I need to know more about Brasil´s recent history. I don´t think I´ve ever made a trip here, even one of only two weeks, in which I didn´t here some reference to the military dictatorship that only ended in the mid 1980s.
Yesterday there was a story in the leading São Paulo newspaper about a lawsuit which was dismissed yesterday on procedural technicalities. A Brasilean couple were suing a leading official from the dictatorship for the torture and murder of their son, a São Paulo journalist, in the 1970´s. Of course, I couldn´t read it myself, but Heitor summarized it for me, and he was pissed. My sense is that nobody has ever been held accountable for numerous human rights abuses that occured during those years, and it is a very sore spot for Brasilians with a social conscious and a desire for justice. Those with the most to lose of course argue that the national interest is best served by letting some things lie undisturbed, by not opening up old wounds, looking forward and not backward and all that crap... apparently with a great deal of success.
What doesn´t seem to be disputed is that in 1964 the Brasilean military overthrew a legally elected government and that Lyndon Johnson´s was one of, if not the, first governments to recognize the new dictatorship, and was probably (no surprise) involved in the planning and execution of the coup. Apparently the U.S. ambassador has admitted as much, and acknowledged the presence of the U.S. navy off shore at the time of the coup, in case it was needed. This shouldn´t surprise anyone, because it should be pretty well known by now that the prism of anti-communism, through which we viewed everything that went on in the world at that time, caused a few, shall we say, distortions. Any concern for social justice and addresing the issue of economic inequities was, ipso facto (or ipso fatso as Archie Bunker put it), evidence of support from Moscow (or Peking, or Havana etc.) What I read on the internet (yes, I know,...) is that all the evidence now says that the only outside government involved in Brasilean politics at the time was Washington.
Under the umbrella of the dictatorship, the fabric of democracy was maintained and political parties were apparently still allowed to operate. The two principal parties were known at the time as the ``Yes´´ party and the ``Yes, Sir´´ party.
According to Wikipedia, ``a government-sponsored truth and reconciliation commission in 2007, by the end of the dictatorship there were at least 339 documented cases of government-sponsored political assassinations or disappearances. Countless more were questioned, tortured, and jailed.´´ I want to know more about this, but haven´t been able to find much about it on line...other than the admission that no country, other than South Africa, has really made truth and reconciliation commissions work well enough to satisfy the majority of people.
Heitor has several books to recommend about that period, but I don´t know if any of them have been translated into English. And I let him leave for 10 days of work in Rio without remembering to get the titles from him. Long term, if I stay in Brasil, I need to have a better understanding of its politics and history...can´t help it, just need to. And then, of course, I will expect you to consider me the expert and defer to me in all matters Brasilean.
The newspaper article I mentioned about the dismissal of a lawsuit is not the only reason this is on my mind at the moment. Heitor´s sister, Sueli, is recently returned from a vacation in Europe and she was showing me pictures and telling me of her time in Barcelona, which whe loved. I mentioned that I had been in Barcelona once, but that it was so long ago that Franco was still in power. I said that I enjoyed my time in the city, but one of my most enduring memories is the omnipresence of Franco´s military....how so many buildings had military guards stationed in their front. Aside from the communication issues caused by my crappy Português and her crappier English, it was clear that Sueli just didn´t understand what I was talking about, why this was an issue, and we went on to other things. It only occurred to me a few days later that the reason she couldn´t understand what I was trying to say is because São Paulo, too, has military police stationed everywhere, maybe even more so than in Franco´s Spain. I had always noticed them; why I had never questioned them is hard to say. But, frankly, they look more like ``Police´´ than ``Military´´ so I know that is part of the reason. Heitor, my resource for all things Brasilean, understands my north american distinctions between civil and military police, and he says they are a remnant from the days of the dictatorship...that they were an institution nobody quite knew how to deal with. So now, instead of torturing people, they´re directing traffic.
_______________
And now for something entirely different: I finally found the cachaça Heitor has been recommending for the last month. A 600 ml bottle, which looks like an over-sized beer bottle, costs $R18.00 and I have to admit it is better than the other brands I´ve tried so far. But it also has a cap like a beer bottle (at least it isn´t a twist off), which makes me wonder if anybody actually pops off the cap and drinks a whole bottle of this stuff. Heitor says it is bottled by a small operation which has never spent a dime on marketing and is only known because of word of mouth (unlike, shall we say, Bombay Blue Sapphire?). He went on to say it was a ``hand job,´´ by which we ascertained he meant it was made by hand. He will kill me if he ever reads this.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
A Night at the Opera
I didn´t know last night if I was going to an Opera or a Symphonic Tone Poem. Turned out it was sort of a hybrid of the two. It was billed as an opera, but was unlike any others I know. I guess I´d call it a tone poem with words.
