Vol XIX - Nov 2013
Produced by the British & Commonwealth Society of Rio de Janeiro for the English-speaking Community
the.umbrella@terra.com.br 1
THE QUONDAM EDITOR
Nearly Christmas MICHAEL ROYSTER We’d like to start, once again, with current events, but to be frank, October was pretty boring, except for the brouhaha when a football player with dual nationality decided he’d rather play for Spain than for Brazil. November will see the first results of the draw for tickets to the 2014 World Cup, and The Umbrella will certainly have more on that topic soon. Christmas is just around the corner and the immense metallic tree floating on the Lagoa is now being painstakingly constructed. It will be lighted on the night of November 30th in a grand ceremony featuring music and fireworks, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of lights festooned on the tree itself. If you live on the Lagoa, that’s a sight you don’t want to miss. Go early if you’re going, because traffic will be worse than horrendous. Better still, don’t go by car, take the Metrô to the Cantagalo station and walk the 500 meters through Cockcrow Cut till you find a vantage point.
Culture Vulture, and of course our cover. BCS and TBS hosted a number of fun events during October, and we have pictorial proof thereof for you to enjoy. Speaking of pictures, if you’re in the vicinity of the newly refurbished BCS and Church offices at 99 Real Grandeza next week, please have a look at the notice board, where once again the entire issue of The Umbrella will be shown in colour. We can’t afford to print in colour, but … on the internet, you can see this and all our issues since the beginning of 2013 in a format you will surely appreciate.
And, gentle reader, rest assured we have lots of good reading in this issue, some of which is literary. We publish the conclusion of Arthur Powers’ fascinating short story set in the sertão, and we are pleased to publish a poetic paean to Ipanema, penned by Robert Weinberg, a Carioca who happens to live in Australia. As we said last month, we welcome submissions, high- or low-brow, from any readers who have (short) material they’d like to share with our community. Our regular irregulars offer more good news: Nan lets us know when the surf ’s upwind, Peter lets us know why Urca’s Red Beach is red and Ewa tells us how to find imaginary friends. Much more seriously, both the Chaplain and the RBL remind us to remember the sacrifices made by community members in the past. Thanksgiving is the theme for both the American Society and the
This picture was taken on October 24th in São Conrado. Before Halloween and before Thanksgiving. I’m starting to get confused with the Holidays...
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Societies INFO The British & Commonwealth Society of Rio de Janeiro - Rua Real Grandeza 99, Botafogo, 22281-030. Secretary: Gaynor Smith. Office hours: Mon to Fri from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm - Tel: 2537-6695 - Fax: 2538-0564 - bcsrio@bcsrio.org.br - www.bcsrio.org.br The American Society of Rio de Janeiro - Tel: 21 2125-9132 Contact: www.americansocietyrio.org email contact@americansocietyrio.org International Club of Rio de Janeiro - General Inquiries: inquiries@incrio.org.br President: president@incrio.org.br www.incrio.org.br The British School - Botafogo: Rua Real Grandeza 87, 22281-030. Tel: 2539-2717, Fax: 2266-5040 URCA: Av. Pasteur 429, 22290-240, Tel: 2543-5519, Fax: 2543-4719. BARRA: Rua Mário Autuori 100, 22793-270, Tel: 3329-2854 - http://www.britishschool.g12.br Emails: edu@britishschool.g12.br and admissions@britishschool.g12.br The American School - Estrada da Gávea 132, Gávea, Tel: 2512-9830 - www.earj.com.br - admission@earj.com.br Our Lady of Mercy School - Catholic American School in Botafogo Rua Visconde de Caravelas 48, Botafogo - Tel: 2266-8282 / 2266-8250 / 2266-8258 www.olmrio.org The St Andrew Society - Rua Real Grandeza 99, Botafogo, 22281-030 President: Jimmy Frew - Tel: 2205-0430 / 9206-1977 jhf@scotbras.com.br - www.standrewrio.com.br Christ Church - Rua Real Grandeza 99, Botafogo, 22281-030 Tel: 2226-7332 chchurch@terra.com.br - www.christchurchrio.org.br The Royal British Legion - www.britishlegion.org.uk www.bcsrio.org.br/activities/rbl.asp
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Disclaimer: The editors of The Umbrella accept no responsibility for claims made either in the ads or the classifieds, and the opinions expressed in the articles published are those of the writers, and not of The Umbrella.
The Umbrella is published monthly by the British and Commonwealth Society of Rio de Janeiro. Print run: 600 copies. Deadline: second to last Monday of the month Editor: Michael Royster - mr.royster@uol.com.br Graphic Design & Desktop Publishing: Marcia Fialho - marcia@marciafialho.com.br Films & Printing: Gráfica Falcão. Cover: Marcia Fialho. Society articles are the responsibility of each society. The Umbrella is distributed free to all members of the Rio de Janeiro BCS, American Society, St. Andrew Society, Royal British Legion & British School staff. Classified ads: Gaynor Smith at the BCS office: Tel: (21) 2537-6695, Fax: (21) 2538-0564. E-mail: bcsrio@bcsrio.org.br Commercial non-classified ads: please inquire about technical procedures with Marcia Fialho. marcia@marciafialho.com.br
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BCS British & Commonwealth Society The “Talk on the Similarities between Jane Austen and Machado de Assis” by guest speaker Janaina Pietroluongo was beautifully delivered last 26 September with some 35 people present. The evening attracted an audience consisting of members of JASBRA (Jane Austen Sociedade do Brasil) represented by Anna Katharina Lamellas the regional representative, who gave us a few introductory words about the society. A small student contingent studying MA English literature at UFRJ, whose teacher had given them special leave from class to assist the Talk, mixed with community regulars to complete an attentive audience.
