Brazilian Heart / October 2012

October 2012 / Since 1998
www.katiamoraes.com

It's official !
On Saturday, January 26, 2013  I'll be releasing my EP produced by sound engineer/producer Lynne Earls (K.D.Lang, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim). There'll also be an exhibition of my drawings that night.
Thank you, Joe Perez for the beautiful photo/painting above.
Here's one of my new drawings. It's called "O Dia do Cantor" (Singer's Day)


SHOW
Wednesday, October 10 at 8pm @ The Virgil
Singing with Brazilian guitarist Marcel Camargo's  "The Brasil You Never Heard"
(323) 660-4540
Episode 1 - "Chiclete Com Banana," Brazilian pop music of the 70's and 80's
http://thevirgil.com/ 



 With Sambaguru - The Original Quartet + part of the audience @ Laxson Auditorium at Chico's World Music Festival on September 15, 2012. 
NEXT: December 4 @ Blue Whale (Downtown Los Angeles)
On stage: Tony Shogren, me, Bill Brendle and Hussain Jiffry.
 
UNFORGETABLE MOMENTS
In 1979 I had the pleasure of meeting in Rio de Janeiro a new songwriter called Fatima Guedes. This talented human being that I so much admire, visited Los Angeles in 1990's and performed at La Ve Lee in Studio City. Her first recording was produced and arranged by Bossa Nova icons: Roberto Menescal and Oscar Castro Neves. Here's a link to Fátima's "Mais uma Boca" (One More Mouth) from 1980.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeQBY3AgLc8&feature=related

THE REAL VANGUARDIST OF THE TROPICÁLIA MOVEMENT: TOM ZÉ!
(Tropicália is a Brazilian artistic movement that arose in the late 1960's)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEvVYRc7kKk


Singing with my rock group O Espírito da Coisa @Teatro Cândido Mendes in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro in 1986.
Listen to the original arrangement of the hit song Ligeiramente Grávida (Slightly Pregnant) produced by Paulo Coelho ( yeap, the writer of The Alchemist )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9fSJNnzog&feature=plcp 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBERTO MENESCAL
Roberto Menescal, Brazilian composer/guitarist - Rio de Janeiro - October 25, 1937
Here's Menescal and Wanda Sá playing and singing his famous Bossa Nova anthem: "O Barquinho" (Little Boat)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m351FZ99OI0

AROUND LA
Tuesday, October 23 at 8pm Gilberto Gil @ Walt Disney Concert Hall
I'll be there!

FOR YOU
"Eu tô te explicando
Prá te confundir
Eu tô te confundindo
Prá te esclarecer
Tô iluminado
Prá poder cegar
Tô ficando cego
Prá poder guiar"

I'm explaining to confuse you
I'm making you confused to clarify
I'm illuminated so I can get blind
I'm getting blind so I can guide
(Quote of a song by Tom Zé)

OH, YEAH, POLITICS! Jimmy Fallon and James Taylor:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0uX36AczW0
Peace nd Joy!
Katia : )
 

SINCE 1998 
SEPTEMBER 2012

Do you like to draw? Lately, I've been drawing... Sometimes I think it's a way to clear my mind from one musical project to another... It feels like a meditation. I never know what will appear on paper...

LATEST REVIEW: Sambaguru @ Vibrato by Don Heckman:

http://irom.wordpress.com/2012/09/02/live-jazz-katia-moraes-and-sambaguru-at-vibrato-grill-jazz-etc/ 

SHOWS
Monday, September 3rd (Labor Day) at 4pm 
@ Tropico de Nopal (Echo Park)
Singing with Samba Society 
(Beto Gonzales' 12-piece band playing sambas from the 1970's)
http://www.reverbnation.com/sambasociety
https://www.facebook.com/events/281062832000840/ 

8th Brazilian Day in Los Angeles!
Join me! I'll be the Master of Ceremonies again!
@ LACMA / Tar Pits (Los Angeles)
Saturday, September 8th - Noon to 6pm
Live music, Arts & Crafts, Food and Los of Smiles!
Bring your family! It's FREE!
Main sponsors: General Consulate of Brasil in Los Angeles: http://losangeles.itamaraty.gov.br/pt-br/
Doris and David DeHister from Sambala Samba School + Renni Flores: http://www.braziliandayla.org/home/ 

With Renni Flores (Sabor da Bahia) and producer David DeHilster from Sambalá 

@ 2011 Brazilian Day in LA!  

