A gringo's eye view of music, art, culture, politics and life in general in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Expect to read about my interests (baile funk carioca, graffiti, favelas, food) as well as my general observations of life in this Cidade Maravilhosa.
pictured above: finalists in last years Miss Garota TB beauty pageant. photo: O Globo
Tomorrow I will be djing in front of an audience consisting of members of the international press, various Brazilian celebrities, a documentary film crew and a captive (literally) audience of very attractive Brazilian woman. Where and what is this dream gig? The Garota TB beauty pageant in the Talavera Bruce Womans Penitentiary, Gericinó Penitentiary Complex; Rio state's largest such facility.
The contest, which has taken place for the last 5 years, draws international media attention and is used a tool for empowerment and rehabilitation of the female prisoners. While I've never been big on beauty pageants (and have certainly never djed at one), this sounds like a great progressive program to support and too interesting an opportunity to pass up. Where else would I ever get the chance to see a beauty queen crowned sporting a tattoo of a machine gun on her back (see: last years winner, Dione Normando Pires)?
Updates (including video if I can get my camera in) to come!
I've fallen off hard recently on the blog updates due to other more pressing issue occupying my thoughts. But I wanted to get this out to you all, a new funk mix from my man Dj Edgar [via Z share]. Edgar is gearing up for his European tour now so if you're in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland or Sweden, be sure to check him out.
Baile Funk has been described (by those borrowing freely from KRS One) as the CNN of the favelas. Now carioca funk and it's culture are being profiled by CNN via a new film, Favela On Blast. Whether this means anything or not to your average funkeiro, it certainly sets a new bench mark for funk's world wide acceptance.
The film, directed by Leandro HBL and Wesley "Diplo" Pentz with production support from Philly's Mad Decent Crew, saw it's international debut this past month at the Rio International Film Festival.
It's always a good day when I awake to find new tracks from DJ Edgar in my inbox. This morning's delivery brought to me two new productions he's just completed featuring up and coming Paulista funkiera, Giovanna Avino, better known as MC Gi.
Gi got peoples attention recently when she entered into the running to replace Marina from Bonde do Role. While she didn't win the coveted spot with the group, she did manage to garner props from Brazilian Rolling Stone magazine and producer Edu K.
While I don't have a whole lot more information for you right now on MC Gi, I do know she has a full length CD in the works and there is a good chance these two tracks may find there way onto it. So keep your ear out for more in the future and, until then, enjoys these cuts courtesy of Edgar.
On September 19, 2008 the rest of the world will get a chance to see the newest film from Brazilian director José Padilha, Tropa de Elite or Elite Squad as they're calling it in English. This film, originally released in Brazil in October 2007, is the gritty portrayal of Rio's favela combat unit, BOPE or Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais.
Take a look at the original trailer. It's in Portuguese but you'll get the idea.
Tropa de Elite, set in 1997, tells the story of one BOPE captain ready for retirement, as he's charged with the mission of cleaning up two favelas before a visit to Rio by the Pope. The film delves into issues of corruption, brutality and vengance among the force. It is based on the book Elite de Tropa by Luiz Eduardo Soares and two former BOPE officers, Rodrigo Pimentel and André Batista. The book was an embarrassment to the BOPE and the two contributing officers purportedly caught quite a bit of flack for revealing the dirt on their unit.
Any good story needs a protagonist as well as an antagonist and early reviews of the film have dissed it for leaving the viewer with no one left to root for. Who does one cheer on when everyone is wrong? But this is the situation that exists in Rio; the traficantes run the favelas and the police run their criminal operations on the outside and the city as a whole pays the price.
One controversial aspect of the original book was references by Pimentel and Batista to BOPE as a 'killing machine'. With a logo such as theirs it's a bit hard to think otherwise; a skull crossed with two pistols and pierced through the top with a dagger. Their armored vehicle, the caveirão,outfitted with multiple gun ports and often criticized for its indiscriminate use within the favelas, is known on the street as 'the big skull'.
The war between drug cartels and the police has been going on so long in Rio and has become so convoluted, it's become impossible to tell who's right and who's wrong and whether BOPE is dishing out justice or merely revenge. To borrow from the tittle of a documentary on the subject, it has become 'a personal war'.
