My Brazil

Although the possessive adjective in the title might suggest that I acquired a portion of that country or that I somehow received the power to appropriate national abstractions, this post is simply a "cultural gazette" on a series of Brazilian experiences that I had.

First, I went to the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (which, I'm proud to say, was organized by a young Mexican) and watched the film Proibido Proibir, which was truly excellent and inspiring. I won't spoil your experience of watching it by discussing the plot here, but the views of Brazilian society provided by the film functioned as a great complement to the notion I had of the favelas and social divisions in that country. Also, the story managed to jerk a tear or two from my face...which is always very much appreciated by your blogger.

Second, I went to the CSS (Cansei De Ser Sexy) concert at the Commodore Ballroom and enjoyed it even more than the first time I saw them at Coachella 2007. The singer was incredibly energetic and the music had me dancing all night long. This automatically led me to rediscover their amazing CSS Suxx album.

Third, I was recently introduced the work of the great Brazilian photojournalist Sebastiao Salgado. It only took an hour of looking at his book "Workers" to fully reinvigorate my belief that photojournalism not only has the power to effectively denounce injustices, but that photojournalists have a responsibility to find and expose those places where abuse and injustice are hidden from everyday discussion.

Lastly, I still haven't forgotten the Vik Muniz expo I saw this summer. In a way, it changed the way I think of perception and has even affected the way I take photographs.

(And yes...there is a Brazilian girl.)