CALENDAR OF EVENTS

February 2005

This update is aimed solely at disseminating cultural and social activities related to Brazil in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.  The Brazilian Embassy is not responsible for the organization (or content) of the events and activities listed here, unless otherwise noted.  If you wish to have a Brazilian event included in our update, please send an e-mail to cultural@brasilemb.org

Paquito D’’Rivera and the Brazilian Guitar Duo, Sergio and Odair Assad

Tuesday, February 1, 8:00 p.m.

At the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium

730 21st Street, NW Washington, DC 20052

A Co-presentation from Washington Performing Arts Society and the GALA Hispanic Theatre.

http://www.wpas.org/performances/event.php?id=87

Paquito D'Rivera, clarinet

Cuban superstar clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera met Brazilian guitar duo Sergio and Odair Assad while on tour with Yo-Yo Ma. They immediately recognized shared musical influences and talents, and were inspired to bring a new mix of Latin American music to the stage. Dances from the New World features Cuban "ritmo de clave," Brazilian "batuque," and Trinidad's "'calypso," as well as tango, rumba, and mambo. For tickets and more information please visit www.wpas.org

Carnaval 2005 – Carnafolia

Saturday, February 5, from 9:30 p.m.

At Heritage & Pegasus Lounge – 1337 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington DC

Organized by EuroNet International and Brazilian Night Entertainment.

Celebrate Carnival in Brazilian Style. For tickets more information please visit

www.BrazilianNight.com

or www.Euronetinternational.com

BLACK ORPHEUS (Orfeu Negro)

An all times classic film by Marcel Camus

Tuesday, February 8, 7:00 p.m.

With the collaboration of TAM Brazilian Airlines.

At the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute – 4719 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington DC 20016
www.bacidc.org

Starring Breno Melo, Marpessa Dawn, Lourdes de Oliveira, Lea Garcia and Ademar Ferreira da Silva. Based on the play by Vinícius de Moraes. Music by Luiz Bonfá and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Oscar for the best film, 1959; Gold Palm in Cannes for best film, 1959. A Sacha Gordini production. With the collaboration of Globo Video. A Franco-Brazilian response to the classical Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. In Portuguese. English subtitles. 100 min. Color. 1959. For Tickets and more information please call (202) 362-8334.

BRAZIL: A BLIP IN THE US RADAR SCREEN?
A Presentation by Dr. Luis Bitencourt, Ph.D.
Thursday, February 10, 7:00 p.m.
At the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute – 4719 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington DC 20016
www.bacidc.org
www.luisbitencourt.net
To continue the lecture series sponsored jointly by BACI and the D.C.-Brasilia Partners of the Americas:

This presentation will provide a vision of the US perception on Brazil, considering economic, security and political implications.

Luis Bitencourt is professor and political scientist with a Ph.D. in World Politics (with concentration on International Security), two M.A.s, respectively, in Political Science and World Politics, and an extensive experience in international security, public policy, political transitions and democracy. Luis Bitencourt is the director of Brazil@The Wilson Center at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars/Smithsonian, and visiting professor at the Georgetown University. In his research capacity, he has been publishing extensively on Brazil’s and Western Hemisphere’s political and security issues. Free Admission. For more information please call (202) 362-8334.

ROBERTO SILVA, PAINTINGS

Friday, February 11, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. At the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute – 4719 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington DC 20016
www.bacidc.org

You and your guests are cordially invited to the opening night reception to preview the show and meet the artist. This exhibition will open through March 1, weekdays, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. For more information please call (202) 362-8334.

PAULA VAN GOES, SAXOPHONE

ALICE MIKOLAJEWSKI, PIANO

Tuesday, February 15, 8:00 p.m.

At the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute – 4719 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington DC 20016
www.bacidc.org

Featuring works by Villa-Lobos, Darius Milhaud and Ronaldo Miranda. Ms. Van Goes, a native of northwest Iowa, is a Doctorate of Musical Arts candidate in Saxophone Performance at the University of Maryland where she is a student of Dale Underwood. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Ms. Mikolajewski,  Staff Accompanist at George Washington University, has been active with Washington Opera’s Artists-in-the-Schools programs, and has participated in Washington Opera’s Summer Opera Camp as the Accompanist and Music Counselor. For Tickets and more information please call (202) 362-8334.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF

BRAZIL’S NEW INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP

A Presentation by Paulo Sotero

Thursday, February 17, 7:00 p.m.

