fala, doutor!

Woman in the Presidency

2010-10-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

I just had to post this song, which was brought to my attention from a post on October 15th 2010 on the blog of Nei Lopes. It's a prophetic song from the late, great sambista Aniceto do Império.

The song is "Mulher na presidência" (Woman in the presidency) from the 1984 release Partido Alto Nota 10.

Vote Dilma!

Deni de Lima (1961-2010)

2010-09-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

(source: SRZD)

Sadly, I heard of the passing of Deni de Lima on September 13. To be honest, I know very little about him, other than the fact that he was part of the original pagode generation along with Zeca Pagodinho and the Fundo de Quintal progenies of Cacique de Ramos.

During my year in Rio, I saw him at almost every samba that I went to and he occasionally sat in with the group for a song or two. Almost every time I saw him, though, he looked terribly gaunt, unhealthy, and frankly, inebriated. The unfortunate product of a life of fame that left him behind. He was always given the respect of one of those guys who was still considered a legend, albeit one who never realized his full potential due to the perils of sudden fame.

I hate to report solely on the man's demons, and write a sad obituary about someone I didn't really know. Therefore, I would rather leave you with perhaps his most enduring legacy, a song from one of the most successful debut albums, from his longtime friend and cohort Zeca Pagodinho featuring Deni.

"Hei de guardar teu nome / Vou lhe deixar no sereno / Macumba da nêga" (Arlindo Cruz & Adilson Victor / Beto Sem braço & Jorginho Saberás / D.P.)

from the album Zeca Pagodinho (1986)

Salve Deni de Lima!

Francisco Aguabella (October 10, 1925 – May 7, 2010): el maestro se fue

2010-05-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

(source: Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos)

Esse post tem nada a ver com o samba, mas como o grande conguero Francisco Aguabella foi meu professor por vários anos aqui em Los Angeles, queria homenagear ele aqui no meu blog, para vocês que não o conhecem. O maestro - nascido em Matanzas, Cuba em 1925 - morreu aqui em Los Angeles no dia 7 de maio com 84 anos de idade.

Francisco era um santero devoto, filho de Changó (porém sempre vestia, e fazia seus alunos sempre vestir, de branco e vermelho para qualquer performance), e jamais trabalhava no dia de Santa Bárbara (4 de dezembro). Francisco foi grande pioneiro na inovação de Latin Jazz nos EUA, sendo um dos primeiros a botar congas no jazz.

Tive a oportunidade de estudar o tambor batá com Francisco na Universidade da Califórnia de Los Angeles. Nunca me esqueço da minha primeira aula com ele. Sendo percussionista, imaginei que fôsse ser muito mais fácil aprender... Eu estava começando com o tambor pequeno dos três batá, o okónkolo (os outros tambores sendo o itótele e o iyá - médio e grande), que é como todo aluno de batá deve começar. Eu, pensando que estava segurando a onda tranqüilo, estava na verdade atravessando o ritmo e não tinha a maior idéia de onde começava e onde terminava o toque. Francisco veio pra mim, me olhando meio torto, e tirou o tambor do meu colo, virou as costas e saiu andando chacoalhando a cabeça como quem diria: "xiiiii, não sei não... esse cara não tá com nada..."

Sacanation...

Com o passar dos anos, Francisco e eu tivemos muitos argumentos, eu tentando entender o ritmo que ele nunca explicava, e ele gritando que "isso aqui não é samba, ¡coño!" Também lembro que a primeira vez que tocamos uma comparsa, um ritmo carnavalesco cubano, eu pensei que o tambor de fundo fazia uma batida que nem o zabumba no forró. Só que a virada era ao contrário, com o grave batendo no UM, e não no dois, então tinha o ritmo completamente virado... (outra vez!!!). Francisco soltou os cachorros em mim e o couro comeu... (outra vez!!!)

(Eu, na direita, tocando iyesa com o grupo de estudantes de Francisco. Photo by Donna Armstrong)

Então para encerrar, deixo vocês com uma música do disco H2O de 1999.

"Quien eres tu?" do disco H2O (1999)

Salve o mestre Francisco...

"The Supreme Magnate of Modern Excellence": Walter Alfaiate (7/6/1930-2/27/10)

2010-03-02T00:49:00.000-08:00

(photo credit: Marcus Fernando)

It's unfortunate to come out of my long absence from this blog with such news...

The most well-dressed samba practitioner of Rio, a tailor by trade, sambista by choice, Walter "Alfaiate" Nunes died this past weekend. Walter was one of the funniest samba performers I have seen on stage, always telling jokes in between songs. I became good friends with his daughter Cláudia during my stay in Rio, but sadly, I did not get to know him personally. A few months back, I had heard about his failing health and was on alert for some time. Finally, the sad news made its way through the grapevine to me in the U.S.

Like so many musicians of his generation, he did not record his own album until he was well into his 60s. The song here is a somewhat somber, but beautiful samba, appropriate for the occasion. Walter had a rich baritone voice, highlighted on this recording.

I leave you with the title track of his 1998 debut album:

"Olha aí" (Mucal/Miúdo)

Partido alto 102 - repost

2010-02-28T09:45:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've posted! I'm trying to fix the broken music links (I'm almost done!) and hope to resume posting again more regularly. In the meantime...

I decided to repost an old video, this time with subtitles. My original post did not have subtitles so I wanted to share this classic moment of live partido alto. (Please read up on past posts via the links to "catch up") This was filmed in December of 2007. Please note the use of current events (and Christmas spirit!) in their improvisations.

Samba Society em Los Angeles

2009-06-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

After many months of contemplating the state of samba in Southern California, I finally put my own group together to play some "vintage" sambas from the 1970s. Our debut performance was at the G2 Gallery in Venice, CA. In the video clip above we're playing the song "Incompatibilidade de gênios" (João Bosco / Aldir Blanc) with Mauro on vocals. I'm playing the repique de anél, an instrument which is much discussed in this here blog.

The lineup for the group is:

Colin "Capitão 7-cordas" Walker (7-string guitar)
Jean Pierre "Jotapê" Trapenard (cavaco/vocals)

Beto González (percussion/guitar/vocals)
Bobby "Samabaia" Easton, of Delta Nove (surdo)
Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro "The Golden Tambourine" (pandeiro)
Simon Carroll (percussion)
Kanami and Emina Shimanuki (vocals)
with special guests:
Mestre Amen Santo, of Capoeira Batuque (percussion)
Louise "Weezie" McCarthy (vocals)
and Mauro "Ô Poeta" Monteiro (vocals)

Most of the musicians are good friends from many years past and some new. It's amazing to have so much talent among my friends! Kanami Shimanuki and her sister Emina sing beautifully. I met Kanami at UCLA where we both study. They are of Bahian/Japanese heritage. Mestre Amen Santo is my capoeira teacher and an amazing percussionist. Bobby Easton is from the Long Beach funk band Delta Nove and also a dear friend. Louise "Weezie" McCarthy go way back from the old batUCLAda days and is also an avid capoeirista (also a student of Mestre Amen's). Colin Walker is one of the best 7-string players in Southern California (if not the U.S.) who plays in the traditional vein of 7-string greats like Dino. Mauro Monteiro and Jotapê are old friends and Clube de Quinta cohorts.

Below are photos from our second show at the UCLA Fowler Museum. Photos by Šara Stranovsky. (Since she took them with my camera, I took the liberty of doing some retouching to the photos!)

(Jean Pierre (Jotapê) Trapenard / Colin "Capitão 7-cordas" Walker)

(Jotapê / Capitão / Beto)

(Mauro / Louise / Andréa Ferraz: special guest / Emina and Kanami)

(Jotapê / Colin / Beto / Carlinhos / Bobby)

(The backup singers taking time out to bust some moves!)

(I love this photo)

(as moças)

(I think Kanami was pointing to the sky as we sang "Portela querida!" Nice...)

(Simon Carroll / Mestre Amen Santo: salve Capoeira Batuque!)

(Jotapê)

(Capitão / Beto / Carlinhos)

Brazil, the land of "racial democracy"

2009-05-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

I had to post this image, taken from the blog of my favorite author, composer, and militant Afro-Brazilian, Nei Lopes. This was part of a guerrilla campaign to put a face on (no pun intended) racism in Brazil. The caption on the kids' shirts say: "If I looked like this, would you look at me differently?"

Seu Nei posted this to protest the annulment of the law that required quotas for Afro-Brazilian actors to have higher visibility in theater, movie and television productions. The law was supposedly repealed in part due to pressure from the democratic party (DEM) and the evangelical christian movement that demonizes Afro-Brazilian culture and religion...

When will Brazilians admit that they have a "racism" problem?

Bambas do Samba (1979)!

2009-04-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

I just came across this amazing video posted by my favorite YouTuber, calulinho! The clip is from the popular show Fantástico in 1979. There are so many heavies in this video, I don't even know them all, but to name a few that I could pick out: Monarco, Dona Ivone Lara, Cartola, Aniceto do Império, Elton Medeiros, Xangô da Mangueira (who just passed away in January), Clementina de Jesus, Dominguinhos do Estácio, Wilson Moreira... (I have linked to past posts on these legends). The drawings in the video are by the singular Italian-born-turn-carioca artist Lan.

I am almost speechless when I watch this video. To me, the 1970s was the true "golden age" of samba recordings, though many consider the 1930s-40s to be so. I disagree. It was not until the 1970s that samba recordings began to really capture the essence of samba in its most traditional format (as opposed to the highly polished and orchestrated 'radio-era' sambas of the 30s and 40s), with many revered samba composers and musicians recording their debut albums already in their old age... It was at this time that you began to hear partido alto, batuque, ijexá, samba de terreiro, samba de roda, atabaque... interpreted by the artists and composers themselves, rather than "interpreters" and pop stars.

It was also during the 1970s that many of the artists you see in the video began to feel alienated from their beloved samba schools as their commercialization was in full swing. Then, with the 1980s came another significant movement with the Cacique de Ramos generation, and by the 1990s, the recording industry had usurped all-things-good from samba and began to churn out cookie-cutter boy bands.

Watch the video, visit my previous posts on these amazing artists and legends, listen to the music I have posted, and tell me if you aren't as moved as I am...

***UPDATE 4/18/09:
Thanks to a wonderful visitor, samba "connoisseur" and filmmaker Fábio (he's still anonymous!), I have learned that also in the video are Geraldo Babão, Dona Neuma da Mangueira, and Manacéia... He's still spotting others! More to come!
Valeu Fábio, meu querido!

o som de "apala" de Haruna Ishola

2009-03-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

Eu estava escutando o álbum Lagos All Routes: Juju & Highlife, Apala & Fuji (2005) e encontrei um som que me fascinou, e queria compartir com meus amigos sambistas. Não quero tentar fazer comparações ou conexões místicas entre o Brasil e o continente africano. Simplesmente quero que curtam esse som de "apala" do músico nigeriano Haruna Ishola (nasc. ? - morreu 1983). Apala é um gênero musical dos iorubá da Nigéria que desenvolveu na década de 1930, quando era usado para acordar os muçulmanos no fim do longo jejum de Ramadão.

Nascido em Ijebu-igbo, Haruna Ishola foi um dos mais conhecidos músicos de apala, gênero que também influenciou muito o fuji.

Dizem que a voz de Haruna Ishola era tão potente que seu canto de louvo, se não entregado com cautela, podia matar o recipiente... Mas, morrer com os cantos de louvo desse homem não era a pior maneira de ir... (tradução minha - Andy Frankel, liner notes de Apala Messenger [IndigiDisc 2001])

Lembramos que, começando na década de 1830, muitos brasileiros e negros das Américas foram "repatriados" ao continente africano. Muitos desses imigrantes foram morar na delta do Niger, e nas cidades de Lagos, Aba, Owerri, e Onitsha.

"Pariboto Riboto" by Haruna Ishola
from the album, Lagos All Routes: Juju & Highlife, Apala & Fuji (2005)

Dona Edith do Prato passes at 94

2009-01-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

I only heard today that Dona Edith (Edith Oliveira Nogueira) has also passed away this month. Dona Edith was from Santo Amaro, Bahia and she became very well-known for her playing of the prato e faca ("plate and knife") and her vast knowledge of traditional folkloric tunes. She sang samba de roda, a rural style of samba from the northeast that was brought to Rio (and other parts of Brazil) by migrants and contributed significantly to the urban samba that I speak so much of in this blog.

Santo Amaro is a colonial town that is also the hometown of Caetano Veloso, who produced her 2003 album. The video above show Dona Edith with the lovely Bahian singer Mariene de Castro. There's a rough start at first, almost as though Dona Edith was not too comfortable on stage. I would like to feature the recorded version of the song from her album. I would also like to feature another tune with the bloco afro Cortejo Afro from Salvador. It's almost a bit strange hearing the powerful sound of a bloco subdued in the recording behind Dona Edith's voice, but it's still a great song.

"Casa nova - Raiz" with Mariene de Castro
(traditional folkloric - public domain)

"Samba numerado" with Cortejo Afro
(traditional folkloric - public domain)
Both songs are from the album Vozes da Purificação 2003.

PRI's The World featured a nice piece by reporter Sylvia Maria Gross on January 15th.
Global Hit (4:00) | PRI's The World

Salve o samba da Bahia, salve a Dona Edith!

Tia Doca (Jilçária Cruz Costa) passes at 76...

