A Night of Cambomble in Salvador, Bahia

Well gents,we are here in Salvador,Bahia, staying in a sweet and very cheap apartment in the heart of Pelhourino, taking about a thousand photos a day, and melting in the heat of this hot hot sun!
We have already been to Sao Paolo, then Ouro Preto in Mina Gerais (an beautiful old colonial gold mining town), then Brasilia (purely for Architectural Observation purposes), then a little town 2 hours north called Alto Paraiso which James did his previous post on.
Salvador has been treating us very well, we have been loading spice on every single meal and snack (except for in the fresh juices of course!) It is crazy tourist season right now, both foreigners and other Brazilians, but nonetheless we have been enjoying this town immensely.
Here is where Brazil´s most famous and flavourful cuisine originates- lots of spice and seafood and coconut milk and such, delicious! Also, things like Capoeira, and Baianas (Bahian ladies in traditional dress selling typical Bahian fare and trinkets on the street). And of course, where a lot of Candomble - an Afro-Brazilian religion that incorporates practices and traditions of Christianity, Native Indian, and African elements combined - thrives. We signed up to see a ceremony - unfortunately it was with 15 other foreigners which sucked, but nonetheless it was super interesting. We were not allowed to take pictures or video,so I have attached the following video so you have an idea of what we were seeing.



Both James and I loved it -people going into trances, dancing, the hypnotic rhythms of drums, some cigar-smoking by the entranced, some yipping and singing - muito legal! It is not for everyone though.
Anyways, one more day until we head out, perhaps south or north of here, and then to Recife in Pernambuco.
Anyways, love to you all, and stay tuned for another episode of SAMBA LIKE IT HOT!!!!

-Jazz ´n´ James

The High Paradise of Alta Paraiso de Goias

Salutations most beloved humans,

Time is short, our rumps are required on the back of a motorcycle to transport us through these arid, tropical highlands of central Brasil to some kind of lovely waterfall.  We are now at a wee cafe that serves Internet in Alta Paraiso de Goias, 250km outside of Brasilia (a lot weirder and cooler than we thought it would be), a haven for ecotourism and the center of atypical spiritual groups in Brasil.

The last while has consisted of numerous lengthy lengthy bus rides to get us from Rio to Sao Paulo to Ouro Preto to Brasilia and to our current location.  We are having a small crisis in that the hard drive containing all of our photos from the trip has decided to transform from alive to dead....hopefully we can find a techno-schaman upon our return to bring it back (or atleast the files)... so you´ll have to settle for videos of where we are scrounged up from ze Youtube.



The second video has that popular Moby track from a number of years ago....if it doesn´t tickle you correctly or it rubs your fur in the opposite direction of how you like it, just turn down the sound and activate a tune of your choosing from iTunes...that´s what I did.

Hot Primate Injection

It is 6:43am and the bus station beckons.  We are groggy... forgive any errors of wit or syntax.

 For four months  Rio has been blessed with our hooves trotting about it's steep slopes and golden valleys, the Cariocas have come to trust us and every morning you can find them waiting out in the garden for us to pet them.  I think that means 1) Nobody has robbed us yet and 2) Our Portuguese no longer causes the spurting of blood & cerebral matter from the ears' of locals.  But yeah, we're going to the bus station now and we shan't be back for a number of weeks.  That's why you get two posts.

We will certainly plonk up some rambling and images on this marvelous bloog, but without the computers it will be tough to make the highly edited, professional video and audio to which you have grown accustomed.  But click below to get a hot primate injection.

The entrance to Tijuca National Park is a few hops away from our doorstep and it is there we go whenever we have a hankering to view primates, weird birds, big fruit, hefty lizards and an unending assortment of tropical foliage.

Knowing that there shan't be too many more opportunities to hang out in there, I wandered up with my chum, Nestor, last week and we were successfully able to interact with two species of monkey...including a type I hadn't seen yet.

This video begins at our home, moves to the middle of the forest and ends up at the Mirante Dona Marta.....a place that I believe is better than the Corcovado because
1) It's not so busy  
2) It costs nothing   
3) The view is wizzonkulous

Song:  Prelude - Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (Choice Cuts)
             buy it....the whole disc is amazing!




Take care, we're off to Sao Paulo, Ouro Preto, Brasilia, Salvador, Recife and more!

The Beast Beneath the Sheets

A month or so prior to the current moment, there was an incident involving a horrid creature as we were milliseconds away from being sucked into our pillows to be deposited in dreamland.  You are hearing about it now because over the weekend we found out what it was and the overall picture became thoroughly sinister.


