Festa Africana

Florianopolis is a predominately white city. The University campus has mostly fair faces who meander around its' leafy walks. Nevertheless there is a small number of African exchange students from Portuguese speaking nations of that continent, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and Guine Bissau. My students described them as very black, with eyes that bulged out. I'm not sure that's most P.C. description.
The members of this community often hold parties and I had the privilege to attend one of their shindigs last night. I didn't have a ticket to the party but for R$25, which was paid at the door, There was a huge feast, an open bar with endless beer, finite whiskey, litres upon litres of soda for all tastes, as well as desert. The food was ok however I felt the cusine couldn't hold a flame to Silver Spring's African restaurants. My friends helped themselves to 3 or 4 plates each. I went with the UN of soccer, who have since given me the nickname of Gringoal. I think I've been dubbed this title mockingly because of the fact that in 4 weeks of playing soccer I have yet to score a single goal. I have had many close opportunities but still no goal. However they commented on how I've gotten better with every passing week, and I'm starting to play soccer like an "Americano".
The party hall quickly filled with people and I was struck by the fact that very few Afro-Brazilians were there, most were white Brazilians and Africans, mostly from Cape Verde. All the same I think it's a testament to Brazil's interest in other cultures and inclusion. I found out the white Brazilians couldn't dance very well. My friend has told me that Southern Brazilians in the pale in comparison to the abilities of people from Rio, São Paulo and the Northeast. So naturally I ended up dancing with the girls from Cape Verde. The girls from Cape Verde are very beautiful and stuck up. The DJ played a mix of hip-hop, Brazilian Funk, Angolan Kuduro, Reggae, and a throbbing ultra sensual slow dance style of which genre it belongs to I'm not sure. Think 3-6 Mafia meets Sade.
We left as the sun was coming up and I was deliriously trying to convince my friends to go to the beach. I arrived home, passed out and woke up to play soccer less than 5 hours later.

Orkut (Orküchee)

What is Orkut you may ask? It's the exact same thing as facebook, myspace or friendster however it was developed for Google By Orkut Büyükkökten a turkish born software engineer. For some unknown reason Orkut exploded in Brazil around the same time as the other websites, and there's been no looking back. Brazil comprises over 50 percent of the usage of the networking site, and India and the US trail in a distant 2nd and 3rd places. Facebook and myspace have both recently introduced Portuguese versions of their site for use in Brazil however a large majority of the people are content with their form of time-squandering and see no reason to switch to another social site. If all your friends, neighbors, cousins and even children--Brazilians have lots of kids--are on Orkut why in the world would you change to myspace or facebooky. Not to mention hundreds of relationships have been spawned by the romance that can only be created by creepily leering over pictures unbeknownst to the target. Technically any of you who has a gmail account also can register for your orkut account lickity-split. I have to warn you it's search capabilities are sub-par in comparison with facebook and the stalking capabilities are highly inferior.

Jorge Ben

Jorge Ben is MPB royalty. First off he was the victor of a court case against Rod Stewart for copyright infringement. (Ben's Taj Majal and Stewart's If You Think I'm Sexy) I think that would give him points in nearly anyone's book. However he created the genre of Samba Rock and countless classic tunes. Mas Que Nada, País Tropical, Oba Lá Vem Ela, Chove Chuva, O Telefone Tocou Novamente just to name a few. (It dawns on me now that many of the tunes I chose for the podcast aren't amongst his "classics") At times he can be predictable;

Intro: Ferocious Guitar Solo Guitar Strumming
Verse: Enter Drums and catchy melody
Chorus: Call and Response Background Vocals
Repeat 30x.

However it's easy to criticize Mozart's predictability with centuries of critical hindsight as well.
Anyways Jorge Ben is one of Brazil's easiest most accessible artists to get into. His music is heavy on rhythm and his melodies are addictive from the first listen. Also you may get confused when you see some listings of his music as Jorge Ben Jor, his previous name. Rumor has it Ben changed his name when a check mistakenly was deposited in fusion guitar player George Benson's bank account. To assure no further misunderstandings Ben nipped the problem before if could grow any larger.

Fan Clübee

A few weeks ago I was sitting on a bench tediously practicing guitar, when two teenaged girls approached me about a fundraiser in their school. I stuttered and stammered but eventually got off the message that I had forgotten my wallet in my apartment but that I would donate some money later on. Their jaws dropped as if I was from another planet, and they slowly backed away from me as if I were contagious. The following Saturday night as I was walking to the corner store to buy some cheap beer and other goodies when I heard the same girls call out to me,
"Helllow! How ree yaw?"
I politely responded "Good! How're you?"
They murmured amongst themselves, came to a consensus and then hollered out " Ree Yaw American!?"
I winced knowing what would come of the affirmation. " Yes."
I barely walked a few paces when I heard the pitterpatter of a stampede of footsteps behind me. I was immediately surrounded by 8-12 fresh young faces ranging from 8-14 years in age. Their leader and chief spokeswoman translated for the group although it was rather difficult for her because of the fact she was completely smitten with the fact she was talking to an American in the flesh and blood. They all introduced themselves to me, asked me what I was doing there, how I learned Portuguese, if I liked Brazil, etc. I eventually had to excuse myself as the corner store would be closing soon. They reluctantly liberated me.
I've since seen them frequently as they unavoidably loiter and play in the courtyard of the condominium. Last night I was playing guitar and they surrounded me once again. Apparently their ringleader has been spreading the word that I exist and I circled by even more curious ragamuffins. Most of their questions involved American pop music, as I was holding a guitar. Unfortunately the only songs I've been learning to play have been Bossa Nova, a genre that while internationally revered, is nationally neglected. They made requests for, Soulja Boy, Akon, 50 Centch, and Jack Johnson among others. I regretfully informed them that I didn't know any tunes to play for them in English, but that I would in turn learn some for their benefit. Many of the kids believed I looked like Eminem. The kids asked me random questions about where I was when 9/11 occurred. They quickly interrupted me and exchanged their own theories on the subject, most of which were incorrect. It seemed they failed to understand it was a terrorist attack. Anyways. They are nice and noisy and cheered me up on a day when it had rained straight for the 3 previous days. So I ask you faithful blog readers. What song should I learn to play for them? Leave your suggestions in the comments section!

Guinea Pig

Fortunately I have friends in high places, in particular aviation acoustic laboratories. I just began teaching a group of three lovely engineers from the local Federal University. One of them is researching in a lab that tests the acoustics of Embraer Planes. Embraer is one of Brazil's most successful businesses in the aviation sector. They mostly produce small planes and jets for the commercial market--They even sell to Jet Blue! Anyways one of my students invited me to come and be a guinea pig and I enthusiastically accepted. The test was performed in a model plane the size of two phone booths. The plane was very authentic with plush blue curtains, uncomfortable seating, and cloudy views through the pigeon-holed windows. I kept kvetching to my student about the lack of kosher food on Brazilian airlines and the shoddy seat I was assigned. The test was simple and she said there were no right answers. I had to choose between two sounds a passenger would hear on a flight and decide which was more pleasant or at least tolerable. To clarify, these sounds weren't those of a hacking cough or a whining baby but the common sounds of rushing air one would experience traveling at 500 mph at 30,000 ft. I think I passed the test with flying colors! However I'm not sure if this officially means I can put Embraer on my resume.