The Amazon

The Amazone Wings! no.1 Curitiba/Brasilia – November 2007

The Amazone !

Page 15

The Amazone

W in g s !

Editor’s note Welcome to our first edition of the South American Tour newspaper, The Amazone Wings.

After the long process of choosing a name, The Amazone was voted your favorite title, followed by “The Call of the Jungle” as a very close second.

Before I start, I would like to thank the CIE or “Time For Fun” for having us here in Brazil and taking care of us by making our experience unforgettable. So far, so good… with amazing audiences, good parties and great place to visit. But I’ve got to say, Curitiba and Brasilia are not what I was expecting of Brazilian cities. Thank God for the short run.

The Amazone

is for us, so that when we read it, it will make us smile, laugh and even transport into the time when the magazine was issued.

We hope that you enjoy this issue. Thank you to all the people contributing. Being in a new continent, new country, new culture, I’m sure that you will come across experiences that will be unique to this place. Life is short, so let’s experience it to the max! If you would like to share your anecdotes, photos, jokes, etc., please send them to: cirque_alegria @hotmail.com

In this Issue - Editor’s note page 2 - The view from gate 1 page 3 - The futuristic city Page 4 - How I became a spot monkey… Page 5 - The great Amazon Page 6,7 - New Faces Page 8,9 - Premiere Curitiba Page 10 - Premiere Brasilia Page 11 - Fencing demonstration Page 12 - Jumping fleas Page 13 - A waterfall in Braslia Page 13 - “Love it or Hate it” Page 14,15 - The haunted party Page 16,17 - Paradise her on earth Page 20 Team Amazon: Ken, Tanya, Shannan Contributors: Karl, Maui, Julien, Sophie, Marcelo, Zhan, Robski, Renaut, Shawn, Ken, Photos: Anson, Tanya, Julien, Sophie, Robski, Renald, Genevieve, Elodie, Kathy, Patricia, Pablo, Mitko,

Page 2

- GT5454 - Last page

Page 22 Page 24

The Amazone

33

W in g s !

THE VIEW FROM GATE 1 Well here we are, and what a great adventure it has been so far! Ok.. two cities in 2 months-- but yeah….moss can’t grow on a rolling stone, or something like that. Gate 1 has been pretty calm and uneventful with the exception of local neighborhood guard dog Tiba chasing horses, locals and whatever else to protect her new home. Dog?! I didn’t see a dog !!!

Anyway here we go some of the greatest moments from the past two cities: Brasilia (set up day 2): Bodyguard: I need to get to in to see where my client will be sitting.

Todd: But the tent isn’t even up yet….and the seats…

Bodyguard: Well, I can wait an hour. (did I mention he spoke perfect English?)

Curitiba: On Radio: Todd to security….TODD TO SECURITY……………TODD TO PHILLPE ON SECURITY… TODD TO PHILLPE ON SECURITY ………(still no answer) When I went to the gate I asked why he was not answering the radio…his reply “I turned it off because I kept hearing my name and it was distracting me” Curitiba: After getting a medic call….I left the office and asked the security supervisor to get the medic and come with me to DOOR 3….his reply “Hang on-- I want a picture with Marcos”…..

Curitiba: The security supervisor came to me and said, “TODDGY (?) Do you mind if the police take their horses to the kitchen to eat ???”

Ok-- that one might have been the language barrier…..but I was still confused.

You never know whose watching so stay tuned for tales from GATE 1

-- The Toddler

Trying an oyster for the first time

Page 3

The Amazone

W in g s !

The Futuristic city of Brasilia

by Roski

We’ve seen many different cities on our “Alegria” journey, but none are as intriguing as Brasilia. Whose idea was it to build this city? How did the concept become a reality? The story begins in the late 19th century.

The first Republican constitution of Brazil (1891) defined that a new capital should be built near the geographical center of the country, but the actual site was not determined until 1922. According to a legend, Italian saint Don Bosco had a prophetic dream (1883) in which he described a futuristic city, roughly located where present day Brasilia is located. Brazil had two previous capitals: Salvador, Bahia (until the mid 18th century) and then Rio de Janeiro. The idea of building Brasilia was to take the seat of power from the concentrated population center in southeastern Brazil, and establish a new city, designed specifically for this purpose.

It wasn’t until the 1950’s, when President Juscelino Kubitschek moved forward with the plan of building this “dream” city.

A competition was held to choose the “plan” for the city, and urban planner Lucio Costa won. A close friend of Costa’s, Oscar Niemeyer was the chief architect, and Roberto Burle Marx was the chief landscape designer.

Costa based his project on the Athens Charter, presented at the 1933 International Congress of Modern Architecture. The document detailed the plans for “the functional city”, a 1930’s utopian vision of how the ideal cities would be in the 21st century.

The key underlying concept was the creation of independent zones for the four “functions” necessary for urban life: Living, working, recreation and circulation.

These concepts were widely adopted, principally in the post WWII reconstruction of Dresden, public housing worldwide (the “projects” in the Bronx, for example) and of course Brasilia, where the application of this charter is followed to the letter.

Critics argued against the inflexible approach of the application of this charter and the inhumane results.

