Down To It

(Written May 7, second day in Brazil)

Well, my iTunes collection is several songs richer, with some music that I’d really rather not have! It’s ironic that I’m unable to connect to the internet given that I'm reasonably computer-savvy, yet Fabricio figured out in just a few minutes how to connect his cell phone to my computer via Bluetooth. He has a lot of music on his cell and he wanted to share a lot with me. I tried to take notes as we went along, but they are spotty. Obviously, I’ll have to look into some of this music a bit more.

One of his favorite types of music is a relatively new style (the ‘00s) called arrocha, I presume it’s derived from the noun “arrocho,” which means both a “squeeze” and a “predicament,” and/or the verb arrochar, which means to tighten up. I already know a word for tighten, “apertar,” which is used in the context of lids of jars and such, and a word for squeeze, “espremer,” used in the context of squeezing limes (a process I just completed for my drink!). So I would guess that the style arrocha is a play on words, meaning both a “squeeze” as in “my main squeeze” and/or a “predicament” as in, “I have two girlfriends, what a predicament.” Obviously the lyrics are centered around love and loss, relationships, and the trouble they bring.

Fabricio gave me songs by the following artists:
Vanessa Da Mata
Flavio José (a representative of a more contemporary forró de serra sound)
Ademário Coelho (forró)
Cavaleiros de Forró (a group) – a song called “Espere não va” or “I wish you wouldn’t go”
Lazaro (formerly a member of Olodum, but left the group to do “gospel” music) – a song called “Deus vai fazer” or “God is going to do it”
Aline Barros – song “Recomeça” or “Start over”

And two songs that he didn’t know the artist for:
“Faço um milagre em mim” or “Make a/one miracle in/for me”
“Deus de aliança” or “God of alliance” (but also “God of wedding ring”)

He also sent me a video/song from the Mel Gibson movie, Passion of the Christ. I’m not sure if this song is actually used in the movie, or if clips from the movie are simple used to illustrate the meaning of the song. The song is presumably called “Passion of Christ” but that just might be from where he downloaded it off YouTube.

Rounding out this strange mix of music, although not transferred to my computer, were several rap songs by people from here in Salvador. He says they have a radically different style from rap found down south. Then, after we caught the bus to Lapa and were walking the ½ mile or so to ITEBA, he drew my attention to a lot of the music he heard coming from vendors along the road, including a group from Pirajá who are apparently one of the most popular Pagode style groups in the city/country.

We talked a little while about what he considers more important in music, the lyrics or the melody. He definitely favors very melodic (what he calls “sweet” or “suave” music) with a slower tempo, but when asked this either-or question he quickly responded that he pays more attention to the lyrics. In other words, he learns the words and then decides to download the song, which I think is very similar to what most American youth do when they look for music for their collection. (Incidentally, this has always been anathema to me. I personally tend to only pay attention to the non-vocal elements of popular music—rhythm, melody, harmony, etc. It was only after I bought albums, such as the Beatles, Jethro Tull, or King Crimson, that I began to pay attention to their lyrics. I tend to buy a second album by an artist based more on the poetic lyrical language and/or philosophy of an artist, but it almost never comes into consideration in my first impression of songs.

One of the most interesting things we discussed today was his interest in “gospel” music. Gospel, to Fabricio, is what we would call Contemporary Christian music. Almost all of it is keyboard-based, with simple harmonies and flowing melodies. I asked him if anyone else in his family (or his friends) liked this kind of music and he said no. Apparently, he has become enamored with the Igreja do Reino do Christo, which is the infamous mega-church whose founder was indicted on tax evasion charges a couple of years ago. The church is still going strong, and their “temple” here in Salvador easily holds 7000 people. Fabricio’s local congregation (I was surprised to hear he actually attends church) is about 200 or 300 people, still quite large compared to the tiny Presbyterian congregations we’ve encountered here. I told him I would go to church with him sometime, which I’m sure will be a test of my acting ability.

Speaking of ACTING…Today’s conversation has really made me think about the challenges I’ll encounter as I walk beside my young friends here. As a friend, I almost feel compelled to challenge their ideas, especially their religious ideas. However, as a researcher, I must be neutral and not reveal my own prejudices (or proclivities) to my friends who are now my informants. This is going to be difficult, since I already have a high degree of contempt for Contemporary Christian music and mega-churches. There is a battle going on here in Brazil for the spiritual souls of its people. The mainline Catholic church, still the largest in Brazil according to their records, is mostly out of touch when it comes to worship and spiritual growth. However, I must add that they are also the leading force when it comes to social justice. But that’s only because their organization is so vast, even a tiny fraction of the Catholic Church devoted to social justice still outnumber the Protestants. The mega-churches, as exhibited most presciently in the Igreja Universal do Reino de Christo, seem to be focused on feeling good, dreaming about a better life to come, and giving people an emotional high that isn’t really based on biblical understanding or theological ideas but rather is focused on the moment. In other words, it’s like going to a rock concert in the U.S. Personally, I don’t find our mega-churches to be any different. When the mega-churches here join forces with the fundamentalist mega-churches of North America, Brazil better watch out! I think they already have the upper hand, and they are clearly against affecting any actual change in the here-and-now.

Coincidentally, when I was in the Miami airport, I was sitting next to a group of three men who were either ministers or elders in some fundamentalist church. I listened in on their conversation and was appalled at what I heard. First of all, one of the men started bad-mouthing the national organization of the Methodist church because of its “liberal” activist mission office. Along the way, he talked about how the liberation theologists only cared about giving guns to revolutionaries (!!!!) and homosexuals, in attempting to gain ordination equality, were infiltrating world missions with their anti-discriminatory message. Naturally, I really wanted to turn to him and tell him that he was sitting next to a liberation theology adherent and homosexual who was about to spend 10 weeks serving in a community center in a favela of Salvador, and that I’d never held a real gun before. However, I was afraid he might turn me in to the authorities as a rabble-rouser. Of course, he is the ultimate rabble-rouser because he, and his ilk, are ultimately going to destabilize the moderately liberal government of Brazil towards a theocratic, paternalistic government. His language was remarkably strategy-oriented, talking about doing an “end-run” around the leftists in Brazil to do “the real work of the church.” Yikes!!!!