Music and Macarrão

As part of my study abroad experience, I've been teaching English as a volunteer to members of the City Youth Orchestra of Coque (Orquestra Criança Cidadã) every Saturday afternoon. In addition, I worked with some of my students to learn about their neighborhood and create an anthropological photo album of Coque. During the experience, I learned a great deal about my students, their values, and, of course, their favorite foods. Coque is a neighborhood of Recife located on the island of Joana Bezerra. Located between the luxurious Boa Viagem and the economic center of the city, the favela (slum) marks the rapid urbanization which is still occuring under the title of "development" and "progress". Residents of Coque are frequently being relocated due to the construction of high rise condominiums, often receiving much less economic support than they deserve.

For three years now, Orquestra Criança Cidadã has selected talented youth residents of Coque and provided music training, educational reinforcement, and basic information technology. The orchestra is housed in the army base of Coque and all daily meals are provided to students.

When I accompanied my students on a tour of Coque, they invited me to dinner with them. My first question, of course, was "what are we eating?" to which they responded, "Oh, 'Normal' food" (Yes!) Normal food in Brazil consists of meat or poultry, beans, rice, and pasta (macarrão).

The author dining with students

Dinner at the army base includes food and fun

As I was talking with the students, I asked all the members of our dinner party what their favorite food was, and here's what I came up with;

• Lasanha - Four of the twelve interviewed cited the cheesy Italian pasta as their favorite food. Here in Brazil, pasta or rice accompany nearly every lunch plate, so the popularity of this dish is pretty understandable. Also, after 1850, there was a wave of Italian immigrants (part of the "whiteification" of the country to counter the high black population resulting from the slave trade) who settled in Southern and Southeastern Brazil. Today, Italian-Brazilians are estimated to be the fourth largest population in the country, and their influence is evident in both language and cuisine.

• Pizza - Three students declared pizza pie as their favorite food. It's difficult to say whether the presence of pizza is due to Italian immigration (similar to lasagna) or globalization-Americanization. The pizza here in Recife has been tailored to the palates of Brazilians, with flavors such as lombo (ham), catupiry e frango (a creamy regional cheese with chicken, a very popular flavor combination here in the northeast), and linguiça com azeitona (sausage with black olives). Alterations in food demonstrate the constant internationalization which is occurring, and how different cultures adapt. Here, Recife natives enjoy pizza, with their own seasonings.

• "Hamburger", "Coca-cola", "Milkshake" - These three students cited their favorite foods in these words, no translation. Talk about globalization in the works! Coca-cola and Milkshakes can't really undergo much change, no matter what culture they belong to. Here in Recife, McDonald's has establishments which only serve ice-cream cones, blizzards, milkshakes, and coca-cola. I find that a rather interesting adaptation. Milkshakes are relatively pricey for a local budget, and both milkshakes and coca-cola demonstrate that the consumer has money to spend. Hamburgers are a popular street food here, available in lunch kiosks. If you order a burger with "everything", you'll get; corn, peas, shoe-string potatoes, and tomatoes on top. Ketchup and mayo packets are always included with the plate as well. Mustard is nearly non-existant, and considered strange.

• Churrasco, Galinha - Only two students cited traditional Brazilian food as their favorite. Churrasco consists of skewers of grilled, boneless meat. The meat served up ranges from chicken hearts to linguiça to carne de sol, a regional speciality. A street food favorite, churrasco is a popular dinner food, most often accompanied by a beer and some farofa. Galinha, literally "chicken", can be anything from roasted chicken (galeto) to chicken soup. On Sunday afternoons, vendors haul out their grills and serve up galinha to hungry passerbys.

• Torta de chocolate - The only dessert to make the menu, chocolate cake was Antonino's favorite food. He told me that his mom makes the best that he's ever had (awww).

The orchestra students are unique from other Recife residents because of their economic status, daily exposure to both violence and strong community ties, and the opportunity they have to change their lives through music. The community project provides them not only with music and educational support; every night dinner is served up with some healthy conversation.