Rodrigo won a Grammy!!!!

First off, the news:

1. Bangalafumenga leader Rodrigo Maranhao, my surdo teacher, won a Grammy this week!!! For Best Brazilian Song!! He beat out Gilberto Gil and Chico Buarque! I can't believe it! Actually I can believe it - he's always been a great songwriter (he co-wrote one of my all-time favorites, "Rap do Real") and the level of musicianship that he displays in teaching & leading Banga is extraordinary. It's for "Caminho dos Aguas", a song of his that was recorded by Maria Rita. This is huge news and such a wonderful leap forward for his career. I am soooo pleased for him. Oddly enough I was even there - that was the night I left New York and I was staying right next to Madison Square Garden where the Grammys were happening. I kept having to walk around the side of it for one reason or another, that day and the day before, and saw all the preparations, the red carpets and spotlights, the security guys setting up the fences, the long lines of people starting to form. But I'd had no idea that Rodrigo was nominated.

PARABENS, RODRIGO!!!

2. And, I was emailing Junior Teixeira today about tamborim stuff. He's one of Mangueira's tamborim leaders. And he confirmed the rumors I'd heard earlier: Mangueira is now accepting women into the bateria. This year for the first time. WOW. Hell has frozen over! I never thought I'd see the day. At last I will be able to get close enough to see what the hell that caixa pattern is. I probably can't play well enough for Mangueira - but I'm sure as hell going to go to their technical rehearsals and watch.


And my Saturday night update:
After the Escola Portatil, I was planning to go to an escola that night, but got hijacked when I discovered Bangalafumenga had a show! At the Teatro Odisseia in Lapa. Made my way down there - caught the very last subway car of the night at 11:59pm. The Odisseia was completely packed - Banga's drawing a big crowd these days. (I didn't yet know about Rodrigo's Grammy.) I was originally planning to swing by Mangueira afterwards, but in typical Rio style, Banga didn't even go on till 12:30am, and I was there till 3am. Shouldn't have let that keep me from Mangueira, but I've got to work Sunday....

In Lapa I was feeling a bit out of place at first. Brazil in general, and Lapa on a Saturday night in particular, can do that to me. The Odisseia seemed filled with a sea of identical 5'5" honey-skinned 21-year-old girls, all with identical long, shining brunette hair carefully laced with identical blonde highlights and in identical flippy little skirts and (nearly) identical haltertops. I always feel a foot too tall, two decades too old, and very much alone. And the roar of the music and crush of the crowd make it completely impossible to understand anybody. In Lapa I have to revert to "Descuple, eu nao falo portugues".

But I cheered up when I got a big smile from Dudu, Banga's tamborim leader - while he was in the middle of surprising me with a beautiful conga solo (I had no idea he could play conga). (Later he asked hopefully "You'll come and play with us again?" and seemed delighted when I said yes.) Then a guy I squished past in the crowd made me feel a little better by grabbing my hand and giving me an elaborately courtly kiss on the back of the hand, and a bow, apparently for no other reason than that I had squished past him. Ah, Brasil.

Then I spotted a clump of people waving frantically at me from clear across the hall. I couldn't see who it was, but thought I recognized one of the Banga players, so I pushed my way partway there, but got roadblocked and then completely physically jammed in a thick clump of people. I felt felt someone grab my hand and literally yank me the rest of the way - pulling me bodily clear across the floor, out from the clump of people, POP, and almost off my feet. it was one of the Banga surdo players, a powerfully built guy who could probably have lifted me over his head if he'd wanted to. He pulled me right into a huge hug of Banga players that included my friend Olivia and some of the Banga tamborims. They seemed so pleased to see me!! It was such a sweet welcome back. Olivia and I almost couldn't let go of each other, we were so happy to see each other again. She said, "How long were you gone? It seems like you were just here last week!" She'd echoed my thoughts exactly. It seems like just a week ago.

I stayed and danced all night, cheered with everybody else when Rodrigo announced "Gracas a Deus, eu ganhei um grammy! Um GRAMMY!!!" He was visibly beside himself with the delight and amazement of it and I was so happy for him. Had a beer, got tipsy. Couldn't stop following the third-surdo patterns in my head to every song Rodrigo sang - he's arranged Banga bateria patterns for every song and apparently I remember I almost all of them. The Banga tamborim players beside me tapping out the tamborim patterns. Couldn't understand anything anybody said. Staggered to bed at last, happy.