Like the “unfriendly” pedestrian design, for example Building of Brasilia began in 1956 and lasted 41 months, until the city was inaugurated on April 21, 1960. Costa’s design for the city’s pilot plan resembled a bird, or an airplane, but the idea was to have it be the shape of a cross, to symbolize possession. It’s ironic that the “brain” behind the concept of Brasilia, Costa, didn’t get as much recognition as its principal architect, Niemeyer. His buildings and monuments were, and still are, considered works of art. In addition to his buildings, the original plan was to have “works of art” spread throughout the city. To this day, new works and buildings are continuously added to the Brasilian landscape. One recent addition is arguably one of the most beautiful and awe inspiring contributions: The Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, completed in 2002 and designed by Alexandre Chan, who has won international acclaim for his design.

As we stand here in Brasilia, in the year 2007, it’s curious to think back to the 1950’s and realize how visionaries thought how our “ideal” cities would look like in the year 2000. It’s kind of like a “Jetsons” vision of how we would all be living. That we would all have personal flying saucers and not have to walk anywhere. That we would live in buildings that all looked alike and there would be no distinction between rich and poor. Somewhere along the line, human nature took over and changed these concepts. Now, in the year 2007, we are seeing how that 50 year old futuristic vision blended with contemporary reality to produce present-day Brasilia: a strange but intriguing experiment and we have been lucky enough to live it for a short time on our “Alegrian” journey. (Source: Wikipedia.com) Maui in Action at the Marcos Frota Circus

Page 4

The Amazone

55

W in g s !

How I became a Spot Monkey and Lived to Tell About It by Brian Kim Fueled by coffee and the occasional Virgin Bacardi and Diet Coke, we suit up and head out at five minutes til the Red Dude, checking out the local flora and fauna on the way. Crush a beer can on our heads, punch a baby, and run up the mast like an angry orangutan after a flag made of bananas. We are the light jockeys. A salty bunch that sees the world in frames 1 & 2, ND, and F, at about 30%. But there's more to our jobs than the visible daily routine of strapping it on, adjusting yourself, and climbing the stick.

First of all, we talk a lot. Clearly, all the show technicians have headsets in order to communicate with each other and our stage managers. What you may not know is that this communication system is separated into different loops or 'channels'. One of these is a closed channel between the light board operator and the three spot operators. And it's on this private channel that the fun really happens.

Don't bother asking about who's secretly dating who, dirt on the new rigger Grant, or what kind of hair extensions I'm planning to get... We talk about all of it. Unfortunately, what's said on the spot channel stays on the spot channel. However, I suppose I can let you all in on some of the fun.

Here are some highlights and moments we love in the show.

•

Secretly hoping that Stephanie and Brian will high five each other during that one pass in Synchro Trapeze.

•

Systematically renaming every element of Powertrack *The Tiger *Throwing Out the Rug *Upset Sumo Wrestler *Julien's 'Grease Lighting' on the SR Colimacon

•

*Raise the Roof

Watching Denys (aka Moons Over my Hammy) ask mom (white singer) for permission to 'go play' late in his act.

Denys by the way, gets this issue's Positivo Award for his amazing improv skills last week. We all remember him going into and holding the classic 'Inverted Question Mark' position for about 10 minutes while waiting for a rouge pole to arrive on stage.

•

Watching Grant trip over wheelchairs, crutches, and small children to get to his fire guard position SL

•

Figuring out what yoga postures the Firebird is executing

•

Watching 'Rosha and The Immaculate Hoop Toss' followed by 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Masha' (at the end of 'Disco Masha') accompanied by 'Shake and Bake Masha'

•

The 'Sarin Gas Attack' during Flying Man

•

Kung Fu Ken' during Cube (and if you watch the act closely, there's a moment where we think he is literally 'loving' geometry)

•

Checking in with Lisa and Kristen during Russian Bars

•

The names for all of the nymphs (from their pre-contortion solo) *Lil Elvis *The Windmill *Rainbow Trout *Gelato with Sprinkles

You ask yourselves how we have time to come up with this crap? It is pretty intense work but after a while, you find that there is time for all sorts of things up there like spotting cameras in the house, doing your taxes, and listening to Mitko talk about his G-Shock watch. Peter is in the process of crocheting me a sweater. It seems like these days we are spending more time picking the man-eating, flying, death-ants out of our hair and trying not to fall out of our seats and off the masts. But as bad as our little bug situation is now, it doesn't even begin to compare with our focus night here during load-in.

Every set-up, the lighting team has a couple nights just before the Big Top Meeting where they stay late and point (focus) every single light where they need to go. On the last one of these nights here in Brasilia, there was a MASSIVE swarm that descended upon the big top and artistic tent. Unlike the mini-swarm last week, this one included ants, the bugs eating the ants, and the bugs eating those bugs. All of them literally carpeting the path that we needed climb to the Coppola and almost blacking out the white tent.

(Continues on page 19)

Page 5

The Amazone

W in g s !

The Great Amazon by Sophie and a tiny help from Julien Dry and humid season To go to the Amazon, we first landed in a city called Manaus which is situated 2000 km north of Brasilia. A huge industrial city situated at the border of the Jungle and surrounded by rivers, Manaus plagued with a lot of poverty and favelas. Their principal activities are the refinement of petrol. It is also a central point for the Brazilian military; some of the best soldiers in the world are trained in the Amazon. Well, the truth is, it is not that interesting to stay in this city when you have the Amazon close by.

