Pra levantar a poeira um pouco.
Sebastiana – Jackson do Pandeiro, 1979
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Tag Archives: forró
No kissing at a forró in Minas
“A successful forró party in Laranjal, Minas Gerais, keeps bringing in clients aside from its strict rules. Among them, the organizers prohibit kissing on the mouth. Those who disrespect the rule are advised and if the “infraction” happens again, they can even be invited to leave.
- When the person gives the first kiss, we advise them. On the second kiss, we remind them they were already advised. On the third, we are obliged to kick them out – says the organizer of the forró party, Sebastião de Mello.
“It’s also prohibited here to dance while smoking or drinking.”
According to him, only kisses on the face are allowed.
The dance party even has more rules. For example, those under 25 can’t enter. Men can’t come in if they are dressed in a t-shirt, shorts or wearing a hat. For the women, it’s prohibited to wear a small blouse, a miniskirt or short shorts. Even with all these restrictions, the forró party is always crowded and has been that way going on 6 years.” – O Globo (translated by me)
There may be no kissing, but I bet dancing rala-coxa (with the woman’s thigh in between the man’s legs, and no room in between) isn’t prohibited…
Chora, Me Liga – João Bosco & Vinícius
Cry, Call Me
You weren’t supposed to fall in love
I was just having fun
I let you know!
Darling, I let you know!
You knew I was like this
One night of passion with an end in sight
I told you, darling, I told you
It won’t be so easy,
for me to be yours
You were the one used to
playing with another one’s heart
Don’t come asking me
What’s the best way to leave
I suffered a lot for love
And now I’m going to enjoy life
Cry, call, beg
for my kiss again
Ask for my help
Who knows if one day I’ll save you
Cry, call, beg
for my love
Say please
Who knows if one day I’ll come looking for you
Considering the theme of the forró song, one would think women wouldn’t be singing along…
Forro in the Dark – Pure genius
I know I’ve written about the song ‘Asa Branca‘ before but I really love the song. There’s a group in New York doing justice to the song while not only making it modern but singing it in English. They have a great CD called Bonfires of São João (see the reviews for yourself on the Amazon.com link or a more professional review here on AllMusic.com) in which they sing in English and Portuguese and team up with Bebel Gilberto, David Byrne and Miho Hatori (who brings a Japanese flavor to the mix) on certain songs. Another great song is ‘Que Que Tu Fez’ (‘What Is It That You Did’…although technically its gramatically incorrect, ‘O que é que tu fizeste?’ would be right, but ‘que que’ is a fast way to ‘what is it that…’, adding more emphasis than just starting a question with a simple ‘What’)
“Picture this: it’s an exceptionally hot, muggy night in the heart of Northeastern Brazil. While the ambient forest and wildlife sounds engulf most of the region, a bright rhythmic pulse beats out of a large, illuminated dance club.
A sweaty group of men and women, who should be exhausted after a long week’s work, dance exuberantly pelvis-to-pelvis in a waltz-meets-salsa like motion to a colorful vibrant band effortlessly performing a style of music centered around the bass-like thump of a zabumba, the awkward wail of an accordion and a large metal triangle rattled so quickly, you’d think the musician was having a seizure.
Well ok, Forro in the Dark is not quite that type of traditional forro band, instead they are bringing an updated style of the music to the hipsters and club-goers of NYC, but the sweaty, excitable vibe is still undeniable.”
From Forro in the Dark‘s website
Forró – Causing Commotion on the Dance Floor
Forró is a kind of Northeastern Brazilian dance, as well as a word used to denote the different genres of music which accompanies the dance. Both are much in evidence during the annual Festa Junina (June Festival), a part of Brazilian traditional culture which celebrates some of the saints of the Catholic religion. The most celebrated day of the festival is known as the Saint John’s (São João) day.
Origin of the Term
The most accepted theory puts forró as a derivative of forrobodó, meaning “disorder” or “commotion”. This is the view held by Brazilian folklorist Câmara Cascudo, who studied the Brazilian Northeast through most of his life. Forrobodó is believed to come from the word forbodó (itself a corruption of fauxbourdon), which was used in the Portuguese court to define a dull party.
