The concert on Saturday night was a gift from Stefano Bottoni to the students of the ICBIE and the Ribeira community. Fred Menendez and his band brilliantly accompanied Stefano’s performance, even though they had never played together before. Their show was yet another fine example of the ICBIE’s outreach, merging foreign artists with the local population: even Mestre Pedro, his daughter Patrizia and a group of his capoeira troupe attended.
During the last weekend of August, two major events (announced in the previous post) kept everyone very busy. The two-day workshops of the Fundaçao Cultural do Estado da Bahia (FUNCEB) were serious affairs, dealing with the complex procedures that must be followed, in order to create and realize cultural projects. Using both the big front classroom and the computer laboratory, the large group of participants, which included artists but also people with widely diverse backgrounds, received precise information on how to elaborate a cultural project, following all the steps necessary, from the first ideas to the concrete formulation of projects, and then from the application for funds to the final stage: successfully putting the project into action. This state-sponsored service is circulating throughout the Bahia state, forming grassroots movements to nurture Bahia’s astounding cultural richness, a treasure which has often lain dormant under a shroud of poverty and abuse. The ICBIE is proud to have hosted this laudable initiative.
Jumping straight from theory to practice, Sunday morning’s spectacle at Mestre Pedro’s burned-out center reunited different schools of capoeira, performing together. Mestre Pedro and his sons also did a presentation of karate, and later there was more capoeira, with a wild roda, where everyone, young and old, joined in. This big Sunday show was made even more special by the presence of a TV troupe. They filmed the whole event!
Meanwhile, oblivious of these wonderful ICBIE activities, the cacao pods in our back garden became fully ripe, and for Lu (and all Bahians close to the earth and its complex rhythms), this is the sure sign that spring has come. The wet Bahian winter is over.
(And that’s a bitter taste of optimism for Marcella, Giovanna, Guido, Cinzia and Roy, who have returned to the northern hemisphere! As consolation, these words by Caetano Veloso: No coração da mata gente quer prosseguir/Quer durar, quer crescer/Gente quer luzir.)
Visita all’Accademia di Mestre Pedro Pe´ de Ferro
Ass. Filhos do Sol Nascente
(English translation below)
Nel problemático quartiere Uruguay della Città Bassa di Salvador sorge un’isola felice. Vi si insegna rispetto per il prossimo, onestà e disciplina sportiva ed artistica. Ormai consolidati amici dell’ICBIE Mestre Pedro, i suoi figli e tutti i membri dell’Associazione Filhos do Sol Nascente continuano a stupirci per la loro integrità morale, la loro dedizione al bene della comunità, la loro fede nell’educazione di piccoli ed adulti.
Cortesemente scortati da uno dei tanti nipoti di Mestre Pedro, domenica mattina siamo giunti presso la loro Academia dove si stava svolgendo un batezado di capoeira per i piu piccoli. Tanti tanti e tanti bambini riuniti per ricevere la loro corda gialla, primo scalino nella classifica dei praticanti di Capoeira. C’era veramente tanta gente in festa, tanti maestri giunti anche dalle altre scuole per partecipare all’evento e condividere la gioia e la vitalità di questa affascinante disciplina a meta strada tra arte marziale e danza. L’atmosfera era coinvolgente e il ritmo di birimbao, pandero e tutti gli altri strumenti musicali travolgente, anche io e Giovanna (novelle apprendiste del professor Raio – figlio di Mestre Pedro) ci siamo cimentate nel gioco della capoeira, sottolineando in questo modo ancora una volta l’inferiorità atletica di noi europei!!!! Per non parlare di quando siamo state invitate a partecipare alla roda de samba a conclusione della mattinata….come poter competere con ¨as bundas brasileiras¨???? (ndr. I sederi brasiliani).