David Chew (right) at the Jubilee Hall
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chance to enjoy a lovely late Saturday afternoon Christmas Party, with Copacabana Palace Tea, beautifully served by Anne Phillips, complete with delicious scones. There will be raffle prizes for big and small, a Christmas Buffet with turkey, champagne, a Christmas Toast, presents for the Children from Father Christmas, games and entertainment for all. Watch this space because there may even be a special show. If you have children or fancy an enjoyable few hours in community to wish your friends Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, just pencil in this date in your calendar.
Art & Social Transformation Presentation
Janaina Pietroluongo
After Question time a bouquet of lilies and roses was given to speaker Janaina with a warm thank you for her knowledgeable exploration of this interesting cross-cultural niche. The guests were then invited for a “saideira” on the house. During this moment I met our new BCS associate member, a charming Brazilian lady called Giana Elvira de Oliveira Marques, an English teacher for the Brazilian Army at Forte Duque de Caxias in Leme. As the opportunity arises, BCS may put on similar events, which can help the society fulfil one of its mission objectives, that of integration with the host country. See the presentation at https:// w w w. f a c eb o o k . c om / p ag e s / Bcsrio/549603015077033 and photos at www.bcsrio.org.br . Art & Social Transformation – Getting the Show on the Road The show got on the road on 4 October at the Jubilee Hall. Art &
Social Transformation is a wonderful NGO that has as one of its dedicated patrons David Chew and is also strongly supported by Anna Whyte, being run by Wainer Guimarães. The purpose of the NGO is offer musical skills leading to career opportunities, to Brazilian children living in the poor districts of Rio de Janeiro. The NGO has connections with music teachers at the finest American Universities, who come to Rio for three weeks each year and dedicate themselves to free tuition of talented Brazilian musicians. On an exchange basis each year, 9 students go on tour to the Universities to perform. The Show that took place in Rio was a “good bye” performance of the students on the eve of a 5,000 mile tour of the USA. The students gave lovely performances featuring Bossa Nova, Samba, Frevo and Maculelê to a delighted audience of some 80 guests, including proud Mums and Dads. See more photos at www.bcsrio.org.br and https://www.facebook.com/pages/ Bcsrio/549603015077033. BCS Christmas Party – 14 December 2013 – 4-8pm The year is drawing quickly to a close and as you read this we are busy in preparation for BCS Christmas Party. We hope you will be in Rio and have a
Robert Hartley, BCS Council Members and Communications
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TBS (The British School) Book Week - Fairy Tales’ Parade
The British School, Rio de Janeiro – Botafogo Site has celebrated Book Week from 7 to 11 October 2013. The school’s Botafogo libraries developed it all based on the theme of Fairy Tales. There were various activities around books and reading planned for the children including a treasure hunt, Best Book of the Year election, lunchtime activities, a Fairy Tale play, storytelling, quizzes, D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) and more. 3
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We know it’s not easy for some of you to purchase tickets in advance, so we’ve made it easier for you. Now, you can reserve places for your family and friends, by sending an email to events. amsoc@gmail.com. Once we get it, we’ll generate a “boleto” (bank payment form) and send it back for you to use for your payment.
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If you’re not a member, but want to join and pay now for 2014, you should do so, because that way you’ll pay member prices for this year’s feast and next year’s. We will include your annual membership dues in the “boleto” we send you, killing two birds (but no turkeys nor eagles) with one stone.
British School, Botafogo during Book Week
On the final day of Book Week, the school celebrated with a Fairy Tale Dress Up Day. Children came to school dressed up as characters from a Fairy Tale, including medieval costumes, dragons, and traditional story figures. What a magical ending for the Fairy Tale Book Week! “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” ― Albert Einstein
AmSoc (The American Society of Rio de Janeiro) Thanksgiving Weekend News
As you all know, Thanksgiving is America’s most popular holiday; more people travel to be with friends and family than at any other time of the year. It’s also America’s only quasiofficial “feriadão” because practically everything (except of course stores) closes on the Friday too, so it’s a long 4
long weekend. In that spirit, and knowing that Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday in Rio, we’re continuing our tradition of having a Thanksgiving Weekend Afternoon Feast. We’ll start at 1:00 pm on Sunday, December 1st in the Fellowship Hall of our co-hosts, the Union Church, located at Av. Prefeito Dulcídio Cardoso, 4351 in Barra da Tijuca, which has ample free parking available. Because we really want families with children to attend, we’ve enlisted a bunch of teen age volunteers to help keep the kids entertained, but not to make sure they eat their veggies. The bill of fare will include the traditional favorites, roast turkey and baked ham, stuffing, mashed and sweet potatoes and real gravy. And, of course we’ll have real cranberry sauce brought direct from the US. In fact, you’ll feel as if you were back in the USA for a day.
We will need your RSVP, plus payment in full, by Thanksgiving Day itself— Thursday, November 28th. Otherwise we won’t know how much of the scrumptious fare we need to prepare. We will NOT be taking payments at the door, nor will there be any “walk ons” allowed—No Reservation, No Celebration.