Another theory often heard popularly in Brazil is that the word forró is a derivative of the English expression “for all” and that it originated in the early 1900s. English engineers on the Great Western Railroad would throw balls on weekends and classify them as either only for railroad personnel or for the general populace (“for all”). This belief was somewhat reinforced by a similar practice by USAF personnel stationed at the Natal Air Force Base during World War II, but it is not possible because before the USAF went to Natal, the name “Forró” was already in use.
Differing Styles
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 (called Rala Coxa or Rubbing Thighs), 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. One of the newer “styles”, if you wish to call it that, is Electronic Forró which is usually considered to be brega (cheesy or trashy). Below a list of a few of the most popular styles of forró in Brazil:
Xote
xote: a basic style, danced close together in a left-left-right-right movement, and has no spinning or variations;
universitário: the most popular style outside Nordeste, much like the xote, but with the partners moving forward and backward, much like traditional Bolero. It contains many variations of movements;
Baião
baião/pé-de-serra: basically a style of xote, but with the partners tilting to the sides and moving less their legs to follow the faster rhythm;
Arrasta-Pé
arrasta-pé: can only be danced to its own style, much like a very fast xote, but alternatly marking the beats on the ground with both legs.
Lessons
“Let’s repeat the entire sequence of the Chave de braço dupla.”
Translation Between 00:40 – 01:30
“The Basic step (Part 1). The Opening. Leave the Basic Step by spinning the lady then spin the gentleman. Chave Dupla (Double Key) move. Now the gentleman spins the lady, while placing his hand and hers behind his head. And soon after, go left then return to the Basic step. Now, with music.”
A Volta da Asa Branca – A Backland Social Dance Song
“
A Volta da Asa Branca (Return of the Picazuro Pigeon) is one of the best known songs to emerge from the Luiz Gonzaga-Humberto Teixeira partnership. Their version drew on a traditional tune, to which they added new lyrics and an arrangement. It was first recorded in 1947, followed by numerous other recordings, but perhaps the ‘classic’ version of the song is the one of 1952, in which it was first presented as a baião (a popular Northeastern song and dance). The lyrics center on the image of the asa branca, a Northeastern bird. It is said that the asa branca is the last living creature to leave the Northeast during a drought. If the asa branca flies away, one can be sure that it won’t rain that year. Asa Branca’ is a baião.
The baião is a popular dance of Northeastern Brazil that may have emerged in the 19th century. The baião is one of the dances used in the forró, the Northeastern term for a social dance. Some people claim that the word ‘forró’ is a corruption of the English ‘for all’. Allegedly the announcements for social dances which British companies organised for their employees in Recife during the 19th century stated that they were ‘for all’. Whether fact or fiction, in time social dances throughout Northeastern Brazil came to be known as forrós. ” (courtesy of David Byrne & Co.)
Apparently there exist many versions of this song, with some people even saying that a lesser version of the song was sung long before being recorded by Luiz Gonzaga. Of the two popularly recorded versions, I prefer the one Tom Zé sings in the video above which was originally recorded by Luiz Gonzaga and Zé Dantas, as opposed to the other in which Zé Dantas is replaced by Humberto Teixeira. This other version carries with it different lyrics on the same subject.
A Volta da Asa Branca (1950) – nesta toada-baião, Zedantas retrata a alegria do sertanejo ao ver a Asa branca voltar ao Sertão e, com ela, chegam as primeiras chuvas, a esperança do sertanejo. Luiz Gonzaga, em entrevista ao Globo Repórter – TV Globo (1985), afirma que “A Asa branca é o símbolo da dor e do sofrimento na seca. Quando a seca queima o Sertão, até a Asa branca vai embora”.
A Volta da Asa Branca (1950) – in this baião ditty, Zé Dantas repaints the happiness of the backwoodsman upon seeing the Asa branca return to the Backlands and, with it, the first rains, the hope of the backwoodsman. Luiz Gonzaga, in an interview with Globo Reporter – TV Globo (1985), affirmed that “The Asa branca is a symbol of the pain and of the suffering that occurs in the dryness. When the dryness scorches the backlands, the Asa branca goes away”
