Brazilian Government officials have entered a farm occupied by native Indians to avert violence between the Indians and local cattle ranchers.

Brazil moves to halt farm clashes
By Steve Kingstone
BBC correspondent in Mato Grosso do Sul
Brazilian Government officials have entered a farm occupied by native Indians to avert violence between the Indians and local cattle ranchers.

Around 3,000 indigenous people invaded 14 farms in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul before Christmas.

Indian families have camped inside farm buildings and on the surrounding land.

They say the land is ancestrally theirs and have refused to leave, but the farmers have threatened to evict the Indians by force.

Negotiations

I have been allowed on to the largest of the farms occupied by Indians.

There is much chanting and dancing going on.

They are dancing around a wooden sign we would normally hang over the main entrance of a farm.

Some have pitched tents next to the main satellite dish of the farmhouse.

There is graffiti on the walls saying "evi catu" - a phrase that keeps reappearing. It means "the land that can be".

That is a reference to the fact that these people say their ancestors lived here, long before the land was sold to Brazilian farmers in the 1930s.

Indian leaders are currently negotiating here with local prosecutors, with a view to settling this dispute.

But they say that if the farmers return to reclaim the land by force, they will fight to the death defending it.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/3443331.stm

Published: 2004/01/29 22:43:36 GMT

© BBC MMIV

I just got home from a pre-Carnaval bloco "rehearsal" for Cordal do Boitatá. Just a total blast. I ran into so many people I've met over the last few years. But there real reason for this blog entry is ..... (I just have to tell "someone" from outside of Brasil) .... MY GOD there are a lot of beautiful women here!! To all of my old buddies from back home ... all I can say is that you have absolutely no idea what you're missing ;-).

Last night I would up at Armazen 161 in Lapa. Zé Paulo and I were looking for something fun to do and went to hear Teresa Cristina and Grupo Semente. The vibe was great, lots of people dancing, etc. I wasn't even thinking about playing yesterday. But then Pedrinho Miranda surprised me and invited me up to play the last set. What a pleasure! This group is so tight now and the percussion section ... Trambique, Paulinho do Pandeiro and Pedrinho.... is like some kind of giant clock! It just felt so great... I was in heaven and felt really relaxed playing with them (I remember how nervous I used to get!). It was hot as hell on that stage though... and I when it was finished I was drenched in sweat! I left feeling like I had gone through some sort of purification process. Wish I had a pic to post, but I don't!

Now I have a picture

I forgot to add something from the gig at Toca do Vinicius last night. Zé Paulo tends to have 3 ways he likes to announce me.
1 - ex-jazz guitarist turned pandeiro player from nyc, etc., etc....
2. just my name, as if I was a local guy, etc., etc...
3. have fun with me being an American and get some laughs out of it

Last night was number 3! He announced me using number 2 ... then changed his mind ;-). He serious told the audience that when I was registered at the airport (with the whole fingerprinting, photo thing - which of course didn't happen, cause I've been here the whole time) instead of giving the camera the finger, like the American Airlines pilot, I gave them the "thumbs up" sign. This sign is a very universal gesture in Brasil .... the audience laughed like crazy. It was pretty funny.

You have to realize that there is 'always' something for non-Americans to use to poke fun, or complain about Americans and the US. Shit, I remember this from my first trip to Europe in 1990! But really, after 9/11 there was that bit of sympathy .... then Bush did such a great job of pissing everyone off (thanks George). All you need is some jerk-off like that A/A pilot flashing the bird at the Brazilian authorities ... and you're got at least a good month of American jokes.

Luckily, being a pandeiro player gives me a 'bit' of diplomatic immunity ;-).

The last few days have been cool for playing. Sunday night I got one of those classic subbing calls from my friend Serginho. "Hey man, do you want to play at gig tonight at Mistura Fina's downstairs bar"? "Sure, Serginho", I said. "What time?". "7PM" (it was already 7:30 when he called me!). Ah, Brasil...

