After yesterday's moaning morning I cheered myself up with a trip to sensible Dutch friend's house for a restorative cup of tea and a strange but delicious Kazakh cake made with layers of onions and meat.
On getting home, the kids and I decided to fully lift ourselves out of the February gloom and align ourselves spiritually with South America by watching the Live DVD of Brazilian Caranaval Diva Ivete Sangalo, Bahian carnaval queen extraordinaire. How fantastic was that? An hour and a bit of hot, pumping dance music, a huge band, latin beats, funk, samba and just long songs that make you Sai do Chao (jump up and down).
It is amazing how vividly I remember how we felt when we lived in Brazil 10 years ago, and went to various Carnavals (sadly, never one in Salvador), and how amazing it felt, so exciting and so much fun and such a good party.
We tried to get some more Ivete on Itunes, but despite the fact that she is a massive star with one of the best voices, widest repetoires and most awesome stage presences in the world, they only have four of her songs on the UK iTunes. I dare not download ITunes Brazil for fear of totally messing up my library. !
Go to ivetecarnaval2009.ig.com.br/wp/videos/ivete-sangalo-agita-circuito-barra-ondina-com-cade-dalila-assista.html to see her in action in this year's Carnaval.
I have emailed my friend E in Brazil to get him to send me some new stuff of hers, and he mailed back to say that he and V were in Rio for Carnaval and having an amazing time. Which rather puts me back in a depression as I look out the window and it is pissing with snow again! So different from the beach in Brasiiiiilllll...agh.
The appeal of Carnaval might not be immediately apparent if you have not been there done it, but basically, if you have loads of energy, then Carnaval is a four day fest of following a Bloco (a band on a lorry) pumping out fantastic music, and jumping up and down in a huge throng of people, drinking beer, flirting your head off with total strangers, staying up all night, and starting dancing and beering it up at about 11 o'clock the next day. It is just a really fabulous blow out. the Carnavals in various cities are different, so in Rio which is very famous, you just watch the Samba schools and dance in the viewing gallery, but in most other places, you all participate and it is just a huge street party. Not everybody's cup of tea, but we liked it!
In case the link above doesn't work, visit Ivete's website which is at www.ivetesangalo.art.br. She rocks! Click on her blog page and the Carnaval 2009 comes up and you can listen to lots of her songs at the top of her page.
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