*click*.  That's the sound of our lamp being switched off.  Peace reigns for a grand total of two minutes and thirty seven seconds until...*tickle tickle* That's the mobile sensation on my left leg beneath the brown sheets that are supposed to protect those who are under them.  The feeling occupies a fair bit of real estate down there, and suddenly the brain is fully awake.  It demands to know what is down there and implores the swift removal of whatever it happens to be.


The light goes back on, the sheets are ripped away, the heavy-eyed but lovely lady next to me enters the curiosity party.  The thing is red and it has a lot of legs..... it is 3 or more inches long and is now at the ankle, heading around the curve of the foot.  "What the hell is that thing??!" *kick kick* "T'isn't the tarantula or behemoth cockroach previously envisioned.  An unidentified jungle beast, it is flabbergasting and I know not how to react.  The wise thing would've been to reach for the camera and let it crawl all over me in order to get a successful Youtube video, but instead I flung my foot around like a maniac until it flew to the floor (the creature, not my foot), then I splattered it to a quivering paste with one of the Havaiana sandals near by.


After wiping up the goo with a tissue and stuffing it in the garbage, the next few hours were spent lying in the dark, wide awake, reenacting the scene and imagining that every single little cutaneous tingle was another one, even bigger, coming back to avenge it's brother/sister/cousin/child.  


Last weekend in Angra dos Reis with my splendid parents, the story was retold during a conversation on Brazilian critters.  Our gracious host, Paulo, was able to identify the bed invader as a LACRAIA....a Scolopendra (psycho centipede) that has a kind of venom which is used to paralyze it's prey.  It is not fatal to humans but can inflict serious pain, nausea, vomiting and fever....good times! (chunks of info also from my father's Blackberry)


Anyway, that's all.  It was on my leg but it is dead now.  There are some videos on Youtube, including one of a giant Lacraia killing a mouse.....go see for yourself as I refuse to taint the blog with it.

The Laranjeiras Session

It might have been mentioned, but we only had contact with one person in Rio before arriving.
A disc jockey and record collector of high caliber who was dubbed Marcello when he emerged from the womb already armed with a pair of headphones and an instinct for hunting the hidden audio gems of this world.


The very first weekend after we alighted on Carioca turf he appeared floating outside our window and said "Come forth, children, I bestow upon thee two free tickets to an afrobeat concert at Circo Voador".  Our acceptance of said tickets was immediate, and the concert brought us nought but a hearty serving of merriment.


The months have now rapidly slipped by, Marcello has had numerous parties at numerous venues where we got to feel important because our names were on the guest list.  In March we'll be returning to Toronto as the effort to find ourselves with an extended visa has gone unrewarded.  Knowing that we'd be traveling for the next several weeks and returning home after Carnaval, it was decided that Marcello and myself would take the elevator to his secret audio lair in LaranjeirasBri and spend a healthy number of hours tinkering with records and yammering about our visions on particular elements in the realm of audio.  The final product is now available for you to absorb through your ear canals.  Do NOT put it in your nose.

                                      The Laranjeiras Session (W/Marcello Mb Groove) by Mogpaws on Mixcloud

The Magic Place Between Years

It shall be tricky to articulate the happenings of New Year's Eve because the amount of stimulation applied directly to the brain resulted in our minds(& 2000000 others) being splattered all over Copacabana beach. One will likely be able to find traces of cerebral residue in the sand for the next couple of centuries.

The amount of money spent on the fireworks display alone would probably have been sufficient to rectify many of the city's poverty & infrastructure problems, but boy are we glad they chose twenty minutes of colourful explosions instead! Rio knows how to party on any day of the year, but New Year's Eve exists on some separate festive strata that left us weeping & dumbstruck.

This evening is full of traditions too:

1) WHITE CLOTHING AS A SYMBOL OF RENEWAL-(rain & waves make white clothes see-through, 70% fantastic, 30% terrible depending on who's underpants and nipples become visible)

2) THROW FLOWERS INTO OCEAN FOR CANDOMBLE GODS TO GRANT YOUR WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR
-floracide ensures luck in the new year

3)SPECIFICALLY COLOURED UNDERGARMENTS FOR PASSION, WEALTH, LUCK... 

