Anti Blog

Michael Franti’s manager Catherine sent us this email from Brazil, where the new Michael Franti & Spearhead video is being shot:

“We are shooting in the favela in more ways than one…

Brasil is so deceivingly safe, beautiful, abundant and romantic!
Georgous people-I mean gorgeous! Bikinis, sexy samba dancing, soccer and the best rice and beans…the best life has to offer eh!?

Today we went into the Vigario Geral favela to shoot Michael Franti’s ‘Say Hey’ music video. It’s a happy, catchy tune that sings and radiates the lyric ‘I love you, I love you, I love you!’ And people in Brazil and especially the favelas love him!

This is the perfect place to capture the essence of this song-with Afrolatte drummers and dancers-beautiful, exciting, percussive, hot and living under the machine gun and drug trafficking.

After shooting all day in Vigario Geral-at sunset Feijo-ex drug lord who gave it up after seeing too many of his friends die and then got inspired to join AfroReggae.org–gave us the warning that ‘they want us to leave’ so…who they? The drug lords. Sunset is work time and they were getting tired of having us around with cameras.

So-we walk out of the AfroReggae center and a machine gun toting ’security man’ made sure we walked in the right direction-OUT!

So-walking up the steps to the overpass leaving Vigario Geral I decided to turn around an have another look see…I saw our guy pointing the machine gun right at us! I pass the ‘lookout kid’ a 13yr old with a walkie-talkie standing guard at entry into favela and think holy shit-I think I”ll walk a little quicker to get outta the way…

We are staying in a lovely part of Rio called Santa Teresa. It’s in the hills-beautiful, posh-bohemian and cobble-stoned charm. But a lot closer to the favelas than the Copacobana Beach hotel we stayed at last time.

Tonight as I lay in my bed past midnight and reflect about the long day and my 7am lobby call-and for the last 45min I heard no less than 4 gun battles. I heard one earlier at the favela-around 4pm-I thought it was firecrackers-the neighbors said, no, it’s the police making their nightly announcment.

Tonight- I lay here and think oh…it’s just firecrackers for the first battle. Then 15min later…ok…the sounds are ratatatatatat…boom…boom…ratatatatatatatatata….boom boom boom…OK, gunshots.

Again-ratatatatatataat boom boom. I go upstairs to try and hear where it’s coming from, but with the hills it bounces off all the walls. I just hope no bullet bounces through my window!

Oh crap…more machine gun fire…

Beautiful Rio and Sao Paulo living under the gun, drugs and violence. Desperation begets anger and violence. Také care of the people-basic human rights and they will live in peace. Crush the people-they will find other ways to their means. Favela life began because of this and now to live under the rule of the gun is all they know. AfroReggae is changing the youth’s mindsets with art, education and culture- new choices. It’s a blessing to be working with them and inspires our Power To The Peaceful org to do more!

Go rent the dvd ‘Favela Rising’…it will blow you away-a great human story and insight into the favela scene.

So…Tomorrow we go to what they call ‘the Gaza Strip’ in Vigario Geral…a war is going on.”

–Catherine in Rio!