Anyway, it was a nice little trio gig ... pandeiro, 7 string guitar (my friend Marcello Goncalves from Trio Madeira Brasil) and sax/flute (Dani Spielmann, who's site I'm finishing up now). After Marcello got home he called me just to say how he enjoyed playing with me and wanted to get together to play more in the future (I still love getting this kind of feedback!).

Last night I played yet another CD release gig with Zé Paulo Becker. It was in front of a Brazilian music store called "Toca do Vinicius" in Ipanema and the whole street was packed with listeners. Oddly enough, the sound was really good and it was a lot of fun. For a change I played 3 tunes ... 2 baiãos and 1 samba. The band was Zé, Marcello Goncalves (7 string gtr.), Beto Cazes (perc) and Dirceu Leite (sax, flute, etc).

One nice little side note to this gig .... the owner of the store told me how cool he thought it was to have an American playing pandeiro with this top notch carioca musicians. Before I left I went to thank him for paying me as well and asked if he remembered me from several years ago. I had gone to his store to buy some of my first Brazilian CDs and spoke with him in English... asking for help in making my selections! He said he remembered, but was totally confused last night because I was playing with those guys and speaking portugues, etc...

On top of having fun playing, I got paid for both gigs (albeit very little)!!

Once again, Jane Monheit came to Rio with her band to play at Mistura Fina for a couple of nights. For those of you who don't know, Jane is a 'really' talented young jazz singer from NYC and she was here a year and half ago. Her band has 3 friends of mine in it from "back in the day". Joel Frahm, Joe Martin and Mike Kanan. Unfortunately Joel couldn't make it down because he was busy launching his duo CD with Brad Mehldau at the Jazz Standard in NYC (a good reason not to make the trip!!). Romero Lubambo wound up playing in Joel's place, but on guitar. Always nice to hear that "NYC beat" and the band really sounded great. Mike's arrangements are wonderful. Rick, the drummer has a super dark, dry NYC sense of humor ... which I love so! I had a ball joking around in my native tongue and discussing imporatant things with the guys like, which was the last really good Van Halen recording?

Beginning around midnight and lasting for a few fleeting hours, the official temperature of Manhattan dropped to 1 degree. By 4 in the morning, the temperature had doubled — to 2 — but that brief 1-degree period granted curious distinction to the day: it tied the record for the coldest Jan. 16 in city history, a mark established in 1893 (From the NY Times)

Why do I miss all the fun?

Feel the cold!

(photo from oglobo.com)

This American Airlines piliot decided to give the finger to the Brazilian Federal Police during his identification process. Being a wise-ass cost A/A R$36,000 for his release. He was charged with some sort of offensive act towards the authorities. Nice work champ!

(photo from oglobo.com)

First it was dolphins off the coast at Ipanema beach, now it's Orcas in Barra da Tijuca, 200 meters off the beach heading towards Leblon? What's next ... a whale? (photo from oglobo.com)

(photo from oglobo.com)

Brazil continues to check US IDs
The Brazilian Government will go on with its controversial policy of extra security checks on US citizens.

A federal judge had overturned a previous ruling in Brazil's tourism capital, Rio de Janeiro, to check all US air passengers on arrival.

But an executive order released later on Monday said the requirement would remain in place for the next 30 days while the situation is studied.

The move comes as Rio prepares for its famous carnival next month.

Tourism fears

At present all US visitors to Brazil must be photographed and fingerprinted.

The measures, which have caused long delays for travellers, are a response to similar rules recently introduced in the United States.

The Brazilian Government said that, during the 30-day period, ministers will review the effect the policy is having on the country's tourism industry.

Authorities in Rio have expressed anger at the new security checks - which they say will prevent tourists from visiting the city and boosting its economy - and want the issue resolved before the carnival begins.

US tourists spend about $250m in Rio per year and from Tuesday they will be greeted with T-shirts saying "Rio loves you" and given souvenirs and flowers as compensation for their discomfort at the airport.