Very early on I thought to myself that the singing wasn´t very good, but I thought maybe I should be more generous. Maybe it was just bad sound technology. At the intermission, the man sitting next to me said something which I took to be ``can you believe how hideous this is?´´ He continued talking about it and I explained that my Português wasn´t adequate for this discussion. He asked what language I preferred and, when I said English, that is what he started using. We trashed the performance for a while, and then he told me more about the composer, Carlos Gomes, who he said has been virutally ignored by opera companies since WWII even though he was once very popular.
At some point he asked if I was living here in São Paulo. He said ``I hate this city. I live in Rio.´´ Nice of him to say, don´t you think? That was about the time the 2nd act began. Now that we´d connected, so to speak, he would look at me and roll his eyes whenever the soprano was finished singing. When it was over, I said that I hoped he hadn´t come from Rio just to see this production. He chuckled and in a can-you-believe-how-stupid-I-am tone, he said that, yes, he had done exactly that. He had taken a 5.5 hour bus trip to come here, and was going to take a taxi back to the bus station and go home yet that night. He said this had been the 60th opera he had seen this year, and would have preferred to still be at 59.
And I was grateful it had only cost R$20.
Very early on I thought to myself that the singing wasn´t very good, but I thought maybe I should be more generous. Maybe it was just bad sound technology. At the intermission, the man sitting next to me said something which I took to be ``can you believe how hideous this is?´´ He continued talking about it and I explained that my Português wasn´t adequate for this discussion. He asked what language I preferred and, when I said English, that is what he started using. We trashed the performance for a while, and then he told me more about the composer, Carlos Gomes, who he said has been virutally ignored by opera companies since WWII even though he was once very popular.
At some point he asked if I was living here in São Paulo. He said ``I hate this city. I live in Rio.´´ Nice of him to say, don´t you think? That was about the time the 2nd act began. Now that we´d connected, so to speak, he would look at me and roll his eyes whenever the soprano was finished singing. When it was over, I said that I hoped he hadn´t come from Rio just to see this production. He chuckled and in a can-you-believe-how-stupid-I-am tone, he said that, yes, he had done exactly that. He had taken a 5.5 hour bus trip to come here, and was going to take a taxi back to the bus station and go home yet that night. He said this had been the 60th opera he had seen this year, and would have preferred to still be at 59.
And I was grateful it had only cost R$20.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
18 Sep 2008
I´m feeling rather pleased with myself because of some successful independent ventures. Yesterday, I saw in an events schedule that there was a mid-day performance at a location with which I wasn´t familiar. I was able to look up the address, figure out what Metro stop I needed, and walk directly to the place I wanted.
Today I had to take my passport to one of those ubiquitous bureaucratic places that exist here and have an ``authenticated copy´´ made. This is part of the application process for the CPF number. (Remember? Think Social Security Number, without the social security.) Then I walked a short way to the Teatro Municipal and purchased a ticket for tonight´s performance of ``Columbo,´´ a symphomic tone poem by the most famous Brasilean composer, Carlos Gomes. When I bought the tickets, I actually thought it was an opera because I thought that was all Gomes wrote. No matter. In fact, I´d probably rather listen to a symphonic celebration of Christopher Columbus than an operatic one. It was written in the 1890s, so I´ll overlook the cultural insensitivity of the topic. Then I walked to another neighborhood box office to purchase tickets for a Saturday night performance. Unfortunately, there was only one ticket left and I needed two.
Continuing one of my earlier themes of cheap prices for cultural events, the ticket for tonight, which is in a perfect location, cost only R$20.00. That is half price because of my advanced age.
