except an immiUsed by permission. gration stamp into or out of Brazil.

TRAVELAND DISCONTO DE 20% EM PASSAGENS DENTRO DOS EUA

PRECOS ESPECIAIS PARA CONTAS DE COMPANNIAS 38

TO RIO OR SAO PAULO ROUND TRIP PLUS AIR PASS FOR UP TO 4 BRAZILIAN CITIES. * FROM LOS ANGELES $ 799.00 FROM S.LAKE CITY $ 799.00 FROM NEW YORK $ 733.00 $ 799.00 FROM CHICAGO FROM KANSAS CITY $ 799.00 $ 799.00 FROM ATLANTA 1(800) 321-6336 wurtv.traveland.com FROM LA CALL (213) 482-2323

IIESTRICTIONS APPLY; PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE

UP TO 20% DISCOUNT ON DOMESTIC TICKETS

SPECIAL PRICES FOR CORPORATE ACCOUNTS BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

Crying High Mandolin virtuoso Mike Marshall was the only American to perform alongside Brazilian greats Paulinho da Viola, Martinho da Vila, Edu Lobo, and Altamiro Carrilho in Sao Paulo at Chorando Alto 2, a choro summit. Marshall is the leader of Choro Famoso, the foremost choro ensemble in the U.S., and he is intent on taking the Brazilian rhythm to a larger audience in the United States.

BRUCE GILMAN

Jacob do Bandolim used to say that choro, which literally means cry, had three meanings. First, it was a group of instruments: viola°, cavaquinho, pandeiro, flute, and bandolim; second, a ritual within a specific location, the roda-de-choro; and finally, the musical definition: a melody in 2/4 meter, typically a series of variations on a theme in rondo form. The erudite brother of samba, choro is the most sophisticated of Brazil's musical expressions. Every significant Brazilian musician from Nazare and Pixinguinha to Tom Jobim, from Chico Buarque and Caetano Veloso to Guinga, from Egberto Gismonti to Hermeto F'ascoal, and from Nara Ledo to Nana Caymmi has either written or performed choro. But over the years, choro had acquired some negative stereotypes; it became "chorinho" and was thought of aesthetically as old fashioned.

To reverse this tendency, to remove a stamp that choro never deserved, a handful of top-notch musicians developed the concept of a choro summit, a festival to prove that the scope of choro is broader than many people imagined and to show the public at large that choro is alive, recognized by contemporary musicians, and admired for its BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

rhythmic, h rmonic, and melodic possibilities. Their idea was realize between May 30 and June 2, 1996. Chorando Alto One w s Brazil's first great choro festival and was sub-titled 0 e Hundred Years of Pixinguinha. It marked the beginni g of the centennial celebrations for the genius that advanc:i choro at the beginning of the century. Enthusiastic respo ses from the public, the press, and the musical media, exce ded all expectations.

The curt ins of the theater of the Sesc Pompeia in SAo Paulo opene to the second edition of Chorando Alto this year betwee the 21st and 24th of August with more than 80 musicians s aring the stage. The festival again confirmed that choro i the most resilient among all the Brazilian genres. For ver a month the Brazilian media was inundated with n ws of the preparations, interviews, blow-byblow cover ge, and aftershocks of the event. Chordes (choro musi ians) like Paulinho da Viola, Wagner Tiso, Edu Lobo, a d Martinho da Vila, whose names are often associated Wth other genres, headlined every night. On the second ni ht, a daring alliance united Nucleo Contempora eo (Contemporary Nucleus) with mandolin virtuoso Mi e Marshall. Listeners were dumbfounded to learn that th group's mandolin player was from Oakland, California.

One wee after Mike performed at Chorando Alto 2, I flew up to t e Bay Area to hear his group Choro Famoso.

Saturday, C oro Famoso played Berkeley at a venue called Freight & S lvage Coffee House, a converted warehouse where the a dience is a mix of "new age" university students and th area's aging anarchists. Sunday, the group opened for G lberto Gil at San Francisco's palatial Masonic Auditorium. This was no chamber music concert. If you wanted to se the stage, you had to be on your feet like everyone else. I understood why the crowd at Chorando Alto was aw d, and I knew Mike and I had to talk.

Mike, yo were the only North American to perform alongside B azilian greats Paulinho da Viola, Martinho da Vila, Ed Lobo, and Altamiro Ca rrilho in Sao Paulo at Chorand Alto 2. What impressed you most about the festival?

What im ressed me most was the variety of styles within the c oro tradition. Over the four days there was everything f om groups who played in the really old style to contempo ary jazz-influenced things to modern classical interpret tions to the pop stars paying homage to the great compo ers. There was a group doing arrangements for five clani ets; another night there was a piece that had been written or eight cellos and piano. Several new pieces were written or the festival. And each night was sold out.

Tell me little about the festival's organization.

The festi al is a four-day event, with three different acts each night, ponsored by the SESC group. This is an organization hat collects a tax from the businesses in Sao Paulo. The t x money is then channeled by SESC in their capacity as n arts organization. They have a beautiful theater that h Ids about 800 people and absolutely the best sound and Ii hting equipment you can imagine as well as a top-notch sta e crew.

Was the e a sense of stylistic continuity in the approach of th younger players?

Choro pl yers have throughout the century been the musicians' m sicians. It's still that way today in Brazil. It's just that the d finition of choro has gotten so much broader.

The line now between jazz, classical, and choro is getting a bit blurry. ut that's the beauty of the music, that as an art form it can andle so many different offshoots and still have this bas c root.

39

Some feel choro is the scholarly genre of Brazilian music, an acquired taste. I've even read somewhere that Wagner Tiso feels that only Brazilians can play choro. What's your take on ideas like these?

To me choro is not scholarly in some kind of unapproachable way. It has that beautiful combination of intellect and emotion that I look for in any kind of music. Like American jazz, it combines the intricacies of the Western classical harmonic and melodic traditions with the intense drive and complexities of African drumming. What could be better? To me it's a completely natural thing. As far as having to be Brazilian.. .You know, I played Pixinguinha's tune "I XO" with Tiso at the festival, and he seemed to be really digging it. If you study this music and its history from its inception, you find many musicians coming together from many different places. Each player bringing something unique to the table. This is what has created all of the truly great musical styles of the last one hundred years. I think it's a question of exposure and openness. Music is a living art form. It is one way today and will be something else tomorrow. Even the young people in Brazil today are doing something different with choro. They know that no matter how hard they try, they can never sound like Jacob or Pixinguinha. But it's the love and appreciation that they bring to the art form that's important. Their musical personality is what keeps the music alive and moving into the future.

Did you get a sense that choro is alive, well, and growing in Brazil?

I would have to say that choro music is alive and well in Brazil. What a vibrancy to this event! In the audience you had such a cross section of people, all ages, which was really nice to see. The festival validated, once again, the rich and varied music of Brazil and the role choro has played in the musical history of the country.

How did you get involved with a festival in a different hemisphere?

I was invited by the group Nucleo Contemporaneo.

It's a group of four musicians who formed a record label and music center for concerts and workshops. The group (Teco Cardoso, saxophone and flute; Toninho Ferragutti, accordion; Benjamim Taubkin, piano; and Mane Silveira, trombone) is responsible for the rejuvenation of choro in Sao Paulo. I actually met the pianist, Benjamim, when I was in Sao Paulo in 1995 with the Turtle Island String Quartet. He was a fan of some of my earlier work: Grisman, Montreux, and Modern Mandos.

We were instant friends, even beyond connecting musically, before I heard him play. Later when !realized that he was the keyboard player on Zizi Possi's Valsa Brasileira, I was screaming, "That's you man? You are incredible!! "Just soul down to the bone.

How were you received by the Brazilian players at Chorando Alto?

They were absolutely great. I guess for them it was just really weird to see this American guy who had studied this music and was really playing it. The entire experience has been hard to believe. I went to Brazil for the first time in 1995 and was really inspired by this entire genre of music. I went crazy studying choro and learned about its different styles and eras. But to be invited to play with some of these musicians who I consider to be some of the greatest in Brazil, musicians whom I've been admiring for so long, it was like a dream. And with the guys in Nude() Contemporaneo, ao

the music felt completely natural from the first note we played. Benjamim, our piano player and music director, was always kidding me saying, "How can you play like that and not speak Portuguese?"

Are you planning a return to Brazil soon?

Yes! Chorando Alto has invited me back next year for the third annual festival. It's the 80th birthday celebration of Jacob (do Bandolim). You can imagine how excited I am. Also, the label Nude() Contemporaneo is going to release my CD there.

Will there be a CD from the Chorando Alto 2?

Each night of the festival was taped, and there were three acts each night, so there will be a twelve track promotional CD at some point, one track from each group.

Whether it will be commercially available in the near future, who knows?

How did you discover chao?

I first heard Jacob in 1981 or '82 when I was touring with David Grisman. We had some tapes of his early recordings. I thought that Jacob was this anomaly in Brazil. A mandolin player playing this type of music?

What a strange thing. And even though I had heard the music, I wasn't clear about which instruments were making which sounds. The percussion? I had never seen a pandeiro before. The guitar at times sounded like a bass?

What was this? I've always felt that it is important to really go into a style and look at it from many angles, so it really wasn't until I went to Brazil that I realized the instrumentation and how it all functioned. When I got to Brazil and saw all these groups and understood the concept of the group interaction and how all the instruments functioned together, I got really excited. I saw and heard the music in the clubs and on the streets, and I really got hit with the bug. This was such an old tradition that included the family of plucked string instruments, the cavaquinho, the six and seven string guitars, and the mandolin was so much a part of the style. Many of these melodies had grown out of the mandolin. Wow, that was it for me! From then on I was a goner. To be a mandolin player all of these years and then find a musical form whose melodies grew out of the instrument was just incredible. I mean it was like finding the long lost brother that you had never met.

You've performed a broad spectrum of music, from classical to jazz to bluegrass. Have you found any similarities with choro and these other styles?

There are similarities between the early swing bands and the early choro groups at the turn of the century. I also see a parallel with American jazz and with Brazilian pop styles as they moved through the century. Ernesto Nazare and Chiquinha Gonzaga had this sort of elegant quality.

They played tunes with slower tempos than the groups from the twenties. Pixinguinha with Os Oito Batutas and Carmen Miranda with some early string bands backing her up made some really horrible recordings in terms of the sound quality, but man the music comes through! I mean the spirit and groove that these cats played with is just incredible. It's so close to the spirit of the early string swing bands in America. As you move into the forties and fifties with big bands becoming popular, you see that choro definitely started moving in that direction. I think that the two countries have always had a tremendous influence on each other.

What about parallels with great jazz players like Bird, Trane, and Pastorius?

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

There has always been had a tremendous influthis same virtuoso element ence on me. If you look at SELECTED with choro musicians like I what all of the guys who cavaquinho player Valdir came through that group DISCOGRAPHY Azevedo, saxophonist Abel went on to do, it's pretty *Mike Marshall has contributed his talents as featured soloist to Ferreira, and flutist Altamiamazing. It was like gradumyriad recordings released under other artists' names that do not ro Carrilho. These guys all appear here. ate school. Darol Anger changed the face of the and I left David's group to Modern Mandolin Quartet music by virtue of their (MMQ) form the Montreux band.

Mike Marshall and Darol Anger (MD) stunning technique. They We made several records w/Edgar Meyer and Bela Fleck (BEM) were so expressive in their for the Windham Hill laPsychograss (Psyc) approach to phrasing and bel and toured around the Montreux (Mont) rubato. That phrasing thing world with Michael ManDavid Grisman Quintet (Dawg) is some really deep stuff. ring, Barbara Higbie, and It's almost a bit corny at Midnight Clear Acorn Records Andy Narell. That was a 1997 times, but if you can get Uncommon Ritual Sony Classical 199 (BEM) great chance to explore our Brasil Duets Earth Beat! Rec. 199. past that and remember own compositions and get Like Minds Sugar Hill 199.

(Psyc) what era these guys grew away from "Dawg" music Psychograss Windham Hill 199, (Psyc) up in, then you can really (David Grisman's sound).

Pan American Journeys Windham Hill 1993 (MMQ) appreciate what's happenWhile we were in the Nutcracker Suite Windham Hill 1991 (MMQ) ing in the music. That gengroup Montreux, Darol Intermezzo Windham Hill 198 (MMQ) eration was probably lisand I each started our own Let Them Say Windham Hill 1988 (Mont) tening to Perry Como and string quartets. Darol Modern Mandolin Quartet Windham Hill 1987 (MMQ) Frank Sinatra right along Sign Language Windham Hill 1986 (Mont) started the Turtle Island Chiaroscuro Windham Hill 1985 (MD) with us Americans. Now String Quartet, and I Live at Montreux Windham Hill 1984 (Mont) there is a younger generastarted the Modern ManGator Strut Rounder 1984 tion of Chor5es. dolin Quartet. The MMQ Dawg Jazz -Dog Grass Warner Bros.

1983 (Dawg) Over the past 20 years, gave me a chance to really The Duo Rounder 1983 (MD) people like Raphael Rabeldelve into the realm of Mondo Mando Warner Bros.

1982 (Dawg) lo, Paulo Sergio Santos, classical music. It did Acoustic Christmas Rounder 1981 (Dawg) Henrique Cazes, Paulo wonders for my sight readGrappelli Grisman/Live Warner Bros.

1981 (Dawg) Moura, and groups like N6 Quintet 80 1980 (Dawg) Warner Bros. ing and really opened up Hot Dawg Horizon/A&M 1979 (Dawg) Em Pingo D'Agua (Knot In my ears to good ensemble A Drop of Water) and playing. It also gave me so Film scores: Aquarel a Carioca have been much insight into the great Berenstain Bears (CD Rom 1996 influenced by all kinds of composers of the Western Sibling Rivalries (film) 1993 jazz, pop, and world music. classical music tradition.