4) SWIMMING IN THE OCEAN / JUMPING OVER WAVES (James used this as a urinal just like 2 million other people, so I refrained from the ocean frolicking portion of the evening)

5)SWALLOWING GRAPES AND MAKING WISHES WITH EACH GULP!

our vantage point of the fireworks


It would be nice to tell you more about our specific NYE in Rio, but that would require writing by us & reading by you... but in short, you must experience this at least once in your life as it is truly an unforgettable night!

Witness the Christmas

            The temperature was 38 degrees Celsius in the Centro area of Rio de Janeiro just a few days ago. Summer has merely begun to warm up the massive oven called Brazil. What better time to go hunting for prezzies and the spirit of a holiday that thrives in the harsh winter conditions of more northern climes? This activity will be pursued after frolicking in the waves and drinking a good number of half-frozen cervejas on the beach over the next six hours.

            If you are here and writhing in desperation to see something related to Natal (Christmas in Portuguese), then simply wander over to any ol’ shopping center or department store.  In some of these places you can pretty much forget that you’re not at Yorkdale Mall or the Eaton Center.  However, do not buy electronics or clothing because your wallet will get a thorough milking.  Turn on the television. It won’t be long before you find a seasonal flick, a heart-warming show that involves Jesus, or someone in an elf costume encouraging everyone to make a purchase.  You may also head over to the Lagoa, Rio’s large lake, to marvel (half in awe, half in disgust) at the 85 meter, floating metallic Christmas tree.  It’s not really a tree, of course, but it does emit a lot of light and colour.

            Centro is a portion of the city that can instill a more genuine sensation of Christmas upon one’s soul.  When exiting Carioca metro station, there is sometimes a gentleman who wields a saxophone and honks out familiar carols with an admirable amount of proficiency.  His between-carol laughter and indecipherable commentary make the package complete.  A few blocks away, a mechanical Santa is perched high on a ledge above the hoards of humans bustling and sweating down below.  He rotates and waves happily enough, but if the real Santa decided to come here wearing that outfit, he would be lucky to continue living for more than thirty minutes.  Not too many steps away from the robotic Santa, an inflatable Rudolph stands on a mound of cotton inside a giant plastic sphere and looks to the next shop, which has undressed, fake pine trees out front.  In this place you can track down all the decorations, cards, presents and personalized wrapping you could possibly require.  It is a busy and lively spot that is made better by being able to haggle with the vendors to save a few reais.

           

             Around our home, in the upper parts of the Santa Teresa neighbourhood, it is also possible to identify significant evidence of Christmas.  Outside a small bar, a woman is demonstrating how an advent calendar functions to her chums and a car tootles by not long after that which contains an elderly gentleman pumping out an instrumental jazz version of Jingle Bells.  We also witness a plump lady with tight-fighting garments strolling around with the family dachshund.  This pooch is not bothered by either it’s red and green boots or it’s Santa hat. Looking to the distance behind the festive dog, you can view the favela (slum) of Prazeres and see that even in the poor, run down communities, Christmas lights attached to homes are a fairly common sight. 

              In short, as soon as you try to seek out Yule, you’ll walk right into it.  This country is heavily Catholic, and the people here have had a long time to figure out how to do Christmas when most of the population has never encountered snow.   In addition, It must be tremendously difficult to feel sorry for someone in Brazil during Canadian winter.  The woe of not having quality time with family or receiving presents can be dismantled by hiking through a rainforest to gorgeous waterfalls or gawking at the skimpy swimwear many humans wear to the beaches of paradise. 

More Music Than You Need

Just to save you some of the work you wouldn't have done, here's some recent mixes all gathered in one place.  Pay attention or ignore them at your leisure.
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This is a mix called The CR8 APEscape for the top notch and musically aware people at Invisible Friends/Cr8Apes that just went up today.  With your permission, I'd love to toot my own horn on this one.

http://Invisible-Friends.com/2010/12/mogpaws-–-the-cr8-apescape/
Mogpaws – The CR8 APEscape

This is a mix put together for Laid Back Radio out Belgium, a big thanks to them as this has already garnered more than 1500 listens.  They host a whole lot of really quality music, worth some clicks and attention.

Mogpaws - A Mental Stroll by Laid Back on Mixcloud

The mandatory Christmas mix.  There is another few days where it may sound good, but on the 26th you'd probably rather vomit blood into your own eyes than listen to all these seasonal jams.