WDA (Women’s Diocesan Association) Announcing this year’s WDA Christmas Bazaar! Saturday 7th December, commencing 2 pm.
Jubilee Hall, Rua Real Grandeza 99, Botafogo, Parking available. White Elephant Stall: This will be our last opportunity to appeal for donations for the White Elephant Stall. By the time you receive this edition in November, there will only be a few
The price for this extravaganza? Children 6 and below are FREE; age 7 – 12 pay R$30. All paid up American Society Rio members 13 and over pay R$60; non-members pay R$90. Member prices, which include all you can eat, soft and alcohol-free cider, are also available to EARJ, OLM, RIS and Consulate staff—just identify yourself on your RSVP. Entrance tickets are being sold at the Union Church Office from 1 to 4pm (ask for Edson or call 9971-8649) and by AmSoc officers. If you have any doubts about reservations or prices, please call Vanica (21 98128-7911).
Jars of mincemeat coming off the production line
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will be available. The attached photo shows a batch of jars coming off the production line! The lady in charge is Ducilia Nunes.
weeks left before the event takes place. We would be very grateful therefore if you could please take another quick look around the house for any items you no longer need. On the White Elephant Stall we like to offer items that are almost new and in good condition that can serve as Christmas gifts or for personal use. Household items including ornaments, children’s toys, games, jigsaw puzzles etc. will all be welcome. It would be appreciated if you could check that any electrical appliances you send are in working order. Deliveries can be made any day during the week to Karen, secretary, Christ Church, telephone 2226-7332, from 9 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm, or to the BCS secretary, Gaynor, telephone 2537-6695 between 8.30 am and 4.30 pm. Please remember that between 2 pm and 3.30 pm when the school finishes, cars are not allowed into the grounds. There will be lots of other attractions at the Bazaar, as usual: Handicraft Stall: The talented ladies of the WDA produce the majority of the items displayed on this stall. They are currently very busy embroidering a varied selection of articles such as hand towels, tea towels, etc. that make very nice Christmas gifts. Swiss Lottery: This is a lot of fun for the family. Every number wins a prize and depending on your luck, it could be a very good one! Christmas Crackers: Colourful boxes of Christmas Crackers will be decorating our shelves again this year. Anyone wishing to buy them should arrive early as they soon disappear from the shelves. Christmas Cakes and Puddings: The WDA ladies make these very popular products from traditional recipes. Homemade mince pies will also be on sale and for those of you who like to make your own, jars of mincemeat
Marmalades, Jams, Pickles and Chutneys: The following products will be available: Sweet and Bitter Marmalade, Galego Lemon Marmalade, Grapefruit Marmalade, Apricot Jam and Lemon Curd, Mango Chutney, Indian Chutney and Pineapple Relish, Mustard Pickle, Branston Pickle and Bread & Butter Pickle. All the ingredients are natural and are made from English recipes. Snack Bar: Homemade refreshments, beer and soft drinks will be available at the snack bar. The WDA ladies work voluntarily all the year round to make this annual event as successful as possible. At the end of the year, all the profit goes to charity; in 2012 donations were made to a medical clinic for those in need (Ambulatório Praia do Pinto), to an orphanage (Santa Rita de Cássia in Jacarepaguá), to the Instituto Pro Criança Cardiaca, as well as to Christ Church. We do hope that we can count on your support and look forward to seeing you all on the 7th of December.
RBL (Royal British Legion) With November upon us, it’s time to celebrate, the support of our community for the Royal British Legion’s main fundraising event of the year. This year the RBL is hosting a prestigious black tie dinner at the Copacabana Palace Hotel - Green Room, seating eighty persons. It will be held on Friday 8th November, starting 7:30 pm, the Friday before ‘Remembrance Sunday’. The RBL, as with the other British community societies, is in a bit of a holding pattern, as our numbers sadly fade away. The Rio de Janeiro Branch is still assisting deserving members of
Ivan Clark, Stuart Forbes and Robin Brown
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our community. We try to limit our outgoings with the income from bank savings, but it has been a turbulent year for savings no matter how well they are invested. This made our annual event in 2013 all the more important and we are most pleased to announce that (thanks perhaps to our advertisement on the back cover of last month’s issue of The Umbrella?) our Gala Dinner has been completely sold out! On behalf of the Royal British Legion – Rio de Janeiro Branch, the committee welcomes all its friends and supporters to a right royal feast. We also take this opportunity to remind one and all of the commemorative service to be held on Remembrance Sunday, 10th November at 10:30 am at Christ Church. This annual celebration, held on the Sunday nearest the Armistice that ended World War I, rightly honours all those who made the supreme sacrifice for their country. We look forward to seeing many of our community members there.
