We left off last time on Monday right before dance class with Taty, and since it was a free class, a lot more people showed up than usual. This means it was funnier than usual because there were more people who had never showed up before and had even less of an idea of what they were doing than I. Another great workout, leading me to the conclusion that I just might have to seek out samba-reggae dance classes when I get back to the States. Any recommendations would thus be highly appreciated.
At night, a bunch of us had made plans to go to this show, called Cortejo Afro, which takes place every Monday in Pelourinho. I met up with Sheberon (Sweden) to go to Pelourinho beforehand to get dinner. We hung around there for awhile and ended up getting to the show early. It ended up being a whole group of people, students and teachers alike...but it is important to note that when the school day is over, no one is a student and no one is a teacher... and when the shows begin, the spectators become the spectacle and everyone is one and the same. Cortejo Afro´s style of music is basically percussion, and it´s best to get there early to stake out a good spot on the dance floor. We got there during the 8 o´clock hour and didn´t leave until well after 1. One random part of the evening occurred when my teacher (oh right, she´s not my teacher here...when my cool friend Tatiana) pulled me toward this one guy, and yelled (since talking wasn´t an option) if I wanted to meet Eagle Eye Cherry, a band whose CD I bought when I was in middle school (only because I knew one song of theirs, clearly). I couldn´t hear what she was saying and it was three seconds or so before we got there that I realized what she had said. So we get to where he was standing (he, like us, was just there to dance -- not to perform), and I ended up getting a picture with him. Apparently, the band is Swedish, so Sheberon (Sweden) was especially interested that they were there and talked to one of the band members in Swedish. It turns out that they had played a show in Rio, played one night at Festival de Verão last week, etc., and were still in town. It was an interesting run-in, but the highlight of the night was definitely the Cortejo Afro event itself. The following day in class, since Arina (Romania), Tatiana (Brazil -- teacher), and I had all been at the show (Sabina (Switzerland) had had to go out of town for the day, so she couldn´t go), class progressed at a slower pace since everyone was so tired.
Tuesday after class, I was supposed to have my first drum lesson in Pelourinho. I decided that, although the tambourine is cool, I really want to learn the drums..so I called the percussion school to set up a lesson, and I set it up for Tuesday with the teacher I was originally supposed to have, figuring that after my first lesson I would decide whether I would continue with the tambourine or with the drums. I showed up at the agreed-upon time, only to be told that I was not going to have a lesson because the guy couldn´t come...and then it turned out that right now they are not giving drum lessons at all since they are preparing for Carnaval. The guy then told me that they didn´t have my number to call me and let me know (which was a lie, since I watched this girl write it down in their planbook last week when we scheduled another tambourine lesson, which I ended up having to cancel). So, you see -- sometimes the Brazilian way is, indeed, frustrating. But don´t worry -- things turned around...
There is this main praça (plaza) in Pelourinho called Terreiro de Jesus that, whenever any of us meet in Pelourinho, we always meet by this praça. But, instead of calling it Terreiro de Jesus, a lot of times we refer to it as ´´the place where those capoeiristas´´ are. If we said that to just anyone, we would never meet up, because there are people doing capoeira *everywhere*, but these capoeiristas are just that good that it has become one of our collective personal landmarks. Also, there are always crowds of people that gather around to watch....and I am always one of those people....so anyway, since I didn´t know what to do after my non-lesson, I passed through that praça (which I would have to pass through to go to most places anyway), just as the capoeiristas were setting up. I was standing there watching from several yards away, and they called me over to do capoeira with them. Knowing how ´´well´´ I fare at capoeira, I told them I don´t do capoeira but I want to learn percussion. They indicated that I could play the tambourine. I said, well, it´s not that I want to learn -- it´s the drums. They said, ok, they´d teach me. So, I proceeded to spend the next three hours in the praça there with them, sometimes playing the drums, sometimes watching the drums be played (by people who could actually play), but they did manage to teach me a few of the basics. After they wrapped up their capoeira for the day, I think I may have actually secured drum lessons from one or two of them. Since I go by Terreiro de Jesus all the time, I´ll probably go back and see if they´ll teach me some more. (Actually, today in school, one girl told me she was in Pelourinho yesterday and passed by and saw me playing the drums!)...Another completely random encounter I had while I was at capoeira yesterday was that while I was watching, I met this girl from Argentina. In the course of our conversation, I found out that she is from Ushuaia, one of the places on my itinerary. Looks like I now know a total of *one* person there! And she´s already told me she´d show me around. Hooray for capoeira!
And now it´s Wednesday again, though it´s not necessary to introduce the concept of Hump Day (the idea that once you get over the hump (Wednesday), you coast to the weekend), since here every night could be a weekday or a weeknight and it just doesn´t matter.
On that note, it´s time to brush up on my samba-reggae, since Carnaval does start at the end of next week. So I hope all of you are putting on your dancing shoes and are getting ready to celebrate!
missy :)
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