X-Mas Soulnog by Mogpaws on Mixcloud

Lastly, a set recorded in L.A. for Dublab by our chum Will Holland a.ka. Quantic...one of the most talented and prolific producers/musicians currently crafting sound.  I avoided putting the interview we did with him up because I didn't like the sound of my voice in the beginning, but I'll do a little editing and hook you up.
New n' Old, afro-latin-brazilian funky business
http://dublab.com/archive/quantic-mix-for-dublab-09-08-10/

The Short Tale of Favela Claus

It's sad to say, but jolly Santa probably skips many houses of poor kids who live in neighbourhoods where fat white guys are targets for criminals.  This is just a kind of unintentionally morbid Christmas poem crafted while thinking about a Santa alternative who could relate better to impoverished communities, specifically the favelas of Rio.  Trying to sound like Batman in the recording was deliberate as my true dream is make the following list a reality.
Adam West 
Michael Keaton
Val Kilmer
George Clooney
Christian Bale
James Bamberger


The Short Tale of Favela Claus

Saint Nick, this fat man surely you know, he resides in a land with

Numerous reindeer and ample snow

He takes but one night to cover the Earth… to bestow, on all, gifts

And the sensation of mirth.

But peer rather closely, soon you’ll notice some gaps….

The poor kids get squat from within Santa’s sacks.

One man from Brazil did notice these flaws and attempted to become

a new hero, one aptly called Favela Claus.

Red & white were the choice of his garments & he stole a small

Van from the fire department.  He spent 1 year thieving toys

From kids with more money, he procured remote control cars

And cute, little stuffed bunnies.

This story is short & very much broken, dear Favela Claus

Would never become a holiday token.  Wished as he did, he could never ever commit, intentions and reality are different, you must admit.

On the joyous eve before Christmas, he was highly pressured to party,

By an unsavory human the locals called Marty.

They sang baile carols & danced real dirty, they stayed up late til much

Past the hour of 4:30.

Favela Claus didn’t go round the slums like he planned, instead he got so stoned

That he could not hardly stand.

He lay next to a woman with significant thighs, something displeasing

To her husband, a man twice his size. 

Before the sun came up, in the head he got shot, out came blood,

Not a little, but a lot!

The curb was a colour, the same as his suit, but the heavy rain fell

And made it dilute.

When the kids awoke later that morn,  they found nothing at all

And became depressed and forlorn.  Thus no gifts did they get that

Year or others, but not really due to Favela Claus nor their fathers

or mothers.

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While looking for information on Father Christmas's influence on the favelas, I came

across this Globo article from a couple years ago.  It's in Portuguese, though.

http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/SaoPaulo/0,,MUL238312-5605,00-PAPAI+NOEL+DISTRIBUI+PRESENTES+EM+FAVELA+DA+ZONA+SUL.html

Terrace Primates

The last two days were spent ill at home. While in bed, scarfing down Pepto Bismol & groaning to nobody, several of these little monkeys (micos) appeared outside the window. Jasmine was at class, the house was empty and I knew the ripe bananas in the kitchen could be my only hope for some kind of encounter with another life form that day. Fortunately the stereotype of monkeys liking bananas held true.  


The attitude towards these monkeys for many people here is similar to the view we have on squirrels in Toronto. 

Toronto: "Why the hell would you want to capture the moment of a dirty rodent gnawing on an old muffin wrapper?" 

= 

Rio: "Why the hell would you waste perfectly good fruit & risk getting ebola from one of these annoying scavengers?"

This smaller species actually comes into the urban areas while the larger species just hang out in the national park (which we can still see whenever we want because our new place is right next to the entrance of the park)

I'm sorry, but being from a monkiless country makes any form of primate pretty awesome.  Their little faces and nimble fingers, their public fornication and thieving nature are truly awe-inspiring things that act as a reminder that we are in a tropical environment (the 30+ temperatures, rainforest, beaches, exotic fruit, subpar transport, slowness, frequency of beer intake, shirtlessness, giant insects, pictures of cold people back home etc.... are also reminders)

So, here's just a small video of our two new friends, Wagner & Wilson, who consented to being put on the internet the moment they accepted my offering of ripe, peeled fruit.  It sure did take them a long time to eat a single banana and they refused to hold it themselves, the lazy bastards.  

For: www.sambalikeithot.blogspot.com

Duration: 53 seconds
Music: Azaxx - Lounging Place (feat Larry Stabbins) from the great new Shapes 10:02 compilation on Tru Thoughts

http://www.junodownload.com/products/shapes-10-02/1663393-02/