2009-01-25T13:40:00.000-08:00

I am getting weary of the sad reality of writing this blog as more and more of the legends of samba are passing on. Today "Aunt" Doca, the legendary matriarch of Madureira, pastora of the Velha Guarda da Portela, hostess of one of the best and longest running pagodes in town, passed away at 76. The great samba school Portela will cry for a long time to come.

I am almost speechless in writing this post...

When I arrived in Rio in August 2007 to spend a year doing my research, one of the first places I wanted to experience was the pagode in the backyard of Tia Doca's place in Madureira. However, it was not until November of 2007 that I finally did. I called a number to get information about the feijoada event that they were having with special guest Dudu Nobre. A very sweet lady answered the phone, giving me easy directions on how to make it all the way out to Madureira. She continued to talk casually about the place and how this particular pagode has been happening since 1975. After a few moments on the phone I realized that I was talking to Tia Doca herself! I arrived later that afternoon and immediately went to see her. She was incredibly warm and welcoming, as was her son Nem. I instantly felt like I was at home.

Needless to say the feijoada, prepared by her daughter and some assistants, was one of the best meals I had during my time in Rio. The pagode was also one of the best. I have written extensively about the Pagode da Tia Doca in posts past. Please click on the various links here, or use the navigation on the right to see videos and music.

I will leave you with a poignantly appropriate song, written by Arlindo Cruz, Sombrinha and Luiz Carlos da Vila (also recently passed in October 2008). The song "The Show Must Go On" was recorded live at the pagode in Tia Doca's own backyard.

"O show tem que continuar"
from the live album Pagode da Tia Doca 2000.

Salve o pagode da Tia Doca, salve a Velha Guarda da Portela, e salve Madureira...

felicidade!!!

2009-01-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

(photo source: The Kitchen Table)

PRESIDENTE Barack Hussein Obama e família!!!

A esperança de um povo...

2009-01-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

(photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Com a inauguração da presidência do Barack Obama sinto muita emoção como americano. E como cidadão do mundo também... O fenômeno do nosso novo presidente vem trazendo uma mudança de atitude que nunca tinha visto antes no povo americano. Parece que agora sim acreditamos que com o esforço e trabalho, e a cooperação de todo mundo, é possível mudar alguma coisa.
Yes we can.

Acho que tem muito brasileiro de olho pra nós aqui, imaginando quando será que o Brasil terá um líder como Obama. Tive muita esperança com o Lula, mas os escândalos e a hipocrisia de sua administração nos mostrou a bruta realidade do que é o sistema político no Brasil.

Quando morei no Rio por um ano recentemente tive muita frustração. E não só pela situação política...os caça-níqueis, mensalão, corrupção da mais sem-vergonha imaginável... mas também como o Brasil tem um povo tão fácilmente manipulado pela demagogia dos filhos-das-putas no poder e pela mídia (e não é tão diferente assim aqui nos EUA, como vimos pelo jingoismo depois dos ataques de 9/11). Isso pra nem falar da Igreja Universal que manipula um povo pobre e ignorante e propagam um preconceito contra as religiões negras. "Só Jesus explusa o pomba-gira do corpo... bote um trocadinho aqui no nosso cofrezinho que ajuda também..."

No Rio, fiquei decepcionado com a bagunça, a violência, a falta de consideração, a falta de respeito que o cidadão tem um pelo outro na rua e no trânsito, com os escândalos que viravam a piada do dia... Cadê a indignação? Eu sei que muita gente sente revoltado mas sem o poder de mudar alguma coisa. Então eu digo, a mudança começa em casa!

Será que o Brasil um dia elegerá um presidente negro? E quando será que vão abrir mão do sistema universitário sem chamar a inclusão de mais afro-descendentes nas faculdades de "bolsas quilombolas"? Quando é que o brasileiro (sim estou falando a verdade) vai se preocupar mais com o seu irmão cidadão do que com a bunda da nova loira do Tchan? Quando que vão parar de tirar aproveito dos outros? Quando vão criar vergonha na cara e parar de mijar na rua na porta dos outros? Se preocupar mais com o preço do feijão do que com o preço da cerveja? Parar de buzinar (porra!)?

O Brasil é uma bagunça porque o brasileiro é bagunceiro. Pare de botar a culpa nos políticos e deixar de fazer sua parte. O "jeitinho brasileiro" é conversa fiada! É malandragem que perpetua o sistema de filho-da-putagem que está tão enraizado em todos os poros do Brasil...

Se querem uma rua limpinha, não jogue lixo na rua! Não fique esperando que o gari vem limpar. Esses pobres trabalhadores anônimos que são os faxineiros do nosso imundo Brasil... Se querem respeito no trânsito, respeitem os outros também. Não dirija que nem otário, ou bêbado. As leis secas servem pra alguma coisa, não só pra acabar com a sua boemia... Homens: respeitem as mulheres. O machismo brasileiro é uma vergonha e já virou piada das mulheres estrangeiras faz tempo. Eu canso de ouvir de amigas que vão pro Brasil e falam do comportamento dos homens se achando que tem o rei na barriga. Que vergonha!

Enfim, os poucos lugares onde senti um respeito imenso praticado pela maioria dos presentes foi nos sambas. Acho que o cidadão brasileiro podia aprender muito com a cultura do samba: O respeito pela tradição, respeito com os idosos guerreiros que carregam em sua memória viva a sabedoria da poesia, a felicidade sem preconceitos ou disigualdades. No samba, sempre fui bem recebido, como se estivesse na casa da minha própria avó. Basta dar uma esbarradinha em alguém e todos se desculpam com o maior esforço. O samba é tão utópico assim? Assim que saímos dessa utopia voltamos pra realidade... "mas depois da ilusão... coitado!"

Como filho de brasileiros imigrantes (de uma família de imigrantes pro Brasil também), sinto um orgulho imenso de ser brasileiro. Mas quando me perguntam aqui se eu gostaria de voltar pra morar no Brasil eu penso... e penso... e digo que não...

Xangô da Mangueira (January 19, 1923 - January 7, 2009)

2009-01-07T15:50:00.000-08:00

(foto by Mari Viana)

As a researcher, especially one who just loves the "old school" sambas of the 1970s, it's especially sad to see another veteran go. Cats like Xangô da Mangueira, O Rei do Partido Alto (the King of the improvisatory style partido alto), are increasingly rare as they grow old and leave us. These are the old timers that made urban samba what it is today, influencing the last few generations of sambistas that have achieved far more fame and notoriety than their predecessors who paved the way...

As the son of migrants to Rio de Janeiro (his mother from Minas Gerais and father from São Paulo, I believe), Xangô brought to samba other regional influences. He also made use of traditional folk tunes and adapted them into original songs with improvisations.

(artwork by Lan)

I would like to leave you with a couple of selections from this GIANT of the form. You may even have heard these songs as recorded by other artists.

"Moro na roça" (traditional, adapted by Xangô da Mangueira, with Jorge Zagaia)

"Que samba é esse" (Jorginho [do Império? Must be since he also recorded this song in 1976])
Both tracks are from the album Rei do Partido Alto (1972)

"Você não é não" (Alcides "O Malandro Histórico" da Portela / Xangô da Mangueira)
from the album Chão da Mangueira (1982)

This last track is a collaboration between two artists from two legendary schools, Mangueira and Portela, the latter which I have written much about here in posts past. As they often say in samba circles when another legend leaves us: "That great big pagode in the sky just keeps getting better and better..."

Salve Xangô da Mangueira!!!

redenção...

2008-11-04T19:58:00.000-08:00

.mp3 players gone?

2008-11-03T21:21:00.001-08:00

Sorry, folks... this is what happens when you go dormant for too long in the tech world... My flash .mp3 players disappeared from my whole blog!!! Until I figure out a place to host the flash player and replace the code on the old posts (argh!) I will be tune-less... I'll try to fix soon.

Luiz Carlos da Vila (July 21, 1949 - October 20, 2008)

2008-11-03T11:18:00.011-08:00

Hello, friends. It has been too long since my last post and I regret returning with a sad one... Just as I was preparing a paper presentation at the annual Society for Ethnomusicology conference, where I presented some of my research, I got word about Luiz Carlos da Vila's passing.

In my paper I quoted several songs that talk about "roots" and cited one of the great sambas of and about the Cacique de Ramos generation, "Doce refúgio" which I will post below. Luiz Carlos was one of its greatest proponents, having had his music recorded by dozens of artists. I was fortunate to see him sit in on several sambas over the last few years during my trips to Rio. I saw and met him only a few months before in my last weeks in Rio at Samba Luzia and he seemed in great spirit and good health. It is amazing how quickly that can change...

You can see this video dated August 2, 2008 (the day after I arrived back in Los Angeles) and it seems that Luiz Carlos was doing well and doing what he did best. In the video with him is none other than Mestre Wilson Moreira, and the Velha Guarda da Portela, among others.

Luiz Carlos was a great fan of Candeia, as am I. I would like to feature two of his best known sambas. The first, cited above, is like the anthem for the Cacique de Ramos generation, of which came such great artists the likes of Fundo de Quintal and Zeca Pagodinho. The song "Doce refúgio" was recorded on FDQ's second album in 1981. The next song is the title cut from a 1998 tribute album dedicated to the works of Candeia. in "A luz do vencedor" Luiz Carlos da Vila pays tribute to Candeia by adding his own last verse to one of Candeia's compositions.

"A luz de um vencedor" (Candeia/Luiz Carlos da Vila)
from the album A Luz de um Vencedor - Luiz Carlos da Vila Canta Candeia (1998)

"Doce refúgio" (Luiz Carlos da Vila) by Fundo de Quintal
from the album Samba é no Fundo de Quintal (1981)

Salve Luiz Carlos da Vila. Salve Cacique de Ramos!!!

*I do not have the name of the photographer! If you know please let me know.

samba all-star photo session in Lapa

2008-07-17T15:31:00.023-07:00

I had another great photo session today in the historic Lapa district. By now I'm sure these cats are starting to look very familiar, no? This was like an all-star group pulled from some of the best groups and pagodes in town! They have all become great friends to me and are the sweetest bunch of ridiculously talented young musicians.

I'm having great fun getting back into photography again. It's especially a treat to have these guys feel at ease and look so natural in front of the lens. They have great energy and the minute they bust out their instruments, even when just posing, they start having fun. There were even some people following us around hoping to hear them play more. I really regret not having my video camera on hand as well...

A little adjustment and post-processing, but as always, absolutely NO CROPPING! Straight out of the camera! (this is where I pat myself on the back...).

(João Martins, bad-ass banjo player)

(The multi-talented Makley Matos. He used to play for the Harlem Globetrotters)

(Jorge "Dedé" André. We're still working on the smoking thing...)

(Marcelo Amaro)

(Jorge Alexandre)

(Lula Matos)

On the famous tiled staircase tourist stop in Lapa. Some gringos sat down thinking the fellas were going to put on a show. I'm sure they were disappointed when we left for the next location.

(At Beco do Rato. I don't usually see this place in the daylight!)

fui...

Samba under the almond tree

2008-07-14T08:51:00.013-07:00

Yesterday I went "across the pond" to Niterói for the Samba da Amendoeira. The almond tree (as so many sambas, you might notice, are associated with trees!) sits outside of the Toca da Gambá bar. The light was fading fast so we went outside for a quick shoot. Unfortunately the light inside was almost nonexistent so I don't have any "live" shots.

The group is led by a (young) veteran of samba, Mingo. I posted a bit of an interview with him back in March. Mingo is a talented composer and he has had some of his songs recorded by several of the new generation of samba artists like Batuque na Cozinha and Galocantô.

(Mingo)

(Yuri Portella)

(Phelipe Ornellas)

(Rafael Lagoas)

(Monem)

(André 7 Cordas)

under the almond tree

After the samba, which ended early at around 10pm, I made my way back across the 14km bridge by bus accompanied by Baiaco, another incredible composer and skilled improviser. You can see him dueling with Bananada and João Martins in a past post about partido alto here. We were already in a "slightly" altered state, yet we headed to Lapa and ran into more bohemian friends, and more beer.

I finally made it home a few hours ago...

Simone Lial e Ponto Sem Nó

2008-07-14T08:29:00.007-07:00

I wanted to post some photos of late. I've been getting tons of requests by my friends for photos and I've been doing my best to oblige as time is running short. I have a couple more shoots to do this week of some lovely people. This photo session of the group Simone Lial & Ponto Sem Nó was done in a vintage furniture store in the historic downtown district. The building is beautifully restored. Check out the website for Mercado Moderno and see more photos of their furniture and interior.

Simone Lial has gotten quite a bit of press in the last few years as one of the best female singers in the revival of the historic Lapa district. She has an amazing voice and great stage presence. But she's not new to the scene as she's been at it for over a decade with various groups.

I've been having fun just doing photography for the sake of photography. One of these photos will hopefully be getting published in a piece about the group. For the photo geeks: this shoot was done with only a Nikon D70s and a cheap 19-35mm lens, and a not-so-cheap 50mm f1.4 lens! Natural lighting with post-processing done in Adobe Lightroom.

Recording in Rocinha

2008-07-06T19:52:00.012-07:00

(Renato Santos at his mother's home)

Last month I finally visited Rocinha for the recording session of my friend Renato Santos' first album. Rocinha is the largest shantytown in Latin America and today boasts banks, markets, cable tv, and bus lines. There is even a McDonald's.

