sexta-feira, 23 de fevereiro de 2007
segunda-feira, 19 de fevereiro de 2007
Tell you what you’ve got to love Carnival..! Tom & I went to the AfroReggae bloco on Sunday –they’re the guys I’m setting up the radio station for. Their bloco was bigger than yesterdays and ran along Ipanema beach. They played some wicked beats – samba, hip hop & dub and we partied all afternoon and into the night. We walked from Ipanema back home – it took about 3 hours through all the people, stopping off for Tequila and Caipirinha along the way, and the sites and smells of that journey were amazing! Cooking corn on the cob, beef, chicken; street vendors selling all kinds of things – food, drink, art, jewellery; car sound systems pumping out baile funk… Hey these guys will make a system out of anything, even an ice cream cart or a bin, yes a bin!! People were dancing in the street, chilling on the beach and eating in the restaurants. I even saw a girl walking through the crowd, getting a look from a hot guy, stopping for a snog and then walking on – like I say you gotta love Carnival!!
So on Saturday I went to my first bloco - bloco's are basically street parties... they are incredibly organised though and the performers practice for months before Carnival. I was lucky enough to hook up with Joanna, Bel's sister, who plays the drums for Bateria; one of the groups holding a bloco. We met up in Botafogo, the area around which the bloco parades, around 2pm for Choppe (the draught beer here) and some of the best BBQ'd meat i've ever tasted (again)... (maybe it tasted even sweeter this time because it was all free!)... Hanging around backstage at the bloco, there were only 20 people or so. Within a few hours though there were thousands and thousands! Loads of people in fancy dress, bright colours abounded, confetti & streamers were being thrown in the air and everyone was getting into the party spirit. We followed the van and the troupe of drummers around the street and the sounds were just amazing. Bateria played a mixture of traditional samba music and electro beats and it was just incredible to be a part of it. I felt really safe throughout, didn’t see any trouble and made some great friends (for the day – Brazilian style!)… We left around 8pm and it was still going on! After a quick change at the apartment we opted for a lovely fish supper with some Columbians we met waiting for a table, and Deep Dish at the Jockey Club with some 3-4000 people. I used the old Izzy blagging magic to get Tom & I in for free – you’ve gotta love the BBC Id sometimes!
sábado, 17 de fevereiro de 2007
Had my first experience of Carnival last night and boy was it good... Headed up to Santa Teresa, a very bouji district of Rio - all the artists live there, it's very bohemian and beautiful being at the top of a hill with lovely gated houses and cobbled streets. We started with an informal street party playing Baile Funk - think DJ & speakers by the side of the road, lots of crazy dancing, drink stalls, bbq'd meat and whistles. Stopped off for a really tasty dinner at a relatively upmarket and atmospheric restaurant on the edge of the hill - we ate steak overlooking the backgardens of some of the houses on the hill to a chorus of dog barks! Then we walked down to Lapa and just turned the corner into a massive bloco - loads and loads of people, drumming, dancing, drinking, vibing... after a Caipirinha we moved into the central square of Lapa and took an hour or so out sitting on the grass and talking to some beautiful Favela girls - real ghetto but real lovely - I ended up giving one of them my lip gloss and she was so so happy! Walked through the crowd and stumbled across an amazing drummer with full set. Finished the night at Circo Voador where Gringo had sorted out guest list (so glad otherwise we would have paid $R140 each!) and boogied to a bit of Baile Funk and Drum n Bass - loving the MCing in Portuguese by the way.
The last few days I have mostly learnt the words:
Pipa - Kite (number one national sport of the favelas, loads of different coloured kites constantly circle the favela which looks beautiful)
Espelho - Mirror (what the lovely Favela girl wanted to see her lip gloss)
Fiesta - Party (as in Carnival!)
The last few days I have mostly learnt the words:
Pipa - Kite (number one national sport of the favelas, loads of different coloured kites constantly circle the favela which looks beautiful)
Espelho - Mirror (what the lovely Favela girl wanted to see her lip gloss)
Fiesta - Party (as in Carnival!)
sexta-feira, 16 de fevereiro de 2007
Had a great morning today visiting the centre where AfroReggae Digital will live... it's at the edge of Parada de Lucas favela - a favela to the north of Rio... it's a very different favela to Rochina and Favelinha... the Favelas in Rio get so much negative press and are always lumped together but each has it's own character and flavour - if Rochina is the LA of the Favelas, then Parada de Lucas is the Amsterdam! Right next to the centre is a long river running between the houses with bridges all along, Ok it smells a bit bad but it's incredibly atmospheric all the same.