I have to learn more about the organization called SESC. That is surely an acronym, but I don´t know for what. These are what I will call community centers located throughout São Paulo. They are in other Brasilean cities as well, but I don´t know in how many. In São Paulo, there are 14 of them. When I say community center, you may picture some odd little store that has been converted into a makeshift operation of minimal comfort and convenience. In reality, these are huge structures that have clearly been designed specifically for their existing purpose. I´ve been in 4 of them so far, and wouldn´t think any were more than 10 years old. The one in my neighborhood has 8 floors and, Heitor´s sister informed me, is one of the smaller ones. It has a swimming pool and gymnasium, a large computer room, one or more performance centers, a floor entirely for musicians to use for private practice (I saw six or more beautiful, highly polished bass viols available for use), a reading room, a restaurant, and I don´t know what else. At least some of the services are available to the public at large, perhaps all of them, at a minimal charge. If you are a member, the charge is even less or the service is free. Membership, I believe, costs about R$68.00/year. I assumed SESC was some sort of governmental entity, but Heitor says he thinks not. I have to admit there isn´t anything in their flier to suggest government involvement. At any rate, I like these places, and intend to become a member, but I´ve seen the application form and am going to wait until either Sueli or Heitor can help me with it.
Tomorrow I´m going to meet with Fatima, the only person who responded to the ad I placed suggesting we trade English lessons for Português. Ahh, maybe she can help with the SESC application.
Thanks for reading.
Today I had to take my passport to one of those ubiquitous bureaucratic places that exist here and have an ``authenticated copy´´ made. This is part of the application process for the CPF number. (Remember? Think Social Security Number, without the social security.) Then I walked a short way to the Teatro Municipal and purchased a ticket for tonight´s performance of ``Columbo,´´ a symphomic tone poem by the most famous Brasilean composer, Carlos Gomes. When I bought the tickets, I actually thought it was an opera because I thought that was all Gomes wrote. No matter. In fact, I´d probably rather listen to a symphonic celebration of Christopher Columbus than an operatic one. It was written in the 1890s, so I´ll overlook the cultural insensitivity of the topic. Then I walked to another neighborhood box office to purchase tickets for a Saturday night performance. Unfortunately, there was only one ticket left and I needed two.
Continuing one of my earlier themes of cheap prices for cultural events, the ticket for tonight, which is in a perfect location, cost only R$20.00. That is half price because of my advanced age.
I have to learn more about the organization called SESC. That is surely an acronym, but I don´t know for what. These are what I will call community centers located throughout São Paulo. They are in other Brasilean cities as well, but I don´t know in how many. In São Paulo, there are 14 of them. When I say community center, you may picture some odd little store that has been converted into a makeshift operation of minimal comfort and convenience. In reality, these are huge structures that have clearly been designed specifically for their existing purpose. I´ve been in 4 of them so far, and wouldn´t think any were more than 10 years old. The one in my neighborhood has 8 floors and, Heitor´s sister informed me, is one of the smaller ones. It has a swimming pool and gymnasium, a large computer room, one or more performance centers, a floor entirely for musicians to use for private practice (I saw six or more beautiful, highly polished bass viols available for use), a reading room, a restaurant, and I don´t know what else. At least some of the services are available to the public at large, perhaps all of them, at a minimal charge. If you are a member, the charge is even less or the service is free. Membership, I believe, costs about R$68.00/year. I assumed SESC was some sort of governmental entity, but Heitor says he thinks not. I have to admit there isn´t anything in their flier to suggest government involvement. At any rate, I like these places, and intend to become a member, but I´ve seen the application form and am going to wait until either Sueli or Heitor can help me with it.
Tomorrow I´m going to meet with Fatima, the only person who responded to the ad I placed suggesting we trade English lessons for Português. Ahh, maybe she can help with the SESC application.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, September 15, 2008
15 Sep 2008
I love the availablility of low-cost, or even free, cultural events in São Paulo.
So far Heitor and I´ve seen a group with the unimaginative name of The Traditional Jazz Band that played mostly New Orleans style jazz, which isn´t my favorite music, but they played well and obviously were having fun, as was the audience. It was a pleasant evening, and it was free.
We´ve also seen a performance by the Hadouk Trio of jazz on traditional African and Arabian instruments. I´d never heard of them before, but I loved their music. You can see several videos of them on You Tube if you care to see what I´m talking about. Opening for them was another unusual jazz trio called Boyen Z, some of whose music I liked, but who were clearly the opening act. This evening cost R$20.00, or about $15.00 US for two tickets in about the 10th row.
Last night we saw a performance in a New Music series that featured a solo piano performance by Caio Pagano of works by Schoenberg and Berg. It reminded me that I´ve probably never seen a live performance of Schoenberg´s music, and Berg´s either, for that matter. Pagano, it turns out, is someone who has had a distinguished career even if I hadn´t ever heard of him. Fancy that. The second half of the performance featured Pagano playing 5 short pieces by Pablo Chagas (who was present), but with the sound electronically enhanced. It was at times odd, engaging, irritating and rewarding. I think the two tickets cost R$10,00.
I love the fact that I can see performances like these, where I can be enthusiastic about some things and less so about others, but where I know I´ve received ``my money´s worth,´´ as we say. In the U.S., if I pay concert prices, I expect to like everything. I´m less likely to be in the mood to challange the boundaries of my appreciations. Generally, I would take the opionion that I don´t like electronic music and either ignore those concerts altogether or be pissed if I went to one inadventently. Here we can look in the paper, see something we know nothing about, and decide to check it out on a whim, because it is so inexpensive that it doesn´t matter much if we like it or not.
It occurred to me last night that the important technologies of our time are all, in some fashion, electronic. It only makes sense that musicians and composers are going to experiment with those technologies, and that I will like some of the results better than others. Big of me, don´t you think?
---------------------------------
And now for something entirely different. Wall Street may be in crisis, but the Dollar : Real exchange rate is back up over 1 : 1.8. Hope it holds.
So far Heitor and I´ve seen a group with the unimaginative name of The Traditional Jazz Band that played mostly New Orleans style jazz, which isn´t my favorite music, but they played well and obviously were having fun, as was the audience. It was a pleasant evening, and it was free.
We´ve also seen a performance by the Hadouk Trio of jazz on traditional African and Arabian instruments. I´d never heard of them before, but I loved their music. You can see several videos of them on You Tube if you care to see what I´m talking about. Opening for them was another unusual jazz trio called Boyen Z, some of whose music I liked, but who were clearly the opening act. This evening cost R$20.00, or about $15.00 US for two tickets in about the 10th row.
Last night we saw a performance in a New Music series that featured a solo piano performance by Caio Pagano of works by Schoenberg and Berg. It reminded me that I´ve probably never seen a live performance of Schoenberg´s music, and Berg´s either, for that matter. Pagano, it turns out, is someone who has had a distinguished career even if I hadn´t ever heard of him. Fancy that. The second half of the performance featured Pagano playing 5 short pieces by Pablo Chagas (who was present), but with the sound electronically enhanced. It was at times odd, engaging, irritating and rewarding. I think the two tickets cost R$10,00.
I love the fact that I can see performances like these, where I can be enthusiastic about some things and less so about others, but where I know I´ve received ``my money´s worth,´´ as we say. In the U.S., if I pay concert prices, I expect to like everything. I´m less likely to be in the mood to challange the boundaries of my appreciations. Generally, I would take the opionion that I don´t like electronic music and either ignore those concerts altogether or be pissed if I went to one inadventently. Here we can look in the paper, see something we know nothing about, and decide to check it out on a whim, because it is so inexpensive that it doesn´t matter much if we like it or not.
It occurred to me last night that the important technologies of our time are all, in some fashion, electronic. It only makes sense that musicians and composers are going to experiment with those technologies, and that I will like some of the results better than others. Big of me, don´t you think?
---------------------------------
And now for something entirely different. Wall Street may be in crisis, but the Dollar : Real exchange rate is back up over 1 : 1.8. Hope it holds.
Friday, September 12, 2008
12 Sep 2008
My biggest task for now is to improve my Português. I placed an ad on Craigslist a few days after my arrival, attempting to find someone who was interested in trading assistance with my Português for help with his/her English. I did have one response to that ad from a woman whose written Português was so bad that I dismissed her out of hand. I may decide to reconsider that and go with the theory that even bad language skills are better than none. I could always improve on them later. In the meanwhile, Heitor, whose small apartment is home until I can legally put my name on a lease for something larger, is going to follow up with some internet sites that advertise language classes. I think an adult class with other students, official lessons, and homework etc. best fits my learning style. I´m eager to hear what he finds out. I hope there are some daytime classes, because those are the hours when I´m feeling most energetic and, occasionally, bored.
People tell me I should be watching more television, specifically the novellas that are so popular. Not to offend those of you who like the U.S. soaps, but that is what these novellas are, only in prime time. I just can´t do it. I do try to make myself watch at least the evening news when I´m home, and maybe a few minutes per night of a novella, which isn´t even enough to understand the story line(s) but is all I can stomach. The problem is complicated by the fact that Heitor´s television reception is not good. Even the best stations are a little fuzzy, and the worst ones are a lot fuzzy. I have also got Brasilean music on my ipod, which I can listen to at a slower-than-normal rate, which helps.
Bottom line: I have a lot to learn.
Tchau for now.
