We had a late show last night, with chaos on the production end, as usual. Maybe it's due to cultural differences, or maybe to language gaps, but the theaters sound better than on previous tours, so I'm thankful. In Rio and SP, I was thrilled that all those musicians and various other types attended — even Fernando Meirellies, co-director of City Of God, came to the SP show, I was told. I am playing to my peers, which wasn't often happening before, as I'd often be in the "wrong" venues. I wonder if the fact that Caetano invited me to appear with him on MTV (and covered a Talking Heads song on his last CD) helped to legitimize me here?
Today we all slept late and then went to a churrascaria and OD'd on meat. There was a live "country" band in this massive meat emporium near the center of town — "country" meaning vaguely gaucho music, sort of like Tex-Mex. There are no foreigners here; it's not a beautiful city. But there is a floor show, where gaucho dancers in regional costumes dance in boots and spurs.
Mauro's family is here. They live in a nearby town. They all go to a football game along with some of our bunch. I went to one in Salvador once and there's a wonderful vibe. In Salvador, the fans bring drums — massive surdu's — to the stands and rev up a massive groove when their team goes on the offensive.
