Mid=2016
All my inquiries about performing in Rio have come to nothing.
I can't get anyone to respond to my messages. Even my best contact, who has been emailing our showreel video to places on my behalf, is not having any luck.
It's not very good for my self-esteem.
Then my husband announces that there is a conference he could attend to in São Paolo, in late October. We look at the dates. The conference is in the early part of the week, meaning we could be in Rio on the Thursday and Friday, and possibly Saturday. Entertainment nights! We could do a show. And having specific dates and a reason to go to Brazil creates a catalyst for action.
I contact Enéias to tell him this. I send through a few suggestions of places where we might perform.
Because he seems to be pretty busy with teaching and performing, and I don't want to overload him with administrative work, I suggest that we operate as a team. I will send the emails and he will follow up by phone. The time difference makes it difficult for me to phone, not to mention the challenge of speaking Portuguese to busy people who don't know me. He knows how things work in Brazil - he should do the calling.
I urge him to join with me in brainstorming a whole range of possibilities.
He comes back with a suggestion of his own.
We could rent a space at the Copacabana Palace Hotel.
Right. The best hotel in the whole of Brazil. Last year I looked at room prices, and they were astronomical. Instead of staying there, my husband and I went there for cocktails. The caipirinhas were excellent, and the manager allowed us to go up to the second floor and look at the photo gallery showing all the famous people - movie stars and royalty - who have stayed at the hotel. The hall itself was sumptuously decorated, and it felt like a great privilege to be allowed to roam around there unsupervised.
OK. If this is something that enthuses Enéias, let's give it a go.
And the idea of renting a space opens up some other possibilities. If this one is beyond my budget, or not available, we could try some other places.
He sends me an email address where I can write to the hotel; urges me to send an email.
Late on a Friday afternoon I sit down with my dictionary. It's Friday morning in Brazil, so hopefully Bruna will look at my email, then she will receive Enéias' call, either today or early next week.
I'm reasonably confident now with writing in Portuguese, but I spend about an hour on this missive, double-checking words and conjugations; making sure I get the tone right and have the appropriate greeting and sign-off. Courteous but friendly. I also mention that my husband and I visited the hotel for cocktails last year when we were in Rio.
Then I click "send" and off it goes. I reflect that only two and a half years ago, when I wanted to send a letter to Enéias, I had to engage a translator. Now I can write my own - hah!
Enéias calls me on FaceTime to further explain his idea. The call takes me by surprise. Suddenly my iPad is ringing, and there he is on screen, in the front room of his apartment. This is the first time we've done any sort of voice call. I'm very glad we haven't attempted this until now. It's easier now that we know each other, but definitely not easy. If we'd done it before his visit to Australia, it would have exposed the chasm that was our communication gap. We might have dismissed the whole idea as way too hard. I'm glad that our first meeting was in person, when he entered the Arrivals area of Adelaide Airport.
He elaborates on his plan. We will invite people to the show - reporters and so on. We will rent a space and it will be a private show. We will video the show; it will be "filmed at Copacabana Hotel, Rio" - and use that to get bookings elsewhere, perhaps in Tokyo. I can see how such an event could benefit him, too, by building his profile as a musician in Brazil.
He has big dreams, Enéias. Suddenly I "get" his idea, and we both laugh out loud at its audacity.
Start at the top? Why not? Let's find out how much it would cost.
Over the weekend I send him the photos I took when we visited the hotel last year. I also send some YouTube videos - an animated version of "Copacabana" by Barry Manilo, and various clips from the 1960's Italian movie "Copacabana Palace". One scene features a young Tom Jobim, Luiz Bonfa and Joao Gilberto all together on the beach, serenading three pretty girls in bikinis. And speaking in (dubbed) Italian.
My Facebook message to him says "We will make a new film called 'Copacabana Palace' ".
He sends me the "thumbs-up".
All my inquiries about performing in Rio have come to nothing.
I can't get anyone to respond to my messages. Even my best contact, who has been emailing our showreel video to places on my behalf, is not having any luck.
It's not very good for my self-esteem.
Then my husband announces that there is a conference he could attend to in São Paolo, in late October. We look at the dates. The conference is in the early part of the week, meaning we could be in Rio on the Thursday and Friday, and possibly Saturday. Entertainment nights! We could do a show. And having specific dates and a reason to go to Brazil creates a catalyst for action.
I contact Enéias to tell him this. I send through a few suggestions of places where we might perform.
Because he seems to be pretty busy with teaching and performing, and I don't want to overload him with administrative work, I suggest that we operate as a team. I will send the emails and he will follow up by phone. The time difference makes it difficult for me to phone, not to mention the challenge of speaking Portuguese to busy people who don't know me. He knows how things work in Brazil - he should do the calling.
I urge him to join with me in brainstorming a whole range of possibilities.
He comes back with a suggestion of his own.
We could rent a space at the Copacabana Palace Hotel.
Right. The best hotel in the whole of Brazil. Last year I looked at room prices, and they were astronomical. Instead of staying there, my husband and I went there for cocktails. The caipirinhas were excellent, and the manager allowed us to go up to the second floor and look at the photo gallery showing all the famous people - movie stars and royalty - who have stayed at the hotel. The hall itself was sumptuously decorated, and it felt like a great privilege to be allowed to roam around there unsupervised.
OK. If this is something that enthuses Enéias, let's give it a go.
And the idea of renting a space opens up some other possibilities. If this one is beyond my budget, or not available, we could try some other places.
He sends me an email address where I can write to the hotel; urges me to send an email.
Late on a Friday afternoon I sit down with my dictionary. It's Friday morning in Brazil, so hopefully Bruna will look at my email, then she will receive Enéias' call, either today or early next week.
I'm reasonably confident now with writing in Portuguese, but I spend about an hour on this missive, double-checking words and conjugations; making sure I get the tone right and have the appropriate greeting and sign-off. Courteous but friendly. I also mention that my husband and I visited the hotel for cocktails last year when we were in Rio.
Then I click "send" and off it goes. I reflect that only two and a half years ago, when I wanted to send a letter to Enéias, I had to engage a translator. Now I can write my own - hah!
Enéias calls me on FaceTime to further explain his idea. The call takes me by surprise. Suddenly my iPad is ringing, and there he is on screen, in the front room of his apartment. This is the first time we've done any sort of voice call. I'm very glad we haven't attempted this until now. It's easier now that we know each other, but definitely not easy. If we'd done it before his visit to Australia, it would have exposed the chasm that was our communication gap. We might have dismissed the whole idea as way too hard. I'm glad that our first meeting was in person, when he entered the Arrivals area of Adelaide Airport.
He has big dreams, Enéias. Suddenly I "get" his idea, and we both laugh out loud at its audacity.
Start at the top? Why not? Let's find out how much it would cost.
Over the weekend I send him the photos I took when we visited the hotel last year. I also send some YouTube videos - an animated version of "Copacabana" by Barry Manilo, and various clips from the 1960's Italian movie "Copacabana Palace". One scene features a young Tom Jobim, Luiz Bonfa and Joao Gilberto all together on the beach, serenading three pretty girls in bikinis. And speaking in (dubbed) Italian.
My Facebook message to him says "We will make a new film called 'Copacabana Palace' ".
He sends me the "thumbs-up".
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