A parte le nostre performance è stato davvero emozionante partecipare ad un simile evento, sentirsi le ben venute e ben accolte, parlare con Mestre Pedro di cio che cercano di fare con i pochi mezzi a loro disposizione e con un lavoro del tutto volontario per la comunità del quartiere. Nell’edificio (devo dire bisognoso di una forte e decisiva ristrutturazione) oltre a corsi di capoeira si svolgono corsi di arti marziali, laboratori di artigianato per la realizzazione di oggetti in cocco, per la realizzazione di strumenti musicali, corso di taglio e cucito, danza e musica di vario genere, ecc. Inoltre l’Associazione offre un servizio di dopo scuola, tutto con l’obiettivo di togliere i bambini ed i giovani dalla strada, creare gruppo ed unione per combattere il fenomeno dell’emarginazione sociale tanto diffusa in quartieri come questo. La gioia di Mestre Pedro è visibile e tangibile quando ci dice che la ricompensa maggiore per il suo lavoro è quella di avere la consapevolezza di poter evitare che questi bambini - che ora frequentano l’academia - spaccino ed usino droga, girino armati compiendo crimini di vario genere, perdano la loro infanzia ed adolescenza in una vita fatta di violenza e sorprusi. E domenica lo abbiamo capito bene la ricompensa che puo dare il volto felice e sorridente dei bambini e dei ragazzi che frequentano l’academia. Anche noi se pur straniere e solo di passaggio ci siamo sentite per qualche ora parte di una comunità e di un gruppo, cosi come si sentono i ragazzi dell’Associazione. Credo che proprio il sentirsi parte di un gruppo sia il risultato piu importante che Mestre Pedro potesse raggiungere per bambini ed adolescenti del posto….sentirsi uniti da un’idea comune allontana sicuramente dalla solitudine e dall’emarginazione.
Per chi vuole saperne di piu sul lavoro dell’associazione, oltre ai vari articoli apparsi anche sul nostro blog, questo è uno dei link piu aggiornati: http://www.cammpi.org.br/.
Intanto io auguro all’Associazione di continuare con il suo egregio lavoro e soprattutto di trovare sempre nuovo appoggio e sostegno per portare avanti i suoi progetti.
Marcella
A Visit to the Academy of Mestre Pedro Pe´ de Ferro
Ass. Filhos do Sol Nascente
There is a bright spot in the midst of the problematic Uruguai district of Salvador’s cidade baixa. A place where they teach respect for one’s neighbor and honesty, as well as artistic and athletic discipline. Mestre Pedro, his children, and all the members of the Filhos do Sol Nascente Association, who are, by now, long-standing friends of the ICBIE, continue to amaze us with their moral integrity, their dedication to the community’s well-being, and their faith in education, for both kids and adults.
On Sunday morning, courteously chauffeured by one of Mestre Pedro’s many grandchildren, we arrived at their Academy in the middle of a batezado de capoeira for the youngest kids. A horde of children were assembled because they were receiving their yellow cords, representing the first level of Capoeira art. There was a really big crowd in a festive mood, with many masters from other schools, to better celebrate the event and augment the joy and the vitality of this fascinating discipline, halfway between a martial art and a dance. With the inclusive atmosphere and the rhythm of the berimbao, the pandero and all the other amazing musical instruments, even Giovanna and I (greenhorn students of professor Raio - Mestro Pedro’s son) were drawn into the capoeira performance, as if to underline yet again the athletic inferiority of us Europeans!!! Not to mention when we were invited to join the roda de samba at the end of the morning…how are we supposed to compete with ¨as bundas brasileiras¨???? (the Brazilian booties).