BBC correspondent Steve Kingstone in Brazil says the best hope for an early truce in the passport wars is for the two countries' presidents to reach a private agreement at the Summit of the Americas, which continues in Mexico on Tuesday.

Mounting frustration

When the measures were initially introduced in Rio, incoming US flight passengers were delayed for up to nine hours while security officials ran identification checks.

"It is very frustrating to come to Brazil and spend 45 minutes in the line after long hours on the plane," said Olivia Doerhe, a 20-year-old student from Iowa.

She said it took the officials 10 minutes to take her fingerprints and photographs.

The original judge's order to check Americans was made in response to a US announcement that it would vet visitors from many countries outside of the EU for security reasons.

Brazil's Federal Public Ministry filed a complaint in a federal court over the US immigration measures, arguing its citizens were being unfairly discriminated against and urging the US to remove Brazil from its list of security threats.

The US-VISIT security system is meant to identify travellers who have violated immigration controls, have criminal records or belong to groups listed as terrorist organisations by the US.

Many saw the decision by Brazil to counteract the US security procedure with its own law as a tit-for-tat response, which has since backfired.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/3391337.stm

Published: 2004/01/13 05:38:54 GMT

© BBC MMIV

This happened last week ...

I was just on my way home from the center of the city when I got to witness something I really would have preferred not to see. I was sitting on the bus, listening to some music on my iPod and looking out the window, people watching, as I always do. We were at a red light (around 8:30pm) and I saw a street kid (maybe 14 or so), dirty, dressed only in shorts and a t-shirt come up to an SUV that was right next to the bus. He knocked on the window of the car and seemed to be asking the guy for money. I was directly behind and above the kid. I guess the driver said "no", and the next thing I knew the kid pulled what looked like a .45 caliber or 9mm pistol from his shorts, banged in on the window and demanded the guy's money. The guy quickly cleaned out his wallet, opened the window, handed the kid his cash and the kid skipped off. Almost the whole bus was watching the thing. After the kid ran off the driver actually looked up and me like, "Did you see that shit?". I've heard about these occurrences all the time (called "assaultos"), but never actually saw one. It was scary enough just to watch it! I can't imagine how that guy's heart must have been beating.

The bus rolled off and the chatter began. "Did you see that", several people were asking each other. One woman said to me, "Look at this place we live in". Then you could hear all of the personal stories being told, etc.. But oddly enough, the people actually seem to enjoy telling these stories .... war stories, I guess. I told the woman (a bit more "middle class" looking) who was sitting in front of me reading what had happened. She barely responded and then just went back to reading!

As we continued on my mind just kept replaying that image of the kid with that gun. His complete disregard .... for everything. A young life with so little to lose that he has no qualms about yanking a piece like that out early in the evening in the middle of a crowded street. I thought about the value of my iPod and Plam Pilot in my bag ... probably at least 10x the value of the bread he took from that businessman.

Then, with each passing block I found myself more easily distracted again .... one beautiful woman, two beautiful women, etc., etc.. That word came to mind, the word I think best describes Brasil (and definitely best describes Rio) ... contradiction ("contradição"). How can a place be so beautiful and so ugly all at the same time? Well, it can!

I tried to imagine the "old Rio". Rio in the 20s and 30s ... man, it must have been something else! Then I started thinking, "how can I live here". Shit, "how can people raise a family here"? But back in the "wonderful, safe, first world" of the USA you've got High Terror warnings" and fears of horrific acts against the country... just because of the Americans, etc... Which is worse? I really don't know. Well, I could go on and on about this comparison, but I won't now.

So, I finally saw my very own scene right out of Cidade de Deus (City of God). It's real folks ... oh, very, very real, and not a bit funny.

Hi all. Happy 2004 and all that. Tales of a Gringo has been a bit quiet lately for a varitey of reasons. I got away for a few days back around Xmas and then had a visitor here in Rio. I've also been in the midst of some server changes which have had me pulling my hair out a bit. Anyway, I'm back, the blog is back and I've got quite the dramatic first blog for 2004 ... oh how my mother is going to like this one ...