A
NIGHT OUT AT COPACABANA
By Bal Yujuico
Quezon
High’s 105th will be celebrated in style, the Copacabana way,
with lots of samba tunes and Latin music to dance the night away. Live out
your fantasies and mark your calendar- July 14th,, 2007 at
Toronto East end’s Malvern Center. The Copacabana theme, host of the
greatest show on earth, the Rio Carnival, is the unanimous choice of the
board members. Music by REMMV, Rolly Vallena, class 67 flagship.
But what is Copacabana really ? Where is it and What’s in there? Wikipedia, s’il vous plait.
Barry Manilow’s Copacabana, which according to his song is the hardest spot north of Havana- does not exist. Barry, you’re a liar. I remember walking the nooks and corners of Old Havana asking the locals Donde esta Copacabana ? No luck. North of Havana (or is it east ?) has Tropicana instead, where for only $75 dollars you get a sampling of Cuban cabaret, hot salsa music and fine dining.
Copacabana is that C-curve beach beside Ipanema jutting out the Atlantic Ocean in the beachside section of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was during my visit to attend the February 2005 Rio Carnival parade when I was able to taste the nightlife of this magnificent part of Rio. The $10 million Sambadromo where the carnival samba school parade starts and ends cost an enthusiast at least $200 for the cheapest seat, but back in Copacabana beach, anyone gets a free sampling of a mini samba parade on stage days prior to Rio Carnival - where the boys watch the girls while the girls watch the boys who watch the girls go by. Eye to eye, they solemnly convene to make the scene as the song goes. It is also a mecca of pickpockets and petty thieves, so folks, watch out.
At the balcony of my 11th floor hotel apartment beside the Avenida Atlantico on Rua Djalma Ulrich overlooks the roof of HELP disco beachfront where thousands flock at sunset up to the wee hours of the morning. At the departure lounge of Rio international airport, a bunch of men in line for clearance would ask every visitor if they happened to be at HELP. Just like, Eiffel Tower and Empire State Building, don’t leave Rio without visiting HELP. Each evening, the inevitable slips. Samba and Latin tunes simply are hard to resist.
The clickety clackety of high heeled boots worn by Carioca women can be heard along the dark and lighted tunnel alley entrance of Copacabana where Botafogo shopping (the dance step !) center is located. Tell me, New York is not the only city that doesn’t sleep. Copacabana just wink an eye before the dawn.
Jesus Christ with his outreaching hands, the Cristo Redentor statue, considered one of the wonders of the modern world is seen top of Corcovado overlooking the thousands of favelas (slums). Copacabana is the exact opposite of Beverly Hills. The poor live in the hills while the middle class and the rich dot the seaside plain boulevards of Ipanema and Copacabana. For $75 you get a 15-minute helicopter ride from the Sugarloaf mountain enough to cover the breadth and depth of Copacabana and downtown Rio.
Back in Toronto, the July event is anticipated to be attended by legions of ballroom enthusiasts and possibly another deluge of Quezon High grads from the US and Canadian provinces. No guest speakers, no boring speeches, just simply line dancing, rhumba, samba, salsa, cumbia, disco, batchata, Zorba, Bossa Nova, Carpenter’s Yesterday Once More line dance etcetera etcetera. There will be a bus tour being organized for attendees the following day going to Eastern Canada. Prizes for best Samba costume. Lucena’s Kachina Foods offering good deals for Lucban style shortganisa, kikiam, hardinero, FV Foods Sariaya Pinagong and Tikoy and Nieves Balut and Penoy will be on sale to beat Brazilian blues. Unbelievable, yes, at the Copa, Copacabana, where music and fashion are always the passion.
Ang mga taga Lucena talaga,
pagnagkatipon tipon, yano, eh eh. Happy 105th birthday Quezon
High !!!
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Driving Instructions |
Night life at Copacabana Beach in Rio is Carnival's added attraction