Brazilian Carnival warms up spirits
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/02/2017 (3349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, might be 9,829 kilometres away from Brandon, but it didn’t seem to matter among those celebrating the Brazilian Carnival at the Prairie Oasis Senior Centre on Saturday.
About 170 people showed up for the event, which included many traditional acts, including organizer Aron Ramalho’s specialty — capoeira, a Brazilian martial art infused with dance.
In past years, the cultural event has been encompassed within a pavilion at the Westman Multicultural Festival. But this time around, Ramalho said that they shifted it to Feb. 25 to coincide with Carnival.
“This is very important for us Brazilians who aren’t there,” Ramalho said of the annual festival held prior to Lent.
Brazilian Andrea Werner added that sharing one’s culture with others is always important and that Carnival is well-enough known to non-Brazilians to draw them in.
Fellow Brazilian Gabriela Santos, 18, arrived in Brandon last August as part of a year-long travel exchange through Rotary Club of Brandon Sunset.
She attended Saturday’s event with host family member Jacquie Lane — one of many cultural practices she has helped pass on to her host family.
Lane’s daughter has since taken up capoeira, and Lane tried her hand at Brazilian dance last week.
“I would have never tried the Brazilian dance class if not for her,” she said, happy to have given it a shot.
“It’s great to see we can share our culture with different people so people can know more about Brazil in a different way,” Santos said. “It’s good to show the culture and everything.”
One of Saturday’s dance performers, Jennifer Barr, joins Lane in absorbing Brazilian culture as an outsider.
Originally from Winnipeg, the Moosomin, Sask., resident said that there’s something about Brazilian cultural practices — the sensuality, passion and colourful fun of it all — that draws her to events such as Saturday’s Carnival.
“There’s just so much to it,” she said prior to her performance alongside other visiting and local performers.
Ramalho said that he’s aware of about 30 people of Brazilian heritage in Brandon, which he said is a growing population in the area, with many coming to Brandon University.
For Ramalho, relocating to Brandon was out of necessity to follow his wife, whom he met while she was studying in Brazil.
He injects Brazilian culture into Brandon on a regular basis through the work of Capoeira Guanabara, a Brazilian martial arts group he runs out of Brandon and Shoal Lake.
» tclarke@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB
