Day 12 - Marcelo Ferraz, Architect

Day 12 Fri. June 6

8:45 Group convenes in hotel lobby
9:00 am Vans leave to meet Marcelo Ferraz, architect, partner of Lina bo Bardi, Rua Harmonia 101 - Villa Madalina district
11:30am Vans leave to tour SESC Pompeia with Marcelo Ferraz rua Clelia, 93 Pompeia São Paulo

Fundaçao Armando Alves Penteado (FAAP) 1662 Art College Most expensive tuition in the country private Art college the best in the Country.

Day 11 - Monica Nador, Jamac at Jardim Miriam

Day 11 Thurs. June 5

* 1:00 pm group meets at hotel
* 1:15 pm Vans leave to meet Monica Nador, Jamac at Jardim Miriam near SP Zoo. (2-4:00pm)
* Travel to Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado (FAAP) 1662 for professional exchange Rua Alagoas 903 Higienopolis, Sao Paulo
* Optional: Farufyno (sambarock) unique music blend, live at 'Grazia a Dio' (late show- starts at 11:00pm)

Monica Nador
Jamac at Jardim Miriam

Book
The end of Painting
by Douglass

The point where she started her work when she realized that she was painting just for museums and it would not be alive in society. And she created an Art organization in the favela here in Sáo Palo and decided to live in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Brazil as the bus driver put it.

She states, "I was in Brazil. I am an Artist what can I do. I started creating walls on the street by painting houses. Drawing the stencils are made by the people I visit. I only use the drawings from the people I visit."

She made a mural of the stencils that the children made and now they are in a wall in Japan. In commemorating the 150 anniversary of Japanese immigrants in Japan.

She states, "I began to be more concerned with the social work than Art."

She was a very well established Artist and chooses to do that. She moved there at the same time with a political sociologist. The drawings were done in the school by drawings from teh students they learn her technique and keep it going.

One of the students working at her student was a young girl named Ema. She was doing stencils when we were there. She saw me and told me that she had a stencil that looked like me and if I like she can put it on my journal. She put it on my journal and we took a picture together. I got her email address and promised that I would send the picture to her. And I did and she sent me an email back showing me some of the graffiti art she does. She is really talented and I hope she goes far.

Day 10 São Palo, Jorge Wilheim, Afro-Brazilian Museum, Oscar Bressane

Day 10 Wed. June 4 São Palo

9:00 Group convenes in hotel lobby
9:15 Walk 5 blocks to meet Jorge Wilheim, Deputy Secretary-General of Habitat II at Mercury Hotel, Rua Padre João Manuel 202 (2 blocks from Av. Paulista) (10-12:30 - coffee included)

Take public transportation to MAM_SP Museu de Arte Moderna, Shiguru Ban project

Self guided tour of Ibirapuera Park, Oca & Afro Brazilian Museums, new auditorium etc.
Janet Cardiff podcast
7:00 pm Oscar Bressane, landscape architect, professional presentation on favela, rain forest relocation, living walls and rammed earth projects, & environmental field research with Robero Burle Marx @ pousada
Day 10 – Jorge Wilheim, Afro-Brazilian Museum, Oscar Bressane


Wednesday June 4, 2008

Jorge Wilheim was the one who designed the city of Curitiba.
We walked 5 blocks to meet Jorge Wilheim deputy secretary - General of Habitat 11 at Moramy Hotel.

He was a very humble old man. The room was setup in classroom style with college chairs with the desks attached he had a tablet with markers and we were ready for the lecture.

Like most of the speakers, he discussed the history of Brazil and the landscape and how cities were born. How the industrial revolution changed the workforce, how immigration’s role and communities mixing affected the culture and identity of Brazil. He mentioned the 150 year anniversary of Japanese immigrants in the community.

In terms of his ideas around Curitiba he thought it was a great plan for its initial purpose, but now the city can’t sustain the population growth and with the increase of automobiles on the road it has changed the quality of life through out Brazil.

He was really insightful about world relations he fully grasps the plight and struggles of American social and economic dynamics. He helped us realize that the rest of the world understands U.S more than we as Americans understand ourselves and the rest of the world. He said the problem that many different nations have is that they are so self-sufficient that their citizens lack the knowledge how the rest of the world is interrelated in regards to globalization.

Someone in our class asked about what his thoughts are in terms of advice for the future and hat Americans need to know in regards to a sustainable future. He stated that, he is optimistic because he said that we still have time to talk these things out and find solutions to the problems.