One thing that is certain, however, is that the tactics employed by BOPE are severe. The following video was filmed near the entrance to Morro Donna Marta (a favela) in the Bottafogo neighborhood near my home (yet a world away). It shows the BOPE forces preparing to enter the favela for a confrontation with the traficantes. While the ensuing firefight his heard and not seen, the footage is, none the less, quite disturbing. It all kicks off around the 3:21 mark. After the confrontation, the troops withdraw. Note the paramedic strapped with a machine gun around the 4:30 mark and the 'big skull' coming into frame around the 4:45 mark.
While you will be able to glimpse a fictionalized account of this nightmare unfolding from the safety of your local theater on the 19th of September, the residence of these hill side communities have this horror show live in their living rooms (literally) on an all too frequent basis.
*UPDATE* apparently Elite Squad is already available in the US on DVD, already having scene a limited theatrical release courtesy of The Weinstein Company. It will coming to select theaters in the rest of the world this September.
What's hotter than summer in Rio, more devastating on the mic than Hurricane Catrina but sweeter than an Açaí with all the toppings? It's one of the newest forces on the international baile funk scene, Brooklyn's own Zuzuka Poderosa. From the funk parties of São Paulo to the sweaty clubs of Gotham, this Funkiera has been making her mark and making marks take notice as she prepares for global domination in the year ahead. Don't sleep on this Vigarista or let the looks fool you or you might find yourself left in the dust.
In this installment from sunny and violent Rio, the San FranCarioca sits down for an exclusive interview with the one called Zuzuka. Suckahs take notes!
San FranCarioca: Oi, gata! Tudo bom?
Zuzuka Poderoda: Tudo, e voce??
SFC: Beleza! Why don't you start by introducing yourself to my loyal readers and tell us (all the many places!) where you are from.
ZP: Ok, I'm Zuzuka Poderosa and I live in Brooklyn, New York. I was born and raised in Brazil, but I'm half Indonesian. I've Been living away from home for the past 10 years.
SFC: So you're based in the Rotten, er I mean Big Apple now. What's the current state of Funk music in NYC and how would you say The City has added it's own spice to the genre's musical evolution?
ZP: It's still very underground, so to speak speak. NYC itself is not a big place. Many people who are involved in the nightlife scene know about [baile funk] or at least have heard the name somewhere. As for the evolution of baile funk in NYC, I hope I can be a big contributor to make it big here. I think it's working. Whenever I see someone listening to baile funk for the first time, I get an immediate positive reaction.
SFC: You wear many hats in this game: poet, MC, DJ, event producer and promoter. How did you come to be involved with this thing called Funk?
ZP: I started to like funk when I was 10 or 11yrs old. My brother used to take me to see Furacão 2000 in the club where he used to go. In New York I used to hold an event called Samfunksoulbeat with my partner DJ Flashblack. Then I met these guys from Nossa who started throwing baile funk & reggae parties in town. So one day at the studio I asked them to let me get on the mic to say a couple of Brazilian words. That's when I wrote that same day in the studio, "Ai Voce Gosta"… and it worked! I couldn't believe people were really into it!
SFC: Being involved with the music on so many levels (and even having read some of your poetry), it's obvious to me that you are quite a strong female. Detractors of baile funk often like to claim that the genre can be denigrating to woman. How would you respond to this?
ZP: I can imagine that. Just like dancehall is for many people who don't want to understand the lyrics. It depends on the person really. I don't want to start analyzing how Brazilians behave in society....machismo, etc. I think women today have the ability to turn things around and have the first word as well. I try to do that at least. It's not the only degrading part about baile funk. Baile funk has been discriminated against for a very long time for different reasons, such as the level of class, the level of color, and other political issues. But it's even harder for the haters now to see that it's becoming bigger & bigger and appreciated worldwide.
SFC: You have worked with some heavy hitters in the game: Amazing Clay & MC Gus, DJ Cassiano & DJ Sujinho from the Nossa crew just to name a few. What's next on the horizon for Zuzuka Poderosa?
ZP: Yes! I'm working on my album, and I hope to be working with producers worldwide as well. I want to make it international. I think it's a good way to spread the word.
SFC: I know that when you were in Brazil last, you did a show with carioca funk legend, Mr. Catra. What was that like?
