Porto Alegre

I reached Porto Alegre the 10th after taking a bus from Rio for 25 hours with Joana. Stopping along the way for gas I stared out the window seeing the landscape change from green and plush, to more green and rolling hills and mountains. Allot of farms, allot of favelas, and allot of beautiful amazing scenery. I had plenty of time to think on the way. I remember thinking back on Rio.

So let me take this opportunity to explain some logistics of how I plan this trip. I look for Ngo's organizations, grass-roots, civil society groups on sites like idealist.org and through my own activist network and look for contacts in each place to interview and document. By reaching out to organizations I made a contact who was a volunteer for an organization in Porto Alegre. Her name was Mellisa. We were supposed to stay in Porto Alegre for one night but when I got there and after spending a day there , it was clear this was the place I needed to be. There was a conference organized by the city of Porto Alegre to host the "World Conference on Developing Cities". It took place from the 13-16. I decided to change my plans and extend my time in Brasil and meet Joanna 5 days later.

The experience in Porto Alegre was very important for my lessons of Participatory Democracy, with seeing how it works, how it affects change, what types of energy and projects it was creating.

Porto Alegre, the capital city of the State of Rio Grande do Sol where approx 1,440,000 people live has been in a very central place for some developments of an alternative type of government . Participatory Democracy - a people's initiative to build a city and municipal government where citizens create councils based on themes and through the councils distribute the municipal budget is a new way of looking at relationships of people to participate directly in the budgeting process. How well has it worked? Well since implemented, access to water in the favelas, street lighting among other issues have seen amazing statistics for the better. In addition it has created an environment of engaged citizenry. Places where there is still not enough money, people have been empowered to change the dynamics and the social constructs they live with . I will tell you my experiences with both.

Demographically, Porto Alegre is a bit different from Rio. Its not as big in scale. There are allot of Italian , Lebanese and Asian immigrants. Gaucho culture is a big part many people's lives. It is inbed in centuries of rancher culture. You still see men ride horses around the city to collect garbage. You can find many people from Porto Alegre walking around with their Yerba Matte in their thermos and tea flasks. Recycling programs are main sources of income for many are run really well. Their is even a distinct Gaucho style which includes pants, cowboy hats, knives at side with high boots. Their culture is distinct to the south of Brasil and countrysides of Argentina and Uruguay. Much of it is also borrowed by indigenous Indian communities.

Cariocas

Draft
Cariocas (are what Brazilians are called in Rio de Janiero)

A few things that I observed about Cariocas and people’s perceptions of Americans

*People in Rio and maybe in Brasil in general do not contribute to the extent of ageism and generational abandonment that Americans do. On so many occasions we would see people hanging out with their grandparents. Literally, hanging out. At the beach, at Carnaval, on the street. What is it about American society that makes us embarrassed of our families? Of not being able to relate or want to spend time in public with our families?

*I always knew that Americans get a bad rap, some rightfully so, but when I tell people I’m American a very interesting thing occurs. First of all I have to assert that I say I’m American and I live in New York, but my family is Indian. because they want to place me in a nation state. I can’t get into the conversation of global citizenship with everyone I meet, especially when we don’t speak the same languages. I sometimes see an immediate reaction on people’s faces. Sometimes it is positive, sometimes it almost looks disappointed.

Grafitti and Street Art in Brasil are alive!

Graffiti in Rio de Janiero and Porto Alegre

I have always felt that street art, especially in the urban context represents the artistic expression of youth. It is part of a youth that does not have channels of expression. Adults often misinterpret it as vandalism, but for many it is so much more.

Growing up in New York during Hip-Hop’s golden years I respected the significance of the 4 elements of hip-hop. Dj-ing, Mc-ing, B-boying (dance), and of course Graffiti- these elements were stressed by the founders, movers and shakers of Hip-Hop’s formative era. The 80’s early era, which saw it as a social movement, an urban movement, a black and Latino movement seems so far from the current state of Hip-Hop in the states. In many places in Latin America and Europe, however, it is live and kick’in!

Decades after Hip-Hop’s initial birth as a movement, I recognized strong signs of an intense street art/ graffiti culture. Some is social, some political, and some cultural. Seeing myself as relatively young and in tune with youth movements I couldn’t help be awed by the quality and quantity of street art and graffiti in Brasil. To those that love that art form, you have to see it for yourself!

Rio- leaving you is sooo bitter-sweet!

Rio de Janeiro is a visually stimulating city. Actually, all senses are heightened here. Even for a New Yorker I found it’s pulse vibrant but relaxed…. not quite as rushed as New York but still with so much going on. I think it is the elements of weather and water that don’t make Cariocas ( people from Rio) as uptight, in a rush as New York.

A city of 6 million and change, Rio has something for everyone. Brazilian food is not very vegetarian friendly, but Brazilians have borrowed influence from all of the immigrant groups found in Brazil. Oh and the fruit is ambrosia! In Rio, there are large immigrant groups of Lebanese, Italian, Japanese, among other groups. It has an amazing botanical garden, excellent museums, a huge renowned soccer stadium (Marcana), great nightlife and music, beautiful beaches, vibrant neighborhoods that come alive at night, and not to mention gregarious war, amazing people!

It is with disappointment that I saw allot of prostitution, but with much excitement that I found out that the discothèque “Help” in Copacabana being shut down. In Copacabana there is allot of sex tourism. Mostly European, American, and Latin men looking for easily available sex trade.