Highlighted Notes from Jorge Wilheim lecture

The migrating culture. They moved a lot. During the first Century from North East to Rio. The descendants from migrants have a very strong drive. Those who have the courage, drive, a spirit of adventure, a belief in yourself that everything will be alright. That is the spirit of Brazilian people. It is a migrant culture.

Industrial Revolution
Liberalism wanted to bring capitalism to Brazil and the conservatives. It didn’t happen. “We lost 100 years.” Because of not introducing capitalism, slavery only ended in the late 1890’s.
Acculturating happens when you marry.
The Japanese immigration in Brazil
100 years of commemoration of time
The one fully assimilated into Brazilian culture and these traditions and language is lost in generations.
Arabs lost the Muslim culture.
“It was a conquest not a colonization.”
Brazilians were friendly and the tolerance of difference is ingrained in the culture. The integration of relationships was the social norm.
Women had political power.
The improvisational and tolerant culture of Brazil.

Differences of Slaves in U.S. vs. Brazil
Slaves were not citizens
Brazil wanted to stop slavery as way to stop Spain
The us was an issue of industry, which divided the nation in civil war.
The ethical making starting in the 16th century. It wasn’t a crime in Brazil
The main ethical structure of Mulatto.
“There is a trend to make it Whiter.”
There is prejudices against Afro- Brazilians
1st immigranted to Bahia
the 1st capital
turn to Rio de Janeiro

Farmers bought slaves from northern Brazil through Bahia.
The slaves that were born in Brazil were called Creole.
The first Afro-Brazilian museum is in São Palo.
Slavery was abolished in 1889 in Brazil
There were two classes of slaves. Those that till the land and those that worked in the home. When the land was urbanized it was the street slave.

The big gap between rich people and poor people is the biggest issue of the nation.

More quotes
“We are living in a period of transition.”
“We have to look at the development not only from the optics of natural resources.”
“We live in a environment called globalization.”
“We are linked to everyone and every place.”
“We are shrinking in time and in space.”

The future
“I’m optimistic in possibility to work it out still exist.”

Sustainability should not only be a green word.
“You cannot have a society with out jobs. You cannot have a society with a huge gap between rich and poor people it is not sustainable.”

Day 9 - Museu Da Maré / Mini Bus to Sao Palo

Day 9- Museu Da Maré

Tuesday June 3, 2008

10:00 Am
On the way out of Rio De Janeiro
Favela museum of Jamac.
Museum stories created and curated by the fishermen of the Favela
Organization Planned and co-designed with the following organizations
Centro de Estudos e Açoes Solidárias Da Maré
Infraero Aeroportos Brasileiros
Brasil Um Pais De Todos Governo Federal

Day 9
Minibus to São Paulo

Today we checked out of the hostel to board the mini bus to São Paulo. But on our way out we stop by one more favela in Rio which has created a museum of its culture. It was started by a university whose faculty came together to make an organization to create funding for a museum. This was the anthropology department. Once they got approval and a little funding from the government the group of faculty that created the organization dismantled and gave the museum back to the community to run and curate.

The museum is about the history and life of the favelas. It was organized by the fisherman of the community. This favela in particular is by a swamp and rivers where the homes are built on stilts above the water.

In the 60's the fishermen photographed parts of the community and it was mixed in with the current photos of the community. Unfortunately not much has changed. But the stories they have recorded from the oral histories of the elder fishermen help create installations in the space. there were examples of how children play and what games they come up with to stay away from the violence. And there was an installation of a dark room that had a spotlight of a platform with bullet shells in Plexiglas we had to walk on these planks of wood that represented the bridge of fear.

I think what was powerful about the museum was these were the stories and the interpretation of what this community wanted to present. I felt like a visitor I was invited into the home, life and culture of a people in the favela.

Rather than an intrusive tourist that is coming in and then making my own interpretation of the environment. The museum is an opportunity for the people who live there to educate the visitor. It is like coming into someone's house and respecting the privacy of their place. In other words, you wouldn't come into someone's house and go through there bedroom drawers and closets and wander in every part of the house as a guest, you respect the rules of the home and hosts.

What I also found powerful about the museum is that the faculty from the university gave the people of the favela the power of full autonomy over this museum with that autonomy comes a since of pride. So much that it is fully run on volunteered staff from the members of the community. The museum has a donation box at the end of the exhibit.

