Where I Wasn't this Weekend. Swear.

While my last posts have been about taking trips away, I have been having some fun in the city too. Every Saturday the Museu de Arte Moderno (MAM) has a jazz/ jam band play outside for only $2 reais, cleverly titled the “JAM ao MAM”. Modern art doesn’t cease to piss me off below the equator but the show is always pretty sweet. The museum itself is an old government or shipping building right on the water that is built on the bottom of a cliff. There is a courtyard outside against the water where the band sets up and its really cool to just go and hang out listening to the music and ocean while you’re easing into the night. There are stands set up conveniently selling drinks, crepes and other good stuff too. The next day, we got up (relatively) early and went to a surf contest at a beach about 30 minutes away. It was pretty disappointing due in part to the crappy weather so when the rain set in, we got a bus back to Campo Grande (my neighborhood). At the bus stop I noticed an abnormal amount of flamboyant transvestites and as the bus screeched to a stop, the annual Gay Pride Parade was in full swing in the park across from my apartment building. It was pretty startling to see the small jogger’s park turned into an all out party. The park and surrounding streets were all flooded with people. There was a big stage with cross dressers getting down to “My Love Don’t Cost a Thing” and trucks with bands along the street blaring music. Whenever there is a public festival here, they have trucks drive through the streets with either music blasting or live bands playing on top. Anyways throughout the whole area people were just going crazy, dancing, wearing wild outfits. It was so hot (outside) and over the top, it was definitely a wild Sunday. At least, that’s what I heard, I was at home thinking about women.