If you give a mouse a cookie...

"...he'll ask for a glass of milk".

After getting off the bus in Salvador I (and every other tourist/local adult alike) become the target of between one and six local kids, hands outstretched, tears forming in their eyes.  The scene is pitiful.  They're too skinny, dirty clothes, and "are only asking for a coin, tia, just one coin...".  When the coin is denied (for fear that they'll buy it for drugs), the strategy changes.  "Tia! Wait!  Just buy me a can of powdered milk!".  Well, you think to yourself, a can of milk is food, and food can't buy drugs... so you buy it for them, only to later discover that here, food can buy drugs, and it does.


Here in Salvador, and in other urban centers of Brazil, crack is a huge problem.  It's cheap, it's available, and the dealers accept trades.  In the historic center of the city, there are about 25 street kids, the majority addicted to crack.  My friend, a fellow American now living in Brazil, Amar, has a program which provides capoeira training to kids living on the street combined with social service.  The program works towards integrating these kids into the work force by the time they're 17, in hopes that they will fully adapt, and also learn about their culture (capoeira) and community in the process.  Everything that he does is funded through his own money and he provides kids in Pelourinho with a friend, mentor, and a place to stay.  To see more about the project, guerreiros da luz you can visit his site

				http://www.capoeirabrasilbahia.com/guerreiros-da-luz/

In addition to Amar, there are a variety of other non-profit organizations here in Salvador offering these kids a place to stay, food, and clothes are cheap and available to them. But the majority keep asking for coins, or food like powdered milk, cookies, and other prepackaged items which they can later resell or trade off for drugs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         So what can we do?  Don't give coins, invite them to a sit down lunch with you, talk with them.  And if they refuse your offer, just think of the mouse before you buy him the milk.

If you give God some peanuts...

This past Friday, the 12th,  I had the pleasure of participating in a mass sponsered by my university, the Catholic University of Pernambuco commemorating Afro-brazilian religions.  The ceremony hosted religious leaders of the catholic, candomblé, and umbanda religions and paid homage to Zumbi dos Palmares, the legendary slave who led the revolt against slavery in the northeast.  During the ceremony, there was dance, song, and another important element; food.

 After the songs and dance, there was a sermon, which honored Zumbi and the thousands of other slaves and blacks who suffered for independence and equal rights in the country.  The sermon was followed by offerings.  There was a procession, first with candles, then statues, baby dolls, paintings, fruit baskets, dried coconut candies, cakes, popcorn, and peanuts; all of which were displayed around the bible, which was propped up in a clay bowl with an African-printed blanket.

The procession begins with offerings of food (popcorn is pictured)

The event was truly a mix of the three religions, even with regards to the use of food.  After the offerings were made, there was eucharist and communion, involving the traditional Catholic items of wine and wafer.  After the ceremony was concluded, the procession resumed and the food and gifts were brought out in front of the church and everyone joined in the dance of Maracatu (a religious and cultural drum circle) and ate the popcorn, peanuts, and other snacks with Fanta and Guaraná to wash them down.

Mãe de Santo Maria Helena participates in the Eucharist with Padre Cloves

It was a truly inclusive event, and I found it important that these offerings reflected the tastes of the northeastern people, and included truly local ingredients; Sugar (the staple agricultural product of Pernambuco), coconut, fruits, peanuts, and corn.

So who knows, if you give God some peanuts, will you be blessed?  That we can't know exactly, but I don't believe that it's that which is most important.  If you give God some peanuts, you will surely share them among friends and get immediate positive feedback from the ceremony which I can assure, is more than just mere peanuts.

Maracatu celebration

Students from Mestre Corisco's special term for students with down syndrom in the group chapeu de couro dance to Maracatu