This trip transpired by a conversation at lunch with the director of the MAC de Niteroi when I told him about my interest in further research of the favelas. Drea found a way to fit it into the schedule at the last minute.

There were concerns that if we go we will end up traveling to São Palo at night which is not a safe thing to do. But when we hit the road the bus broke down anyway and we were stuck for at least an hour at a gas station so we ended up traveling at night anyway. We didn't get into São Palo until 10pm.

http://sobradocultural.blogspot.com/2007/11/nossa-visita-ao-museu-da-mar.html

Day 8 - Free Day

Day 8 - Free Day

Monday June 2, 2008

Today is our off day. Walked on the beach and did laundry.

Free Day

Being here in Brazil I realized that personal space is not an option. Well the since of personal space is different than ours. And as a group living eating traveling as a group there are a lot of compromises that are made. Time constraints, roaming constraints language constraints.

It was recommended by the faculty that we shouldn't travel alone, stay in groups of at least two or 3. I really had a desire to walk alone. Roam alone discover alone and have privacy and personal time. But I honestly didn't know how to negotiate those types of boundaries in a situation like this.

On the alternative, relying on others allows us to find out more about each other and build relationships with other that would have never been formed. Today Nicole and I walked on the beach in the morning and reflected on the trip so far. That free day was really one of the best moments of the trip so far. The time to reflect and take in the atmosphere. To take the time to process all that has been given to us. And just to relax.

I feel we as Americans when we travel have the need to cram as much as we can in a day. We quantify everything and at times we lack quality experiences because of the rush to consume as much information, places, and experiences as possible. I didn't realize how unnatural that mode of living is and how stressful it is until recently and watching the way we have to rush and pressured by the time constraints.

Brazil is on its own time an maybe because of that people are happier. It seems that people seem more relaxed here. It is natural here to see a man sitting on the street doing nothing but watching people or an elderly person just sitting watching... as well as the young.

Day 7 - Museu de Arte Contempranea de Niteroi (MAC)

Day 7 Sun. June 1


8:45am Group convenes in hostel lobby and boards van
9:00 am to 6:00 pm van leaves for Niteroi for all day program at Museum de Arte Contemporanea de Niteroi, with Director, Gilherme Vagara

Today we spent the whole day with Gilherme Vagara. He is the director of MAC de Niteroi. He starts off with a formal lecture about the history of Brazilian Art movements and contextualizes the Modern Era and the Neo Concrete. He also talked about the philosophy of Paulo Freire and the architectural achievements of Oscar Niemeyer and many of the pioneer architects that have revolutionized the aesthetic design of Brazil with their structures. Niemeyer created the architectural design of the museum. Which is a site to see as a tourist attraction in itself. It reminded me of the Guggenheim museum in New York. But when Gilleme started to explain the purpose of the shape of the musuem and how its circular format and double helix walking paths through the space represents infinity, nature, also its makes the viewer observe the beautiful landscape around from every angle. What is interesting about the lecture was his pedagogical approach to the group. I feel like so far out of all of the professors, professionals, and philosophers we've met, I've really understood the pedagogy of Freirean thought by witnessing Gilleme's use of the problem posing method to museum curriculum, activities and even the way he addressed the group in terms of keeping us all engaged.

The museum has only been around since 1996 and because of this newness there are challenges I see in terms of how to curate in a space that's architecturally so dynamic and hard to ignore. The attention to the building itself upstages the art work in it. He addresses this issue with the idea behind Niemeyer's motivation as seeing the contradiction in the Neo concrete by making the museum a contradiction. His architecture was to draw all people to this space and engage with it regardless if they enter or not. To appreciate it with out the marginalization of language. Even during his lecturing I found myself wanting to shift my focus out the window a little longer because of the breath taking views.

In the museum we had a chance to do an exercise with fabric relating to the juxtaposition of color and form that mimics the paintings from the show which the title of the show was called, "Poets of Color." Which in the U.S. that would have an entirely different meaning. But in this case they mean poetic in the composition of the colors on a painting.

The fabric exercise was interesting this the poem I wrote in response to the exercise.

