Berliner Boersenzeitung - Brazil bagpipe band channels sound of Scotland

EUR -
AED 4.301388
AFN 81.339917
ALL 97.793215
AMD 449.822133
ANG 2.095785
AOA 1073.877214
ARS 1477.8043
AUD 1.80227
AWG 2.107938
AZN 1.953194
BAM 1.953268
BBD 2.364834
BDT 143.24429
BGN 1.953765
BHD 0.441434
BIF 3444.136711
BMD 1.171077
BND 1.498058
BOB 8.093507
BRL 6.412459
BSD 1.171281
BTN 100.547644
BWP 15.626474
BYN 3.833031
BYR 22953.104232
BZD 2.35265
CAD 1.601231
CDF 3378.556766
CHF 0.935052
CLF 0.02873
CLP 1102.498888
CNY 8.402363
CNH 8.406252
COP 4721.89855
CRC 591.533101
CUC 1.171077
CUP 31.033534
CVE 110.434311
CZK 24.645338
DJF 208.124315
DKK 7.460052
DOP 70.322766
DZD 151.805596
EGP 58.163163
ERN 17.566151
ETB 162.55056
FJD 2.636439
FKP 0.857996
GBP 0.860443
GEL 3.1851
GGP 0.857996
GHS 12.175994
GIP 0.857996
GMD 83.746883
GNF 10136.840645
GTQ 9.003328
GYD 245.042313
HKD 9.192818
HNL 30.600328
HRK 7.537987
HTG 153.221355
HUF 399.838412
IDR 19044.518483
ILS 3.914541
IMP 0.857996
INR 100.478444
IQD 1534.310828
IRR 49331.608397
ISK 142.613315
JEP 0.857996
JMD 186.937643
JOD 0.830262
JPY 171.083185
KES 151.619576
KGS 102.410576
KHR 4708.899653
KMF 492.435197
KPW 1053.969363
KRW 1609.888811
KWD 0.357761
KYD 0.976018
KZT 608.431194
LAK 25236.703583
LBP 104928.476501
LKR 352.393137
LRD 234.801086
LSL 20.796139
LTL 3.457885
LVL 0.708373
LYD 6.31237
MAD 10.55784
MDL 19.759046
MGA 5136.340942
MKD 61.557682
MMK 2458.723874
MNT 4196.670975
MOP 9.470422
MRU 46.440791
MUR 52.674928
MVR 18.042732
MWK 2030.567452
MXN 21.86138
MYR 4.959485
MZN 74.901921
NAD 20.796139
NGN 1792.250706
NIO 43.104117
NOK 11.857691
NPR 160.87643
NZD 1.951324
OMR 0.450279
PAB 1.171281
PEN 4.175471
PGK 4.910634
PHP 66.329739
PKR 332.779765
PLN 4.251766
PYG 9333.898979
QAR 4.281649
RON 5.065843
RSD 117.16512
RUB 92.163356
RWF 1691.307289
SAR 4.392132
SBD 9.763178
SCR 16.525032
SDG 703.228077
SEK 11.146267
SGD 1.498194
SHP 0.920282
SLE 26.290837
SLL 24556.898127
SOS 669.332238
SRD 43.625536
STD 24238.924258
SVC 10.248713
SYP 15226.253808
SZL 20.790047
THB 38.173933
TJS 11.273185
TMT 4.110479
TND 3.393194
TOP 2.742782
TRY 46.825826
TTD 7.938708
TWD 34.049039
TZS 3091.867482
UAH 49.00297
UGX 4201.552857
USD 1.171077
UYU 47.009055
UZS 14707.931763
VES 128.20187
VND 30617.801538
VUV 138.688767
WST 3.035441
XAF 655.096506
XAG 0.031929
XAU 0.000352
XCD 3.164894
XDR 0.81167
XOF 655.107679
XPF 119.331742
YER 283.575941
ZAR 20.838315
ZMK 10541.098103
ZMW 28.372731
ZWL 377.086235
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Brazil bagpipe band channels sound of Scotland
Brazil bagpipe band channels sound of Scotland / Photo: MAURO PIMENTEL - AFP

Brazil bagpipe band channels sound of Scotland

It's a gorgeous day at the beach in Brazil: the bright blue ocean sparkles in the sun, the palm trees sway in the breeze and the peaceful sound of... er, bagpipes?

Text size:

Thousands of kilometers (miles) from the United Kingdom, the kilts are out on a Rio de Janeiro beach that suddenly looks like something out of the Scottish Highlands.

Eleven-year-old Davi Portugal is playing a set of bagpipes nearly as big as he is, inflating his cheeks to tennis-ball-size with every breath.

"I love the sound. It's beautiful and different," says the young Brazilian, whose dream is to join the navy.

He and his older brother Caio, 14, are both members of their school band in Sao Goncalo, a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Rio, where playing the bagpipes is a surefire way to turn people's heads.

"The first time I saw the bagpipes, I definitely did not want to play them, because I thought it was weird to wear a kilt. It looks like a skirt, which is kind of taboo in Brazil," says Jhonny Mesquita, 32, the director of the school band.

"But later, I fell in love with the sound. When I started learning about the history of the instrument and what it represents to the Scottish people, it turned into a passion."

- 'The Pele of bagpipes' -

In 2017, Mesquita got the chance to pursue his passion back at its source when he traveled to Scotland for two weeks.

He shot to fame there thanks to a video of him juggling a football at a stadium in Aberdeen, all while playing "Asa Branca," a Brazilian classic, on the bagpipes.

"It was a huge success. The local newspapers called me the 'Pele of the bagpipes,'" he says, sporting a black, red and white tartan kilt and leather pouch, called a sporran, like the other members of the group.

Mesquita, a grade school music teacher, is famous in Sao Goncalo, too: he has played the bagpipes on Brazilian TV and at Rio's famed Municipal Theater.

But he says his proudest moments are seeing young people from tough neighborhoods fall in love with music via the bagpipes.

"The essence of the project is engaging young people and occupying their minds so they stay away from drugs and crime," he says.

In addition to leading the school band, he is head of the Brazil-Scotland Association, a group of 18 bagpipers who play in "places people don't want to go," such as juvenile detention centers.

- Next generation of kilt-wearers -

Mesquita himself learned the bagpipes at 15, thanks to a serviceman who played in a navy band.

He says he decided to teach kids how to play the instrument at the school he attended -- the same one where he is now band director, training the next generation of kilt-wearing Brazilians.

Mesquita mainly relies on donations and ingenuity to keep his association going on a shoestring budget.

"Most of our bagpipes were donated, mainly from overseas. The kilts are made by the mom of one of our members," he says.

The group was invited to play a festival in Belgium in July, but did not have money for plane tickets.

But the "Pele of bagpipes" is not letting that get his spirits down.

He sees the instrument opening new horizons for his students all the time, he says.

"It's been a watershed for them. I've seen young people who didn't seem to have a promising future win scholarships or join the navy and air force bands," he says.

"It's very moving to watch my son play," says Alice Cortes da Silva, a former student at Mesquita's school, as she watches her nine-year-old play tambourine in the group.

"His dream is to move from tambourine to bagpipes. He's very dedicated. He's even started doing better at school," she says proudly.

(P.Werner--BBZ)