River of January

Well, last night I went to Vinicius Piano Bar for a spectacular bossa nova show. The opener guy was a beast on guitar and sang some classics, including a bossa version of Stevie´s I Just Called to Say I Love You, which seems wankery but it was actually pretty good and not annoyingly repetitive like it´s original. Act Two was Maria something and her band. She was a hair gimmicky in her set, but all of them were really talented (she has sung with Jobim!!) Side note, this venue is on the same corner where Vinicius do Moraes and Jobim co-wrote Girl from Ipanema. Having come because of bossa, I´m fulfilled. Met a Chilean guy at the venue who was a music nut and had some good bossa history for me. Plus it was good to speak Spanish to Spanish instead of Spanish to Portuguese (they´re close, but it´s pretty hard because of the pronunciation). This morning I took the bus then the boat over the bay to Nitaroi where my friend Maria Helena lives, the lady I met in Cuzco. She was working so her two daughters welcomed me, albeit awkwardly because they´re 15 and 13. But the former brought out her keyboard and Grandpa´s old guitar so I was set for the afternoon. Tomorrow I´m gonna go to the Museo do Arte Contemporaneo, the new Niemeyer building on the rocky coast facing Rio.

Anoche fui a Vinicius Piano Bar para ver un show de bossa nova espectacular. El cantante que empezo era un duro de guitarra y toco clasicas, incluyendo una version de I Just Called to Say I Love You por Stevie Wonder. Se parecia bovo, pero era buena y no tan repetitiva como el original. La segunda presentacion era un conjunto con cantante Maria algo cuya performancia era un poco ´showy´pero igual todos son talentosos (ella ha cantado con Jobim!!) Otra cosa, este lugar esta hubicada en la esquina donde Vinicius do Moraes y Jobim componaron La Chica de Ipanema. De haber venido por la bossa, ya estoy satisfecho. Conoci a un chileno quien es fanatico y el me conto historias interesantes. Tambien fue bien hablar Español a Español en vez de Español a Portugues (son parecidas, pero es dificil por la pronunciacion). Esta mañana tome el bus y la lancha tras la bahia hasta Nitaroi donde vive mi amiga Maria Helena, la señora que conoci en Cusco. Ella estaba trabajando entonces sus dos hijas me llevaron, incomodas un poquito porque tienen 15 y 13 años. Pero despues de que la mayor saco sus teclas y la guitarra vieja de su abuelo, paso la tarde bien. Mañana ire al Museo do Arte Contemporaneo, el nuevo edeficio de Niemeyer que queda en la costa en frente de Rio.