One night here in Rio at a private view for a gallery called Gentil Carioca spontaneously I orchestrated my friends to lift up my friend Lila and we carried her off held on our shoulders. We walked along together a little girl hanging out of the doorway smiled at us, we proceeded to climb scaffolding play and swing off it. Lila said in a super macho voice 'never miss an opportunity to work out' and began doing pull ups, then in the middle of the pavement we found the remnants of a fire and marinho an artist who used to do pixacao (a kind of grafitti tagging based on rune like script used on heavy metal album covers) he's now represented by gentil carioca http://www.agentilcarioca.com.br/indexpor.html he drew with the charcoal on the pavement, people picked up pieces and drew on every thing, then we came to a park where we watched some big animals that I have never ever seen before snuffling around in the darkness through the park railings, we came across a load of cats we carried tiny kittens a few meters and then gave them to a people waiting at a bus stop. It was in Centro Velho a really destroyed and crumbling, desperately poor part of Rio with colonial buildings and real darkness, at some point I was crying, tears pouring down my face. Omar demonstrated a game where you see who can throw their flip flops from their feet the furthest. Everyone was riffing off the environment, the uplights outside the fire station, the cobbles, even the cars.
This happened at a specific time - there are very different energies in Rio at different times. This was after carnival with sadness and regret that come with a hang over - I think I was feeling this in harmony with practically the Whole city. Post carnival mood - the song lyrics 'tristesse nao tem fim, felizidade sim'- ‘sadness has no end happiness does’ personally I felt a powerful sense of constraint and oppression during carnival and this feeling was lifted for a few hours while we wandered freely. Up till that moment I was uncertain how to behave so drew unwanted attention when I walked timidly, people where in the streets mostly to get drunk, get laid and dance, outsiders attracted attention and were easy targets for characteristic Brazilian predation and piss taking. It was oppressively HOT all the time even at night. That procession we made that night from Gentil Carioca to Gafieira Elite with Marinho, Marcela, Julia, Omar, Lila and I was a different space and time we connected with the place but experienced it in so many ways at the same time we shaped our experiences and allowed them to be magical.