People always hear questionable concerns about violence in Rio. They hear about drug wars, violence, and the prostitution. Being there during Carnival, I have to say that I felt safe. Carioca gets a bad rap. Even the petty theft that happens there is misinterpreted as a hostile interaction. It is the poor in desperation that are pushed to the point of action – the will to survive. There was one night that we hung out at the beach late at night, I had had a few drinks and was eager to learn to samba under the influence. The barkeeper who sold us coconuts and caipirinhas told a street kid hanging around to teach me to samba. I told him with body language to do the steps slow and he did so that I could mimic him. After attempting to dance and making a fool of myself but having a good laugh, my friends and I ordered a sandwich. The kid seemed to be staring at us and we finally concluded that he was hungry. We bought him a burger. As soon as it was ready, the kid grabbed the burger, which we had paid for and ran across the street, eating it, walking barefoot back into the streets.

This experience snapped us out of our perceived luxury and made us think about our privilege and our need to feel like we can still communicate. We didn’t look at the exchange as charity. This kid had spent a good few minutes teaching me something, and we were obliged to pay him back.

The saddest thing about going to Rio had to leave. It was heart-renching saying good-bye. I’ve come to realize this is an aspect of my trip that I'm not too happy about. Falling in love with places, meeting people and then having to leave them. I asked Joanna what I should do with the guilt, the hurt that stems out of feeling like my time somewhere is too short. For abandoning the amazing people that opened there lives and homes to us. I keep all of them with me.

Message to everyone I have met on the way: please write me, please stay in touch and please never shy away from the opportunity to repay you with the same hospitality. This is what I want to get out of these experiences. A network, of people, working, communicating and resolving in solidarity the debt of our existence and inability to create meaningful solutions to our lives and to the current space and time. Above is my attempt to pay tribute to a city of splendor. I hope to do it a sliver of justice.

Rio De Janiero , Brasil- Carnaval Culture

I'm sorry that it took me so long to post an update for Brasil. I have been in Brasil since Jan 30th. Joanna and I flew from Lima to Buenos Aires just to transfer and then get on another plane to Rio de Janiero. We were met a few days later by Tiffany and Miguel . The 4 of us were packed in tight quarters but had a ball non-the-less. We rented a one bedroom studio room in Copacabana across the street from the beach. Now , Rio was leisure but I still took so much from my experience there. It is still hard for me to digest being away for only a few days.
Currently it is the hot, humid and wet season in most of Brasil. When the weather provided it possible, we would go out and even in the rain we went out as much as we could. All week during Carnaval there are "blocos" . Blocos are essentially street parades of various samba schools and organizations. Some are more traditional , some are more contemporary in theme. One thing that I would like to stress about Rio during Carnaval is it's electric energy. Men dress up as women at any given time at any place, children walk around as characters , girls are dressed up as butterflies and fairies. The samba schools provide the body moving rythms and people come out of their houses and into the streets! Amen for solidarity.

Leo, a friend I had made through Couch Surfing had given us allot of the 411 on "Cariocas" that is what people from Rio de Janiero are called. He said that many of his friends leave Rio during Carnaval because they can't take the pace, the chaos, the disorder. I could see how it could get a bit annoying when your trying to sleep and there is a BLoco outside your house. But, oh my , how fun ! We went to Lapa many nights. A neighborhood in Rio, that is a bit artsy, a bit young and progressive. There were blocos , clubs blazing samba, hip-hop, ska and everything else. People dressed up making a rakus with instruments, vendors selling everything from beer, caipirinhas (Brasilian drink made with Cachaca, lime and sugar) earings, shirts, etc... You are allowed to walk around with your drink as long as its in a cup , or it really dosent have to be.

The one thing I remember about Carnaval culture is the atmosphere of tolerance . It was the feeling of being able to explore your dormant self, your other half, the sides of ourselves we repress.

Music is the largest element of Carnaval. A good friend once said to me, that music was a one of the highest forms of communication. Samba rythms beat inside my head for the whole week during carnaval, communicating to me the African influence in popular Brasilian culture. Carnaval stems from a celebration after lent, but in Brasil samba comes from the history of African slaves holding on to their traditions and musical heritage.

Peru, El Centro- The Guest Blog by Joanna

(DRAFT)
In the wealthy barrios of Miraflores and Barranco, fancy stores, pricey restaurants and oversized supermarkets abound. Locals walk the streets doing their thing constantly yet daily life feels reserved, as though it is lived mostly behind closed doors.

To catch a glimpse of the colorful daily lives of Limenos, el Centro de Lima is where it’s at. Taking a taxi or bus, it is immediately apparent that Lima runs at a different pace – the traffic, frustrating to anyone, combined with the crazy-ass, zig-zagging, light-skipping driving skills of Limenos is enough to drive anyone insane.

An introduction of Lima Centro begins at the photogenic Plaza San Martin, with a walk up ….. to Plaza Mayor. On …., colonial architecture, once built as homes for the well-off, now house cheap boutiques, greasy food joints and tattoo parlors. Hustlers dot the car-free street: artists selling their crafts; tattooed men advertising their parlors; ice-cream shops vying for attention; vendors selling everything from quinoa bars to rosary beads, street meat to cell phones. On the corners are a few men wearing bright yellow vests at the ready to publicly exchange your dollars or euros to soles.

The madness seems to lessen the closer it gets to Plaza Mayor.