Serious Rainy Day Cuteness

Well, the last few posts had no pictures at all of the main attraction here, so we will rectify that with some sweet shots from a rainy day spent inside.

Though perhaps too much time spent inside is not a good thing.
Witness: buckethead.

The Gaúcho experiences Photoshop

Jewish High Holidays

The Jewish High Holidays also fell in the first weeks of our arrival. Numbering somewhere between 9,000 and 15,000 Jews, Porto Alegre has a considerably smaller Jewish community than São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro, to say nothing of Buenos Aires. Nonetheless it boasts a certain pride in its affiliation with this distinctive state, exemplified in books and flyers we’ve seen.

The religious services of most if not all the synagogues, however, depend on leadership and, consequently, liturgical music from elsewhere, mainly Argentina. The rabbis of the two Reform synagogues are both Argentines in their late-30s to mid-40s. At the small Sephardic synagogue an Ashkenazi Lebavitcher rabbi was brought from São Paulo and apparently is learning the Sephardic melodies and chanting style. A French Lebavitcher rabbi started his own minyan in Bom Fim, the historically Jewish neighborhood. And so on. A wife of one rabbi said that the services of the Reform synagogues are ‘mirrors’ of those in Argentina and their musical repertoire is continually replenished by Argentine musicians who visit. Not as many families with kids Noa’s age appeared at the services we attended as they have in the playgrounds near our apartment, but we were pleased to find many welcoming and helpful people in both synagogues.

Of the two Reform synagogues we attended on Rosh Hashana, one per day, the melodies of the Centro Israelita (which was Orthodox until 15 years ago when they changed affiliations to attract younger congregants) sounded closer to Jewish summer camps in the U.S., though with four-part choral arrangements and the accompaniment of electric piano and clarinet. The other synagogue, SIBRA (founded by German immigrants in the 1930s as a social welfare organization) featured more chasanut, that is to say an elaborate repertoire of seemingly older melodies sung in a more operatic style.

Because of heavy rain on Yom Kippur, we returned to the closest synagogue rather than venturing out to the small Sephardic synagogue. The only differences from R.H. were that the hall was packed with people, probably twice the numbers from before, and there was non-stop chatter, especially during the day of Yom Kippur. During the Torah service, leaders on the bimah tried to quiet the congregation, but their success was only temporary. The congregation was only quiet when asked to stand, after which they resumed chattering.

Semana Farroupilha

When we were planning our trip to the capital of Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, I told friends and family unfamiliar with Porto Alegre that it is located half-way between São Paulo and Buenos Aires. The same may also be true of the city’s culture, or so we have found of two, simultaneous week-long celebrations that coincided with our arrival: Semana Farroupilha and the Jewish High Holidays.


Semana Farroupilha commemorates the Revolution of Farroupilha in 1835, Rio Grande do Sul’s temporary revolt against Brazil. The separatists rejoined Brazil a decade later, in exchange for amnesty, but the memorializing of this event fuels state pride and informs its gaúcho identity.




Similar to the Argentine gaúcho, the Brazilian version, based on self-reliant ranch hands who historically helped hold Brazil’s southern frontier during at least one war with its Spanish neighbors, is easily recognized with his high leather boots, a wide-brimmed hat, thick belt and dagger – the women wear long, puffy dresses in bright solid colors. Because of this political history, as well as its ranching industry, the state is often dubbed the Texas of Brazil.

Commemorative events we attended were a concert of gaúcho music in our neighboring park, a parade on the last day of the week, September 20, and, Acampamento Farroupilha, a weeklong (re)enactment village in another city park next to a year-round rodeo and an enormous BBQ restaurant that seats 600. Each year gaúcho cultural organizations from around the state (established in the last few decades as part of The Gaúcho Movement) inhabit wooden huts in the village where members tend to BBQ pits, play music, etc.

Meanwhile the public visits for daytime recreation, touring the village and observing trappings of the gaúcho lifestyle: watching rodeo competitions, eating BBQ and drinking green tea and beer, listening to gaúcho music, and buying souvenirs like big hats, big boots, and big belts. Similar to any other faux-frontier village, but without actors it’s less about reenactment than enactment. In any case, it proved great fun for us and Noa especially enjoyed the horses and roosters.


Gaúcho music is similar to other Polka-influenced, accordion-based music traditions like Forró, Norteño, and Zydeco. An interesting feature is the song competitions held during festivals of the gaúcho cultural organizations. We didn’t witness any, or so not to our knowledge.

It was dumping rain on the day of the parade, so we watched it on TV. Perhaps because of a pride in the gaúcho’s heartiness or for the sake of TV cameras, those marching in the parade didn’t hold umbrellas and few wore any rain gear – including the children in the parade. After a procession of military, police, fire, and personnel from other municipal services, the gaúcho portion of the parade began. Horses, wagons, floats, period costumes, everything you would expect and all introduced on TV by sentimental announcers. And so ended a soggy Semana Farroupilha.

Night lights

The ferris wheel from the balcony at dusk.

Parque Farroupilha

The park is a center of leisure activities, especially on weekends: soccer, paddle boating, or just strolling and picnicking drinking green tea out of gaúcho gourd mugs (cuias). A maracatú percussion ensemble also rehearses in the park on Sundays. Check out the 360 views of the park at http://www.aredencao.com.br/ (We are basically at #8 on the map, so if you hit the spinning camera at #20 you'll see my street.)

The dirt in the park is most delicious and I like to conduct taste tests with the pebbles. When I look up from the scrumptious ground, there are also playgrounds (circa 1970 with bare, but functional basics), ponds with turtles and swan boats, a mini-zoo and all sorts of other diversions.




September is spring and with it comes rain; and with it comes some pretty impressive blooms. September showers bring October flowers... or so I hope.




...delicious furry mossy trees with nests of purple flowers...


Kids playing in the fountain:


Maracatú percussion ensemble rehearsal:

The Fairs on our Street

Brazil’s Independence Day fell on the first Friday we arrived and thereby extended these typical weekend festivities to three days. The weekends here are non-stop festivities along the the street outside our door which borders a large city park, Parque Farroupilha.

Every Saturday is an organic food market and every Sunday is a crafts fair. There is lots of clanging early in the morning as they set up their booths, but my folks say the loss of sleep is worth it for the fairly inexpensive, wholesome food, nice crafts, and the pleasant vibe.






You can get all sorts of herbs...







...and flowers...






...and get blessings from the sweet-faced angel-mime man-boy.

















Our first visit included a session of daddy-jousting with friendly strangers:

Altogether a fun first weekend, right outside our door.

Some initial views

My street and some views from the apartment, overlooking Parque Farroupilha, the Bom Fim neighborhood and the skyline of downtown.

Since arriving in Porto Alegre we've focused on getting the basics of our life here established and slowly exploring neighborhoods. With the help of a generous landlord, university colleagues, a social network of ex-pats, and other contacts from the States, the transition has been smooth. For the most part the logistics of living here are very similar to those in the States or Europe (probably closer to Europe), though with some different types of foods, etc., that require trial-and-error experimentation, like new kinds of milks, yogurts, and cheeses. We were surprised, however, to find that many goods and utilities are more expensive than in the U.S. at a much lower quality. We have yet to learn why this is; our current guess is protectionist trade policies. These minor complaints aside, all is well. Besides, here in gaúcho land, beef is cheap.

Safe arrival

Despite absurdly heavy bags, we had a safe and smooth arrival. There were extra seats on every flight and we were continually ushered to the shortest, fastest lines because of me. My fellow travelers cooed over me incessantly and we all managed to get a short side-trip to schluffy-town en route to POA.