Saturday, September 15 @ CHICO WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL (Chico)
SAMBAGURU featuring Katia Moraes
1pm at Laxson Auditorium
3pm at Sycamore Stage
http://www.csuchico.edu/upe/performance/cwmf.html

Sambaguru - The Original Quartet: Tony Shogren, Bill Brendle, Katia Moraes & Hussain Jiffry

BRAZILIAN LITERATURE
(Celebrating Jorge Amado and Nelson Rodrigues' Centennial!)
Jorge Amado:l http://www.jorgeamado.org.br/?lang=en
Nelson Rodrigues: http://www.brooklynrail.org/2005/10/theater/nelson-rodrigues-the-pornographic-angel-comes-to-nyc 
Nelson and his controversial quotes: "A thunderous boo is one thousand times stronger, nobler, and more powerful than a standing ovation. Admiration corrupts."

ONE OS MY FAVORITE SINGERS: CLARA NUNES
A rare video made in Japan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUNxiHlX_sE 
A piece of this song (Chant of the Three Races by Mauro Duarte & P. C. Pinheiro) was played at the 2012 Olympics in London.

BRAZILIAN MOVIE
Based on Jorge Amado's novel: Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon (trailer) Featuring Sonia Braga and Marcelo Mastroiani - 1983
http://www.moviewarp.com/gabriela-cravo-e-canela

DURING 2012 OLYMPICS - ART
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18766667

AROUND LOS ANGELES
September 28 @ Royce Hall
Bebel Gilberto and Forró in the Dark
www.braziliannites.com  

SHARING SOME FACTS
The other day I was wondering if another country has as many days off as Brasil.  After a little search I found out that we have  8 national holidays, but there are 5 "movable festivities" as well; all of them related to Catholicism. On top of that, there is the annual paid vacation. Which countries take 30 days off per year? France, Spain, Denmark, Brasil and Germany.  "According to the survey, Japan is the most vacation-deprived nation in the world, with respondents saying they receive 11 paid days each year but only use five of them. South Koreans take seven out of their 10 days." 
(Quoted from Business.blogs.cnn)

HUMBLE OPINION 
Went to see Grammy-winning vocalist Luciana Souza @ The Broad in Santa Monica.
She's inspiring! Do not miss her show next time she plays in your town!
I wanna sing like her when I grow up! : )

FOR YOU
“He who sings scares away his woes.” 
Miguel de Cervantes
(In Portuguese: "Quem canta seus males espanta")

"Canta che ti passa."
"Sing and it will pass."

Peace and Joy,
Katia : )
P.S.: Yes, Obama + Biden!

Brazilian Heart / May 2012

“If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.” Joseph Campbell.

Photo taken at Fontenelle Forest by the Missouri River in Omaha, Nebraska.


On May 31st will be the first time I’ll have a whole 5 minutes (!) to explain and convince the California Presenters that my new project entitled “Heart to Heart – An Open Letter to Brasil” is a great buy! They usually pick 1 or 2 artists out of ten. 

I’ve been nurturing this project for a long time, and sometimes I ask myself why now.  Well, I know why. It all happened after a one-week spiritual experience last year.

SHOW

June 2^nd at 5pm  @ LACMA

Guest singer with “Falso Baiano” Band - CD release show, featuring Ami Molineli on percussion, Zack Pitt-Smith on reeds, Brian Moran on 7-string guitar, Jesse Appelman on mandolin/bandolim.  I’m grateful for your invitation. Obrigada.

http://www.lacma.org/event/grupo-falso-balanohttp://www.lacma.org/event/grupo-falso-balano

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PALj7zupZV0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PALj7zupZV0

Back in Los Angeles after singing with Viver Brasil Dance Company on our second East Coast Tour that took us to Maryland, NY, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska.

Part of Viver Brasil Dance Company outside Omaha Airport: Rachel, Vera, Nikki, Kahlil, Kana, Rick, Linda, Derf, Shelby, Katiana, Keyan, Katia and Cynthia.

Below is the poem I wrote after visiting Malcolm X’s birthplace in Omaha.

MALCOLM

They said there was nothing there.

My heart sank,

Puzzled I was of such simple words.

Not convinced, I insisted on seeing with my own eyes.

I was right.

The tall weeds protected the land

And dressed the abandoned skeletons 

Of the garden of gardens.

The grass smiled at me

With its Frida Kahlo's skulls faces.

In those few acres

Some folks left a message planted in the dirt.

