Deeper into a complicated Cultural Soup...

History keeps repeating itself, as I've found out during my last visit to Rio December 4-8.  I had the blessing of attending a Samba party at a vary historical and religious site, Praca Do Sal (Rock of Salt).  Located in the neighborhood of Saude, originally a quilombo; where the first African immigrants from Bahia settled in Rio in the early 17th century.  A quilombo was a Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by people of African origin. Escaped slaves and a marginalized Portuguese, Brazilian aboriginals, Jews, and Arabs, and others who experienced oppression during colonization lived there and were called Quilombos.  Favelados are the displaced, marginalized peoples of present day Brazil.  Favelados, like Quilombos are people that have experienced oppression, in most cases economic oppression, and in some cases racial and sexual marginalization, and where they live are called Favelas.

Though all of the marginalized people of Brazil are not found in Favelas, since you could say the most marginalized member of the population are women, and not all women live in Favelas.

Again a very special Samba party took place on December 5 in the Praca Maua, in a place nicknamed, Little Africa, on the last remaining mountain of a former favela that contained the houses of these escaped slaves, that were literally washed away.

One that night I went to the Samba party, sure that I would jump right in and dance, which I did.  What I didn't expect is that rather than dance many of the people there just stood around and drank beer while this amazing Samba music was being played live.  Sure they knew the words to all the songs played, and sang them beautifully adding to the atmosphere of the plaza, but most did not dance.

A perfect moment

An imperfect moment

My friend, Patricia who took me there was among the majority that did not dance, and she said she didn't because she didn't know the words to the original Carioca (native to Brazil) sambas. She'd been taking samba lessons to perform the steps just right, and she just didn't dance. What this brought out to me is something that I've been running away from during the three year process of beginning to document my film, formerly WHYBRAZIL, newly renamed WHY RIO.  I'm just like every other tourist, that gets big and bad because they know no one knows them, at the vacation destination.  The only difference is - I feel something.  I feel a connection, with Brazilians that I'm positive I will be forced to explore further.  But that night the only confirmation of my connection was that the singers and dancers immediately embraced me, and gestured to indicate that I got the rhythm right.

An imperfect moment that was perfect!!!

Joyful!

But it isn't just my ability to dance the Samba that makes me want to explore this connection.  Its other intangibles.  The next morning, upon seeing a fellow hostel visitor, I was compelled to apologize because I'd made dinner in the communal kitchen, and I hadn't offered her any.  She was from Sao Paolo, and I'd noticed that she'd shared a much simpler meal the night before with the receptionist on duty that was from Rio.  She assured me that I shouldn't feel bad, and then went on to ask how my night of samba had gone.  Not to be distracted I explained that the guy that filed my fish at the fish market, had left me with a much smaller amount of fish than I expected.

On further thought back in the States I realize that its not the amount that you are willing to share that counts, its that you are willing.  I look forward to exploring what sensibilities I share with my Brazilian friends, and what other complex aspects of their culture I will uncover.

Another thought that I had when I got back to the States is how did I know to wear white?  That night December 5, was also the night that they celebrated the bringing of the religion Candomble from Bahia. In this religion it is tradition to wear all white.  Why did I wear white when I knew nothing about the significance of that night, and that plaza?  Connections....

Rocinha and Vidigal, two communities, two portraits...

I spent most of my last visit to Rio in two communities, not just visiting sites but exploring and absorbing feelings and ambience.

The first place I spent time immediately after dropping off my bags was Rocinha.  The home of my friend Zezinho, who first taught me what favelas really were about.  I noticed new things this time around.  I saw the energy of change, the constant commerce, and the irony of Rocinha's placement right next to San Corado one of the richest neighborhoods in Rio.

Now that I have walked around the neighborhood, and scene the children playing, and met some community leaders, and friends of Zezinho, I believe I have a greater understanding of the spirit that it takes to survive and thrive in Rocinha.  

I have always gotten the impression that Brazilians as whole or more accurately, the cariochas, the lower to middle class Brazilians that I have personally met don't trust or believe in the government and its practices a sentiment that President Dilma Rousseff will have a hard changing.  This is why Zezinho has started his DJ school in his own living room.  Despite the humble beginning his commitment is rock steady, as is the professionalism, that I admired when I first saw his website.  For the DJ school, Zezinho as its producer has hired teacher, printed out a curriculum for each student, and made t-shirts and banners to assure any naysayers that he is in it for the long haul.  