Wrapped in cloth

Wrapped in cloth
tied execution style
I mimic the political prisoners stories
Forgotten and remembered
experienced
of the known
and unknown

I felt a glimpse of their pain
in a single action.
As the cloth covered me
by anonymous and familiar

Those choosing different parts of the body
to restrain me
One said, "I want to tie around her neck."
One said, "Don't do it too tight."
At the beginning
the cloth I put on myself I could see through
But after time they covered my eyes.
And my whole body.
One covered my feet so you couldn't see my brown toes
Someone asked who is in there?
One answered
I don't know as they continued to restrain me.

I'm in kneeling pose, execution style.
Hands tied behind my back.
The footsteps leave to a more exciting pose with fabrics
Its hot under here
I'm silent

My friend asked me
do you want to be free?

First time I said nothing.
The second time she asked I said yes.
She pulled off the layers and untied the knots
She was amazed by the layers of restraints

A little boy wanted to play the game and tie me again.
(He must have been watching)

I came up for air and Daylight
I said I don't want to play anymore.




Curriculum ideas

Develop curriculum relating the experiences in Brazil and comparing it to life in the United States.
Taking the comparison of the Favela: Votre in Rio De Janeiro and compare and contrast to the projects of Chicago Southside.

Lesson Plan will be inspired from project Morrinho building a city from its enviornment. Students will analyze there own neighborhood and reconstruct a replica of it using found materials relevant to their community and neighborhood

Unit Plan

1. Construct your community
2. Find out what is missing in your community with a treasure hunt photo journey. Or sketches of ideas.
3. Take examples of structures from Brazil for innovations to create dynamic Architectural structures to build the newly renovated environment.
4. Take the experiences of building your community with its revisions and see in real life how we can change it and make or request to city government. Research project
5. Taking all the individual communities that have been built how do we as a class bring them together to make a city? Looking at the resources of other cities like the car garage in Rio de Janeiro and taking structures for facilities in your local city and other cities to build the environment.
6. Proposing the ideas for a new improvements to the city to the mayor city planning committee.

Sunday June 1, 2008

Notes from
Director Gilherme Vagara lecture

Continuing antropophagy passages from modern to grassroots utopias

"Only antropophagy unites us. socially. economically. philosophically." -Oswald de Andrade

Rethinking Paulo Freire for the 1998 Brazilian Bi-Annual
Bi Annual become a territory for Globalization
Extravagant and Admiration
Existentialist is a Paulo Freire expression
Accusation of language. Connecting with aesthetic experience of allienation. Freire: learning language is a political action. The first step of learning is facing what you don't know.

The museum is filled with contradictions
Brazilian thinkers: Sergio Buarque de Holanda and Oswald de Andrade, expressed the complex nature of the Brazilian anthropophagic utopia, each respectively refering to the open-ended tension between what they called "new world and old civilization," and "jungle and school," the ever-green paradise and European culture- a parallel also found in our institutions.

This Museum is aligned with the modernists. The post-modern utopia is the grassroots.

Montaigne: These who will read of such hrrendos things that are practiced daily..

Image XIX
Pedro Amerio : Map of Brazil

Tarsila do Amoral - A negra (The Negress) 1923

Antropophagy - Tarsila do Amaral

-Curriculum note -
The amount of windows show the wealth in Brazil in the early 1900. The windows were for the ladies to come to the balcony and that shows off the family.

Architect: Niemeyer
MG, 1943 - Panpulha, MG
Casa de Banc, MG 1942
Ministerio de Educacao e Saude,1937-1943.
Consultar- le Corbuster

Brazilian Architects: Lucio Costa, Marcelo e Milton Roberto, ABI: Brazilian Press Association, 1936 Jore Moreira, Affonso Reidy, Carlos Leao e Ernami Vasconcelos

The leftovers from the modern project people took to make the favelas windows and open areas is to remind you of appreciating the world around us.

Niemeyer: statement paraphrased by Curator: Msueum with out walls the invisible msueum to see the beautiful landscape around us.

Affonso Reidy: Conjunto Habitacional do Pedregulho, sa cristovao RJ. 1947 -1952

The Architecture in Brazil is part of the New Concrete movement. Mixed with the constructivist movement.

Max Burle -1945 Mathematician
Most of the intellectuals and artist were communist and part of the socialist movement of that time.

Bauhaus and the Russian AvantGarde
Brazilian Architect were not western or nealist or decadant like the NY Ameriacan Artist.

The Poet is seen traditionally is to see things metaphyiscally and translate the poetry of god.

Neo concrete movement

Helio Oiticica - Programa de invencoes do espaco
El lissitsky - De stijl

The extensional phenomenology is the foundation of the Neo Concrete.
Magic Box - Derived from the El Lissitsky sketch that was constructed in a space in nature.

