Now that I am in Jaraguá do Sul, I have to "go with the flow". Enéias has made all the arrangements. I follow him around to wherever he needs to go, and meet all the people who want to meet me.
It's like our week in Adelaide, but the situation is reversed. There, I took Enéias around with me wherever I went. Preparing for the show in my home town, I was responsible for everything. I had to maintain total control. There was so much going on that my brain nearly burst. The singing was just one of many things that needed to my attention.
Now, Enéias is in charge. He dictates where and when we will perform. He directs the style of music. I happily surrender to it. All I have to do is sing and be nice to people. I can do that. Is this what it's like when you have a manager to look after your business affairs?
He has arranged for a journalist to come to the hotel to interview us. It's not clear when this will occur. The day before our first performance, while we are having lunch, he takes a phone call. The interview will be in an hour's time. We go back to the hotel. I change my clothes, and start thinking about what I might say about the show.
The journalist, Heloíse, arrives. The three of us sit on a couch in the hotel lobby. The interview is entirely in Portuguese. To commence, I manage to construct a couple of simple sentences with diplomatic intent: "I am very happy to be here"; "Jaraguá is a lovely city".
Enéias does most of the talking, but I have to follow the conversation in case they suddenly ask me what I think. And Heloíse has questions for me. "What is the connection between the two of you?" "How long have you been singing?" "What attracted you to Brazilian music?" She comments that Bossa Nova is no longer a popular style of music in Brazil. Young people prefer to listen to "rap" music. Bossa has an elite image; it's the sort of music that you would have to pay a lot of money to hear in a theatre. Enéias says we are going to make it relevant by performing in the open air, in a free show for the public.
The interview goes for half an hour. I have to concentrate intensely. We talk about Enéias' visit to Australia in February, and that this is my first visit to Brazil.
Heloíse asks me what I have most enjoyed about Jaragua. I think for a moment. I've been here for one day and haven't seen all that much yet. I tell her that we have a beautiful view from our hotel room window. I say that there is a "boa vista" outside our hotel window. The room looks out onto a mountain and a river bounded by trees.
It turns out I'm absolutely right. The mountain outside our room is called Boa Vista.
A photographer arrives, and asks us to sing something, while he takes some pictures. Then we go outside and have more photos taken in the hotel garden.
Next day we are featured in two local newspapers. One article is titled "Intercambio Musical" (musical exchange") and the other proclaims "Bossa nova com sotaque australiano" (Bossa nova with an Australian accent").
Both headlines are perfect.
It's like our week in Adelaide, but the situation is reversed. There, I took Enéias around with me wherever I went. Preparing for the show in my home town, I was responsible for everything. I had to maintain total control. There was so much going on that my brain nearly burst. The singing was just one of many things that needed to my attention.
Now, Enéias is in charge. He dictates where and when we will perform. He directs the style of music. I happily surrender to it. All I have to do is sing and be nice to people. I can do that. Is this what it's like when you have a manager to look after your business affairs?
He has arranged for a journalist to come to the hotel to interview us. It's not clear when this will occur. The day before our first performance, while we are having lunch, he takes a phone call. The interview will be in an hour's time. We go back to the hotel. I change my clothes, and start thinking about what I might say about the show.
The journalist, Heloíse, arrives. The three of us sit on a couch in the hotel lobby. The interview is entirely in Portuguese. To commence, I manage to construct a couple of simple sentences with diplomatic intent: "I am very happy to be here"; "Jaraguá is a lovely city".
Enéias does most of the talking, but I have to follow the conversation in case they suddenly ask me what I think. And Heloíse has questions for me. "What is the connection between the two of you?" "How long have you been singing?" "What attracted you to Brazilian music?" She comments that Bossa Nova is no longer a popular style of music in Brazil. Young people prefer to listen to "rap" music. Bossa has an elite image; it's the sort of music that you would have to pay a lot of money to hear in a theatre. Enéias says we are going to make it relevant by performing in the open air, in a free show for the public.
The interview goes for half an hour. I have to concentrate intensely. We talk about Enéias' visit to Australia in February, and that this is my first visit to Brazil.
Heloíse asks me what I have most enjoyed about Jaragua. I think for a moment. I've been here for one day and haven't seen all that much yet. I tell her that we have a beautiful view from our hotel room window. I say that there is a "boa vista" outside our hotel window. The room looks out onto a mountain and a river bounded by trees.
It turns out I'm absolutely right. The mountain outside our room is called Boa Vista.
A photographer arrives, and asks us to sing something, while he takes some pictures. Then we go outside and have more photos taken in the hotel garden.
Next day we are featured in two local newspapers. One article is titled "Intercambio Musical" (musical exchange") and the other proclaims "Bossa nova com sotaque australiano" (Bossa nova with an Australian accent").
Both headlines are perfect.
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