This afternoon I met up with Tom who's over for 10 days or so... we had a great lunch - red snapper and chilli and then walked along the beach (for hours). Stopped off for a green cocoanut and a Caipirinha... Tom dipped his hair in the sea - I laughed - most people dip their toes, Tom dips his hair, although it is all the rage at Toni & Guy apparently...
Carnival starts today! Olay!
XX
This afternoon I met up with Tom who's over for 10 days or so... we had a great lunch - red snapper and chilli and then walked along the beach (for hours). Stopped off for a green cocoanut and a Caipirinha... Tom dipped his hair in the sea - I laughed - most people dip their toes, Tom dips his hair, although it is all the rage at Toni & Guy apparently...
Carnival starts today! Olay!
XX
quinta-feira, 15 de fevereiro de 2007
I've had one of the most exciting, interesting and eye opening days of my life today. I've been to the heart of South America's biggest favela - Rochina, as well as one of Rio's smallest - Favelihna. MC Gringo picked me up from my place and we caught a bus to Rochina. MC Gringo is a leading Baile Funk MC here in Rio and someone who's been sending me tunes for a while now. Baile Funk is a kind of underground music originating from Rio's favelas with big bad bass lines and real MCing - I could draw a lot of comparisons with the Grime scene in London.
Entering Rochina I was immediately struck by how busy it was - people were everywhere but I guess that's to be expected in a community of 400,000... It was also really vibrant, lively and colourful. We walked around a bit and then went to the house of Amendoin, community worker and local celebrity. His wife bought us drinks and we chatted on his veranda for a while - the scenery was stunning (check the pictures above) and the family so warm and generous. Then we hooked up with MC Galo and MC Som - two more Baile Funk MCs. Galo is the godfather of Baile Funk MCing and was one of, if not the first MC to rhyme over Baile Funk beats. We caught another bus to Favelinha favela and after a walk through narrow winding lanes and steep steep steps entered the studio of Radio Favelinha. When I say studio what I actually mean is someone's kitchen with a PC in the sink, an amp on the cooker and a mic connected. Everyone I met there was so hospitable and obviously very talented. Galo & Gringo jammed and then we were joined by an Austrian radio presenter who'd come to pre-record an interview with the two stars. We spent a few hours on-air, off-air, vibing, dancing and laughing (again check the pictures above).
After the show we all headed down to the local restaurant where we ate freshly barbequed meat, rice and salad as the sun set. Even the small Favelinha was bustling with life and the smell of fresh food combined with the sweet smell of newly washed clothes was comforting and encompassing. We walked back to the foot of Rochina (it's on a massive hill) and took a Moto taxi - i.e motorbike - up into another part of Rochina... Moto-taxi's are how the locals get around, Rochina being huge and very hilly to climb. We said our goodbyes to Galo, Som and then Natalie (the Austrian radio presenter) and Gringo & I stepped into the studios of Radio Gavea. Slightly more high tec than Radio Favelinha, Gavea is one of the most popular FM stations in Rio. Alex, the presenter, was again really friendly and considerate (and might have taken a bit of a shine to me!). At 9pm he started his show with (to my surprise) Gringo and myself as the guests! Had a great time talking about AfroReggae Digital on Gavea as well as dancing to Gringo's freestyle.
By this time it was getting late, so Gringo and I caught the bus from outside the studio back to Copacabana. Having time to reflect on my day and seeing yet more of Rochina through the bus window I couldn't help but think how amazing these people of the favela were. They obviously haven't had a great start in life and yet have done their uptmost to make the best of it. Rochina really is like a city in itself - there's churches, internet centres, shops and bars and the energy surrounding it is incredible. I feel only privileged and humbled that they've allowed me into their homes with such warmth and hospitality.
Entering Rochina I was immediately struck by how busy it was - people were everywhere but I guess that's to be expected in a community of 400,000... It was also really vibrant, lively and colourful. We walked around a bit and then went to the house of Amendoin, community worker and local celebrity. His wife bought us drinks and we chatted on his veranda for a while - the scenery was stunning (check the pictures above) and the family so warm and generous. Then we hooked up with MC Galo and MC Som - two more Baile Funk MCs. Galo is the godfather of Baile Funk MCing and was one of, if not the first MC to rhyme over Baile Funk beats. We caught another bus to Favelinha favela and after a walk through narrow winding lanes and steep steep steps entered the studio of Radio Favelinha. When I say studio what I actually mean is someone's kitchen with a PC in the sink, an amp on the cooker and a mic connected. Everyone I met there was so hospitable and obviously very talented. Galo & Gringo jammed and then we were joined by an Austrian radio presenter who'd come to pre-record an interview with the two stars. We spent a few hours on-air, off-air, vibing, dancing and laughing (again check the pictures above).
After the show we all headed down to the local restaurant where we ate freshly barbequed meat, rice and salad as the sun set. Even the small Favelinha was bustling with life and the smell of fresh food combined with the sweet smell of newly washed clothes was comforting and encompassing. We walked back to the foot of Rochina (it's on a massive hill) and took a Moto taxi - i.e motorbike - up into another part of Rochina... Moto-taxi's are how the locals get around, Rochina being huge and very hilly to climb. We said our goodbyes to Galo, Som and then Natalie (the Austrian radio presenter) and Gringo & I stepped into the studios of Radio Gavea. Slightly more high tec than Radio Favelinha, Gavea is one of the most popular FM stations in Rio. Alex, the presenter, was again really friendly and considerate (and might have taken a bit of a shine to me!). At 9pm he started his show with (to my surprise) Gringo and myself as the guests! Had a great time talking about AfroReggae Digital on Gavea as well as dancing to Gringo's freestyle.
By this time it was getting late, so Gringo and I caught the bus from outside the studio back to Copacabana. Having time to reflect on my day and seeing yet more of Rochina through the bus window I couldn't help but think how amazing these people of the favela were. They obviously haven't had a great start in life and yet have done their uptmost to make the best of it. Rochina really is like a city in itself - there's churches, internet centres, shops and bars and the energy surrounding it is incredible. I feel only privileged and humbled that they've allowed me into their homes with such warmth and hospitality.
In the evening I hooked up with Bel - Culture Editor of O Globo (practically the biggest newspaper in Brazil)... She's a really good friend of the other most beautiful Bel who manages all the music programming at Gunabara in Covent Garden; Favela Feva being how I met her of course... We had a few choppe and some Pastel (cheesy pastry things) along with a Rio Drum n Bass DJ at Hippodromo - a very cool Carioca bar downtown... Did you know there's no closing time for bars in Brazil? The deal here is that the place closes when the last people want to leave. However (according to my guides) in Sao Paulo where they'd leave you chilling, in Rio if you're the last people in the bar and the staff want to go home, they start clearing up around you, so instead of the British "last orders, get your coats and leave" line you get mucky bucket water sloshed on your feet! To be fair though it was about 3am... Popped into Bel's place (very nice) for one for the road and then she dropped me home... Have to say these guys were some of the loveliest people I've met inRio, indeed anywhere and I hope/think this is the start of a beautiful friendship!
So lunch with Simon Fuller was incredible... it wasn't The Simon Fuller as in the Spice Girls manager, oh no this Simon Fuller was much cooler, sweeter & more intelligent! He's worked for EMI, manages massive Brazilian band Los Hermanos, promotes tours (think Artic Monkeys / Robbie Williams) - you get the picture... He took me to a famous Rio restaurant which was certainly deluxe - I ate Octopus, Lobster, Sea & Sweet water prawns (the biggest prawns I have ever seen), more seafood in a sea urchin, salad, fresh mango and chocolate truffles, all washed down with Caipirinha, water & coffee - nice... The bathroom had beautifully coloured stones on the floor and the taps were gold fish! We chatted business for over 2 hours and it looks like he can put me in touch with some good contacts and maybe even secure some sponsorship for the station - horay!
Spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening on the computer, which I seem to be doing a lot of! I had planned to use this first week in Rio as a semi-holiday, acclimatising to the weather, food, culture and language... After a busy few months with the Favela Feva event, and having taken 4 weeks annual leave to come here I thought I could fit in a bit of time at the beach initially... but oh no not me (when will I ever stop?!)... I am go go go, linking with contacts, spending hours a day on email, planning the radio workshops, sourcing equipment etc etc... check the picture above - it's me hard at work!
Spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening on the computer, which I seem to be doing a lot of! I had planned to use this first week in Rio as a semi-holiday, acclimatising to the weather, food, culture and language... After a busy few months with the Favela Feva event, and having taken 4 weeks annual leave to come here I thought I could fit in a bit of time at the beach initially... but oh no not me (when will I ever stop?!)... I am go go go, linking with contacts, spending hours a day on email, planning the radio workshops, sourcing equipment etc etc... check the picture above - it's me hard at work!
terça-feira, 13 de fevereiro de 2007
Yesterday - as in Monday (I'm playing catch up at the moment) I had planned to go to Parada de Lucas, the favela where I'll be working, for the first time but something came up so I couldn't... Re-scheduled for Friday now... Instead I was impromptu-ly (is that a word or a Izzism as my History teacher called them?) invited to lunch by my landlords, Vilma & Mucio, who had come over in the morning to drop off a juicer and CD player for me... They were so kind and sweet - I met their entire family - daughters, granddaughters etc and they even paid! Afterwards they took me on a guided tour of Rio in their car... I got to go to the site where the Portuguese first landed, which i wouldn't have done without them beacuse it's now the site of the military school and you need a pass to enter... (Brazilians in uniform - PHwoar! (Sorry Dad))... I went to their home in Urca (right at the bottom of Sugar Loaf mountain) and they gave me loads of maps! Late afternoon / evening I spent about 5 hours on the computer transfering the AfroReggae database to my new email (when are Outlook going to invent an easy way to transfer data instead of copying and pasting everything??)... Chilled in the evening and watched some Brazilian TV trying to improve my Portuguese...
Today I've been on the beach (see first-ish post) structuring the radio production / presenting workshops... buying Havaianas flipflops (the same colour as this post in their honour) and trying to get a USB cable to download the pictures of the view from Vilma & Mucio's apartment, which was amazing... At $R120 a pop though, i'm asking Tom L to bring one over for me (that's your second hint Tom!)... Hoping to hook up with old 1Xtra friend Helen C 2nite and having lunch with Simon Fuller (don't think it's THE Simon Fuller but he manages bands and was put in touch with him via a journalist friend!) 2moro - will tell all
Beijos XxXxXxx
Yesterday/Today I have mostly learnt the words:
Almoco - Lunch (sooooo tasty here)
Carioca - Rio resident (as in what i'll become when i can talk proper and i'm brown!)
P.s for those of you who haven't been able to work it out... to see my posts from the start, click on 'My Old Posts' or 'Postagens Mas Antigas' at the bottom of this page - it takes you through to the page b4 (or it does for me anyway)... don't know if it's English or Portuguese for you coz all my instructions on this blog are in Portuguese (sometimes the internet is too damn clever for its own good although it is improving my understanding of the language)... and no the person in the picture with the cherry in the cocktail glass is not me, it refers to me "popping my blogging cherry" and yeah i thought it was funny
Bj xX
Today I've been on the beach (see first-ish post) structuring the radio production / presenting workshops... buying Havaianas flipflops (the same colour as this post in their honour) and trying to get a USB cable to download the pictures of the view from Vilma & Mucio's apartment, which was amazing... At $R120 a pop though, i'm asking Tom L to bring one over for me (that's your second hint Tom!)... Hoping to hook up with old 1Xtra friend Helen C 2nite and having lunch with Simon Fuller (don't think it's THE Simon Fuller but he manages bands and was put in touch with him via a journalist friend!) 2moro - will tell all
Beijos XxXxXxx
Yesterday/Today I have mostly learnt the words:
Almoco - Lunch (sooooo tasty here)
Carioca - Rio resident (as in what i'll become when i can talk proper and i'm brown!)
P.s for those of you who haven't been able to work it out... to see my posts from the start, click on 'My Old Posts' or 'Postagens Mas Antigas' at the bottom of this page - it takes you through to the page b4 (or it does for me anyway)... don't know if it's English or Portuguese for you coz all my instructions on this blog are in Portuguese (sometimes the internet is too damn clever for its own good although it is improving my understanding of the language)... and no the person in the picture with the cherry in the cocktail glass is not me, it refers to me "popping my blogging cherry" and yeah i thought it was funny
Bj xX
You like the views from my balcony??
Sunday I walked from Copacabana to Ipanema with Jorge, my contact who picked me up from the airport (with a sign with my name on - love it!)... It's 7km in total & was good exercise (man i gotta do something to keep up with these Brazilians, should've bought my dumbells out with me trust!)... Had lunch by the kilo - the way they do it here, all fresh food which you pile up on your plate and then pay by weight... In the evening drank Caipirinhas with lime, passionfruit, strawberry and pineapple - tasty... Discovered that Rio has a whole lot of fruit I've never seen before... check the picture above - one is a tomatoe, the other a caqui (much much sweeter) - one tastes great with Watermelon, All Bran (yep they got kelloggs) and yoghurt; the other (I'm sure) tastes good with salami, cheese and biscuits - DON'T GET IT TWISTED!
Today I mostly learnt the words:
Estrela - Star (as in what you are)
Frango - Chicken (as in chicken heart which i tried for lunch, fried it's ok - tastes a bit like liver - sorry / thanks Mr Frango x)
Sunday I walked from Copacabana to Ipanema with Jorge, my contact who picked me up from the airport (with a sign with my name on - love it!)... It's 7km in total & was good exercise (man i gotta do something to keep up with these Brazilians, should've bought my dumbells out with me trust!)... Had lunch by the kilo - the way they do it here, all fresh food which you pile up on your plate and then pay by weight... In the evening drank Caipirinhas with lime, passionfruit, strawberry and pineapple - tasty... Discovered that Rio has a whole lot of fruit I've never seen before... check the picture above - one is a tomatoe, the other a caqui (much much sweeter) - one tastes great with Watermelon, All Bran (yep they got kelloggs) and yoghurt; the other (I'm sure) tastes good with salami, cheese and biscuits - DON'T GET IT TWISTED!
Today I mostly learnt the words:
Estrela - Star (as in what you are)
Frango - Chicken (as in chicken heart which i tried for lunch, fried it's ok - tastes a bit like liver - sorry / thanks Mr Frango x)
OK so where to begin? (again...)
I arrived Saturday lunchtime to hot, sunny Rio... My apartment is lovely - bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom and balcony - check the picture of the view from my balcony (feet not usually included). I look directly onto a floresta (forest); the noise early evening and first thing in the morning is unbelievable - birds, monkeys, snakes all achatting... The road my place is on is called Princess Isabel funnily enough - couldn't of planned it like that if I tried! After a quick shower, I headed straight down to Copacabana beach (of course) which is literally 2 mins away from my place... Being Saturday it was busy, the sand is HOT, the surf much bigger than I expected, helicopters constantly fly over and the scenery behind - the densely forested hills and skyscrapers combined - make for a breathtaking experience. I made a new friend, Sany, who runs a green cocoanut (you've got to drink those they're lush) and deckchair stall on the beach but comes from a favela outside of Rio... we chatted about my project (in Portuguese of course!) and he said he'd look out for me from now on - he seemed quite impressed a gringo like me was working in Parada de Lucas!
Today i mostly learnt the words:
Fantasma - Ghost (like how i look compared to the Brazilians)
Fatia - Slice (as in slice of cheese from the supermarket)
I arrived Saturday lunchtime to hot, sunny Rio... My apartment is lovely - bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom and balcony - check the picture of the view from my balcony (feet not usually included). I look directly onto a floresta (forest); the noise early evening and first thing in the morning is unbelievable - birds, monkeys, snakes all achatting... The road my place is on is called Princess Isabel funnily enough - couldn't of planned it like that if I tried! After a quick shower, I headed straight down to Copacabana beach (of course) which is literally 2 mins away from my place... Being Saturday it was busy, the sand is HOT, the surf much bigger than I expected, helicopters constantly fly over and the scenery behind - the densely forested hills and skyscrapers combined - make for a breathtaking experience. I made a new friend, Sany, who runs a green cocoanut (you've got to drink those they're lush) and deckchair stall on the beach but comes from a favela outside of Rio... we chatted about my project (in Portuguese of course!) and he said he'd look out for me from now on - he seemed quite impressed a gringo like me was working in Parada de Lucas!
Today i mostly learnt the words:
Fantasma - Ghost (like how i look compared to the Brazilians)
Fatia - Slice (as in slice of cheese from the supermarket)
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