ZP: I was in Sao Paulo. I met him and his crew a few days earlier. He was asking me a few questions and he asked if I had anything to show him, so I did some acapellas for him and everyone was loving it. After that he invited me to go to his show a few days later. So I showed up at the show and soon after he told me he was going to hand me the mic. So I told him to bring it on! I couldn't believe that was happening. I still can't believe actually. I love Catra. He inspires me a lot.
SFC: Damn, like that? Represent! Alright girl, one last question before I let you go... With the recent advances in the human genome project, I'm hoping we will soon have a definitive answer to this burning question. But until then, maybe you can help shed some light on the subject. Just how do Brazilian females get their bundas bouncing the way they do? I mean really!?
ZP: It began in Africa baby...
SFC: Hahahaha! Like everything good! Muito obrigado, minha amiga, for taking the time to chat with the San Francarioca! Anything else you want to add or anyone you want to give a shout out to before we wrap this up?
ZP: To everyone in Brazil for welcoming me at the shows I did… Sany Pitbull, Rio Neurotic Bass Crew, Daft Funk, all the amazing people in Belo Horizonte who came to see the show, Akira Matsui, Mr. Catra Family, the Vigaristas girls for going to Brazil and representing with me, Helida, Zero Bloodshake, Luiz, Thiago DJ, DJ Nuts, DJ Comrade and Xao Productions and my friends and family who are always there for me!. Oh! And sorry if I forgot to mention anyone else. I really mean to say thank you so much to all of you guys…and to the San Francarioca!!
SFC: Ta bom, gata.... com respeito e um beijo. Tchau!
Nothing really abnormal about that in a South American country. Except that this time the troops aren't just showing up for election day; they are being called in two months in advance. This is unprecedented (and possibly just the tip of the iceberg).
Rio's Governor, Cabral Filhos, known for his policies of heavy confrontation with traficantes, defended the decision saying it was to allow for free campaigning in all parts of the city and to prevent residents of the favelas from being forced to cast their vote for a candidate backed by a drug faction.
Well, ok. Fair enough. But then they're leaving, right?
"Cabral said the number of troops to be sent and the date would be set by the Superior Electoral Tribunal and state officials. He added that he intends to keep the troops there after the elections to help combat crime (emphasis is mine)." [1]
Oh boy. Why do I have a bad feeling about this? Besides sounding a lot like martial law is about to be selectively put into affect, maybe it's because the last time the military was used to provide protection in a favela, things didn't work out so good. (we won't even talk about what happened in 2006)
Two of my favorite shops when I lived in San Francisco were Fabric 8 and Upper Playground. What sets these two spots apart from the rest of the retail menagerie in SF is their support for local artists, their connection to the streets and their fiercely independent spirit. When I first visited Rio in April, I stumbled upon what I feel to be these stores Brazilian brother (or sister, if you will. no need to get hung up on gender politics), Home Grown.
Owned and operated by my man Marco and his small crew of dedicated cariocas, Home Grown occupies an unassuming second story space up above the hustle and grind of Ipanema. The shelves and racks are stacked with clothes fabricated by local designers and the walls draw you into works of art directly related to the walls of Rio itself. The back of the shop stocks a formidable selection of Montana spray cans and caps to insure the cycle keeps on cycling.
On August 5th, Marco and the Home Grown cognoscenti hosted their third collective show featuring new work by local artists culled from the carioca street art movement: Marcelo Lamarca, Rafael Dória, Rafo Castro and João Burle. Unfortunately, due to a language snafu (my portuguese is crap. mario's english is good but he's been known to mix up tuesday and thursday), I missed the actual opening. The good news is that when I did show up Thursday, I had the place to my self to peep the new work. Below are a few of my favorite pieces for you all to enjoy. Each of them, in their own way, captures a bit of that carioca spirit that makes this cidade so marravilhosa!
by: Rafael Dória(spraypainted stencil on steel)
by: Rafael Dória(acrylic on canvas)
by: Rafo Castro(acrylic on canvas)
by: João Burle(spraypaint, acrylic on canvas)
When in Rio, pop into Home Grown, say 'what's up' to Marco and the crew and find a little piece of Rio to take home for your self!