Filming the DJ class in progress in Portuguese, it was really the curriculum that I was observing, I was checking out the fact that the students came dressed for class, the way North Americans used to dress to travel on airplanes, a sense that they had prepared for an important event in their lives.  I noticed that everyone was on time, that students called when they wouldn't be able to make it, and that everyone was supportive of each other.  Obviously some students were gifted and some were not, but that sense of the team pulling for each member was something I hadn't experienced in quite some time.  

Later I returned to document another class and go to dinner and a baille funk (funk dance party) in the favela.   The energy had not subsided in any fashion, and reminded me of my city New York.

I was able to become comfortable in yet another favela in Rio, Vidigal, thanks to my host at Vidigalbergue Rio Hostel.  One of the owners first gave  me a tour similar to my tour with Zezinho, but then I went back on a personal tour with this sister and climbed to "Morro Dois Irmãos" (English: Two Brothers Hill) which is actually a 40 minute vertical climb.  

From this vantage point, Rocinha is at your feet, and you see how large it is in a way that I couldn't when Zezinho mentioned that there were over 300,000 people living there.  

In Vidigal there is a overall feeling of tranquility.  Its not small town feel, but more a peaceful neighborhood, where it would be easy to forget that you were in a favela.  There were not as many in your face symbols of underground trafficking.  Not to be naive, but just like in Rocinha I found myself making sure that I was not in the vicinity of anyone making 'sales' but at the same time, it obviously wasn't an issue as much as it was in Rocinha.  I am not one to sugarcoat anything.  Even my own city, if I find myself walking by an inner city park that is not well populated with children and parents, I wonder what kinds of enterprise I might be disturbing by presence.  Rio is no different than any metropolitan city, that has poor, middle, and upper economic classes. 

What makes favelas unique in my eyes is the way that the older people are respected, and the children are embraced without being smothered.  The graffiti is accepted, and the art is uncensored.  

Rio is so real....

On some level, I knew that everything you do changes you.  But with each trip to Brazil, I realize that I am being changed from the inside out.

As I looked at the kids learning how to become a DJ in the Spin Rohinha DJ School produced by my friend and documentary subject DJ Zezinho, I saw young adults present and in the now, focused 100% plus on learning the fundamentals of DJ'ing.  From my time spent in their neighborhood, eating, walking and talking with Zezinho, I realize that these people have very real challenges to just making it to the class each day.

I had the pleasure of touring both Rocinha, and Vidigal with two cariocas, and then reaching a comfort level that allowed me to visit first Rocinha and attend a baille funk, (funk party) and then Vidigal to shop for a new watch and clothing.  I have personally ridden on a moto taxi (motorcycle taxis, that are sometimes ridden by multiple people), to go up the hills of a favela, and walked down in the rain trying to avoid getting run over by a van zooming down what I now know are former race courses.

I have visited favelados who were in the process of building their new kitchens, and finding ways to improve their homes.  Below is the entrance to an artist's studio and home.  The artist was just as enthusiastic about showing the new kitchen that he's building as he was about showing his new work.

I remembered myself at the age of the DJ school students (14-30), when I was singing backup for different groups, believing that anything was possible.  Now I am actually seeing myself as I was, and being brought back to believing in my ability to make dreams come true.  As I return to the states to find that in many cases I have to wait until the new grant-writing cycle for many documentary film grants, I am slightly disheartened to be honest, but at the same time, I feel challenged to find a new way to create a portrait of the spirit of the people in Brazil that have inspired me to create my documentary WHY BRAZIL?  This is an opportunity to rework my current work sample/rough cut of the beginning of the film, because I believe more than ever that these people are special, and to get accepted for a grant I will need to create an accurate portrait, while maintaining the privacy and trust of my subjects.

I am reminded of the news report I sat and watched while having dinner in Vidigal, understanding every fifth word, about the progress being made to finish the soccer stadiums in time for the World Cup in 2014.  President Dilma Rousseff is still adamant that it is possible to meet the goal of having the majority finished by early 2013, despite naysayers.  One persons belief can make the impossible, possible.  President Rousseff is forced to deal with a population which has more faith in the belief that corruption is the only constant in Brazilian government.  She has answered this by the changeover of at last count 9 members of her cabinet that left because of corruption, or fear of investigation into corruption.