SAS (St Andrew Society) Just when the future of the St Andrew Society was looking quite bleak considering no Caledonian Ball in the Copacabana Palace Hotel this year for the first time in living memory due to lack of interest and lack of funds – all of a sudden we´re being overwhelmed
A delicious buffet at the Jubilee Hall
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Cristiano Bicudo on bagpipes
Audrey Hieatt and Petropolis dancers
and Buenos Aires joining hands with the Macaé Scots at the ninth annual Macae Ceilidh and they all said it was well worth the trip. Jubilee Hall
by congratulations pouring in from all the guests who attended the Macaé Ceilidh in the Macaé Sheraton Hotel on October 12 and the Caledonian Ceilidh in the Jubilee Hall, Botafogo. What an incredible turn-around in the space of a week! The music provided for ceilidh dancing by Iain MacPhail on accordion, Stuart Forbes on fiddle and Cristiano Bicudo on bagpipes, filled the dance floors at both events from start to finish and practically eclipsed the disco. We had the biggest contingent yet from Rio
The torrential rain which flooded the garden area had no effect at all on the party atmosphere which prevailed all night at the Caledonian Ceilidh. The Jubilee Hall was looking absolutely magnificent, decked out in the blue and white of the Scottish Saltire complemented by a kaleidoscope of tartan kilts. Although it has had a different name now for some time and many folk have left or moved on to be replaced by new faces, it was quite a nostalgic trip down memory lane for some of us. The floor was never empty as the gathered company went hoochin´ an´ a hollerin´ their way through the Eightsome Reel, Strip the Willow,
Dashing White Sergeant, Circassian Circle, right up to the Hokey Kokey, last waltz and Auld Lang Syne. The strains of accordion, fiddle and the skirl of bagpipes echoed round and round the old hall, just like days gone by. Then there was the food. Once again the Copacabana Palace Hotel chef excelled as only a Copacabana Palace Hotel chef can. In compensation for not being able to host the Caledonian Ball and in recognition of the continuing special close ties with the St. Andrew Society, the Copacabana Palace Hotel provided a mouthwatering array of pastries, baguettes and sandwiches packed full of turkey, chicken, ham, sausages and salads, followed by a variety of puddings, sweets and cupcakes. Three times the SAS committee ladies and BCS staff filled the big table at the back of the Hall with more plates of food until everybody was bursting at the seams and could eat no more. Once again, many, many thanks to the Copacabana Palace Hotel, the
Dancing at the Paissandu Club
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Ian MacPhail and Cristiano Bicudo
British & Commonwealth Society, IRM Services, Rig Project Solutions, York Research, Price Waterhouse Cooper and the Macaé Oilmen´s Golf Association for helping to make the 2013 Scottish week another memorable success for the St. Andrew Society.
Here is my invitation to you: Cafezinho in Zona Sul Tuesday, Nov. 5th, 9:30 – 12:30h in Urca. RSVP: events@incrio.org.br
RSVP: communications@incrio.org.br InC Rio Christmas Party Saturday, Nov. 23rd, 8 pm, Urca
Thanks also to the SAS and BCS committee members and back room staff who worked behind the scenes.
Saturday, Nov. 9th, 5:30 pm, Condomínio Novo Leblon, Barra da Tijuca
With your continued support, we can now look forward with confidence and anticipation to 2014.
RSVP: president@incrio.org.br Thursty Thursday
Tuesday, Nov.26th, 10:30 until 12:30, Leblon
InC (International Newcomers Club)
Thursday, Nov. 14th, 7:30 pm, Tom do Leblon (Piano Bar) Jazz & Bossa Nova
RSVP: events@incrio.org.br
Once again we are coming to the end of another wonderful year that has had a huge variety of activities. November is probably the most active and definitely the most fun month of them all! We have quite a list of events and parties for you to join in. If you are not familiar with the InC Rio and would like to join in, just RSVP and we will be very happy to answer questions, give more information and reserve a place for you.
RSVP: events@incrio.org.br Sunday Sunset Happy Hour at Hollandaise Brasserie Sunday, Nov. 17th, 4 pm, in Barra RSVP: events@incrio.org.br Cafezinho in Barra Tuesday, Nov 19th, 9:30 - 12:30h
RSVP: events@incrio.org.br
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Christmas General Meeting
Christmas Tree Lighting Saturday, Nov. 30th, 6:30pm, Lagoa. RSVP: fundraising@incrio.org.br You can find out more about the InC Rio on our web site <www.incrio.org. br> or on our open Face Book page; just search International Club Rio and see the many photos of our members enjoying themselves. Bonnie Kobert Harrison President, International Club Rio
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ALL SOULS’ DAY ON RIO’S RED BEACH By Peter Janos Kurz
Rio does not have a Red Square but there is a Red Beach.
Literature
“Praia Vermelha”, in Urca, is a beautiful, small sandy beach squeezed between two towering “morros” – Urca and Babilônia. To take the cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain, one must board at the bottom of Urca. Morro da Babilônia’s fame reaches back at least one hundred years, way before a young Brazilian played his guitar and sang “Manhã tão bonita manhã” in the 1959 movie, Orféu Negro. The beach is a curved stretch with plenty of white – not red or brown – sand. Unlike the larger and more open beaches of Leme, Copacabana and Leblon on the other side of Babilônia, Praia Vermelha is quietly bathed by limpid, translucent water. That was one of the reasons why my parents brought their two children here – a perfect place to teach us how to swim. The waves were almost always gentle and a green, moss-covered rocky protrusion only a few dozen feet from the Urca side created the right challenge: first, with the help of my father’s supporting arms, we tried to swim to our touchstone, the Green Rock; later, by ourselves, with a bit of help on the way back. Eventually we could do the round-trip entirely on our own – so the challenge became…”how many times?” The other reason was that the surrounding cliffs were almost totally covered in lush green vegetation, samambaia ferns and palms of many different kinds. There were also stretches of sheer rock, of the kind so characteristic of Sugarloaf. But the two morros -- verdant twin towers -were mostly bulwarks covered in many shades of green.