So we had decided to spend 2 days in the heart of the Amazonian jungle and to sleep in a lodge. It’s a kind of a hotel constructed on pillars along the jungle and of the river. Since we went there during the dry season, the lodge seemed to be situated on a higher ground compared to the river, but during the rainy season, from April to May, the river could go up as high as 9 meters around that area, submerging the steps of the lodge. It must be totally different scenery…

Candle During our excursion with a guide into the Jungle, we discovered large numbers of trees that had particular properties used by the Indians. One of them was a type of tree whose sap that burns very easily, which they used to make candles. These candles also functioned as an insect repellent when they placed them at each corner of the habitat.

Hang over remedy Cinnamon is the bark of the cinnamon tree that grows in the forest. They have a very strong smell and we have learned that by drinking the infusion cinnamon bark, it will help relieve a hang over! That’s pretty handy for us, don’t you think?!

Chanel 5 Deu, our guide, showed us a tree whose bark is used to make the perfume, “Chanel 5.” It is true that it had a very strong smell and once you touched it, the smell stayed on the skin for a long time. Deu told us to soak it in alcohol to obtain our own perfume resembling the real “Chanel 5”. This tree was discovered in this jungle, and costs a fortune. Nearby, they had a private plantation that fabricates this famous perfume.

Big Tree Then we saw a gigantic tree that the Indians called “the Grandmother of the Forest”. It is a very tall tree (A height of around 20 m) with a triangle base, and on the photo, I am around 3 meters from the ground. It is a very useful tree when you are lost in the Jungle. You could climb up the tree and look for the path and the river. Also, when you hit the trunk with a piece of wood, it emits an ominous low frequency response that can be perceived up to a mile away. And it also can come in handy if you are chased by a cheetah.

Vines There are lot of vines in the Jungle. Some-- like the ones you see in the photo-wrap around a tree trunk and strangle it until it dies before moving on to another.

Some vines could be very long and strangle a couple of trees at the same time.

Page 6

The Amazone

77

W in g s !

Termite mound We also came across a huge termite mound. The termites attack a tree and eat it until it becomes like in the photo. When poked with a knife, the wood disintegrates very easily.

Plants with medicinal properties Certain plants are used as medicine by the Indians to heal malaria, stomachaches, prostate problems, etc…

Others are used as women’s contraceptive, and there are some plants that help you for mornings after a good night of Caipirinas… The Indians like their drinks…

Caimans hunting One night, we went hunting for Caimans. It was very dark, with no light that could be seen in the jungle. Paddles in hand, we took a Pirogue (primitive canoe) that had water seeping into it through several leaks; not very reassuring at all! From time to time, Deu (Our guide), would turn on a torch to look at the edge of the river. We had to be silent so that all we could hear were the howls of the animals…

Toads croaking as if they were in hell, birds screaming suddenly, crickets singing, and much more that we would not want to know the details about. (Trust me, we felt very vulnerable in our small Pirogue!). After about 45 min, we went on the edge and Deu went out bare foot, while we stayed in the pirogue very quietly, as instructed by Deu. He walked in the swamp for 15 min before coming back with a 7 month old baby caiman with a length of 80 cm and weight of about 3-4 kg. Small, but enough to give you goose bumps through your back.

The meeting of the two rivers The principal attraction near Manaus was the meeting of the two rivers (The Rio Negro and the Solimoes). One had a dark color with a neutral Ph and the other a yellowish color with an acidic Ph. They have different densities and temperatures, flow at different speeds, and meet at a point were they do not mix for a couple of kilometers.

This short adventure in the Amazon was intensely exotic and we experienced lots of unforgettable moments. However, when we came back to Brasilia, something was still missing and if we have the chance later on, we would like to organize another trip to the Jungle, this time during the rainy season and on the neutral water side to intensify our experience with this amazing wildlife.

Iguasu Waterfall

Plaia Rosa Page 7

The Amazone

W in g s !

New faces Malika Alaoui - Singer Where are you from? I am half Swiss and half Morrocan.

What were you doing before Alegria? Singing with cover bands and some of my own compositons with different groups. Performing trip hop, jazz, world music, funk and reggae. Worked with a dance theater and was learning traditional Maghreb African dance and oriental dance.

What do you think about Alegria so far? It’s crazy!! It’s a wonderful show!

What do you do in your free time?

Listening to music, resting and letting go!

Any last comment? I am very happy to work and be part of the group of Alegria!

Elodie Dufau – Power track Where are you from? South of France – Canne What were you doing before Alegria? 9 years of gymnastics, 6 years of trampoline for the France team. Participated in the creation of Kooza and performed 5 months for a total of 1 year and a half.

What do you think about Alegria so far? I like the ambiance and also the fact that it’s an old show. I could tell that the people are used to working with people from different countries. I also like the handshakes before the number.

What do you do in your free times? Spend lots of time with my friends, even though we do nothing special. I like to go shopping and I talk a lot with my family on the internet! And now on facebook.

Any last comment? Thank you for all the team to make the integration easy.

