BRAZILIAN HEART! Breath Deeply and Vote!

BRAZILIAN HEART
November 2008
Since 1998

I believe the most important political event I had attended in my life was in my hometown, Rio de Janeiro in 1984. The movement was called DIRETAS JA (DIRECT VOTE NOW) and started in the Northeast of Brasil. In 1983 Teotonio Vilela, a senator from Alagoas, started talking about bringing democracy back after 20 years of dictatorship. Soon after that a dream amendment was written by Dante de Oliveira asking for direct vote and that ignited an incredible amount of Brazilians to go to the streets in search for change.
I don’t remember if I painted my face like my friends, but I definitely screamed, danced and sang from the bottom of my heart in the streets of downtown Rio. One million people squeezed each other from Cinelandia Square to Rio Branco Avenue to Candelaria Church. We’re trying to push president Figueiredo and the Congress to pass the Dante de Oliveira’s Amendment that would bring back Presidential elections. The Brazilian Congress got 298 positive votes against 65, and 112 Congressmen simply didn’t show up to vote at all fearing retaliations.
In 1989 I finally voted for president for the first time in my life.

Please, vote.
(Go Obama!!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh1Z0ciU3s8

VOICE CLASS FOR BEGINNERS
Sing Like a Brazilian Bird!
"I like to emphasize music's connection to fundamental human activities involving movement, language, and emotion. For me music was always intuitively a fundamental language of the human brain and therefore deeply connected to who we are as human beings, and spiritual beings. Relaxation, Breathing, Rhythm and Expression Awareness are basic steps to beautiful singing." Email for more info.

DIOGO NOGUEIRA
November 15 at 9pm @ Santa Monica Bar & Grille
www.braziliannites.com

THE LATIN PROJECT (Hosted by Debi Nova)
November 20 at 10pm at Plush @ The Key Club
(West Hollywood)
www.myspace.com/thelatinproject

SENSE OF HUMOR
“Patient: Doctor, I have a pain in my eye whenever I drink tea.
Doctor: Take the spoon out of the mug before you drink.”

“The sense of humor is part, an essential part, of the wholeness of man. It keeps him healthy, it keeps him young, it keeps him fresh. And for centuries the sad people have dominated religion. They have expelled laughter -- from the churches, from the mosques, from the temples. The day laughter enters back into the holy places they will be really holy, because they will be whole. Laughter is the only quality that distinguishes man from other animals. Only man can see the ridiculous, the absurd.” (Osho)

“May the long time sun shine upon you,
All love surround you,
And the pure light within you
Guide your way on.”

Katia : )