Besides our performance, it was really thrilling to be a part of such an event, feeling so warmly welcomed and able to speak with Mestro Pedro regarding everything he is trying to do, with so little support, and with only a volunteer workforce, to help the local community. In his building (which, I have to say, needs a major and decisive restructuring), they hold courses of capoeira and martial arts, they operate workshops where handicrafts are made from coconut shells, they make musical instruments, and teach sewing, dance and various music lessons. Furthermore, the Association offers after-school activities, entirely aimed at keeping children off the streets, to create a unified group in order to combat the rampant sense of abandoment and solitude that plagues their impoverished neighborhood. We could almost see and touch Mestre Pedro’s joy, when he told us that the biggest reward for his work is knowing that he is helping these kids to avoid using or selling drugs, carrying guns and committing crimes of all types: activities that rob them of their childhoods, in a life of violence and abuse. And on Sunday we really understood the satisfaction that can come from the happy and smiling faces of the academy’s youngsters. Even as strangers who make a temporary visit, for a few hours we felt like we were part of a community, just like the Association’s kids feel. I think Mestro Pedro’s most important achievement lies in just that: making kids understand that they are part of a group, united by a common ideal that banishes solitude and the frightening sense of abandonment.
If you would like to learn more about the association’s work, other than the various articles here on our blog, here is one of the most up-to-date links: http://www.cammpi.org.br/.
With that, I wish the Association well, that it may continue its distinguished work and above all, may always succeed in finding renewed support for its noble projects.
Marcella
The ever-growing ICBIE network is producing news that comes from many different places, and there’s never a dull moment. The operation in Salvador and the people in Rome are constantly cooking up new initiatives, and then there are other developments spattered across the globe: it’s clear evidence of a remarkable rush of vitality.
The first item of note regards the most faithful ICBIE student, Ricardo Gramoza, who everyone knows as “Bogus.” Not only has he been with us from the very start, but he is the most stalwart of all our kids. He takes nearly all the courses that are offered, and he has become our most valuable helper. Bogus loves to drive, and so he’s always ready to take off for the airport to pick up and deliver our guests, or to run errands and do the shopping. He is the best student of Italian, and now, after nearly four years of lessons and conversation with our many Italian visitors, he has developed a love of Italian cinema, and often stays up all night watching two or three films from Pietro’s impressive collection. He is good with technology, and helps with the computers and video equipment, and he operates the projector in the Cineforum. To honor his dedication, Pietro has arranged a wonderful prize for him: a trip to Italy! Building upon the experience of Julio and Bigode’s trip, a long list of Italian friends have both contributed for his air fare and offered hospitality for him. He will arrive in Milan on December 12, the starting point for a whirlwind tour of northern Italy, with stops in Verbania and Reggio Emilia before descending the boot to Rome. For Christmas week, our faithful supporter Marcella will take him all the way down to Ostuni, her beautiful hometown in Puglia, then it’s back to Rome for ten days (with an excursion to Naples) before a second trip north, including Siena, Bologna, Modena, Reggio Emilia (again), Venice, Bassano del Grappa and Milan, until February 11th, when he returns to Salvador. After the success of Julio and Bigode, we are delighted to welcome this new ICBIE ambassador to Italy.
The second bit of news regards the growing presence of the ICBIE on the web. Thanks to an old Italian friend, Marco Chelo, we have built a solid presence on JustOneTV, a community based media site in Harlem that has an extremely popular “Afro” niche, where all news regarding the African diaspora is heartily welcomed. Besides a main ICBIE page (link), there are others dedicated to Julio and Bigode (who dream of visiting New York someday soon) (link), to Mestre Pedro (link) and to our dear painter-benefactor Ele D’Artagnan (link). JustOneTV is a great place to put photos, videos and articles, and all of our friends are welcome to upload fresh material. For future reference, you can find the JustOneTV link in the right hand sidebar, in the group under the banner “ICBIE on the Web.” There are also two new ICBIE videos on YouTube, one dedicated to Mestre Pedro (link) and the other to D’Artagnan (link), and the permanent links are in the same sidebar, but higher up, under the banner “Pages.”
Finally, a word of encouragement for the courageous launch of ICBIE promotion and fundraising in Germany. Thanks to the unflagging efforts of Steve Whitton, the ICBIE story has been translated into German and printed in a sweet brochure. Steve is a core member of Lahn Artists, an artists’ collective in Limburg, and they are holding their annual exhibition from Nov. 30 to Dec. 16. ICBIE information will be disseminated (and donations will be gratefully accepted). Viel Glück, Steve!
