BRAZILIAN HEART
April 2011
Since 1998

At 10:27am the bus crossed the Delaware River. It was a sunny day, but crisp cold. Everything was so clear; a clarity you wish you had when you’re stressed out. The countryside was beautiful even though the trees were still naked; the smile of the light green of the grass growing in the middle of patches of snow saying “Hey! It’s me again!” My mind gave special attention to the Indian names of the avenues and towns. Any bit of history ignited my attention even if I was half asleep or my back hurt. Another Toll? Wow! There are many around there. We moved from Middletown, Connecticut to Rehoboth, Delaware passing through the outskirts of New Jersey one more time. During the way I read few pages of the book my friend Dev gave me in New Mexico. It’s called Songs of Bliss.
“But talking and wandering
Won’t bring the experience
You’re searching for.”
I paused to think about the gypsy in me; that kind that feels a sense of urgency, like life is going to end at any time; that one that wants to swallow all the knowledge in this world in one gulp. Because of that being, I have the tendency to stumble over my words, talk on top of my friends’ talk, eat and read at the same time, and sometimes wish I‘d be in another place. In a way it’s funny and I seem to be entertained by my monkey mind. But once in a while, the overwhelming mental wanderer plays tricks on me when I’m on the stage waiting for the cue to start singing. “I forgot that part of the lyrics again; wow I never heard that bass embezzlement before; this cowbell is so loud; love the way we play with each other; remember to tell him to slow down the tempo, what a great piano solo, man; that guy on the first row looks so sad; what can I do to make people happy; this monitor sucks; my knee hurts; These days I’m aware of the endless dance of my thoughts and this bothers me. Then I remember a friend telling me to embrace it all, so I repeat to myself: “Embrace it all, Katia.” I notice I physically embrace myself, and then I feel comforted.

SHOW
Friday, April 22 at 8pm @ Vitello’s with Sambaguru. Special guest: Miguel Gandelman on sax.
4349 Tujunga Avenue, CA 91604-2752 (818) 769-0905
http://www.vitellosrestaurant.com/

BOOK
O Encontro Marcado (Fernando Sabino, 1923-2004)
A 1956 novel about a young man looking for the “real reason of his life.”
Once Sabino said that he’d like to be a jazz musician…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on66qzbsnBM

BRAZILIAN RISING STAR
www.greccoburatto.com

BRAZILIAN DANCE – SILVESTRE TECHNIQUE
Rosangela Silvestre, the inspiring choreographer from Salvador, Bahia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6acWOMTrts
http://www.silvestrelink.com/

BRAZILIAN VEGETARIAN BEINGS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIka8500CM8

LANGUAGE
“The Nheengatu language is an Ameridian language of the Tupi-Guarani sub-family. It is also known by the Portuguese name ‘Amazonian General Language’. In 2003, Nheengatu became an official language along with Portuguese, in São Gabriel da Cachoerira (Sty. Gabriel of Waterfall), a city and a municipality located on the northern shores of the Rio Negro River in the Amazonas state in Brasil.”

FOR YOU
“Sobre a nudez forte da verdade, o mundo diáfano da fantasia.”
Under the strong naked truth, the diaphanous world of fantasy (illusion).
(Eça de Queiroz, born in Povoa de Varzim, Portugal)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Maria_de_E%C3%A7a_de_Queiroz

“Em mim a anatomia enlouqueceu. Sou todo coração.”
The anatomy got crazy in me. I’m all heart.
(Vladimir Maiakovski, born in Russia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Mayakovsky

A Brazilian hug from somewhere between North Carolina and Virginia, US,
Katia : )