Max Bill - Art Concrete
Lygia Clark - Modern Artist and Patterns and Geometry

Poetic Shelter 1964 Poet's house

Functionalist Behavior - Brings the concepts of Portuguese utopia

The idea to take to shape of the form and function of the environment

The Anglo saxsonic - language
is very planned. We must plan, before we speak

Example: The beautiful tree.

But in Portuguese - Is more improvisational, more intuitive because not knowing what is coming next.
Example: The tree, beautiful...

Community Project . Family doctor Socio - culture agents

5 subjects Art, Geography, health, artist, history, community health in the favela to prevent teenage pregnacy. Public Art that includes sustainability and continuity in building relationships. Artist may come and go but leave them with communtiy of a sustainable relationship for the memembers of the favela community. Fidel castro inaguated the community school(?) Or Center?

Niemeyer designed new space for the community center on top of the favela.
Curator quote "A place of hope, but a concrete hope."

Jean Batista Nico

Museum's have been known as a place of alienation. "Dis-alienation is our challenge." He was a civil engineer as his first career. A utopia will be when the people form the bottom come up to the peoople on the top to work in the favela. Its neccesarry for the future.

Internships - Letters of proposal

Day 6 - Carlos Vegara Studio/Exhibit & Luiz Camillo Osorio at Paco Imperial

Day 6 Sat. May 31

8:45 am Group convenes in hostel lobby

9:00 am Group leaves for city central on public transportation to estacao do bonde to take tram across Arcos de Lapa to Santa Teresa, Rua Teotonio Regadas, to take tram Paula Matos line

10:00 am Meet Idalina Silva, Educational Assistant and Chief of Foreign Rsident Program at Carlos Vergara´s studio, Rua Progresso, 70 Santa Teresa

12:00 pm Meet Luiz Camillo Osorio, Art Critic / Curator see major exhibition of Carols Vergara, at Paco Imperial, Praca XV de Novembro, 48 Centro, Rio de Janeiro

Bus ride to Pavihao de Sao Cristovad - spectacular nordistno market



Brazillian History

Carlos Vergara Art Studio with Ed Assistant Idalima Silvia and Chief of Foreign Res Programs

We walked and took the Bus to Carlos Vergara's studio and talked to the Ed Assistant/Cheif of Foreign Res Programs Idalima Silvia. We didn't meet Carlos Vergara because he was away on a project in Turkey. The studio was a very modernized house that has been turned into a work studio and gallery space exhibition. Idalima gave us a tour. She struggled a bit with her English and at times Jose had to translate. But the actual art work was beautiful. He had paintings and sculpture work with different pigments, waxes, holographs, and collage sketches. His body of work was so extensive. The holograms were made of sketches by taking photographs and cutting them out to make 3 dimensional relief compositions.

That can be an idea for an art project.

We left there to go to the Museum Paco Imperial Praca. This is where Carlos Vergara's work was being displayed. Luiz Camillio Ososrio gave us a detailed historical contextualization of the origins of content of the work which has a lot of historical and cultural reference to Brazil's history of early settlement of the Portuguese the indigenous indians, the slaves and how these cultures intertwined.

I felt like the lecture was less about the Art and more about the history of Brazil. Which was necessary for us to understand the significance of the work. Luiz did go into the Artist movements of Brazil including the Neo concrete era and this is when Brazil really began to submerse itself as an identity in the post modern and contemporary world.





Notes from lecture
Cordonu Masacure
Late 19th Century

Book: Sertoes
Author Euclides Dacunlia

The Mountain was called Favela
They constructed everything because it was near where they work.

School of Samba - for carnival
Nov- Feb
This was in the favela

The way the community came together to build carnival
Mixture the concrete primary colors
with costume vocabulary of colors

The rationale of the concrete movement
in the revolution in the 1960s

Neo concrete was in response to the need to have more spontenaity to the modernism of 60s.
Max Burle out of the modern artists was the Brazilian artist responded the most to.
From there they looked to the favelas for inspiration because of its natural spontenaity of using what they can dwhich were mountains.

Gilberte Freyre

Senzala - Slavery

Canados 19th Century Masacre and the creation of the name of the favela
Book: Sertoes
Author: Euclides Daculia


Brazilian Art History

The European Baroche mixed with the Brazilian Artists called new baroque period. Brazilians don't have a strong pre-colonial herritage. Central America and Northern America
Testimonial period and always looking to the testimony of the past.

