“Circumcision in New York”: A hilarious comedy by Joao Bethencourt ahead of its time
Rio de Janeiro—There are some wonderful Cariocas, or local characters, who may have passed away but continue to live on immortally! Brazil´s 20th century Moliere, playwright, actor, director and drama teacher Joao Bethcourt (Budapest,1924-2006, Rio de Janeiro) is one of these “figuras,” a they call charismatic personalities in Portuguese. In my first years in Rio […]
“Circuncisão em Nova York”: Uma comédia hilariante de João Bethencourt à frente de seu tempo
Rio de Janeiro – Há alguns maravilhosos cariocas, ou personagens locais, que podem ter falecido, mas que continuam a viver imortalmente! O brasileiro Moliere do século XX, dramaturgo, ator, diretor e professor de teatro João Bethencourt (Budapeste,1924-2006, Rio de Janeiro) é uma dessas “figuras”, a que chamam de personalidades carismáticas em português. Em meus primeiros […]
Bottoms up to Vienna!
Dear Vivian in Canada, Rabbi Ken in California and others who told me “Don´t go to Vienna because you will only meet antisemitism in that city.”I have just returned from the most wonderful eight days of my life, visiting the capital of the great music I have loved since I was a child.Finally, I was […]
Tips for Old-fogie Globetrotters
Tips for old-fogie travelers from another old-fogie who has just returned from his first trip abroad after a thirteen years abstinence!(1)Window seats on airplanes are wonderful but perhaps not the best for old- fogies whose legs and prostrates are not what they were 30- 40-,50 years ago .The WC is easily available for those on […]
“Everybody talks about the Weather but no one does anything about it“ American author Mark Twain
It is another cold, rainy day in what used to be tropical Rio de Janeiro.As I head for the ICS (Institute for Climate and Society) in Humaita (Rua General Dionisio 14), I am wearing a vest, long-sleeved shirt and a hoodie, or jacket with a hood and carrying an umbrella.I might as well be in […]
The White Tiger: A Novel which portrays a changing INDIA
It has been thirty five years(!) since I performed oboe recitals in Mumbai and Poona and a mob tried to lynch our taxi in Delhi, India yet this wondrous, magical and dystopian culture continually returns to haunt me.And over twenty five years ago I was playing my oboe for belly dance classes taught by my […]
PGE: Um Novo Centro Cultural no Centro do Rio: Um Renascimento para o Centro da Cidade
O recém-reformado Centro de Cultura da Procuradoria Geral do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (PGE) (antigo Convento do Carmo), no centro do Rio de Janeiro, é um exemplo de que a visão e determinação de uma pessoa pode de fato fazer a diferença. Há quatro anos, a Doutora Lucia Lea Guimaraes Tavares, procuradora-geral do Estado […]
Joao Pessoa Diary (Paraiba state, northeastern Brazil)
Your correspondent is one of the most reluctant persons to leave home.For prior to arriving in Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s (!),I had resided in various parts of the world and know only too well the tears and anguish involved in departing from one place and going to reside in another.On the other hand, […]
Memórias sul-africanas ou” Tem Oboe vai viajar”
(Capítulo I?) Devido a este milagre moderno chamado Facebook, nunca parecemos perder pessoas do nosso passado.Então, enquanto escrevo isso entre meus cinco ou seis leitores estão pessoas que assistiram à minha festa de “despedida” quando saí de Nova York no final dos anos 1960 por “uma pequena experiência fora da cidade”, bem como um amigo […]
South African memories or ”Have Oboe will Travel”
(Chapter I?) Due to this modern miracle called Facebook we never seem to lose people from our past.So as I write this among my five or six readers are people who attended my “farewell” party when I departed New York City in the late 1960s for “a little out of town experience” as well as […]