Stephanie Gasparoli - Trapeze Where are you from?

Switzerland, Basel What were you doing before Alegria? Performing Tissue and Aerial hoops in different shows through Europe and from 2003 – 2004 I worked on Varekai What do you think about Alegria so far? … I like it!! There is a good team spirit and what I like in general is that everything is provided for us so that the artists can perform to the maximum potential on stage. “No warming up in Elephant shit and no mud on costume.”

What do you do in your free times? Make jewelry and I study.

Any last comment? Well…I’m looking forward to spending the next couple of years with you guys!

Page 8

Isabel Machado Where are you from? Sao Paulo What do you do on Alegria?

Receptionist What do you think about Alegria so far? Alegria is Alegre.

Any hobbies? I like anything related to music like going to concerts. And also traveling…now my hobby became my work!

Any last comments? Thank you for a great experience and thank you everyone to let me share with you guys.

Tanya Sarrazin Where are you from? Montreal, Quebec What do you do on Alegria?

Accounting What did you do before Alegria?

Worked on Varekai in 2004, then from 2005-2006 on Dralion and 2006 – 2007 in Montreal head office.

What do you think about Alegria so far? …The other show will not receive this?... well Alegria people are very receiving and I like the mellow ambience.

What do you in your spare times? Studying in interior designing.

Any last comments? I’m hunting for the right guy!!

Caio Malfatty / DJ Caio What do you do on Alegria？ Site Coordinator What did you do before Alegria?

Worked in events and production, like parties and gigs.

What do you think about Alegria so far? Good people and and it’s a good tour!

Any hobbies? Music and DJing.

Any last comments? “Be careful Tabarnak!”

Wlamil Napoli – Massage Therapist What did you do before Alegria? I worked on Saltimbanco and when I’m not working with cirque, I work in Sao Paulo.

What do you think about Alegria so far?

Very serious show performance.

What do you do in your spare times? Go to cinema and also run 5km every morning.

Any last comments? Hope that you enjoy what you do and keep the same feeling as if you are performing for the first time!

The Amazone

99

W in g s !

Cora Maglaya – Physio Where are you from? From Chicago.

What do you do on Alegria? I’m the artistic coordinator for underwater chess and also so work with troubled clowns.

What do you think about Alegria so far? A wonderful experience.

What do you do in your spare times? Run, learn Portuguese and chat with locals.

Any last comments? Thank you for having me.

Rene Penaloza – Follow spot Where are you from? I was born in Chile and living in Sao Paulo.

What did you do before Alegria?

Worked on Saltimbanco in 2006.

What do you think about Alegria so far? Great.

What do you do in your spare times? DJ mixing every day and hopefully I could DJ for you guys.

Any last comments? Keep up the good work!

Maude Lemieux – teacher ￥ Where are you from? Cap-aurenard in Gaspésie, Quebec What did you do before Alegria?

Taught the 2 Quidam singer at the studio.

What do you think about Alegria so far? I love it. Very welcoming and sympatical atmosphere and the students are great.

What do you do in your spare times? Visit the city on day offs, and currently learning Portuguese.

Any last comments? Thank you for a warm welcoming.

Renald Laurin – Clown Where are you from? Montreal, Quebec What did you do before Alegria? …a lot of things…teaching physical theater, devise and direct shows. Aslo act as artistic adviser.

What do you think about Alegria so far? It’s interesting because I was in this show from 95 to the beginning of 99, so I rediscover this feeling. I like the way the show had evolved and the artist are very competent.

What do you do in your spare times? Photos!

Being a tourist and learning Portuguese and photos!

Any last comments? Thank you for the photos.

Kathy Mcnicoll – Sound tech Where are you from? Montreal What did you do before Alegria?

Worked 5 month on Kooza.

What do you like about Alegria so far? Love the show.

Any hobbies? Sailing Any last comments? Merci beaucoup.

Peter Thompson – Light tech What did you do before Alegria? Worked for Ringling brothers and Barns and baily circus.

What do you like about Alegria?

It’s a lot better when you don’t work with animal as long as you don’t count the riggers.

Any hobbies? Rock climbing and playing harmonica.

Any last comments? So far so good.

J.

Grant Hoffman – light tech Where are you from? Tampa / Chicago What did you do before Alegria?

Rock and Roll and theater rigging.

What do you think about Alegria so far? Good times!! Takes time to get use to this size of production but its great.

Any hobbies? Drive race cars, work and built cars.

Any last comments?

It’s better to regret something you have done than something you haven’t.

Plotnikov Roman Leonidovich – Russian Bar porter He is from Voronezh, Russia.

Before cirque, he was in man’s pair acrobatics and did two years of army. Then, worked at the big Moscow circus performing in an acrobatic act with bears. In his spare time he likes to fish, hunt and drive cars. His last words: “if you want a good life, you have to work for it!”

Veaceslav (Slava) Cebanu – Russian Bar porter

He is from the capital of Moldova, Kishynev.

Before Alegria, he worked in Billy Smarts and Jai Millers circus in Great Britain performing in Banquine and steel perch. Also worked in Eclipse circus in Great Britain as a Russian bar performer.

He like’s tourism, listen Russian music and to spent a lot of time with his friends. His last words: Only forward

Page 9

The Amazone

W in g s !