The Longest Row (documentary) 1985 These players grew up hearCountry (film) 1984 ing the Beatles, James TayI understand that you I. lor, and Weather Report. recently decided to leave But when we talk about musicians who have changed the Modern M ndolin Quartet. Why? course of music and the way subsequent players apA group like the Modern Mandos really demands proach it, I always turn to the greatest composer in that you gi e it a lot of time and energy. The music Brazil today, Hermeto Pascoal. Where do we begin with demands it. felt that the group would do better without Hermeto? me always being gone, doing all of these other musical projects that I'm so interested in at this point. Who Speaking of Hermeto, you've had the good forknows, may . e we'll hook up again someday. tune of working with one of the members of his band.

Yes, and I really must thank Jovino Santos Neto. At Your group, Choro Famoso, received a tremenabout the same time that I went to Brazil for the first dous respo se from the crowd at the Masonic Auditime, Jovino moved up to Seattle. We became instant torium when you opened the show for Gilberto Gil. friends, and I set up workshops for Jovino here. We Were you surprised by this? talked a lot on the phone. When he came here, we played I really was. I really didn't know what to expect all day and all night. He brought a lot of Hermeto's honestly. I hought that maybe people would be still charts with him as well as his own. He really helped me trying to fi d their seats and just milling around and understand this music on a much deeper level. I felt so talking or s mething. I thank Thalia Lubin for such a lucky to have this person who could teach me something professiona concert presentation. about Brazilian music. Jovino is an incredible spirit.

What he got from hanging out with Hermeto for so long Masonic is a scary room. It's enormous! And the was this incredible love for music, this passion for just set Choro amoso played was demanding. Still, the learning and growing and writing music, just generally entire grou seemed to be enjoying themselves and being involved with music as completely as a person can performed ith a kind of reckless abandon, everyone be. I can't thank Jovino enough for helping me dig a taking lots f chances. Did you feel as comfortable as little deeper into this art form. you looked Yeah, w just felt great and very at home with the Mike, you're widely known for your work with crowd right from the start. I have found that if the David Grisman, Montreux, and the Modern Mandolistening sit ation is right, then people will generally be lin Quartet. Can you give me a little background open to it. about these groups and your involvement with them?

I moved out to the Bay Area in 1979 to join the David Andy Colnnel blew me away. He sounds like Albert Grisman Quintet. David and all of the guys in the group Ayler meets{ Claude Debussy. His use of multi-phonBRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

41

ics in his solos took choro into a new dimension.

- Andy has gone about as far off of the deep end into choro as anybody that I have met. He even wrote a Masters thesis at the University of Michigan on choro and has transcribed more tunes from recordings than you can imagine. He is working on a doctorate now at UCLA. The guy really understands the style.

Tell me about the band.

All of the guys have that combination ofgreat swinging rhythm and the ability to learn arrangements quickly and react improvisationally to the music at the moment.

Carlos Oliveiro on guitar is from Recife and is the heart and soul of the group. He really has the groove for this style. Michael Spiro on pandeiro and percussion is solid as a rock. Have you heard his CD, Bata Ketu? And Andy on clarinet and soprano sax. They're all really wonderful cats. I'm really fortunate to have them on my team.

You're convinced there is a future for choro in the United States?

Every time the group has performed a concert, people have loved it. The usual comment from non-Brazilians is, "Wow, what beautiful melodies, I can't believe that I've never heard this music before." The comment from Brazilians is usually, "It's so great to hear this music up here!" That seems like a nice combination for building a grassroots following and growing from there.

When you're not preparing for the next big show, whose music do you like to listen to?

I love it all. I would say that everything that I have heard has had some effect on me musically. You name it, I'm probably into it. As long as it speaks from the heart and feels like somebody is doing something with their hands or voice that is very personal. Music has to touch me at my emotional core. That's why I'm drawn to folk music from all over the world. It has a history that lead to its creation and that visceral feeling of people doing something together. Mind you, that doesn't leave out some incredible pop music.

37:434P14 Your CD Brasil Duets has received a lot of praise from fans of Brazilian music and from choro aficionados. Will Choro Famoso record a CD in the near future?

Definitely. I plan to go into the studio some time next year with the group.

Any possibility of including a track or two of Choro Famoso live on the disc?

I'd love to record the whole thing live if I could.

BrasilDuets contains some refreshing arrangements of classic choro tunes. As the leader of North America's foremost choro ensemble, are you concerned about authentic performance practice?

While I love the older styles of choro and have chosen to Any plans to foster that play much of the older repergrowth?

-In the Universe of Music, some galaxies shine bright toire on my CD and with my I've got so many ideas for and far due to their blend of colors and profusion of stars group, I also realize that I am this music in the States. I'm and planets. Mike Marshall has ventured far, crossing the an American guy approaching doing some shows with Andy entire planetary system known as Brazilian music. In doing this music from a certain disNarell (piano/steel pan). We so, he was able to show to all those with an open mind that tance. After all, I didn't grow just did a show opening for music is indeed One Universe. His profound musical gift is up in Rio or Sao Paulo going to Bela Fleck last month and his revealed in his interpretations of the choros. Mike knows crowd was really into the mujam sessions as a kid and learnhow to employ his sharp technique to convey emotion and sic. I'd also love to help bring ing the music from my family. beauty. I feel privileged to be his brother of sound and tone. some Brazilian musicians up I will definitely have my own Being a fantastic cook, he can add the right spices to his voice in the way that I play here some time soon. I'll be interpretations to please the most refined musical palates. these tunes. For me, that is the working on that. It's just a Mike's music is a convergence of several currents, and question of putting one foot in beauty of it. I think that many since the music of Brazil is in itself a fusion of many front of the other and taking musicians today get caught up different cultures and styles, he can easily glide into it. small steps at first. in the idea of right and wrong Having shared some intense musical moments with him, I with regard to musical styles. can only say that I want more. Parabens, amigo!"

Do you have anyone parWhile there is definitely a difJovino Santos Neto ticular in mind? ference between a musician Benjamim, the pianist on who has done his homework Zizi Possi's record, who orgaand one who has not, I believe nized the group I played with that for choro to survive, it has at Chorando Alto and who is one of the partners in the to be an art form that is alive and in a state of change at all Nucleo Contemporaneo label. I really connected with times. It's really no different than American jazz today. In him, musically and as a friend. Tam also crazy about the the U.S. there are purists who have chosen to play in the percussionist Guello. This guy is too much to talk about. style of a certain era, in the style of the classic Miles Davis I got to play with him for a week this past trip to Brazil. groups of the late sixties for example. Others only play Try to imagine what I must have been feeling! The swing from the forties or thirties. While this is a wonderclarinet/sax player Nailor "Proveta" Azevedo is really ful thing, it is definitely not the path that I have chosen. I something. And Toninho Ferragutti the accordionist is love this music called choro. I love the performers that I an amazing composer. I'd love to form a little group have just mentioned. But I will never be able to sound with these guys and do some touring around here. And, exactly like them. Within the context of this style, I have of course, there are the great players that I haven't my own voice. I only hope that my work has a positive played with that I would just be inspired to see and hear: effect on the music and its future.

Paulo Moura, Marcos Suzano, Henrique Cazes, the group No em Pingo D'Agua, or one of the older groups like Bruce Gilman, music editor for Brazzil, received Isaias e Seus Choroes. Ultimately I could see putting his Masters degree in music from California Institogether a little mini show that would have three or four tute of the Arts. He leads the Brazilian jazz ensemble groups. It would be great to show the whole breadth of Axe and plays cuica for escola de samba MILA. this style in one evening. I'm sure that the U.S. audiYou can reach him through his E-mail: ences would love it! cuica(&,inte rworld.net 42

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

Judith Kay is fascinated with Brazil and its music. After falling in love with Tom Jobim, she began performing Brazilian songs live, singing phonetically in Portuguese.

Before long, she was studying Portuguese. "Preciso de Voce na Minha Vida" ("I Need You In My Life"), a Portuguese-lyrics ballad composed by her, is one of the highlights of her latest release. This is also the story of how she was able to overcome adversity and pursue her musical careers PAUL FORD JR.

Nestled in a quiet corner of Arden, Del., Judith Kay sits in her private studio surrounded by stacks of books, papers and copies of her latest CD, Sounds Like Brazil. The centerpiece of this tiny space—just large enough for two people to sit comfortably—is a personal computer into which Kay dictates her compositions note by note. Ever since being stricken with Repetitive Strain injury in 1992, Kay has relied primarily on a voice-activated headset to compose the sheet music for her various pieces. These include traditional jazz, big band and bossa nova tunes.

Described as a "consummate professional," Kay has not anowed her debilitating injury to darken her spirit or keep her from doing what she loves most: writing and performing music for appreciative audiences around the world. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Judith was born into a musical family. Her mother played piano and both parents had a keen interest in the big band era. "There was always a lot of good music in my house growing up," recalls Kay fondly. "Classical, jazz, big band.. .1 was very fortunate."

She took up guitar at age 11, and by fourteen she knew that she wanted to pursue music full time. In high school Kay began studying piano in addition to guitar, and she began writing her first songs.

After graduating from Concord High School she continued her musical training at Hartford's Mara College of Music and later Temple University in Philadelphia. After a short while she left school to study guitar under respected Philadelphia musicians Pat Martino and Bob DiNardo, then-staff guitarist for The Mike Douglas Show. She also developed an interest in composing and arranging big band pieces Starting in the mid-1970s, Kay began singing and playing before small area audiences, performing classics by Gershwin, Ellington and Berlin in addition to her own material. Then in 1979, Judith became the BRAZZIL -NOVEMBER •997

first recipient f the National Endowment for the Arts' Jazz Stu y Grant for composition and arranging, which she used to study with well-known New York-based an anger, Manny Albam. She also received a grant f r composition and arranging from the Delaware State Arts Council Meanwhile Kay continued to perform whenever and wherever s e could. To help make ends meet, she turned to teach ng guitar and music theory no a handful of private St dents, something she still finds very gratifying 25 y ears later. Her main focus, however, has always bee on singing and performing, and in recent years s e has performed in Europe, South America and C nada as well as the U.S.. In 1986 she was invited by the Portuguese government to be the first American jazz musician to perform on the island of Madeira as p rt of the international film and music festival, Festiv 1 de Outono.

"I've been I cky in that rye never had to take a day job," says Kay half-jokingly. But Kay is no stranger to har work. After unsuccessful efforts to sign on with a ajor record label, Kay was forced to take mattcrs int her own hands to get her music out.

She wound up forming her own company, Tasty Records, in 198 as a vehicle for her own recordings.

The downsi e, however, is that Kay now finds herself caught • a "vicious circle" of making music, then conductin the follow up business that allows her to confirm making more music. "I spend too much time on tie business of music," Kay laments, "making phone $alls, taking care of distribution,... We currently have cver 700 people on our mailing list. At least I have a pt-time assistant to help with some of that now."

Even more mportant, according to Kay, is the support she get from her long-time producer/manager, David M Clintock. A semi-retired flee-lance photographer, N4cLintock is also Kay's husband of 43

nine years. "We've been together for over 20 years.' says Kay, "and without him I'm not sure that I would make it in the music business." *** Our conversation turns to Kay's fascination with Brazil and its music as the opening rhythms of "Sounds Like Brazil," the title track of her latest release, fill the room. "I first heard the gorgeous songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim the Cole Porter of Brazil—back in the sixties and became entranced by the country and its music," recalls Kay. "Later, in the early eighties, musician colleagues traveled to Brazil and brought back stacks of albums by people like Gal Costa, Djavan, Elis Regina, Joao Gilberto and Manfredo Fest."

Fascinated by what she heard, Kay began performing Brazilian songs live, singing phonetically in Portuguese. "I was able to fake it well enough to fool native Brazilians in the audience into thinking that I was from Brazil," laughs Kay. As for the non-Brazilians, Kay was pleasantly surprised to find that they reacted well to songs in a foreign language. "The percussive sound seems to be sufficient to keep American audiences engaged and entertained," she says.

Before long, Kay began to study Portuguese formally. She took private lessons from University of Delaware professor Paulo da Silva in 1986. That same year she traveled to Brazil for the first time, spending two weeks in Rio de Janeiro. After returning to Delaware she continued studying the language on her own for the next five years in order to become fluent. In fact, Kay's own Portuguese-language composition, the pretty ballad "Precis° de Voce na Minha Vida" (I Need You In M} Life), is one of the highlights of her latest release.

"It is a beautiful language," Kay insists. "It continues to give me great pleasure to sing in Portuguese." *** In 1986, Judith Kay made the first of two music-oriented trips to Rio de Janeiro. "I went to hear music and meet as many musicians as possible," says Kay. While in Rio she spent time at famous jazz clubs such as People Jazz Bar and Ipanema's Jazzmania, meeting and playing for the likes of samba composer Billy Blanco, former Jobim drummer Paulinho Braga, guitarist Tavio Bonfa, and the legendary Caetano Veloso.

It was at People that Judith first met Chaplin (pronounced Sha-PLEEN), who was playing percussion for Joao Donato at the time.

Chaplin, like other Brazilian musicians, was "open and easy to talk to."

"They. [Brazilian musicians] love American musicians because of the respect that American musicians have for their Brazilian counterparts," 'notes Kay. On a whim, just days before her scheduled departure, Judith and David decided that she should record while in Rio. "I had been thinking of doing an album someday, but not in Brazil," she recounts. "The decision to go into the studio in Rio was a very spontaneous, overnight decision."

At the last minute Kay was able to schedule a session at Sono Viso, a studio recommended by Azymuth bassist Alex Malheiros. In only five hours Kay and Chaplin, who agreed to accompany her on percussion, laid down 15 tracks, 12 of which eventually appeared on her first Tasty release, Everybody's Talkin'.

Judith returned to Rio for four weeks in 1992. During her stay she met up with well-known bassist Adriano Giffoni, who is currently performing with Maria Bethania. Gilffoni is also a Brazilian music historian with a deep interest in preserving the varied Brazilian musical styles. "He was a great source of information about Brazil's musical history," 44

says Kay. Unfortunately for Kay, Rio's darker side reared its ugly head on this second visit. "I was mugged on the second day we were there," she recalls sadly. She doesn't go down more often because of the danger.