All Saints Day (Dia de Todos os Santos), November 1, 1922. Not on Praia Vermelha, but at the psychiatric hospital only a few hundred meters away. Partly due to his unhealthy life as an alcoholic, probably also because of inherited health issues, Lima Barreto was several times an in-patient in the mental hospital domiciled in the imposing, neo-classical building that eventually became home to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Hospício Pedro II was inaugurated by the Emperor himself in 1852 and, in 1889, was re-named “Hospício Nacional de Alienados”. The university moved into the building when the mental institution was relocated to Avenida Pasteur in 1944. Lima Barreto was a Brazilian journalist, a Carioca writer of short stories and author of five novels. He was a major figure in the country’s PreModernist movement, a remarkable and influential link between the era of Machado de Assis and the “modernism” that erupted during and after the 1922 Semana de Arte Moderna. He lived much of his life and wrote many of his works ten or so miles to the west of Praia Vermelha, in Todos os Santos, a bairro in Rio’s Zona Norte between Méier and Engenho de Dentro. Today Todos os Santos is known for being located right next to the Engenhão stadium, just a few miles from Maracanã—and because Lima Barreto lived and worked there. In 1956, thirty-four years after All Saints’ Day 1922, a family friend told me that she knew why our favorite
Lima Barreto
beach in Urca was called Praia Vermelha. Briefly, she recounted that early morning November 2, All Souls’ Day (Dia de Finados) when she was at Praia Vermelha as the sun began its rise above the Atlantic horizon. The ocean was a Caribbean blue morphing into deep purple as the sun and the sky turned increasingly red. Near the small white beach the water was powder blue but much darker towards the horizon. Everything else was red…the buildings surrounding her, much of the sky, and the sheer mountain sides of Urca and Babilônia. The early eastern sun became a Red Star. That morning red engulfed everything around Praia Vermelha, as if foreshadowing and announcing the bloody events that would take place in the following weeks (Hungary, Suez) more than 6,000 miles to the Northeast. [Editor’s Note: Lima Barreto used the following phrase in two of his novels: “quarto de hora de celebridade” in referring to characters who had already achieved what Andy Warhol allegedly would, many decades later, promise to everyone: “fifteen minutes of fame”.]
And, yes – there was one more, important reason for going to Praia Vermelha. The light! As an artist, my father loved to point out and enjoy the many changing reflections of light and color—at Praia Vermelha they were constantly changing with the moving clouds, the fickle weather and the time of day. It was here that Afonso Henriques de Lima Barreto died at age 41, on 8
Praia Vermelha, Rio de Janeiro
From the Chaplain
Lest we forget. Rev. Ben Phillips
Memory is important to all of us. The act of remembering shapes us as individuals. Our history, personal and national effects how we live. Memory and remembering is very important in Christianity; Jesus deliberately encouraged his disciples to engage together in a communal act of remembering him and his sacrifice when he instituted communion in the Last Supper saying “Do this in remembrance of me.” This month Christ Church Rio and many others will engage in two important acts of remembrance. On Saturday 2nd November at 11 am we will gather at the English Cemetery for a service of commemoration for the faithful departed. Most will come to this service thinking of a particular person whom they love and who has died. We will spend a few prayerful moments thinking of what they meant to us and giving thanks for their lives. This is a way of honouring the memory of those we love and a help to us in considering the way we live our lives.
but history filters down to the individual level, we learn from our own mistakes and achievements, we learn from our families and friends. We learn from the doings of all those around us and those who have gone before us. People who begin to forget their memories feel a loss of identity. Societies form their sense of belonging to each other through shared memories of events. An awareness of shared history can draw us towards people and drive us away from people. ..........
So, our second act of remembrance will be our Remembrance Sunday Service in Christ Church at 10:30 am on 10th November. On Remembrance Sunday in Rio we think particularly of those who died in the great conflicts of the First and Second World War, those conflicts which destroyed the lives of so many and whose consequences still ripple down through the Edmund Burke said, “Those who do not generations. We commemorate those who learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” made sacrifices and we remember what He was talking of grand historical events so many in the world went through, lest
we forget. The point of this remembering is to consider what binds us together and to pledge to work together to avoid such disastrous situations again. I hope we will take these memories, both of those we love and of those who died in the world wars, and turn them to good. I hope that the memory of those we have loved will help us to love others. I hope the memories of sacrifice will teach us to work for peace, for justice and for fairness for all. Rev. Ben Phillips, Chaplain
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FAMINE (continued) © 2013 by Arthur Powers
Short Story
[Editor’s synopsis of last month’s installment: Sometime around the year 1970, a truck bootlegging food to be sold at a profit during a time of drought and famine, breaks down at night in a deserted part of the Brazilian Northeast. The driver is unable to repair the truck. The driver and his passenger, a boy, anxiously await daybreak.] *** They saw the first figure just after eleven o’clock. It flitted off to their left, a thin darkness against the darkness, and the boy probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all except that the driver suddenly tensed and the boy looked where he was looking. A quick flitting, then it was gone. “Give me the gun,” the driver said. The boy handed it to him, glad to be rid of the dead, heavy weight. “Close your window,” the driver said. The boy closed it most of the way. The insects had died down, but the night was humid, hot. He left it open a few inches at the top. “Is your door locked?” the driver asked. The boy tested the knob with his fingers. “Yes,” he said. They sat in silence for a minute, and then the boy thought he saw another figure off to the right, then another. Circling. Closing in tighter. The driver moved his hand slowly to the headlight knob. Suddenly he switched on the headlights. Three figures slipped aside quickly, out of the lights, vanishing like spirits, and the boy could only see that they were sticks of men – men or women - all bones, like a child’s drawing. But they were gone, as though the light scared them away. The driver left the headlights on a minute or so – they could leave them on until the battery went dead, the boy knew, but what would they do then? The driver switched off the lights.