My challenge is Why Brazil...why would an audience be interested in following the challenges and hardships experienced by these characters.  Who is that audience?  I have to face naysayers who don't believe they are special. How will I do that, personalizing the story and bringing in how this process is changing me... or including the side comments ('Gringo) that Zezinho faces from jealous people, or the stress of being a student, with a child that Patricia faces, or the challenge of trusting people with his livelihood in Rio that Rotimi faces while going to other cities with bands that he is producing.

The people are either interesting or they're not.  That's real.  I believe they are interesting.  Can I show what I find interesting and universal about these people and define the audience that would also find them interesting?

The Interim...

It has been quite a long time since, I posted here, but of course I feel my absence has been justified.  I have sent out seven applications for grants for my documentary, working title WHY BRAZIL.  To do this I first bought a new computer right after returning from Carnival 2011, and was busy learning Final Cut so that I could edit the work sample of the documentary, which is actually a rough cut of an opening sequence for the film.

In the meantime, I have been getting to know my subjects, Zezinho, Patricia, and Rotimi, through emails, and facebook, and sharing my experiences with them through the social media.

What I have come to realize is that for the documentary to be real I will have to open up myself, and share even more of my own background with my subjects who are now my friends as well.  I am here in Rio now, and beginning to do that.  This time around having only been here two days I have spent a day hanging out with Zezinho, essentially just getting to know him, and sharing some of my history, and the next night I got an opportunity to go to my first baille funk with Patricia and her sister Priscilla who I met in person for the first time, yesterday.  Its funny how you can feel comfortable with someone just from seeing pictures of a person, and in Priscilla's case knowing her sister Patricia.  We partied like old friends.  I'm sure many people can relate, how disarming it is to first meet or hear of someone through the internet.

This is how I met my boyfriend of almost two years, and I am a solid convert, and believer that sometimes people are braver and more open on the internet, than they would normally be in person upon meeting someone for the first time.

Along with editing, and grant writing, I have been following the progress, and challenges of Zezinho, Patricia, and Rotimi, and the progress and challenges of its new leader Dilma Rousseff.  I believe that the Brazilian people were not quite prepared to have such a strong female leader.  I have come to know that she is cleaning house in the Brazilian government, and I hope this will have a positive effect on the ability of "all" Brazilians to benefit from the money and opportunities that will come to Brazil with the advent of the World Cup and the Olympics.

A large part of me created this documentary is me experiencing first hand how Brazilians feel about about their reality.  One example was the experience I had catching a taxi to Vidigal, a favela in Rio where I am staying.  The hostel sent a taxi to meet me, but it broke down right outside the airport, and I had to get a regular cab.  Some of the cab drivers, made a face when I mentioned my destination like "why would you want to go there?"  I might have been assuming, but I got the impression that this was not a desirable location, and they couldn't understand why I would want to go there.  Its one thing to be told by favelados that they are discriminated against, and its another to experience that discrimination indirectly myself.

Community...

I have recently been thinking about what this word means, and I've come to realize that in this day and age there is no limit to the size of your community, it just depends on how you define this word.  When I think of my own community, I think of the people that I pass when taking my weekly walks in the community who have the nerve to tell me "You're running a little late today..." as I pass.  The people in the beauty supply store who ask me if I've been out of the country.  I consider my community to be my friends and family that I keep in touch with and care about, and share things with, even when we are not even on the same continent.  I think of my work community, of fellow flight attendants who share things like missed periods, and grandchildren about to be born, and my family in Texas, who shares news about Obama, and my family in New York, that shares news about recipes, and diets, and funny email jokes.  Community is important to us all, and as I recently read about the BOPE, the first military presence entering favelas and then the UPP, the "new police" who are supposed to be the new authorities, taking over for the traffickers, being run out of some favelas, my first instinct because I have the luxury of being distanced literally from these situations, was I'll not focus on the negative, I won't write, "is everybody ok!"  Thinking that the people that know I care will know that they are in my thoughts and prayers.  More importantly, I remind myself, that some of my friends in Brazil, have better things to do with their time, than chatting on Facebook, or blogging about their daily life.  I've actually starting feeling fortunate whenever I hear from anyone that I care about, because even though its easier, it sometimes is not "Easy" to reach out.

