O Caso (The Case): a Hilarious Night at the Theater (Teatro das Artes) in Gavea’s Shopping Center
With the Covid-19 pandemic finally going away(?) , Rio de Janeiro ´s closest equivalent to Broadway or London´s East End theatre district, the Gavea shopping center with its four theaters is once again glowing and thriving.As comedy is supposedly the best medicine to combat the often-harsh realities of daily life, this theater lover highly enjoyed […]
The Charisma of Frida Kahlo
Dear Frida Kahlo (wherever you are): Today is Thursday,23 March 23, 2023, or four days after I was in Sao Paulo attending and hypnotized by a fascinating exhibition in your honor. You are/were a great Mexican artist; your lovers included the Russian revolutionary Trotsky and your husband-mentor, the great Mexican painter-muralist Diego Rivera, among others. […]
Uma Noite Musical em Búzios com o Rei Roberto Carlos
Junte St.Tropez do Brasil.ou Búzios , com o cantor Roberto Carlos,81, e você tem pura magia! Foi o que este observador experimentou na sexta-feira à noite a 173 quilómetros do Rio de Janeiro a bordo do navio de 17 decks MSC Fantasia, onde a resposta do Brasil a Júlio Iglesa e Frank Sinatra encantou mais […]
A Musical Evening in Búzios with King Roberto Carlos
Put together Brazil’ s answer to St.Tropez,or Buzios( “conchas”) with this nation’s top crooner, Roberto Carlos,81, and you have sheer magic! That’ s what this observer experienced Friday evening 173 kilometers from Rio de Janeiro aboard the 17- deck Brazilian flagship MSC Fantasia where Brazil’ s answer to Júlio Iglesa and Frank Sinatra enchanted over […]
“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 […]