Trouble in Paradise??

As I was just trying to take a nap, to ward off my worst nightmare (getting sick before Carnaval - basically the worst-case scenario), my host-brother was watching Power Rangers in the next room. After my childhood obsession, I can recognize that theme song anywhere.  But I have to mention that my host brother is like 24 or 25, which definitely puts things in a different perspective.  Now I try hard not to judge people, and I'm working on improving that aspect of my thinking - to refrain from immediately judging someone based on the superficial. But I'm giving myself an exception for this one.  If I'm chillin at home watching Power Rangers in two years, please judge me, and judge me hard. Anyway, I decided to wake up, write some thoughts and finally post some more pictures...

Last night I finally saw Timbalada! They are my favorite band of the artists I've seen so far. They really were amazing. They put on a full concert - about 5 hours of non-stop music.  They even threw in a little bit of rock, electronica, and rap (with one guy screaming "GGGGG-G-Unit, after a freestyle - the only low point of the show). They have such a vast repertoire of music, from the high-powered axe to the soft ballads.  There's drumming and horns and dancers and a brilliant lead singer, who at one point tried out his English, chatting up a fan in the front. At one point he came into the audience and walked through, shaking hands, posing for pictures, and even making brief conversation every now and then. As I felt the possibility of being sick coming, I took it easy, but I still danced a good amount. It's hard not to. For one song, the whole front area of the crowd basically began stampeding around the stage in a circle. It looked like a furious ocean wave, but of people. I'm glad I wasn't in that, but it was very cool to watch. The band also had these awesome white shapes painted up and down both arms, which I think is like their group symbol. Most of the crowd had this painted on their arms as well. It was just an amazing show - I can't say enough about it. And only one weird thing happened rather than the numerous that often happen at these shows. We spent a good ten minutes trying to get away from this VERY strong woman, whose breasts were basically hanging out of her shirt. Turns out she was that strong because she was a man - I told my friend that I didn't mean to be sexist, but a girl pushing her way through the crowd like that better be a certified American Gladiator....

All the music I've taken in the last few days, and the music I will be immersed in for Carnaval got me thinking about what I haven't really been blogging about during my time here, Salvador's many challenges. It's interesting that the music has in some ways downplayed the social inequalities, the police brutality, and the poverty that exists here.  Don't get me wrong, much of the music, especially the ones rooted in a sense of black pride or connections to Africa, are extremely "conscious" and highlight lyrically the challenges still facing people of color in Brazil.  However, the performances and the experience of the music brings a very different function. Often at these shows, people are drunk, or holding tight a significant other, or dancing the night away. In general, I would venture to say the music is an outlet for people, an opportunity to just have fun and perhaps not live in hardship for the moment.  However, there is a tension here. For example, while going to show in Pelourinho for Olodum, one of the most influential blocos afros, one can't help but notice the young black children filing trash bags with empty beer cans in hopes of making some money to feed their families. One also can't help but notice the side streets of Pelo, the ones not apart of the tourist veneer, where squatters live in sometimes crumbling homes and indeed, the homeless sleep on the same cobblestone laid by slaves centuries ago. This is just an example but there are problems everywhere that need to be resolved, from the unemployment that forces young boys from favelas to sell the same necklaces on the beach everyday to the insufficient education system that doesn't prepare kids for college (and then there are the colleges where you can basically pay for a degree - not very helpful at all). Also, the country's major issue - drug trafficking - is not restricted to Rio and Sao Paolo. A friend told me of one time the police came late at night to his neighbor's home, accusing him of involvement in a recent drug trade, physically and verbally abusing him in front of his family. How is the music highlighting these struggles and mobilizing people against them? On the other hand, how is the music simply giving tourists a taste of Bahia and the locals a short respite from their daily challenges? Or does music have a different function altogether?