In fact, as one friend wrote..."they woke me up", you can't not speak about injustice you have verbalize how you feel, and share those feelings.  Having the World Cup in Brazil for the first time, since 1978, is a positive thing.  However, I also know that this much attention on one place has the potential to have governments look for quick solutions to long standing problems.  I used to work for ABC Television Network, and I know that at best the outside world will hear just the tip of the iceberg with regard to what is really going on to create this image of a country cleaning up for the World Cup.  I do know that I have seen pictures of people attempting to go about their daily lives even as police are shaking down counter-fitters, and traffickers, right across the street.  When I am in Chinatown in New York City, and see one of the vendors being harassed by police across the street, and I realize that I had bought something from the same vendor the month before.  This is my sense of community, there but for the grace of God could be me, witnessing violence to my community up close and personal, or even being drawn into the violence.  I think of my son, who we just took out to dinner to celebrate him getting his Masters degree, and I hope the young children passing the police raids on the favela street corner, continue on to school, and are not disheartened.

The funny part is my documentary has afforded me an opportunity to speak to people in various communities in Rio de Janeiro, where the most recent upheavals have occurred.  There are actually people that believe the hype, the UPP, the passification process is going smoothly, and is welcome by the favela communities.  At least that is what they say into the microphone, but maybe turning a blind eye is part of wanting the added tourism, and financial investment to continue.  Maybe some people choose to look beyond today, to a future that includes more hospitals being built, more bank branches being built, and more work opportunities opening up, as the World Cup and the Olympics get closer.

While busy acquiring a new computer, learning a new editing program, and sending out grants to fund my documentary WHY BRAZIL, it has also been important to keep in touch with my community, and to exchange information about opportunities for free training that are opening up in Rio, and even attempting to get a group of fellow flight attendants to go with me on my next trip to Brazil.  Ultimately, my interest in Brazil, has led me to meet some people that don't have the luxury of sticking their head in the sand, and are therefore forced to be as honest as possible about their dreams, the priorities, and this honesty and focus on the now is spilling over into everything I do.

How much deeper...

As Rotimi, one of my subjects for the documentary mentioned, its hard to tell what is being done for the World Cup and what is being done normally.  Rio is moving at a fast pace. Taking complete advantage of its renown as a country of football (soccer) fanatics who will host the 2014 World Cup, its notoriety as a country positioned to become the sixth largest economy based on its being the world's first sustainable biofuels economy and the biofuel industry leader and its union with other new leaders BRICS (the economic union of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), Brazil is starting to ask for an end to the dominance of leaders from U.S. and Europe in the International Money Fund and the World Bank. 

"We will insist on the fact that governance at the IMF and the World Bank cannot be a systematic rotation between the U.S. and Europe, with the other countries excluded," Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff told reporters in Beijing April 12. "There is no reason for that."

The question for the small group of Brazilians which I chose to focus on in the documentary is how much of the economic power will filter down to the common man.  Most of the people that I asked about how they were going about making their dreams come true never mentioned going through the system to get funding or inquiring about opportunities, and I found that to be odd.  I know from my own experience that after you get over the initial fear of asking for help, and questioning whether your own ideas and interest have merit, applying for funding is just another way to keep your dreams moving.  It need not be an either or, but  is a  valid "in addition to" in combination with the do-it-yourself method. 

I am put in mind of the artist who I'd met in Salvador Bahia that also owned his own restaurant Artist X (he is a private person), who first mentioned that any and every infrastructure request that he'd ever made involved bribery to officials.  His statement stuck with me and I immediately gave up on my initial enthusiasm for Brazil.  I thought 'this apple has a worm in it, and I'm not moving here'.  However, since then, (late 1999) I have grown to know that the U.S. has its own brand of corruption that is just as insidious even for being more hidden, and infrequently talked about. 

In Brazil there is no welfare system, there is no bail out, but is what you see what you get?  As I look past the paradise that is the initial impression that I had of Brazil, I wonder what happened to the gang of little boys I used see by the park near the beginning of Ipanema, and who is fighting for the little girl that I saw watching the buses go by as she used the street as her facility in Lapa.  How much deeper will I need to go to find out WHY BRAZIL?

