My 411

My last entry was on September 30th?!?! Where have I been and what have I been doing?!?!

Everywhere and everything.

Kidding.

But in all seriousness, the past three weeks have been busy with lots of things, among them traveling, taking tests, writing a paper, watching movies, and trying to make more friends so I can come back for two weeks in August of 2016. Here are a couple entries about some of those things. They’re a bit longer, so I hope you enjoy. More to come!

Ouro Preto

While I certainly have come to love staying here in Rio de Janeiro, I realized two weeks ago that I had been in the city too long. I needed a break. So a break I took. On Saturday, October 10th, at 12:20AM I boarded a bus with three other guys from my program at a PACKED bus station in the northern part of the city. Destination? The city of Ouro Preto, the former capital of Minas Gerais, roughly 8 hours northwest of Rio de Janeiro. I didn’t really know a whole lot about the city prior to going. In fact, my roommate, Alex, had proposed that we go for our upcoming long weekend (October 10th-12th) after he stumbled upon it while surfing the internet. Since we didn’t actually agree to go until 2:30 that Friday afternoon, the preparation process certainly became an interesting one: we ended up having only a half hour to pack and eat (I had pack of cookies and a pack of crackers for dinner), we nearly missed our city bus that transported us from our hotel to the station (after waiting for it for 20 minutes), and when we actually got to the station, the only thing we knew for sure about our trip was there we were going to Ouro Preto. Where we were staying and what we were doing? No idea. Certainly the makings for a memorable weekend.

And it bloody was.

Ouro Preto in the morning.

Ouro Preto in the afternoon.

If I had gotten sick as a result of city life, then Ouro Preto was the medication I needed. Founded in 1698 at the beginning of the Portuguese gold rush in Brazil, the city is situated in mountains—hills, really—of Minas Gerais. While the town has certainly modernized in the past century, it still holds much of its colonial character: 22 churches constructed in the baroque style, winding cobbled streets that emphasize walking as the primarily way to get around, and a significantly smaller population. And we couldn’t have asked for a better weekend to visit. It was raining for all but a day in Rio de Janeiro during the weekend, but in Ouro Preto, it was perfect: cool and cloudy in the morning, partly cloudy and warm the rest of the day, and clear at night. Here are some highlights:

1. Walking around: Sounds lame (and arduous for some), but one of the best parts, especially after spending five weeks in city where the primary (and recommended) modes for transportation are taxi cabs and/or buses. Breathing little, if any, automobile exhaust made walking up and down hills worth it.


2. Swimming in a gold mine: As I said before, Ouro Preto was founded during the 18th century gold rush in Brazil. There is one mine that remains open. I was a bit skeptical about visiting it…partly because my Portuguese was (and still is) not good enough to understand what the tour guide said. Regardless, I still climbed in the sketchy cart that took us down the mineshaft (at numerous points, all of us remarked how this would not be allowed in the US due to legitimate safety concerns), hoping for something more. It was your standard mine tour (i.e a bit boring and a bit dark) until we reached the end where we found ourselves at the edge of an underground lake. As the Brazilians quietly and cautiously stood at the water’s edge, the four Americans dropped to their swimsuits (or boxers for those who forgot to bring them) and jumped in. It was a bit cold, but, I mean, when’s the next I’ll get the chance to swim in a underground lake?!?

3. Planeta Gelado and Baby’s: This highlight reel would not be complete without something relating to food. The first, Planeta Gelado, was a homemade ice cream shop, discovered at the end of our afternoon walking tour. At R$1 (US $.55) a scoop, we became its most frequent customers. Baby’s, the second, was an Ouro Preto-renown, one-manned hamburger stand run by a man affectionately known as Baby. Selling hamburgers (or chicken-burgers) topped with fried potatoes, corn, egg, and ham, it seriously put BK lounge to shame.

The rocks to the left were supposedly radioactive.

On Sunday evening, another guy in the group and myself split from the other two and took another over-night bus to the coastal town of Guarapari. We had hoped for a small town with remote beaches (that is what Lonely Planet said we would find), but, unfortunately, we got the beach version of Mesquite, Nevada: a city filled with ugly condominiums lining some beautiful but bloody packed beaches. It was nice to see another part of Brazil, but in all seriousness, discovering a good but expensive ice cream shop prior to boarding our bus back to Rio de Janeiro was the real highlight of our escapade to Guarapari. No worries, though, nothing could trump our time in Ouro Preto.