I sighed

Content, for I had seen his name on a street sign,

Saddened, for his words were silence to his own people.

FOR YOU:

My impatience went away after I watched the video below. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQQ3BdjCc4I&feature=share%27%2C%29http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQQ3BdjCc4I&feature=share%27%2C%29

Peace and Joy!
With gratitude,

Katia : )

NEW VIDEO + NEW PROJECTS !

LATEST NEWS

“ELIS, A CELEBRATION” performed on January 21, 2012  @ Brasil Brasil Cultural in Los Angeles was a successful self produced multi media event celebrating one of the most popular Brazilian singers of all time: Elis Regina. A short version of the show will be presented on March 22, 2012 @ Zanzibar in Santa Monica California.
Picture by Jorge Vismara

Few quotes from the audience...

" “katia broke my heart tonight. ...then, in the middle of the show, she did it--belted out milton nascimiento's morro velho in such a sorrowful, painfilled, passionate rendition, that she cried at the end--so did i, even though i didn't understand a word she said.  brick, it was amazing, a life time performance--the last time i was so moved was hearing dwight trible sing strange fruit at the whale.  she did lots more, all good, but that one transfixed me--i've still got the gooseflesh." 

"Katia,

 Just a note to thank you for the wonderful celebration of the life of a major personality in the music of Brazil and the entire world. You are carrying on the tradition in a most amazing way!..... And thank you for your very beautiful performance. We enjoyed it immensely! Muito obrigado"

"We came from Riverside, arrived at 6:30 and were a little bit anxious about waiting because of our 6 yr old but then..., it was gold, we stay until the end, you are a terrific performer and entertainer. Cant wait for your next performance. thanks again"

"A very heartfelt one congrats Katia. It was a pleasure to be there. You, the atmosphere and band were great, great art exhibition on Eli's pictures and video."

Band: Bill Brendle, Mitchell Long, Katia, Antonio de Sant’Anna and Leo Costa. 

NEW VIDEO “CABEÇA”

Released on March 1st, 2012 “Cabeça” (Head) is already playing at Unifran FM in São Paulo. “Cabeça” was composed with Lynne Earls (sound engineer for K.D.Lang, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim) who also produced the track, and with Grecco Buratto (Shakira, KD Lang, Airto and  Flora Purim, and Sambaguru)

Watch now!  http://youtu.be/uQWPH_hzVH4 

“Tranquility,” the next video, will be released in May 2012. It was filmed entirely in São Paulo on December 2011 at the Botanical Gardens, at a subway station and in downtown.
Here's the  CABEÇA QUEEN! Photo by Caesar Lima.

Director Rinaldo Lima and his assistant follow Katia strolling at the Botanical Garden. The day was beautiful after weeks of unusual rain in São Paulo. Picture by Denise Prado.

MUSIC PROJECTS 

PURE SAMBA

Katia sings compositions of important Brazilian composers of the 20th Century that marked her childhood. The songs are performed interspersed with short stories about the composers. Katia + Quartet.

It won the L.A. Treasure Award, granted in part, by the California Traditional Music Society, a facility of the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Dept. & The California Traditional Music Society.

BRAZIL 3 ACOUSTIC

Voice + piano + percussion! (New CD project!)

The soul of Brasil with its simplicity and magic!

HEART TO HEART, AN OPEN LETTER TO BRASIL

This music + theatre experience portrays the story of a Brazilian female artist searching for her purpose in life after reviewing the artistic gifts inherited from South American Indian, black and European ancestry. The songs are introduced by short stories in English. Set design by Brad Austin. 

Release date: November 3rd, 2012 @ Brasil Brasil Cultural Center (Los Angeles, California)

Release date: November 3, 2012 @ Brasil Brasil Cultural Center

BRAZILIAN HEARTS - BRASIL 2013

6- piece band playing contemporary Brazilian music beyond samba and bossa nova.

Watch video:  http://youtu.be/uQWPH_hzVH4

SAMBAGURU featuring Katia Moraes

6-piece band playing reperoire from TRIBO, their 4th released CD.

QUOTES

"(...) But there ain’t a Brazilian singer in town who is as irresistible as Katia Moraes. Crowds go nuts when she performs. The energy, the charisma, the sheer joy of Brazilian music just fills a space." 

LA WEEKLY

“Blessed with a songbird’s voice, a poet’s heart, an educator’s enthusiasm and an entertainer’s vision, Moraes is the complete package.”

