My Arrival

"Look, I've never had a dream in my life,
because a dream is what you wanna do but still haven't pursued,
I knew what I wanted and did it till it was done,
so i've been the dream that i wanted to be since day one" - Aesop Rock


So, after having to make a random stop in Puerto Rico to re-fuel due to what I can only chalk up to poor planning by the authorities at American Airlines I finally arrived to Salvador Airport unscathed and only an hour an a half later than my itinerary predicted. After pre-paying around R$105 (which depending on the day is about the equivalent of $60 American), a very easy going, round Brazilian man with a warm smile grabbed my things and we headed towards Bomfim. We tried to chat for the first 5 minutes of the ride but that was an epic fail after the very basic stuff, "like where are you from", "and are you going to watch the world cup" was asked. The ride took about an hour and a half, which is apparently common for Brazilian weekday traffic. For those of us who have been on the 405 freeway during rush hour in California, let me just say that it has nothing on the traffic out here.

The weather on the other hand is just my speed, hot day in and day out. I don't even mind the constant humidity. When I arrived to the pousada (sp?) i was greeted by my Capoeira Mestre's mom who showed me to my room. I actually stayed here before a few years back, and for some reason i don't remember the room being so small. There are actually 12 other rooms to choose from, but i personally like mine because i have a view of the ocean which is about 60 ft. from the front door. After settling in, I took a walk around to get a feel for the upgraded neighborhood and quickly found an Internet cafe. Well I wouldn't exactly call it a cafe as there is no coffee or drinks at all for that matter, and it's ran by a couple of kids who religiously spend their time playing a soccer game on Playstation 2. The price is great however, only about .75 cents an hour.

The Bonfim neighborhood is great! The people are friendly, and some of them even remeber me from my past trip here. This will be a great place to start shooting exteriors for the documentary. Gzz.. i think i forgot to mention why I'm even here. To make a long story short, I've partnered up with Mestre Amen and Brasil Brasil Cultural center to make a documentary about street kids here in Bahia. As a matter of fact, here is a short description of the project.

Brazil Brazil Cultural Center (BBCC) in partnership with Guerilla Hollywood Films have come together in order to bring awareness to the many issues that plague the youth of Brazil. The presence of vast numbers of unsupervised and unprotected children is a phenomenon that is common throughout Latin America, and in few places are the street children more visible, and reviled, than in Brazil.
“Meninos De Rua” will identify various problems plaguing Brazils youth as seen through their eyes and heard from their mouths. We will focus on a group of kids of varying ages who are associated with the “Emilia Research School” for music in the Pelorinho district in Bahia. Along with identifying pertinent issues and seeing their struggles first hand, we’ll also explore ways for creating a better future for Brazil and highlight organizations already working to make a difference.

Well, that is it for now, i'm going to try and update this as often as possible. In a perfect world, it would be everyday, and even though I am perfect (except when it comes to spelling and grammar), the internet here is often times sketchy which will force me to miss days now and again. ;-)

Ps. There will be tons of pictures in future post, however i've first got to settle this power conversion issue so that i can get all of my toys up and working.

Love Life!

Boddie