Festival do Rio

From September 24th to October 8th, Rio de Janeiro hosted its annual International Film Festival. It was certainly no Cannes or Sundance, but it was a gem, one of the highlights of my first seven weeks here, and, most importantly, my first film festival. Over the course of the two weeks, over 300 films from 60 different countries where shown. After obtaining an official program, translating the Portuguese descriptions as best as I could, and asking recommendations from others, I ended up selecting and watching four (there were three others that I had hoped to see but unfortunately didn't). Here are my reviews and rankings (just click on the titles to view the trailers):

4. Hotel Atlântico (Suzan Amaral, Brazil, 2009): Based on the book by João Gilberto Noll and from acclaimed Brazilian director Suzana Amaral, this was one of the headliners of the festival as it was the first film by Amaral in over eight years. The story follows a well-known Brazilian actor, who finds himself disillusioned and distraught with his life, as he spontaneously embarks on a journey without a destination. Throughout his travels in southern Brazil, he encounters a spectrum of people in a variety of situations. Each situation possesses no real connection or relation to the rest, and abrupt transitions between each make it that much harder to cohere them all. In a nutshell, the film is an emotional and existential rollercoaster ride wrought with ambiguity and confusion. To sum up my reaction (and the reaction of my friends): the majority of the cab ride home was spent in silence, and during the moments where one of us did talk, all we did was ask questions. I'm still not quite sure what to think of the film...which it probably one the key reasons it falls at the end of my list.

3. Beyond Ipanema: Brazilian Waves in Global Music (Guto Barra and Béco Dranoff, Brazil, 2009): Carmen Miranda, Samba, "Girl from Ipanema," Favela Funk, João Gilberto, Basanova, Tom Zé: all Brazilian artists, songs, and styles that have had a profound impact on music around the world as this documentary clearly shows. This was the first film I saw (I actually went to its premiere), and it was very informative about a huge and significant part of Brazilian and Carioca culture, how it has evolved within Brazil, and how it has subsequently spread across the globe. Moreover, it was just a lot of fun (you may find yourself busting moves you never thought you had) and is definitely worth seeing. But don't worry if you can't find it at the video store. In fact, just make plans to fly to Loma and attend a music class at Loma Elementary where Nancy Harris will be showing part of the film to her students.

2. Séraphine (Martin Provost, France, 2008): I wanted to see this film from the moment I read its description and watched its trailer. I had to wait until its last showing, but it was absolutely worth it. Winner of the 2008 César (the French Oscar) for best picture and actress, the film follows the true story of the French artist, Séraphine Louis. An ordinary house cleaner, who possesses no formal training, Séraphine paints vibrant and massive works of primitive art during the nighttime hours. After being discovered by German art collector, Wilhelm Uhde, during World War I, she emerges as one of the world's best primitive artists. Yet while the shear size and vibrancy of her work help to set her apart, it is perhaps the inspiration behind her art that defines her as an artist and human being. Deeply religious, Séraphine draws inspiration from her guardian angel, who guides her through each work. But even though her inspiration produces incredible results, her work begins to take a toll of Séraphine's psyche, and she slowly loses her mental grip with each painting. For any person who has ever asked the question 'what drives a great artist?', this film certainly will give you an answer. It will subsequently change the way you view an artist and their art, and it could also change the way you view the world.

1. Eu Sou Feliz/I Am Happy (Soraya Umewaka, Japan/Brazil/United States, 2009): By far the best film I saw. A documentary, it follows the lives of six ordinary individuals living in Rio de Janeiro's infamous favelas. For those who have seen City of God and/or Elite Squad, this film is not only a good complement but, in my opinion, just flat out better at depicting what really goes on in a favela. While each are distinct, the lives of the six individuals come together to paint a fair and accurate picture of Brazilian society at large and the complex dynamics that exist between the varying races and social classes-dynamics that many Brazilians are uncomfortable acknowledging, much less dealing with. In the end, the film, like Séraphine, challenges the way in which view the world, the societies that make up them, and the various dynamics that have come to be accepted by all. Equally as impressive as the film's handling and telling of its subject is the way in which it was made. After graduating from Princeton with an A.B. in Comparative Politics and subsequently winning Princeton's Labouisse Fellowship, Soraya Umewaka began to make documentaries full-time about social development projects and challenges across the world. Three years after graduation, she has eight films in her canon. While she has started her own foundation (Street Witness), I don't know if and when her films will be made available for the larger public. Regardless, if you ever get the chance to see this or any of her other films, don't hesitate in making the most of it.