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And again, after a few moments, the figures flitted across the edge of their sight. Again the driver flashed on the headlights, but this time he didn’t catch any of the figures in the light. A faint, eerie laugh sounded off to their left.
*** They heard the first voice about a half hour later, off to the left, the driver’s side, close by. “Brother,” the voice said quietly. “Brother, throw us out the key.” A thin, rasping voice. “You and your truck won’t be harmed.” Silence. The driver said nothing, but the boy could hear him breathing, breathing. “Brother,” another voice said. It was a woman’s voice, whining and high. “Brother, we only want the food. We’ve eaten nothing for days. Have compassion, brother. Throw us the key.” “We all have pistols,” the driver shouted, as though the cabin held three or four armed men, though there were only the two of them, and one gun.
The driver said nothing. The boy could feel his tenseness. The sound came again, metal against metal, a crow bar, the boy thought, levered against the lock. Then a loud banging. Then the crow bar again. The driver half turned, holding the gun high. “Let them be,” the boy said. There was tense silence. “Everything we have is back there,” the driver said. He spoke quietly, intensely. “Everything we own.” “They can’t break the lock,” the boy said.
Silence.
The sound of banging.
A rattling on the outside of the truck as someone touched the running board, the door. First on one side, then the other.
“Yes they can,” the driver said. He pressed the keys into the boy’s hand, flung open the door and leaped to the ground, clutching the gun. The door slammed shut.
“I’ll shoot,” the driver shouted. Silence. The boy screamed. A thin hand had reached through the partly closed window, grabbing his hair. In a panic he rolled the window shut, felt it close on the arm. A grunt of pain outside, and then the arm disappeared. He rolled the window up the rest of the way, his stomach turning over inside him. “I’ll shoot,” the driver shouted more loudly. Silence. “Would you shoot an old woman, brother?” The driver jumped -- the voice was just outside his door. “Don’t you have a mother? Would you shoot an old woman?” As if answering he half opened the window and, aiming wildly, high, shot into the night. Silence. *** The sound came a minute later. Metal against metal. “They’re prying at the back,” the boy said.
The sound of metal stopped. The boy waited. Suddenly a shot barked out -once, twice. The sound of something soft hitting the back of the truck, soft pounding. A third shot. The boy sweated in the closed cabin, trembling, his fingers hurting and tight around the keys. Slowly, as he listened, the sound of metal against metal started again. FINIS [Editor’s Note: Arthur Powers is a former long term resident of Rio de Janeiro, who has just published a book of short stories set in many parts of Brazil: “A Hero for the People”, published by Press53. The Quondam Editor has known Art for many years and was so fascinated by all the stories that he obtained permission to reprint Famine. “A Hero for the People” is not yet available as an eBook, but can be found at: http://www.press53.com/ BioArthurPowers.html. Art’s other book, called “The Book of Jotham”, won the Tuscany Press 2012 Novella Award. It is available in book form from Press53 or as an eBook from Amazon. Art is also the Editor of http://www.catholicfiction.net/.]
THEATRE
MEU AMIGO BOBBY EWA PROCTER This show celebrates the return of the Orquestra Brasileira de Sapateado (the Brazil Tap Dancing Orchestra) to their activities. Founded in 1980 by Stella Antunes, a dancer, choreographer and producer, the company has made its name as a precursor in the research for new ways of presenting tap dancing, under the command of Tim Rescalla.
Tim Rescalla wrote the text and the songs and was also responsible for Musical Direction. All the music, played live by three musicians, is original and was especially composed for this show. The musicians – Monique Aragão, Dodô Ferreira and Rodolfo Cardoso - played with the Orquestra Brasileira de Sapateado back in the 1980s when it started its presentations!
This group has a solid curriculum of success. Over the years, they have developed an innovating and different work, using instruments such as sax, piano, bass and drums, besides the tap dancers using their own feet as percussion instruments.
Cininha de Paula, an experienced theatre and TV director, who is responsible for staging “Meu Amigo Bobby” says: “It is a comedy, but in a way full of emotion, as it also discusses the relationship between mother and daughter, as well as loneliness and dreams! It is also a show of dance, because tap dancing is present as the main character of the drama, although it’s as simple as an off off Broadway show.”
Now, let me give you a bird’s eye view of “Meu Amigo Bobby”, the subject of this article. The story of this musical play is quite up-to-date, and it also deals with some modern technology, such as cell phones and Skype. Ever since her daughter Patricia went to study in Paris, Laura has been living a sad life. She has no motivation, no interests, and does not care to go out. It has been a long while since Laura had some fun: the only people she talks to are her friend Gilda and singer Bobby Long, a kind of imaginary friend to whom she opens her heart and dreams. And she also sings and dances with him. Laura spends all her days listening to Bobby Long’s records, while anxiously awaiting her daughter’s call through Skype. Gilda does everything to change this situation. Finally, after much insistence, she manages to take Laura to her dancing academy. There, Laura meets Albino and everything in her life changes. And, of course, some surprises are in store for the lives of them all.
