"Finding your way in a city Walter Benjamin (Tiergarten, A childhood in Berlin) |
From the
vertiginous heights of the skyscrapers under construction to the depths of
the subway, from political meetings to popular dance halls, should they be
journalist, mayor or cab driver, the Nordestinos
introduce us to "their" São Paulo, one of the biggest cities in the
world with its 16 million inhabitants. They came to São
Paulo, in the south of the country, to escape drought in the North or to make
their fortune. Or they came simply to work because the "wonder
south" holds the major part of the economical and industrial activities
in Brazil. With a guitar or a tambourine, like everyday life columnists,
the Nordestino repentistas
improvise rhymes and sung poetry on the spot, seeking inspiration in their
audience's concerns. Saudade do Futuro borrows the Nordestino's eyes to see São
Paulo, and their voices to sing the city. The
urban cacophony mixes with music, and the repentes,
forerunners of rap music, tell us the south-American megalopolis with humor
and rhymes. |