Learn Portuguese: Portuguese Language Picnic in NYC!
Posted by Elena Como with Atlantico Books on July 18, 2011 · 4 Comments
Yesterday I had a blast in Central Park with friends from the meetup Come Speak Brazilian Portuguese With Us!
Teia de aranha
Yesterday’s event was called Picnic + Portuguese conversation in Central Park = fun! We met in Central Park, on the Upper East Side. The picnic was organized by Cristhiane Vieira-Rozenblit, from Brazil Ahead, who started us off with some fun “getting to know you” activities in Portuguese, to make sure that everyone practiced their Portuguese.
We played a game of “teia de aranha” (spider-web) to break the ice. You introduce yourself briefly when someone throws you the ball of string, and then you throw it to someone else, eventually forming a spiderweb of new friends! Then Cris told us a riddle in Portuguese.
Next, we divided into 3 groups, in order to have some other activities. I led a reading group, which read Eva Bueno’s story, Meio Bugre, from the book Ao Redor do Mundo: Leituras em Português.
Leitura de "Meio Bugre" do livro "Ao Redor do Mundo: Leituras em Portugues, Vol. 1"
I love this story, because it’s all about Eva’s childhood in Brazil and her family’s history living in the interior of the state of Paraná. It’s a beautiful story about a little girl and her father, the songs they would sing together, and the story he once told her, about how her great grandmother may have been an indigenous Brazilian.
It’s a fascinating story and a great examination & analysis of Brazilian culture, and especially Brazilian racial identity. I recommend the book, and this article in particular, to Portuguese students who are interested in Brazilian culture.
Finally, we sang some Brazilian music with Todd Conatser, who brought his guitar. Todd is an accomplished musician, and it was so much fun to sing some of my favorite old Bossa Nova tunes, like “Manhã” and “A Felicidade” by Tom Jobim & Vinicius de Moraes.
Cristhiane Vieira-Rozenblit, from Brazil Ahead, with Todd Conatser, and Lemuel & Steven!
There were brownies, chips with salsa & guacamole, and guaraná. It was a beautiful, summer afternoon in Central Park and a wonderful conversation in Portuguese. I hope to repeat this Portuguese language picnic, sposored by Atlantico Books and Brazil Ahead, sometime very soon.
New York City’s Come Speak Brazilian Portuguese With Us! offers many fun opportunities to practice Portuguese, with movie-nights, Portuguese classes, and “bate-papo” conversation hours at different fun venues around the city. Here’s another event I hosted with Brazil Ahead and the members of Come Speak Brazilian Portuguese With Us!–we had a really fun Mistério do Samba Movie Night Meetup
Come out to the Portuguese-language events in New York City! And please sign up to receive emails from me and follow Atlantico Books on 
Facebook where I announce any local Brazilian events I hear about. I hope to see you soon!
Que legal!!! Isto é que é ‘curtir’ Leituras em Português!!! ABRÇSSSS A TOD@S!!!!!!
Obrigada, Paula!!
Foi super-legal mesmo, e muito divertido. A Cris da Brazil Ahead fez um bom trabalho em organizar tantas atividades divertidas.
Elena: I am delighted the students liked the story “Meio bugre” and discussed the meaning of my observations about racial identity in Brazil. My father would have been happy to learn that a bit of the history of our family made it to Central Park on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and attracted the atention of the folks of your group. Of course we are not a singular case, by any means. But for me, it is special in many ways; the song my father taught me and the story go together because both remind me of my dad and of the enourmous struggles so many Indigenous peoples still face every day in Brazil.
Obrigada, Eva. Eu fiquei feliz que os alunos queriam ler em voz alto também, pois quando pratiquei contando a historia sozinha, `as vezes eu estava ficando emocionada pensando no MEU pai.
It is really a universal story, as well as a deeply personal story, and the story of the Brazilian people.