ENTERTAINMENT TODAY

“Moraes strutted on stage with the grace and attitude of an Amazon princess...Moraes danced, sang and communicated with her fans for over an hour, delivering an impressive performance.”

LATIN STYLE

“Brazilian singer Katia Moraes -- a born afternoon sunshine performer...”

VARIETY

“Katia is an absolute dynamo on stage.”

L.A. JAZZ SCENE

“Kátia’s voice can be powerful and heartfelt, coy and compelling, expansive or intimate.”

THE BRAZILIAN MUSIC REVIEW

BOOKING AND INFO:

WWW.CADENCEARTS.COMWWW.CADENCEARTS.COM 
(310) 838-0849

WWW.KATIAMORAES.COMWWW.KATIAMORAES.COM

Brazilian Heart / March 2012 / Since 1998

“ CABEÇA”  ARRIVED!!!  

Enjoy and share with your friends! We all need a little laugh!

(Translation below)

Cabeça was composed with Lynne Earls (sound engineer for K.D.Lang, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim)  who also produced the track http://lynneearls.com/
and Grecco Buratto (Shakira, K.D. Lang, Airto and Flora, Sambaguru) who also appears on the video. http://www.greccoburatto.com 

Thank you to Leo Costa, Dre Santanna, Evan Hillhouse, Carla Hasset, Megan Todd and Grecco Buratto for playing on the track and making it magical. Thank you Jonia McClenney and Daiana Koren for spending an afternoon at the PuffyBrain studio in Calabasas adding their body grooves.

THANK YOU  to Rinaldo Lima and Caesar Lima who directed it, Felipe Silva for producing it, and Veronica Hernandez for taking care of the make up.
http://www.caesarlima.com/
http://vimeo.com/rinaldolima/videos

SHOW

THU, MARCH 22nd AFRO FUNKE @ ZANZIBAR

1301 Fifth Ave. (corner with Arizona Ave) Santa Monica, CA  310 451-2221

If you missed the show “Elis Regina, a Celebration” last January, this will be a good opportunity to remember one of the most popular Brazilian singers of all time. The band will feature Rique Pantoja on keys, Antonio de Sant’Anna on bass and Leo Costa on drums. There will be a slide show with Elis images made by Jorge Vismara.

http://www.afrofunke.com/http://www.afrofunke.com/

TRANSLATION: HEAD

You 

Ask me 

For silence 

Because

You say I’m a talker

That I don’t know how to contain myself

You breath in slowly

I continue to talk

My business is to solve problems

If this calmness continues 

I won’t be myself anymore

They call me

Head

Insane head

I won’t shut up

I won’t contain myself

I wanna talk

I have a lot to say

I make you think twice

To reflect, to reconsider

I multiply options

You don’t have way 

And courage to gag me

You breath in slowly

I continue the blah blah blah

I adore to solve problems

My life is to create a lot of confusion

They call me

Head

Insane head

I won’t shut up

I won’t contain myself

You’ll have to put up with me

You’ll listen to me until you die

They call me head, insane head...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY RIO DE JANEIRO!
March 1st, 2012: 447 Years of Rio de Janeiro, my beautiful hometown! 

Music for the movie Cidade Mulher (Woman City/ 1936):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jid0SPfWSKc 
Rita Lee singing Valsa de Uma Cidade (Waltz of a City)  playing tribute to Rio in 2007:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SywaUIYiE9Q 

Photo taken by Fernanda Moraes in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro on December 2012

Photo taken by Denise Prado at Ilha da Gigóia, Rio de Janeiro on December 2011

Peace and Joy,
Katia ; )
P.S.: Coming up in May 2012: “TRANQUILITY,” filmed in São Paulo, also directed and edited by Rinaldo Lima. 

Brazilian Heart

Since 1998

February 2012

Yep, it’s February!  And February 2nd is Iemanjá Day, an important date of the Brazilian calendar. ODO YÁ!

“The Candomblé (Afro Brazilian religion) worships Iemanjá as one of the seven orixás of the African Pantheon. She is the Queen of the Ocean, the patron deity of the fishermen and the survivors of shipwrecks, the feminine principle of creation and the spirit of moonlight. A syncretism happens between the catholic Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes (Our Lady of Navigators) and the orixá Iemanjá of the African Mithology. In Salvador, Bahia, Iemanjá is celebrated by Candomblé on the very same day consecrated by the Catholic Church to Our Lady of Navigators (Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes). Every February 2, thousands of people line up at dawn to leave their offerings at her shrine, the sea."