"Rio is not a very relaxing or 'carefree' place for Americans," cautions Kay. "There is constant tension when you stick out as foreign, and with my blond hair, blue eyes and fair complexion I wasn't able to blend in very well. In fact, we needed a vacati xi after that vacation."

In spite of the negatives, however, Kay found her associations with the Brazilian people wonderful and inspiring. "Life is very difficult for many musicians in Brazil," she says. "They tend to be quite poor and not able to travel easily. It makes me appreciate my life as a full-time musician here in the U.S. that much more." *** In 1990, Kay began recording her own Brazilian compositions, something that she had wanted to do for many years. Before this work was completed, Judith released Judith Kay Live—Her Voice, Her Guitar. Recorded at J.J.'s Grotto in Philadelphia in 1991, Live was done during her transition from a solo to ensemble performer. She put together a trio that included Tony Miceli on vibraphone and Kevin McConnell on bass.

Meanwhile, Kay continued working on the material that would ultimately end up on Sounds. These songs would be the last recordings of Kay playing the guitar, for in August of 1992 she was struck down with Repetitive Strain Injury, or RSI. Excruciatingly painful and disabling, RSI is a severe form of tendonitis that musicians have been getting for years. A rampant affliction in the U.S., RSI has affected the likes of pianist Leon Fleischer, who is now back to performing, and Gary Grafman, head of the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.

"I was out of commission for three to five years," says Kay, who now undergoes physical therapy and daily exercise in an effort to regain use of her right hand and arm. "I had to learn to write with my left hand," she says, "and my career on the guitar is uncertain. I'm hopeful that someday I'll play again, but I can't rely on it." *** Kay's disability also held up the release ofSounds Like Brazil, which didn't finally hit stores until April of th s year. But despite all of the obstacles, the final result has been well worth the wait. Jazz critic Deni Kasrel called the recording "a sumptuous blend of Brazilian sensibility merged with Judith's unique musical concepts."

A collection of complex material, some of which dates back to the 1970s, the songs on this disc are uniqaely her own. The intricate chord structures and complex harmonies combine with twisting and turning melody and counter-melody lines to produce music that is both delightful and warm. This result was clearly intended by careful design.

Kay is responsible for all of the music, lyrics and BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

arrangements on Sounds; she was totally absorbed in the careful construction of each piece from beginning to end. By her own admission, the music is difficult and leaves little room for spontaneity and improvisation. "I'm sure most musicians would admit that it's tough to play," she asserts. For this reason, Kay sought out the best possible musicians to join her in making this record.

The all important rhythm section is composed of Ron Thomas (piano), Domenick Fiore (bass), and Manhattan-based Vanderlei Pereira (drums/percussion). A native of Rio de Janeiro, Pereira adds a crucial authentic Brazilian element.

Kay spotted Pereira in a Greenwich Village club and knew immediately that she wanted him handling the drum duties for this project, feeling that it was important to have a Brazilian involved in the making of Sounds. "Even though it's not truly Brazilian music," says Kay, "it's American music influenced by the Brazilian sound and I wanted his ,viewpoint.

Brazilian drummers have a very special concept that's only theirs. It's a particular sensitivity and cleanness of sound." Vanderlei's creative input also "gave things a special kick," according to Kay. Rounding out the ChamberJazz ensemble is Ron Kerber (flutes and saxophones), George Rabbai (trumpet and fltigelhorn), Francis Orval (French horn) and Chuck Holdeman (bassoon).

Since its release Sounds Like Brazil has received steady airplay on radio stations in New York and Washington, DC, in addition to Temple Jazz (WRTI) in Philadelphia. While not known for frequent performances, Kay has done a number of shows throughout the region in support of Sounds. In addition to Thomas and Miceli, Tom Cohen (drums), Tim Lekan (bass) and Tony Salicandro (sax) make up her core group of musicians. Kay had difficulty finding a replacement guitarist who truly understood the Brazilian music; instead she has turned to playing the vibraphone, which she finds an interesting substitute for the guitar.

While classics from the '30s and '40s still make up about 50 percent of her live shows, Kay confesses that she has become "happily hooked" on Brazilian music. Songs by Jobim, Donato, Jorge Ben Jor, Gilberto Gil, Edu Lobo and Dorival Caymmi, in addition to her own Brazilian-inspired work, frequently find their way onto her set list.

Kay frequently runs into native Brazilians at her concerts. "After just about every show someone in the audience from Brazil comes up to speak in Portuguese," says Kay, who finds local Brazilians very receptive to her renditions of Brazilian works. "There are many Brazilians in the Delaware Valley," she says, "although they aren't as visible as perhaps other nationalities. I hope to be able to meet more of them."

at the University f Delaware in 1995 and 1996.

"Arts educati n is extremely important and something that is lacking in many schools today," insists Kay, who finds that many f' her younger music students have no knowledge whats ever of Duke Ellington, George Gershwin or Cole Porter. In letter to the Wilmington News Journal in January, Kay wr te that "without the arts, education is incomplete and st dents are deprived."

This lack of ed cation, Kay believes, is one reason for the decline of jazz's opularity in recent years. Citing a trend that began with th advent of The Beatles, Kay claims that there is no longer strong base of support for jazz in the U.S..

Even the success f Wilmington's annual Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, whi has been drawing jazz enthusiasts by the thousands for the ast seven years, is seen as the exception rather than the rule. "Local jazz venues are drying up and the Judith Kay audien e is dwindling," complains Kay. "It's a huge problem."

"In addition, he U.S. Congress has been sending a strong, sad messa e that the arts are simply not important," Kay continues, citi g ongoing budget battles concerning the National Endowm nt for the Arts. "And unfortunately many corporations have received that message loud and clear, cutting back on th it support for various art programs."

"It's an uphill attle," says Kay with a confident smile, "but we will surviv ." Considering what Judith Kay has been through in her on oing effort to preserve America's "notional treasure," it s difficult not to believe her.

Paul Ford, Jr. s a social worker and free-lance writer.

He is a gra uate from Wilmington College working towards a m sters in elementary education. Anyone wishing to reac him can call (302) 658-8280, or e-mail Ifords@aol.com.

Judith Kay's ounds Like Brazil is only available via Tasty Records, do Arden Enterprises, 1601 Harvey Road, Arden own, DE 19810 — Tel.: (302) 475-8275

(Pintura, Es -ultura, Fotografia, Eraalhes & Etc.)

•APENAS PARA MEMISR S DA NOM COMUNIDADE DE LINGUA PORTUGUES'A•

a do proximo volume da Nosso Guia/Our Guide. ra, a sua arte sera a pa, cartao telefonico, ra do "web site" na net e muito mais! ,21/

* * *

In her free time Kay continues to write music and record. "I have two recordings 'in the can'," she says.

"One is a duo with the international pianist Sir Roland Hannah, the other is a ChamberJazz collaboration on a collection of obscure Christmas carols." According to Kay, the latter project could be released as early as this fall.

Meanwhile, a new area of development for Kay is composing for school ensembles. "My goal is to become a resident artist at a university or established music school within the next few years," says Kay. "I want to be able to pursue music and share the process with others."

Kay has some experience in this area already, and her love of Brazilian music also led to her teaching a course on the subject, entitled "The Brazilian Sound,"

tat GUIDE

•

SSO GUIA

seu I Vencedor do "Trofeu Mats Mats 1996" e convidado para a "Nolte Dos Autografos" 1997.

Para maiores informac4)es em coma participar ou patrocinar este evento artistico internacional, favor enviar name, end reco, nnmero do telefone/fax e e-mail (se tiver) para: Nosso Guia/Our Guide 111 N.E. 1st Stree , 9th Floor, Miami, FL U.S.A. 33132 Tel: (305) 374-0096 - Fax: (800) 300-1178 E-mail nossoguia@ourguide.com Web Sit http://www.ourguide.com MV TOS rntmios

r

BW211_-NOVEMBER1N7 45

.11â&#x20AC;˘1

C-7 0

0

Cr

Cr MOM

MN=

Movies RIO A Partilha (The Partition)-After five years of sold-out shows in Rio and in several other Brazilian cities, the Miguel Falabella's play about four sisters humorously arguing about inheritance, is back in Rio, inaugurating the Teatro Miguel Falabella in the NorthShopping.

With Rosamaria Murtinho, Nivea Maria, Claudia Alencar, and Magaly Evangelista Salve Amizade (Hello, Buddy)-A good-humored portrait of the fortysomething generation. Two women decide to rekindle their adolescent passions just to find out how time has been cruel to their former leading men. Written and directed by Flavio Marinho.

With Louise Cardoso, Cristina Pereira, Marcelo Saback, Paulo Cesar Grande, and Alice Borges.

Sexo Verissimo (Verissimo Sex)Comedy by Gaticho (from Rio Grande do Sul state) writer and journalist Luiz Fernando Verissimo. A selection of cronicas published in newspapers and magazines. Paula Novaes and Isaac Bernart interpret 20 different characters.

SAO PAULO

Anchieta, Nossa Hist6ria (Anchieta, Our History)-A celebration of the socalled Apostle of Brazil, Jesuit priest Jose de Anchieta, on the 400th anniversary of his death. By Alzira Andrade and Alceste Madella. Directed by Denise del Vecchio. With Daniela de Vecchi and Klever Dey Ravanelli.

Jordan-A monologue by Shirley Jones, who in prison recalls better times before the day she killed her child.

Written by Anna Reynolds and Moira Buffini. Reynolds in 1986 killed her own mother with a hammer. Directed

by Mario Bortolotto with Lucimara Martins.

0 Principio do Avesso-Dom Casmurro (The Opposite Principle-Mr. Peevish)-Based on Machado de Assis's (1839-1908) classic novel Dom Casmurro (1900). In a new twist, it starts with Bentinho suspecting his wife's (Capitu) fidelity and ends up with their first kiss. Written by Marici Salomao.

Directed by Ant6nio do Valle. With Vicentini Gomes.

Prova de Fogo (Trial by Fire)-The story of the 1968 invasion of University of sao Paulo's Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciencias e Letras by the police, during the military dictatorship.

By Consuelo de Castro, directed by Abilio Tavares, with Alexandre Lima, Alvaro Franco and Marine Pereira.

46

Cr

American films just released: Absolute Power (Poder Absoluto), Bastard out of Carolina (Marcas do Silencio), Chasing Amy (Procura-se Amy), Conspiracy Theory (Teoria da Conspiracao), Double Team (A Colonia), Event Horizon (0 Enigma do Horizonte), Grosse Point Blank (Matador em Conflito), Nothing to Lose (Nada a Perder), Sling Blade (Na Corda Bamba), Volcano (Volcano, A Fitria)

Books

best-sellers FICTION 1. 0 Socio-John Grisham 2. contato-Carl Sagan 3. Icone-Frederick Forsyth 4. 0 Mundo de Sofia-Jostein Gaarder 5. Maldade-Danielle Steel 6. E do Meio do Mundo Prostituto S6 Amores Guardei ao Meu CharutoRubem Fonseca 7. Cidade de Deus-Paulo Lins 8. Nova Comedia da Vida Privada Luis Fernando Verissimo 9. 0 Paciente Ingles-Michael Ondaatj e 10. 0 Aprendiz do Desejo Francisco Daudt da Veiga

Baile Perfumado (Fragrant Ball)-Brazil-1996-Directed by first time directors Paulo Caldas, 33, from Paraiba state and Lirio Ferreira, 32, from Pernambuco. The story of Lebanese Benjamin AbrahAo, the only person who in the '30s was able to film bandit NONFICTION Lampiao and his band. With Claudio 1. Cazuza-SO as Miles Sao Felizes Mamberti (Benjamin), Luis Carlos Vascon- Lucinha Araujo celos (Lampiao), and Jofre Soares (Padre 2. 0 Livro das Virtudes para Criancas Cicero).

William J. Bennett East Side Story (Assim Dancou o Comunis- 3. 177 Maneiras de Enlouquecer uma mo)-Germany -1996-Documentary on Mulher na Cama-Olivia St. Claire the musical movies from East Europe. Di- 4. As Receitas Preferidas de Ana Maria rected by Dana Ranga with Chris Doerk, Braga-Ana Maria Braga 5. Sanduiches de Realidade e Outros Erich, Guscho, and Helmut Hanke.

Guerra de Canudos (Canudos War)-Bra- Escritos-Arnaldo Jabor zi1-1996-A family torn between the Re- 6. Che Guevara, Uma Vida em Vermelho-Jorge Castafieda priblican army and the followers of Antonio 7.

Terra-Sebastiao Salgado Conselheiro at the end of the last century in 8. A Arte da Guerra para Executivos the Bahia state backlands. Directed by Sergio Donald G. Krause Rezende with Claudia Abreu, Paulo Betti, 9. Difirio de um Magro Marieta Severo, ancklose Wilker.

Mario Prata Je T'aime Moi Non Plus (Paixiio Selva- 10. Cartas ao Mundo gem)-France-1976 Directed by Serge Glauber Rocha Gainsbourg with Jane Birkin and Joe Dalessandro. Homosexual truckdriver falls SELF-HELP/NEW AGE in love with a young waitress.

1. Inteligincia Emocional A Ostra e o Vento (The Oyster and the Daniel Goleman Wind)-Brazil- 1996-Film was shown at 2. Meu Anjo-Fausto Oliveira recent Venice Film Festival. The fantasies of 3. Violetas na Janela a girl who lives with her father in an island Vera Lucia Marizeck Cary alho after she hears about a sailor's adventures. 4. Minutos de Sabedoria Directed by Walter Lima Jr. with Leandra Torres Pastorino 5.Criancas e Suas Vidas Passadas Leal and Fernando Torres.

