Ouro Preto

Before they saw us off to Rio they took us to the nearby town of Ouro Preto. Alejandre had gone to college here. They knew the town well. The town is famous for its colonial architecture which Brazilians believe to be more authentically local because it shrugs off some of the templates brought directly from Portugal and embraces a mixology of forms and elements. Hero to the area is was a mixed race bastard child of a famous local architect who despite becoming a cripple early in life was embraced by his father and given the opportunity to built in this booming gold town. I think it is that generosity, that embrace of all races and physical deformities and the mix of it, that is perhaps why Brazilians love this man so much. Who knows. the town is quite beautiful.


We really loved our time with these two. We listened to Bossa Nova the whole way to Ouro Preto and back. I truly hope that we have the opportunity to have them stay with us here in LA. We will see. And before i press on, one of the most astonishing things about Minas Gerais (the country province we are in) is that the food is nearly identical to Southern cooking. God Bless did i eat. Fried Chicken, Gravy, Greens, Corn, a type of homony made from some local plant since wheat is scarce, rice and beans. i mean on and on. It really impressed me how similar in many ways the music, our fat fightin' man with his mandolin in Belo and all of these greens and puddings ii was like being back on the Mississippi Delta foot stompin' and lickin' greasy fingers. This great Mix and how much our cultures have in common.