If you like tap dancing, you will enjoy this show! The entire cast dances, sings and performs very well. Fabrício Negri, as Bobby, has an excellent voice, and gives the appropriate tone to the musical, as his is the first song of the evening. However, at this time, I would like to make a special mention to Patricia Ann Thibodeaux, as Gilda. When reading the program of the play, I learned that Stella Antunes (who is the producer of the show, and also plays the part of Laura) started to learn tap dancing when she was seven years old… with Pat Thibodeaux! So, this friendship is not just one that happens on stage… It has its own past history! As Lord Byron (17881824) said: “Friendship is Love without his wings!” My only criticism would be that the stage where this musical is performed is too small. The different set changes distract the audience from the story itself. This musical should have a larger stage, to
show all of its potential. However, this is a minor inconvenience and does not spoil an enjoyable evening. “Meu Amigo Bobby” plays at the Teatro Fashion Mall, Sala 2 – Shopping Fashion Mall, Estrada da Gávea, 899 – 2nd floor – São Conrado – Rio de Janeiro. Performances take place Fridays and Saturdays at 9:30 pm and on Sundays at 8:00 pm. Tickets cost R$ 60 (sixty Reais) on Fridays and Sundays, and R$ 70 (seventy Reais) on Saturdays, with a 50% (fifty percent) discount for students and senior citizens. There is paid parking inside the Shopping Fashion Mall. The show lasts for seventy-five minutes and the recommended age is people over ten years of age. The run of “Meu Amigo Bobby” is scheduled to finish on the 24th of November. However, please notice that one can also spend many hours at the Shopping Fashion Mall: it has a large number of coffee shops and restaurants, where one can get a light snack or a full meal, before or after going to the theatre. And obviously, there is a number of nice stores where you can shop to your heart’s content, if you are so inclined! (*) Ewa Procter is a writer and a theatre translator and a Board Member of the Instituto Cultural Chiquinha Gonzaga
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Uh, what? How can this be? The answer is lunatic, as in calendars. The earliest possible first full day of Chanukah (the Festival of Lights) is November 28th, which happens to be the last day on which Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November) can fall in any given year.
CULTURE VULTURE
Traditional Thanksgiving Turkey
Thanksgiving and Chanukah. So, you thought a kosher Christmas Tree was called a Chanukah Bush, because you thought Thanksgiving was in November and Chanukah was in December? And they could never coincide? Oy, vey! Boy were you wrong! This year, 2013, the first full day of Chanukah falls on Thursday November 28th, which is also Thanksgiving Day. So, you say, big deal, can’t be that rare, must be something like Carnaval coming in March rather than February, right? Boy were you wrong! This year is the first time since 1888 that the two holidays coincide. So, you say, even so, how rare can that really be, must be, say, every century or so, you know, like Halley’s Comet? After all, what goes around comes around, even lunar calendars. Boy were you wrong! According to some apparently very precise calculations, those two holidays for the price of one won’t happen again for another 77,798 years!
Apparently, the lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendars are drifting apart, and millennia are as nothing to either. But fear not, because some of you who are reading this may live to see the next time the very first part of a day coincides with Thanksgiving, namely Gregorian calendar year 2070. This is because all Jewish festivals begin at sundown, by which time most Americans will have scarfed up all the turkey and trimmings. A bit more seriously, the two festivals do have something in common. As Lauren Markoe of the Religion News Service has recapitulated in a story carried by the Washington Post on October 30th, “they both celebrate religious liberty: The Pilgrims sought religious freedom in the New World, and the ancient Jews triumphed over Greek oppressors who had banned the practice of Judaism.” Chanukah is based on an event in the 2nd century B.C., when a band of Jews, the Maccabees, triumphed over the forces of King Antiochus IV, a Greek. The Maccabees rededicated the Temple of Jerusalem, and a small bit of oil used to light candles lasted, miraculously, for 8 days. Thus, the Festival of Lights has celebrants lighting 8 candles installed in a menorah, one every day.
Menorah
[Editor’s Note: It has oft been noted that, if you don’t want to work very much during the last 4 months of any calendar year, you should be a Jewish US Government employee in Rio de Janeiro. That way you will have the benefit of three different sets of holidays, some secular, some religious, some that last 4 days instead of only one. Normally, of course, Chanukah comes in December, after Thanksgiving, and there are two separate holidays. This year, as pointed out above, there are only one. Fortunately the next time this happens (almost 80,000 years from now) there probably won’t be any Brazil or any United States any more.]
Thanksgiving is (traditionally) based on an event in the 17th century A.D., when Pilgrims were succored by the native Wampanoags in Massachusetts. Although no lights were lighted, and nobody ate turkey and pumpkin for 8 days straight, by 1863 President Abraham Lincoln had decided we needed another holiday, so he proclaimed it.
