Brazil

Happy 400th Birthday, São Luís!

ByAndrew

This is a great time to be living in the city of São Luís. 400 years ago, tomorrow, the French Huguenot explorer Daniel de la Touche landed with a small expedition on this fair island. The ensuing four centuries saw the little city he founded fall into the hands of the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Portuguese again, and finally become a Brazilian city–thanks in part to a Scottish mercenary.
All of that history makes for some amazing cultural expressions, and we were treated to a tour de force of said cultural expressions last night at a special presentation of the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra.
In this video, a local composer mixed “Happy Birthday” together with some styles from musical history–all with some rhythms that are distinctly maranhense.

Happy birthday, São Luís!
Addendum: If you are a Facebook user (and who isn’t, right) this page has tons of photos of São Luís, past and present.


Thumbnail image for max.jpg

The Astonishing Adventures of Missionary Max, Parts 1, 2 and 3 are now available for Kindle and Nook!

Similar Posts

Brazil

Meet Me in São Luís: Ana Jansen

ByAndrew

This post is part of an ongoing series which seeks to introduce the readership of this blog to the many fascinating aspects of one of Brazil’s best-kept secrets–the city of São Luís. Ana Jansen 1793-1869 If you want to provoke a reaction in any Ludovicense (natives of São Luís), drop the name Ana Jansen somewhere…

Keep on Strikin’
Brazil

Keep on Strikin’

ByAndrew

Things are pretty tense this evening here in Brazil, and the reason for the tension a general strike by Brazil’s truck drivers. Basically, it works like this: Brazil’s government-owned petroleum company, Petrobras, has been steadily raising the price of gas – and in particular diesel – for some time now. Truckers have finally had enough….

Best of Brazil: Gruta da Lapinha
Best of Brazil | Brazil

Best of Brazil: Gruta da Lapinha

ByAndrew

The Gruta da Lapinha is a spectacular series of caves located near the city of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais. I had the opportunity to tour the caverns a couple weeks ago during some down-time from the annual Baptist Mid Missions, Brazil conference. Here are some of the amazing things we saw:…

Brazil

The Showdown on Ze Bom Bom Hill

ByAndrew

Behind our Kerigma congregation stretches a sizable neighborhood called “Coroadinho”. It is known as a hotbed of crime and violence. Within this neighborhood–and within sight of our church–is a hill named after a colorful figure from Coroadinho’s past known as “Ze Bom Bom”. If Coroadinho is a hurricane of crime, Ze Bom Bom hill is…

A Day of Protest in Brazil
Brazil

A Day of Protest in Brazil

ByAndrew

A week ago I wrote briefly about the current political climate in Brazil. Today protesters took to the streets in record-setting numbers to demand the ouster of current president Dilma Rousseff, and the arrest of former president Luís Inácio “Lula” da Silva. In the past, the PT (the ruling, leftist, Workers Party) has been able…

Best of Brazil: Ouro Preto
Best of Brazil | Brazil

Best of Brazil: Ouro Preto

ByAndrew

After our annual conference it has become a habit for us to spend some time with a few of our missionary colleagues for fellowship and relaxation. We usually try to chose an area that will give us a chance to see some new aspect of Brazilian culture and/or history. Last year, for example, we stayed…

One Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.