Last night we went to a
restaurant that was new, Hivahoa, I think. The dance professor that we met on Saturday night told Kelson and Zairinha about the restaurant, so we went to check it out. It was this beautiful building, open to the night breezes with palm trees lit up all around. The professor told us there was going to be a "programa de forro" there, which turned out to be a little show of the traditional dance of the north, forro (said "fo-ho"). It was really cool! First there was a band with the traditional accordion, drum-cymbal
combination, and of course, the triangle. They all had on matching plaid shirts and little farm-type hats... all of them, that is, except for the triangle guy. He had no matching shirt and his hat was different. I'm pretty sure they just picked up some guy from the side of the street. I imagine the conversation went
something like this:
Hey, so you want to be in a band?
I've ALWAYS wanted to be in a band!!
What can you play?
Um, I'm really good at the finger cymbals, cow bell, egg shakers... um... oh, and I'm GREAT at the triangle!
Perfect! We're one triangle-guy short. Do you have a plaid shirt?
No, just this abercrombie-esq striped one.
Hm, well do you have a funny little rural hat?
As a matter of fact...
Great! Jump on in!
Anyway, that's how it would have gone if they had asked me. And I always have wanted to be in a band... The triangle guy wasn't as hard core as the rest of them. He made it through a couple songs and then sat down and drank beer while the others played on. After he was done he poured beer for the rest of them and then resumed triangle-ing. Maybe he was just nervous. It was his first time in front of the bright lights...
Anyway, after the band, a couple came out, and the girl could shake her skirt like no one I've ever seen. Then a group of like 10 kids in traditional dress (think traditional mexican with big skirts and less glitter) came and did a group dance to drums. Lastly, there was a couple who came out and did a type of comedy dance. The girl was dressed and danced like a rag doll and the guy threw her around. He would put her on different people in the audience (including Kelson), and then pull others out on the floor to dance. He gave one guy an actual life-sized rag doll and kept pulling people onto the floor. Mariana, of course, pushed me out there (I should see these things coming by now...) and we all held hands in a circle and group-jumped to the drums. The main guy then called for everyone to grab a partner, guy or girl, and we kind-of hopped side to side, and then we'd change, and change again, and change some more. The last person I ended up with was a guy who literally came up to my shoulder. And I was bending down.
The dancing was really cool to see. The professor showed up at some point during the night, and he is now new best friend of Mariana/Zairinha/Kelson, and Kelson also made friends with the owner of the restaurant. It is a cool little place!
Saturday we also ended up going to the beach, a place called Praia Gunga. We first drove up to this vista that was a coconut tree farm on one side and hill after rolling hill of sugar cane on the other. The vista overlooked the ocean and a giant river, and on the other side of the river was an expensive neighborhood where the politicians live. We drove down the little rutted road to the beach drove through the parking lot, but we
couldn't park there, oh no, Kelson pulled through the posts and pulled us up right next to the river.
(I told you he was excited to use his boat). We walked down the beach and Kelson talked to a couple people with their own boats, all pulled up onto the beach. By the time we caught up with him he looked very sad and dejected. Zairinha went to talk to him and as she did, her face fell as well. He was walking away from him as I walked up and when he walked away her expression turned from sadness to glee. She said "Gracias a Deus" (roughly, thank the Lord). Apparently there would be no boat-use that day.
Turns out the tide was too high, and the wind too strong for the little electric motor/inflatable boat. So we parked on the beach, river-side, and it was warm, gorgeous, sunny, sparkly, blah blah blah... A perfect beach day, per usual, in Maceio.
There you have it folks, our weekend in a nutshell. The light in all of this suffering: thanks to the triangle, my dream is ALIVE!!
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