Author: lusofonetica

BRIC in the wall, in a sharp lense

Personal, Travel

Call it food for thought for a Monday evening. I got recently inspired by the political science research collective to share an impactful photo taken in one of the BRIC countries. They are starting a campaign called Rising and Declining Global Powers and they took the urbanization, relative poverty and mass transformation of the BRIC regions as a good start of the dialogue about the major issues in 2015.

So Brazil in my lense is, sadly, not only beaches, stunning landscapes and happy people. There is rage, poverty, and unpredictable growth of the mutant cities (aka politically correct cidade satelita).

This image was taken one morning when I was doing the daily 5 km run, on a very popular trail surrounding one of the neighbouring cidade satelita of Brasilia, Aguas Claras. With my European mentality I could not tell where the borders between the safe and totally uncontrolable neighbourhoods (aka favelas) begin. There are often none, and different groups live next to each other. I decided not to care too much about it, regardless of noticing the 5m high electric fences in front of the households.

And there he was, on a 8-lane-drive, surrounded by different kind of cars, a man riding a horse-drawn vehicle. He looked so surreal with among these skyscrapers and 4x4s, as if he was one of the few underprivileged remaining. Especially that I’m talking about the Brazilian capital, the richest place in the country, if not the whole South American continent. Also, as I later learnt, the capital of inequalities.

Looking at this crazy Brazilian dynamics during my travels in 2011 and 2013, be it Brasilia, Recife, Natal or SP, I thought about the possible crisis and what it may entail in the future. Having previously seen the dramatic real estate bubble in the Southern Europe I was somewhat cautious. Not that I am a nature-born pessimist, I just know that leaving the capital in hands of 1% of the richest won’t lead to nowhere. Well, possibly to world’s widest roads ridden by men on horse-driven vehicles.

Portuguese bairro in Hamburg

Travel

Spring equals travels to me – and this year I am very curious to explore different German cities. After my Easter trip to the East Baltic Sea (called ‘Ostsee’ = ‘East Sea’ in German), the next destination for the long weekend of May 1st was scheduled for Hamburg. I met people originating from Hamburg and some who just lived there for a while, but all of them were speaking very fondly about the city. I followed their great tips and during 3 days I explored the highlighted parts and much more. The major surprise was finding the ‘Portugiesenvirtel’ aka Portuguese bairro very closely to the city centre.

  Portuguese district is located very near Landungsbrücken – a bridge separating the centre and famous alternative St. Pauli. I was lucky enough to arrive there during the time for almoço (lunch). Even though I plan a trip to Lisbon in Azores in only one month, and I often eat out in a Portuguese restaurant in Berlin (which happens to be steps away from my workplace), I got myself into saudade-mode. Not only the taste of vinho verde and excellent carne alentejana, but the fact, that for a moment I could only talk and think in Portuguese, was just a precious surprise.

So what’s the story behind? Quite obviously, the Hanseatic city of Hamburg being Europe’s largest port since centuries, attracted also famous Portuguese sailors. First settlements of the Portuguese families date back to 16th Century, while the country was a growing colonial empire.

Just one afternoon, and my soul felt very contented. I also learnt a simple poem displayed among different Portuguese items in the restaurant, very relevant for the forthcoming Mother’s Day (quite different date in different countries: but happening tomorrow in Germany):
“Com três letrinhas apenas
Se escreve a Palavra Mãe
É das palavras mais pequenas
A maior que o Mundo tem”

Glücklich in Brasilien & alegre em Alemanha

Music

There are definitely more links between Brazil and Germany than love to football (which can actually at times turn into mutual hate). Love for Volkswagen and music sounds like a safer bet. I would love to dedicate this post to DJ Rainer Trüby thanks to whom I discovered Brazilian classics and its modern sounds long time ago.

Alongside with Sonar Kollektiv in Berlin and Gilles Peterson in London, he was feeding the audience worldwide with the best of Brazilian sounds by releasing the Glücklich series with the record label Compost Records. Thanks to my colleague who sold me his sound system last week, I could come back to my favourite compilations on CDs (with the legendary fusca on the title page!) and casettes. It’s not that I’m one of those unbearable Berliner hipsters, it’s just that I still have my radioshows from the 90s/early 2000s recorded there. And Shazam does not recognize all of the tracks, and nor have my über-musical friends so far.

While researching a bit more about what he’s been up to lately, I’ve come across this interview which I find pretty interesting (even though it’s in Spanish, not in Portuguese!):

As days become more longer, warmer and simply: happier here, my soul needs more upbeat rhythms and to make this positivity to an unbearable level. Although Brazilian music seems to be universal, and especially recommended while being down, and facing worse days in life.

The unforgettable Glücklich compilations can be found here:

It offers a wide selection of the Afro-Luso-Brazilian, MPB, samba and most importantly, the contemporary fusion, also with the European producers. One of my favourites – “Bohemian” by MURO (in Bah Samba’s remix) is actually sung in English and was one of the first EPs where I discovered the overwhelmingly powerful voice of Alice Russell. “Direction? Changing myself, keep moving… all around the world”.

fusca – Volkswagen ‘Beetle’, extremely popular in Brazil from 60s till now.

