Letters

Carnaval
Notes

I enjoyed Bernadete Beserra's article on Carnaval (Brazzil, February 1999) and since I am working on a thesis about Olodum— including aspects related to race, Carnaval etc—I have some comments. By the way, living in Norway is rather boring for somebody who likes Brazil like myself, being a Soteropolitana (a resident of Salvador, Bahia) in my heart. Here there is no Carnaval, no samba schools and almost no interest in Brazilian culture. Gilberto Gil and Caetano are nobodies here.

Well, commenting. Bernadete writes: "The Carnaval of Olinda, Pernambuco, for instance, is considered the most democratic (or socialist?) Carnaval in the country." I might be partial, but I have heard that being expressed about the Baiano Carnaval.

She writes: "Because of being very well attended by people from all social classes, it has become the favorite Carnaval among Brazilian progressive politicians, intellectuals and artists." Again I might be partial, but Salvador is definitely a place where EVERYBODY goes and meets. If people decide themselves between different Carnavals may be the case, though. But ALL artists are in Bahia during Carnaval.

She writes: "As well known as Olinda's, the Carnaval of Salvador, Bahia, is a clear expression of the hegemony of African culture over European. There, the percussion instruments predominate over others in the musical bands. Different African groups have different blocos and members of each bloco are distinguished by their diverse fantasias (costumes). The music varies from one tradition to another." That is how the tourist industry tries to sell the Bahian Carnaval, but the truth is that the blocos de trio run by white organizations are totally dominant. Their music is definitely inspired by the blocos afro (Daniela, Netinho, Chiclete...), but what really gets attention is the blocos de trio and the gente bonita (which means white people, blacks are called gente animada).

She writes: "About 30 years ago, the incorporation of the electric guitar in the Bahia Carnaval produced a revolution in the way of "playing" Carnaval in the whole Northeast." The trio elétrico was created in 1949! The electric guitar came later. You can read the history in O País do Carnaval Elétrico by Fred Goes, Corrupio, São Paulo, 1982.

She writes: "Unlike the samba-school parade, everyone can follow the trio-elétrico and there are no tickets to buy, unless one wants to be inside the rope." And that is a huuuuuuuuge difference, which corresponds to upper and lower class (povão). Inside the rope you are quite safe—the more you pay the safer and the more space—being on the outside you risk assaults, pickpockets and sexual harassment, and there is NO space.

She writes: "They have made Carnaval a yearlong event that happens practically every month in different capitals or big cities of the region." Yes, but no—because as you mention, Carnaval fora da época are not Carnaval but micaretas, that is copying what goes on in Salvador during real Carnaval.

She writes: "I believe that two major factors contributed to the spread of Brazilian Carnaval worldwide: the international commercialization of TV programs and Brazilian emigration." What about tourism?

She quotes: "The idea that I see in Brazilian Carnaval is moving beyond racial and ethnic segregation to celebrate the body." Sorry, Carnaval is about celebrating the body of the mulata, and that is a key issue when one starts to study the racism and racial segregation in Brazil. The mulata is a `whitewashed' African performing Afro-Brazilian culture, which has been appropriated to be `national'. That is taking away the real meaning of black culture, which is racial struggle.

Brazilian culture is not one—although the national projects try to make it one unified entity—Brazilian culture is diverse, multiple, synchronic, separated and plural, which does not imply anti-national projects. Both Michael George Hanchard and Barbara Browning (and others) write brilliantly about this.

I hope my views could be of some use, and good luck to Bernadete and her work!

Ellen Stokland
Norway

Invitation
to Samba

The article by Bernadete Beserra, "Move Your Body" (Brazzil, February 1999), was an enjoyment of memories, after three carnavais in Rio's Sambódromo, one in Salvador, and three in San Francisco, including 1999. As a nutrient in the expression of life, having more carnavais more times in the year and in more places on earth, Carnaval Brasileiro just might allow the momentary craziness of Carnaval to bring more sanity to society.

To the Carnaval producers, you may well serve the world better by more. May we invite you to come to the truly beautiful and tropical Garden Island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands and create another Carnaval for the world to enjoy. Our warm, lush, and green island, fresh streams, and cobalt sea, shares the same latitude North 22 degrees as Rio's South 22 degrees. Our flora and littoral are as spectacular as Rio's in a different hemispheric way. The Old Town of Kapa'a would make a perfect Rio Sambódromo for Bahiano trios elétricos. If you like, you can use me as a contact and resource to stage this great life event. Many Brazilians already have saudade for Kauai.

