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.