Bowman 0 Que Elsso, Companheiro? (What's That, Carol 6. Cartas de Amor do Profeta Pal?)-Brazil-1996-The story of the young Paulo Coelho , guerrillas from the ALN (Acao Libertadora 7. 0 Sucesso E Ser Feliz Nacional) and MR-8 (Movimento Revolu- Roberto Shinyashiki cionario) who on September 4, 1969 kid- 8. Conversando Contigo napped Charles Elbrick, the American am- Zibia Gasparetto bassador in Brazil exchanging him for 15 9. As Sete Leis Espirituais do Sucesso political prisoners. Loosely based on Deepak Chopra Fernando Gabeira's book of same name. Di- 10. Como Educar Seus Pais rected by Bruno Barreto. With Alan Arkin, Cesar Cardoso According to weekly Pedro Cardoso, Fernanda Torres, Selton newsmagazine Veja Mello, and Fernanda Montenegro.

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

zil was the arm that our company was missing. And we can guarantee that the Brazilian culture will not be shown as folklore only."

PACKAGING HEALTH

The New York Hospital—Cornell Medical Center (NYH—CMC) has created a Latin American Department, which has Brazilian psychiatrist Roberto de Paula as its director. The number of Brazilians Once again this year, hun- looking for medical treatment in the U.S. has been on the increase. Many upperdreds of thousands of Brazil- class moms, for example, have been flyians and those interested in ing to Miami to have their babies there.

The NYH—CMC treat an average of Brazil crowded 46th Street in Manhattan to celebrate Bra- five Brazilians every month, but the hoszil's Independence Day. pital expects this number to grow as more Brazilians become aware of it. Doctor de While the date is September Paula believes that treatment given in the 7, the celebration was moved U.S. is much better than that in Brazil and up to August 31, a Sunday. even the prices can be competitive, acAmong the attractions this cording to him. A package for a cardiovascular surgery for example costs about year, there was S6 Pra Contra- $40.000.

Included in the cost are the iniriar, a very successful band tial consultation by mail, medical procefrom Minas Gerais. TV hu- dures and even hotel accommodation for morist, Chico Anisio, who re- the family. cently moved to Manhattan bitter with his Brazilian crit- U.S. Postal Service Statement of Ownership, Management • ics, received a trophy. and Circulation as required by 39 USC 3685 1. Publication Title: Brazzil 2. Publication No.: 1091-868X 3.

One ofthe most enthusiastic par- Filing Date: October 28, 1997 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly 5. ticipants of the festivities, however, No. of Issues Published Annually: 12 6. Annual Subscription Price $3.00 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of was not a Brazilian, but New York's Publication: Brazzil, 2039 N. Ave. 52, Los Angeles, CA 900421024 8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General mayor Rudolph Giuliani. He appar- Business Office of Publisher: Brazil!, 2039 N. Ave. 52, Los ently thought an appearance at the Angeles, CA 90042-1024 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing of Publisher: Rodney Mello, 2039 N. Ave. 52, Los Via Net and Multicanal, two Bra- highly-attended (he inflated the Addresses Angeles, CA 90042-1024; Editor: Rodney Mello, 2039 N. Ave. zilian cable services, CBS has become crowd in his speech, talking about 1 52, Los Angeles, CA 90042-1024; Managing Editor Rodney Mello, 2039 N. Ave. 52, Los Angeles, CA 90042-1024 10. a 24-hour presence in Brazil. The new million people) party too good of an Owner: Rodney Mello, 2039 N. Ave. 52, Los Angeles, CA 90042-1024 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other channel, called CBS Telenoticias, is occasion for someone campaigning Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total ount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None 12. N/ starting with a daily diet of 14 hours of for reelection to pass up. It didn't 13. Publication Name: Brazzil 14. Issue Date for Circulation a Below: October 1997 news in Portuguese. Three man-and- matter that 80 percent or more of 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation: woman teams will be used throughout those present were illegal immiActual No. Copies the day as anchors. The most famous of grants unable to vote. The TV Average of Single No. Copies Issue them, Leila Cordeiro and Eliakim evening news viewer doesn't know Each Issue Published Araido, who had their own news show that.

During Nearest Preceding to Filing in Brazil, moved recently to Miami for 12 Months Date their new assignment. . Total Number of Copies: 2900 2700 . Paid and/or Requested Circulation The new channel is being coordiI. Sales Through Dealers and nated by Marcos Wilson, former jourCarriers, Street Vendors and Counter Sales: N/A N/A nalism director of SBT (Sistema 2. Paid or Requested Mail Subscriptions: Art director Ennio Torrezan, a 1622 1507 Brasileiro de Televisao—Brazilian . Total Paid and/or System of Television). The Brazilian Carioca (from Rio) has worked at Requested Circulation: 1622 1507 . Free Distribution by Mail: 45.

67 TV network will also be participating Steven Spielberg ' s Amblimation Free Distribution studio in England and for HannaOutside the Mail: 1075 990 in the venture with news from Brazil. . Total Free Distribution: 1120 1057 . Total Distribution: Programs like CBS Evening News With Barbera in Hollywood. After two 2742 2564 .

Copies Not Distributed: Dan Rather, 60 Minutes and 45 Hours years at HBO, he is finally getting I. Office Use, Leftover, Spoiled: 158 136 will be presented in English with cap- the break of his life with the launch2. Return from News Agents N/A N/A ing on cable TV of El Macho, the Total: 2900 2700 tions in Portuguese. Finances, sports, Percent Paid and/or stocky, big-nosed and seriously jealand entertainment will also be covered Requested Circulation 56% 56% ous character that he created while

by CBS Brazil. still in Brazil. Passing through Rio This Statement of Ownership will be printed in the November According to Ricardo Brown, the 7 issue of this publication. 17. I certify that all information recently, he contacted some compaCBS TeleNoticias journalism director, nies in order to satisfy another one ished on this form is true and complete. I understand that yone who furnishes false or misleading information on this the channel will be covering interna- of his dreams: start an animation or who omits material or information requested on the form y be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and impristional news that interests Brazil. "Bra- nucleus in Brazil. o ent) and/or civil sanctions (including multiple damages and

INDEPENDENCE DAY

CBS TALKS PORTUGUESE

MACHO TURN

ci il penalties). (Signed) Rodney Mello, Publisher and Editor-inC ef

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

47

51001111111A4 l'ANIA HABERNORN,hu ATTORNEY AT LAIN/ABOOADO/AINOCADO MEMBER STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA

(818) 897-3661 IMMIGRATION MATTERS DEPORTATION DEFENSE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY CALIFORNIA

PSICOTEFtAPEUTA BRASILEIRA 0 EASE DE TRANSIcAO?

o NAO SABE SE VAI OU FICA? O DEPRESSAO? PROBLEMAS DE O RELACIONAMENTO (310) 840-5380 DJ'EFtv BY EDSON DE MELLO Pre MECC# 021323

IMF 30544

TH:111SLEIT11115

AXE

r.n

zaztican, )cv-z/z/ cgrzseinitie, We bring you infectious energy, a driving rhythm., and the most innovative Brazilian instrumental music

WHEREVER YOU ARE IN THIS GALAXY

BARBARA MAGLIO to & from

Portuguese

CG

General & -Computer

un (561) 391-1057 cm

Fax: (561) 391-2174 E -mail:

NEEDS VOLUNTEERS FOR

PROOFREADING WRITING MAINTAINING MAILING LIST & EVERYTHING ELSE

213-255-8062

PORTUGUESE

IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY

LANGUAGE SERVICES (415) 587-4990 CERTIFIED TRANSLATIONS (TRADUcA0 JURAMENTADA) Legal. Medical, Scientific, Business Documents and School Transcripts Certified by the CalHornia Judicial Council and Bled with the Brazilian Consulate Since 1981

BRAZILIAN CAR NAVAL AT ITS BEST

SEIYEON PROMOTIONS ENTERTNINMENT

BRAZIL SPECIALIST

BRAZILIAN SOWS LIVE BAND LIVE PERFORMANCES

THCIDOWN MEN CO,

A-VID INTERNATIONAL

(800) 750-1941

BEST SERVICE + BEST RATES

BRAZILIAN SAMBA SHOW GIRLS Di. WITH ALL THE CURRENT HITS BRAZILIAN F OOD

TEL: (310) 973.7112

AND EVERYTHING YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE YOUR PARTY COMPLETE

E-mail:Tfi@touchdownco.com

TROPICAL DECORATION

For more info or o listof ow low prices please cola

1(800) 507-3653 Tel. & Fax (562) 863-3463

7635 FALLBROOK AVE. WEST HILL, CA 91304

(818) 592-0402

(310) 839-3788

$19.95

CENTRO BRASILEIRO PARA ,0 TRATAMENTO DE VIOLENCIA DOMESTICA, DROGAS, ALCOPLISMO, DEPRESSAO, SAUDE MENTAL EM GERAL

brazzil@brazzil.com

1-■•• bjmaglio@compuserve.com

ON VIDEO TAPE

OP JEFUSCN SA

STEVEN R. LAN DAAL 'Ann er, Ammon Invurrtmn ci v/efs Accounts n

• GREEN CARDS THROUGH MARRIAGE & FAMILY • EMPLOYMENT VISAS FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION MONTHLY PAYMENT PLAN AVAILABLE

ALSO HANDLING AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS I 1316 3rd Street - Suite 311 Santa Monica, CA 90401

Tel: (310) 395-2828

ALL BRAND COPIERS WHOLESALE TO THE PUBLIC Your West Coast Connection for Copiers, Faxes, Supplies & Service

FAX: 1310) 973-7113

Visit our Web site:

http://www.touchdowncosom FALAMOS PORTUGUES

(818)706-1120 pathell.net http://www.allbrandcopiers.com

L1 I WANT MORE INFORMATION ON ADVERTISING IN PLEASE SEND ME A MEDIA KIT.

COVPANY: CONTACT: ADDRESS: C17, ST, ZIP: PHONE: EX PRODUCT: RETURN THIS FORM TO:

BRAZZIL - P.O. BOX 42536 LOS ANGELES, CA 90050 Call (213)255-8062 or E-mail: brazzil@brazzil.com

For Ad, call (213) 255-8062 or E-mail: brazzil@brazzil.com 48

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

FEIRA LIVRE OPEN MARKET

ACTORS/COMMERCIALS

TV Commercials - Secrets of "How You Can Star in Commercials and Make Big $$ Money".

(All ages, all sizes, all ethnic groups.) Valuable report. Send $12 to M. C. Randell, Box 17564, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 [138] BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

Get paid at home!!! Assembly, crafts, stuffing envelopes, etc.

Send $3.00 and S.A.S.E for details. Work at home. 150 South Glenoaks Blvd. #9205Z Burbank, CA 91502 [142] International Company exporting to Brazil. High $ potential for individuals with contacts in Brazil. (805) 449-5507 [141] SOUTH AMERICA/EUROPE EXPANSION - Billion $ Corporate expansion looking for individuals with contacts in Brazil and Europe. High income potential. 1(800) 337-0264 [141] Vending Route for Sale - 50 locations. $800-$1200 per month income. Cost $2995 1(800) 9636123 [142] CLASSES

Conversational Brazilian Portuguese Method - "I tried several methods to learn BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE, but when I started lessons with NILSON, I knew immediately that I'd found the best one. And in just a few months, I was able to communicate on a one-on-one basis." Individual, Total Immersion, Corporate Group and Semi-Private.

Phone (310) 379-0738 [144] Looking for a very fast, efficient, and pleasant way to learn Brazilian Portuguese? (415) 9913476 [141]

Estabeleca seu credito e ganhe dinheiro! Aprenda como obter calla() de credit° internacional sem precisar de dep6sito. Aprovacao garantida. Ligue ja. 1-888838-0939 [143] FOOD

Salgados - coxinhas, moles, croquete. Suzana (714) 666-2749 [145] JOB OFFERED

Precisamos de sambistas para shows. (213) 812-7393 [140] Singers wanted. Male/Female English/Portuguese (310) 5595052 [143] Urgente! Wanted PortugueseEnglish speaking communicable people. $$ 2000-4000 p/t, $$ 4000-8000 f/t. Call (818) 8120256 [141] MISCELLANEOUS

Brazilian Style: Hair Cut, Nails, Waxing. Call Sueli (310) 4538779 (Sta Monica) [145] Estude a Biblia por correspondencia na privacidade do seu lar.

Inteiramente gratis. Envie seu endereeo postal para: BCCI, Box 3841, Springfield, IL 627083841 [144] Swap post cards with everyone around the world. Fabio. P.O. Box 5765, Astoria, NY 11105 [142] Music Brazilian Music in its totality.

Samba, bossa nova, chorinho, baiAo, axe, and more. Merchant Express (954) 785-5991 Music for all occasions. Live, D.J. or Elvis impersonator. Affordable (213) 469-2204 - Gerry [138]

COOKING

Delightful Brazilian Cooking

by Eng Tie Ang, two for one sale $14.95, plus $5 shipping and handling. Over 130 authentic, quick and easy recipes. P.O. Box 30818 - Seattle, WA 98103 Phone and Fax (206) 789-3693.

[142]

NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES

Jornais e revistas do Brasil.

Recebemos,jornais diarios e todas as principals revistas, incluindo masculinas e femininas. Tel. (954) 785-5991 PERSONAL

DISCOVERING OPPORTUNITY

WOMAN SEEKS MAN

Artist Needed. Talented Performers, Entertainers, Song Writers Musicians, Producers Looking for Exposure, Contacts, Connections, Education. Visit our Web Site www.entertainersnet. corn. A World Network. Call Toll Free I -888-310-4NET [142]

Americana corn coracAo brasileiro, bem educada, que adora a o samba, a cultura, a linguae o povo brasileiros, queria conhecer um brasileiro solteiro de 40 anos ou mais, em boa forma, morando em New York City ou pertinho.Messages to E-mail:

FE IRA LIVRE RATES: 500 a word. Phone is one word.

DISCOUNTS: For 3 times deduct 5%, for 6 times deduct 10%, for 12 times deduct 15%.

POLICY: All ads to be prepaid. Ads are accepted at our discretion. Your canceled check is your receipt. Please, include address and phone number, which will be kept confidential.

