My Page for Monday, February 15th:

Ahhh, February. 

With every US state (except Hawaii) now having seen winter snow, it might come as a surprise to know that for one day last week, Rio de Janeiro was listed as the second hottest place on Earth. Not surprisingly, sun-loving Cariocas do not view this as Global Warming – they call it summer.

Rio’s heat is expected this time of year; maybe you’ve seen those t-shirts reading “Rio 40 grauss? That’s in centigrade.

This is the heat which fuels Carnaval and after all these years, it’s become a reciprocating action. And like clockwork in the weeks leading up to Brazil’s national event, the rest of the world is nudged into grudging awareness and then watches with combination of awe and envy. We wonder: “Can a whole nation really party that hard?”

Sources report that an estimated 700,000 visitors poured into the “Marvelous City” for Carnaval (“Carnival” in English). The festivities run officially from Feb. 13-16, although the partying starts earlier and ends later. The city claims that 2.5 million people are celebrating in the streets this year, topping an estimated two million merrymakers enjoying the long-established street Carnaval up north in Salvador, Bahia. On Saturday, an astonishing 1.5 million people followed the bloco Cordão da Bola Preta through downtown Rio, according to O Globo newspaper.

Over the years, media outlets like The New York Times and NBC News have made a caricature of the city’s negatives. Poverty, crime, the favela culture – each has taken its turn in the news cycle spotlight when it swings south towards Carnaval.

But this year, the storyline is different, thanks to 7-year old girl named Julia. It began with the Samba School Viradouro when it named Julia Lira as a Carnaval Queen, wound its way through the world press and into the halls of justice, where a Brazilian court ruled against a charge of sexual exploitation.

Reporter Chris McGowen writes that context is important. Brazil has long had Carnaval balls for children and there is a children’s samba parade at the Sambódromo; but when the escolas perform before the public during Carnaval, the atmosphere is ripe with sexuality. Another concern is the physical effort required of a child dancing for eighty minutes in Rio’s wilting heat. Children’s groups like the state’s Council for the Defense of Children and Adolescents complained bitterly and sought to legally block Julia’s appearance with Viradouro, but a judge ruled that she could perform with the escola. This, in spite of the public outrage chronicled in the Brazilian media.

So the young girl has taken her place for Carnaval – in a role that is usually reserved for young, barely covered Brazilian women and celebrities, which this year includes Madonna and Beyoncé , according to this Times of London report.

Julia Lira was chosen to lead the drum corps for the Viradouro samba group and she danced through the Sambadrome stadium after midnight on Sunday cheered by thousands of fans. A family court judge rejected a claim that she risked being sexually exploited, Brazilian media reported.

Madonna, who has been pictured in Rio de Janeiro with her 22-year-old Brazilian boyfriend, and Alicia Keys, who is also in Brazil are part of the scene this year. Beyoncé opened the celebrations in the northeastern city of Salvador on Wednesday with a show in front of 45,000 people. But it is the much younger diva who has been dominating the headlines.

And our sensibilities.

McGowen rightly points out that not every city in Brazil has an intense Carnaval. Some only host relatively tame indoor balls. And people with less carnavalesco souls use the holidays to travel to places where they can relax far from the drums during the day and, if they feel like it, go dancing at night. But between New Year’s Eve and Carnaval nothing really important is decided in Brazil. Quoting a popular Chico Buarque song, most people will say, “I’m saving myself for when Carnaval comes.” During that time, the weather is hot, people become more outgoing, and sensuality is in the air. But amidst all the craziness and frivolity, Carnaval serves the important purpose for Brazilians of maintaining cultural traditions–encoded in the music, dance, and costumes of the celebrations across the country.

Carnaval is a canvas across which the country’s values and issues are displayed, as evidenced by the themes chosen by the escolas, the presence of a seven-year-old girl dancing before Viradouro’s drum section in 2010, and the reactions to the mayor’s attempts to change some long-standing customs and bring order as Brazil seems on the verge of achieving its great potential.

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While it’s true that the annual edition of Rio’s Sambas de Enredo Carnaval songs can no longer but found easily here in the US, you can still revel in the musical energy that propels theses gargantuan groups of dancers, paraders and party-goers – often numbering into the thousands.

The CD is released just before the holiday season by LIESA, the Rio Carnaval organization – and proceeds go back directly to the neighborhoods for next year’s programs. Universal Music stopped importing the CDs several years ago, but Connectbrazil.com has a nice collection of previous season for you to browse through – along with a few more Samba suggestions – by clicking here.