Premiere Curitiba

Page 10

The Amazone

1111

W in g s !

Premiere Brasilia

Page 11

The Amazone

W in g s !

DÉMONSTRATION D’ESCRIME Le 3 octobre dernier, à Curitiba, en complicité avec les 3 professeurs de notre école et pour les enfants, j’organisais une activité d’initiation à l’escrime, un sport que j’ai pratiqué pendant plusieurs années. Suite à ma découverte du club d’escrime de Curitiba, j’ai invité les frères Athos et Ivan Schwantes à venir donner un atelier d’initiation à l’escrime sous la tente VIP du site. Ce fut au-delà de mes attentes… Ils nous ont d’abord présenté sur grand écran un survol de l’historique de cette discipline olympique, du temps des Égyptiens jusqu’à nos jours. Ensuite, ils ont fait une démonstration de leur savoir-faire en combattant ensemble, pour ensuite inviter les enfants à fabriquer leur propre épée avec du papier et du carton.

C’est équipés de leur propre arme blanche bien « affutée » et bien alignée que les enfants ont été initiés à la position de garde et aux déplacements de base. Finalement, grâce à tout le matériel de compétition que ces deux excellents escrimeurs avaient apporté avec eux, les enfants ont pu faire un combat arbitré de trois touches. À constater la qualité d’écoute et d’enthousiasme de nos jeunes circassiens, je suis plus qu’heureux d’avoir pu faire connaître un peu mieux ce sport méconnu, trop souvent qualifié de bourgeois, qui est en fait une discipline extraordinaire pour enseigner le respect, le courage, la maîtrise de soi, l’élaboration d’un projet tactique (au même titre que les échecs) de même que l’acquisition de réflexes et qui, de plus, exige une grande souplesse.

Merci beaucoup à Athos et Ivan pour leur générosité et leur disponibilité et nous leur souhaitons bonne chance pour leurs prochaines compétitions ! ************ FENCING DEMONSTRATION On October 3, in Curitiba, with the help of our three school teachers, I organized especially for the children an initiation activity of fencing, a sport I have practiced for several years. After having discovered the Curitiba Fencing Club, I invited the two brothers Athos and Ivan Schwantes to give the kids an initiation workshop of the sport in the VIP tent. The results were beyond my expectations! On a large screen, they first presented us an overview of this Olympic discipline, from the time of ancient Egypt to the present. They next gave a demonstration of their know-how of fighting against each other before inviting the children to make their own sword with paper and cardboard. Armed with their own white weapon, ‘well-sharpened’ and aligned, the children were initiated to the “en garde” positions and other basic movements. Finally, thanks to the competition equipment these two excellent fencers had brought with them, all the children were able to do a threehit fight with a referee.

The quality of listening of our young ‘Circassians’ really made me happy to have presented to them this unrecognized sport. Often qualified as bourgeois, this sport represents an extraordinary way to teach respect, courage, self-control, the planning of a tactical project, and acquisition of reflexes (just as chess do) and which also calls for a high degree of flexibility.

Many thanks to Athos and Ivan for their kindness and their availability and we wish them the best of luck in their next competitions!

Page 12

The Amazone

1313

W in g s !

Jumping Fleas! (No this is not a story about TIBA) By Carl One day while at work my ears were drawn to an unfamiliar sound. It was a musical sound, light, clear & guitar like, but at the same time, almost like the chime of a bell. My curious ears lead me to find Nancy strumming a miniature guitar called the Cavaquino. The Cavaquino is commonly used in Brazilian music. A few days after my first encounter with the Cavaquino, Ken & I were talking about Nancy’s new toy and he mentioned the similarities between the Cavaquino and The (Hawaiian) Ukulele. I told Ken that the ukulele was originally brought to the Hawaiian Islands by the Portuguese, probably around the late 1800’s. The Hawaiians renamed this Portuguese instrument “Ukulele”.

The funny thing is that UKU (means Flea) and LELE (Jumping) = Jumping Fleas.

The story is that when the Hawaiians first saw the Portuguese playing this instrument, their rapidly moving fingers, to the Hawaiians, looked like “jumping fleas”. Although I’m not an ethno Musicologist, but given the fact that Brazil was colonized by Portugal, I think it’s safe to say that the Cavaquino & the Ukulele are probably close cousins. Like they way “Music is Universal” P.s. maybe we should rename Tiba “Ukulele” LOL ☺

A waterfall in Brasilia by Maui An early start on Sunday morning. In the van with traveling foreigners, some awake and some asleep, speeding through a rain starved land. In the distance the mountain greets us; a blue that splits the green. The heat awaits and invades when the doors opens. The ground is hot and the path is silent. Sound of the walking water as we make out way fast. The first falling of the water into the calm and still pool where the people jump from the rocks with a whoop and a splash. On and up we go past the falling of the water. This time three shall we see, where the water falls and walks. On and up a distance, a roar that’s not so distant. The blue that splits the green towers above and a mist is upon our skin. On and up over the hill; the mist is upon us and the roar moves through us. The water that falls; and falls and falls and smash; the non-stop roar that splits and laughs in its own magnificent way. Looking down at us and daring our curiosity. Climb if you can and meet me at the top. Jump if you dare; and fall; or meet me at the bottom were we shall roar together and I will smash you for daring. Sit at my feet and I shall storm at you and tell you a story.