DEADLINE: The 25th of the month. Late material will be held for the following month if appropriate.

TO PLACE Al): Send ad with check, money order or your Credit Card number (plus your name and expiration date) to: BRAZZIL P.O. Box 42536 Los Angeles, CA 90050-0536. sylvia2125@aol.c m [130] PERSONAL

with photos to GS, 342 S. Highland Ave. #14A, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, USA [138]

MAN SEEKS NOMAN

PERSONAL

American, male, ite, 45 years old, would like to eet a Brazilian or Portuguese ady. I speak English only. Ag open. Call (415) 757-1946 (E es) [142] Americano, 28, e trepreneur seeks Brazilian lad 18-36, open mind and attractive Send letter/ photo. Chris - 10 Minna St. #338 - San Francisc , CA 941053728 [136] Americano, 36, a raente, romantic° e since o. Procura brasileira 18-45. En iar foto para: 2440- 16th St. #17!, San Francisco, CA 94103 [148] Americano, 38 nos, olhos azuis, fala portug es, queria conhecer brasileira de 18 a 30 anos. Chamar Willi (310) 2047913 [139] English male, 3 , Antique dealer, own busines financially secure, attractive, s phisticated, has toured Brazil, s eks slim attractive Brasileira f r long-term relationship and to share life.

Send letters and pho os to Mike, 50, Cranworth Rd. Worthing, West Sussex, Engla dBN112JF [141] Hello, l am a 38-yea -old man. I live in Central Flori a. I have a very successful bus ness and I work as a psychic ounselor. I am single, 5'10" an I will send you my photo in firs letter. I am looking for a single ady who is from Brazil. 23 to 3 . Nice and good looking. You c n E-mail at psychic@bitstorm.n [143] Sort-of-American, corporate jaguar, very successf 1,33, needing some serious str ss relief... looking for a very exy, furry Brazilian kitten to p ay with. If you are 22-32, in Bra il or USA, no problem... I'll fly ou. Letter

FRIENDSHIP AND CHATTING

Male, 30, wants to meet Brazilians to practice Portuguese. I studied for a year but need to practice. (818) 548-5935 [137] PSYCHOTHERAPY

Chronic & Life Threatening illnesses, A.D.D. & dyslexia, life transitions, bicultural & relationship issues, sexual identity conflict — Edison de Mello, M.D.; Ph.D./MFCC — Portuguese/ Spanish/ English. (310) 656-6987 [137] Emotional & psychological help - Elizabete Almeida MFCC licensed psychotherapist. English/Portuguese. Reasonable rates. (310) 281-7536. [146] RENTAL

VACATION IN BRAZIL - Beat Hotel prices! Rent a condo in one of Rio's best areas. Pool, sauna, 2bdrm, suite, air, furnished, phone, security (510) 236-3684 [144] TAX

A TTT Services - Tax & Translation & Travel and Notary (909) 627-2171 [146] TRANSLATION & INTERP.

English to Portuguese, technical translation. Precise, fast turnaround - Ricardo Paoletti (716) 839-5310. Fax: (716) 839-5410.

E-mail: paolett@ibm.net Translations - Barbara Maglio, to & from Portuguese, General and Computer. Tel.: (561) 3911057, Fax: (561) 391-2174, Em a i 1: bj maglio@ compuserve.com [134]

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997 49

opens 450 Irwin St (415) 703-9568

TV & RADIO COAST TO COAST SHORT WAVE RADIO Radio Nacional da Amazonia - Daily, especially on evenings and early morning - 6,180 & 11,780 Khz Radiobras - All universal time - From 12 noon to 1.20 PM, in English and from 1.30 PM to 2:50 PM, in Spanish 15,445 Khz BOSTON Coracao Brasileiro - Every Monday, 8:00 PM - 10:30 PM with Dennis Miller 88.1 FM - WMBR Brazilian Style of Music Every Friday, 11:00 am 2:00 pm, 91.5 FM, WMFO with Marion Catao

ANAHEIM, CAL. 7:00 PM-Sergio 2000 at Ginga Brasil

LOS ANGELES 10:00

immingainykummi ANAHEIM, CAL. 7:00 PM-Sergio 2000 at Ginga Brasil

LOS ANGELES

PM-MILA Samba School at

Café Danssa

111.114111 Ill a BIWA NUM NEW YORK 8/10/12 MIDNIGHT-Samba Novo at S.O.B.'s Manhattan Samba Group's Batucada at 2 AM

SAN FRANCISCO 10:00 PM-Liza Silva at Bahia Cabana

MIAMI BEACH 8:00 PM-Susana Yamauchi presents a Japanese-Brazilian dance program at Colony Theater (305) 672-5202

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL.

10:00 PM-MILA Samba School at Cafe Danssa

.1111110:1101:191NOMIIMINI NEW YORK 8/10/12 MIDNIGHT Katende and the Viva Brazil Dancers Manhattan Samba Group's Batucada at 2 AM

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. 7:30 PM-Claudio Fornaro at Brazil-Brazil (954) 561-8200

SAN FRANCISCO 9:00 PM-Liza Silva & Voz do Brasil at Bahia Cabana

ANAHEIM, CAL. 7:00 PM-Sergio 2000 at Ginga Brasil

LOS ANGELES

7:30 PM-Claudio Fornaro at Brazil-Brazil (954) 561-8200

ANAHEIM, CAL.

10:00 PM-Constellation Band at Café Danssa

7:00 PM-Lois Sings Brazil at Ginga

lloglidEmom

Brasil

CHICAGO The Sounds of Brazil - Every Saturday, 10:00 pm Midnight, 95.5 FM, WI\JUA with Scott Adams Show Brazil -Every Friday, 8. 00 am - 11:00 am, 91.5 FM, WMFO with Edna Moreno DENVER Brazilian Fantasy - Every Sunday, 4:00 pm - 6. 00 pm, 89.3 FM, KUVO LOS ANGELES TV Brazil TV - Buena Vision, Channels 6 or 56 (Mon 8:30 pm), LBCTV-CVI (Long Beach & Signal Hill), Channel 57 or 65 (Wed. - 6.30 pm); CVI (San Fernando Valley), Channel 27 (Tue. 7.30 pm) RADIO Sounds of Brazil - Every Saturday, 1.00 PM - 3.00 pm, KPFK, 90.7 FM with Sergio Mielniczenko Brazilian Hour - Every Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 am - 10:00 am, KXLU, 88.9 FM with Sergio mielniczenko MIAMI RADIO Brazilians Love Jazz - Ev-

50

LOS ANGELES 8:30 PM-Orlando & Banda Terraguia at Cava, 8384 W. 3rd (213)

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 7:30 PM-Claudio Fornaro at Brazil-Brazil (954) 561-8200

658-8898

9:00 PM-Katia Moraes & Brasil Nuts at La Vee Lee 10:00 PM-Velly Bahia & Capoeira Band at Luna Park - 665 N.

MALIBU, CAL. 2:00 PM-Orlando & Banda Terraguia at VVindsail, 22707 Pacific Coast Highway (310) 457-0900

Robertson Blvd. (310) 652-0611

10:00 PM-Constellation Band at

LOS ANGELES

Café Danssa

9:00 PM-Axe plays choro, baiao, and samba at Zabumba

SANTA ANNA 9:00 PM-Katia Moraes & Brasil Nuts at Santa Ana College - Info

9:00 PM-Feijoada Completa Orchestra featuring Katia Moraes at Moonlight Cafe, Sherman Oaks (310) 450-8600

naimgmAtimm.

(714) 564-5652

HOLLYWOOD, CAL.

BERKELEY, CAL.

9:00 PM-Sambacoustic at Catalina - 1640N,Cahuenga Blvd (213) 4662210

9:00 PM-Carlos Oliveira & Liza Silva at

Ill *I 'YAW MINIM LOS ANGELES

.111MMI1lgialt1:l.11M ANAHEIM, CAL.

9:00 PM-Axe plays choro, baiao,

Nino's

7:00 PM-Kleber Jorge at Ginga Brasil

LOS ANGELES

and samba at Zabumba

10:00 PM-MILA Samba School at Café Danssa

BERKELEY, CAL. 9:00 PM-Carlos Oliveira & Liza Silva at Nino's

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL.

SAN FRANCISCO

7:30 PM-Claudio Fornaro at Brazil-Brazil

7:00 PM-Lina Bo Bardi exhibition

(954) 561-8200

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

calendar - nov/dec 97 - u.s.a.

SAN FRANCISCO 9:00 PM-Liza Silva & Voz do Brasil at Bahia Cabana

7:30 PM-Claudio Fornaro at Brazil-Brazil (954) 561-8200 111.1.101121AMMIll

ANAHEIM, CAL. 7:00 PM-Kleber Jorge at Ginga Brasil

LOS ANGELES 10:00 PM-Constellation Band at Café Danssa 9:00 PM-Katia Moraes & Brasil Nuts at Luna Park (310) 652-0611

LOS ANGELES 9:00 PM-Axe plays choro, baiao, and samba at Zabumba

I :111:44BYN/1 E BERKELEY, CAL. 9:00 PM-Carlos Oliveira & Liza Silva at Nino's

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 7:30 PM-Claudio Fornaro at Brazil-Brazil (954) 561-8200

EmmiteNandillammi IllmmuuAtazil;iummi IllMmo_m_tukammi LOS ANGELES 9:00 PM-Axe plays choro, baiao, and samba at Zabumba

mmuajuimthyirjmm BERKELEY, CAL.

11.11.111 A.111 1 AIVE MMI CAL. 7:00 PM-Brazilian Live Music at Ginga Brasil

LOS ANGELES 10:00 PM-MILA Samba School at Café Danssa

=IVA in :4 BINA NMI FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. 7:30 PM-Claudio Fornaro at Brazil-Brazil (954) 561-8200

ANAHEIM, CAL.

9:00 PM-Carlos Oliveira & Liza Silva at Nino's

7:00 PM-Brazilian Live Music at Ginga Brasil

immigiligavij ANAHEIM, CAL.

10:00 PM-Constellation Band at Café Danssa

LOS ANGELES

LOS ANGELES

11JAilly&triim FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

10:00 PM-MILA Samba School at Café Danssa

7:30 PM-Claudio Fornaro at Brazil-Brazil (954) 561-8200

7:00 PM-Brazilian Live Music at Ginga Brasil

al*1 ON& MINI LOS ANGELES

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. 7:30 PM-Claudio Fornaro at Brazil-Brazil (954) 561-8200

9:00 PM-Axe plays choro, baiao, and samba at Zabumba

1:111.1aZi *MI I:MN BERKELEY, CAL.

ANAHEIM, CAL. 7:00 PM-Brazilian Live Music at Ginga Brasil

LOS ANGELES 10:00 PM-Constellation Band at Cafe Danssa

Chico Cezar will be coming t San Francisco for a New Year' 5 Eve party at the Galleria.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

ANAHEIM, CAL. Ginga Brazil - 821 N. Euclid, (714) 778-0266

BERKELEY Ashkenaz - 1317 San Pablo Ave. (510) 525-5054 Nino's - 1916 Martin L King Jr. (510) 845-9303

LOS ANGELES 14 Belo - 1343 14th St . Santa Monica - (310) 451-5040 Cafe Danssa - 11533 W. Pico Bl. West L A.- (310) 478-7866 Tony's -701 Long Beach Blvd.

9:00 PM-Carlos Oliveira & Liza Silva at Nino's

(310) 628-9789 La Ve Lee - 12514 Ventura BI. - Studio City - (818) 980-8158 Zabumba -10717 Venice Blvd Cul er City -(310) 841-6525

MIAMI Brazil Samba Café - Hollywood (954) 920-4426 Scala Miami -(305) 371-5604

NEW YORK Blue Note - 131 West 3rd St. (212) 475-8592 Café \Atha - 115 MacDougal St.

-(212) 254-3706

SOB-200 Varick St. (212)3077171 Supper Club - 240 W. 47 St. (212) 921-1940 Scala Brazil - 35-50 31st St. Astoria (718) 937-0352

OAKLAND, CAL. yoshi's- 6030 Claremont Ave. (510) 652-9200

S. FRANCISCO Bahia Cabana -(415) 861-4202 Chambord - 152 Kearney St. (415) 434-3688 Coconut Grove-(415)776-1616

TV & RADIO ery Sunday, 8:00 pm- 10:00 pm with Gina Martelli -93.9 - Love 94 TV BTN (Brazilian TV Network) 11.00 pm - 1:00 am, DCI ch.

40, S. South ch. 51, Adelphia ch. 52, Gold Coast ch 99 Luqui Corporation - Jornal Bandeirantes - 11:00 pm 1:00 am, Dynamic ch. 20, S. South ch. 41, Gold Coast ch.

44, DC1 ch 45 NEW YORK RADIO Brasil corn S - Every Saturday, 9:00 PM with Judith King, 88.3 FM - WBGO Canta Brasil - Every Saturdday, 8 00AM -93 1 FM -WPAT Radio Amazonia - Every day, 6:30 PM on short wave -6.185 MHZ TV Brazil News - Every Wednesday, 8.30 PM - Channel 34 Brazil Update - Every Saturday, 3. 30 PM - Channel 69 Brazilians in America-TV Every Sunday, 5.30 PM -Channel 16 Media Flux: Brasil - Every Saturday, 4:00 PM - Ch. 16 S. FRANCISCO Brasileirinho - Every Wednesday, 9:30 PM, KZSC, 88.1 FM with Renato Frota Brasil Musical - Every Sunday, 1.00 PM - 5.00 PM, Radio Bilingue, 91.5 FM via satellite, with Ricardo and Amarina Pugh - Fresno Canta, Brasil - Every Sunday, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM - KKUP, 91.5 FM, with Xuxu, Maria Jose and David Heyman A Taste of Brazil - Every Sunday, 11:00 PM - 12.00 AM, KKSF, 103.7 with Dick Conte So Da Brasil - Every Friday,8 00 PM - 9:00 PM, KUSF, 90.3 with Jorge Lima & Simone Odom WASHINGTON, DC Waves of Patropi - Every Saturday, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM, WDCU, 90 FM with Andre Lacerda

BRA7_ZIL - NOVEMBER 1997 51

Boston Area Books Livraria Plenitude (800) 532-5809 Consulate Consulado G. do Brasil (617) 617-542-4000 Dentist Sylvio P. Lessa (617) 924-1882 Food & Products Aqui Brazil (617) 787-0758 Brasil Brasil (617) 561-6094 Jerry's Cachaca (617) 666-5410 Instruction Approach Student Ctr (617) 787-5401 Braz. & Amer. Lg. Inst.