“Se você quiser amar

Se você quiser amor

Vem comigo a Salvador

Para ouvir Iemanjá”

If you want to love

If you want love

Come to Salvador with me to hear Iemanjá 

(Quote from Canto de Iemanjá by Baden Powell and Vinícius de Moraes)

Here’s one of the most beautiful recordings of “Canto de Iemanjá” from the CD “Afro Sambas” released in 1966 in Brasil. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XF1tGrwPZU 

Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes - Our Lady of the Navigators

SHOWS

I’ll be singing with Viver Brasil Dance Company on:

February 13 @ Dibden Center for the Arts, Johnson, VT

www.jsc.edu/dibdencenterfortheartswww.jsc.edu/dibdencenterforthearts

February 14 @ Fine Arts Center, 

Castleton, VT

www.csc.vsc.edu/soundings/2_sound.htmwww.csc.vsc.edu/soundings/2_sound.htm

February 18 @ Frank Arts Center Theater, Shepherdstown, WV

http://www.shepherd.edu/passweb/pass.pdfhttp://www.shepherd.edu/passweb/pass.pdf

CARNAVAL IN RECIFE

“Galo da Madrugada or Rooster of the Dawn is the symbol of the Brazilian Northeastern’s Carnaval.  This carnival tradition begins with bugle calls at dawn on Carnival Saturday, heralding the start of the Pernambucano carnival. The show features some of the best rhythmically and acrobatically influenced dancers from Brazil.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjRAhYrMu60http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjRAhYrMu60 

MOVIE

“Music According to Tom Jobim”

This sweet movie about  composer Tom Jobim and directed by Nelsom Pereira dos Santos and Dora Jobim just opened in Brasil! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB4pB49p5E4 trailer

http://www.cphdox.dk/d/film.lasso?ser=1607&s=2011104&e=1http://www.cphdox.dk/d/film.lasso?ser=1607&s=2011104&e=1

“Enchanted Word”

“A documentary that weaves together performances and interviews with singers, songwriters and poets to reflect the interplay between these art forms. Winner of the Best Documentary award at the 2008 Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMJK0h5WsfQ&feature=sharehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMJK0h5WsfQ&feature=share

(Full movie in Portuguese)

AROUND Los Angeles

Sat, Feb 18 Carnaval @ Gaucho’s Village (Glendale)

Sat, Feb 25 Carnaval Exotica @ Nokia (Downtown LA)

CONSCIOUSNESS SPOT

Genetically modified food now accepted by Health Food stores in the US

http://signon.org/sign/tell-obama-to-cease-fda.fb1?source=s.fb&r_by=2152826http://signon.org/sign/tell-obama-to-cease-fda.fb1?source=s.fb&r_by=2152826

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronnie-cummins/the-organic-elite-surrend_b_815346.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false 

FOR YOU

“Quando se ama não é preciso entender o que se passa lá fora, pois tudo passa a acontecer dentro de nós” 

When you love, there is no need to understand what goes on out there because everything starts happening inside of us. (Quote by Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector)

Enjoy “Shimbalaiê” with Maria Gadu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph-pLZEVWGs 

Peace and Joy,

Katia : )

Feliz Ano Novo!
Happy New Year!

I fell in love with Brazilian singer Elis Regina when I was 15 years old.  At 17, with a broken heart over loosing my first love, I decided to make a recording hoping to have him back. Edu, a childhood friend, helped me produce a cassette tape with emotionally charged songs by Elis.  He brought his silver 1976 Philips tape recorder to my parents’ house and we did everything in the living room. I read some of my poems on top of the songs and he mixed it on the spot. Did my first love come back to me? No, but I learned a lesson. I expressed my feelings and Elis’ music helped me heal. 

Last December, my first sweetheart told me he still has that tape. I felt special. Just like Elis was special to me.  

Join me on Saturday, January 21 at 7pm @ Brasil Brasil Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California for a special Tribute to Elis. 

We’ll celebrate her life with a Photo Art exhibition + Video Screening + Live Show.

