Mooca, São Paulo. Besides living here and becoming fluent with Portugese, the other part of my dream here is to actually learn more about the history and religion of Brazil. Here is the latest on that.
I have been trying to get together materials for a research visa, but am currently stuck not with all the proper academic letters of invitation and such, but with the SF Brazilian Consulate´s requirement of a local/California criminal clearance which apparently must be completed in person there! Argh... I don´t know how it is going to work out.
But, the good news is that Lucas´ aunt and uncle, Augusta and Raul, are involved in Candomblé here and have agreed to help me do formal and/or informal research. Augusta is a mãe de santos (a priestess, more or less) and Raul has written a book on one of the saints/orixas of Candomble. With access to their collection of books and resources, their knowledge of the customs and history, I will be able to understand with some intimacy their branch of Candomblé (Ketu). I haven´t decided for sure, but I will likely focus on knowing one of the orixas really well.... probably Oxum. (See Wikipedia´s entry on Ketu Candomble and the orixas). I hope to spend a part of my Friday´s working on this!