At the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute – 4719 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington DC 20016
www.bacidc.org

Paulo Sotero is the Washington correspondent for O Estado de São Paulo, a leading Brazilian daily newspaper, and a commentator for the BBC Brazil radio. He is also a visiting professor at Georgetown University, where he currently teaches a course on Media in Brazil at the Spanish and Portuguese Department. Mr. Sotero has a BA in history from the Catholic University of Pernambuco, Brazil, and an M.A. in Journalism and Public Affairs from American University, Washington, D.C. He is a frequent lecturer on Brazilian and Latin American affairs at U.S. universities and think tanks and has appeared as guest on radio and television news programs, most recently at the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. In addition to his work for O Estado de São Paulo , he has contributed regularly to publications and scholarly journals in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Brazil. He is the recipient of several major awards. For more information please call (202) 362-8334.

SEX, LOVE & BETRAYAL (Sexo, Amor & Traição)

A filme by Jorge Fernando

Tuesday, February 22, 7:00 p.m.

With the collaboration of TAM Brazilian Airlines.

At the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute – 4719 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington DC 20016
www.bacidc.org

Starring Malu Mader, Murilo Benício, Fábio Assunção, Alessandra Negrini, Caco Ciocler, Heloísa Perissé, Marcello Antony, Betty Faria, Silvio de Abreu.

Sex, Love & Betrayal is a modern romantic comedy set in Rio de Janeiro about two couples of friends who have their lives upturned by the arrival of loves from the past. Carlos and Ana live across the street from Miguel and Andrea. Ana needs more affection than Carlos has been giving her. Andrea is tired of Miguel’s indifference and heartbroken by his recurring affairs. The unexpected arrival of Tomas, Carlos and Ana’s old friend and once upon a time Ana’s lover, and Claudia, Miguel’s first love, triggers conflicts, suspicions and betrayals that will lead the men into one apartment and the women to the other. The ensuing battle of the sexes leads each couple to face their problems in their search for personal fulfillment and love. 2003. 85 min. In Portuguese. English subtitles. For Tickets and more information please call (202) 362-8334.

PUTUMAYO World Music - Acoustic Brazil

A CD to be released on February 22!

Latin Promotion Director – Leandro Herbstein

For more information visit www.putumayo.com

During carnival in Rio, the streets vibrate with the thunderous beats of the samba schools, their energetic rhythms persuading even the frail to dance. After the parties have ended, though, Brazilians start playing the softer, more introspective music for which they are also renowned. On February 22, 2005, just as the Brazilian carnival season is winding down, Putumayo will release Acoustic Brazil.While upbeat rhythms like samba, forró and axé have people dancing in the streets during carnival, Acoustic Brazil focuses on the more delicate Brazilian music that comes to life in the aftermath of the party.

As the birthplace of Antonio Carlos Jobim and other masterful songwriters, Brazil has given the world some of its most entrancing melodies. Acoustic Brazil includes songs performed or written by some of these great figures, as well as others from the emerging young voices of popular Brazilian music. Legends such as Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque, Gal Costa and Paulinho da Viola are featured here alongside a new generation of singers who demonstrate the beauty of Brazil’s acoustic music traditions.

Acoustic Brazil is the latest addition to Putumayo’s popular series of Brazilian CDs (Brasileiro, Samba Bossa Nova and Brazilian Groove), which have sold half a million copies combined. From the gentle swing of bossa nova and samba canção, to the lyrical grace of contemporary singer-songwriters, Acoustic Brazil presents some of the most beautiful songs from Brazil’s unique musical legacy.

