Portraits: Cecília Afonsopena
The Cariorker
What's in a name? In Rio de Janeiro you might be surprised. Cecília Afonsopena was born in Rio de Janeiro, but her family roots extend well into the country's interior and into the early days of the First Republic. A great grand-daughter of the Brazilian President Alfonso Pena, Cecília is a true "carioca da gema" who cut a swath in New York City in the 1970s.
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Go Filthy Get Filthy!
The Cariorker
A man remembers a conversation he had many years ago on the terrace of the Theatre of São Pedro de Alcântara between acts of a play, which he doesn't remember nearly as well as the incident of his friend's story about guilt, justice, conscience, and getting filthy rich.
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Nuptial Song
The Cariorker
An "Eleanor Rigby" in prose, this story tells of aging musical conductor Roman Pires, loved & respected by all -- a local celebrity. Yet, his dream has always been to compose. Confined at home during an illness, he finds a burst of energy to compose the one simple melody that will be the fulfillment of his life. Janeen Rae Heller gives startling performance of her arrangement of 'Santa' by Chiquinha Gonzaga. Visit Janeen at https://www.facebook.com/Musical-Saw-Sawyer-Janeen-Rae-Heller--323527627659379
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Canary on the Brain
The Cariorker
Macedo stumbles, literally, one day into a gloomy junk shop to discover a canary in a dilapidated cage. Amid the flotsam and jetsum on a sea of junk, he sees the canary as a ray of sunlight playing in the darkness. When he discovers other extraordinary avian properties, he immediately purchases the bird and is stricken with Canary on the Brain. "Tico-Tico no Fubá" for this episode is played by jazz pianist Carlo Penza. For more information visit www.facebook.com/carlo.penza.18
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Among Saints
The Cariorker
The perfect conclusion to The Cariorker's 2020 Lenten triptych of stories leading up to Easter. Machado has set this tale of redemption and resurrection in one of Rio de Janeiro's most historic churches. Love transforms, but sometimes in the strangest of ways.
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The Church of the Devil
The Cariorker
In this second of a triptych of stories on Biblical and ecclesiastic themes for the Lenten season, we join the Devil on his mission to start his own Church on earth. Based on an old Benedictine manuscript Machado's story takes us from Hell to Heaven, to Earth, around the globe, and back again on a pendulum ride between Good and Evil.
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Adam and Eve
The Cariorker
In observance of Lent, this is the first of 3 stories on Biblical themes, all of an unmistakably "Machadian" bent. On this rare excursion to Bahia, far from his beloved Rio, Machado takes us to a dinner table conversation in the verdant 18th century northeast when Cana (sugar) was the "fruit" of note in the Brazilian paradise.
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The Wallet
The Cariorker
When the young lawyer, Honório, finds a wallet full of money on Assembly Street in Rio, we accompany him through the interior of the city during his own interior struggle of conscience.
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The Case of the Rod
The Cariorker
A young seminarian escapes a monastery, seeking protection from his father’s retribution while at the home of his godfather’s sweetheart. Over the course of a harrowing afternoon, it becomes clear through Machado's extraordinary storytelling who the soul of the young man really belongs to. (From "O Caso da Vara by Machado de Assis, translation from Portuguese and Violão by Todd Conner)
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Chapter of the Hats
The Cariorker
When a young wife demands that her husband stop wearing a hat beneath his station, his humiliating refusal causes her to rebel on the town with a more promiscuous married girlfriend.
info_outlineThe young wife of a legal solicitor in Lapa realizes that her husband's 15 year-old live-in clerk has fallen in love with her, because she always leaves her bare arms exposed at home in front of the inexperienced youngster. Often considered an erotic modulation to the scenario of "Midnight Mass," (S1,Ep3).
From "Uns Braços" by Machado de Assis, translation from Portuguese by Todd Conner; Violão by Todd Conner