Acaraje is a traditional, fried food here in Salvador. My friends and I usually eat it on Sunday nights when we go out. (Sunday night is a big going out night here.)
Ivete Sangalo
Maria Gadu- “Shimbalaie”
I was really happy and impressed to see this shopping bag from the grocery store. The bag gives tips on how to perform a self-breast exam. Hiperideal is a grocery store that is owned by Wal-Mart. Giving these directions on grocery bags are pretty efficient because this is a very “plastic bag culture,” though there is a big push by BomPreco (wal-mart) towards canvas bags. Plastic bags are also popular here because people use them as trashbags and go through a couple per day with trash. (Taking the trash out often keeps the ants away!)
Esperanza Spalding- “Samba em Preludio”
Lauren, my Spelman sister, is here visiting for three weeks. Not only did she bring her lovely company but also Oprah magazines, chocolate, cookies, Cheerios, and a new charger for my laptop. I felt like it was Christmas.
In July I went to the BRASA (Brasilian Studies Association) conference in Brasilia, the capital of Brasil with some other Fulbrighters. We stayed in a nice hotel and the conference was pretty interesting. Brasilia is a city that was carved out of the forest and designed to be a city of the future. The capital of Brasil was moved there in 1960 from Rio de Janeiro. The city is very orderly, but a touch odd in that it lacks personality. It is a city of diplomats and government officials and so orderly that you can walk into the street and cars will stop for you. From the sky the city looks like an airplane. I think it works better in theory than in practice.
This ad is a part of a campaign going on in Salvador to lower maternal mortality rates. Brasil has a high maternal mortality rate at 260 deaths per 100,000 live births. (UN Statistics Division-data taken from 2000-2005) The lowest death rate is in Sweden, which has 2 deaths per 100,000 live births. The United States has 17/100,000. Afghanistan has 1,900/100,000 and Sierra Leone has the poorest record at 2,000 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
This poster says “Half rights, half negligence and half death do not exist. 90% of maternal deaths can be avoided with adequate care. Know your rights.” Despite Brasil’s universe health care system, in rural areas there are few resources and this most strongly impacts Afro-Brasilian and Indigenous women.
I took a trip at the beginning of July to Rio de Janeiro. I met my friend Kate, who is doing a Fulbright in Montevideo, Uruguay, and her friend Brandon, who was traveling through South America. I was desperately in need of some R&R and this was a WONDERFUL trip. Our hotel was gorgeous and I finally got to take a bubble bath. Of course we visited Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf. Rio is indeed the Marvelous City! Despite my earlier promises to myself to stay loyal to Salvador, I fell head-over-heels in love with the city. It has taken all of my will power not to relocate my research to Rio. The city is gorgeous with tons of culture and it is breathtaking because you have mountains, beach and islands. Obscene wealth and poverty abide side by side along with tourists from all over the world.
This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight.The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. -Rumi
“Chora, Me Liga“-Joao Bosco & Vinicius
This is my favorite Forro song.
Last week my friends and I were in a restaurant and on the flat screens they were playing a loop of MJ videos. I was “thrilled” (pun intended) to hear some familiar music, and also in awe of MJ’s prowess. The record breaking sales, awareness of the Diaspora and amazing dance moves will forever qualify him as the King of Pop. He was the forerunner for the popularity of American music around the world and really impacted the global mediascape.
This video was shot in Salvador da Bahia in Pelourinho which is a really touristy area, but also surrounded by favelas. I was talking to a friend last nite, Tiago, who plays for Olodum, and was in the video when he was a kid. Michael illustrates his declaration of “they don’t really care about us” very clearly by showing people who suffer from multiple levels of oppression based on race, class and living in a militarized state. Quite a large cultural commentary for a pop artist.
RIP Michael Jackson.
Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep out alone under the stars. Learn how to drive a stick shift. Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back…Decide whether you want to be liked or admired…” - Eve Ensler
My favorite Brasilian singer, Djevan. He’s singing about a cold, sad day without his love.
