"Este fim de semana pasado, tive uma oportunidad a experimentar a comida, música e dança do Brasil. O festival se chama "Little Brazil Day" e comemoró o Día da Independencia do Brasil.
Embora o tiempo não estava muito bom, mas que 100 pessoas assistiram o festival! A festividade consistiu de muitas capirinhas saborosas, pratos autênticos, música da influência africana, indígena e portuguesa. Dancei samba e comi feijão, pão com queijo, frutos do mar e arroz!"
Embora o tiempo não estava muito bom, mas que 100 pessoas assistiram o festival! A festividade consistiu de muitas capirinhas saborosas, pratos autênticos, música da influência africana, indígena e portuguesa. Dancei samba e comi feijão, pão com queijo, frutos do mar e arroz!"
I woke up yesterday only to find my skin sticky and hair frumpy from the morning's humidity. It rained heavily in Hawaii Kai the night before so all the moisture hung in the air or stuck to my forehead. What an icky feeling.
I decided to battle my bittersweet (more like bittersweat) sleepiness and lazy labor-less mood by going to "Little Brazil Day," a mini-festival held by the Brazilian Cultural Center of Hawaii in commemoration of Brazil's Independence Day (September 7th).
As soon as my friend and I pulled up to the venue, Crouching Lion Inn in Ka'a'awa, the music blared throughout the parking lot, guests decked out in green, yellow & blue and we instantly knew it was as close to Brazil one can get in Hawaii. African beats bled into the restaurant, where we entered and some kind of giddy touristic joy took over.
I've only been exposed to Brazilian culture via powerpoints, books and videos used by my Portuguese professors, so once I was surrounded by the language, people and food (yum!), I understood why music and dance played a strong & unique card in their happy culture.
The Brazilians I met were so proud of their culture, their beautiful people (it's true, not a single ugly person there) and their migration to a tiny island like Hawaii. They all have their reasons for coming here: education opportunities, marriage, the surf and the sun. Who can blame them? They also told me that the Brazilian population in Hawaii will only increase over time and it's definitely going to change the ethnic face of our islands. But I'm not complaining. Brazilians have rich traditions; from what I have gathered from my experience, it's a culture that promotes the 'carpe diem' lifestyle. Something I can't argue against.
The humid day ended in dance, samba to be exact. My skin all sticky and hair frumpy. The rain poured. The weather and heat didn't change, but my spirits were positive. Thank God for Brazilians in Hawaii.