Home Grown Rua Maria Quiteria 68 Ipanema, RJ +55 (21) 2513 2160 www.hg68.com.br
*update* there were a lot of other pieces i was feeling but my flicks of them didn't come out so hot. make sure you check the links to the home grown blog for more photos of the other artists work. respect to all the artists that participated!
This post really doesn't have anything to do with Brazil but it's my blog and Isaac Hayes was a hero of mine. I really don't even know what to say though about a man of his stature that contibuted so much to the world of funk and soul music and, well, to the world in general. And to be honest, I'm feeling a little too choked up to even write much...but I'll try.
Mr. Hayes began his career as a writer, arranger and producer for the legendary Stax label from Memphis, Tennessee. Without him, Sam & Dave wouldn't have been the same soul men that they were and Otis would have never sounded the same. Along with David Porter, Mr. Hayes was responsible for penning some of Stax Records biggest hits, which is to say Soul Music's biggest hits. From his early jazz influenced material to his sound track to the film Shaft to his unforgettable appearance in an outfit of solid gold chains at the Wattstax concert in LA in 1973, the man could not be touched.
The world will be a different place without him. I'll leave you with his moving rendition of 'Stormy Monday'. For those that knew him and loved him and his music, there won't be much sunshine tomorrow. Rest in peace, Black Moses.
*UPDATE* Please go the comments section of this post to find a download link to an incredible tribute mix of Mr. Hayes' music put together by one Dj Haylow. Download this essential mix now before it is gone. If you love soul music, this is something you will want to own forever. Thanks to my boy Grainger for posting the link in the comments, thanks to 4oneFunk for originally posting this on their myspace account, thanks to Haylow for putting this mix together, and of course, thanks to Isaac Hayes for leaving us with so much beautiful music!
I got a nice email the other day from Daniel Haaksman of international funk powerhouse, Man Recordings in Berlin. Daniel and his stable of artists have been featured prominently in a few postings here on the San FranCarioca. My recent video interview with Dj Beware caught his attention and he wrote asking for permission to repost it on his blog, Man Recorder. Of course I was flattered and told Daniel, by all means, go right ahead. If you're a fan of carioca funk or innovative dance music in general, do yourself a favor and head over to the Man Recorder now to read recent posts on influential German New Wave act, DAF (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft or German American Friendship, a reinterpreted expression from the Cold War era) as well as more newness from those crazy Italians, Crookers. Essential reading (and listening)!
'Baile Funk Master', Dj Edgar (pronounced in rio: Edgy-gahr) and the San FranCarioca, just before he passed out on the dance floor
Last Tuesday night left me reduced to a helpless puddle of sweat on the dance floor. While every dj that played that night is guilty as charged (Beware, Joyce Muniz, Ben Mono, I'm talkin' to you!), one offender was particularly egregious...Dj Edgar!
Rockin' the decks since the Miami Bass era of rio funk and coming up under the tutlege of the Furacão 2000 Crew, Edgar has taken his sound international as of late. With regular appearances in Sweden, Denmark, France, England, Norway, Holland, Poland, Switzerland, Prague, Germany and Austria, the 'Gentle Giant' still makes time for the home town crowd. And it was in front of this home crowd at 00 (zero zero) Tuesday that I was so thoroughly abused. I was not alone; the carnage was total. The man from Man left everyone devastated with his mix of exclusive tracks, remixes and live displays of MPC dexterity (see photo).
Well, it's now Friday....three days later. I've had a chance to recover and was beginning to regain feeling in my bass receptors when these tracks showed up in my inbox from Edgar. Oh lawd, let the flash backs begin!
The first cut, 'Beat Goes On', is built around an Egyptian Lover vocal sample and a chopped and screwed take on the synth line from Axel F (note to the youngsters: if you think Axel F was originally by Crazy Frog, read about Harold Faltermeyer NOW!). I believe Edgar dropped this one tuesday and I believe the effect was total.
Brilliant Brasilian music legend Gilberto Gil has announced he will step down from his government position as Minister of Culture to again focus on his music. This just came across the AP wire a half hour ago:
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) — Gilberto Gil stepped down as Brazilian culture minister Wednesday, saying he wanted to dedicate more time to his music and his family.
The Grammy-winning musician, who revolutionized Brazilian music in the 1960s as a founder of the Tropicalism movement, had been culture minister since 2003, when President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva started his first term in office.