Kauai is close enough to the U.S. west coast cities to allow thousands of Brasileiros/as to visit and easily feel at home and enjoy Carnaval with the people of Kauai and those Brazilians already living here. With our many worldwide visitors Carnaval would reach more people on earth. If you have never been to Kauai you can see this Ilha Tropical on some Web pages. One page with many pictures—just skip the dialogue and click on the links at the bottom of the opening page—is www.kauai-blue-lagoon.com

Kauai is ready to Carnaval. I can see it now:

CARNAVAL TROPICAL KAUAI 2000

Muito obrigado.

Jay M. Trennoche
E-mail: nvb@hawaiian.net
Kauai, Hawaii

Nuts for a
Brazilian

As an American with interest in Brazil, I look forward to John Miller's stories in Brazzil monthly. Anyway, I'm enjoying his exploits. Being a fellow salesperson (I am in drugs, myself—the prescription kind), I am quite impressed at the audacity of attempting to sell in another country, in another language! I know people here in the wine/liquor industry and it's pretty difficult. The impression it is rather glamorous, but it's very competitive and the big companies spend a lot to get the business.

As far as the language thing, a positive attitude is a must! I've been having such fun learning Portuguese... but was miserable trying to learn Dutch. John Miller's got what everyone else pays for... a total immersion class seven days a week. I was even thinking of taking one of those in Bahia for a week or two.

My story is perhaps just another crazy one, but he has become one of a very select group: people I know of in Brazil who speak English! I'm from the US, California specifically. I'm planning to travel to Brazil, first to São Paulo, and then to Rio and then Salvador. His article on São Paulo was very timely for me, just intimidating me enough to realize that I might need a little guidance when there!

That's because I'm going to Brazil first and foremost for the main reason people do crazy things: love. I was seeing a guy from Brazil last year and in December we made plans for me to come there and visit, and then I never heard from him again! So I plan to find him and find out what's up. Yes, I know... there are many reasons for that kind of behavior and most don't bode well for me, but hey, I get to do my "one crazy thing" in life. I've got a couple of contacts in São Paulo helping.

Apart from that scheme, I intend to enjoy the country (since I' ve now taken months of Portuguese, I can now say important things like "Eu quero uma caipirinha"). I have NO ideas about Rio... other than the Cobacabana Palace, but that would really break the budget. I know John is not the local travel service, but I'd be glad to buy him and Marta a drink or dinner in Rio in thanks for any help or contacts he can provide. Am I nuts to be going by myself? And he thought he was running out of material. How about crazy American women who have fallen in love with an entire country sight unseen coming to Brazil to find one man in a city of 18,000,000! Come to think of it, I might want to write this one up myself!

Louise
California
Via Internet

Sorry,
No Openings

I am an American singer who specializes in bossa nova and samba. I lived in Brazil for six months and speak fluent Portuguese. I would like to know if your newspaper is hiring in any area. I graduated from Brown University and majored in Modern Latin American history. Any information you can bestow would be greatly appreciated.

Vanessa Pinard
Jamaica, New York

Love &
Bureaucracy

Two things: my girlfriend lives in São Paulo and would like to move here. Is there any way to ease the red tape in getting her here? What is Wilson Velloso's new telephone or e-mail address as Washington Correspondent? Does he need any help out here (jobs)?

Kevin Payne
Silver Spring, Maryland

Fun
Tapes

Can someone please tell me where I can order a Carnaval '99 videotape? I used to get mine as a "Brazil Update Weekly", but the little San Francisco shop where I used to order it is no longer open. I used to pay about $20 for it and am looking for a fast, dependable place in the U.S. where I can order this. Also it'd be great to find a good place to get music videos of my favorite sambistas, etc. I don't know if my favorite artists have even "made" any because it is so rare to see anything like this advertised or on sale in stores in the U.S.. My e-mail is toninho@earthlink.net and my address is 945 Pine #17, San Francisco, CA 94108-2937 if anyone wants to send me info or a catalog.

Toninho
San Francisco, California

A Priest's
Good Looks

I read today's cover article of the Pittsburgh, PA (USA) Post Gazette, "A Priest With Mass Appeal—Talented, charismatic `hunk' revitalizing Catholic church attendance in Brazil," with great interest. I am a single Catholic man who is a very young 40 who grew up in and with the Charismatic renewal in the U.S. and I pray for all of Brazil and in particular Fr. Rossi. At times I thought I was called to be such a priest, but with prayer and contemplation found that that particular call was not there. I do however want to evangelize a great deal more!

