Puerto Iguazu, Buenos Aires, Colonia Uruguay and the Black Celebrity

At the moment, I'm being serenaded by the sounds of people constructing a new apartment downstairs. It literally sounds like the Broadway show Stomp, except with occasional gunshots. And they love starting extra early too. I might go offer to help them finishing building it just so I don't go insane. Imagine a very angry old man hitting the same nail with a hammer for 7 hours a day. That's what it sounds like.  Anyway, in other news I'm back in Salvador and regretting not taking more time out to write about my little excursion because I certainly have a lot to say, thus I will be writing in editions...

I moved on from Sao Paulo, having a really pleasant time there, to a weekend excursion in Iguassu Falls, home to some of the most magnificent waterfalls on earth. I stayed in a nice little hotel and watched like 10 movies and read a bunch. I had a tour guide that would come and pick me up, walk with me through the falls and bring me back during the day. I would've met more people, but it was majority older couples on vacation, so I was more hesitant to start up a conversation at dinner and during the tours and stuff. My tour guide was a really cool, very nice guy, who told me all about his newborn and how he doesn't sleep at all and how his wife's parents are German and therefore somewhat boring. The funny thing was he said that part like I should've understood that being German naturally means you are a boring person. I'm still learning I guess. In any case, the falls were crazy! The first day, on the Brazilian side called Foz do Iguacu, was quite short. We drove through the park and walked a small trail to where we had a panoramic view of the falls on the Argentine side. It was amazing seeing them all spread out like that - really a wonder of the world. I was being so corny - listening to TLC "Don't Go Chasin' Waterfalls" on my iPod (I do things like that that only amuse myself in the moment). That and the museum about the falls were the highlights of the day. 

The next day though was much longer and such a blast. The Argentine side called Puerto Iguazu had tons more to do.  When we arrived, I experienced the first of what would be a series of what I call "black celebrity" moments.  Now it is fair that I was wearing my LeBron James jersey and I'm quite taller than most, and I'm black, so I stand out in a place like Puerto Iguazu. As we were walking into the park, this woman signaled to me and pointed to her camera. I figured she wanted me to take a quick picture of her and her girlfriends, so I said sure and reached out for the camera.  She then wagged her finger no and signaled for her friends to jump at me from both sides so she could take a picture.  It all happened so fast I went ahead and posed for the camera, confused as they thanked me and walked away giggling and smiling. Maybe they thought I was famous? Maybe they thought I was LeBron James (who I'm sure wears his jersey wherever he goes)? Maybe they just wanted a funny picture? I don't think too much about things like this, but it would become a recurrent theme (during Carnaval, as my friends and I waited for a pizza in a grocery store, which is as bad of an idea as it sounds, this drunk guy called me Michael Jordan 42 times and asked for my autograph. I signed a piece of paper that said "I believe you can fly. - Love, MJ 23."). I digress... 

I was closer to the falls on this side so there was a persistent mist hitting me all day which offset the ridiculous heat. The trails led us to look at the falls from all different angles, from the bottom looking up to the top looking down. There were also cool birds, fish, and butterflies with such exotic colors everywhere. I, of course, couldn't resist taking the boat ride they offered. So I paid up, put on my life jacket and set off to the mouth of the waterfalls. It was a bit scary as we plowed into them, it reminded me of a Dorney Park ride - I got sufficiently soaked. But as the wind wiped the waterfalls from my face as the boat made a sharp, quick turn back towards the dock, I looked up at the rainbow soaring above my head and the waterfalls surrounding me, with those comforting, perpetual rushing sounds, and I just took a moment to thank God. It was one of those humbling moments, where I ask myself, "Why do I deserve to experience this? What makes me so special that I get to see something as marvelous as this?" And the answer really is nothing.  I'm reminded how small I am, how significant I may be to some people in this world, but just how insignificant I am in the larger narrative of world history.  The answer is simply that I've been blessed for some unknown reason, and luck has followed me closely to this point in my life.

Sao Paulo, Museu AfroBrasil, and Hip Hop

I'm sitting on the bus at the moment taking an overnight trip to Iguassu Falls. As is usually the case with these kinds of trips for me, the seat in front of me is reclined all the way back, and a little girl who honestly looks exactly like a cabbage patch doll has been staring me in the face for 30 minutes.  She's a cutie, but when her mom says sit down, she promptly replies "No! you sit down!" (in portuguese). She's already been hit and cried once. I'm going to keep a count of how many times it happens in the next few hours.