Gil tried to step down twice before but Silva had persuaded him to stay. This time the president accepted his resignation.
"I am leaving the government to dedicate more time to my artistic endeavors and to my family, which is growing with the addition of a new grandchild," Gil, 66, told a news conference. [1]
...
Gil and longtime friend Caetano Veloso are credited with inventing the Tropicalism movement, a blend of rock and bossa nova.
Tropicalism eventually influenced such musicians as David Byrne, Paul Simon and Beck, but the political content of its lyrics offended the nation's 1964-1985 military dictatorship. Both Gil and Veloso were jailed in 1968 and lived in exile in London from 1969 to 1972.
Gil has sold millions of records over his 45-year career, and won a Grammy in 1998 for best world music album. [2]
Here's a favorite of mine featuring Gil & Caetono Veloso, 'Alguem Me Avisou' by Maria Bethânia.
The car caring Joao Roberto Amaral, age 3, when he was murdered by Rio police. photo credit: O Globo
Rio's most disgraceful were at it again this week. This from the Washington Post:
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Police killed at least eight people in a raid on drug traffickers in a Rio de Janeiro slum, a spokesman said on Friday, following widespread anger and fear over police brutality in recent weeks. [1]
And from the same article...
Earlier this week, a street vendor and a motorist were shot dead in botched police operations in the famed tourist city. [2]
According to a police spokesman, those killed were allegedly involved in the drug trade. The problem is, every time the police kill someone here, they are 'allegedly involved in the drug trade'. Sadly, they usually get away with these acts of murder, unquestioned by the mainstream world of the 'asfalto'...except when the 'alleged criminal' is three years old. When this is the case, even the Rio secretary of security, Jose Mariano Beltrame, must acknowledge his boys fucked up big time:
"There are no apologies for such a tragedy. This was a disastrous incident. As a father and a police officer, I am ashamed at what happened....There was a total lack of preparation and discernment on the part of the police." [3]
So what exactly did happen? This from Canada.com:
Two police officers late Sunday fired 15 shots into the car carrying the killed boy, Joao Roberto Amaral.
He was hit in the back of the head, in the buttocks and in an ear, and was declared brain dead after being taken to hospital.
His nine-month-old brother who was with him was unhurt, while his mother, Alessandra Amaral, who was driving the car, was hit with fragments.
The father, taxi driver Paulo Roberto Amaral, told reporters after arriving at the hospital that the police "shot up my wife's car without any possibility of defense. There were kids in the car. They almost killed my entire family."
Witnesses said it looked as if the police had confused the car with another being driven by suspects being pursued. [4]
WTF? WTF? WTF? Am I the only one who feels that even if the popo had the right car, it probably wasn't the best idea to let loose with a torrent of automatic weapon fire in the middle of traffic? In every article I could find online about this incident, there was not one reference to what the actual suspects were accused of. Perhaps this is because this is information that would only further embarrass the 'police'. Who knows... maybe the 'police' had been dispatched by a criminal faction to take out memebrs of a rival faction. Sound far fetched? Not really. From the BBC:
...11 soldiers were accused of involvement in the deaths of three young men from the shanty town of Providencia, one of hundreds of such favelas in Rio de Janeiro.
Three of the soldiers - including the lieutenant in charge of the unit - are said by police to have confessed to having handed over the men to a drug gang in a neighbouring district.
There, they were tortured and killed, before their bodies were thrown onto a nearby rubbish dump.
The soldiers had earlier arrested the three men after accusing them of showing disrespect, and a lawyer for the lieutenant has said they did not think the men would be killed by the drug gang. [5]
Wha? Huh? Makes your head spin, doesn't it. Another argument put forth containing zero logic. They didn't think the rival drug gang would kill them? What the fuck were they even doing delivering them to a rival drug gang, facilitating a game of inter-favela futbol?
Last year alone, police murdered 1,330 'suspects' in Rio alone, a 25% increase over the previous year [6]. Rio's governor, Sergio Cabral, would have you believe that such lead fisted tactics are required to combat the problems of the favelas. In my opinion, schools, health care, infrastructure, economic opportunity and a general inclusiveness into the society at large would be more effective 'weapons'.
I was reminded today of a quote by the great R. Buckminster Fuller... "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a model that makes the existing model obsolete."
