A sandwich of 100,000 Brazilians: ADVENTURE IN PETROLINA PART 2

On Friday night after we got dressed and ready we headed out to Sao Joao do Vale, Petrolina. Belle’s uncle drove us, and as soon as we were about to get onto the main rode we realized traffic was not moving because everyone was going there. Instead, our driver turned around and made up his own dirt road that took us straight to the show. We parked and ran across the road of traffic to enter the arena. It was definitely a county fair of sorts. There were vendors selling food, carnival rides, and way too many people drinking beer. They also had live music and dancing.
George guided us thru the crowd and I was surprised at how much space we had to work our way up to the front. We got pretty close when we decided we didn’t need to move up anymore. Luckily we got there right on time. There was a group that played a type of music called fojo and as soon as they were done Paula Fernandes came on. The show was great. She sang several songs that I recognized and everything was very well put together. They even had those incredible guns that shoot out confetti, and she sang a song in English! It was perfect.
The only downfall of the show was the crowd that made it impossible to really enjoy what was going on. Once the concert started, everyone started pushing their way to the front. People were just going in and out for the fun of it. I have never been so squished at a show before. There was no space and all of a sudden you had 50 or so people in lines pushing their way through. If it wasn’t for the fat man standing behind me, protecting my space so he could put his hands all over me, I would have fallen several times. It was so hot, sticky and uncomfortable, but completely worth it! That’s what adventures are all about right?
As I was standing there sandwiched between 100,000 Brazilians, it really hit me that I am here! For the first time since I quit my job I finally felt like I made the right choice. I was at a concert with people I love and a bunch of locals listening to music that was unique to my surroundings. I was doing something I would have never gotten to do if I wasn’t living here. It felt really good to be able to be there, enjoy myself and not have to think about going home to several responsibilities. It was nice to feel free for a moment.
Sorry I didn’t get to take more photos for you. I was scared to take out my camera because of all of the people there. If you want to see more photos, you can look up Sao Joao do Vale, Petrolina.
In my next post I will tell you all about day 2 of my adventure, which includes eating BBQ goat and taking photos in the mens bathroom.

Photos above of Paula Fernandes taken by Erin Thompson
1/4th of the crowd, photo courtesy of http://robsonpatricionosertao.blogspot.com.br