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CARIOCA STYLE
Rio in Shape
NAN CARIOCA Have you ever been able to appreciate the sunset on a hot summer afternoon while perched upon the rocks in Arpoador? Once in a while, people gathered there are driven to applaud the stunning scenery, celebrating such a simple privilege. Also, an early morning view of Copacabana beach, when the sea is almost like a mirror to the blue sky, with only a few lazy waves broaching the sand, is breath taking. Finally, keeping just along the shore and not climbing any of the gorgeous mountains surrounding us, fishing in Barra da Tijuca and eating your catch then and there is a feast to many — provided you are not the designated fish cleaning person, of course. Rio’s geography induces many Cariocas to keep in shape exercising outdoors. The high temperatures lead us to have body parts more exposed to the eyes — and criticism — of others. Fortunately, there are thousands of possibilities for sports, some gratis, others very cheap: walking, running, biking, swimming. The winds favour skydiving, hangliding, IPANEMA
windsurfing. There is this Stand-UpPaddle activity that has been getting more and more adepts lately. Floating on the waters, standing on a board, one paddle in hand, it looks like the caiçara natives of the Amazon region, balancing in their very shallow canoes. Seems pretty simple, too. But, really, it is not.
the board after diving to catch the fallen paddle… Well, at least, this is what you are going to tell your friends afterwards, because, in fact, you have really lost your balance every time trying to stand up, and fell (not very elegantly) into the Lagoa’s not very warm waters.
The coach of the Rio Wind school located at the Lagoa de Marapendi makes it sound easy, though. His thin body shows not a single ounce of fat, the muscles of his arms are like a bunch of extended wires. You feel challenged, wanting to conquer the seas and go for it. While getting ready for the first trial, you look at executives who arrive there, getting out of their ties, fancy suits and starched white shirts. Very confident about their skills. Some will prove to be almost pros; however, others are just mere mortals like us.
If you ever decide to try this sport, here is one piece of advice: make sure you know which of your legs is the commanding one. Otherwise, the coach will push you when you are unaware, and voilá, there is your left foot in front of the right! Also, be certain to enroll for a lesson on a Saturday, because Sunday you will be able to lie low, resting your bruised muscles and ego, tasting a caipirinha with ice made of coconut water, having decided that, the following weekend, only a power walk on Aterro do Flamengo will suffice as exercise.
When the lesson ends, you will have done several push-ups just getting back up on
Nancy de Lustoza Barros e Hirsch
a buzzing fly
Harmony spreads to every drop of water, every sunbeam, every interaction, every one.
Under the gaze of half-hidden Buddhas In the play of colours
Under a thousand years of wisdom
In deserts of blue-silvery leaves
I have seen it.
Implicit, undefined, unstated, ethereal
On red expanses of blue skies and white lakes
But in only one place,
But well-understood by all,
Only one place,
Harmony is created by sharing,
Have I seen the crowd creating harmony.
Celebrating the day together in this floating crowd.
I have seen it.
In the solitude of mountains Of twisted rocks of Earth’s pains
From the ever changing colours of thee immutable Dois Irmãos,
I have seen it.
From the ever changing energies of the cold and eternal ocean
In the soaring depths of a woman’s warmth,
From skies, suns, clouds and rains
In the open eyes of my child,
From the impermanent shimmering buildings in the sea mist
In the infinite threads linking all life,
From the playful joy of its children skipping waves
I have seen it.
In the sunlight streaming through an ancient window, Shining on the polished floor of ages and on
From the sensuous abundance of its youth From the slow gaze of its old, awaiting the future in exuberance From the forgotten worries of its people
Robert Ferrez Weinberg May 2012 [Editor’s Note: Robert Weinberg is a Carioca, with a degree in Geology from UFRJ. He has lived and worked in Sweden and in England, and at the moment he is Professor of Geology at Monash University, in Melbourne, Australia. Pedro Solberg, an SCM singer and inveterate Umbrella reader, obtained Robert’s permission to publish this month, which coincides with the poet’s visit to Rio. As Pedro put it: “In this poem he unites his vision of geology with his enthusiasm for Ipanema.” The Umbrella is privileged to publish this vision.] 13
NOVEMBER 08 RBL Gala Poppy Dinner 10 RBL Remembrance Service (CC) 14 INC Thursty Thursday, Leblon 15 Proclamation of Republic, national holiday 20 Canadian Happy Hour, Almir 30 Christmas Tree Lighting, 8pm Lagoa DECEMBER
Calendar
01 AmSoc Thanksgiving Lunch 05 TBS Carol Service (CC & Jubilee Hall) 07 WDA bazaar (Jubilee Hall) 09 SCM concert (CC) 14 BCS Christmas Party (Jubilee Hall) 15 Carols by Candlelight CC 16 SCM Sing-along Messiah (CC) 25 Christmas – Family Communion CC
Every Third Wednesday Canadian Happy Hour @ Amir *Key to Abbreviations (alphabetical): AmSoc = American Society BCS = British and Commonwealth CC = Christ Church EARJ = American School InC = International Club of Rio OLM = Our Lady of Mercy School RBL = Royal British Legion RIS = Rio International School SAS = St. Andrews Society SCM = Society of Choral Music TBS = The British School WDA = Women’s Diocesan Association
Every Tuesday morning: WDA make marmalade, chutney Every Tuesday morning: InC morning cafézinhos Every Tuesday evening: SAS Scottish Dancing @ Paissandu (April-October) Every Second and Third Thursday: InC evening events
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