Art and culture Archives - Page 9 of 15

Toca Raul!

17/01/2013/19 Comments/in Art and culture

Wow, it’s been an exhausting week so far – early starts, late finishes and my long commute mean that I’ve been feeling like a bit of a zombie. At times like these I find that a little music therapy can help. Something uplifting and energizing should do it and I know just the thing.

A little while back I was reading Phil’s excellent blog, when I noticed a post with a rather provocative title: The Best Brazilian Rock Album Ever? The post described the album Krig-ha, Bandolo! by Raul Seixas. At the time I had only just been made aware of Raul Seixas, so when I saw the name and the cool album cover, my interest was piqued.

Krig-ha, Bandolo! Raul Seixas’ first solo album.

Phil has done a great track by track summary of the album so I won’t repeat his work. What I will do is highlight a couple of my favourite tracks. First off, let’s listen to something to something bright and uplifiting that will hopefully wake me up mid-way through another long day at the grindstone.

Carnival Songs: Cachaça não é água

03/01/2013/22 Comments/in Art and culture

OK, so that’s Christmas and New Year out of the way – let’s turn our thoughts to Carnival shall we? This year it starts in early February but some years it doesn’t start until March – I’ve heard several Cariocas say that it doesn’t feel like the year has really started until after carnival. Personally I’m rather pleased to have a break from the festivities – 8-12 weeks is the perfect amount of time to recharge the batteries and forget all those ridiculous resolutions you made while you were wallowing in post-Christmas guilt.

When I think of carnival in Rio, I picture thousands of happy revelers at a bloco, dressed in crazy costumes, singing along to one of the many Marchinhas de Carnaval (traditional carnival songs). During my first carnival I found this a little frustrating – everyone knew the words but me! By my second carnival I had started to pick up the tunes and even bluff my way through some of the choruses. This year I plan to be singing along like a professional!

This is Cachaça, not to be confused with water…

So I thought I’d help out fellow carnival newbies with some suggested reading/singing. In the run-up to the big week, I’ll post a selection of my favourites carnival tunes. Learn these songs and you’ll feel like you’ve been carnivaling for years!

Today we’ll start with a cautionary tale which highlights the differences between water and Brazil’s favourite spirit – the song is called “Cachaça”.

This is water (cachaça is cheap, but not that cheap!).

Should I say Favela or Comunidade?

23/11/2012/29 Comments/in Art and culture, Language

In a recent post I looked at the sensitive subject of favelas and described some of the ways that you can get into trouble when talking about them. But did you know that even the name can stir controversy?

The term favela has an interesting history. Back in the 1890s, various Brazilian forces fought a series of escalating battles with a group of 30,000 settlers in Canudos, a remote town in Bahia. The settlers were led by a charismatic mystic named Antônio Conselheiro who had spent much of his earlier life wandering the north-east of Brazil and picking up followers along the way.

Time and again, government forces underestimated the strength of the Conselheiro’s followers, suffering a series of humiliating defeats. Eventually the Minister of War got involved and sent a huge, well-armed force which utterly destroyed Canudos. It is said that more than 15,000 inhabitants were killed (many civilians were slaughtered after the initial resistance was stamped out).

the favela plant Cnidoscolus phyllacanthus

This is the Favela Plant (Cnidoscolus quercifolius), common in Bahia and other semi-arid areas of Brazil. It has long spines, it is a skin irritant and has similar effects to cyanide when eaten! An appropriate namesake for such a prickly, difficult, even poisonous topic.

When the massacre was complete (1897), the soldiers made their way to Rio. When they were recruited they had been promised housing in return for victory, but when they arrived in the capital they got a shock.

Gentileza Gera Gentileza

01/11/2012/13 Comments/in Art and culture

When I was a kid growing up in Winchester, there was an eccentric fellow named Ron who would wander the streets pushing a pram full of bits of junk. He was a weird guy – he often seemed to mutter to himself through his unruly beard and as he passed he would often let out a massive burp. At first the burps made you jump, but as the years passed you’d be rather disappointed if he passed without one. Like I said, he was kind of strange, but he was also pretty friendly and he certainly added some character to the town. I realised how much affection people had for him when the tributes poured in on news of his death in 2006.

For almost 30 years, Rio also had an eccentric. The true name of Rio’s unconventional character was José Datrino, but he was better known as Profeta Gentileza (Prophet Kindness).

Uh-huh, I think this guy fits the description of eccentric!

The challenging sound of Funk Carioca

28/10/2012/20 Comments/in Art and culture

I can’t speak for the whole of Rio, but if you live in or around my neighbourhood, you can’t have missed a distinctive new sound during the last month or two. The sound I’m talking about is a Funk Carioca (AKA Baile Funk) track called Fala Mal De Mim. I guess the literal translation would be “Speak badly of me”, but probably a better translation would be “Talk sh*t about me”. The artist responsible for this is MC Beyonce.

This is MC Beyonce. She’s seems very nice, just don’t talk sh*t about her hair or make up. And definitely don’t attempt to steal her boyfriend…

Wanna hear the track? OK, here it is:

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