the dangers of a spectacular sunset

[asakiyume]

I set off at 3:30 to deliver cookies to those of my children who live within driving distance (the other two live a continent and an ocean away--a different continent and ocean depending on which direction you tackle the journey from). By 3:30 the light is already long, and by the time I was leaving from my first stop (4:10), the tips of the bare trees were already red from the setting sun.



It was a 30-minute journey south to the next stop, during which time the sky did such tantalizing things with pinks, purples, and golds that I was quite beside myself. "She was the kind of person for whom sunsets pose a driving hazard," said my internal narrator. Eyes on the road, Asakiyume!

Here's another song by Dona Onete, Lua Jaci--the beginning, when she's singing a cappella, is just beautiful, and the simple melancholy of the overall song really speaks to me right now.

The woman herself is quite wonderful. Here's the blurb about her and her 2017 album, Banzeiro, from Bandcamp:

Whether she’s championing gay rights, singing about the delights of indecent proposals or praising a former lover for his ‘crazy ways of making love’, Banzeiro is defined by Onete’s honest reflections on life, love and sex, as well as her delight in the everyday pleasures of life in the Amazon, whether that’s spicy seasoning, salty kisses or fishy-smelling water.

Formerly a history teacher, folklore researcher, union representative, culture secretary and children’s author - “I never thought I would be a singer” she claims - Onete recorded her debut album Feitiço Caboclo at 73. A cult figure in Brazil and an ambassador for Amazonian culture, the music she sings is a unique mix of rhythms from native Brazilians, African slaves and the Caribbean - epitomised in the joyous carimbós that are her trademark. (Source)

And here's a great quote from a 2019 piece in a Brazilian magazine:

Eu canto carimbó, bolero, rock. Faço o que eu quiser. Não sei o que desce na minha cabeça para fazer uma coisa assim... uma mulher da minha idade.
[I sing carimbó, bolero, rock. I do what I want. I don't know what gets into my head to make me do a thing like that ... a woman my age.] (Source)

Comments

[cmcmck]

While this morning we had a spectacular sunrise!

https://cmcmck.dreamwidth.org/1079889.html

[asakiyume]

Our star is *so wonderful*

[amaebi]

I am so grateful always for your posts, and they often give me poetry.

At the age of 60 and quite undistinguished, the story of Banzeiro also gives me hope.

[asakiyume]

At the age of 57, I feel similar! Heartened by the way she keeps putting new things in her life.

[amaebi]

That's the easy part. I'm heartened that she gets attention.

Which is so largely happenstance.

[asakiyume]

It is largely happenstance--so many factors beyond anyone's individual control. She definitely has a certain charisma--and this too is beyond individual control--that I think attracts attention. (And I realize that sounds like a backhanded dis, but insofar as it is, I'm including myself and most people I know among the dissed.) Did you happen to take a peek at the video I posted last entry (this is the video)? It was the first song of hers I came across, and while part of the appeal--beyond the song itself--of the video was the location and the dancers, a huge part of it was definitely Dona Onete herself.

[amaebi]

That video is indeed fantastic! Thank you!

In misogynistic cultures, however, women and people from other oppressed groups are not infrequently snubbed, dismissed, silenced and at a pinch attacked *because* of, not despite charisma and ability.

[asakiyume]

Oh, no doubt.

When the bottom line is that someone doesn't like you, then whatever you do/are will provoke them. Are you quiet and unassuming? You're mousey, and they hate that. Are you gregarious and charming? You're grandstanding, and they hate that--and so on.

[amaebi]

'zactly.

[mallorys_camera]

She was the kind of person for whom sunsets posed a driving hazard, would be a brilliant first line in a short story.

Please write it. 😊

[asakiyume]

I thought so too! Now there's just the pesky problem of a plot ;-)

[osprey_archer]

"She was the kind of person for whom sunsets pose a driving hazard,"

I love this. What a great character detail.

And the cookie delivery sounds wonderful, too. One thing that has made 2020 easier to bear has been seeing the creative ways that people find to stay connected to each other.

[asakiyume]

I agree about the creative ways people find to stay connected. It's trite to say, but also true, that restricting our ability to see each other--and threatening us with ultimate loss--makes us keenly aware of how important other people are to us, and then that feeling prompts us to act accordingly.

[kore]

Dona Onete sounds amazing!

[asakiyume]

Right?? I feel like writing a poem about her. The way she dances, the way she smiles. The things she sings about.

[sartorias]

"She was the kind of person for whom sunsets pose a driving hazard,"

Heh, yes, waving hand.

Thank you for that gorgeous photo of forestland and sky!

[asakiyume]

You're very welcome!

And keep those eyes on the road! ;-)