I just finished up a great week in Sao Paulo, where I tried to fit in as much as possible with the little time that I had. I stayed with Miles in his swank Moema apartment, and met some really cool people throughout the week. I love big cities, so when I arrived I was super excited to ride the subway. Immediately I realized how incredibly diverse the place is and just how huge it is as well. Except for the trip to Museu AfroBrasil, this trip definitely felt pretty touristy for me, which is fine. I spent one day walking around the Centro, visiting old churches and markets and things of the like. Then I spent another day in Liberdade, the Japanese neighborhood, marked by sushi restaurants, stores selling geisha dolls and traditional attire, and fancy red street lights. The history of Japanese immigration in Brasil is fascinating - they really have a bustling community here - the second largest outside of Japan I think. I chatted with a few random Japanese people in portuguese, which I found so much fun for some reason. I think the many cultural collisions going on made it so interesting. I also visited Av. Paulista - the area of Sao Paulo with big businesses and skyscrapers galore - very modern with tons of interesting things to do. I finally saw Milk which was a great movie. And I took a bus to the areas a bit outside of Sao Paulo, which were markedly poorer and blacker. It was important to see those areas in contrast to the poverty in the city center and in contrast to the bustling middle class. 

Nightlife was good too - Miles and I went to an 80's themed bar which had ridiculously expensive drinks. People were averaging 2 baby sips per 5 minutes.  We went to a small dance club called Vegas that had some terrible music upstairs - loud, slow rock and a DJ so old I was worried for his health. The downstairs was markedly more fun, so we stayed there with some other friends acting silly until about 5am. Then my last night we went to Dolores Dolores, this place in Vila Madalena highly recommended by Dave from Rio. The place was spinning "black music" and was too much fun! They started with guys doing live performances of some hits - Ne-Yo, Usher, Snoop, etc. Then the DJ took over and played some classic 90's R&B mixed in with some newer stuff, and some songs I've never heard. I had a blast! I was in heaven. It was funny to see the difference in dancing though to American hip hop - not as much aggressive grinding going on (update: this little girl is getting really close to my laptop at the moment - you're only cute until you break something). The crowd was very young and hip as well. I couldn't help but wonder how a place like this would do in Salvador.  I do love axe (the most popular form of music in Salvador), but I needed a break to be honest, especially after the Carnaval axe overload. Anyway, it's interesting thinking about how "black" music means solely American hip hop here - which leads smoothly into my trip to Museu AfroBrasil in Parque Ibirapuera...   

I met there with a girl named Cristiane who I was introduced to a few months ago via facebook. She works at the museum, and invited me to come in to talk about the focus of my trip and her impressions of Africa and racial/national identity in Brasil (update #2: the girl is now crying again...). First of all, the museum is huge! It certainly put the small, rinky-dink one in Salvador that Chi and I visited to shame. There were Afro-Brazilian exhibits by some talented artists in two forms - the art by people who consider themselves Afro-Brazilian (and their art wasn't necessarily Africa-themed) and African-themed art by Brazilians who don't necessarily consider themselves Afro-Brazilian. Then there were of course Africa-themed exhibits by Afro-Brazilians (update #3:the little girl just hit my laptop, cabbage patch kid v. fof-master flex is about to commence). And I love that the focus was on the long historical exchange between parts of Africa and Brasil. There were exhibits on Brazilian communities that moved to Nigeria in the 19th century, on current Mozambican immigration to Brazil, and of course the intricate connections between candomble ceremonies and traditional West African forms of worship. And the focus wasn't only on the clothing and the masks, it was also on the people who history can sometimes forget. For example, freed slaves from Brazil composed an extremely interesting, cosmopolitan group who remade and molded visions of Africa throughout the country - it was important to see their faces. After walking around for about two hours, Cristiane and I sat down for a long chat. It was an amazing conversation - and a long one too, so I won't get into all the specifics. But one interesting question that emerged was how the meaning of Africa is evolving in Brazil today. As a younger generation grows up here, and identifies more with a black international identity, that uses American hip hop and rap as tools of resistance, does the idea of Africa and a connection to the continent become more diluted? Cristiane mentioned how noone knows much about Africa at all in her experience (sounds like the U.S.), even some Afro-Brazilians that she knows - interesting. There are parallels here with immigrant communities in the U.S. and the fear on the part of parents of a loss of culture over time. If kids don't speak the native tongue, if they don't know much about their mother country, what happens to the meaning of a homeland in those families? So, is it only a matter of time until the word "Africa" rings hollow? Does it already? After SP, these questions seem more pressing....(last update: after staring contest with little girl, fofmaster has defeated cabbage patch doll. she's now sleeping soundly in her mother's lap, undoubtedly dreaming about the magnitude of her defeat)...