Chille, panama etc.
Transpositional period
Brazilians don't have a present
Cuba, Brazil etc. New Synchronic period
Since the beginning: Brazillians don’t have an origin but have a future.

We are premodern and we are late modern.

The 1920s modernist movement in Brazil.

The eat the other and transform it.
The Indian proverb

They ate the enemy if they were brave so they can get it.
In the 1950s the new concrete.
Save intellectual background of the minimalist. The post minimalist the Americans were doing in the 1960s

Brazilian word/ concept
Cre-laision

Mixes leasure
Mixes faith
Mixes creativity

Jauque Raancreie – teaching of what you don’t know

Pedagogy
Book: The Ignorant Master
Book: The Aesthetic of the Ginga
By Berinstein
She is in Bahia (But its not in English)


Brazilian Phrases


Onji e ou banjo? = Where is the bathroom?
(onjee ay oo banyo) por favor? please?

Day 5 - Project Morrinha & Coopa-Roca

Day 5 Fri. May 30

* 8:45 am Group convenes in hostel lobby and boards van
* 10:00 am Group meets with Project Morrinha
* 2:00 pm van leaves to meet Maria Teresa Leal Tete, founder Coopa-Roca Rocinha Seamstress and Craftwork Cooperative Ltd.

Favela: Votre

Project Morrinho
General Director Fabio Gavia

Boys age 10-14 2nd generation

Started with one boy who wanted to stay out of trouble so he didn't go to school and started to build a city. This Favela is now the safest Favela in the city of Rio de Janiero.

A foggy day this morning we boarded the van and headed to project Morrihna. This an Art organization that started in the favela. It started with a a boy name Fabio who was afraid to go to school because there was a lot of violence going on. And he wanted to stay out of trouble so he didn't go to school and started using bricks from the favela to build a replica of the favela. After a while, he gathered a group of boys to help him and this project grew to a city and It was a way to stay away from the gangs and violence. He eventually turned it to a an organization and now there is a second generation of boys doing the project.

This is an example of how Art can change your enviornment. Now peop;e from all over the world come to see the project Morrienho. Universities, organizations. There is now a bed and breakfast above the favela. Plus this favela is one of the safest in Rio de Janeiro. The crime has subsided. I asked what caused the drug crimes to subside. He told me that the federal police intervened and had a shoot out with the drug lords. This happened after an investigation of the bus lines that helped aid drug traffic to and from the favela.

But I think it also has to do with the interest of the people. If you have people from all over the world as tourist that want to come see this art work' its in the consulate of Brazil's best interest to make it a safe environment for tourist to visit. So of course they are going to clean it out, because if they detour tourists its a loss of money for the city. The idea that a 10 year old boy can change his whole community by stacking bricks together to make a community is inspiring. Using art as an agent to change your environment as a neccessity for survival.

Copa Roca

By the time we met with the founder and director of Copa Roca it started to rain. I was wondering what the favela was like with rain considering all the buildings have these open spaces almost like swiss cheese the way a storefront with no windows. As we were going up the steep narrow path the water was gushing down like a stream my shoes were soaked. We were also trying to go in a single file line because there were passerbyers that were trying to go down as we go up.

This favela was longer than the last it was a 120,000 people in this community. A city of its own. If Rio De Janerio is only a population of 400,000 that means a 1/4 of the cities residents lived in this favela.

Copa Roca was on the top of this hill. It was one room with bright red windows. It was storming by now and the shutters kept slamming against the windows making a crashing sound. The project founder talked about the things they've done. This woman who was an art education major had a desire to come into this community and teach. She spent months getting acclimated into the culture of the favela. It started by having a cleaning lady invite her on the weekends for lunch which then she was introduced to other members of the community. After learning so much about the people who lived there they soon began to ask about her. And it started by volunteering herself to teach art to the kids with a toy making workshop. And then one day she bought fabric scraps from the garment sector of Rio to make projects. The parents of the children said these fabric samples were too nice to give to the kids and asked if they can use them. And then she got an idea, I'm going to work with the mothers of the community. Because if I work with them, it can help their families. That is when she began to teach sewing techniques and crochet and the group of mothers started making garments. This leads to fashion shows. It led to selling there work. Led to art exhibitions, and this cultural worker used her education and networking resources to bring it to this community. The mothers also were paid for their work. If she was invited to go to Europe, or where ever the fashion show was, she would bring one of the members of the group with her.

