The above are the names of two American girls that I met here (in Rio). On saturday night, I wanted to take a break from my usual hang out buddies (hmmm… this can be understood as them being a little bit sick and tired of me lol) and asked them to plan the night and that I would just follow along.
At first, we were meant to attend a concert that would take place in Lagoa, a neighborhood to Ipanama, but the show got cancelled.
The plan B was to go in downtown to join with another friend of theirs then head into a favela to a home/tavern/pub. I don’t know how to describe that place (Casa 66, its name) but it’s basically someone’s home that becomes a social gathering place.
The host, I forgot his name, has a fascinating life story. He was a 70s war correspondent and did work in conflicts in the Middle East and got some fascinating scoops and exclusive footage. If I followed the story correctly, he eventually ended up in Rio where he elected domicile in a favela and I have no idea how he managed but the gangsters and drug lords that make favelas dangerous ended up leaving the place making it safer for the population.
I really will have to dig deeper into this story because it seems like one straight out of those adventure novels.
We took a cab to Casa 66 right deep into a favela. Favelas are usually built on a hill so you have to drive in circle upwards for a good ten minutes or so… The rest of the trip had to be made on offt as the path in the favelas are too narrow. Needless to say that we stood out like sore fingers… Two white girls, a dude with a guitar and I. I bet that I could have just blended in the scenery but people in the favelas knows who lives there and who does not.
(It makes sense… in my building in Montreal, I can be in the lift and tell if the person in it lives there or not. Not because, I know every single person there but because of subtle signs.)
We eventually got to Casa 66. We got introduced to our host and other bunch of people. It kind of felt weird as the majority of the people were clearly foreigners. A bunch of non locals in the middle of a favela. On the one hand it was kind of cool and on the other, it felt kind of cheesy because it felt as if we all wanted to be able to tell our friends back home that we did hang out in a favela although it was a relatively danger-free one. I am still debating if going there was not a form of arrogance or something in those lines.
At Casa 66, we did hang out, eat and listen to a wonderful Bossa Nova band. I already knew more than 90% of their rendition but to hear them live and with a different twist in a place far from my usual world was very magical. I took some pics that you can see at the gallery. Not many cos I did not see many people with cameras and beside, I really don’t want to go into favelas and take people’s picture. It just feels weird. I remember in a previous life when I was in a less favorable conditions and people would come take pics of the situation. It was not cool at all.
On the other hand, one might say that the world’s need to know… personally though by consideration, I will leave the favelas alone. Some pics from a distance maybe but not getting into people’s lives.
The party lasted until 4 AM and the Ash & Chloé decided that we could just walk back and catch a bus downtown. Now, I have a sense of responsibility and awareness but I assumed that if two girls were suggesting that, there would be no harm. We went down the favela and except for the few errant dogs and drunk people we came across, it was dead quiet. I guess everyone was asleep. My two friends were just talking as loud as they could and they did not seem to have a problem and were as comfortable as one could be in a safe neighborhood.
We eventually ended downtown which was more lively with people still partying and having good old fun. They barely paid attention to us. I wanted to join in and hang out but I was out of cash (I have a hard time figuring out how far money will take me here so I either always have too much money in my wallet or too little).
We took the bus and was looking fwd to a peaceful drive home until a bunch of guys who were obviously going home from partying too climbed on the bus. I was like “Oh merr—credi” cos I knew that things could get out of hand quickly. Chloé was sitting alone so they assumed that she was alone and I was with Ashley. They started eyeing her big time and they got closer to her. I n my mind, I was like “Man, I am going to lose blood or possibly life here tonight!”
Ashley got off at her stop in Copacabana where she lives and Chloé and I moved on along. To our luck, we got off to the same stop as the group of guys. They all looked at me and then Chloé who was next to me and visibly was kind of freaked out. My mind was set… I had an action plan in mind and I was just having a chat with God telling Him that I would maybe get to meet Him in person in a few short minutes.
What happened?
Well, the guys looked at us and walked next to us for a bit and when we turned into our street, they turned in the opposing direction.
The sigh of relief that I had cannot be described well in my own words…
So that was an event filled night we had!
It was great though… i enjoyed myself.
This Monday though, I really have to go declare my presence to the consulate… things could really go wrong here. And I need to learn Portuguese too as not understanding what’s going on around me is a major hurdle….
Sorry for the long post :o) Thanks for reading!
JA's Jibba Jabba 