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Running around Sao Paulo, Brazil with Luiza of Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS) February 8, 2008

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Hospitality and sharing - the two life lessons I’ve taken away from Brazil each time I visited (3x-I know I’m a big fan). The first time I went was on a travel whim with my older sister the summer after freshman year of college. To make a long story short, I crushed out on this Brazilian girl, Gabriella, who I met at a tourist bar in Ipanema. I promised myself I would learn Portuguese and return as soon as a I could.

After two years including two semesters of studying Portuguese, I returned to search out my long lost crush under the guise of producing a short documentary about a queer political group called Arco-Iris for my senior thesis project. Well, it turned out Gabriella was straight, but her brother was pretty flaming. She sweetly advised me to go out with him, “He can show you around,” she offered. They were very hospitable and so was Arco-Iris.

Five years pass and the opportunity arose to return again with my ‘partner in crime’ Lauren. A short documentary that I associate produced and edited was screening in the (GLBT) Festival Mix Brasil in Sao Paulo. And guess who was going to be in Sao Paulo at the same time? Yes, Luiza of the band Cansei de Ser Sexy or CSS, who happens to be Lauren’s good friend. “Hey, let’s produce Rockstar Travel guide videos!” we thought.

There was a lot more to it than that, including a test shoot with the band Ice Cream Socialites made up of Jenna Riot and Katastrophe. Anyway, off we went to Sao Paulo where the gracious film festival put us up in a fancy hotel for the week while we watched great GLBT films, hung out with Luiza and her grandparents, and went out shooting with our other amazing tour guide Leticia (for the girl’s guide series-more on that later!). Everyone gave us so much time and energy!

There were so many priceless moments that didn’t make the final cut. I have to say that having Sunday dinner with Luiza’s grandparents had to have been the sweetest gesture ever. Grandma fed us my favorite Brazilian dish, the Portuguese fish Bacalhao marinated in coconut with veggies and showed us baby photos of Luiza. Grandpa was stubborn about practicing his English and Grandma kept speaking in Portuguese, but then would say, “oh yeah, they can’t understand me.” Even though I kept assuring her that I could!

We often would meet up with Luiza either on her lunch break or after she left the studio where CSS was working on their new album. They were kind and let us sit inside the control room for some of the mixing sessions. Now, I’m not the musician here, Lauren is, but what I saw were millions of fancy buttons and some rock stars having fun. So I was having fun. Thanks for all your hospitality and sharing everyone!