They've worked with big time high-end designers and their work has been on runway models and magazines. When Maria Teresa Leal Tete started the program she didn't know where it was going to go an she just followed her intuitiion and her need to listen to the needs of the people to make a better life for them. At one time they were working with young girls and talking to them about there future in efforts to avoid teenage pregnancy. And when the program was gong on they were not getting pregnant but once Copa Roca got busy with other commissions she ahd to let go of the teenage program and the girls went back to the same cycle.

I think it is an unfortunate loss that they couldn't continue with the girls if they did it could be another generation to take Copa Roca furhter. She has been working with this community for 20 years.

Just like Project Morrinha which was 10 years in the making, I think its essential to sustain your program with a generation to take it on which is a challenge for many community leaders to relinquish that control.

Related readings
Article
Community, Culture and Globalization by Don Adams and Arlene Goldbard

Day 4 - Museo Casa do Pontal & Sitio Burle Marx Garden

Day 4 Thurs. May 29

8:30 Group convenes in hostel lobby and boards van
8:45 am van leaves for Museo Casa do Pontal, Estrada do Pontal 3295, Rio de Janeiro
1:30 pm Sitio Burle Marx Gardens and Studio, Estrada Robero Burle Marx
Drive Estrada de Guaratiba to Praia do Grumari & Praia do Prainha Drive coast road to (incredible beaches and vistas

Roberto Burle Marx Estate

We went to Roberto Burle Marx estate where we saw the fruits of his urban landscape and his life style. His estate was originally a banana plantation that he completely transformed. The only thing that he kept from this 16th century banana plantation was the church which still performs as such for special occasions like weddings. While we were there, their was a photo shoot that involved models because this week in Rio was Brazilian fashion week and this place was a beautiful place to shoot.

What was significant about Roberto Burle Marx is his designs are all over Brazil and the world. He's taken what is the natural tropical vegetation of the amazon and incorporated in to urban landscaping in cities to introduce the idea that one's nation of natural plants can be aesthetically designed for urban landscaping instead of using traditional European flowers and Euro-centric design.

Walking through the space allows me to get the feeling of being in a jungle. Unfortunately Roberto Burle Marx died of sickness in his home but he lived to be an old age, but if he lived to be 100 years old he could really see the fruits of his labor. Every tree planted and bush, everything that has grown so big and green. The whole time there were gardeners working through out the landscape which I could imagine could take lots of maitenence.


Casa do Pontal

Museo Casa do Pontal
This was a house by a French Art collector who acquired sculptures of small figurines of vernacular art. The subject matter was of the people of Brazil doing various professions and participating in everyday activities of Brazilian life.

This became so popular when people visited they turned it into the museum and he moved out. The range was from everything from maids, dentists, crime, sex, the life cycles, children playing, carnivals, biblical stories, to workers in factories. It was a great way to see the life and culture of Brazil. While we were there, an elementary school group came and for a tour. They bring school groups regularly to learn about the popular culture of Brazil.

The tour guide had a puppet to give the tour and she sung songs. I was thinking why not have our American museum programming do Educational tours like that? I was really inspired I can see many sculpture projects like this.

Journal Entry

Thurs. May 29, 2008

Today I took my first self-time. I got up at 7:00 am while everyone was still asleep and decided to eat breakfast go to the juice corner and get a strawberry smoothie.

The light dark issue has been coming up a lot just watching the interactions compared with me verses Nicole who is lighter than me. She blends in with the lighter Brazilians that are in this middle class area which is full of dogs, cafés, business shops and beaches and apartment complexes everywhere.

The hotel of course are on the beachfront, but our hostel is mixed in the neighborhood. Its true what my god-sister Michelle said, “Our people are struggling all over the world.” Its kind of depressing to know where ever you go in the world, all the people that look like you will either be a servant, a beggar, or involved in crime.

I miss home. As we all know, home is relative but the hoe I made for myself in Hyde Park I’ve grown to love. Last night I dreamt about it. I dreamt that I was back on the areo bed but sleeping on a street corner in Bedstuy Brooklyn, a block away from my place on Hancock. So I moved back into that old apartment and I told my dad that I moved in but I was talking about my apartment in Hyde park although I wasn’t sleeping there and sleeping in the Brooklyn apartment. I told him how much I liked the Chicago apartment.