"It's a shame Elis Regina never appeared in the USA. She was the greatest, my favorite singer ever. All that power and emotion and incredibly expressive phrasing. Had she toured here even once they'd still be talking about her."  Brick Wahl, LA Weekly 

“ELIS, A CELEBRATION” is a tribute to one of Brazil’s greatest and most influential singers. “Elis & Tom,” recorded in Los Angeles in 1974 with the master of modern Brazilian popular music, Antonio Carlos (Tom) Jobim is considered one of the top ten Brazilian records of all time. Her extraordinary expressive voice and incredible sense of rhythm mixed with a controversial personality was cut short when she died tragically in January 1982 of a combination of cocaine and alcohol. 

Elis began her career in the 1960’s during the dictatorship and helped launch the career of composers Milton Nascimento, Ivan Lins, João Bosco, Aldir Blanc, Tim Maia, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, and many more.  Singers Marisa Monte, Leila Pinheiro and Daniela Mercury cite Elis as a strong influence in their music. Among her 31 recordings between 1961 and 1982 are the extremely popular three live records (Dois na Bossa) with singer Jair Rodrigues.  

“Elis, a Celebration” hopes to enrich the knowledge of an audience who wants to discover what Brazil is all about. The night will mix live music with a slide show, video screening and a photo exhibition by photographer Jorge Vismara.

The event will feature music by Katia Moraes featuring musicians Antonio Sant’Anna, Leo Costa, Mitchell Long and Bill Brendle. Brad Austin is in charge of the set design and Brazilian photographer Caesar Lima signed the official poster. This is the first time Brasil Brasil Cultural Center will present a tribute to a great Brazilian singer. 

Crew of the event! From left: Brad Austin (set designer), Katia Moraes (concept/production), Marcia Argolo (production/marketing), Amen Santo and Nayla Santo (directors of Brasil Brasil Cultural Center) and Jorge Vismara (Photo/art exhibition and video screening)


A creative invite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOmJenhcMuY&feature=email

Calendar Listing

DATE/TIME: Saturday, January 21, 2011 -  7:00 pm 

VENUE: Brasil Brasil Cultural Center 

11928 Washington Blvd. (c/s Inglewood), Los Angeles, CA 90066

(310) 397-3667 / www.brasilbrasil.org

TICKETS: $15 General, $10 Students and seniors

For more information, call: visit: www. www.katiamoraes.com

Media Sponsors: Soul Brazil Magazine and www.Pelourinho.com 

Brazilian Heart
December 2011
Since 1998

Twenty days in Rio and I got two days of sunny sky. “São Pedro” (St. Peter) did not want me to get a tan. Let me explain what I mean with my previous remark. In Brasil, St. Peter is in charge of the weather. Do you remember a passage of the Bible that says: “And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven.” Well, Brazilians took this as a message: St. Peter is the “weather caster in chief,” so every time there is too much sun, too much rain, too much this or that, we definitely blame Mr. São Pedro for it.
I was a little disappointed, but did not have much free time to blame São Pedro. My new bikini will wait until California get a heat wave!

Join me for a NEW YEAR’S EVE with a Brazilian Touch
@ Gaucho’s (Glendale, CA)
Featuring Mitchell Long and Leo Costa
Reservations and Info:
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2491939458?ref=elink 

Elis Regina, a Celebration is coming up on January 21 at Brasil Brasil Cultural Center! Stay tuned.

Feliz Natal (Merry Christmas)
Happy New Year (Feliz Ano Novo)
A gift for you! Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGDO99gmb1Q 
Love, Peace, Joy and Wisdom!
Katia : )

Sharing some thoughts while visiting Glendale, Arizona

OCCUPY GLENDALE 

Here we are, my hubby and I, in Glendale Arizona. Gorgeous sunset skies and so close to one of the wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon. How come we are surrounded by a Westgate Mall where people are looking for holiday sales, and a Cabela’s Outfitter store that will give away Browning rifles to the first 800 shoppers that line at the door at 5am on Thanksgiving? Tell me. Please, answer my naive question. This is surreal. If I was still asleep at 2pm I definitely woke up after entering Cabela’s. The Fodor Travel book suggested visiting the Old Town and Caitland Corner. We tried. The only think we found was thrifty stores trying to pass themselves off as antique shops. I guess the economic crisis hit town before they could finish the job. On the other hand, the tattoo stores are booming and we saw few Mexican girls with pierced noses holding a sign on the corner of Glendale Ave with 67th Ave offering free tattoos. 

Outside our hotel veranda there is a big silver spaceship that looks even more striking agains the dark gun powder gray sky. It’s the University of Phoenix Stadium, the Arizona Cardinals professional football team’s home. Here, the US female soccer team will play against Sweden. We watched the US training this late morning and drove around guided by the Fodor’s travel book afterwards. Back to the hotel, I can’t quite get away from the impression Cabela’s Outfitter store left on me. 