A minha vida em português

Personal

There is no other language that makes my soul happy as much as Portuguese does. Even that nowadays I discover the beauty (ja!) and funny particularities in German and meet amazing people here, I feel that a part of me belongs still somewhere else. But it’s no longer just an empty feeling of longing aka saudade, it’s rather enriching and empowering on various occasions.

In other words, it motivates me a lot to understand and be understood till some extentent in the language I once thought impossible to learn (German) but still think and feel in Portuguese when it comes to certain things, even though I am not a native speaker. Just as friends can become our family of choice, I believe strongly that for linguistic freaks foreign languages can play a similar role!

Also, I caught myself speaking with my Brazilian colleague passing to English ‘when it comes to business’ and leaving Portuguese for purely fun times. I unconsciously bump into the Brazilians and speak about piadas and bagunças long hours. Same goes for Spanish, but that’s another story.

Well, I am not alone, and finally I discovered a documentary film which connects the most interesting aspects of this language: Lingua – Vidas em Português.

Multilayered, spoken over different parts in Europe, Americas, Asia and Africa, Portuguese is now not only a language that came from the colonial ancestry, but that has merged different races, roots, tribes and geographical locations.

My father used to tell me long time ago that both the Southern hemisphere and the Portuguese language are the future of our globe. He was a visionary and extremely wise person with a capacity to predict different economical processes long before. He was thus always pushing me towards learning this niche language back in a day, as he believed that I will  succeed somewhere in this big world.

It was a great revelation to see how Portuguese language has shaped the lives of others, but most importantly, to know that I am not the only one to feel the multicultural and ethnical particularity which probably no other widely-spoken language of nowadays has.

Nostalgia de la Luz

Personal, Travel

This is one of the guest posts dedicated to the thinest, yet the longest country on our planet – Chile. A fascinating and remote country which is surrounded with natural frontiers: be it Cordillera de los Andes from the East, Pacific Ocean from the West, the driest desert on Earth – Atacama from the North or the most hostile sailing route from the South – Drake’s Passage separating the South American mainland from the Antarctica. Oh, and the Easter Island, the most secluded place on Earth.

I was lucky enough to travel around the Mid- and Northern part of Chile during a couple of weeks in 2011, thanks to my very close friend who is currently dedicating a great deal of his time to the community project in Patagonia.

My memories and the necessity to put my experience in writing were triggered though by assisting lately in the world’s premiere of the Chilean movie – ‘El Botón de Nácar’, a second part of the documentary covering the geographic and historic complexities and ambiguities of this country. I was not surprised when the movie won the Silver Bear prize at the Berlinale for the script, as I was amazed by the sheer beauty of its poetic narrative.

Since then, I followed up with the first documentary called ‘Nostalgia de la Luz’, picturing the Atacama desert from two perspectives. One of them is a search for discovering the past of the galaxies through the astronomic observatories located on the Atacama Desert due to its clarity of the sky. The second one is seen through the lense of the group of elderly women still looking for remaining human body parts of their relatives, who were imprisoned, tortured and ultimately killed and thrown all over the desert during the military regime in the 70s.

I remember my amazement by the clarity of the starry constellations, the light of the desert sun, but also the inexplicable melancholy that could be read in people’s faces. I reconnected with this familiar feeling which I often got when had lived in Poland, surprisingly in the most far-off country in the world. And I still keep the grains of Atacama’s salt and soil with me wherever I live, to keep this moment present.

Vou festejar!

Music, Personal, Travel

I know, the carnival is officially over. And I only realized it by now, maybe due to the fact that for the first time in 5 years I live in what is considered Far North Europe by the Latin standards. Where some of the best DJs (in my humble opinion) play every weekend (till Monday afternoon and beyond, depending on a place) and there is just not so much ado about it. But still, colourful pictures of my Brazilian friends remind me of that special time of the year when anything is possible!

I was lucky enough to spend the consecutive past years in locations such as Cadiz, Sitges, Praia do Pipa and Madeira which are famous for absolutely crazy festivities around that time!

I may miss the spirit of the sun, sweat and party abandon, making lifetime friends in an instant and simply ficar but to be honest, the party and cultural scene of Berlin pays off the chagne, being probably one of the most open-minded spots in Europe. Still, the city seems to be changing very abruptly from the creative hub to a business-minded city like London or Paris. I hope to grasp the best of it while I can.

When I miss the sun and Southern spirit most, I cling back to Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking friends and colleagues in town, OR I listen to various podcasts, such as Gilles Peterson in Brazil which gives a great insight into the Brazilian soundscape from samba classics, through funk to electronica. Or I secretly tap samba rhythm to the famous carnival anthem!