Born in Hong Kong, raised in the UK on a steady diet of skateboard culture and the music that accompanied it, and now based in Vienna Austria, Dj Beware is a one man international line up. Who better then to be one of the newest international artists to contribute to the funk carioca sound, a sound that prides its self on its ability to draw inspiration from all corners of the globe.
Earning his stripes in the trenches of DMC dj battles, Beware eventually garnered the attention of Daniel Haaksman, international funk carioca evangelist and owner of Man Recordings, baile funk's biggest non Brazilian distributor and proponent. He's contributed production to the Stereo MCs (remember them? well they're back!) and MC Gringo as well as a dj mix for Man Recordings.
I had been chatting a bit with B via the internets and when I heard he was coming through RJ on a mini tour do Brasil, I knew I had to track him down and say 'wutup'. I caught up with him after his show at Circovoador, before his gig at 00 (Zero Zero) and during his set at Diesel. The kid was going nonstop but was cool enough to take a breather long enough to conversate with the San FranCarioca. The four minute video was created from this conversation.
(L to R) Tee, the delightful and talented Joyce Muniz and Dj Beware
I started this back in SF and then put it away. I finished it recently after soaking up the vibe here the past few weeks. I guess it's sort of where I've been heading, production wise, with the San Francarioca thing...fusing funk carioca influences with a bit of electro 'frisco freakiness.
The remix contains some classic tamborzao funk elements, a groove lifted from a Fernanda Abreu track, some Macumbinha elements from the north..and some chopped guitar from they might be giants. hmmmm.
The Godfather Meets The San FranCarioca: Zero Zero, Rio de Janeiro, BR
We went out to Zero Zero last night to support a new party thrown by my girlfriend's friend, Polyana. Instead of the usual house music fare, the night was devoted to what Cariocas call 'Black Music', or what we know basically as funk. The distinction is necessary because what they call 'funk' is something entirely different. When they say funk, it means only one thing... carioca funk, or what we know as baile funk.
I had the pleasure of kicking it part of the evening with the godfather of carioca funk, Dj Marlboro....another old friend of Roberta (I swear, she knows the whole city). I think she was a tad hesitant to introduce me for fear I would geek out on him on the music tip and embarrass her (full disclosure: of course i did. but by the end of it we were singing his version of 2 live Crew's 'One & One' [the numbers song] in Portuguese together). The man really is a rock star here as the camera crew following him around and the constant stream of well wishers/jockers would attest. Despite all this, he came across with a deep humility and great sense of humor....a true ambassador to his art.
In 1989, Marlboro forever changed the course of Brazilian party music when he featured local MCs rapping in Portuguese over Miami style electro beats on his first album, 'Funk Brasil' [via rapidshare]. Even the great British dj, compiler and BBC Radio 1 presenter, Giles Peterson, couldn't hype him enough on his podcast from Brazil in 2007. I have taken an excerpt of the interview and posted it below for your listening ease but the whole series is worth a listen. [thanks to schnezzy for putting me up on this!]
Giles Peterson interviewing Dj Marlboro for his 'In Brasil' podcast
Marlboro returned to the pre funk carioca old school last night, hyping the dance floor with a throbing mix of 70's funk (Funk Americano, yo!) and disco. Nothing too deep or obscure, just solid party rockers presented in a way unique to carioca funk djs; cd mixer as instrument. Using the cue button, he would trigger sections of a cut in a percussive manner (it's all about the percussion here) while ridding out the previous track. I captured a bit of his set with my digi cam but, as you would expect, the audio leaves a bit to be desired. Irregardless, the godfather of funk carioca (a fairly rough & tough genre of music) returning to his disco roots... and feelin' it... is a fun moment worth sharing. Boogie on, brother.
Dj Marlboro dropping 'Let's Groove Tonight' for the kids at 00
I had hoped to be posting an interview today with baile funk legend, MPC master and head of the Pitbull Soundsystem, Sany Pitbull. I was supposed to have gone to the funk ball in the favela Cantagalo last night to watch the man in action and to conduct the interview. Instead I slept on it... literally.
Fear not not dear reader, this interview will happen. Sany and his equipe (or soundsytem) have been holding it down in Cantagalo every Saturday night for the last 12+ years. There will be more opportunities.