(617) 787-7716 Music Brazil CDs (617) 666-3747 Publications The Brazilian Monthly (617) 566-3651 Bossa: Braz. Jazz Guide (617) 262-9997 Restaurants Café Brazil (617) 789-5980 Ipanema (508) 460-6144 Tropicilia (617) 567-4422 Pampas Churrasca ria (617) 661-6613

Chicago Consulate Consulado G. do Brasil (312) 464-0244 Translations Portuguese Lang. Ctr. (312) 276-6683

Los Angeles Accountant Sheila Shanker (310) 836-3436 Airlines yang (800) GO VARIG Vasp (310) 364-0160 Arts & Crafts Bakari Art Studio (213) 938-0523 Folk Creations (310) 693-2844 Culture Planet (310) 441-9808 Zebi Designs (310) 391-6530 Auto Repair Cosmo Auto Parts (213) 259-9818 Banks Banco do Brasil (213) 688-2996 Catering Joy's Catering (562) 438-3415 Churches Igreja Evang. Bras.

(714) 534-9437 FOR ADS (213) 255-8062 52

Clothes Samba Collection (562) 437-1939 Summer Brazil (310) 455-1772 Clubs & Associations Brazil-Cal. Chbr of Com. (310) 665-0166 Centro Cultural Gaucho (213) 256-6548 MILA - Samba School (310) 391-6098 SambaLi -Esc. de Samba (562) 437-1939 Consulate Brazilian Consulate (213) 651-2664 Dentists Gilberto Henriques (213) 464-0524 Events Promotion Brazil 'N You Prom.

(562) 863-3463 Brazilian Nites Prod.

(818) 566-1111 Pegasus - Parties & Ent. (818) 549-0383 Sayegh Promotions (800) 507-3653 Health & Fitness Herbs from Brazil (213) 851-7016 Westside Acupuncture (310) 914-1624 Instruction Brasil Brasil Cult. Ctr (310) 397-3667 Modern Lang. Center (310) 839-8427 Legal Services Meiojas & Ferraz (310) 360-0901 Loans Finance Plus Mort. Corp.

(310) 585-8911 Music Braz. Jazz /All Occasions (310) 839-3788 Jazz - Richard Samuels (818) 798-5424 Physician Paulo Coharte (310) 285-9670 Deck, Rangel (310) 828-7454 Ingrid Rodi - Gynec.

(310) 451-8144 Nilson A. Santos (213) 483-3430 Psychother/Counsel.

Elizabeth Almeida, M.A. (310) 281-7536 Dr. Jefferson.Si (818) 592-0402 Tanis Haberkom, M.A. (310) 840-5380 Publications Brazzil (213) 255-8062 Real Estate Cent. 21 - Solon Pereira (562) 924-9633 Cold. Banker -J. Freitas (818) 304-9562 Restaurants & Cafes Big Fish (310) 676-9962 Bossa Nova (310) 657-5070 Brazilian Tropical (714) 720-1522

By Brazil (310) 787-7520 Café Brasil (310) 837-8957 Ginga Brasil (714) 778-0266 Lulu's Alibi (310) 479-6007

Yolie's Brazilian Steak (714) 251-0722 Zabumba (310) 841-6525 Translation/lute rp.

Brazilian Int. Affairs (310) 854-5881 Tocantins Communic.

(818) 248-3667 Travel/Tours Around the World Trl. (800) 471-6333 Brazil Air (800) 441-8515 Brazil Tours (818)767-1200 Cheviot Hills Travel (310) 202-6264 Traveland (800) 321-6336

Miami Airlines Transbrasil (800) 872-3153 yang (800) 468-2744 Vasp (800) 732-8277 Banks Banco do Brasil (305) 358-3586 Banco Nacional (305) 372-0100 Banco Real (305) 358-2433 Banespa (305) 358-9167 Clubs & Associations ABFC -As. Bras. da Fier.

(407) 354-5200 Cim. Cons. Brasil- EUA (305) 579-9030 ARARA - Amazon. As. (813) 842-3161 C On so late Consulado do Brasil (305) 285-6200 Dentists Arnaldo Souza (305) 595-3238 Hedimo de Si (305) 262-8212 Food & Beverages All Braz. Imp. & Exp. (305) 523-8134 Guarani Esteves (305) 345-1540 Via Brasil (305) 866-7718 Physicians Dr. Jorge Macedo (305) 271-7311 Dr. Mario &inches (305) 541-7819 Dr. Neri Franzon (305) 776-1412 Publications Florida Review (305)174-5235 Restaurants Brazilian Tropicana (305) 781-1113 Brazilian Delight , (305) 374-0032 Brazilian Pie (305) 866-1001 Cheese Bread House (305) 443-5358 Gula Gula (305) 532-3636 Travel Agencies Brazilian Wave (305) 561-3788 Discover Brazil Tours (800) 524-3666 Euroamerica (305) 358-3003 International Tours (800) 822-1318

Ltima Travel (305) 374-8635 Monark Travel (305) 574-5855 New Port Tours (305) 372-5007 Venture Travel (305) 379-7678 Via Brasil Travel (305) 866-7580

Manoel Faris (510) 537-3533 Ralph Baker • (510) 444-8100 Auto

Nelson Auto Body (415) 255-6717 • Malts Auto Body (415) 565-3560 Beauty Salon Bibbo (415) 421-BIBO Carmen's International (415) 433-9441 Books k.

Neyde's Luso-Brazilian Books (415) 681-5355 (800) 727-LUSO Clubs & Associations Clubs & Associations B.A.S.O. Brazilian Ch. of Corn.

(415) 661-2788 (212) 575-9030 Bay Area Brasilian Club Brazilian Corn. Bureau (415) 334-0106 (212) 916-3200 Brazilian Cult. Movem.

Brazilian Trade Bur. (415) 437-6991 (212) 224-6280 Dance&MusicSum.Camp Consulate (510) 655-8207 median Gen. Cons.

Computer (212) 757-3080 Micronet Food & Products (415) 665-1994 Amazinia Consulate (718) 204-1521 Colas Nossa Brazilian Consulate (201) 578-2675 (415) 981-8170 Merchant Express Dance Instruction (201) 589-5884 Aquarela Publications (510) 548-1310 The Brasilians Brazil Culture & Arts (212) 382-1630 (510) 215-8202 Brazilian Voice Ginga Brasil (201) 955-1137 (510) 428-0698 OCA Magazine Escola Nova de Samba (516) 596-1853 (415) 661-4798 Portugal-Brasil News Samba do Coracio (212) 228-2958 (415) 826-2588 Samba Newsletter Samba, Swing & Suor (718) 937-0574 (415) 282-7378 Restaurants Dental Care Brasilia Roberto Sales, DDS (212) 869-9200 (510) 451-8315 Brazil 2000 Events Promotion (212) 877-7730 Brazilian Pavillion F. B. C. Events (212) 758-8129 (415) 334-0106 Cabana Carioca Nativa Productions (212) 581-8088 (408) 287-9798 Indigo Blues Food (212) 221-0033 Brazilian Coffee Dist.

S.O.B. (212) 243,4940 (415) 648-5966 Tapajes River '4' California Produce (201) 491-9196 (415) 586-6200 Travel Agencies HGC Imp. Wholesale Barb Tour Service (408) 947-8511 (201) 313-0996 Instruction Odyssea Travel Service Portuguese- A. Frame (212) 826-3019 (510) 339-9284 Portuguese Lang. Serv.

(415) 587-4990 & Associations Money Remittance lube Bras. San Diego Brasil Express (619) 295-0842 (415) 673-0262 Sunday Night Cl. Brazil Vigo (619) 233-5979 (415) 863-0218 Import/Export West Brazil Brazil Imports (415) 695-9258 (619) 234-3401 Music Money Remittance Celia Malheiros Vigo-California (415) 738-2434 (619) 479-V1GO Damien's Intercimbio (415) 595-2274 Fogo na Roupa (510) 464-5999 Marcos Silva (510) 945-0138 Airlines Terra Sul (415) 752-9782 yang Viva Brazil (415) 986-5737 (415) 342-8508 Vasp Voz do Brazil (800) 732-VASP (415) 586-2276

New York N. Jersey

San Diego clubs

San Francisco

Musical Instruments Tamborim & Samba (415) 871-2201 Physician Dr. Guilherme Salgado (415) 832-6219 Printing M. C. Printing (510) 268-8967 Publications Brazil Today (510) 526-1115

1(34r125z)187-4990 Restaur./Night Clubs Bahia Cabana (415) 861-4202 Balboa Braz. Rest.

(415) 387-1118 Café do Brasil (415) 626-6432 Cafe Mardi Gras (415) 864-6788 Canto do Brasil (415) 626-8727 Job's Restaurant (408) 244-1299 Little Rio (415) 441-3344 Michelangelo Café (415) 986-4058 Mozzarela Di-Bufala (415) 346-9888 Nino's (510) 845-9303 Porto Brasil (510) 526-1500 Stelladoro (415) 928-2662 Translation Port. Lang. Services (415) 587-4990 Travel Agencies Paulo's Travel (415) 863-2717 Rio Roma (415) 921-3353 Santini Tours (510) 843-2363 Travel Americas (415) 334-0404 Tropical Travel (510) 655-9904 Tucanos Travel (415) 454-9961

ashington DC Airlines Transbrasil (202) 775-9180 Varig (202) 331-8913 Vasp (202) 822-8277 Banks Banco do Brasil (202) 857-0320 Banco do Est. de S. Paulo (202) 682-1151 Clubs & Associations Braz. Am. Cult. Inst.

(202) 362-8334 Inst. of Brazil. Business (202) 994-5205 Embassy Embaixada do Brasil (202) 238-2700 Restaurants Amazonia Grill (202) 537-0421 Travel Agencies Intern. Discount Travel (703) 750-0101 FOR ADS (213) 255-8062 BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

MERCHANT -4440 EXPRESS 900 E. ATLANTIC BLVD, #6

CAR ERASIL BRAZILIAN FOOD BEST FOOD. AUTHENTICALLY PREPARED TO BRING YOU A TRUE TASTE OF BRAZIL!

POMPANO BEACH, FL 33060

CLOSED ON MONDAYS FRIDAY & SATURDAY: 11 AM - 11 PM OTHER DAYS: 11 AM - 10 PM

TEL: (954) 785-5991 BRAZILIAN MUSIC IN ITS TOTALITY

3621 18TH ST. SF - CA 94103

Samba, Basso Nova, Jazz, Rock, Chorinho, Lambada, Baicio, Freya, Axe Music, World Music, and more.

(415) 626-8727 IN THE MISSION DISTRICT BETWEEN GUERRERO & DOLORES ST

CD'S AND TAPES MAIL DELIVERY AVAILABLE Daniela Mercury, Olodum, Banda Mel, Raca Negro, Alcione, Caetano, Diavan, Milton Nascimento, Clementina de Jesus, Beth Carvalho, Margareth Menezes, Rosa Maria, Leny Andrade, Elza Soares, Marina, Elba Ramalho, Ionia Alves, Ivan Lins, Joao Gilberto, Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Marais, Toquinho, Roberto Carlos, Nelson Ned, Leg& Urbana, Chico Buarque, Paralamas doSucesso, Barrio Vermelho, Elis Regina, Nara Ledo, Cartala, Maria Bethania, Gal Costa, Noel Rosa, Carmen Miranda, Gilberto Gil, MPB-4, Adoniram Barbosa, Moreira do Silva, Wagner Tiso, Sergio Mendes, Martinho do Vila, Jair Rodrigues, Jorge Benjor, Zeta Pagodinho, Bezerra do Silva, Nand Vasconcelos, Luiz Gonzaga, Aiwa Valenca,Cazuza, Leila Pinheiro, Nelson Cavaquinho, Villa Lobos, Waldir Azevedo, Dilermando Reis and many others...

Now it's easier than ever to have a

DENTIST

Beautiful Smile.

We have 0% interest payment plan available for as LOW as $10 per month.

Call for details!

DR. GilbERTO HENRi9UES (213) 464-052.4 1777 N. Vine St., Suite 407 Hollywood, CA 90028-5218 voonv.PublicOnLine.comf=DrGHenriques Email: DrGHenriques@cypro.net

MUDANOS PARA 0 BRASIL

SUPERMERCADO BRASIL

CARGAS AEREAS E MARiTIMAS. OS MELHORES PRECOS DO MERCADO

BRAZILIAN MARKET

DIVIDIMOS CONTEINER

SERV1MOS OS PORTOS DO RIO DE JANEIRO, SANTOS, RIO GRANDE, RECIFE, SALVADOR, VITORIA, PARANAGUA E SAO FRANCISCO DO SUL, ALEM DOS PRINCIPAIS AEROPORTOS BRASILEIROS

Focus on Brazil

LIGUE E CONFIRM Tel:

(310) 676-8483 (310) 355-0957

Fax: E-Mail:

TEMOS VEJA, ISTO E, MAIS: GUARANA, SUCOS DE FRUTA, MANCHETE, CAMS...