Below, in no particular order, are the three films that I wanted to see but didn't get around to doing so. Bright Star and New York, I Love You are scheduled to be shown in the States this fall, so I imagine some of you may see them before I do.

The Horse Boy (Michel Orien Scott, United States, 2009): The documentary tells the story of a British journalist and his American wife as they deal with the autism of their seven-year-old son, Rowan. The couple discovers that Rowan responds to horses, prompting the family to travel across the globe to Mongolia all in hopes of treating Rowan's condition. It was on my "Need to See" list from beginning. Even though the festival has ended, it still is.

Bright Star (Jane Campion, United Kingdom/Australia, 2009): To Whom It May Concern: WARNING-MASSIVE CHICK FLICK. To Those It May Also Concern: If you enjoyed the likes of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility and enjoy British literature and poetry in general, chances are you will like this. Directed by the same woman who did The Piano, the film tells the story of the infamous love poet John Keats and the woman who was, as the title says, his "bright star." Overall, I feel it has the makings of a winner.

New York, I Love You (Mira Nair, Fatih Akin, Yvan Attal, Allen Hughes, Shekhar Kapur, Shunji Iwai, Joshua Marston, Natalie Portman, Brett Ratner, Wen Jiang, Randall Balsmeyer, France/United States, 2009): The New York City version of the Paris classic, Paris Je t'aime, the film is a compilation of shorts about finding love in NYC. Two of my friends ended up seeing the film. One said it was the best film he saw during the festival. The other said Hotel Atlântico was better. What that says about the film I have no idea. All the more reason to see it for yourself.

É A VEZ DO RIO

So there I was: 12:43AM, October 2nd, lying on my bed, lights off, eyes wide open, mind racing. I tossed, I turned, but to no avail: sleep wasn't going to come easily if at all. A big test the next day, you ask? False. (Finally) a date with a Carioca garota? Still working on that. No, I was wide-awake because I was nervous that in 13 hours the International Olympic Committee would opt not to give Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and South America their first Olympic Games (Did I mention I love the Olympics? And that I wanted them in Rio de Janeiro?).

Seriously. I was indeed worried sick (or worried awake?). While I did (and do) not want to give too much weight to hosting an international sporting festival in the overall development of a nation, there was a sense that the coming decision was not just about hosting the Olympics. If Rio de Janeiro lost, it would only validate Brazil's status as "The Country of the Future"-that is, a country that has high hopes for what is to come but invariably never fully achieves them, a country that is perpetually emerging but will never actually emerge. But if the city of Samba did win, the chance would be given to break the stereotype and for Brazil to fully step into its own. (Coupled with the other reasons I have mentioned in a previous post) how could you not root for them (even to the point of losing sleep)?!?

Flash forward 13 hours and there I was, again, this time one of 100,000 people packed on Copacabana Beach waiting for Jacques Rogge to open the envelope and read the Committee's decision. As he fumbled to break the tape and pull the card from the envelope, I noticed that I was the only one who was remotely anxious. For all the Cariocas around me, this was just a formality. They already knew: é a vez do Rio-it's Rio's time (seriously, they did already know: the decision came at 2PM local time, but the party started around 9AM that morning). And then suddenly the whole world knew (and now knows): it is indeed time to give a nation and a continent the opportunity to demonstrate its own take on life and to show its mettle as a world player.

Now it's official.

But in the past three weeks, I've also come to that very phrase- é a vez do Rio-not only as a wake-up call for the world but also as a wake-up call to Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. It is indeed their time. The question now becomes, what will they make of it?

Do not get me wrong. I am incredibly excited for Rio de Janeiro to host the Olympics. But in all honesty, I still find myself a bit anxious. Quite frankly, Rio de Janeiro could screw things up. Big time. In addition to revamping its transportation system, handling significant crime issues, and building the actual venues and housing complexes, Rio de Janeiro and Brazil must handle, in some sort of capacity, many (significant) internal concerns-economic inequality, political corruption, social stratification-if it is going to pull off the Olympics they hope to. And while it is unfair to expect all of these issues to be completely resolved by August 2016, it is not unreasonable for Brazil to make a significant effort to address its national, internal problems while simultaneously tackling its logistical concerns as Olympic host. After all, Cariocas believe that the Olympic decision has commenced a new future for their city and their country. Thus, the Games of the XXXI Olympiad will be an indicator of how committed Rio de Janeiro and Brazil are to the process of complete development at all levels and classes-of how committed it is to the phrase everyone was singing three weeks ago.

Yes, world, it's Rio's time. It's Rio de Janeiro and Brazil's time to step up and achieve the future that is waiting for them.