Then, when you’ve had enough, go; stumble and crawl if you must for I will not stop. I will smash you further or I will sting you further or I will spit upon you and chill your bones further or my roar will find you deaf. Good bye.

Sleeping beauty in the plane

Page 13

The Amazone

W in g s !

“love it or hate it”

São Paulo

by

Marcelo Mazzari

Sooner than you think, you will all be facing what for some may be a challenge and others, just another city: São Paulo. What is it to be written about the fourth biggest city in the world? The “love it or hate it” place to be? Nothing’s better than having a real Paulistano (that’s what we call people that were born in the city of São Paulo) to tell you something about it.

It all began in 1554, when catholic priests built a religious school, the first building of the city. Today that place is known as Pátio do Colégio, and it’s a touristy point that marks the beginning of it all.

too - the Rock Gallery. A building that breathes music, where you can find a huge variety of music styles. Rock n’ roll, progressive, alternative, punk, ska, metal, old long plays, rare stuff. It’s all there. Oh, you can also find those nice skull t-shirts that I wear. On the ground bellow of that building, there’s also the hip-hop and black music stores.

But I’m not here to give you a free history class and perhaps most of you don’t want to read about that, so let’s get right to the point: Facts! After 453 years, lots of things changed.

Different from Brasilia – the city where the streets have no name (Bono wrote that song after visiting Brasilia) – all our streets have real names. The old part of town is located in downtown, where once it was a glamorous area and today…well, let’s not get into minor details.

The city’s Mayor is trying to renew it, but still too far behind. Its constructions and architecture will remind you of old Europe at times, especially France. But, don’t let that scare you away - you won’t find any Parisians there, for sure.

So, if you like old buildings, gothic constructions, ugly alleys and dirty streets, that’s the place to be. Some spots to be seen: Catedral da Sé, Estação da Luz, Pinacoteca do Estado, Edifício Itália, Praça da República and others.

You don’t like that? No problem. If you’re the intellectual kind, one who knows how to appreciate art on all it’s forms, you have a whole bunch of options too: Masp Museum, Museu da Casa Brasileira, Museu de Arte Sacra e Mosteiro da Luz and so on. Everything very boring. But, hey, let’s not discuss taste here, right?

Well…I wanna rock…If you’re thinking on that, São Paulo is considered the capital of rock and can offer that

There’s a time to live and a time to eat. At certain times you might want to taste something different from Anson’s cooking. Again, no problem – either with place or time. The restaurants in São Paulo never close on lunch time, and if you want to eat even after show ends, ok.

Thai, Chinese, Indian, Ukranian, Portuguese, Korean, French, Spanish, Mexican, Jewish, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Arabian, German…you name it. Exotic food all around. So exotic that at some places, you have to wait for your food finishing eating before you do.

You just want some appetizers and get drunk?

You shouldn’t do that, but just in case, you can go to Vila Madalena, one of the city’s neighborhoods. Lots of bars, live music, restaurants, nice girls, ugly men – I couldn’t say the opposite on this last one. And wherever you go, don’t worry. You can have ice on your drinks and still live after that.

After bumping into a lot of cranky people until you get to São Paulo, once you’re there you will finally face good services and meet polite people (some). Then you’ll understand why most of the local staff working on Cirque is from São Paulo: because we’re damn good!!

By now, you guys probably have had a briefing about each city as well as the country and its degrees of violence. What’s to say about that? I can say that so far I’m still alive! It’s a matter of not being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Still, you can be at the wrong place at the right time, if you know what I mean. I guess that pretty much describes it. Just don’t walk around like a celebrity that you’ll be fine. São Paulo is such a cosmopolitan city, that even strange people like you will get through without being noticed… I’m joking. (Continues to the next page) Page 14

The Amazone

W in g s !

Not so well organized like Brasilia, we also have our districts. Places where you can find specific things with lots of stores to shop. I hope you won’t have time for this but, if you like to kill things other then humans, there’s the hunting and fishing districts.

If ,by any chance you plan ( or not ) to get married in Brazil, you will find the bride street, with dresses, ornaments and so on…the groom is on you. We also have our Chinatown, but in this case, Japanese town, a district called Liberdade, with restaurants and shops.

Among the sea of buildings and concrete of our city, we can also offer you some nature, beginning with the river right in front of where the site will be.

We are very proud to have the only solid river in the world. So polluted that you can walk on it. Well, rivers are part of the nature, right? But other than that, we do have lots of parks in the city, places to take the family, have a nice day off and breathe something different from carbon monoxide. The Ibirapuera Park is one of them. You won’t even believe that’s a part of the same city. It will be your twilight zone moment.

So even if you try all this and still not be convinced, on double darks I would tell you to go straight to the beaches. You can get to the closest ones in one hour. More than that, you will find Ilha Bela, Boiçucanga, Ubatuba, Maresias, Camburiú…all on the North Coast. Great places to surf (or not), get some mosquito bites (Ilha Bela) or just do nothing, only relax and get sun burned (watch out for skin cancer).