It was fascinating to see the amount of traffic going up and down the main street that leads up through the community. Once we parked the cars we then walked through these winding pathways where people marched along in line going in both directions like an anthill. There were markets and butchers, barbers and bars, people's front doors, all tucked impossibly in between these unfinished brick houses that were stacked several stories high, right on top of each other in chaotic informal architecture.

(Maurício Araújo, helping with the repertoire)

Renato assembled many of his friends for the recording, and everyone pitched in to play a part. Even I did a photo shoot and shot some video to document the session.

(Lula Matos from Galocantô)

On the first day, Renato rounded up some of the fellas from Galocantô to lay down the base percussion tracks with accompanying voice, 7-string guitar and cavaco as guides.

(in the soundroom, which was about 3/4 of the entire space, with Leo Costinha from Galocantô, and Luiz Henrique on cavaco)

(Jorge Alexandre - he's actually a percussionst, though he can play the cavaco as well)

(Marcelo Correia from Galocantô)

I was amazed by the stamina these guys have for the studio. I was there from 10am until around 8pm, and some of them stayed and continued. What is especially warming is to see how they all contribute to each others' recordings, working long hours just for the love of it. I hope to provide you with a track soon. In the meantime...

(the eternal sunshine of Dedé)

...smile!

O Doutor e o Canhoto, Júniors.

2008-07-06T19:27:00.005-07:00

Repique de anél - 101

After all this talk about Doutor and the repique de anél, perhaps you'd like to see it being played by one of the best young players of this instrument, Luiz Augusto, 24. Accompanying him is another wicked player, Abel Luiz, 26, a left-handed and upside-down mandolin/cavaco player who was inspired by the legendary Canhoto. This is just a little demo they did, with no smoke and mirrors.

These fellas are regulars at the Samba Luzia and Samba do Trabalhador and you can see a post with photos of them here. Please keep in mind that for some reason Luiz didn't tune the repique so it's quite flat. But the basic technique is there.

The handshake of Wilson Moreira

2008-07-06T18:23:00.010-07:00

I Finally met mestre Wilson Moreira! As you can probably tell by now, my dear readers, I am quite fond of the man also known as Alicate ("pliers"). I learned how he got that nickname as soon as he shook my hand! You can see a video of Mestre Wilson in performance in a previous post here. You can also see him doing some fine miudinho dance steps in the classic Leon Hirszman film Partido Alto from 1978 here.

Mestre Wilson was one of the heavy cats on one of my favorite samba albums Partido em 5, which I have talked about extensively in this blog. In case you arrived late, that album from 1975 is a revolutionary recording featuring luminaries such as Candeia, Casquinha and Doutor in a live studio setting. I have already featured a track from this album elsewhere, but would like to feature one of Mestre Wilson's songs. Songwriting credits are also given to Doutor (they wrote "Doutô" on the album) for this track, though Moreira is the actual composer. As is often the case in many sambas, giving credit in a parceria, or partnership, was often more a symbol of mutual respect between sambistas than an actual co-authorship.

"Roda de partideiro" (Wilson Moreira / Doutô)
from the album Partido em 5 (1975)

I would also like to feature a song from his 1986 album Peso na Balança. This album, fortunately, was only recently released on CD by a Japanese label (Tanaka is the producer, according to Seu Wilson) who is a huge fan of traditional samba and has done more to recover old recordings than any Brazilian label ever has...

"Luanda Luandê" (Wilson Moreira)
from the album Peso na Balança (1986)

I was really thrilled to be able to ask Seu Wilson directly about not only that great album recording, but also the percussionist Doutor, that I have been trying to dig up information about. Unfortunately, Seu Wilson was not able to tell me that much, except that Doutor was discovered tapping on a bucket as he stood in line waiting for water in the community. He eventually transfered what he did on the bucket to a surdo de repique. For those of you into Brazilian percussion, the tenor drum repinique is part of the surdo family, just a smaller and much higher pitched version. So Doutor would tap on the shell with rings while playing the heads with both hands. The sound was so grooving and contagious that Doutor ended up recording on almost every samba album produced in the 1970s until he died. It's funny to imagine that such an instrument, that became such a standard in those recordings, was a relatively new invention.

Abraço Mestre Wilson!

Lan on how to be a carioca

2008-06-21T07:14:00.012-07:00

On Wednesday night I had the privilege to meet one of Brazil's greatest caricaturists, the Italian-born, carioca-par-excellence, Lanfranco Aldo Ricardo Vaselli Cortelline Rossi. Lan, as he is prominently known, made a stop at the Pagode do Nézio e Negão.

After leaving Italy as a child, Lan was raised in Uruguay, then eventually landed in Rio, where he has resided since. He is best known for some of the most beautiful album covers that he made throughout his career.

His caricatures of the world of samba (among other themes) are legendary. Another transplanted artist, the Argentine-born Carybé (Hector Julio Páride Bernabó 1911-1997) once said of Lan: "The Portuguese didn't invent the mulata, Lan did".*

I spoke briefly to Lan, and he told me he would be happy to meet with me sometime for an interview! However, when I was trying to get his phone number I was intercepted by one of his companions. I understand the protective nature of certain people towards celebrities, especially when they are elderly. The man gave me his card, telling me that he would forward my e-mail to Lan. So far, I haven't heard back.

(Martinho da Vila)

I would like to leave you with a song from Moacyr Luz who has been featured in the blog in previous posts. The song is from a dedication album to people and places of Rio.

"Mitos cariocas: Lan" (Moacyr Luz/Aldir Blanc)
from the album Samba da cidade (2003)

Jamelão (May 12, 1913 – June 14, 2008)

2008-06-16T06:47:00.002-07:00

Another legendary sambista has died. José Bispo Clementino dos Santos, known as Jamelão, passed away on Saturday. Beginning his association with Mangueira as a percussionist, he became one of the biggest voices of the Samba School.

Known for his often grumpy disposition, Jamelão (a nickname that has been used as a derogatory racial epithet) had an impressive recording career that began as a romantic "crooner" in 1949. In the 1970s, when many samba schools began a transformation from community to commercial mega-enterprises (leaving many of their community members aside for more "fashionable" actors and models), Jamelão's recording career stalled.

I'm not a huge fan of the "crooner" recordings of the 1950s and 60s, but I will leave you with a ballad and a more traditional samba from my favorite decade.

"Ela disse-me assim (Vá embora)" (1959)

"Apoteose do samba" (1975)

The great big samba in the sky keeps getting better and better...

Lei federal No. 9294 de 1996? Demorou, hein?

2008-06-10T07:31:00.007-07:00

Já sei que vou chatear muitos amigos, mas vamos lá! É para o seu próprio bem!

Eu fiquei muito feliz quando no início do mês notei que vários dos lugares que frequento estão seguindo a (nova?) lei que proíbe fumar em lugares fechados. Só que nem duas semanas depois vejo que muita gente não tá nem aí...

Comecei a pesquisar na internet pra saber um pouco mais. Descobri que essa lei já tem precedência de mais de dez anos atrás, mas caiu no esquecimento. A lei federal nº 9294, que proíbe o uso de cigarro, cigarrilha, charuto e cachimbo em recintos coletivos, privados ou públicos, foi sancionada no Brasil em 1996! Pôxa...

Eu ainda fico impressionado como tem tantos fumantes jovens no Rio. Não sei como alguém com menos de 30 anos pode ser fumante hoje em dia. Com tudo que sabemos sobre o cigarro, e o fato (sim, é fato e já foi comprovado) de que as companhias tabaqueiras fizeram de tudo para atingir um público jovem que serão consumidores pro resto da vida. O cigarro é uma droga mais viciante do que a heroína! Imaginava que os jovens de hoje seriam mais espertos do que os nossos pais, que foram influenciados com Hollywood, e as imagens de grandes artistas fumando e parecendo chic...

Como não-fumante, (fumei quando era moleque e logo parei) eu fico muito mal com a fumaceira dentros dos botecos e bares. O que mais me chateia é como muitos fumantes nem se tocam com quem está perto. Peço ao meus dois ou três leitores desse blog que reparam uma coisa na próxima vez que estiverem num bar. Vejam que quando alquem fuma num bar ou boteco, aquela pessoa tem a tendência de estender a mão com o cigarro para longe de sua própria cara para não se incomodar com aquela fumacinha chata que sai da ponta acesa do cigarro. Quase sempre eles/as apontam o cigarro pro outro lado, sem se incomodar que a fumaça tem que ir na cara de alguém!

Outra coisa, já notou que fumante quase nunca pensa duas vezes antes de jogar a bituca do cigarro fora? Mesmo uma pessoa educada que jamais jogaria um lixo no chão, nem pensa na hora de desfazer da bituca. O cigarro não é lixo? É o lixo mais comum que se encontra em todo lugar na face da terra!

Para os fumantes que se acham caçados pelos não-fumantes digo: Pare de ser chato e egoísta gente! O seu "direito" de fumar afeta muito mais além do que o seu ego.

"A grande preocupação do Ministério da Saúde é com o chamado fumante passivo. A exposição ao fumo nessas condições constitui a terceira causa de morte evitável em todo o mundo, atrás somente do próprio tabagismo e do alcoolismo. Quando um cigarro é aceso, formam-se duas correntes de fumaça: a primária, que entra pela boca do fumante, e a secundária, que sai da ponta acesa do cigarro e se espalha rapidamente pelo ambiente, sendo inalada pelos fumantes indiretos. 'A corrente secundária, que não passa pelo filtro, contém três vezes mais nicotina e monóxido de carbono e cinqüenta vezes mais substâncias cancerígenas do que a corrente primária', diz Carlos Alberto de Barros Franco, presidente do departamento de tabagismo da Sociedade de Pneumologia do Rio de Janeiro. 'Se pensarmos no caso de um garçom não fumante que trabalhe oito horas por dia num estabelecimento onde é permitido fumar, ele estaria tão contaminado como uma pessoa que fume dez cigarros por dia', compara Vera Colombo, do Inca." (fonte: Veja Rio).

Quando eu tinha 19 eu tive uma namorada fumante. Ela e o pai fumavam sempre dentro de casa. Por incrível que pareça, a própria mãe/esposa (que nunca fumou na vida) morreu de câncer dos pulmões...

Samba na Fonte!

2008-06-05T16:10:00.004-07:00

There is a movement of composers making a scene with some wonderful new songs! The Samba na Fonte movement is made up of composers young and old, veteran and amateurs alike. Meeting at the historic Pedra do Sal, they bring all original compositions to be learned and shared among its members.

Like so few sambas around town, this one boasts a small gathering, which helps to ensure a quieter environment for the all-acoustic sambas to be played, and heard!

(Composer: Sing your samba and then partake in your partner's. Please be silent during presentations.)

The purpose is to increase the visibility of these talented composers, many of whom already have had their songs recorded by other artists. Ferreira, one of the movement's founders told me that as a cohesive movement, they have a better opportunity of being heard by someone that would be willing to record one of their songs. If one composer's work get recorded, the whole group benefits.

Below is the young poet and composer DiCaprio in striking pose!

I would like to share a video clip of their "theme" song. I do not have a title for it, but will call it "Todos somo iguais" written by Ferreia and Wagner. (Ferreira is directly to the right of the surdo player and Wagner is playing the cavaquinho closest to the camera). Enjoy!

In the studio with João Martins & friends

2008-06-03T08:11:00.029-07:00

(João Martins)

Yesterday I had the privilege to hang out at a recording studio in Copacabana with some very talented musicians. Composer, musician, and wicked banjo/cavaco player João Martins is recording his debut album with all original compositions from his own pen. Some of the tracks are "partnerships" with some very illustrious folks. I can't wait to tell you more about it, but since it is still early in the process, I cannot reveal too much. I hope to visit the studio a few more times as more guest musicians make their contributions to João's new album.

(João Martins/Dedé/Jorge Alexandre/Wanderson Martins/Lula Matos)

It was quite a samba-filled day. But it didn't start as early for me as it did for these guys who began at 9am... I ended up getting home at 3am the next day (today!).

(like father like son)

Around 11:30 am my cell phone rings and the caller ID says "João Martins" but it was Lula calling. He says "Cadê você rapaz! O bicho ta pegando! (Where are you? Untranslateable slang for "things are getting hot"]. So I get my lazy butt out packed with cameras to the next beach over. I arrived at the studio just after noon. I guess they were eager for me to come by and snap some photos (perhaps for the album jacket?).

(Jadir/recording engineer)

I stayed with the guys at the studio until 6pm as they recorded non-stop all of the base (not bass!) percussion and guitar tracks. João's father, producer/musician Wanderson Martins, was the maestro, who played the scratch cavaco track, while João sang along to guide the musicians. These tracks will later get replaced by polished takes, of course. After the first round, the guys recorded a second batch of percussion tracks.

(Lula Matos/tantam)

For the session João brought in a couple of the fellas from Galocantô. Be sure and check out my recent post on them here. Lula Matos played general percussion (repique/pandeiro/tantam) and Marcelo Correia played 7-string guitar.

(Marcelo Correia/violão 7 cordas)

To round out the percussion, the Jorges were brought in. Jorge Alexandre and Jorge André.

(Jorge Alexandre)

(Jorge "Dedé" André/pandeiro)

These guys are incredibly talented and I was very impressed by João Martins' compositions. I was already familiar with several of the tunes from hearing them played at the local sambas that these guys frequent. Some songs I didn't even realize were written by him, but thought were some older songs that I had never heard before! Especially since people are already singing his songs at these rodas. Such is the talent of this 23-year-old...

(Joãozinho)

There is something really sweet about how these guys look out for each other and spend all day in the studio to see João's album come to frution. There are many more guests yet to come to the studio to lay down tracks. Look out for the next post on JM!

(listening to playback - good results!)

(Marcelinho)

Since I don't have any of João's recorded music to share with you yet, I would like to add a song by the group Toque de Prima, of which Wanderson is the cavaco player and musical arranger. The group has several albums and its members include some of samba's most respected session players. Wanderson has also recorded and toured with heavies like Dona Ivone Lara, Roberto Ribeiro, Beth Carvalho, Zeca Pagodinho, and Martinho da Vila.

(Wanderson Martins/cavaco)

The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree...

"Tudo liberado" by Toque de Prima
from the album Se tem que ser, será (2000)

Abraço meu compadre João Martins!

Clementina, cadê você?

2008-05-30T17:02:00.004-07:00

I wanted to post about one of samba's rarest gems, Clementina de Jesus (1901-1987).

Listening to Clementina, or "Quelé" as she was known to many, I am sometimes overwhelmed by the sheer ancestral weight of her voice. Elton Medeiros, in a recent "for posterity" taping at the Museu da Imagem e Som (RJ), told the audience about his travels with Clementina in 1966 to Dakar, Senegal for the Festival de Arte Negra. Only recently "discovered" by Hermínio Bello de Carvalho and already in her sixties, Clementina sang to an enormous crowd of Senegalese. Elton recalled that the Senegalese were incredibly enthusiastic and that "ninguém entendeu a Clementina como os Africanos" [no one understood Clementina like the Africans did] (Medeiros 2008).

But what was it that Brazilians didn't understand about her? Was it her raw voice, rougher than most men's and only one generation removed from slavery?

Before making her professional debut, Clementina worked as a maid for over 20 years. She participated in the highly acclaimed Rosa de Ouro presentations in 1965-1967 with Araci Côrtes and the Conjunto Rosa de Ouro. In 1970 she finally recorded her first solo album, Clementina, cadê você? The following selections are all from this album. Most of the tracks are traditional folk tunes that Clementina had learned throughout her life.

"Três corimas: Ogum megê / Bendito louvado ó Ganga / Lá no mato tem ganga" (traditional)

Next is the opening track of the album, written by another legend "Vai saudade" (Candeia/David da Portela)

Finally, an awesome batuque "Beira-mar" (traditional)

Cadê você, Clementina?

refs:
Medeiros, Elton. 2008. Depoimento ao Museu da Imagem e Som, February 26. Rio de Janeiro.

Darcy da Mangueira (1937?-2008)

2008-05-26T12:09:00.004-07:00

I just heard of the passing of Darcy Fernandes Monteiro, a.k.a. Darcy da Mangueira, on May 19th. I do not know much about this composer, or at least I didn't realize that I had heard so many of his compositions. He is said to have written over 300 songs. I recall seeing Darcy once at the Pagode do Nézio e Negão back in 2006, when I enjoyed a partido alto that he sang with the late Camunguelo, who passed away last December. I looked back at my journals to verify and, sure enough, I had made particular mention of him in my notes.

Looking into the newly named BetoVault, I found several recordings of his songs and some with Darcy himself as interpreter. I would like to share a recording from the late 1970s, my favorite period of classic samba albums, as I'm sure you've already noticed. This is a live recording, from the legendary Bar Suvaco de Cobra (The Snake's Armpit), a watering hole that hosted some of the best rodas de samba this side of the equator. This was the period when many recordings were recreating the roda in the recording studio, to maintain the integrity of samba in its most traditional format. For more on this see my posts on the epic Partido em 5 sessions.

"É manhã" (Darcy da Mangueira)
from the album Roda de Samba Volume 3 (1979)

Salve Darcy da Mangueira!

Tribute to Roberto Ribeiro

2008-05-26T11:00:00.009-07:00

(Roberto Ribeiro 1940-1996)

(Musicians from left to right: Peterson, Felipe Pipa, André Orelha [percussion], Fofão [cavaco], João Paulo [7-string], Dudu [flute], Alex Ribeiro and backing vocalist [name?])

Last Friday night I was fortunate to be invited to photograph a special tribute to one of my favorite singers, Roberto Ribeiro. You can hear a beautiful song by him in a previous post here and also below. The event was led by the late singer's son Alex Ribeiro.

(Monarco / Alex Ribeiro)

The highlight of the evening was none other than Monarco from the Velha Guarda da Portela. You can read up a bit about them and hear some music in a previous post here. In true Velha Guarda fashion, Monarco never makes a public appearance without representing his beloved Portela colors of blue and white. The traditional straw hat with blue trim is also representative of his status as part of the "Old Guard." I also posted a song from Monarco's debut album from 1976 in another post here.

(Monarco)

Also among the invited guests was the legendary drummer and composer Wilson das Neves. For those of you who enjoy and collect samba and bossa recordings from the 1960s-80s, you might (or might not) be surprised to find that Wilson was the most in-demand session drummer (and still is) who has recorded on almost every samba album for the last 40 years. Check for yourself. I am still amazed at how many recordings he appears on. Unfortunately he did not perform on drum set but only sang.

(Wilson das Neves)

In the band were several of my friends who regularly play at various sambas around town. It is always fun to see these guys getting great gigs with such legends.

(Monarco and the crew)

My man Orelha do Pandeiro is as big as a linebacker and could surely destroy a pandeiro with his brute strength! Kidding, of course... He is as gentle as a teddy bear and a talented percussionist.

(Orelha do Pandeiro / Fofão da Serrinha)

Pipa (gotta love these nicknames) is quite the character and a versatile percussionist as well. He was surely in good spirits for this photo!

(Pipa)

The singer Fátima Candeias also appeared in a side tribute to the late singer Clara Nunes (1942-1983), who died tragically young. Ribeiro and Nunes were very good friends and frequently appeared together in shows and on each other's albums.

(Fátima Candeias)

Clara Nunes debuted her incredibly successful recording career in 1965 in the post-bossa era and later, once she adopted a more traditional Afro-Brazilian style, became one of Brazil's most beloved voices in samba. The resemblance (not to mention her choice of dress) was a bit eerie in my opinion.

(Clara Nunes)

I would like to share some music from the BetoVault (I just came up with that!). First up is Wilson das Neves on drums with a ridiculous rhythm section, as you can see on the album cover.

"Berimbau" (Baden Powell/Vinícius de Moraes) by Wilson das Neves e Conjunto
from the album O som quente é o das Neves (1976)

Next is one of my favorite (I have so many!) compositions by the oft-cited Nei Lopes and Wilson Moreira. See the last post on this legendary sambista. Are you starting to notice the numerous connections between musicians, composers and interpreters in the samba world? Have you been keeping up?

"Coisa da Antiga" (Wilson Moreira/Nei Lopes) by Clara Nunes
from the album As Forças da Natureza (1977)

I would also like to share a recording with Clara and Roberto together. Their voices are both amazing and together they're incredible.

"Artifício" (Paulo Cesar Pinheiro/Mauro Duarte) by Clara Nunes with Roberto Ribeiro
from the album Brasil Mestiço (1980)

Finally, I would like to share one of Monarco's most famous compositions interpreted by Roberto Ribeiro. Again, see the connections? It's like samba in Rio is one big happy family, no? I especially like this song because of the way it illustrates how cariocas live to get together to play samba, eat and drink.

"O quitandeiro" (Paulo da Portela/Monarco) by Roberto Ribeiro
from the album Arrasta Povo (1976)

Wow... big post. Enjoy!

*Since the lighting at the show was not particularly good, I played around with different color variations of the photos. I hope the inconsistency is not too distracting. Please let me know with a comment!

120 years of abolition with Mestre Wilson Moreira & Pagode do Nézio e Negão

2008-05-15T20:15:00.004-07:00

On Tuesday, May 13th, Brazil celebrated (actually there was not much celebration) the 120 years of the abolition of slavery. My friends from the legendary pagode at Clube Guanabara graced the stage of Teatro Rival with numerous guests including Marquinhos Sathan (formerly Satã), Dorina, and the revered Wilson Moreira. For you faithful and studious folks that follow my blog (all 3 of you), you might recall that Wilson Moreira, a.k.a. Alicate ("pliers"), was part of those famous Partido em 5 recordings that I cite so much here in my blog. You can also see him in top form doing the "miudinho" in the 1978 short Partido Alto.

In recent years Mestre Wilson has suffered several strokes, though you can see that he can still can work a crowd. It was very emotional for me, and for many in the audience, to see Mestre Wilson on stage. I hope to interview him soon. He is not only a legendary samba composer and singer, but he is also extremely well-versed and knowledgeable of Afro-Brazilian musical genres and religions. His music frequently refers to this heritage. Check out Adão Jorge and Bruno Gama working the atabaques!

I would also like to add a studio recording of one of my favorite songs.

"Oloan" (Wilson Moreira)
from the album Entidades I (2002)

Ossan, Ossan
Oguirê, oguirê
Toda a iluminação de Orun
Oloan, Odú

Eu vou pedir licença
E vou ao mar
A claridade do dia
Vai me iluminar, ô ô
Me banhar
Vou mergulhar nas águas
E me purificar
No fundo do oceano

Os caprichos de Janaína
A pureza do mar
Oh! Mãe Rainha Iemanjá

Salve Wilson Moreira, salve o Alicate!

The fine batucada of Galocantô

2008-05-15T16:57:00.013-07:00

(Pedro Arêas/pandeiro & Peterson/tantam [foreground])

It has been a wonderful week and I am happy to be posting again (finally!) after some fruitful events in my research! First, was an excellent interview I conducted with the young group Galocantô. Following their debut CD in 2006, the group was awarded the 2007 Prêmio Tim for best samba group. Despite their humble success, the fruit of a long struggle in the Lapa musical scene, the group continues to promote a traditional roda de samba every week while also playing some of Rio's best nightclubs and venues.

(Lula Matos [front]/percussion & Peterson/tantam)

In our discussion the issue of the rejuvenation of the historic city center was raised. In recent years the Lapa district has experienced a major renaissance, as several nightclubs and bars began to draw a young crowd back to this red-light district (it still is a red light district). With its newfound popularity, and the opening of many new clubs, Lapa is today where Rio’s youth go to for all-night drinking and dancing. It is the kind of place to be avoided if one dislikes crowds, excessive drinking or the extreme cacophony emanating from the competing bars; or, it is the first place you run to if that is your thing.

(Marcelo Correia/violão de 7)

The rejuvenation of Lapa, many claim, was due in part to the success of a new generation of musicians that sought to revive samba, and its historic ties to Lapa. Following the success of these musicians, new nightclubs began to open in remodeled historic buildings, drawing more and more people to the city center’s nightlife. Galocantô was instrumental in that success. While many groups continue to struggle for space, Galocantô was one of the groups that grew along with Lapa's popularity. Today sharing the stage with some of the major stars of samba, the group still maintains close ties to the many rodas where these cats literally "cut their teeth" as they were learning to play.

(Edson Cortes/percussion)

The name of the group is a play on words (isn't everything in Brazilian Portuguese a play on words?) for "the rooster sings." Borrowed from a famous song, it refers to the nature of inumerous rodas de samba that have no time to end and often go until the sun rises, or literally, until the roosters begin to sing... I know you might be thinking that it is not literally so, but I have personally heard roosters in the post-samba wee hours!

(Pablo Amaral/cavaco & Rodrigo "Biro" Carvalho/vocals/percussion)

The group's success, I believe, lies in their professionalism as well as their wonderful stage presentations. Their latest show is founded on the concept of the roda, or "circle" as samba is most traditionally played. The academic inspiration for the show is the important book by the late music historian and journalist Roberto M. Moura (1947-2005), No princípio era a roda (2004).

(Léo Costinha/percussion)

The following track is from the group's debut CD, which Biro generously signed and gave to me! The album also features several luminaries of Rio's samba scene such as Beth Carvalho, Arlindo Cruz, Rildo Hora, Diogo Nogueira and the Velha Guarda do Império Serrano. So far it is one of my favorite tunes of the album, and it is co-written with some friends from the local scene of emerging samba composers.

"Pão que alimenta" (Edson Cortes, Wantuir, Binho Sá)
from the album Fina Batucada (2006)

work cited:
Roberto M. Moura, No princípio, era a roda: um estudo sobre samba, partido-alto e outros pagodes. Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, 2004.

Samba Luzia!

2008-04-19T09:17:00.020-07:00

(Moacyr/violão, Wandinho/repique de mão, Jorge Alexandre/tantam, Winter/ganzá)

This is one of the best sambas in town! Located right on the edge of Guanabara Bay under the stars, Samba Luzia is led by Moacyr Luz. See my post from a few weeks ago for a clip of an interview where Moa played a new song for me. I don't yet have live video of this event, but will soon! This event takes place on Fridays, so it is a great weekend starter for cariocas. The band is essentially the same group that plays the "Samba do Trabalhador" that draws about a thousand people on Monday afternoons/evenings every week on the other side of the city.

(Daniel Sete Cordas)

What makes this samba so good? First, the musicianship is top notch. Most of the group members are actually pretty young guys, mostly in their 20s. Even with such a large ensemble, the sound quality is amazing, due in large part to the sound tech! Also important to point out how the musicians play together without trampling on each other. Some groups, even with half of the number of musicians, sometimes can't maintain such quality in a roda.

(Jorge Alexandre/tantam)

(João Martins/cavaco)

Young João Martins, 22, has recently joined the group. He is a talented composer and is already having several of his songs recorded by local samba groups. Check out his blog for some insights and song lyrics.

(Nilson Visual/surdo)

(Serginho Pitoco/balde)

This unusual instrument is simply called a balde, or bucket. I've also heard it called xequebalde. The instrument and its name borrow from the xequerê (or shekere, gourd rattle with beaded netting used in Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian). The balde is basically a metal bucket with holes and loose rivets that act like an industrialized, hybrid version of a traditional xequerê! The instrument seems quite rudimentary (can ethnomusicologists use that word anymore?), but is amazing when played well. And this gentleman certainly makes this thing groove. I will post video of this soon. It's really a fascinating sound.

(Luiz Augusto/repique de anél/atabaque)

This is, of course, my favorite instrument of all time. Luiz Augusto is one of the best young players I have ever seen. At 24 he is by far one of the few people that I think can play this instrument with so much swing and groove, like the late and great Doutor. He also adds the sound of the Afro-Brazilian atabaque to the percussion section, which brings another layer of dynamics to the samba. Again, video to follow...

(Júnior de Oliveira/pandeiro [right] / guest ? musician/banjo [yellow shirt])

(Wandinho in the foreground, Abel/bandolim, João)

Here is a song recorded live at the Monday samba some years ago. Most of the group members are the same as above.

"Cabô, meu pai" (Moacyr Luz, Aldir Blanc, Luiz Carlos da Vila)
from the live album Samba do Trabalhador (2005)

*Note about photos: All photos were taken with a fixed 50mm lens! Hence, why I don't have any wide angle shots. People always ask. Also, none of the photos are cropped or altered, except for minor exposure adjustments in post-processing.

Mestre Zeca da Cuíca do Estácio

2008-04-04T16:38:00.007-07:00

After yesterday's posting, I wanted to include a photo and brief video of another mestre who we are privileged to still have among us. Zeca da Cuíca is quite up there in his years and he has lost his sight, but can still make a cuíca talk. As I have said before, you don't just get to use the instrument as a surname for nothing!

Mestre Zeca played on some essential samba recordings from the 1970s. Worth mention are João Bosco's Galos de Briga (1976) and Tiro de Misericórdia (1977), as well as the Partido em 5 series that I am so fond of and have talked endlessly about in this blog! You can read up on that post featuring Candeia and my favorite percussionist Doutor here. There are also some songs featuring Zeca from these albums. The song I would like to share today is perhaps the most exemplary of Zeca da Cuíca at the top of his game in a song that is about the instrument itself! Zeca's solo comes in toward the end.

"O Ronco da Cuíca" (João Bosco e Aldir Blanc)
from the album Galos de Briga (1976)

And this is Mestre Zeca playing at yesterday's conference on samba:

Roncou, roncou!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

2008-04-04T06:57:00.003-07:00

The future stars of Madureira

2008-04-03T18:58:00.009-07:00

As you can see from the last post, I'm trying to dedicate some blog time to my Portuguese-speaking friends (should any of them actually read my blog). That being said, I want to dedicate this post to Madureira. If you've been keeping up, Madureira is not only a cradle of samba heritage, but home to several legendary samba schools and numerous sambistas.

So let's start with the song "Star of Madureira" by the late Roberto Ribeiro, of the Império Serrano Samba School, singing to his neighborhood. This is a beautiful song that is still heard at almost every roda de samba I've been to.

"Estrela de Madureira" (Cardoso/Acyr Pimentel) from the 1975 album Molejo.

Today and tomorrow there's a conference being held there celebrating the nomination of samba as the cultural patrimony of Brazil. The event was incredibly well planned by Nilcemar Nogueira, granddaughter of none other than Mestre Cartola, bringing together illustrious musicians with academics and cultural ministers sitting side by side and debating. It's quite refreshing to see, not only an entire conference dedicated to samba, but also musicians and researchers being privileged over journalists (I have issues with journalists). What I mean is that, in Rio, journalists seem to have the monopoly on these kinds of events, which is terribly frustrating. Also, conferences in general (not just here), tend to have a bunch of navel-gazing academics. At the conference legends like Nei Lopes, Tantinho and Monarco presented (or will present tomorrow), and in attendance so far were the Velha Guarda do Salgueiro and Zeca da Cuíca (who recorded in the 1970s alongside Doutor on some of João Bosco's samba recordings).

At the end of the conference, I was blown away to see the incredible young talent coming out of this amazing neighborhood. This is the next generation of sambistas and tradition-bearers of Brazil's Cultural Patrimony. Check out these AMAZING DANCERS! It brought tears to my eyes watching these kids putting all their heart and soul into this presentation. Salve Madureira!

Samba Patrimônio Cultural do Brasil

2008-04-03T18:12:00.008-07:00

O seminário Samba Patrimônio Cultural do Brasil que abriu hoje foi um grande prazer. Queria muito parabenizar a Vice-Presidente do Centro Cultural Cartola Nilcemar Nogueira, orgulhosa neta do Mestre Cartola, pelo belo trabalho de organização de um evento que uniu sambistas, acadêmicos e guerreiros da valorização da cultura afro-brasileira em um ambiente de discussão e debate. Geralmente esses tipos de eventos acabam sendo muito elitizados, com um bando de intelectuais olhando para o próprio umbigo querendo debater sem a participação das pessoas das comunidades ou tradições que eles estudam. Ou, por outro lado, as vezes esses seminários contam somente com a demais privilegiada participação de "jornalistas" que escrevem sobre música e cultura, sem convidar nem um estudioso ou pesquisador acadêmico.

Hoje, e continuando amanhã, na SESC Madureira se podia ver na mesma mesa de debate sambistas como Nei Lopes e Monarco, com acadêmicos e diversos ministros. Os "highlights" pra mim foi o Nei Lopes, que deu uma grande palestra e uma boa "colher de chá" pra todos. O papo do Monarco "Ser sambista, um modo de viver" foi tão divertido de se rachar o bico de gargalhadas e impressionou com a sua memória infalível. A professora Dra. Helena Theodoro fez uma bela apresentação sobre religião e identidade.

Foi lindo também ver na platéia a Velha Guarda do Salgueiro, o grande Zeca da Cuíca que deu uma canja no final, um diverso e interessante grupo de pessoas, e o meu camarada Caffé e sua esposa!

Mas também quero registrar uns "bola fora" de alguns participantes. Primeiro, antes de começar o seminário, um homem muito pomposo do Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN) falou umas "abobrinhas" sobre a música de fundo que estava tocando enquanto as pessoas entravam na sala. Não podendo entender que se tratava de música africana moderna, ele esnobou, perguntando se era música japonesa, como se fosse uma música "primitiva"... Pra alguém que se encarga de patrimônio histórico e cultural devia-se ter um pouco mais de cautela à respeito de outras culturas...

Outro, pena quando acadêmicos inteligentes não sabem quando estão sendo um pouco arrogantes em querer esticar o tempo de sua palestra.

Finalmente, fico impressionado com a falta de educação de muitas pessoas que falam ou deixam celulares tocarem. O mais chato foi aquele cara que batia fotos o tempo todo com uma maquininha digital que fazia uns bips eletrônicos muito chatos... Pô cara! Desligue o som da máquina!

Samba Patrimônio Cultural do Brasil... demorou!!!

Cristina Buarque invites Terreiro Grande from São Paulo

2008-03-29T19:39:00.010-07:00

Tonight I attended a samba concert, for a change. It was an interesting change of pace to be in a theater instead of a smoke-filled and noisy bar, or boteco, as small, informal joints are usually called here in Rio. The audience too, was quite docile. Again a nice change of pace from the raucousness of a typical samba. The show featured the São Paulo group Terreiro Grande with Cristina Buarque (yes, she is related to you-know-who). It is an unusual pairing, or so it might seem, to have an avid carioca and dedicated samba historian with an all paulista group. But, I think most of us samba researchers have heard enough of the old São Paulo vs. Rio debate...

Anyways, these guys Terreiro Grande pay serious tribute to old time sambas, many long forgotten gems by the forefathers of the genre. With Cristina, a hardcore portelense, they paid special tribute to the founding members of the Portela samba school. At the end of the set, they filed into the audience and made their way to the lobby, where they continued to jam, but finally in the standard roda format.

In the audience was none other than Nelson Sargento and Monarco, the former of Mangueira, and the latter of Portela. I thought it was a little strange that Mestre Nelson went almost unnoticed while Monarco received some fanfare from the crowd. Then again, Nelson Sargento is slow-moving and he stayed out of the spotlight, probably on purpose. Actually, I think most of the audience probably wouldn't have known one from the other... When the crowd followed the group into the lobby and received Monarco, Nelson was quietly (and slowly) making his way to the exit. So I had to choose which one I would follow to try and get an interview. I chose Nelson since no one was paying him much mind and I thought he would appreciate that I noticed him. So I caught up with him and nervously introduced myself. He was nice, but seemed tired and his companion, probably a music partner or manager, helped with allowing me to give him my phone number. They said they would contact me sometime soon...

When I returned to the roda thinking I could still catch Monarco, he was gone! Oh well. At least I made contact with Cristina and the guys from Terreiro...

So I thought I would share some music from some of these giants of the genre that I was fortunate to meet tonight. First, a song written by Nelson Sargento and perfomed by Cristina Buarque:

"Ficará comigo" (Nelson Sargento)
from the 1990 (or is it 1994?) album Resgate

photo by Rosano Mauro

Next, we have one from Mestre Nelson himself. It is quite fun to hear Nelson singing about a love triangle... He sings: "One dominates me, the other fascinates me, but they both have my heart..."

"Triângulo amoroso"
from the 1998 album Sonho de um Sambista

Finally, we have one from Monarco's 1976 debut (?) self-titled album. I love the album cover. I also love the killer repique de anél that kicks off the track. It is the legendary Doutor that I have talked so much about and who has partly inspired the name of the blog. You can read that post about him here. You can also read about Monarco and the Velha Guarda da Portela from an older post here.

"Amor verdadeiro" by Monarco

*Opening photo was taken from a webpage with no photographer credits!

Essa é pra galera do samba que me vê em todas mas pouco me conhecem…

2008-03-25T21:23:00.003-07:00

Estava batendo um papo com o joven compositor João Martins e ele me disse que mandou o link do meu blog pr’alguns amigos e o comentário foi “Pô! As fotos tão legais!” mas ninguém entendia p#$&% nenhuma… Então resolvi misturar as coisas e tentar escrever um pouco na “outra” lingua franca…

Primeiro sobre mim. Eu nasci em NY, de pais brasileiros. Meu avô era español—porém o sobrenome! Meu pai foi para os “states” em 1967 com $60 dólares no bolso. Fui criado em SP e depois mudamos pra Califórnia, onde moro faz 27 anos. O resto é história.

Criei esse blog pra manter um jornal de notícias pros meus colegas de Los Angeles enquanto vivo no Rio fazendo minha pesquisa de campo. Com tantos blogs aparecendo dedicado ao samba, não achei que iam sentir falta do meu por ser em inglês… Mas, quando quis compartir as minhas fotos e vídeos com os meus amigos do samba, sem querer deixei muita gente só vendo mesmo as fotos. Foi mal. Não prometo que vou postar toda hora em português, mas vou tentar de vez em quando.

Enfim, a minha pesquisa é sobre o samba. Mas o quê sobre samba é minha tese? Bom, eu estou fazendo um doutorado em etnomusicologia na Universidade da Califórnia, Los Angeles. O meu estudo é uma pesquisa etnográfica sobre o pagode (o evento), o tal chamado e as vezes polêmico "samba de raiz" e suas manifestações no Rio de Janeiro. O minha tese usa como ponto de partida o trabalho do Roberto M. Moura (pra não confundir com o outro Roberto Moura do livro Tia Ciata e a pequena África no Rio de Janeiro). A questão da roda pra mim é muito importante, mas além disso busco entender como as pessoas, principalmente cariocas, se identificam através do samba. Essa identidade brasileira/sambista também se manifesta em diversas maneiras de acordo com como as pessoas entendem e explicam questões de autenticidade, raiz, tradição e modernidade. Eu acho fascinante as diversas (e profundamente divergentes) atitudes e opiniões sobre o que é raiz, pagode (o evento e/ou estilo musical), autêntico, e o que é tradição.

Além de pesquisador, também sou músico e percussionista. Toco samba, dirijo um grupo na UCLA dedicado aos blocos afros da Bahia, e estudei o batá cubano com Francisco Aguabella. Sou fotógrafo—daqueles que aprendeu com filme de verdade, antes da revolução digital (onde todo mundo é fotógrafo, cineasta, jornalista)…

Já estou no Rio faz quase 7 meses. O tempo passa rápido. Fiz muitos amigos e outros ainda estão a me conhecer. Desculpe qualquer coisa… Tenho todo o respeito do mundo pelo samba. Peço as bêncãos de vocês pra sentar na mesa…

Moacyr Luz sings to the birds

2008-03-21T16:00:00.014-07:00

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Moacyr Luz, a.k.a. Môa. I must admit, I have been attending his sambas for months (actually a couple of years) and I never approached him because I thought that he might not be so friendly. I can't exactly explain why I would have thought this. I couldn't have been more wrong... I (finally) met him last night at Samba Luzia, the weekly samba that he hosts, and he immediately invited me to come to Santa Teresa, where he lives, to do the interview the next day. I was skeptical that he would be awake at noon the next day, since the samba the night before went until well past 4am... So, this morning I called him around 11 to check in. He asked me to come to Bar do Mineiro, where he is well known among the locals and is a regular fixture. I arrived somewhat later than I had hoped, and Môa was dutifully sitting at a table with two friends, drinking beer. I joined them and he immediately called for a glass and a fresh bottle, the pre-penultimate beer of the afternoon. Then we went to his apartment right across the street.

Moacyr is considered to be one of the most talented composers of his generation. He has written hundreds of songs with many partners including Aldir Blanc (João Bosco's long-time partner in the 1970s), Martinho da Vila, Zeca Pagodinho, among others [Listen to a 1976 song by Bosco/Blanc in the past post here and one from 1972 by Martinho da Vila here]. He has recorded and/or produced dozens of records, and he hosts two of the hottest sambas in town: Samba do Trabalhador (The Worker's Samba, which happens on Monday afternoons) and Samba Luzia. More to come on these sambas soon!

I wanted to share one of my favorite songs by Môa. The following song is "Zuela de Oxum" from his 2003 album Samba da Cidade.

After the interview, which lasted about 50 minutes and 3 or 4 beers, Môa grabbed the guitar to sing his latest composition with Martinho da Vila, which will be recorded this year and released on his next album. I was sweetly surprised by the song he played. Not for the fact that Môa would produce such a lovely samba, but for the fact that he was so eager to share one of his inéditas, or unrecorded, tunes. He sang this wonderful song, imitating Martinho da Vila's characteristic drawl... It is tentatively titled "Samba dos passarinhos" (Samba of the birds).

"Um samba simples, mas essa coisa simples é que é muito complicado..." (Moacyr Luz)

Môa is good people...

A new generation of composers

2008-03-18T07:32:00.012-07:00

Yesterday I interviewed some young cats from a new generation of sambistas that are writing incredible songs. The location is the mythic Pedra do Sal. You can see the famous granite hillside with the steps carved into the stone that leads up to the Morro da Conceição.

In the video clip above are composers Mingo (in the hat), Juninho Tibal, and later joined by legendary Chiquinho Vírgula. These are all nicknames, by the way. For those who don't speak Portuguese, in the first minute, Juninho and Mingo talk about their love of composing and playing samba. Juninho, in his wise 21 years of age, says something that I thought was incredibly poetic:

"When the seed is truly pure, you plant it and it will grow... People will come along and try to destroy it, but it will grow back..."

These three are partners, having written many songs together. In the second part Chiquinho Vírgula talks about his tremendous success with songs like "Fases do Amor" (recorded by Fundo de Quintal on their third LP from 1983) and "Insensato Destino" (recorded by various artists, first by Almir Guinéto in 1985, and later by Zeca Pagodinho, Alcione and FdQ). Again, translations do not do the songs justice. There is just something about romantic sambas like these that is just inherently better in Portuguese...

I wish I had recordings of songs by Juninho and Mingo to share with you, but I only have two of Chiquinho's biggest hits mentioned above. I particularly love the phrasing and the rhythm of the words in "Fases do Amor"... Also, only in samba will you find a word like "successively" used with such rhyme and rhythm...!

"Fases do Amor" (Chiquinho/Marquinho PQD/Fernando Piolho)
from the album Nos Pagodes da Vida (1983) by Fundo de Quintal

O primeiro amor enche de alegria
Qualquer coração em nossa vida
A mais doce ilusão, a mais doce ilusão
quando na infância se vê de repente
A ingênua visão do amor
Quando a gente cresce, ele esmorece
Não tem mais valor

No segundo amor, tudo modifica
É bem diferente, a inocência vai
vem a experiência pra nos completar
Se aprende a viver
Já não se ilude com qualquer prazer
Do primeiro amor o que ficou pra trás
Não há mais ferida

E assim sucessivamente
Então virão novas aventuras
Não devemos ir fundo
Porque nesse mundo de desilusões
Tem tantas falsas juras colhendo
Amarguras para os corações

***
"Phases of Love"
The first love fills with joy
Any heart in our lives
The sweetest illusion, the sweetest illusion
When in youth we suddenly see
The ingenuous vision of love
When we grow older, it fades
No longer has any value

The second love, everything changes
It's very different, innocence goes
Experience comes to complete us
You learn to live
We don't get fooled by any pleasure
From the first love left behind
There are no remaining wounds

And so, successively
New adventures will come
We shouldn't go deep
Because in this world of disillusions
There are so many false vows collecting
Bitterness for the heart
***

The following song, recorded by several major label artists, is an enormous hit. It is one of those songs that everyone knows the words to at any given samba.

"Insensato Destino" (Acyr Marques/Chiquinho/Mauricio Lins)
from the live album Samba de Raiz 3 - Ao Vivo (2003)

Ó insensato destino pra quê
Tanta desilusão no meu viver
Eu quero apenas ser feliz ao menos uma vez
E conseguir o acalanto da paixão
Fui desprezado e magoado, por alguém que abordou meu coração

Destino, porque fazes assim, tenha pena de mim
Veja bem, não mereço sofrer
Quero apenas um dia poder, viver num mar de felicidade
Com alguém que me ame de verdade

***
"Senseless Destiny"
Oh, senseless destiny, why
So much disillusion in my life
I only want to be happy, just once
And feel the embrace of passion
I've been hurt and cheated, by someone that stole my heart

Destiny, why you do this, have pity on me
See that I don't deserve to suffer
I only want one day to live in a sea of happiness
With someone that truly loves me

***
Wonderful guys who have made me a part of their family. I am honored.

Samba in Kazakhstan?

2008-03-17T08:32:00.002-07:00

photo courtesy of Mashenka!

The birth of samba and the Pedra do Sal

2008-03-10T19:28:00.013-07:00

Another one of my favorite sambas is at the historic Pedra do Sal. The “Salt Rock” is perhaps one of the most significant landmarks in the history of samba. The hillside community is literally a giant rock, with steps that lead up to the Morro da Conceição. One of the few remaining vestiges of the “Little Africa” district, the Pedra do Sal has been decreed an historical monument by the city of Rio de Janeiro. In the 19th century, Pedra do Sal was a community extension to the mythic, but now extinct Praça Onze, where urban samba as we know it today was born. The term "Little Africa" was popularized by Roberto Moura’s book Tia Ciata e a pequena África no Rio de Janeiro (1983).

(Ari, Jr/banjo)

The Pedra do Sal is at the heart of the port district of Rio, where migrants from all over Brazil, especially from Bahia, sought work as stevedores. A significant number of legendary sambistas that helped to create the genre worked the docks and lived in the communities around Praça Onze. As Nei Lopes has shown, the musical influence of these migrants can be found in urban samba, especially in the partido alto that is the backbone of the “roots” samba that is popular today (see Lopes 2005). The plaza at the base of the granite hillside is named after João da Baiana, who is credited with introducing the pandeiro into samba and for helping to create, along with Pixiguinha, Heitor dos Prazeres, and Donga, the first sambas.

(Júnior 7 Cordas, Pedrinho Ferreira/surdo)

Continuing the legacy, the group that spearheaded the samba at Pedra do Sal is named Batuque na Cozinha, after one of João da Baiana’s most famous songs. The first time I attended a samba there I met Henrique “Banana” do Cacique, grandson of João da Baiana and son of Cacique de Ramos and Fundo de Quintal founder Neoci. The sambas frequently pay homage to a legendary ancestor, sometimes even displaying a large poster announcing the musician who is being honored.

Listen to "Batuque na cozinha" with João da Baiana, Pixiguinha and Clementina de Jesus. I don't know the recording date of this, but I believe it to be in the late 60s or early 70s before these legendary folks passed.

Also hear Martinho da Vila's version, which I absolutely love, from the 1972 album also called Batuque na cozinha. This album, by the way, is one of my favorites from Martinho.

(front to back: Júnior, Juninho, Ari, Pipa)

References:
Lopes, Nei. 2005. Partido-alto: Samba de bamba. Rio de Janeiro: Pallas.
Moura, Roberto. 1983. Tia Ciata e a pequena África no Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro: FUNARTE, Instituto Nacional de Música, Divisão de Música Popular.

Doctor in Samba!!!

2008-03-09T07:52:00.003-07:00

I came across this song in my collection. I can't believe I had not noticed it before... I thought you might get a kick out of it. The song is by Custódio Mesquita (1910-1945). Oh, #$%^!!! I'm already older than this guy... Anyways, you gotta love these old names that you don't hear anymore among the younger generations. Custódio means "custodian" or "guardian" (pretty ironic... read on).

"Doutor em samba" (Custódio Mesquita)
recorded by Mário Reis e Diabos do Céu in 1933

Sou doutor em samba

Quero ter o meu anél

Tenho esse direito

Como qualquer bacharel

Vou cantar a vida inteira

Para meu samba vencer

É a causa brasileira

Que eu quero defender

Só o samba me interessa

E me traz animação

Quero o meu anél depressa

Pra seguir na profissão

"Doctor in Samba"
I'm a doctor in samba
I want to have my ring
I have that right
Like any graduate
I'm going to sing my whole life
For my samba to win
It's the Brazilian cause
That I want to defend
Only samba interests me
And brings me joy
I want my ring quickly
So I can follow my career...

Hah! The story of my life...

Apartheid in Salvador's Carnaval

2008-03-01T13:40:00.000-08:00

I just came across this video and I had to post immediately. The text is all in Portuguese, but you won't need to understand in order to get the message... The video was made by a self-proclaimed "white person from the upper middle class" of Salvador. The author of the video is apparently disgusted with the continuing bigotries of the Carnaval celebrated in Salvador. I agree with him 100%.

Carnaval in Salvador is celebrated in the streets with each bloco having its own cordão, or roped off section, where paying attendees get to "play" inside the ropes where they are seperated from the povão, or "masses" (i.e. poor and black). Many have claimed recently that Salvador, one of Brazil's most African cities in terms of its black population, continues to promote a segregated Carnaval. The people on the outside, again mostly poor and black, get to watch from the sidelines and get the shit beat out of them by military police who are also, mostly poor and black. You will never see a policeman "cross" the line to thump a white kid.

Also note that the ropes that segregate the two sides are held up entirely by Afro-Brazilians. I would also like to add that the only blocos that DO NOT use the cordões in their parades are Ilê Aiyê and Filhos de Gandhi, both Afro-Brazilian blocos.

***the blue handkerchief on the guy's arm in the beginning is soaked with lança-perfume, an inhalant drug.

Riachão, samba from Bahia

2008-02-27T02:00:00.003-08:00

I was just reading Mestre Nei Lopes' blog and was saddened to hear about the tragedy that has struck the legendary Bahian sambista Riachão. On January 8th a car accident here in Rio took the lives of his wife Dona Dalva, his 25-year-old daughter and her spouse. His 29-year-old son is said to be in critical condition, while his fiancé also died in the crash. Clementino Rodrigues, known affectionately as Riachão, was born in 1921 in Salvador. He is said to be in his home town of Salvador, deeply depressed by the tragic event. Although he is not well known outside of his home town and is not a household name like many of his contemporaries, he is a beloved local legend.

"Vou chegando" by Riachão

"Cada macaco no seu galho" by Riachão

Cada macaco no seu galho, xô xuá
Eu não me canso de falar, xô xuá
O meu galho é na Bahia, xô xuá
O seu é em outro lugar, xô xuá
Não se aborreça moço da cabeça grande
Você vem não sei de onde
Fica aqui não vai pra lá
Esse negócio da mãe preta ser leiteira
Já encheu sua mamadeira
Vá mamar noutro lugar
xô xuá...

Each monkey on his own branch, (shoo away?)
I can't say it enough
My branch is in Bahia
Yours is somewhere else
Don't be down, big-headed young man
You come from who-knows-where
Stay here don't go there
This thing about the black wet nurse mother
You've filled your baby bottle
Now go nurse somewhere else
xô xuá!

Both selections are from the album Sambas da Bahia (1973), which also features songs by fellow baianos Batatinha and Panela. The following example is Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil's version of "Cada macaco no seu galho":

"Cada macaco no seu galho" (Riachão) by Caetano Veloso and Giberto Gil, from the album Tropicália 2 (1993)

My heart goes out to Mestre Riachão...

Elton Medeiros records memoirs at M.I.S.

2008-02-26T21:00:00.001-08:00

This morning I received a newsletter stating that Elton Medeiros would be giving his "depoimento" at the Museu da Imagem e Som. Luckily the event was a few hours later at 2pm. I arrived barely on time only to find Mr. Medeiros at the gate of the archive/museum waiting to be let in. I introduced myself and he was nice, but seemed slightly uninterested. I once again tried to talk to him later during a break (he talked for 5 hours!) and told him that I was good friends with Mauro, the son of one of his close friends, Regina Werneck. Regina sang in the group Quarteto em Cy in the late 60s and also recorded and co-wrote with Elton. I have been meaning to ask her to introduce me to him. Elton said "Oh, he lives in the U.S..." and then turned away to talk to some people he actually knew...

I'll be back. He's not rid of me yet..

At the event slightly late and part of the panel was his old partner Paulinho da Viola, one of Brazil's most beloved samba artists. I was thrilled to see them both in a room of about 30 people. Unfortunately I was not persistent enough to try and talk to Paulinho (especially after 5 hours of Elton's talk), but I feel that I will catch him again later soon enough. Rio and the samba world is especially small at times...

So, for a quick post I would like to introduce one of Elton's compositions. Elton, by the way, has also co-authored several memorable songs with the late, great Cartola (see recent post). His best and longest lasting partnership has been with Paulinho da Viola. I would like to feature one of my favorite songs by Elton that he co-authored with Zé Kéti (1921-1999) and recorded with the legendary group A Voz do Morro in 1965. A Voz do Morro was a short-lived group that featured several musicians that went on to individual fame including Elton Medeiros, Paulinho da Viola, Zé Kéti, Nelson Sargento, Anescarzinho, José da Cruz, Jair Costa, Cartola and Nelson Cavaquinho. The last two did not actually record with the group but were part of an early incarnation of the group, according to Elton.

"Mascarada" (Elton Medeiros e Zé Kéti) by A Voz do Morro
from the 1965 album Roda de Samba

Vejo agora esse teu lindo olhar
Olhar que eu sonhei e sonhei conquistar
E que num dia afinal conquistei, enfim
Findou-se o carnaval e só nos carnavais
Encontrava-te sem
Encontrar este teu lindo olhar, porque
O poeta era eu cujas rimas eram compostas
Na esperança de que tirasses essa máscara
Que sempre me fez mal
Mal que findou só depois do carnaval

The lyrics are quite beautiful, but for lack of time (and for fear of another translation compromising the beauty of such poetry) I will only provide the brief story behind the song as told by Elton today. The idea of the song was from Zé Kéti. Kéti was romancing a woman whom he had only seen during several Carnaval celebrations. Every year they would meet and disappear together, remembers Elton. However, she was always wearing a mask, which she never once took off for poor Zé Kéti to see her face. Thus, in the song he laments only being able to see her through the mask. The stuff of legend, no?

Pagode do Nézio e Negão (Guanabara) - video

2008-02-21T18:57:00.003-08:00

"Canto das Três Raças" (Mauro Duarte e Paulo César Pinheiro)

Pagode do Nézio e Negão - Clube Guanabara

2008-02-21T17:40:00.003-08:00

So these cats have one of the best pagodes in town for the last five years. Nézio Simões and Negão da Abolição are the organizers of the event that happens every Wednesday night at the Clube Guanabara in Botafogo. I first started going to this samba about four years ago and have been a card-carrying member ever since.

This week I also thought I would start publishing some of my own photos, and adding to my log with still images (not just those "borrowed" from the internet!). I would also like to do a series on my favorite pagodes. Since this pagode was one of the first that I participated in when I began my fieldwork on the subject, I though I should start here.

To the right is Sinval on the cavaco-banjo, Roberto Chama on guitar and Bruno on the pandeiro (in the blur of the shallow depth-of-field - anyone remember my photo talks at UCLA?). The cavaco-banjo is a hybrid creation by the early pagodeiros that sparked the style known today as pagode. Many people still deny that pagode is a distinct style of samba, but I think most people at this particular pagode would disagree. This style of samba is more aggressive and percussive.

The pandeiro playing in pagode is certainly more aggressive, with a good percussionist playing extremely loud and with incredible skill. Bruno, on the left here is one of the baddest pandeiro players I have ever seen. I will post a video for you to see as well.

Below and to the right we have a couple of other typical instruments that were introduced with the pagode generation. Adão Jorge on the left is playing the tantã, a hand-held bass drum formerly called a tambora that was borrowed from the bolero groups of he 1960s. Renato (in yellow and black) is playing a xequebalde, a bucket fashioned with loose rivets to be played somewhat like the Yoruban xequerê (or shekere in other parts of Latin America).

Also played are instruments that have been popular in samba since long before the pagode generation include the surdo bass drum (played by Bruno Sales), the cuíca (Pedrinho da Cuíca), the ganzá (Winter), the traditional cavaco (Serginho), and the tamborim (Rogério).

I'm not sure I like the staggered blog entry... Trial and error.

finding Nei Lopes and Fabiana Cozza in SP

2008-02-18T00:35:00.000-08:00

I finally caught up to Nei Lopes in São Paulo last Thursday. I have already mentioned him in an earlier post about partido alto. I have been trying to meet him at a few shows here in Rio but he always slips out quickly before I can catch him! So I went to the release of his new book Dicionário Literário Afro-Brasileiro (Pallas 2008) and was able to purchase a couple of his other books and get my copy of Logunedé (Pallas 2007, 2nd ed.) signed! I still hope to get an interview with him, so more posts will be forthcoming. At the book signing I also ran into Fabiana Cozza, a young singer from SP that is getting high marks for her second album. She was very nice and also told me she would be happy to let me interview her soon. More to come...

In the meantime I thought I could share some music from both of these artists.

Nei Lopes not only writes extensively on samba and Afro-Brazilian themes, but is also an activist, composer and recording artist. The first track is an ode to the Afro-Cuban deity Eleguá, known as Exú in Brazil. The album nods beautifully to the historical affinities between the two countries and their African heritage.

"Samba de Eleguá" (Nei Lopes)
from the album Partido ao Cubo (2004)

The second track is one of Nei Lopes' biggest hits from his partnership with Wilson Moreira, recorded by Beth Carvalho on her 1978 album De pé no chão. This album is significant in its importance in launching the so-called "pagode" movement that exploded on commercial airwaves in the 1980s, launching a whole new crew of samba artists. I posted a song by the pioneers of that era, Fundo de Quintal, in an earlier post here. Many of the members of this group are featured on this recording as studio musicians a few years before they launched their debut album (you can see them on the cover in the background). I will post more on this later.

"Goiabada-cascão" (Nei Lopes e Wilson Moreira) by Beth Carvalho
from the album De pé no chão (1978)

Finally, I would like to post one from Fabiana Cozza's second album Quando o céu clarear (2007). Fabiana has been highly praised by Nei Lopes (who also contributed a song to her album) as one of the great revelations of the São Paulo samba scene.

"Incensa" (Roque Ferreira) by Fabiana Cozza
from the album Quando o céu clarear (2007)

Enjoy.

listening to Cartola

2008-02-10T14:40:00.005-08:00

"Cartola didn't exist. He was a dream we had" - Nelson Sargento
(written on the wall at the Centro Cultural Cartola in Mangueira)

I recently finished reading Cartola, os tempos idos (Gryphus, 2003) by Marília Trindade Barboza and Arthur de Oliveira Filho. I was inspired to post something about this amazing sambista known simply as Cartola ("top hat" in Portuguese).

One of the original founders of the Mangueira samba school, Angenor de Oliveira, Cartola (1908-1980), lived much of his life in relative poverty, his famous compositions earning him more esteem than financial gain. He finally recorded his debut album in 1974, at the age of 66.

In the late 1960s, Cartola and his wife Zica ran one of the most legendary samba houses in Rio. Known as Zicartola, the bar/restaurant/bohemian nightspot hosted some after hours sambas that have become legend. Frequented by a host of carioca musicians, composers, and intellectuals, Zicartola unfortunately suffered from mismanagement. Thus, the lack of financial prudence on part of its owners led to Zicartola's eventual shutdown.

I can hardly do justice to the genius of Cartola's poetry, but here are some of Cartola's most famous songs. I also want to highlight another pioneer, Horondino José da Silva (1918-2006), known as Dino 7 Cordas (7-String Dino), whose recordings with Cartola (and also with Jacob do Bandolim) have become something of a textbook for aspiring 7-string guitar players. Dino is almost single-handedly responsible for the instrument's widespread use in samba and choro, and "wrote the book" on technique and phrasing that is today the "language" of the 7-string guitar. The 7-string guitar has an added bass string, tuned to a low C. The baixaria (bass lines) of the instrument can be heard especially well on "Preciso Me Encontrar" below.

"O Mundo é um Moinho" (Cartola)

In the song "The World is a Windmill" the narrator is warning a young lady about heading into the world on her own, and the impending heartaches and disillusion of life.

"As Rosas Não Falam" (Cartola)

This is considered by many to be one of Cartola's most beautiful compositions, and regarded by literary critics, as well as musicians, to be the epitome of classic samba poetry. Please forgive my attempt at translating such an amazing work of art. English also does not do the words justice.

Bate outra vez com esperanças o meu coração
Pois já vai terminando o verão, enfim
Volto ao jardim com a certeza que devo chorar
Pois bem sei que não queres voltar, para mim
Queixo-me às rosas, mas que bobagem as rosas não falam
Simplesmente as rosas exalam
O perfume que roubam de ti
Devias vir para ver os meus olhos tristonhos
E, quem sabe, sonhava meus sonhos, por fim

("The Roses Don't Speak")
Beat once more with hopes, my heart
For the end of summer is near, at last
I return to the garden with the certainty that I must cry
For I know that you won't return to me
I protest to the roses, but it's silly the roses can't speak
They simply exhale the perfume stolen from you
You should come to see my sad eyes
And, perhaps, dream my dreams, at last

"Preciso Me Encontrar" (Candeia)

This song was featured in the film City of God during one of the most intense scenes. The bassoon is an interesting addition, not typical of samba at all. But Dino's playing is especially incredible in this piece. Also note that the song is written by Candeia, of recent posts past... another nod to Mestre Candeia... "I Need to Find Myself" is also typical of Candeia's deeply reflective work. All three songs are from Cartola's second self-titled album from 1976.

The photos were "mined" from the internet and I have no information on the photographers.

breaking the rules in Carnaval

2008-02-10T12:30:00.000-08:00

The samba school São Clemente was penalized a half point during the Carnaval pageant at the Sambódromo for Viviane Castro's tapa sexo ("sex cover") being too small... Apparently 4cm is just not enough for squeamish judges... (that's 1.57 inches for you non-metric folk). They had to measure to get the final ruling! The so-called "cover" was glued on with super bonder. Ouch.

By the way, I made the edits myself, lest anyone accuse me of blogging nudity... Exposed breasts are quite normal for Carnaval and were not a factor in the judges' decision. Only the southern part...

I think the picture is quite stunning and beautiful. You can view the unedited photo here and read the story (in Portuguese) here. Photo by Antônio Lacerda/EFE.

***

My friends, Katherine and Theresa, from DC also paraded in the pageant with the same samba school. They were adequately covered up, by the way...

one more from Mestre Candeia

2008-02-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

Since I'm in a Candeia mood, and following our partido alto theme, I wanted to add one more selection. This is a medley of classic songs featuring the repique de anél played by Doutor. The rhythm is also in classic partido alto format.

"Seleção de Partido Alto" from the album Samba de Roda (1975)

• Samba na tendinha (Candeia)
• Já clareou (Dewett Cardoso)
• Não tem veneno (Candeia-Wilson Moreira)
• Eskindôlelê (Candeia)
• Olha hora Maria (Folclore-Adpt. Candeia)

Candeia Part 2 - Partido Alto (1978?)

2008-02-09T18:00:00.005-08:00

The Leon Hirszman film Partido Alto in its entirety (22 minutes). Featuring Candeia, Paulinho da Viola, Wilson Moreira, Tantinho da Mangueira, Velha, Casquinha and all the cats from the Partido em 5 recordings, among others. It's an amazing documentary about partido alto, explained by none other than the legendary Candeia and his cohorts. Also includes some narration by Paulinho da Viola. It's wonderful to see these cats playing in their own backyard. Some nice dance steps in this one as well. Check out Wilson Moreira doing the "miudinho" and Tantinho da Mangueira doing the "amoladinho"!

The film was made just before Candeia's death in 1978, I believe. A film database lists the film as being released in 1982.

Partido Alto (1982? [1978])
directed by Leon Hirszman (1937-87)
Embrafilme

Mestre Candeia... Axé!

2008-02-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

I was just listening to some old recordings by Candeia, the legendary guerreiro (warrior) and tireless defender of traditional samba. I thought I should post more about this mythical figure. I have already posted several entries relating to Candeia. He was one of the original members of the Mensageiros do Samba along with Mestre Casquinha and you can catch up on that post here. I also posted something from Partido em 5 here which featured Candeia with the percussionist Doutor.

Candeia (Antônio Candeia Filho 1935-1978) was born into a family of sambistas. He was one of those cats that had a big voice, but sang in a way that was almost slightly out of tune, yet his compositions and melodies were amazing and his lyrics often heartbreakingly beautiful. The lyrics he wrote later in life (in the 1970s) reflected the painful reality of his paralysis and seemed to predict his impending death. In the 1960s, with the Mensageiros do Samba, mentioned above, he was still walking.

Candeia was a big man. He was a police officer, and a notoriously mean one at that. Something that caused some of his friends to distance themselves from him. He got caught in a shootout which severed his spinal cord, putting him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Legend has it that the shooting happened because of a curse put on him by a prostitute that he had slapped around. The very next day he was shot.

The album Axé! (1975) is considered by samba aficionados to be mandatory listening. Therefore if you want to go any further in this blog, you must listen!