I later found out that Artist X,  that I met in 1999 still lives in Salvador, uses the international arts fund to ship his artwork to festivals and exhibits for free, and has also become a real estate agent. What is the unique element about this country that keeps people coming back, investing, and prospering despite its corruption, poverty and racial problems. 

Rio Carnaval 2011 and More

Rio 2011, and now I can say I've seen it all...

There is no way to truly prepare for Carnaval in Rio, to look at pictures, or video does not prepare you for the reality of being plugged into the light socket that is this unique celebration.  Carnaval goes from morning till night and one street party, "blocko" blends into another, until you feel like Alice in Wonderland.  Sometimes you want to step away for a minute, but then you find yourself in the midst of a group of people who are so warm, so willing to share their enjoyment, that you can't help but participate.  I am collecting a few select interviews, for my documentary, but at the same time uncovering a mystery.  Each person has a picture of what's going on in Rio and the rest of Brazil, some of it positive, some of it negative, all depending on the perspective.  One day I did an interview with a Carioca, native Brazilian, who spoke about the improvement in the bus routes.  Gone are the days of old when you could stick out your thumb and get any city bus to stop for you.  In preparation for the World Cup and the Olympics, Rio is now setting up Zone 1, 2, 3, etc. where only certain buses stop, and this has been going on for some time but with some resistance.  At 3 a.m. when I was trying to find the right bus to take me to Lapa after having attended 6 blockos that day, I was not amused that I had to keep walking until I found the right zone. 

Some of the favelas in Rio have been "cleaned up".  Drug lords (the guys) have been kicked out by police, who have established a permanent police presence in "some" favelas.  Meanwhile other favelas have the "guys" paying for mini-vans to transport people to and from the favelas, and the "guys" are improving the favelas in other ways.  Some Brazilians feel that kicking out drug lords, only forces them to move to other cities in Brazil, much like XXX shops moved from Time Square in New York to surrounding neighborhoods.  This is the fast paced city that is Rio de Janeiro, ever the same and ever changing.

I am greatful to Carnaval 2011 for rejuvenating my spirit, and reminding me that we all create our own reality each day.

I'm not shocked, I am surprised...

I had just finished the first part of my interview with a character in my documentary WHY BRAZIL. I left my camera with my subject at the table in a beachside bar, and went downstairs to the ladies room. After paying my 2 reals to the restroom attendant I went to a stall, saying 'escupa' as I brushed by the attendants girlfriend who was leaning over an overstuffed backpack and in the middle of a discussion. I thought nothing of it. It was around 11pm and in relaxed Rio seeing an attendant talking to a friend while working was no big deal. I went back to the table. my subject, a well brought up Nigerian man asked if I wanted another cerveza and I said sure. He continued telling me about the difference between loose woman and the nice girls that went to church that he had met in Rio.

Beer doesn't stay in my system long so I went back to the restroom. I noticed after I'd paid that the same backpack was on the floor of the first stall. I finished and went to wash my hands and realized the same girl had changed from Jean shorts to a red sequined dress that barely covered anything. She had plugged the curling iron into a socket next to the electric hand dryer and it caused the hand dryer not to work. She politely took her plug out but I shook my hands and my head and left the bathroom.

I am surprised that I didn't see a red letter on her forehead, when I first saw her in the bathroom. SHE SEEMED LIKE A REGULAR GIRL! Not like a hooker, loose woman, street or should I say beach walker, at all. I was to find myself surprised often in Brazil but that was one of the last times I went anywhere without my camera.

A part of me thinks stealing a picture of the girl curling her hair would be judgmental and the filmmaker in me deeply regrets not having the image to explain in a quicker way, this dark side of Brazil.

Surrounded by Mountains that encircle myriad cultures

Brazil is a multi-ethnic society, consisting mainly of the Amerindians (the indigenous Indians of Brazil), the descendents of colonial and post-colonial Poruguese settlers and immigrants, and the African slaves brought over primarily to work the sugar cane industry.  These were later followed by Italians, Spaniards, Germans, Japanese, Syrians and Lebanese.