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If Brazil’s Carnaval has disappointed some this year, so too have the Grammy awards in recent years. Perhaps this is due to the emergence of the Latin Grammy Awards, where Brazil plays the role of the perennial bridesmaid. This year was no exception, with a scant handful of nominees. We held hope for Luciana Souza, whose high profile with the Grammys represented Brazil’s best chance.

But the program, which over the decades has honored Brazilian stars like Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento and Gilberto Gil for the World Music categories has not offered the same opportunities to Brazil’s current crop of musicians, and that’s a shame.

And while the Latin Grammy organization really works to give Brazil a fair amount of coverage, the truth is that there is simply no way the Portuguese-speaking nation can compete against Lingua Hispaniola – the best of my knowledge no Brazilian sing has ever been nominated for Latin Grammy Song of the Year.

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February marks the debut of our Free “Featured Album of The Month” at Connectbrazil.com. Each month, we’ll offer a premium Brazilian CD for free when you purchase two or more CDs.

This time, we’re bringing you a beautiful voice and guitar album from Maria Alvim and Rick Udler, whose title matches our February theme – ‘Rhythm & Romance’. A purely acoustic recording, Alvim and Udler created a Brazilian classic when the album was first released in 1998. And although both the duo and the record label have moved on, we have a limited quantity for you to add to your collection. Just click here to explore the album.

It’s our way of taking some of the sting out of this stubborn economy – think of it as a ‘bail-out’ plan for Brazilian music fans.  It’s as simple as 1-2-3!

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2010 has gotten off to a running start for newcomer Patricia Talem. Her self-titled debut album released on our Points South Music label in July, followed by her first US tour and media blitz. She gave us a free download song for Christmas and has been touring extensively throughout Brazil and South America.

Now, she’s been nominated for two Brazilian International Press awards, underscoring her impressive arrival as a Brazilian singer.  The awards are slated for later this Spring – and I hear that Patricia Talem will be back in the US soon to begin recording her sophomore album!

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Musical musings:

By Mayoral decree, both Funk and Rap have been banned during Carnaval week. A mayor of a Brazilian town has banned Carnival revelers from playing funk or rap music during the traditionally free-wheeling celebrations that kick off around the country on Friday.

Mayor Jose Neto of Sao Lourenco in southeastern Minas Gerais state told Globo television he was banning songs that incite violence and disrespect authority and wanted to protect more traditional Carnival music, such as samba.  Anyone caught listening to funk — a pounding beat often with sexual lyrics popular in Rio de Janeiro’s slums — or rap during the Carnival period would have to turn it off or face arrest and up to six months in prison, he reportedly said. “They are mass gatherings that demand better coordination, control and security that a public festival like Carnival doesn’t allow us to adopt,” Neto told Globo TV.

Funk music has long been frowned upon by police and city authorities in Rio and faced crackdowns because of its association with slum gangs who use parties to sell drugs. But the music form, which originated in U.S. slums in the late 1960s, has increasingly found a mainstream following in Brazil and as far away as Europe. (Reuters)

Here’s more on that story about Alicia Keys and Beyonce: They are shooting Put It In A Love Song in Brazil. But, Beyonce’s second concert in Brazil ended with a gun fight as the singer was hustled away. The pop superstar – who had jetted into Salvador from Rio de Janeiro to sing her hits to fans – had been performing to a 30,000-strong audience, but the night ended in terror when police had to open fire on teenagers who had been shooting at people waiting for taxis to get home.

The 29-year-old pop star was not hurt in the incident, and there were no serious injuries. Beyonce has been in the country for the past week shooting the new video for her and Alicia Keys’ forthcoming single ‘Put It In A Love Song’ and to perform a handful of concerts. The ‘Halo’ singer spent much of yesterday sightseeing in Rio de Janeiro and visited the city’s famous Christ The Redeemer statue. However, she was mobbed by other tourists as she tried to catch a glimpse of the 130ft landmark. (Female First)

Brazilian singer Luciana Souza brought down the house in Milwaukee this weekend. The Sao Paulo native, whose performances, recordings and collaborations have won global acclaim, was accompanied by guitarist Romero Lumbabo and percussionist Cyro Baptista for her captivating, hour-and-45-minute set.

And finally, When it comes to Salvador Bahia, Trio Elétrico is King. 2010 is a milestone year: Think of a roving band on a float – originated in 1950 on the bed of a 1929 Model T Ford truck – and paraded throughout Salvador Bahia, equipped with a high power sound system. The Trio Eletrico’s performance of Frevo marks one of the first and most chapters in the history of Brazilian music and will be commemorated as “60 years of the Electric Trio,” the theme for Salvador’s Carnaval this year!