A year and a half ago, I wrote about my top two auditory annoyances in Brazil, respectively the carro de som and the cicada. Today though, I’ve been forced to add another to the top of the list…the foguete, or firecracker. I wrote a little about it here (as the Number 3 sound) but perhaps I can expand on it as it seems to be a country-wide phenomenon.
Since I moved back to Brazil, I’ve lived both in a big city and in the countryside and the residents of both just can’t get enough of firecrackers. Have you ever seen one of those posters that lists a reason to party for every day of the year? Well, in Brazil there’s sure to be one about lighting firecrackers. Any reason is good enough to do it and any time is a good time (yes, even at 5AM right outside my window). I can’t figure out for the life of me what that reason is, especially since it has happened repeatedly although not consecutively. As for the church bells which go off every half-hour (once) and every hour (five times in a row), my table fan blocks that noise out, but the firecrackers are just too loud.
At the start of my third week in the countryside, I’ve got used to the noise during waking hours but one of these days, I’ll fix a large speaker to the top of a telephone pole (just like local advertisers do) and flick a switch when I want my message to be heard loud and clear, whether someone wants to hear it or not. What message might I play? “Já ouviu falar de sono? Pois é, muitas pessoas estão dormindo nesta hora então vaze!” Perhaps someone somewhere will hear it and learn some respect. Until then I’ll keep trying to sleep…and dream.