So, just as if you’re wondering if we have a place, a monument or something that represents the city, yes we do. It’s an avenue and it’s called Paulista Avenue, the financial heart of the city and why not say, the country? What kind of weird people would have an avenue as the post card of the city? We, the paulistanos.

And I couldn’t end this and not write about our traffic. I guess you heard about it, but you’ll never know what’s it like if you don’t experience it.

But don’t get scared. Things that happens on wars are much worse.

To find more specific information about the city of São Paulo and some of the places that I mentioned, check out the website www.cidadedesaopaulo.com. Click on the English version and discover the city. And, if you want to practice your Portuguese, I recommend a great book, called Una (http://br.geocities.com/una.livro/una_livro.html ), which by the way, was written by me.

Thank you for being such great people so far and remember – the shuttle guy waits for no one!

How to: Move your body by Harold

Page 15

The Amazone

W in g s !

The Haunted Party

Page 16

The Amazone

1717

W in g s !

Page 17

The Amazone

W in g s !

Congratulations to:

Martin Neilson  Purdy

Martha

Sergey & Veronika Kritsyn For their wedding on September 22nd 2007 In Kishynev, capital of Moldova

For their marriage on October 22nd 2007 Brasilia, Brazil

Brasilia In -

The view from the Balcony Sunday market by the tower The Carrefour, close to site Good buffet in shopping center Internet connection The rooms Short run (thank god!)

Out - Shower’s - Noisy AC - Homeless people - Invaded by insects - Brasilia

How to: Ankle taping by Alison

Page 18

Curitiba In -

Sushi Restaurants Plaia Rosa The Hotel The bar downstairs Ave Batel Good service

Out -

Expensive shopping center The traffic Cold weather for couple of days Bad internet connection Sidewalks especially on heels

The Amazone

1919

W in g s !

How I became a Spot Monkey and Lived to Tell About It (Continued from page 4) Once we were inside it wasn't too bad except for the fact that we were in a dark space hugging ridiculously bright sources of light that were giant targets for every bloodsucking thing around. Our escape from that hell is a little fuzzy in my memory and comes to me in flashes.

•

Unrolling and closing the hatches and watching a 5 kilo pile of bugs fall out of the folds of the canvas and onto our feet

•

Peter mumbling "i love bugs. i love bugs. i love bugs." as a protective mantra.

•

"Oh look at that one. It had 63 legs and is the size of my fist."

•

Me doing the 'If I keep moving my body nothing can bite me' dance trying not to slip into a coma.

•

Everything going snap crackle pop under our feet and feeling the stream of bug juice drip out of our figure eights from the bugs on the rope.

It was reminiscent of that scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. 'I feel like step on fortune cookie'.

This was not in the brochure.

Its nights like these that pretty much explain the sun glassed, surly group of light jockeys in the back row of the big top meetings.

But things are not always so grim. The guys and I really enjoy what we do and I can honestly say that nobody watches the show like we do. We are the closest eyes and ears to the action and if there is anything that we notice that isn't quite right, we are the first to call it in; literally watching over the show. So feel free to drop by the 54 for a post show beer and laugh about the unfortunate mishaps that happened during the show today because chances are, we already have.

Our One Drop

Finally my wish came true!

Page 19

The Amazone

W in g s !

Paradise here on earth by Ken When I hear the word Brazil, I imagine the tropical heat, I see the Amazon River and a forest full of life, and I hear the Brazilian football fans and people dancing at the Carnival. But when I arrived in Curitiba, it was the entirely to the contrary. Cold weather and a small, organized city. I didn’t mind it, just enjoyed the experience here in Brazil, with amazing audiences and the opportunity to discover the small city. But after couple of weeks, something was missing‌something very Brazilian, like the stuff you see on the Discovery channel.

Then a week before the double dark, I saw a sheet posted in the kitchen with a little description and photos about a trip to Plaia Rosa. It was the first time that I heard that name, and the 6 hr drive did not make me very enthusiastic... But, after some convincing by Laurie and also the fact that I had not done any major site-seeing yet in Brazil, I decided to join the group. That turned out to be a great decision. I had never seen anything like it. Standing on the balcony, I saw the blue ocean surrounded by hills covered by green vegetation, and since it was the whale season, the whales were popping their fins and tails from the surface almost every 15mins. And to top it off, the villagers were so kind and down to earth that it made our time memorable. Our 2 days seemed to be a week. It was paradise.

Page 20

The Amazone

2121

W in g s !

Useful words in Portuguese phrases 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Waiter! There is a fly in my soup. / Garcon! Tem una mosca na mihna sopa.

My ass is itchy. / Mihna bunda esta com fome.

I think I have a fly in my nose. / Acho que tenho una mosca no meu nariz.

Its smells like horse shit! / Esta cheirando a merda de cavalo!

I don’t know this clown. / Eu nao conheco este palhaco.

I didn’t order 5 beers, I ordered 10 bottles. / Eu nao pedi cinco garrafes de cerveja e sim dez.

Where do I come from?

We won’t tell you again! NO Flashes!!!

A big Hello to all Alegrian’s from Osaka and Dralion artists!

I wish I was fishing right now…

Tamaki Nakagawa

Take this!! POW!

Page 21

The Amazone

W in g s !