From Africa, Brazilians get some of their most addictive spices: dende, peppers, dried spiced shrimp, nuts, and cilantro, and coconut milk that were added to the sweet potatoes, cassava meal, corn porridge, hearts of palm, roots, and appreciation of certain species of fish, that were first used by the Brazilian Indians, resulting in foods such as Acharaje: a cornmeal sandwich with a shrimp and ocra filling, and Feijoada a stew of beans with beef and pork, which is a typical Portuguese dish, also typical in Brazil, Angola and other former Portuguese colonies. In Brazil, feijoada is considered the national dish; and finally they make Moqueca (pronounced "mo-KEH-kah"), a stew made with fish, onions, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, and in the northern state of Bahia, coconut milk.  Though all of the above are enough to endear a visitor to the country's food, it is the Churrasco that consist of a large variety of meats including chicken, beef, sausage and pork, that is a Brazilian food tradition that has spread to many of the world's cosmopolitan cities.  The meat is usually barbequed, sliced at the table and offered buffet style by wondering attendants.

But it is the African tradition of extended family that I most noticed during many visits to some of the juice bars found throughout the city. From Portugal, the Brazilians got port development experience first acquired in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese Kingdom was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal. Similar to China where every viable space holds a mom and pop business, like a curbside tailor, or shoe cobbler, the Brazilians are an enterprising people, that believe in building from the ground up.  This has led to economic growth first inspired by developments in fossil fuels and later, marketing, and its ability to judge the competition that led to Brazil acquiring the 2016 Olympics and the 2014 World Cup (Brazil is the world's second largest producer of ethanol fuel and the world's largest exporter).

Even now the Brazilian government has renewed its efforts to put a new face on Rio, and in particular, the favelas.  It has encouraged celebrating the art found in many of the favelas, by sanctioning tour groups comprised of upperclass European and Western tourist to downplay the harder urban elements.  Another example of the celebration of art is the roadside panels which frame the highway into Rio de Janeiro's center coming from the airport.  The panels attempt to cover your initial site of the favelas that dot, the city, with art ranging from graffitti, to religious portraits.  Another way that the Brazilian government is attempting to homogenize the landscape is the insertion of movie theaters on the edges of favelas; along with a permanent police presence in some favelas. The question is will these additions benefit the poorer Brazilians, or is all of the profit from this and other beautification projects going to the new breed of entrepreneur that has landed in the city.  This and other tough questions are ones that I long to ask the new government, led by Brazil's first female president, who grew to strenth as first the Secretary and then the Minister of Mining and Energy.

In our global economy what lessons will Brazil take from other cultures to mix with its own multi-cultural soup.  The visuals of the synergy and community present at a juice bar, or along a street, filled with Coconut water vendors, and mop salesman, are all a part of what Why Brazil, the doc will quickly express visually, far more simply and thoroughly than Why Brazil the blog.

The beauty and the ugliness are an equal draw...

I have lived in New York since my college days, and though I come from Texas, and country beginnings, I thrive on the energy of NYC.  Brazil has that same energy, the big city kind, and yet it also has forest and beach, and mountains.  Something both places share is a disparity between classes.  I believe the negative aspects of Brazil, the poverty, the sexism and the corruption are part of what makes Brazil "cook"; just like NYC.  In Brazil, the negative is offset by the spontaneity and warmth of the people. 

I can think of no better experience from Brazil to explain the mix of negative and positive, than relating my experience walking up to the "Christ the Redeemer" statue in Rio de Janeiro.  Why hike up 12 miles to a popular tourist site that had both cable cars and taxis to reach it?  Because the day before I went, a taxi driver half convinced me with his 12 words of English that the hike was just a little over 5 miles.  My ego backed by my frequent stints of 5 mile  jogs on the treadmill in gyms across America further convinced me that I was up to the task of hiking to the top. 

Approximately 8 miles in, I realized that I'd taken on more than I could handle. I found myself walking along the edge of a poor neighborhood and thrust into the theater of a chicken, a disheveled man and a half naked baby around 2 years old.  First I observed the chicken running after the child, a boy, pecking very close to its chubby legs,  and then I realized that the man was watching me very closely from a slab of concrete that filled in as the porch of his home.  Something about the way the building was leaning quite precariously against the next, made the word favela come to mind.  The man starred, and I became uncomfortable, but then we both turned as we heard the chicken clucking loudly; the child was now chasing it and attempting to grab its tail feathers.  No longer threatening the father looked on proudly and smiled, just a a laugh came from my mouth, and no further communication was needed. 