Please pray for me. Also, with Fr. Rossi's great looks, I pray that he remains a man of great prayer since the flesh is so difficult at a young age especially when you have very good looks. All of Brazil should pray for him because the devil never rests. All of my prayers go out to Brazil, its people, priests and especially Fr. Rossi.

David Sarkus
Pittsburgh, Pensylvannia

Mystery
Island

I have visited your wonderfully fun Website. I am searching, without results, for any information about an island near Salvador, Bahia, called Montecristo. If you could send me any online info, I would appreciate. (Your Brazil search engine found nothing). You may be very interested in the events to take place there in a few days, where people all over the world have been invited from the following Website: http://www.globaladministration.com, when this island will become a separate country. Is this possible? Curiously yours,

George Deforest gd4s@peconic.net
Long Island, New York

Mexican
Greetings

My wife is Brazilian, born in Minas Gerais, and living currently in Mexico City. I wish your magazine were written in Portuguese. Anyway I do enjoy it since yesterday, when I found it. I love the music, which I am familiar with, since 1964. I wonder if subscriptions are not too expensive. Please let me know through my e-mail.

Gilberto Gomez
Mexico City, Mexico

Next,
the Book

Thanks again to Bruce Gilman for another in-depth look at one of the greats of contemporary Brazilian music—Joyce. Besides her musical talents, she is exceptional for her command of both Portuguese and English. The Internet resources provided have already been useful in downloading her new column in O Dia. Please let me know if there is a way to obtain copies of Joyce's Os Cantos do Rio TV series. Next, Bruce needs to publish a compilation of his interviews.

Fred Dobb, Ph.D.
California Department of Education
Sacramento, California

Americans
in Brazil

My husband and I are in Rio de Janeiro, presently, and will remain here until June/July. In preparation for our journey here we employed your magazine and Website as reference tools. In an effort to give something back to your organization we offer our services in whatever way we can be useful during our stay here (i.e. current events, photos, magazine articles, event summaries). Please feel free to contact either of us by email. My husband, Aaron, is working as a visiting researcher in Chemical Engineering, and I am learning Portuguese and exploring the state.

Again, please feel free to use us as a link or resource if you so choose. Thank you for providing an excellent preparatory text for folks like us!

Stephanie Scurto
Rio, Brazil
sascurto@hotmail.com

That's
In-depth

My god! What a thorough job. I don't see such in-depth analysis anywhere—not in print, not online—you must have breathed a huge sigh of relief when you finished.

Marcos Sacramento must have freaked to discover that he had a fan so well prepared to interview him.

Luis Moreno
McAllen, Texas

Buying
Sacramento

I really enjoyed reading Daniella Thompson's article so much that I may look for some of these composers/performers in the shops.

Janice Gendreau
San Francisco, California

Thanks for
Directions

I read Daniella Thompson's interview in Brazzil. I haven't heard the Marcos Sacramento CD that you were reviewing, but it sounds great and will try to find it, I have him on that original Cão Sem Dono album. Thanks for pointing us in the right direction.

Dave
Seattle, Washington

Brazil
Biz

I am a student at an American university and am in desperate need of research concerning Brazil and its investment climate towards direct foreign investment. This includes, but is not limited to, foreigners' property rights, any tariffs associated with doing business with Brazil, the transportation system (railroads, shipping, trucking, etc.) and finally the laws to regulate foreign investment. Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

William Roggenbrodt
Via Internet

Friend
Re-encountered

Reading your site I found an article written by Nália Vilage on an old friend. His name is Elton Eloin Rocha Araújo and the last thing I heard about him was that he was studying film in the U.S.. I would like to know if it is possible to contact him, since we've lost contact a long time ago.

Eduardo Luís Daré
Brazil—Via Internet
eld@pocos-net.com.br

Search
with Tooth

I am an MBA student at East Carolina University and have been assigned an international marketing project. The project involves developing a marketing strategy for exporting dental care products to Brazil. The Internet has been helpful in providing general information such as Brazil's culture, population, demographics, economy... However, specific searches such as "Brazil and dental" usually gives results for Brazilian sites written in Portuguese. This is a problem for me in that I cannot read Portuguese.

I have come across your site several times and was wondering if you could help me in any way. Any information or resources on the subject of dental care in Brazil will be most helpful.

Jeff Carstarphen
Greenville, North Carolina.