As promised, the new video of last Friday’s capoeira exhibition is up on YouTube. Nearly nine minutes long, it’s packed with amazing stunts from Mestre Pedro’s crew. If you watch it to the end, you get the rare treat of seeing Pietro and Marlene dance the samba! As before, there is a direct link in the Pages column to the right, or use the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D2XELx
Please tell your friends about it!
Roy Zimmerman
After two intense months traveling around Europe - between D’Artagnan exhibits, “musical interludes”, meetings with artists, contacts and agreements for the ICBIE, fund-raising, including the dream of constructing a cinema/theater for Ribeira, and finally, a failed attempt to sell some land in Italy, to raise enough money to begin building the theater - here I am back in Salvador. I found things tranquil and under control, with Daniele Dattilo busy on both fronts of his English and French lessons. Marlene is exuberantly taking care of her Italian class. The computer courses are solidly underway. The outstanding Hapkido course, taught by Maestro Augusto; and for our Italian guests, the samba and capoeira courses have an exceptional teacher, Patricia, the daughter of Mestre Pedro, capoeira master of the Alagados favela (who is currently in bad health, and it looks like we will have to try and help him). Maddalena, along with Lorenza are organizing a cycle of Italian Cuisine Tuesdays, explaining the basic elements of our culinary art, followed by the description of typical Mediterranean recipes.
Right now, about a hundred people are frequenting our institute: students, volunteers, teachers and guests. This is already a terrific success, given that we never seriously advertised or promoted our activities, beyond the odd poster or bulletin tacked to our wall, or maybe a few flyers distributed locally, or simply by the word of mouth.
To be honest, I also have to talk about the less-than-positive aspects. I have noticed that the choral singing course had a bumpy ride during my absence, because my substitute had some family and health problems. Now it is urgent to get the situation back under control, and from the first of September, get the loose ends tied back together and reconstruct the group spirit. Our other sticking point is the snail’s pace of progress in cataloging our library collection, caused by a lack of both money and adequate personnel.
Here in Brazil, the 20th of July marks the beginning of winter holidays (the equivalent of our Christmas), and schools close for 20/25 days. We, too, will close a few courses, mainly in order to give more space to our numerous guests (part of our activity as an art hostel) who will be coming for their summer vacations during late July and all of August. We’re already booked full! Some of our guests are volunteers who will assist us in various small jobs and projects, according to their resources and special talents.
Regular courses will begin again in September, continuing until December/January, our second semester.
Personally, I have decided to make an exception to the closure of nearly everything, because our good man Bogus has done an extraordinary job in transferring old video cassettes into DVDs, so starting next week, we’re beginning a mini-series, open to the public, showing artistically significant films every Saturday at 5:30 PM.
Greetings to all,
PIETRO GALLINA
(translation by Roy Zimmerman)
Dopo due mesi di viaggi europei intensissimi - tra mostre di D’Artagnan, “musical interludes”, contatti con artisti, contatti e accordi per l’ICBIE, ricerca di fondi, incluso il sogno della costruzione del cinema-teatro alla Ribeira e per ultimo una vendita andata a male di un terreno in Italia per appunto porre la prima pietra del cineteatro in questione - eccomi di nuovo a Salvador. Ho trovato un’atmosfera tranquilla con Daniele Dattilo impegnato sui due fronti delle lezioni di inglese e francese. Marlene esuberante nell’organizazzione e nella cura del suo corso di italiano. I corsi di informatica di base ben avviati. Il corso di Hapkido del maestro Augusto esemplare, samba e capoeira per ospiti italiani realizzato dalla eccezionale Patricia, figlia di Mestre Pedro degli Alagados (il quale versa in cattiva salute e bisognerà aiutarlo) e Maddalena con Lorenza che stanno organizzando i martedì della cucina italiana proponendo alcuni elementi base della nostra arte culinaria facendo seguire la spiegazione di ricette tipiche mediterranee.