“Hot Lead vs Hot Espresso, Shoppers vs Shooters.” My husband can’t stop laughing.

“Draft Beer Drinkers vs Head Shot Thinkers.” He laughs a little more. I watch him call his buddy in Florida to share his impressions of this side of the world. 

I kept taking pictures of everything that was new to me: lines of rifles ranging from $75 to a thousand dollars, an aquarium with two albino catfishes, videos for children using fake guns, camouflage clothing, a T-shirt with a front design showing a smoking gun written “Happiness is...” I feel I’m on another planet. Glued to a restaurant’s door I see a “No firearms allowed” poster that reminded me of a similar one I saw at a Kansas hotel in the beginning of this year. I realize I’ve been blind all these years living in California. I assumed whatever I wanted to assume. I’m made of a mishmash of conceptual ideas about freedom, civil rights, amnesty, animal rights, Gandhi, save Tibet, save the polar bears and the dolphins, end the famine in Africa and stop the melting of the planet. My mind is an antenna capturing trillions of events and the emotions that come attached to them. I look at the world around me coming from a great desire to make the world a better place. “My” better place. So self centered, I know, but that’s what everybody does. Oh well, I do the best I can.

Tonight, CNN announced that Republican and Democratic Congress men didn’t agree on a way to diminish the national debt. As a woman who was born during the Brazilian dictatorship time, I always thought of the power the presidents had. I wished Obama was a dictator for a split second. I feel discouraged thinking about him and the Republican candidates for the 2012 presidency. “Se correr o bicho pega, se ficar o bicho come.” This Brazilian saying literally means “ If you run the animal catches you, if you stay it eats you.” Years ago I wanted to be an American citizen to be able to vote, and now I’m cringing at the thought of the election day that is around the corner.

Iowa State beat Oklahoma State and the field got packed with happy American football fans. The “Occupy” movement would be very happy to see that amount of people walking in the streets asking for equality. I wonder what would make Arizonians to camp on the fields around the Westgate Mall and Cabela’s Outfitter. I look at the million stars on this amazing sky and want to visit its big observatory. The documentary about the band “The Doors” is on TV and I imagine that everyone on this country is on drugs. Each one is humming an old song that perpetuates a foggy impression of what’s going on. “But don’t we all do that,” I asked myself. Jim Morrison thought he was part of a revolution until he watched a play, acted as an invincible fool and ended up in jail. For a long time I thought that art was a revolutionary tool, and I have to confess that visiting the Cabela’s store felt like something was killing the poetry I carry in my heart. I don’t want to die in the bath tub like Jim. The fresh cold water of reality stings my skin, but I prefer to take a skinny dip in this middle of nowhere Arizona state.

SINGING WITH VIVER BRASIL DANCE COMPANY - CANADA

Photo by Beto Gonzalez

At about 8am the bus stopped in the middle of the 170th Street in Edmonton. It looks like we are stuck on a freeway. We joked that it looks like the 10 freeway in Los Angeles. The Canadian driver understands our feelings. He used to lead tours to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and experienced the crazy traffic of the city of Angels. This morning I had an extended chat with him and he says he does not like Halloween. He found out that people spend more money in costumes at this time of the year than on Christmas. He laments that. My friend Cynthia also disapproves the idea, but I know disapprovals don’t promote change, unless...well, that’s another story.

The Red Arrow bus is carrying eighteen of us, luggages with costumes, instruments plus our mascot, baby Keyan who turned six months in April. Taurus is his astrological sign, and that triggers a conversation about how stubborn the “Taurus personality” can be. We laughed while the bus now moves freely surrounded by early morning workers driving their Kias, Fords, Jeeps, and other types of cars. 

I heard Alberta has a 65% immigrant population. There are Sri Lankan, Vietnamese, Chinese, Polish, Japanese, East African, Italian (of course) restaurants around here. Oh, did I mention the Ukrainian farm? A Lebanese man speaking Portuguese approached me at the hotel in McMurray one morning. He lived in Rio and I could see by his smile how happy he was to exchange few words. A group of Brazilians came to the show that night. They are working at the oil rig about two hours from Keyano Theatre and were thrilled to see us. The standing ovation was probably ignited by them. 