Kudos
for Bossa

I saw Kirsten Weinoldt's wonderful Bossa Nova cover story in the December 1998 issue of Brazzil. Really magnificent work. Congratulations!

Ida Montez
Brazil

Brazil
Research

I'm doing some research on Brazil, so send me some basic info on population, surface, politics, local and foreign economics, social conditions, everything that could make me understand Brazil.

Nagla Naguib
E-mail: nagnaguib@hotmail.com
Faculty of Economics, Cairo University
Cairo, Egypt

Brazil
Fair

I'm a student at Dana Hills High School, in Dana Point, California. Here at Dana, we host a yearly event called Culture Fair, in which students from diverse backgrounds get together to represent a country of their choice or of their cultural background. This is my second year doing this project.

I've chosen Brazil. Representing my school, our activities and desire to bring our community together, I'm asking for a donation of any sort.

Patricia Mota
Dana Point, California

Doubts and
Questions

Recentememte li os artigos publicados em sua revista sobre os problemas que ocorreram entre a empresa The Body Shop e os índios Kayapós. No entanto fiquei com uma dúvida sobre uma informação presente nos dois artigos.

O Sr. Saulo Petean afirma que na campanha da American Express, Anitta Roddick aparece ao lado do cacique Pykati-re pela qual recebeu $600.000. No artigo do Sr. Jon Entine ele afirma que a campanha com a American Express foi feita com índios mexicanos.

Gostaria de maiores esclarecimentos sobre isso e por que não foi informado o endereço do e-mail e nenhuma outra informação do Sr. Blair Palese, no final de seu artigo de resposta.

Vander
E-mail: dossan@orion.ufrgs.br
Brazil, Via Internet

Brazilian
Women

Eu estava à procura de uma página que falasse do papel da mulher no mundo moderno e me interessei por um texto que se encontra em sua revista online, mas como não sei inglês não me foi possível traduzir. Então caso vocês tenham, por favor me enviem o texto em Português. O mesmo seria usado em um trabalho escolar.

Thiago Martins Rodrigues
E-mail: thiagom@triang.com.br
Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Better
Only
There

Please renew my subscription. Having lived in Brazil for three years and having family there, your magazine is wonderful, the next best thing to being there! Add one more name to your list. Now, all the people I know with a Brazilian connection have subscriptions.

Ken Loveall
Vancouver, Washington

Best-spent
$3

Please find enclosed payment for the next 12 months of Brazzil—it's the best $3 I spend all year. Considering the number of friends your magazine garners for Brazil, the Brazilian government or tourist office ought to pay you to publish it. Keep up the great work!

Gary McCall
San Diego, California

Portable
Brazzil

Enclosed find a check for $9 to begin my three year subscription to Brazzil Magazine. I enjoy all the articles each month and while the online edition has the same information, I find it more convenient to carry the paper version in my briefcase to read when I find extra minutes during the day.

Keep up the good work.

Richard A. Ames
Gerome, Idaho

Spreading
the Riches

I have read your magazine for over four years. Now I am doing my own work to make more people aware of how much Brazilian culture has to offer. Please feel free to use any articles from the As Folhas newsletter in your magazine. Right now the circulation is focused in Southern California, but I have many national and international subscribers as well.

Sarah Bella
San Diego, California

Call from
New Zealand

I have recently learnt about your publication Brazzil. As for as I know it's not available in this country. Therefore I would like you to mail me information one subscription or just buying the odd copy.

C, W. Carroll
Avondale, New Zealand

A Case of
Culture

Poucos jornalistas aqui podem dizer o que Daniella Thompson diz porque falta cultura musical. Por exemplo: poucos conhecem Orlando Silva e sua obra!... e outras coisas mais. Daniella "sacou" o espírito de Sacramento!

Rita Peixoto
Rio de Janeiro

Interest and
Competence

Adoramos o artigo sobre Marcos Sacramento! Realmente está muito bom, bem ordenado, e agradável de ser lido. Nota-se pelo artigo que você teve o cuidado de colher informações sobre a cidade do Rio de Janeiro para ilustrar a matéria. O seu interesse e competência para tratar o tema "música brasileira" transparece no texto.

Dil Fonseca
Rio de Janeiro

Wishful
Thinking

Daniella Thompson, você fez um ótimo trabalho, profundo na abordagem e riquíssimo de informações. Se tivéssemos no Brasil uma imprensa musical que realizasse um trabalho com o nível de atenção, respeito, precisão e riqueza de informações que você está realizando, com certeza o cenário seria outro.

Antonio Saraiva
Rio de Janeiro

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