TEMOS TAMBEM CAFE, GOIABADA, CANJICA, FUBA, FAROFA, CHOCOLATES, < JORNAL DO BRASIL, POLHA DE SAO PAULO, SABONETE PHEBO, 0 ESTADO DE S. PAULO, FITAS CASSETE E MUITO MAIS 0 GLOBO E JORNAIS DE TODOS OS ESTADOS MAIL DELIVERY AVAILABLE

10826 Venice Blvd- 5-B - Culver City, CA 90232 Tel & ax:(31 )) 837-4291

focus-on-brazil@juno.com

MERCHANT

AYEGH PROMOTIONS

EXPRESS 900 E A LANTIC BLVD #6 PO1PA JO BEACH,L 33060

TEL: (954) 785-5991

LLL LLLE[LLLE. LLL CiLteLtILLFEL I/2H DELIVERY A71..MELE

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

re" is

PARTY PLANNING

QLIMOUSINE QHALL DECORATION

ALL YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR PARTY A COMPLETE SUCCESS

WAITRESS

BARTENDERS

PHOTOGRAPHY

â&#x20AC;¢CATERING V LIVE SHOW ENTERTAINMENT' LIVE BRAZILIAN BAND CPAR COORDINATM VIDEO FOR MORE INCT

TOL RE

BRAZIL N' YOU DJ MUSIC OR

1

(800) 507-3653 7t3,'D'E (562) 863-3463 la.

53

An excerpt

The Agrarian Question To understand Brazil's rural unionism, we need to distinguish among the movement's four different facets, which are not always sufficiently disentangled: opportunities for action, ability to act, ideology and program, as well as strategy. An account of Brazil's rural unionism inevitably confronts the state's central involvement in the unions' operations. All Brazilian trade unions operate within a structure highly controlled by the central state, a structure that has not been fundamentally reformed since the 1930s, despite several changes of national regime.

ANTHONY W PEREIRA Around 8:00 A.M. on 15 October 1988, a pickup truck filled with about fifteen striking rural workers arrived at the entrance of a sugar plantation near the town of Nazare da Mata, Pernambuco. Led by Jose Patrocinio Gomes, then president of the local rural workers' union, the strikers clambered out of the pickup and came face-to-face with the plantation owner and his administrator. While many strikers clutched a cutting implement (foice) used in the fields, the administrator, a stout, dark man in a blue safari jacket and porkpie hat, brandished a doublebarreled shotgun. Gomes explained to the owner and the administrator that the strikers wanted to enter the plantation and talk to the workers in the fields, in an effort to persuade them to stop work. The owner would have none of it.

A tense standoff ensued. Cowed by the shotgun, the strikers huddled by the side of the pickup as Comes complained about the weapon. Several strikers shouted for everyone to calm down. A striker 4 grabbed the union's megaphone and spoke to the workers, saying that he didn't want violence and that the strike committee only wanted to talk to them as comrades(companheiros). Slowly, the strikers formed a semicircle around the owner and the administrator, who issued threats in a low, tense voice. After several minutes, the situation slowly shifted. The strikers became angry. One said, "Well, he can kill one of us, but then we will certainly kill him." A young striker in a red hat and blue jacket quipped, "Who's afraid of a shotgun?" A heated discussion with the owner ensued, with much shouting and anger on the part of the workers. The owner insisted that the strike, then in its sixth day, was not obligatory and that anyone who wanted to work for him would work. On several occasions Gomes raised his arms and asked for silence so that he could negotiate with the owner, but the shouting continued. Almost unnoticed, the administrator and his shotgun began retreating, first by edging behind the owner, then by facing the group further down the road, and finally by turning his back on the assembly and walking away.

With the departure of the administrator, the plantation belonged to the workers. Led by Gomes, the strikers strode past the owner and into the fields, getting the strikebreaking cane cuttersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;many of them childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; to stop work. They handed out leaflets that explained

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997 54

why they were on strike. The man with the megaphone made a short speech in favor of the strike, saying that he and his comrades were not there to pit worker against worker but to gain a better salary for all, and that it was better for them to go home and come back after the strike, when they could be assured of better wages and working conditions. With calls of "go home" to the workers in the fields, the strikers drove away in their pickup.

The incident at the plantation near Nazare da Mata was part of an annual war of maneuver between landowners and labor in Pernambuco's sugar zone.

It reflected the ability of local unions to defy the armed force of the landowners through organization, a little courage, and the power of numbers. And it reflected how the sugar workers' unions were able to force themselves back onto the local political stage after years of military rule in which such bold actions would not have been permitted. The strikers were thus capitalizing on the democratic transition, but they were also part ofthe transitionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;their actions were taken into account, if not always appreciated, by landlords, state officials, and other powerful figures involved in the regime change.

The unionists of Nazare da Mata were part of a labor movement that represented a quarter of a million workers in Pernambuco's sugar zone (also called the forested zone or zona da mata). This strike was the eighth since their pathbreaking action of 1979, when they became the first rural unions in the country to challenge the military regime with a strike. During the 1980s, their repeated mobilizations and strikes formed part of the great surge of popular pressure that influenced the Brazilian military's decision to abandon direct control over the executive in 1985. Together with the metalworkers and bank employees, they formed one of the pillars of the revitalized Brazilian labor movement whose militancy helped to democratize politics in the 1980s.

How was this militant labor movement created, despite the vigilance and repression of the Brazilian military regime? Why was it primarily a workingclass rather than a peasant movement?

What was the relationship between the rural trade unions and the transition to democracy that took place in Brazil in the 1980s? This book sets out to answer these questions.

The most significant characteristic of Brazil's new rural trade unionism was that it was primarily a movement of workers and small farmers rather than peasants. Thus it was fundamentally different from the agrarian movement of

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

Brazil's preauthoritarian period. In the early 1960s, under a populist regime, rapid and intense mobilization of the rural labor force in the Brazilian north east had alarmed landowners, political leaders and the U.S. government. The initial mobilization had been conducted

by Peasant Leagues, organizations of the rural poor that invoked the image of the Cuban revolution, engaged in direct actions such as land occupation, and demanded a redistribution of land "by law or by force," without compensation to large landowners. This mobilization made the agrarian question, especially in the northeast, one of the most important national issues of the day.

The Peasant Leagues were volun tary organizations with no formal link t the state; a large repertoire of collective action; many urban, middle-class leaders; and a multiclass membership with little or no central coordination of what were essentially local struggles. In response to the Leagues, trade unions concerned primarily with wage increases were founded by activists from the Communist Party and the Catholic Church.

The actions of both the Leagues and the unions were condemned as subversive and unacceptable by most landowners, who supported the post 1964 military regime's policy of abolishing the Peasant Leagues and purging and repressing the trade unions.

The rural labor movement that reemerged as a political force in the 1980s was very different from its 1960s counterpart. It was formally included within the state's corporatist labor structure, had a narrow repertoire of collective action, was led mainly by professional union officials with peasant and worker backgrounds, and was centrally coordinated at the national level by CONTAG (Confederacao Nacional dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura), the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers, and at the state level by state federations.

While some CONTAG advisors had backgrounds in the Communist Party, the role of that party as an organized force within the movement was relatively small. The influence of the Church, on the other hand, which had been a major force in rural unionism in the 1960s, was now strongest outside the official union structure in the new social movements of the landless.

In the 1980s, CONTAG mobilized thousands of workers in legal strikes every year, including those organized by the Federation of Agricultural Workers of Pernambuco, FETA PE (Federacao dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura de Pernambuco). It did pressure the federal government for land reform, but by parliamentary means. In 1988 CONTAG

was the largest confederation in the Brazilian labor system, with twenty-two state federations, 2747 unions, and almost 10 million members on its books.

This is significant growth for an organization that was founded only in 1963 by a few hundred newly formed unions. In Pernambuco, the number of unions in the sugar zone increased from thirtytwo in 1964 to forty-five in 1988.

An adequate analysis of the Brazilian rural labor movement must therefore try to account both for the movement's reemergence in the 1980s, and for the changes in its form, size, capacities, and activities. In addition, it must explain the decline in the importance of "peasant" questions, and the emergence of new conflicts centered on the demands of rural workers and small farmers.

Rather than try to analyze the movement in totoâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a very difficult task in a continent-sized country such as Brazil, with vastly heterogeneous conditions in agricultureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;this book focuses on unions in Pernambuco, one of the leading segments of Brazil's rural labor movement.

Pernambuco is significant because its 1979 strike made its federation an "initiator" that many other state rural labor federations later copied. Pernambuco unions also created a dynasty within the national confederation, CONTAG, in much the same way that metalworkers' unions from the ABC region of Sao Paulo dominated the national labor central, the CUT (Central Unica dos Trabalhadores, or Unified Workers' Central). This dynasty is symbolized by the fact that from 1968 to 1989, the president of CONTAG was Jose Francisco da Silva, a leader from Pernambuco's sugarcane fields. Da Silva and other CONTAG leaders directly coordinated the eight strikes in the Pernambuco sugar zone between 1979 and 1988, proclaiming that the strikes were a model for rural unionists around the country.

Pernambuco thus represents an "exemplary" rural labor movement whose high degree of organizational capacity calls for explanation.

Rural Labor and Democratic Transitions Authoritarian regimes in almost fifty countries around the world have collapsed or been reformed since 1970.

1These transitions have resulted in democracy when the new regime, at the very least, conducts regular, open, and competitive elections of top government officials; makes bureaucratic agencies of the state responsible to the elected parliament and/or chief executive; and guarantees a minimum of civil liberties o its citizens. The literature on demo-

cratic transitions and their consolidation is primarily concerned with explaining why and how, at the macro level, the institutional reforms necessary for democracy are brought about and preserved.

Another aspect of regime transition has been undertheorized in this literature. That is: as regime change takes place, how do citizens at the local level claim the rights embodied by the new national institutions?

Seen from this angle, transitions cannot adequately be reduced to single, holistic narratives that homogenize the political experience of citizens within national territories. The historical reality is that both formal and effective democratic rights are usually extended variably—by gender, race, ethnicity, economic sector, region, and so on— within a nation over time. Of particular relevance to this study, the democratic rights most important to labor—to freely organize unions, bargain collectively, and strike—are not explicitly included in many macroanalyses of democratic change. They form part of a broad array of popular demands that inevitably accompany the macroinstitutional reforms of regime transition.

Because of their concern with national institutional reform, many scholars share a rather narrow view of the role of popular pressures in democratic transitions. Either popular organizations and movements are seen as unimportant, or their only relevance is their capacity and inclination to upset the carefully constructed transition, once it has been installed from above. Thus Adam Przeworski in Democracy and the Market writes: "It seems as if an almost complete docility and patience on the part of organized workers are needed for a democratic transformation to succeed."

In a similar vein, Terry Karl in Dilemmas of Democratization in Latin America asserts: No stable political democracy has resultedfrom regime transitions in which mass actors have gained control, even momentarily, over traditional ruling classes.... Thus far, the most frequently encountered types of transition, and the ones which have most often resulted in the implantation of a political democracy, are "transitions from above."

These and other similar comments prompted Charles Tilly to decry the "topdown models, instrumental and constructivist approaches to democratization, and short-run analyses" that currently prevail in the literature.

One reason for discounting the role of popular pressures in regime change in

56

this literature is that the time frame analyzed is usually very short. Most studies using the notion of a democratic transition implicitly assume that the main causes of democratic change can be found in events occurring immediately before the establishment of a new regime. The focus is thus on elite bargains and pacts, the institutional compromises of high national politics, fissures within the authoritarian regime, and the like.

Explanations of the formation of democratic regimes that concentrate on these events tend to stress rational-actor models and the individual decisions of the most powerful members of society. The notion of "contingency"—in which outcomes "depend less on objective conditions than subjective rules surrounding strategic choices" is a key component of these explanations.

Transitions to democracy within this perspective are seen primarily as the result of a series of conscious, planned, strategic actions. A previous generation of scholars' "bottom-up, deterministic, long-term theories" of democracy, with their focus on history, culture, and economic and political structures have been laid to one side. What really seems to count in contemporary analysis is the inclination of political elites to make pacts; in Samuel Huntington's words. in The Third Wave: "Whether democracy in fact falters or is sustained will depend primarily on the extent to which political leaders wish to maintain it and are willing to pay the costs of doing so".

Such an approach is one-sided. Popular organizations that have been shaped, at least in, part, by long-term structural and institutional change have often played a significant role in the collapse or reformation of authoritarian regimes.

In turn, regime change has sometimes involved concessions to popular movements. In the case of trade unions, authoritarian governments are said to "demobilize" labor, while civilian ones are expected to allow for labor's "remobilization." Institutions previously barred to workers' representatives are frequently opened up to them; some decentralization of decision making can take place; and labor's demands have occupied a more prominent place on some post-transition government agendas. Yet the role of labor in regime transitions has not -won the attention that it deserves.

However, acknowledging that labor can play an important role in democratic transitions and that authoritarian regimes "demobilize" labor, while democratic ones allow for its "remobilization," is only a starting point—and a corrective to the elitism and lack of historical perspective in much theorizing about tran-

sitions. The demobilization-remobilization dichotomy oversimplifies state-labor relations. In fact, controlled labor mobilization of some type was allowed by most Latin American authoritarian regimes except in the most repressive periods. The dichotomy draws attention away from continuous political processes across and within regimes.

It does little to help us understand changes in the organizational capacities and demands of labor movements, or how these might vary regionally, sectorally, and over time.

Regarding the case of rural labor in Brazil, therefore, the social science literature seems to contain two major gaps.

The first is in theorizing about the relationship between rural labor and transitions. The vast literature on the role of the peasantry in revolution has not generated an equally rich body of work on the role of peasants (and other rural actors) in negotiated changes of regime.

The second gap lies in historical approaches that look at long-term change, not just short-term interactions; these are rather thin on the ground. As Karl comments, what is needed is a pathdependent approach which clarifies how broad structural changes shape particular regime transitions in ways that may be especially conducive to (or especially obstructive of) democratization ... [and how] such structural changes become embodied in political institutions and rules which subsequently mold the preferences and capacities of individuals during and after regime changes.

Some scholars have adopted such an approach, showing, for example, how state practices and capabilities changed over a long period, whether during the authoritarian regime or before its foundation, to shape the contours ofthe democratic transition. This book shares this perspective, arguing that the political institutions regulating rural labor during the Brazilian regime transition embodied a massive structural change: the decline of the peasantry.

