Thanks for a couple of very nice essays, obviously well researched and deeply felt. While I've never been to Brazil myself, I have several friends who have become quite involved with Brazilian cultgure and music -- one fellow who married a girl from Bahia, and another who found work as a sound engineer for Sergio Mendes and spent most of the 80s and 90s touring the world with his orchestra.

Also, as a New Orleanian, I'm a great fan of Mardi Gras (Carnival), and every year I have to wonder what it must be like in Rio, where Febraury is a summer month, and always think to myself "maybe next year."