A few weeks ago I was invited to a first birthday party. 1st and 13th birthdays are a big deal here and I heard that people go all out so I was quite interested to go to my first Brazilian party. I could not get over the effort that was made for this party. I mean let´s be honest, the kid is not going to remember the event! Nonetheless, there were three floors of fun to be had. The first floor had all the made up tables where I pretty much spent most of the evening and was supplied non stop with food and beer (that´s my kind of party). There was also a DJ and a projector playing kid´s songs and videos. The second floor consisted of this huge balloon and animal themed montage which was just incredible. The cake was like a wedding cake and there was a whole cutting the cake moment to be had at the end. On the third floor they had hired a trampoline, ball pool, swing...you name it they had it type set up. I mean I just couldn´t get over it. Apparently Neuza said people just go over the top these days and end up spending thousands of Reais (which I´m sure they must have done as well!) on their credit cards as people here cannot afford these type of luxuries. I was shocked at the amount of stuff they had given that the first day I met the birthday boy was when he and his grandma came into the community centre to ask for clothes!
I had been told more or less what to expect in terms of the dancing but I don´t think I was quite prepared for the overall atmosphere and impact. I´m still processing it all to this day. It was ´day of the children´ here so the funk party was more for them as the bandidos had thrown a party and were giving out lots of presents. Kids were coming out of the school grounds where the party was full to the brim with presents! The baile funk as they are called here are parties that are put on every weekend by the bandidos. This is where they go to have a good time as essentially they are prisoners in the favela. They have their agreement with the police that they are allowed to continue their drug dealing, but their faces are known and they are not allowed to go outside the boundaries of the favela. We as foreigners and volunteers can go to these parties but again, the classic rule of don´t stare. Many people go to these dances and mum´s even take their children. We got there and I don´t even know where to start with what it was like. The smell of people smoking weed was potent, the music was obscene and little girls were dancing like strippers or worse and singing these horrendous lyrics. Not a place in any shape or form for young children....ever.
On Sunday after spending the day inside due to dull English style weather Bea and I decided to go for a walk. We stumbled upon a free concert of a fairly famous Brazilian artist and a baile funk of the old kind in the sister favela next door. Old kind being when the lyrics wern´t just pure filth about women but about good music to dance to, so I´m told. The concert was fun and a woman from the favela next door got talking to me and ended up offering me a beer. That open Brazilian style I love about people here. Afterwards we went to a pago-funk which means a live band first and then the horrible funky music. There were a lot more armed men at this one and at one point a van turned up with about ten armed men in. I was like I´m sorry are we at war or at a party?
The irony of these baile funky is that you can go there and dance pretty much like a whore but if the bandidos catch you kissing someone, they will tell you off and tell you that that kind of thing is not done here, which is exactly what was done with a previous volunteer. There are so many teenage mums here as well that again it just all seems a bit ridiculous It also makes me sick that the bandidos gave out so many presents as if they were good people and helping children when they put them in danger everyday and use children to run errands and start them on this trail of destruction. It is also ironic that there is a police station within metres of the entrance into the favela but they only appear here to collect their bribe. I know the day I see the police in the favela is the day I will run home because they are who scare me most within here.
painting hair, gun, surreal
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