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Farofa is made from, generally, manioc flour (but can be maize too). Put in a pan with oil, onions, garlic, and maybe some bits of bacon, maybe bell peppers and whatever else I don't know yet, it makes a kind of crispy mixture, a bit like breadcrumbs, only tastier, and Brazilians couldn't possibly live without it : mixed with freshly cooked "feijao" (beans) and some rice, it thickens the bean sauce and gives an awesome taste to the whole thing. As a Brazilian by heart and taste, I couldn't live without it either.
I listen to a lot of music, a lot of Brazilian music, and, one of my favorite artists is Milton Nascimento (beware : not for light listeners…). In one of his songs, he presents Brazilian religious faith as a "farofa de religião" and I was very amused by this. Indeed, Brazilians, a bit like Asians, have very well (a bit too much even) integrated Christianism (evangelists are huge here) but still (especially in the Nordeste - North east, where the population is more amazonian indian and black) they are very much into animism and polytheism… Hence Milton talking about this "farofa de religião" which, I believe, is very appropriate.
Since then I've been using this quite a lot, applying it to the context. My accent for example : The Brazilians tell me it's Portuguese. The Portuguese tell me it's Brazilian. The truth, really, is that my accent - "sotaque" - is a farofa. Farofa of Brazil, Angola, Portugal but also France and Spain. One cannot claim, as I do, to be gifted at languages without having a talent at porosity. My brain and my ear are very porous : everything sinks in. Already, since I got here, my accent has changed. Some new expressions have been integrated. I also noticed how different the "sotaque" is from Sao Paulo, where I spent my first week, to Porto Seguro (Bahia) where I am now. The accent is Sao Paulo is much more sophisticated (and understandable !) than here, where it is way more popular, you can tell with a porous ear like mine.
Farofa etnica. Brazil is a whole "ethnic farofa". There are tons of different ethnical origins : caucasian in the south, black in the east coast, amazonian indian in amazonia and… japanese, arabs, including a farofa of it all : asian/african, asian/indian, caucasian/asian, the mixes are amazing, truly. This farofa is pretty unique. And it makes it all the funnier when you read the CIA factbook on Brazil… They try to put percentages in front of ethnies but the god damn exercise is simply impossible. Here, where I'm currently staying, the gardener started to tell me about his origins : his grandmom was russian and his granddad portuguese and their son, "Brazilian", married a black lady in Porto Seguro, where this sweet gardener was born and raised. He's never left since, doesn't speak a word of Russian but is very proud of his far away origins.
Farofa cultural. Brazil should be, much more than the USA, the example used when talking about a successful melting pot. Because this melting pot is not only ethnical but also religious and cultural. You can feel it in every step you take here. The best example I have is music : that's what I know best and what I'll be able to explain even better.
The funniest example I have here is the zouk/lambada fever. Originally Brazil is a country where you dance Samba, forro . Other dances and music include frevo, notably, in Pernambuco. But, as far as I'm aware, that's about it. Traditionally.
Lambada was invented about 20 years ago. It was a success in France, came from the North East of Brazil and the Kaoma band (the band which played and sang relentlessly this "Lambada" song all around the world : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XEsAqi15nI) came back to the North East of Brazil with tons of influences including the famous French Carribean zouk. In terms of rhythm, Zouk is way more laid back than Lambada (here's an example : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUrtzFLyKZ4). In terms of dance, Zouk is not only slower, but so much easier than true Lambada to dance.
I've been watching people dance what they call "Zouk/Lambada" here and, I'm afraid to say that… what they actually dance is "laid back puertorican-style salsa on zouk-style music". I therefore had no difficulty to step in, dance quite well, with all the dancing background I have in all those types of dances… The funny part, what they actually don't know here, but I do, is that most of the time, they dance on Angolan Kizomba music, without actually dancing the proper Kizomba (which is much more elaborated than what they do here…). They pretend it's Zouk. But it's not : it's sung in Portuguese (with Portuguese "sotaque" and therefore not recorded in Brazil…). Had they got any idea what Kizomba actually looked like when it's properly danced, they would soon integrate it into an even wider and tastier farofa than what they currently have… Because that's what Brazilians do : they take what's good and mix it as they like, integrating it within this very joyful "farofa de cultura brasileira"…
Here you can hear Rihanna's "Shine bright like a diamond" zouk-style, Adele's "we couldn't have it all" zouk style and so much more… Yesterday I heard a mashup of Madonna's "La Isla Bonita" and Kevin Little's "Turn me on", zouk style :)
By the way, I can't resist to show you the smash hit around here. Good track ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ealTdaqt8bU
I love farofa. Maybe that's also why I love this country. Farofa philosophy.
- comments
mom grande culture musicale du cru!!! comme d hab!