Tra alunni, studenti volontari, professori e ospiti circolano nel nostro istituto al momento quasi un centinaio di persone nell’istituto. E questo è un bel traguardo non avendo ancora mai usato mezzi di promozione e pubblicità se non i cartelloni e gli annunci sui muri dell’istituto o attraverso foglietti e depliant distribuiti nelle vicinanze o tam tam effetuati da amici e parenti.
Per essere onesto devo parlare anche di aspetti non proprio positivi: ho notato che il corso di canto corale si è mosso a singhiozzo sia per la mia mancanza, sia perché il mio sostituto ha avuto alcuni problemi di famiglia e di salute. Ora urge riprendere in mano la situazione e a partire dal 1 settembre ricompattare gli elementi dispersi o demotivati dall’andamento altalenante precario. L’altra spina su cui ancora ci sentiamo impotenti è la lentezza con cui la Biblioteca tenta di tenere il passo ai ritmi della catalogazione, pure questi intermittenti a seconda delle risorse economiche e del personale a disposizione.
Verso il 20 luglio qui in Brasile ci saranno le vacanze invernali simili alle nostre vacanze di Natale. Circa 20/25 giorni di chiusura delle scuole. Anche noi chiuderemo alcuni corsi e ciò per dare più spazio e attenzione ai numerosi ospiti (nella nostra attività dell’ art hostel) che arriveranno per le loro vacanze estive a fine luglio e tutto agosto. Siamo già al pieno delle prenotazioni. Alcuni verranno in veste di volontari cercando di aiutarci in piccoli lavori a seconda delle loro possibilità e specialità .
I corsi regolari riprenderanno da settembre fino a dicembre/gennaio considerato il secondo semestre.
Personalmente avrei deciso di fare un’eccezione alla chiusura di quasi tutto, giacchè Bogus è stato straordinario nel trasferire VHS in DVD di meravigliosi film, e dunque cominciare una miniserie di proiezioni cinematografiche artisticamente significative, fissando l’appuntamento a sala aperta al pubblico a partire dalla prossima settimana, ogni sabato alle ore 17,30.
Saluti a tutti!
PIETRO GALLINA
A large part of the ICBIE’s financial support has come from the paintings of Ele D’Artagnan, the eccentric artist who befriended Pietro from earliest childhood. Pietro inherited all his works when the maestro died in 1987, and since then, he has worked to establish a posthumous reputation for him, as a precious testimonial of the Dolce Vita days of Cinecittà . The success of Pietro’s campaign culminated in the famous New York showing in 2003, when the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) grabbed a handful of the best paintings, causing their market value to skyrocket (and our ICBIE dreams to materialize).
In a few days, the most important showing of D’Artagnan art works ever held in Europe will take place in Amsterdam, thanks to the efforts of a wonderful lady named Ella Arps, who Pietro met in Salvador, where she was seeking to help the Alagados, the awful favelas built on stilts over the bay, about a mile away from the ICBIE. Their encounter began ICBIE’s rapport with the venerable capoeira master, Mestre Pedro, and led to Ella’s passion for D’Artagnan.
The Amsterdam show will be a week long festival held in various venues, under the august auspices of the Italian Cultural Institute, where, on June 7, Pietro Gallina will give a lecture, presenting his biography Ai margini della dolce vita: Il pittore/attore Ele D’Artagnan. The evening will also include the projection of D’Artagnan filmclips and a live concert dedicated to Nino Rota, Fellini’s musical alter-ego. On June 10, the Film Museum of the Vondelpark will show more D’Artagnan filmclips, together with integral projections of both Amarcord and the amazing short film Toby Dammit.
The Arps Gallery website has all the information about the exhibit in English. Just go to www.arpsgallery.com, and remember to tell your art-loving friends.
Complete information (in Italian) from the Italian Institute of Culture can be found here.
By the way, Pietro’s biography is also, rightly, the first book to be published by the newborn ICBIE Editore. (Beware of ICBIE’s omnipresent conglomerate tentacles!)