I kept walking energized by the contact, but 10 miles in the encounter and the beauty of the rain forest surrounding me, were no longer enough to sustain me, and the tea and the raisins, and nuts that I'd brought along were finished.  At this point, a taxi driver stopped offering to take me the rest of the way for free, because I looked so tired.  In the end, he did ask for payment, a kiss on the cheek, and in less than two minutes I was at the statue.  I was sooo tired that after wringing out my t-shirt and and buttoning my jacket to act as a shirt, I barely took five pictures of this huge Christ statue.  However, what I lack in pictures, I am rich in memories, of the way I felt, changing from being threatened by the man's stare to sharing in his joy and pride over his son's hutzpah.  Who knew my most beautiful memory of the Christ the Redeemer journey would be a father's pride.

What's His Name?

It's funny, when I tell people I've been to Brazil over 12 times, for many people the next question is "What's his name?"  Though there are many men who travel to Brazil just for the women, and come back with multiple girlfriends, or even a wife.  I have never had a boyfriend in Brazil, and that's not why I go... 

One of the reasons I enjoy my visits is the music, there's nothing like going to a Samba club, and having what begins as a theatre style Samba music performance by a live band turn into a club wide party with smiles, appreciation, joy and over-all breaking down of barriers.  It's most similar to an old school, jazz jam in the Village in New York with musicians joining in, or a freestyle rap cypher, or a drum circle in a park. 

...or a political rally (they almost always include a band and drinks after the politicians speak) on the beach in Salvador, Brazil where the audience is one big gyrating mass.  You forget that you don't know the dances and you feel comfortable joining in because no one is judging you.

The last example I'll give here that is especially unique to Brazil, is a Friday night party in Lapa.  Lapa is a neighborhood in Brazil famous for its nightlife and landmarks, particularly Carioca Aqueduct, also know as Arcos da Lapa (An aqueduct constructed in the mid-18th century).  It is near these arches that a cluster of clubs is surrounded every Friday night by food and drink vendors, and Samba bands that play out in the street.  Some nights the parties spill out of the "clubs" that are basically brazilian hip-hop jams, with only a beer/wine licquor bar inside, and restrooms, and speakers facing the streets.  Brazilian street parties are an equal mixture house party, and block party, which is includes street people, and tourist and Carioca all dancing together.  Best enjoyed when attended by a large group of friends, who go with the attitude, "we come to sweat".

Why Brazil and not somewhere else?

Through my daytime gig, I've seen beautiful beaches in Costa Rica, Barcelona, Tel Aviv, Nice, Mexico, Venice, and Cape Town, and its not just the beaches.  I've gone to wonderful outdoor markets, in each cities and many more but its not just the markets.  I exhale in Brazil, I forgive myself, and let go of the control and expectations that I've tortured myself with for much of my life, and I can just enjoy.  Control and expectations are a part of any upwardly mobile civilization, however in Brazil, and Rio specifically for me, I seem to be able to slow down.  As my "PAPA" (my mother's father) would always tell me, "Rita! hurry up and slow down."  Even to monitoring how many sheets of toilet paper I use in the bathroom; instead of in typical "Ugly American fashion" rolling off as much as I feel entitled to use...I slow down and appreciate many small things that I enjoy in Brazil. 

When I first came to Brazil, in 1999, it was a pleasure trip with a great friend, from elementary school, who put me on as her companion which allowed me to visit, Salvador, Bahia.  It was amazing, acaraje, and colors, and cachaca, and drum schools, and art, lots of art.  But I kept coming back because after 9/11 I was so dissatisfied with the U.S. and governments decisions.  I wanted to find a new home.  I did a documentary about how teenagers, felt about 9/11 called VOICE OF THE FACELESS that went to a few festivals, including the African Diaspora Film Festival in New York and the London Black Film.  Not realizing that getting in festivals was a job in itself, I dropped the ball.  Instead I focused on making a living in film, and then as a jewelry designer.  It was when the economy first began to fall, early in 2005, that I decided to try hand as a flight attendant.  To my mind I was forsaking the arts, and committing to curiosity.  The only problem, is the arts, and in particular filmmaking is in my blood.  From that access I have since been to Brazil over a dozen times and began filmming what is now the feature documentary WHY BRAZIL?  So many asked me, Why do you keep going back?  This question helped me focus my filming, and do some interviews with people that answer that question and at the same time presented others.  This blog is my journey.