Continuing Events

 

GRUPO CORPO – New DVD available in the US just in time for the holiday gift season!
Grupo Corpo, the Brazilian dance Company combining the sensuality of Afro-Brazilian dance forms and technical prowess of ballet with a contemporary, highly theatrical sensibility and energy to burn. Brazilian music and pastiche of folk songs, innovative lighting, scenery and vivid costumes all add to the experience. The result is a vibrant energy that is both visually charged. DVD, Color, 129 min. The result is a vibrant spirit and sense of exuberant energy that is both visually riveting and viscerally charged.  An extensive documentary as special feature on this DVD shows the ensemble at work, in rehearsal and on tour, including excerpts from performances and interviews with members and friends of the company. You can buy this DVD at: www.kultur.com

With a success history of performance throughout the world, Grupo Corpo always had wonderful evaluation “A most beautiful and original fusion of dance” …Dance Magazine, “Technical power and inexhaustible stamina” …Los Angeles Times, “Amazingly vivid” …The New York Times.

To review the history and other information about this magnificent dance group, please visit: http://www.grupocorpo.com.br/en/index.php

The Motorcycle Diaries – Diários de Motocicleta. A Film by Brazilian Director Walter Salles (Oscar nominated for adapted screenplay and original song)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318462/
At Landmark’s Bethesda Row, 7235 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda - (301) 652-7273
and Loews Cineplex Dupont Circle, 1350 19th St. NW (202) 333-FILM #792
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES REVIEW
From the Washington City Paper
Even revolutionaries, at some point in their lives, pull stupid stunts and cruise for girls. At least that's the gist of Walter Salles' The Motorcycle Diaries, a biopic about Argentine rebel Che Guevara and the traveling he did in 1952 at the age of 23. Back then, Che was merely Ernesto, or 'Fuser' to his best friend, Alberto Granado. When the film begins, Alberto (Rodrigo de la Serna) is a stocky, gregarious 29-year-old biochemist who wants to see the rest of Latin America before his 30th birthday, while the quieter, asthmatic Ernesto (Gael García Bernal) is about to finish medical school and just looking for a little adventure before settling into a career as a doctor. The majority of The Motorcycle Diaries, which Salles shot on location in places such as Argentina, Chile, and Peru, is pure feel-good road flick, fashioned from Guevara's and Granado's autobiographies by screenwriter Jose Rivera. There isn't a whisper of politics behind their trip, and as Ernesto and Alberto make their way across the continent, they seem more like goofy, foul-mouthed teenagers than men of science as they bicker, scam food and shelter, and are repeatedly thrown off the rickety, overloaded bike they ride on, which eventually breaks down for good. Even while Ernesto and Alberto crack jokes, however, cinematographer Eric Gautier keeps the Latin American landscapes rather sobering, and it's while meeting an indigenous couple in the arid Atacama Desert that Ernesto begins his subtle shift from fun-loving student to the leader he will soon become. Salles certainly treats his subject with kid gloves, and there are several moments, in fact, when Ernesto is portrayed as something of a saint, but the film stops short of complete glorification. Besides, the foundation of friendship, adventure, and compassion for humanity on which the film is built is universal enough that Ernesto's final statement, 'I am not myself anymore,' could have been uttered by just about anyone.

 

Warm Bossa Nova
Every Sunday, at 8:00p.m.
At Thyme Out American Cafe
6821 Reed St. Bethesda, MD
http://www.gazette.net/200445/entertainment/diningoutfeat/243371-1.html

Warm presents an evening of Brazilian music. Come enjoy the wonderful DJ sounds of Samba and Bossa Nova and let it help you relax and prepare you for the week ahead.  For more information, please contact Sasha Tsimbler (301) 529-7260

 

BANDA TRAVESSIA
Every Thursday 9PM - 1AM       
At Columbia Station
2325 18th St NW  in the heart of Washington's Adams-Morgan neighborhood 202-462-6040
Travessia plays traditional and contemporary Brazilian jazz and pop for your listening or dancing pleasure, as well as other Latin-style tunes. For more information go to www.travessiadc.com for free download samples and contact info, or call 202/543-0945.

 

Portuguese Classes - Winter Session

January 03 to March 17

Courses offered:

Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced, Contemporary Short Stories,
Brazilian Culture & Writing, Portuguese for Native Spanish Speakers

For information and registration

call (202) 362-8334 or online at www.bacidc.org