"Dia de Graça" from the album Axé! (1975)

Hoje é manhã de carnaval (ao esplendor)
As escolas vão desfilar (garbosamente)
Aquela gente de cor com a imponência de um rei,
vai pisar na passarela (salve a Portela)
Vamos esquecer os desenganos (que passamos)
Viver alegria que sonhamos (durante o ano)
Damos o nosso coração, alegria e amor a todos sem distinção de cor
Mas depois da ilusão, coitado
Negro volta ao humilde barracão
Negro acorda é hora de acordar
Não negue a raça
Torne toda manhã dia de graça
Negro não humilhe nem se humilhe a ninguém
Todas as raças já foram escravas também
E deixa de ser rei só na folia e faça da sua Maria
uma rainha todos os dias
E cante o samba na universidade
E verás que seu filho será príncipe de verdade
Aí então jamais tu voltarás ao barracão

Axé!!!

partido alto 101

2008-02-08T15:15:00.000-08:00

This video clip, filmed just before Christmas last year, shows a group of young composers at Beco do Rato in Lapa. These cats are keeping alive the old tradition of improvisational samba duels, known as partido alto. Watching these guys play is like a live comedy skit, each of them poking fun at the other, or sometimes someone in attendance, always bringing in current events and popular culture into their “rap.”

The first singer in the white hat and striped shirt is Baiaco. The second guy João Martins (in black shirt) even brought me into the fold, improvising a verse and pointing at the "cameraman" telling me to document the tongue-lashing that he is about to give the guy in white (with the Santa hat). The Santa guy is known as "Bananada." I have heard that his nickname refers to the fact that he used to sell banana candies on the city buses when he was a kid. He would improvise verses while making his pitch to sell his candies. He's one of the most animated figures at this particular pagode. I hope to feature more biographical information about all these cats as my interviews yield more information.

I won't translate all that was said, but there was mention of Viagra, Santa (Papai Noel), bin Laden, George Bush and even Saddam Hussein...

The partido alto has been around for quite some time, which is why it is so amazing to see young guys dedicating to the art form. It is becoming increasingly rare to see people that can improvise like this.

Nei Lopes noted that the partido alto began in the early 20th century in the port district of Rio de Janeiro, where dockworkers would get together and sing, in dueling improvisations. These early rodas de samba would often end in games that resembled the Brazilian martial art capoeira, where participants would attempt to knock each other down with surprise leg sweeps. The population around Rio at this time was made up of migrants from all over the country, bringing various forms of music (and other forms of improvisation duels such as the northeastern embolada) that helped to format partido alto and samba as we know it today.

You can read a review that I wrote of Nei Lopes’ book Partido alto: Samba de bamba (Pallas, 2005) in Pacific Review of Ethnomusicology.

The basic format of the partido alto is to establish the refrain, which is then sung in chorus by all the participants in attendance. The recurring refrain is the main “theme” that is repeated several times before the group provides an aural “break” to allow the improvisers to enter. The improvisers, known as partideiros, will then take turns singing while maintaining the rhythmic swing and poetic structure of the song. After a few verses the group comes back in strong, singing the refrain, and later again bringing down the volume a bit for the improvisers to be heard for the next round.

The partideiros have to think quick, but they often use what Lopes calls “crutches” – standard verses that have been passed down through generations but somewhat modified in different contexts. These crutches that he mentions are short phrases or common sayings, that get reworked and rhymed with new improvisations. You can gauge their talent by their use of current events, or what is happening in the roda (circle) at that very moment (such as me holding a video camera).

what's with the name? (Part 2) - P.S.

2008-02-08T14:00:00.002-08:00

I also wanted to "tip my hat" to the legendary percussionist known only by Doutor (his real name escapes me at this time, but more on this in later posts).

The late Doutor was a composer and the inventor of the repique de anél, a double-headed hand drum that he introduced into samba in the 1970s. The repique de anél is played with the use of "rings" on one hand that taps on the shell of the drum while both hands play combinations of open and muffled tones on the skins.

Listen to the following track "Lá vai viola" from the 1975 album Partido em 5. Doutor enters with the repique immediately following the surdo intro. Notice how Mestre Candeia calls out "fala, doutor!" to the percussionist just before he begins playing:

"Lá vai viola" (Candeia)
from the album Partido em 5 (1975)

This album featured several samba luminaries such as Candeia, Wilson Moreira, Casquinha, Velha, Anézio, Joãozinho da Pecadora, Zeca da Cuíca. The repique de anél was used prominently in many samba recordings after the legendary Partido em 5 series. In the 1980s, with the explosion of the pagode generation a new series of percussion instruments became popularized and the repique de anél fell out of favor for a while. The instrument has appeared in the last few years again, as people are beginning to return to the older form of samba, prior to the pagode boom of the 1980s.

Here's another song featuring Doutor, with João Bosco (who I hope to interview soon!!! He's one of my favorite guitar players):

"Incompatibilidade de gênios" (João Bosco e Aldir Blanc)
from the album Galos de Briga (1976) by João Bosco

what's with the name?

2008-02-07T23:34:00.000-08:00

So I've gotten a few questions from 2 or 3 (of the half a dozen) people that read my blog asking about my nickname. So I thought I should explain myself.

The tile of the blog itself is also a play on my nickname. "Fala, doutor!" is like saying "What's up, Doc?" So, dotô is a wordplay on how doutor is pronounced. Thus, Beto Dotô, was sort of given to me by my dear friend Jean Pierre (a.k.a. Jotapê, as in J.P. in Portuguese!) when we were playing music together.

No, I'm not pretending to be a Dr. or precipitate my eventual Ph.D. (nor would I ever want anyone to call me with the Dr. title, even though Dr. Beto sounds kind of cool...). Brazilians, who just love titles and nicknames by the way, will often call people capitão, or doutor, etc. simply as a sign of respect. Doutor was used in years past to refer to people with university degrees, even if not necessarily a doctorate or a medical degree. A few friends sometimes say "fala, doutor!" when they see me, so I thought the whole darn thing was just peachy keen.

How you like that?

You'll probably notice throughout this blog that most musicians take on nicknames, usually attaching the name of the instrument that they are (or once were) associated with. As I have said before, though, you have to have some mad skills for people to start calling you with an instrument as a surname! Nicknames, on the other hand, are as common here as curse words... Even our President Lula goes by a nickname (actually one of his middle names but sounds like a nickname). The national soccer team (all soccer teams for that matter) all use nicknames or first names on their team uniforms, and even university professors go by their first name, rather than their last name... People will also often use tia (aunt), or mestre as a sign of respect for elders that have paved the way the younger generation of musicians.

Fat Tuesday... finally!

2008-02-05T06:59:00.000-08:00

Fat Tuesday. The supposed last day to get your rocks off. Frankly, I can hardly wait for it to be over. I know, most people have been surprised to hear me say that I didn't really like the experience of living in Rio during Carnaval. I didn't get to see the "big show" at the Sambódromo, where the incredible, world-famous pageant takes place, and the street groups (blocos) just leave me wanting to stay home...

Some people, especially my carioca friends, wonder why I haven't been participating in all the folia (folly? for lack of a better term...). I just can't really deal with the crowds, the excessive drinking, the incredibly loud mobile speaker systems, the wet muddy streets and sidewalks (mostly rain and beer, among other liquids)... This is where I differ from my brethren. I must admit that I'm amazed at the energy and liveliness of cariocas when it comes to celebrating Carnaval. They never seem to get tired or sick of it all. I suppose that's what Ash Wednesday is for... to sleep it all off.

The little video is just one minute of a bloco passing by my apartment window. There were many others all around the city. It's been quite a noisy place since Friday the 1st of February. It looks like fun, but after 3 days of this, right outside my apartment, and I'm sure you can understand my weariness...

all in the family, Velha Guarda da Portela

2008-01-28T15:10:00.001-08:00

Members of the "Old Guard" of Portela, one of the most revered samba schools in Rio. So many illustrious composers and artists have emerged from this school: Paulinho da Viola, Clara Nunes, João Nogueira, Candeia, to name a few...

The gentleman on the far left is Casquinha, partner to the late but immortal Candeia. Listen to Mestre Casquinha singing "Esta Melodia" with the Mensageiros do Samba da Portela from the 1966 album A Vez do Morro. The Mensageiros include not only Candeia and Casquinha, but also David do Pandeiro, Picolino, Casemiro, Arlindo, Jorge do Violão, Bubu:

"Esta melodia"(Bubu da Portela e Jamelão)
from the album A Vez do Morro (1966)

The lady with the thick-rimmed glasses and dark necklace is Tia Doca, host of the legendary pagode (see video clip) that has been happening since 1975. You can hear her singing a traditional folk song on the 1982 album O Canto dos Escravos:

"Canto X" (traditional folksong)
from the album O Canto dos Escravos (1982)
featuring Clementina de Jesus, Tia Doca & Geraldo Filme

The gentlman on the far right is Monarco. The other pastoras include Tia Surica, Tia Eunice and Áurea, daughter of late portelense Manacéia. (thank you, reader ranjan, for your comment and correction!)

Ipanema Beach, Dois Irmãos

2008-01-28T02:10:00.000-08:00

samba do trem

2008-01-28T02:00:00.000-08:00

December 2nd is Dia Nacional do Samba. Although it's supposed to be a "national" holiday, nowhere is it celebrated with such vigor as in Rio. The samba train (actually multiple trains) depart from Central Station and head to Oswaldo Cruz where another party awaits. Every single car in the train has its own samba jam going on simultaneously. The entire city, it seemed, had a samba happening on every corner.

The song is "Aquarela Brasileira" by Silas de Oliveira.

we start 'em young

2008-01-28T01:51:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist. I had to post this one. Also from the pagode at Tia Doca's place.

Song: "Alguém me avisou" by Dona Ivone Lara.

can you say cuíca (kuWEEkah) without a smile?

2008-01-27T23:52:00.000-08:00

This video was shot at Tia Doca's pagode in Madureira in November 2007. To get there I had to take a bus, subway and a train for about an hour and a half. Carlinhos da Cuíca is a legendary player, considered one of the best cuíca players in Rio. In Brazil you don't get to take on the instrument as a last name unless you got mad skills...

the one that got away... Camunguelo

2008-01-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

I would like to dedicate my first "official" post relating to my research to Cláudio Lopes dos Santos.

Camunguelo (as he was widely known among circles of aficionados, night owls, and bohemians of Rio's samba scene) passed away on December 24th of 2007.

I was quite sad to hear the news. I did not know him, but I remember seeing him at many sambas during the previous years that I had been doing research in Rio. I began to wonder, and even mentioned to some friends, that I had not seen him around since I arrived in Rio in September 2007. I had no idea that his health had taken such a turn. At the risk of sounding like a selfish researcher, I regret not trying to get an interview with him when I saw him last year. I put it off thinking that I would catch him on my next visit to Brazil...

Camunguelo was a towering figure that stood over 6 feet tall. He was never seen without his trademark white hat. He was an amazing self-taught flautist, as well as one of a dying breed of dueling samba improvisors, partideiros. His parents were some of the original inhabitants of the mythical "Little Africa" district in Praça Onze where urban samba was born among the parties hosted by the tias baianas (Bahian Aunts). He made his own plastic flutes when he was a kid and claimed that he could usually learn and play a song faster than someone who could read the music for it!

Camunguelo also wrote (along with then virtually unknown Zeca Pagodinho) one of my favorite sambas of all time. "Amarguras" is from the 1981 album, Samba é no Fundo de Quintal - Vol. 2 by Fundo de Quintal. In my personal opinion, one of the best samba albums of all time.

"Amarguras" (Camunguelo e Zeca Pagodinho)
from Samba é no Fundo de Quintal - Vol. 2 (1981) by Fundo de Quintal

Amarguras
De que vale a vida se eu não tenho a sorte
Se a alma é fraca pra que corpo forte
E pra que sorrir se não há esperança
De se ver surgir o dia da bonança
Do ferir da carne vê-se a cor do sangue
E sentir-se como um barco atolado em um mangue
A poeira pura a me sufocar
E ainda vem você pra me mandar calar
Chove chuva, traz o vento
Ressabiando a maré
Pra acabar com a dor do mundo
E dor de quem em Deus tem fé
E a chuva com o vento vem pra me fortalecer
E faz as amarguras esquecer

Bitterness*
What good is life if I don’t have luck?
If the soul is weak, why a strong body?
And why smile if there is no hope
Of seeing the dawn of serenity?
From the flesh wounds, see the color of blood
And feel like a shipwreck in a swamp
The pure dust to suffocate me
And then for you to tell me to shut up
Bring the rain, bring the wind
Deceive the tide
To end the pain of the world
And the pain of who has faith in God
And the rain with the wind come to strengthen me
And make me forget the bitterness

*The exact translation of amarguras would be "bitter things" meaning bad memories or tribulations. Poetic license for the translator, please.

Photo by Paulo Eduardo Neves (2001) was "borrowed" from the Agenda do Samba e Choro. Obrigado Paulo, espero que você não se importe!

new year, new blog!

2008-01-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

So, I can almost say that this is one of my new year's resolutions. I love them. Even when I don't stick with them. I hope this one works. This is the best way for me to share my thoughts with myself, and the occasional web spy or friend.

I am going to dedicate this blog to my time in Brazil while doing my research. I hope to get more motivated to get my notes, thoughts, ideas, photos, videos, scraps, compositions, complaints, etc. (not that I actually have all those things...) into a somewhat orderly fashion.

The point is to write... and write...

Please feel free to comment, criticize, insult, praise, or otherwise adulate me.