Forró!

Do you love accordians as much as I do?! Well, if that's a yes, you will certainly enjoy this week's show as we explore the genre of Forró!

Forró hails from northeastern Brazil and doubles not only as a genre of music, but also as a quite seductive dance. 

"Forró lyrics are usually about love and romance, passion, jealousy, or reminiscing about an ex-lover. They often are about Northeastern themes and the longing or homesickness (saudades) that was often experienced during migrations in search of work. 

There are three rhythms of forró, xote (a slower-paced rhythm), baião (the original forró) and arrasta-pé (the fastest of the three), and amongst these, many styles of dancing, which varies from region to region, and may be known by different names according to the location. Forró is danced in pairs, usually very close together, with the man's left hand holding the woman's right hand as in the Waltz, his right arm around her back and her left arm around his neck; in this style, the man's right leg stays in between the woman's legs, following the African tradition of a close pelvis. Other styles may require to stay partially away, or in a considerable distance, only holding their hands up the shoulders. Influences from salsa and other Caribbean dances has given mobility to forró, with the woman - and occasionally the man - being spun in various ways, although it's not mandatory to spin at all, and more complex movements may prove impossible to be executed in the usually crowded dancing area of forrós.", but if the technical bores you like it does me a bit, just check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-oetZxTn1c&feature=related

Also, in keeping with the northeastern theme this week, we bring you the first of our recipe series! 

Xinxim de Galinha (Northeast of Brazil)
cooking time: 60 minutes
tested by the SENAC hotel school team
Ingredients (for 6 portions):
4lbs chicken
3/4 cup palm oil
1 1/4 Tbs. of garlic, minced
1/2 cup sliced onions
1 cup sliced green peppers
2 1/2 cups sliced tomatoes
1/2 cup dry and minced shrimp
3/4 cup dry and whole shrimp
4 Tbs. ginger
coriander
salt and black pepper
2 cups toasted and minced peanuts
Preparation:

1-Bake the onions and the garlic in palm oil.
2-Add the green peppers and the tomatoes and cook the mix in low temperature until they become a sauce.
3-Add salt and black pepper.
4-Add the sliced chicken to the sauce and let it cook as long as necessary.
5-Then add the minced and the whole shrimps, the ginger and the minced peanuts.
6-Let the stew cook for 10 minutes longer. Then add the coriander.
7- Serve it with rice.

It's been awhile, but now it's time to Samba!

That's right kids young and old, we've been away from this blog far too long, but we're back and we've got some legal*(lay-gal) grooves coming your way! 

This week we explore the wonderful world of Samba. Like many bits of Brazilian culture  such as the religion,  Candomble or the martial art, Capoeira, Samba has its roots within the Afro-Brazilian community. Samba was first seen at the turn of the 20th century in Rio De Janeiro, then capital of Brazil. It was here that Samba schools or "Escola de Samba" were formed. These "schools" were really meeting grounds to practice and perform, but titling it "school" gave them more legitimacy in a controversial atmosphere. Today, Samba schools are responsible for the ever so famous Sambadrome or the huge Carnival celebration that occurs each year in Rio. Schools spend all year organizing and practicing so that they can come together and show there stuff right before lent. 

Samba is much more than Carnival though. Samba is the music of Brazil. It is widespread and has many subgenres, many of which you will hear today, such as Pagode, one that came about in the 1980's. 

If you'd like to delve more in-depth into the history of Samba, check it out. There's tons of info out there! A starting place might be google or wikipedia if you're looking for some quick info, but if you really want to learn, I would suggest Chris McGowan's The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova, and the Popular Music of Brazil. But there is tons of info out there so just give it a go. 

Hope you enjoy the show today!

*Portuguese word for cool, sweet, awesome.