Zhan’s Corner

GT5454

-

A man sees the captain of the cruise ship in despair so he asks him. “What’s wrong?” he replys, “Well I won the first prize in a lottery” the man congratulates him, tells him that it’s a wonderful news. Then the captain replies, “I’m disappointed because the first prize is a week all-expense paid on this cruise ship!”

-

“How is your vision?” “Minus 5” “Oh! So cold”

-

A man comes back home earlier than planned from his business trip. He goes up to his room; opens his closet and is shocked to see a naked man hiding. He could not hide his anger, and yelled to the naked man, “How many time do I have to tell you?!” “I’m not with my wife anymore and SHE LIVES AT THE OTHER HOUSE!”

by Shawn Tucker

“GT5454 requesting permission to land...” a disembodied voice could be heard coming through the headset I was wearing; the voice belonged to someone on the ground at the airport on Santa Maria Island in the Azores. I was far above the island in a 747 airplane that was built before I was born. The 747 began its life as a passenger airplane and today the 164 ton plane had a new life as a cargo plane and in its belly it carried 106 tons of equipment that when put together turns into the show “Alegria.”

Sitting in the cockpit, I was ignoring how tired I felt after spending 19 hours in Amsterdam taking that 106 tons of equipment and piling it onto metal cargo trays that looked a lot like the cookie sheets that my Mom uses when she bakes. There were 34 of the 8’ square metal trays directly below me in the cargo hold, covered with nets and latched to the floor to keep the load from shifting in the plane. At 106 tons this wasn’t even all of the equipment for the show, another 18 tons was being sent on two other cargo planes because one plane couldn’t carry all of the equipment. Sitting behind the captain and looking over his shoulder, I completely forgot how tired I was because the view in front of me was absolutely amazing, I could see the small island laid out in front of us and perched on the edge of the island, I could see the runway that we were aiming for and the airport with ground crew waiting to fill the plane with enough fuel to make it across the rest of the Atlantic ocean to our next stop in Puerto Rico.

The Captain communicated with the ground crew while the First Officer lined the giant airplane up with the runway and began to lower the nose of the plane to bring us to the ground. Everything looked pretty good to me, except that the runway looked awfully small and I couldn’t help imagining how if the plane didn’t stop in time, we would go straight off the edge of the island and into the ocean. Maybe the First Officer had the same thought, because part way into the landing he suddenly pulled the plane up and turned it around to come back and try the landing again. The second attempt worked, but we hit the ground pretty hard and I was just glad that the small axe that fell off the wall of the cockpit managed to miss hitting me by a few inches as it dropped to the floor. (Continue on next page) Page 22

The Amazone

2323

W in g s !

The other pilots on the plane had a good time laughing about the bumpy landing. As we cleaned up all of the things that and fallen and shifted during the landing, they explained to me that it’s pretty tough to handle a plane loaded with that much weight.

While the ground crew re-fueled the plane, I climbed down into the cargo bay and walked past the pallets of equipment to the main door that took me outside. On the tarmac, I walked around and called my Mom to tell her that a few hours ago I left Amsterdam and now I was already in the middle of the ocean and on my way to a continent no one in my family has been to before.

When the plane was in the air again, the Captain and the flight crew spent most of the time calculating the flight path and checking the hundreds of knobs and switches that covered the walls of the cockpit. I was happy to head back into the cabin to get a little sleep in one of the big first class sized chairs. I also had free run of the galley on the plane and when I was hungry, I didn’t have to wait for a stewardess to ask me if I wanted “chicken or beef.” I could have anything I wanted out of the stockpile of meals and snacks on board.

About halfway into the flight to Puerto Rico, the engineer came to tell me that we were changing our flight path and we were going to head to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico instead of the airport in San Juan because they had realized that the runway in San Juan was only 100,000 feet long and that wasn’t long enough to get the plane back into the air with a full load of fuel. The runway in Aguadilla was 117,000 feet long and the plane touched down without any problems. The problems began when we were on the ground and discovered that the airline did not have the authorization to bring a passenger into the United States without a visa. My British passport would have been fine if I was a tourist on a commercial airline, but as a crew member on a cargo plane the airline, I needed a special permit. After the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks in the United States, security on cargo planes became very strict, and it was extremely rare for a civilian like me to be allowed on the plane.

The Captain shelled out about $60,000 in fines before I was allowed to get back on the plane and it took off for Brazil.

This time in the air we had a fresh crew and the new Captain spent time in the cockpit showing me how at night, with the lights in the cockpit off, we could see blue/white static electricity or “St. Elmo’s Fire” arching across the windshield as the plane sped through the night. In the distance, we could also see lighting from a thunderstorm that the captain monitored from the radar in the cockpit.

About nine hours later, the plane landed in Sao Paulo, Brazil and we climbed out onto the tarmac. Looking up I could see the giant nose of the plane unlatch and lift up to reveal the pallets of equipment, which the ground crew immediately began to unload.

In less than an hour, the plane was empty again and waiting for a fresh crew and new cargo to take to somewhere else in the world. For myself, I said goodbye to GT5454, the plane that brought me on an amazing journey across the world and to a continent where fresh adventures wait.

Page 23

The Amazone Last Page

Page 24

W in g s !