It's the Little Things in Life

Yesterday I spent a good hour on the rooftop of a friends' apartment at a birthday celebration, just taking in the view of Salvador and watching life move before me. I noticed many other people watching life unfold from their balconies, accompanied by the evening breeze and the brilliant colors of sunset, seemingly setting the sky ablaze. I want to do this more in my life when I am away from the sunny shores of Salvador. Taking that time to just watch and listen reminds me that it really is the little things in life that make it so wonderful. 

And speaking of little things, last night I went to this street performance literally in the middle of this neighborhood. The stage was set up between people's houses. It was so cool and very different to see this type of immersion into music in a somewhat suburban setting. People watched from their windows and danced on their front porches. And as usual, people filled the streets, dancing and drinking merrily (and the angry police patrolled as well). The band, whose name was too complicated to remember - it was one really long name - was pretty good. They performed some of the customary Ile Aiye and Timbalada covers that almost every band seems to do. And they played some of their own music, which was interesting - definitely some axe. The highlight of the performance, by far, was when the lead singer pulled these two little kids onto the stage - a boy and a girl, both no more than 6 years old.  The girl was pretty shy, singing the lyrics whenever she was forced to, but that little boy was a star! The kid grabbed the mic and sang the entire song, getting the crowd to move their hands from side to side periodically. He was a natural - more talented than some of our pop stars in the US definitely (not even kidding here). Seeing this made my day, and the kid wasn't even finished. After the song ended and the crowd erupted, the band launched into a cover of Billie Jean by Michael Jackson - which seemed like an extremely random choice until that little boy started kicking his leg out, spinning and moonwalking it across the stage. WOW! Everyone was jumping up and down with excitement. It was good to see that ol' MJ is still relevant, but it was even better to see why the music seems to flow through the veins of these people. It's because when they're young, they find music everywhere. It's not some chore they are forced to learn or some every once-in-a-while kind of thing, it's literally what defines their lives. And sometimes, like last night, it shows up in their backyard, and they have the chance to perform and do the moonwalk. 

I'm off to plan some adventures for March. With some portuguese under my belt, it's time to explore a bit more of Brasil...but after Carnaval of course!