See the Sun

Personal, Travel

For those who are still wondering if I plan to keep writing about soundscapes full of sun, heavenly beaches and related, I made the resolution for 2015 to update the blog regularly. Yeah I know, no one keeps the New Year’s resolutions, but let’s give it a try.

Last weeks has been filled with integrating in Berlin, and for this purpose, new blog has been created. I am still so high on this city’s vibe I could spend hours writing, if only I had some spare!

Now, contrary to the wintery, shortest days in this part of the world, I am escaping to the Europe’s southern-most archipelago to charge my solar batteries and breathe Ocean’s breeze.

With this, I wish you all who care about me and/or the blog, lovely holidays full of warmth, be it literally or metaphorically!

Futebol no Maracanã

Travel

As mentioned in my previous post there is a very interesting Brazilian film festival taking place in Berlin these days. Well, out of thousands of events, such as those which took lace last weekend in the Neue Nationalgalerie, or Lichtgrenze the following weekend – a comemmoration of the 25 years of the fall of the Berliner Mauer, dividing symbolically the Eastern and the Western part with the illuminated balloons.

So, among the titles about the Gold Rush in the Amazon, hippie days somewhere in the chapada, I managed to see hilarious document Fla x Flu recommended to any Brazilian soccer fan.

This legendary derby, regularly taking place on the magnificent Maracanã stadium, is much more than just football (or futebol, in Portuguese). Following the personal stories, almost magical beliefs of the fans, I laughted to tears. Having met fans from the both sides and spent some time in Rio de Janeiro definitely helped me understand how important this derby show is. But most importantly, this movie gains a special meaning in the year of the failure for the Canarinhos. While the performance of the all-time awed national team could be described as everything but carnival-like samba, Fla x Flu classic game remains the best dancer on the sambadrome…

Premiere Brasil in Berlin

Music, Personal

So here I am, based in another city with Yellow Trams. Berlin is obviously very different than Lisbon or any other place I was placed during last couple of years, but I am falling in love with it for countless reasons. Firstly, for its cafes where you can spend literally whole days and nights (but who would in the end, where there is so much going on!). I noticed that for the Kaffee & Kuche offer, pasteis de nata are very much in fashion. Secondly, for its relaxed atmosphere. It definitely grew a serious competitor as ‘the-best-city-to-live’ for London and Paris, but it is unbelievably laid-back and casual comparing with those two. Somewhat it reminds me of Barcelona back in the good old days before it became so overtly commercialised, only the weather is… well, different!

Last but not least I am amazed with the diversity: not only between the neighbourhoods but also within its inhabitants. By the morning walk I took nearby the Spree River, I heard a woman singing this wonderful Brazilian classic… And until now I just can’t get it out of my mind.

The cultural programme is just overwhelming and I am already wondering when will I find enough time to visit all the places I want to!

Speaking of which, there is a Brazilian Film Festival ‘Premiere Brasil’ in Haus der Kulturen der Welt starting off Wednesday 29th October. It presents last year’s best Brazilian productions and is prepared in the cooperation of the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. I am sure this one will be in the top 5 of my to-do-list for the forthcoming week!

Wiki:

Pasteis de nata – heavenly-tasting custard tart, the most famous to be found in a famous pasteleria de Belem aka Pasteis de Belem. Currently conquering the bakeries worldwide.

Last Monday in the sunshine or the Saudade Week

Personal

Still a little bit offtopic, I just want to let know that I am alive and kicking, even though I am running against the clock with my relocation-related issues. My flat is the most depressive place with no furniture and everything packed. This is why meanwhile I went for a short getaway to Aragón and was surprised about how picturesque Zaragoza and the Pre-Pyrenees region is both for urban break and hiking. Apart from that October in Barcelona seems to be pampering me – balmy 25-ish Celcius degrees, clear sky and just a little bit chillier nights.

So do my nearest and dearest, on the other hand supporting me and being really happy about my new life chapter just about to start. Still, we are all weeping secretly from time to time! And many amazing people I met here throughout those couple of years. My friend got me even a bag with ‘Amor e saudade’ written on it. She could not catch my state of mind better!

The truth is that Barcelona is a place of constant migrations, coming and going just like ebbs and flows (oh, again the sea-related metaphor, can’t help it). This time I feel there is no turning back once I leave because I just feel strongly that world is bigger than Catalonia and very interesting indeed and has much more to offer for a curious and high-energy person like me (or at least how people describe me). Never say never though.

Not sure if Berlin is my final destination, but I am equally excited about the new job (yes!), new people I will meet on my way, new places I will discover in this ‘a place to be’ capital and the new language (ja!). I have even started an online German basics, but my mashed up accent, i.e. put altogether British English + rough Polish + Brazilian Portuguese + Spanish with a touch of Catalan (again, can’t help it) and you will get more or less the sound I produce.

Well, going back to the beach with Zuco103 in the speakers and German language app on my phone then. Even though this is the last Monday in the sunshine (titletaken from a famous Spanish movie Los Lunes Al Sol), I am going to seize the moment!