Instead, I'm sending you over to Dj Rideon's excellent blog, 'Rio Baile Funk', to check out an interview that he did with Sany in 2007. In it, they cover Sany's innovative use of the MPC 500, the social roll of funk in the favela and the dominance of the tamborzão style in carioca funk at the moment. Read and enjoy and when I finally do get around to doing my interview, you'll be well up to speed.
It's Friday, the summer is here (at least for those of you in the northern hemisphere) and I'm posting a little mix to help ease you into the weekend. I put this together from records I picked up last time I was in Rio. It's a mix of música brasileira (tropicalia, funk, samba soul, psychedelic & folk) from the 60's and 70's and I challenge you to listen and not want to grab your bikini/trunks, suntan oil and head south to Rio immediately! have a great weekend, com beijous do Rio! xo->t.
I'll be playing out tonight in Lapa at BUMP! with djs André Amaral & Icarodátilus, two djs I met when I was here in April. These guys know how to get down and I fully expect the bundas to be bumping on the dance floor floor this evening. I'll try and take some photos to share as I realize most of you won't be making it to this gig ;)
[ Update: BUMP! was bumpin'! Here's a few flicks I snapped when I wasn't trying to figure out how to plug in my serato set up ]
clockwise from top: the dance floor with sick video by dennis, icarodatilus, andré amaral
clockwise from the top: inside of Plano B, the listening station + a few results, my man Fernando holding up my newly scored copy of 'Chicken Strut', me playing with Fernando's 'Ioto Stimulos'...from Kraftwerk's first US tour, I believe ;)
This is the first installment of what I hope to be a recurring feature on the San FranCarioca: Diggers Diary. I'll be taking you along with me as I uncover Rio's hidden emporiums of funky wax and sharing with you the results.
Today as I was trying (unsuccessfully) to navigate my way back from the Cinelandia Metro Station, my 48th wrong turn of the day led me right past a store front called Plano B. And what made me notice this otherwise nondescript store front? A copy of 'Chicken Strut' by those inimitable ambassadors of NOLA funk, The Meters...the only Lp of theirs missing from my collection...was starring back at me through the dirty window. I don't know how many times I resisted the temptation to pick up the reissue of this album in hopes of scoring the original someday (without the pain of having to bend over to pay someone on ebay), just to be able to play the 'Hand Clapping Song' out at the club. Sometimes you find the heat, some times the heat finds you. Needless to say, I was straight in there.
Plano B is a record store as record stores should be...or used to be. The owner himself, Fernando his name was, sat behind the counter having a smoke next to a discarded disco ball. Crates of wax from every genre of music that matters filled the small room, competing for space with unidentifiable electronic apparatus' from the 60's and 70's. Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh, god yes! (I know what your thinking and you're right on both counts. Yes, I do live for this shit and, Yes, I am a total dork)
As usual when entering previously undiscovered record shops, the timing of the event seemed to correspond with some sort of disruption in the space time continuum. When I finally walked out, it was dark and I had missed an appointment with someone about a dj gig...and I still wasn't exactly sure how to get home. Of course the euphoric rush had yet to wear off and I would not become fully cognizant again until well after I finally had found home.
The other discovery I made upon returning to the flat is potentially the best. On the bottom of the small stack I picked out were two 12"s that were unintentionally mixed up in the mele. The first, a Brazilian pressing of 'Whoot There It Is' (Oops No You Didn't) that will get returned tomorrow and a heretofore unknown oddity....'Electonicus: música brasileira interpretada em moog sinthesizer' by Renata Mendes. You don't need to speak Portuguese to work out that title. Two of my favorite genres on one record...Brasilan Popular Music and tripped out Moog recordings....sick!
See? This is why I choose to leave the map at home.
'Electronicus' by Renata Mendes Plano B Rua Francisco Muratori 2A, Lapa Rio de Janeiro, Brasil tel: (55) (21) 2509 3266 www.planb.net
i'll update this post with some audio as soon as i get a chance to digitize a few choice selections
View of Sugar Loaf Mountain and Guanabara Bay from the Parque das Ruinas
I spent this afternoon exploring my hill top neighborhood of Santa Teresa and it really is a place of beauty. It’s one of Rio’s oldest neighborhoods and as such has a completely unique vibe; old Portuguese architecture engulfed in tropical flora, crooked cobblestone streets and the some of the illest, most colorful graffiti to help remind you just which epoch you are inhabiting.