People tell me I should be watching more television, specifically the novellas that are so popular. Not to offend those of you who like the U.S. soaps, but that is what these novellas are, only in prime time. I just can´t do it. I do try to make myself watch at least the evening news when I´m home, and maybe a few minutes per night of a novella, which isn´t even enough to understand the story line(s) but is all I can stomach. The problem is complicated by the fact that Heitor´s television reception is not good. Even the best stations are a little fuzzy, and the worst ones are a lot fuzzy. I have also got Brasilean music on my ipod, which I can listen to at a slower-than-normal rate, which helps.
Bottom line: I have a lot to learn.
Tchau for now.
Monday, September 8, 2008
8 Sep 2008
After two and half weeks in São Paulo, I can list a few likes and dislikes about the place. If the dislikes seem longer and more significant than the likes, I think maybe it just reflects the fact that the process of adapting to life in a new place draws one´s attention to the things that are different and take more adjusting. I trust the list of things I like, will grow as my familiarity with the city increases.
I hate the sidewalks. My first inclination, going back to earlier vacations here, was to love them. Most of the sidewalks in Brasil, not just in São Paulo, but everywhere I´ve been, are mozaic designs of small tiles, most commonly a black and white design, but not always. On my first afternoon here, I tripped and almost fell while walking on one of those pleasant designs. If you get out of the wealthiest neighborhoods, the walks are frequently in serious disrepair. Even when they are in good condition, they are uneven. The sidewalk in front of any given residence or establishment, even if well maintained, is probably not level with either of its neighbors. One is constantly stepping either up or down. I don´t know yet if this is true, but I think maybe property owners are responsible for their own sidewalks. I heard something said the other day that suggests that, and it would explain the way they are. At any rate, there´s no room for day dreaming while walking.
And then there is the car traffic. I don´t know if cars have the right of way, legally speaking, but they demand it and get it. If a pedestrian is waiting at an intersection for a green light, he cannot (I´m serious. He CANNOT) just step off the curb when the light changes. He has to let all of the cars turn who want to, and then he can cross. The other day I saw a car race into an intersection where a number of people were crossing, without a hint of slowing down. If any of those pedestrians had stumbled (remember? I can testify that it happens.), they would have been flattened. Granted the car had a green light and the pedestrians were in the wrong, but the carelessness of the driver was frightening.
As long as I´m on the subject of streets and sidewalks, I love the fact that I can have my hair cut, my laundry done, buy an electrical adaptor, have a spare key made, and any number of other things all within a block of where I am living. The grocery store, which is open until 10pm is only two blocks away. On the home from the grocery, I can buy fresh bananas, papayas, pineapples and other fruits from my neighborhood push cart guy, who now knows me.
More of this kind of exciting information in days to come.
I hate the sidewalks. My first inclination, going back to earlier vacations here, was to love them. Most of the sidewalks in Brasil, not just in São Paulo, but everywhere I´ve been, are mozaic designs of small tiles, most commonly a black and white design, but not always. On my first afternoon here, I tripped and almost fell while walking on one of those pleasant designs. If you get out of the wealthiest neighborhoods, the walks are frequently in serious disrepair. Even when they are in good condition, they are uneven. The sidewalk in front of any given residence or establishment, even if well maintained, is probably not level with either of its neighbors. One is constantly stepping either up or down. I don´t know yet if this is true, but I think maybe property owners are responsible for their own sidewalks. I heard something said the other day that suggests that, and it would explain the way they are. At any rate, there´s no room for day dreaming while walking.
And then there is the car traffic. I don´t know if cars have the right of way, legally speaking, but they demand it and get it. If a pedestrian is waiting at an intersection for a green light, he cannot (I´m serious. He CANNOT) just step off the curb when the light changes. He has to let all of the cars turn who want to, and then he can cross. The other day I saw a car race into an intersection where a number of people were crossing, without a hint of slowing down. If any of those pedestrians had stumbled (remember? I can testify that it happens.), they would have been flattened. Granted the car had a green light and the pedestrians were in the wrong, but the carelessness of the driver was frightening.
As long as I´m on the subject of streets and sidewalks, I love the fact that I can have my hair cut, my laundry done, buy an electrical adaptor, have a spare key made, and any number of other things all within a block of where I am living. The grocery store, which is open until 10pm is only two blocks away. On the home from the grocery, I can buy fresh bananas, papayas, pineapples and other fruits from my neighborhood push cart guy, who now knows me.
More of this kind of exciting information in days to come.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)