Rio, Samba, and the Search for Africa...

I just left Rio and arrived in Sao Paulo, going from a hostel where strangers eerily stare at you while you sleep to my friend's swank apartment in Moema. It'll take me some time to get used to hostels since that'll most likely be the majority of the second half of my fellowship year. I've only had the whole hostel experience with Kuumba, where you like everyone in the room and it feels like a big, happy sleepover - people singing gospel, spirituals, debating black history and politics. It's safe to say that that was not the hostel in Rio, but for what it is - a place to sleep and get some breakfast - it was fine. And it was in Ipanema, which is a really cool, safe neighborhood with tons of bars, restaurants, and a beach a few blocks away...

My time in Rio came and went so quickly. I rolled with my new friend Dave, an awesome entrepreneurial type working in the city, pretty much every day. I saw the big Christ statue which was absolutely amazing - the only downside was that we were basically in a clowd and couldn't see much for most of the time. But being in a clowd is cool I guess. I also went up the Pao de Acucar, and got a great view of the city. Luckily I went there on a clear day so it was all good. And I met a nice group of New Zealanders/Aussies/Scottish friends who joined me for a nice dinner with some delicious picanha. Speaking of meat, Dave and I went to Porcao, the famous Churrascaria. I've been to a few in Salvador, but this one was probably the fanciest. Every meat they brought out was delicious, and when the filet mignon (com sal) I requested came out, I literally heard angels singing and there was a strange light in the sky :). At some bars and a small nightclub, I met some cool people - some of Dave's friends mostly. We went to Lapa one night, where it feels like the whole city congregates. I saw the famous stairs in Snoop Dogg's famous "Beautiful" video by Selaron de Chile and the hip Friday night life. I also saw the very dodgy side of Rio, which is somewhat unfortunate. At night things get shady and prostitutes come out in full force. The only hip-hop bar we found just had to be the central location for old monied foreign men to pick up young, scantily-clad Brazilian girls (and I mean girls...). Sex tourism is supposed to be a real problem here, and I saw exhibit A. In the moment it's a bit amusing, but thinking of the broad implications of that, it's a bit disturbing - I digress. So I basically did lots of touristy stuff with my time in Rio. Some of it was by design, and the other side was that it was particularly difficult to find Africa in Rio.

Rio was definitely one of the most beautiful places landscape-wise I have ever seen, but it compared for me to South Africa in some ways, in that people fear each other so much and there's such a built up tension, a feeling that violence can explode at any minute, that it prevents people from going to certain parts of the city or going to certain venues. Zona Norte and Zona Sul are basically different worlds, as well as the favelas and the rest of Rio. There is an outright drug war going on in the favelas all the time (certainly looks that way on the news), which make them rather dangerous and risky. So while Rio is interesting and diverse and gorgeous, one is really confined to a few neighborhoods, especially as a traveler without the kind of connections that might allow one to see a bit more.

One interesting experience I did have though took place in Lapa. We went to a show featuring two big groups - Beija-Flor and Monobloco. Despite the unbearable heat - I sweat like 5 lbs. - we met some cool people and listened to some quality samba and axe. I've been hearing axe for 2 months now since that's the most popular music in Salvador; apparently in the South samba reigns supreme. But it was cool to see the two juxtaposed together, and the slight influence of Africa that came along with it. Now clearly these percussion-heavy groups were inspired by African rhythms and music emerging from black consciousness movements here in Brazil, and beyond that, Beija-Flor's performance was especially interesting. Their axe music was accompanied by beautiful black women basically dressed in fancy, diamond-laced bikinis and giant headresses, that spread out wide like peacock feathers. Now I'm not sure the African performance this type of thing is based on, but it was certainly glamorous and there was lots of interpretation going on in terms of what performing African-inspired axe looks like in Rio, who gets to participate, and the role the dancing women play in the bigger picture of cultural performance. Was this display of overt sexualized dancing someone's problematic view of Africa in Brazil or was it the manifestation of a hybrid creation of musical performance over many decades in southern Brazil? Since it was difficult to find any strong connection to Africa in Rio outside the clearly descended music and food, I'm not sure the answers to my questions.

More Brazil...

In a few hours I'll be leaving for Rio de Janeiro, followed by Sao Paulo. I'm excited to do some more traveling while I'm here, and especially to see the differences between Bahia and the south of Brazil, which is supposed to be very different. I'll only be in each place for a few days, and then I'll return to sunny Salvador at the end of March to finish out my stint in Brazil. Here we go...