I hiked up to the Parque das Ruínas to take in its nearly uninterrupted views of Rio and Guanabara Bay. I posted up in the garden next to it and sat quietly watching three small monkeys at play in the trees above. But it’s far from some utopia here. Don’t get it twisted.
While geographically close, Santa Teresa is a world removed from Copacabana, Ipanema and the more modern center of town…the asfalto, or flat lands. But at the same time it’s not a typical morro (hill side) community either, although it is surrounded by 5 to 7 favelas. Yeah, there’s no mistaking that fact.
My apartment over looks two favelas in the fore ground as well as a few others in the distance. Opposing criminal factions control the two closest favelas and each one would be more than happy to relieve the other of their turf. I know this because it is what I have heard (literally) and seen…the unmistakable POP POP POP along with occasional red, military grade tracers I can see whizzing back and forth at night.
The view, as you can see, really is quite nice. But, like a politician, a picture can offer a thousand words on a subject but still manage to avoid the whole truth.
The favelas, the criminal factions and their traficantes (traffickers), the general inhabitants of these hill side communities and, of course, the police will be explored in greater detail in future posts so…um…stay posted.
The acarajé, essentially a black eyed pea fritter fried in dende oil and smeared with shrimps and a spicy shrimp sauce, may be a staple in the diet of many Bahians but it’s popularity has spread to cities all over Brazil inhabited by migrants from the north. So popular in fact is the acarajé, it has sparked controversy over who may serve the lucrative snack. In Bahia, it is said that a quality acarajé vendor can reach a level of notoriety normally reserved for footballers. In my neighborhood of Santa Teresa in Rio, we are blessed with our own Ronaldo of the acarajé, Nega Teresa. With her colorful head wrap, traditional white blouse and billowing skirt, an outfit rooted in the practice of candomblé (a masala of traditional African animistic and mystic mythologies with a touch of catholicism sprinkled on[I found out today that I had this wrong. Umbanda is mixed with catholicism, while candomblé leaves out the guilt trip]), she holds court every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights just around the corner from my flat. While these days even Emeril has his own acarajé recipe, if cariocas I’ve spoken with are to be believed, you would be hard pressed to uncover a better acarajé than Nega Teresa's in all of Salvador de Bahia!
Ingredients: black-eyed peas soaked over night, dried shrimp soaked 30 minutes, onion, garlic, fresh ginger, cayenne pepper, salt, olive oil, dende oil to fry fritter in.
mash up softened peas and combine with shrimp, onion and garlic and form into burger size discs
fry in adende oil until a golden brown, rotating as necessary
remove from oil, blot dry, slice open and fill with more shrimp and cover with the mole de acaraje, essentially a creamy shrimp paste with onion, ginger and red pepper
Eat carefully around the edge, “not like a burger, gringo!”
Every blog has it's first post so let's start off this one on a mellow Sunday style tip. I'll crank it up a few notches after I finish tightening this thing up and settling into my new spot. So, without further delay....a stroll through the Sunday market in Gloria, near my home in Santa Teresa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Note the variety of fresh peppers, tropical fruits, fresh seafood and, of course, bananas. (love the little girl peeping the live crabs around the 1:02 mark!)
What's hotter than summer in Rio, more devastating on the mic than Hurricane Catrina but sweeter than an 
Nothing really abnormal about that in a South American country. Except that this time the troops aren't just showing up for election day; they are being called in two months in advance. This is unprecedented (and possibly just the tip of the iceberg). 
Two of my favorite shops when I lived in San Francisco were 
I got a nice email the other day from 
Rockin' the decks since the 
Brilliant Brasilian music legend 
Tropicalism eventually influenced such musicians as David Byrne, Paul Simon and 
According to a police spokesman, those killed were allegedly involved in the drug trade. The problem is, every time the police kill someone here, they are 'allegedly involved in the drug trade'. Sadly, they usually get away with these acts of murder, unquestioned by the mainstream world of the 'asfalto'...except when the 'alleged criminal' is three years old. When this is the case, even the Rio secretary of security, Jose Mariano Beltrame, must acknowledge his boys fucked up big time:
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