Rio at dawn.
Photo by @peterconlan
When my friend Michele and I went to Brazil, we didn’t really know what to expect. It was a wonderful experience and we learned and relearned things.
Like…
- what it’s like to be in a country where you don’t speak the language and you go out to eat;
- how we Americans see race and color and how that drives our actions and reactions to people;
- how Brazilians live in a multiracial culture so different from the US;
- what it’s like to be in a country where sex isn’t colored by the Puritan ethic;
- where there are mystical religions steeped in ancient traditions;
- that little kids can be dangerous and accomplished thieves;
- where there are few if any American cars;
- where violence is minimal if not absent on TV;
- where breakfast in the hotels is magnificent, even in the little places. They serve cake;
- you can’t walk on the sand in the middle of the day without torching your feet;
- only tourists sunbathe. It’s ungodly hot and the sun will burn you in seconds;
- there are incredibly, jaw droppingly beautiful women everywhere;
- that it’s the capital of cosmetic surgery including butt augmentation;
- that everyone dances and music is abundant;
And where Michele and Zain can walk into the elegant Copacabana Palace hotel, wander into the deserted ballroom and start singing the blues.
Here’s the link to check out the Copacabana Palace and the room where we performed. https://belmondcdn.azureedge.net/assets/photos/cop/2580×3219/cop-occ-venue-golden-nobre-rooms01_2580x3219.jpg
Yep, that’s right. We played the Copa.
Admittedly we played to one other woman (who also wandered in) and my sister and her husband, but we were at the Copa, in the grand ballroom and we were playing and singing the blues!
It remains an amazing experience in my repertoire of places I’ve performed.
Brazil is going through a terrible time right now and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go back. The news says it’s changed beyond recognition.
COVID has decimated portions of the population, the hospitals are filled beyond capacity, the Amazon is burning, there is internal crumbling, and the political situation is terrifying. I’m uninformed about all the changes and trauma, but I do know that many Brazilians are suffering terribly.
My heart aches for them.
Now when a story about Brazil comes on the news, I find myself lost in my memories of a fragile ecological country with natural beauty beyond belief, wonderful people, and a troubled history we’d all do well to explore and learn from the results.
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