Yesterday, I went to a Brazilian Carnival, with a group of INSEAD students. Most of them were from Brazil...The event was organized by the Spanish Speaking Women Association. I am still wondering why a Spanish speaking group would organize a Portuguese driven event, but I guess that there are more important questions that I could spend my time on.

I thought that it would be interesting to see what happens when Spain/Brazil meets Singapore.

Food was excellent - and very varied. Singapore service was up to its standards (impeccable but passionless). Some costumes were amazing. Devils, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, Michael Jackson, Parisian Cabaret Lady Singer, Clown, Arabian Sultan, Rio Carnival Girl, Mexican Desperado, Cats, Flamenco Dancer, Hawaian Pot Smoker - maybe he wasn't costumed, etc...Music was all right, a mix of Samba, Bossa Nova, Mambo and other Latin rhythms, including Salsa and Merengue, etc...At times, it showed its stage and could have benefitted from more modern versions. The mix was not always well thought out, or more exactly, the choice of the next song was not necessarily based on the observation of the dancers' behaviors. In general, the level of expertise of the dancers was high, much higher than at the average INSEAD party. There was a lucky draw but my reaction to all the prizes was identical: I hope I don't win this thing!

The evening reached its agogee when the drummers stepped on stage. This is exactly what was needed to make the evening more real, more dynamic. I am not sure that anyone could remain seated when they played. They were excellent. A couple of them looked Asian, the rest very much Brazilians. It is a very rich set of percussions. I am really admirative of their talent: the complexity of the rhythms and the difficulty to coordinate so many different types of percussions and so many different contributions makes the coordination of 10 fingers and two feet in piano playing effortless.
Unfortunately, they did not stay very long (it must have been exhausting).

The Capoera demonstration (Brazilian martial art developed under the cover of a tribal dance by the African slaves working on the plantations) was fantastic. After a small warm up, where all the moves were slow, everyone started to get animated and fight simulations between two or sometimes three or four people replaced the laconic character of the introduction. It was too fast for me to be able to follow every move and it looked awfully dangerous - and potentially very painful. I concede that there is some kind of beauty in the feline moves and in the lightness with which all these bodies seemed to float in the air, defying gravity. However, I need only imagine the violence of a real fight to want to tke my eyes off the show.