Old Town School – On The Road

Dispatches from the road from our wayfaring travelers.

“legal”…the word for cool in Portuguese

Which is what this place is….so cool! It’s been one full week here in Brazil, I wish we could stay longer! This morning Andrea and I taught part 2 of the folk/pop/rock guitar class. Again, the Brazilians just soak up the American music. One woman Nivea loved all the classic rock of the 70s…calling out sort of obscure groups like Yes and Rennaissance. Even thought most of the students spoke only a little English, they knew a lot of the words of the American songs. We taught Big Yellow Taxi, Paper Moon, California Dreaming and more. Then we headed to the cafeteria/lounge area and rustled up our own barn dance with 10 or so of the students. Bau taught two circle dances and Steve taught one too that I really liked. We hung out with a student named Leandro…a self-taught players…so good…can play many styles…we all loved listening to him play Brazilian music, and he also plays the viola….not like the viola you think….a 7-string, or maybe 5-string?? instrument, nylon…great sound.

Yesterday, Bau and I heard a chorro (spelling?) band….mandos, ukes, that box thing you bang on, flute….so good. They played in a courtyard on the campus. Then we visited the Pro Music school that night for another jam session with all four of us..the students had lots of questions….one was “what is folk music?”….good question!

Okay, backtracking to that morning…..I had a wonderful workshop with the music ed. students of the univ. Somehow I got 25 college students to play freeze dance and sing If you’re happy and you know it and the like! They were great. I talked all about the kids programs at OTS and again, they had tons of interesting questions about how we teach. Then I was interviewed by one of the students for their campus radio station.

The group went up to the mountains today…I stayed back to relax. Tomorrow we will head to Ouro Preto, a town in the mountains about 2 hours away.

Filed under: Belo Horizonte,Brazil,Notes from Laura by Laura | June 6, 2009 | Comments (0)

Day 5 in Belo Horizonte

Hello from Brazil. What an amazing country. The people here are absolutely lovely. They love learning about American folk music, the history, the way we teach music and even the way we sing. And we’re learning just as much from them…their music…samba, bossa nova and even brazilian pop music. Our host Walenia is has given us a great tour of Belo Horizonte, the biggest city in the state of Minas Garais. It has everything…..huge outdoor markets downtown, to serene parks, the lagoon, a zoo, and of course the University. Then neighborhood we are in is called Pampulha.

Last night was a highlight. We had a jam/dance party with the Brazilians at a small school that teaches mostly voice classes. We first took a workhop on how to play the pandeiro…it looks like a tamborine with a closed head. Very rhythmic. It seems that everyone here knows how to play the pandeiro! After the workshop…party downstairs…snacks and local beer (Skol) was served with a local soup that sort of tastes like the refried beans in Mexican dishes, but even better, and pork added. I forgot the name in Portugues. I do remember “Pao de Queso” though…..a delightful little cheese puff thing they sell everywhere…yum yum! The food is AMAZING…every single meal….but more on that later.

At the party, we traded off singing american folks songs and Brazilian songs…there were accordions, guitars, all kinds of drums, shakers, mando, fiddle and of course the pandeiro! Then, a barn dance with Bau calling out the moves in English and Walenia translating in Portuguese, while Andrea and Steve strummed and fiddled. Then….instant samba dancing ensued and lots and lots of Brazilian songs sung so beautifully I could cry.

Okay….i’ll see if I can post a pic and video here to really see!

Filed under: Belo Horizonte,Brazil,Notes from Laura,Uncategorized by Laura | June 4, 2009 | Comments (0)