 |
| Beach at Barra |
Ola, tudo bem? (for all you gringos out there, that’s the equivalent of hello whats up)
After a hectic week of getting settled in our new city we finally have a second for some written reflection. What a week its been! Between fumbling our way through Portuguese and taking our first dance classes we’ve been learning a ton. Here are some highlights:
Orixa Dance Movements with Rosangela Silvestre:
From the get go we knew we were in for something special at Rosangela Silvestre’s dance intensive. People from all over the world had come to study here at this workshop, now in its third year of existence. Rosangela is a true master teacher. In the class, Rosangela demonstrated various Orixa movements that were specific to gods and goddesses from the Yoruban/Brazilian religion of Candomble. Rosangela made it clear that while we were doing the dance moves, the real dancing is incomplete without the full ceremony, which includes specific songs, drumming, and spiritual intent. The movements themselves are spiritually meaningless unless the dancer is possessed by the actual Orixa (God). Despite our best efforts, neither of us ever became possessed :) The class turned out to be a double-whamy because each one was accompanied by amazing Salvadorian master drummers. Occasionally both of us fumbled across the floor as we tried to recreate the steps Rosangala demonstrated after being distracted watching the drummers (Funders, check our other blog for some footage of us on the dance floor). Also, studying at the Escola de Danca was a great way to meet drummers in the vast Salvadorian musical community and we even got to accompany other classes during the week. Totally. Worth. It.
 |
| Master Drummer Eduardo Santos (Cachorro is his nickname--means Dog) |
This week we connected with the master drummer who will be teaching us about the rhythms of Candomble. His name is Gabi Guedes. Walking through the streets of Salvador with him is like walking through Nazareth with Jesus. Everybody knows him and he is a local hero, having toured internationally with reggae star Jimmy Cliff. We’ve set up a full lesson schedule with him and can’t wait to get started on Monday. We also got to see Gabi perform with an amazing Bahian ensemble Orkesta Rumpilezz, a band that incorporates religious drumming with jazz and funk. It was mind blowing. We’ll post some video tomorrow.
Life in Pelhourino
For the last week, we’ve been shacked up at a hostel called Galleria 13. Its the top rated hostel in Salvador, and after staying here it’s no surprise why. This place has it all. Free breakfast with eggs every morning. A hip owner who knows whats up. Countless interesting foreigners drifting through daily. A lovable boxer (dog) named Spartan who only speaks Portuguese and has NOT been nuetered. And of course, free capereinhas at 5:15-6:15---don’t worry, we haven’t been indulging. We are sad to move out of here today, but we found an apartment with a dancer a few neighborhoods away better suited to our needs. So we gotta do what we gotta do.
Learning to say “Nao”
Connecting with the Salvadorians has been a lot of fun. The Salvadorians we’ve met are extremely generous and laid back. Sometimes we get in to trouble because its confusing wether they want us to give them money or just chat. With the language being the barrier it is we’ve tried to avoid offending anyone, but unfortunately one of us (cough, Gabe) tends to get suckered into various schemes that end up with Brad having to save the day with a stern, Nao, obrigado. Nonetheless, the interactions we’ve had with people living here have been a highlight so far.
What we are looking forward to next week:
-our first week in our new place! stay tuned for pics...
-studies with Gabi start Monday!
-visit to see Neojiba perform Mahler 1
-seeking out Dona Cici, a local legend, and scholar on all things Candomble
-supplemental lessons with various drummers (of which this city has thousands)
-observation at Projeto Axe, and Escola Municipal here in Pelhourino
-Checking out Gabi’s infamous jam session at the Museum of Art
-Friday night capeoira roda in Pelhourino’s historic center
That’s all for now. We’ll be uploading more content later today and throughout the weekend so please stay tuned. Also, we would LOVE if people would leave comments, criticisms, love poems, recipes, and ANYTHING else in our comment section, so that we know that other human beings are actually reading this.
No comments:
Post a Comment