On our way to the next stop we met a smiling Nova Scotia woman called Linda. Her brightest face made an impression on me. She has been working for a year as a General Supervisor of two lodges located an hour and a half from Fort McMurray (est.1795 and the fastest growing city in Canada). The lodges house people working for the oil refineries. Linda told my friend Cynthia that one day she went to a used bookstore in the middle of “nowhere prairie land” trying to find something to comfort her soul. She found a book about Buddhism that led her to more trips to the same bookstore. Every time she bought a book donated by the same person. This reminds me of the used book about philosopher Boethius I just bought at Amazon.com. I kept imagining what made the previous owner to underline certain passages. 

We finally get to the Whitemud freeway going towards the airport. The driver asked us if we went to the West Edmonton Mall, but we didn’t have time for any sightseeing. To be honest, the only place I’d love to visit is the Jasper National Park that is about 4 hours northwest from here. The young girl who assisted me in the hotel gave me a brochure with gorgeous pictures of it and I gasped. Besides fishing, hiking, “Looking-for-moose-seeing,” and the usual attractions, there is a lake cruise to an island called Spirit. A perfect place to feed my soul. “Next time,” I say to myself. 

Through the speakers we hear the driver tells us that the freeway 2 is now called Queen Elizabeth. I hear someone says: “So colonial.” We giggled. I wonder which politician had the idea to change the name. Talking about names, try to pronounce this word: Saskatchewan. I wonder if it is a Cree Indian nation name. 

Overall, I feel like I’m still in the US. KFC, Pizzahut, Firestone, Starbucks, Sears. They are all here.  Wendy’s was next door to another restaurant called Swiss Chalet that serves barbecued chicken. Their female waiters are all Chinese/Vietnamese. Go figure.

The crew at the Arden Theatre was sweet and they made us sound great. The piano at the rehearsal room was a little out of tune but helped me to warm up. I’m glad I brought the Throat Coat tea with me. In the middle of the previous show at Keyano Theatre, Vania, myself and the dancers found out we couldn’t produce saliva anymore. Water! 

Eileen, our lighting designer, fell sick but did a great job regardless of feeling crappy most of the time during the trip. 

I heard this was the first time the producer was bringing world dance to this theatre. He said we exceeded his expectations and by the way the audience responded, he will continue to introduce different cultures to his community in the future. Voila! I think this is called Success. 

I know it’s hard to please everyone and the subject “food” is always challenging. My friend Laila didn’t like the food provided by the healthy Prairie Bistro, but I was very grateful for it. Talking about prairie, that’s pretty much what you see in Alberta’s province. I look at the dictionary. “Planície, pradaria, campina.” In the south of Brasil you call them “pampas.”

Finally I’m at the airport sitting beside a Buddhist nun. While I write my account of the trip she plays solitaire on her Notebook. I smile. We are all One. I truly believe it now.

Photo by Beto Gonzalez

Brazilian Heart

November 2011

Since 1998

Brasil, here I go! 

Reasons? Millions of them!

My grandma is 99 years old

A possible reunion of my band from the 1980‘s: O Espírito da Coisa

To film a new video in São Paulo

To hug my family and friends

To check the amazing exhibition “INDIA” happening in downtown Rio

http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-entertainment/india-a-major-exhibition-in-rio-at-ccbb/ http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-entertainment/india-a-major-exhibition-in-rio-at-ccbb/

To bathe my body in the Atlantic Ocean and say “ahhhhhhhhh”

SHOW

ELIS, a Celebration! 

Saturday, January 21 at 7pm 

A Live Show with Katia Moraes & Pure Samba + Photo Exhibition + Slide Show by Jorge Vismara + Set Design by Brad Austin to celebrate Brazilian singer Elis Regina!

@ Brasil Brasil Cultural Center

11928 Washington Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90066 (c/s Inglewood)

Featuring Antonio de Sant’Anna, Mitchell LOng, Leo Costa and Bill Brendle.

310 397-3667

$15

Thursday, January 26 at 7pm

Katia Moraes & Pure Samba

@ Green Valley Recreation (Green Valley, AZ)

OBA! SOUNDS OF BRAZIL: WORK IN PROGRESS DOCUMENTARY

Directed by Michael Deane. He asked me about Saudade (longing) and that’s what happened to me...

http://vimeo.com/30935288

FOR YOU

“I sing the notes to arrive at that rare beach

Where the white fine sand does not blind anybody when the wind blows.”

Peace, and Happy Thanksgiving in advance!

Katia : )