I don’t know, its weird. Maybe it has to do with me being here although I just moved into a new home. Technically I will have spent more time living in Brazil than I will have in my own apartment. I think when I travel I don’t want to live in the middle I’m either slumming it doing activist work or I’m living in luxury with the rich. I’ll live in the the middle when I go home.

I was telling Nicole how I sure wished we stayed in a hotel. It would be nice to have my own room and own full or queen size bed. But another time.


Related readings
Book: Don’t Play in the Sun; One Woman’s Journey Through the Color Complex.
Author: Marita Golden

Day 3- Corcadova and Naive Art

Day 3 Wed May 28 Arrival in Rio de Janero, Brazil

9:15 am Group convenes in hostel lobby
9:30 am group leaves for city central on public transportation to Estasco Trem do Corcovado
Ride tram up Corcavado mountain to Christo Redentor (one of the 7 wonders of the world)
2 PM Tour of Museum International De Arte Naif, Feira de Sao Cristovao (beside tram station)

We took a tram to see the statue of Jesus Christ on one of the highest mountains of Rio De Janero. This was a view of the entire city looking out. From there we went to the museum international de Art Naif. This museum was of "Naive" Art the art from the people of Brazil or what is known as vernacular art. Lots of paintings and there was a mural where there was a large mural towards the ceiling that gave the history and making of the country of Brazil from the Indians and early settlers from Portugal. The Jesuits, slavery and the industrial revolution to contemporary times.

The museum was really fascinating because these are stories from the people of Brazil. Their interpretation of Brazil and its history which may not have been told in a traditional museum.



Journal Entry
Wed. May 28 2009 10:27 AM

We are waiting for the bus man and the professors to negotiate our trip for the week. Ana the SAIC rep, doesn’t want us to go to the favelas but Drea finds it necessary because there are people we know that are doing work there.
What is ringing a bell with me is gentrification and dark politics. The way I’m seen as a dark Black person to the rest of the world,, how Brazilians treat the darkest people. The area that we live in for hostiles is in Copacabana is nice. Its blocks away from the beach. And there is a market across the street with fresh fruit vegetables and fish and poultry.
Last night Nicole and I were talking about the politics of education about what it is to be Black in this situation and our connections to the people who are oppressed and the similarities of a favela in Brazil verses the projects in the south side of Chicago or the 9th ward in New Orleans.

The fact that I’m here with this group is a political action itself. How I look what I wear, how I’m perceived. The other girls talked about men hitting on them in the market. No one hit on me. I was invisible I did get a good morning. But is it assumed cause I’m dark I have no money? That I’m not worth bargaining with? Although my clothes and style may look like a foreigner, am I seen as an “assimilado” like Amiliar Cabril when the Portuguese only collected a small percent of Africans to go to grad school and run the country to their means? But they turned on the ruling class and used there education to liberate others.

I know we are going to the favelas today. This is where I’ll really get to see people who look like me. The only dark people around the hostel and this area are the maids and the men cleaning the park and picking up trash.

Class is definitely a skin color issue. But how do you relate that to gentrification? We were talking last night about what happens when those who are in power want to move people out of the favelas to make condos like in Chicago, when they tore down Cabrini Green or the Bayview Hunter’s Point projects in San Francisco, or Fort Green projects in Brooklyn.

Related readings
Literacy: Reading the Word and the World
by Paulo Freire & Donaldo Macedo
Chapter 5, Literacy in Guinea-Bissau Revisited


Portuguese phrases

Good Morning Bom dia (Bom jia)

Good Evening Boa noite

Good-bye Até logo/ Tchau

How are you? Tu do bem?
(informal)

Fine, thanks Tu do bem.
(informal)

How are you? Como vai o senhour
(formal) a senhora

Fine, thanks and you? Múito bem. Obrigada
(formal)

Please Por favor

Thank you Obrigada

Thank you very much Múito Obrigada

No thank you Não, Obrigada

I’m sorry Sinto múito / desculpe

Pardon me Dá Liçenca
(informal)

Pardon me com liçenca / meperdoe / perdão
(formal)

That’s okay tu do bem
Tu do certo

Do you speak English Você fala ingles?

I don’t know. Eu não tem.

I’d like Eu gustaria

I need Eu precisuo (de) ...

What would you like? Em que posso servi –lo?

Please bring me Por favor traga-me