How did this change occur? In Latin America, the rural working class did grow in agro-export regions, but much more slowly than in either manufacturing or mining sectors. This is because plantations had previously coexisted uneasily with peasant plots. Plantation owners in northeast Brazil and elsewhere extracted labor first from indigenous people, then from African slaves, and then from the "reconstituted peasantries" that formed in and around the plantations after the abolition of slavery. Peasant labor was extracted through sharecropping and other nonmonetary arrangements; wage labor tended to come quite late, if at all, in the process of

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

capitalist development. When it did come, wage labor was frequently mixed with precapitalist relations of production, creating a "peasantariat," or labor force with mixed peasant and proletarian characteristics.

To the extent that a rural working class emerged free of dependent relations with landlords involving land, this new class was likely to demand inclusion in the political system. The rural working class has a strong interest in gaining the democratic rights to assemble, speak out, bargain collectively, go on strike, and vote, because with these rights it has a much better chance of being able to improve wages and working conditions. Rural workers are also, in many cases, much better able to act on this desire for political freedom than peasants, tied as the latter often are to landlords. However, when rural workers surmount the high barriers to collective action in the countryside and engage in autonomous organization, they face the likelihood of employer repression. According to a recent comparative study of democratization, in the cases reviewed "the landed upper classes which were dependent on a large supply of cheap labor were the most consistently anti-democratic force. In turn, landlord repression may engender a messianic or maximalist political orientation among rural workers, as was the case with Brazil's Peasant Leagues. In the context of labor-intensive agriculture and incipient working-class formation, therefore, mobilization from below is likely to lead in the short term to revolutionary or authoritarian violence rather than to democracy.

The tensions generated by agricultural modernization, however, can enhance the prospects for agrarian democracy. This dynamic is analyzed clearly

by Jeffrey Paige in Agrarian Revolution. When hacienda agriculture undergoes capitalist transformation, he argues, labor declines as a percentage of landowners' costs, making it easier for landlords to accept bargaining with labor organizations and the possibility of wage increases. Rural workers, for their part, begin to resemble their industrial counterparts. As patron-client ties are replaced by the cash nexus of the marketplace, workers move away from the plantation and the supervision of the landlord and break out of their former isolation. Their scope for organization increases, and in the absence of repression they do not adopt maximalist positions. Eventually, they will lose their peasant attachments to land and tend to develop a militant but reformist labor movement that negotiates for higher wages and better working conditions. A

democratic class pact, rather than revol tion or authoritarianism, is likely emerge. Rural workers will join the urban counterparts in pushing for dem cratic political inclusion.

However, such an outcome is n. guaranteed—Paige's analysis should b interpreted probabilistically rather tha as a universal law. The structure of land holding, the history of past conflict and the cultural predisposition ("frames") of the local population among other factors, influence the like lihood of a democratic class pact in th countryside. More specifically, the or ganization of agricultural productio also varies significantly from one cro • to another. Therefore, this book drawon an eclectic variety of works in politi cal economy that focus on the distinctiveness of collective action within economic sectors. Understanding the sector—in this case, sugar—within which the unions are embedded is very important, because the sector imposes additional, specific structural constraints on unions' collective action aside from those that exist in the broader social setting.

My argument is that something like the trajectory from hacienda to capitalist agriculture described by Paige occurred in the Pernambuco sugar zone in the 1960s and 1970s, and that this facilitated the emergence of a labor movement capable of negotiating a local democratic class pact during the national regime transition of the 1980s.

Brazil as a whole evolved from a rural to an urban nation in this period; while the majority of the population lived in the countryside in 1960, by 1980 almost 70 percent was urban. Pernambuco urbanized as well. In its sugar zone, traditional landlord-peasant arrangements such as tenancy, sharecropping, and moradia (in which peasants had the right to cultivate a small plot on the landlord's estate in return for several days of labor per week) declined. Meanwhile, larger, more efficient mills increasingly dominated production, leading to a reduction in the total number of mills. Wage employment increased, as did the size of the rural working class. In pursuit of their own interests, rural labor organizations played a vital role in demanding the inclusion of all those excluded by policies of conservative modernization in the countryside. Agrarian transformation laid the basis for local acceptance of the democratic transition in the 1980s.

Rural Labor in Brazil To understand Brazil's rural unionism, we need to distinguish among the

movement's four different facets, which are not always sufficiently disentangled: opportunities for action, capacities to act, ideology and program, and strategy.

The argument made here is that opportunities for action are explained mainly by macropolitical factors at the level of the national regime; capacities to act are influenced primarily by large historical processes—changes in social structure and the institutional form of representative institutions; and ideology and strategy are explained by the members', and especially the leaders', learning through experience and through local traditions and institutions. Part II of this book mainly concerns the capacity to act, while Part III covers ideology and strategy. Some background information on opportunities for action is given throughout the text.

An account of Brazil's rural unionism inevitably confronts the state's central involvement to the unions' operations. State agriculture policies influence the kinds of popular protest that arise in the countryside. Reciprocally, the state's responses to popular protest determine the political consequences of that protest. More specifically, all Brazilian trade unions operate within a structure highly controlled by the central state, a structure that has not been fundamentally reformed since the 1930s, despite several changes of national regime. The key features of this union structure, discussed in more detail in chapter 5, are a unitary system of representation or unicidade (only one union allowed per category of worker in a given territory); a mandatory union tax (imposto sindical or contribuictio sindical) deducted from employees' pay and passed on to unions by the state; and a hierarchy of union organizations, ranging from the local union in a municipio (equivalent to a county) through state federations and national confederations.

Like most other Latin American union structures, Brazil's is a mandatory closed shop enforced through a state-controlled, hierarchical, corporatist, and bureaucratic structure. Thus, the political opportunities available to unions fluctuate with changes in the composition of the national regime. Furthermore, rural unions operate in agriculture, a portion of the economy highly regulated by the state in Brazil, as it is in many other countries.

The state in Brazil and in Latin merica more generally has promoted he modernization of agriculture, which as contributed to some of the most mportant structural changes in the relion over the last forty years. Agriculural modernization refers to the appliation of scientific knowledge and

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997 57

capitalist rationality to the ancient art of farming. It involves the transformation of agriculture from a subsistence activity or a productive system in which profits derive primarily from land and labor to one in which profits accrue mainly from capital investment and in which land or labor productivity, or both, are increased through the use of new inputs.

The most dramatic increase in agricultural modernization in the advanced capitalist countries took place after World War II. There, rural labor became relatively scarce, due to the growth of urban industry. This forced agricultural producers to adopt capital-intensive forms of production. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides, new planting and harvesting machines, and genetically engineered plants facilitated a quantum leap in agricultural productivity. These new technologies caused relatively little social dislocation because they were introduced in societies whose rural labor force had already become largely urban.

In many parts of the Third World, these new agricultural technologies were rapidly adopted in very different social environments.

The new technology spread, despite the relative scarcity of capital and abundance of labor. This occurred for various reasons, including transnational pressures, state subsidies to large estates and skewed prices, a highly unequal distribution of land, the desire of large farmers to insulate themselves from rural union organizing, and the prestige associated with modern forms of agriculture. Unlike the case in advanced capitalist countries, the labor surplus often produced by high-technology, capital-intensive agriculture in the Third World could not readily be absorbed by the industrial and service sectors. The agricultural revolution in the Third World thus contributed to, rather than mitigated, social strains. Peasants were uprooted from the land without a corresponding increase in available urban employment.

The modernization of agriculture has been part of the larger transformation of rural societies into predominantly urban ones in Latin America. This change has been rapid and dramatic: a process that took half a century in many advanced capitalist countries occurred in much of Latin America in a mere twenty years.

The traditional Latin American large estate (latiftindio) has become, in many places, a capital-intensive enterprise. At the same time, the peasantry has been greatly reduced, while a large class has emerged of mostly seasonal rural workers and small farmers, alongside an even

58

larger class of former peasants in the cities who are self-employed or employed in the informal sector.

This de-peasantization is an economic, political, and cultural phenomenon. De-peasant ization is a more accurate term than proletarianization because not all former peasants become full-time wage earners. In the economic sphere, rural and urban labor markets become more tightly integrated, and increased transportation and communication links bridge the urban-rural gap.

Politically, de-peasantization is usually accompanied by the incorporation of former peasants by the state, but not as subsistence cultivators. Culturally, the distance between the rural and urban areas is reduced by the spread of schooling and literacy, television and radio, frequent migration from rural areas to cities and other rural areas and back again, and the relocation of many large landowners to cities. structural The change induced by agricultural modernization did not lead invariably to the formation of only two, highly polarized classes.

Agrarian growth may produce the immiseration of all but a handful of rich farmers, but if applied indiscriminately and mechanically as a kind of universal law of capitalist development in agriculture, this formula misses important, subtle forms of differentiation in the countryside. Even in the Brazilian northeast, a region considered economically backward, expansion and improved production techniques in the 1970s led not just to the dislocation of many, but to increased opportunities for small landowners (and an expansion in their numbers), more permanent jobs for laborers, and the growth of an intermediate strata of technical and supervisory personnel such as agronomists, chemists, economists, and machine operators. These various categories of people had divergent interests. Development in agriculture can thus lead to complex patterns of differentiation that are not as simple as class polarization between a small group of capitalists and a mass of destitute workers.

This study argues that it is precisely because the rural labor force was not a mass, but rather a highly heterogeneous and changing collection of interests and identities, that the challenges faced by the rural labor movement during the democratic transition were so complex.

While capitalist modernization mainly benefited large landowners and was detrimental to the poor, many of whom lost access to land, people who fell between

these two poles in the production system frequently benefited from change as well. In the process, trade unions that had been organized around the single identity of the "rural worker" became arenas of contention between small farmers, wage laborers, and a declining number of subsistence cultivators.

The complexity of structural change in the countryside is related to the unions' problems of representation. Structural change can lead to conditions that favor union formation. But the types of collective action that unions engage in, the ideologies they espouse, and the demands they make, are not necessarily determined by social structure. For these issues, cultural and political factorsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; local cultural frames, the background of the leadership, its alliances and values, political opportunities, the nature of state institutions--may have significant weight. Disentangling union foundation, capacity, strategy, and ideology seems crucial if one is to avoid teleological reasoning that attaches inevitable political consequences to economic change.

With these distinctions in mind, we can see that CONTAG's claim to represent all progressive forces in the countryside was problematic. The confederation could not be all things to all its members, and a stable, national political consensus did not exist within its member unions. Given the great heterogeneity of interests represented by the unions, and the shifting opportunities they faced, it was not always clear what a "progressive" political line was at any point.

There were certainly internal debates about this. For example, the labor central CUT (Central Unica dos Trabalhadores, or Unified Workers' Central), founded in 1983, frequently clashed with CONTAG leaders over the confederation's leadership style, position on union reform, and tactics on the land question. There were also criticisms of the unions from without, on the part of new social movements of the landless such as the Church's Pastoral Land Commission (CPT, Comissao Pastoral da Terra) and the Landless Workers' Movement (MST, Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra). All ofthese organizations claimed to speak for the rural poor against the large landholders and existing state policies, but their analyses and tactics differed markedly, revealing the contested nature of representation in this period.

Excerpted from The End of the Peasantry, The Rural Labor Movement in Northeast Brazil, 1961-1988

by Anthony W. Pereira, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997.

BRAZZIL - NOVEMBER 1997

Speak Portuguese like a Diplomat!

What sort of people need to learn a foreign language as quickly and effectively as possible? Foreign Service personnel, that's who. Members of the United States diplomatic corps are assigned to embassies abroad, where they must be able to converse fluently in every situation.

Now you can learn to speak Brazilian Portuguese just as these diplomatic personnel do—with the Foreign Service Institute's Programmatic Portuguese Course.

Tens of thousands of dollars were spent by the United States government in developing this course.

It's by far the most effective way to learn Portuguese at your own convenience and at your own pace.

The Programmatic Portuguese Course consists of a series of tape cassettes and an accompanying textbook. You simply follow the spoken and written instructions, listening and repeating. By the end of the course, you'll find yourself learning and speaking entirely in Portuguese!

This course turns your cassette player into a "teaching machine." With its unique "programmatic" learning method, you set your own pace— testing yourself, correcting errors, reinforcing accurate responses.

This Programmatic Course comes in two volumes, each shipped in a handsome library binder. Order either or save 10% by ordering both: O

Basic Portuguese Vol. 1. 16 cassettes (19 hr.), 783-page text, $215.

O

Intermediate Portuguese Vol. 2. 18 cassettes (16 hr.), 618-page text, $245.

(CT residents add sales tax.)

The Foreign Service Institute's Portuguese course is unconditionally guaranteed. Try it for three weeks. If you're not convinced it's the fastest, easiest, most painless way to learn Portuguese, return it and we'll refund every penny you paid.

Order today!

Our 56-page Whole World Language Catalog offers courses in 96 languages. Call or write for your free copy. Our 25th year.

To order by phone, please call toll-free 1-800-243-1234 Or fill out coupon below and send to:

BUDIMPORIJITI® Suite P706, 96 Broad Street, Guilford, CT 06437 Yes! I want to speak Portuguese like a diplomat.

Rush me the course volumes I've checked below.

0 Vol. I: Basic 0 Vol. II: Intermediate (CT residents add sales tax.)

I understand that if I'm not completely satisfied, I may return the course materials within three weeks and receive a full refund.

Name Address City

Apt.# State

Zip

Method of Payment: 1:1 Enclosed is my check or money order, for $ 0 Charge to my credit card: 0 VISA 0 MasterCard o AmEx 0 Diners Club 0 Carte Blanche 0 Discover Card

BLJOICINFORLIM THE LANGUAGE SOURCE

Card #

Suite P706, 96 Broad St., Guilford, CT 06437 (203) 453-9794 • Fax (203) 453-9774

Signature 16

Exp. Date .1