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Muito chic - New York Times
By ALEXANDRA MARSHALL
Gisele Bundchen and Leonardo DiCaprio are regulars there. When Naomi Campbell visits, she stays in a palatial beach house owned by DonataMeirelles, the buyer for Daslu, the São Paulo boutique that sells more Chanel than any place in the world (except at Chanel itself). The Brazilianinterior design star Sig Bergamin has a house there, as do Swiss bankers with low profiles but high balance sheets. Waiting in an eternal passportcontrol line at Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo, I ran into Kai, one-fourth of the downtown New York design collective As Four, and thestylist Victoria Bartlett. Guess where they were headed? So what if reaching its white shores takes three flights, a short ferry and a bumpy hour inthe back of a taxi? Trancoso, in the state of Bahia, just might be the chicest beach town you've never heard of.
That trend-obsessed Brazilians of the leisure class have suddenly piled on to Trancoso is not surprising. Until three years ago, when an asphalt roadwas built from Porto Seguro, the place was almost inaccessible. Less typical is Trancoso's history. Though the Portuguese first landed on Brazil'sverdant shores in Porto Seguro, industry, agriculture and the slave trade pretty much bypassed the southernmost part of Bahia, and by the 19thcentury, Trancoso was forgotten. In 1973, when a handful of Brazilian hippies sought to get back to nature and escape a military dictatorship, no onewould have thought to look for them there. There was a post office in a neighboring town, but mail usually took about a month. The quadrado --which boasts one of the country's oldest churches -- was in disrepair. There were no roads and no electricity and no currency was traded among thesmall Pataxo Indian and mixed-race population -- just ''the forest and those beautiful beaches,'' says Ricardo Salem, one of Trancoso's first modernsettlers. ''When I first climbed up the hill to the square, which was just an opening in the forest, I said, I want to live here.''
Salem and the others settled into a peaceful collective. They fished; they had children; they put on puppet shows. But with skill sets honed by lawschool and bumming around Amsterdam and India, the biribandos, as they were called, needed help from the natives to survive. ''By hiring thenative people to help us build houses, we introduced money,'' Salem recalls. ''Soon they started to offer to sell us land. The beach land was lessvaluable to them because they couldn't farm it, so I bought two kilometers, about 300 meters deep, for the price of a Volkswagen Beetle.'' Sounds likea sucker deal, but no one knew the value of that land then. Today, a 100-yard-wide plot on the same beach would cost anywhere from $800,000 to $1million.
Still, the biribando spirit is in no danger of disappearing. The local dress code calls for nothing fancier than Havaiana sandals and a sarong. The aptlynamed Vegetal, another original settler, may have cut his hair -- it was draining his energy, man -- but he still adheres to an all-flora diet. During thehigh season of January and February, dreadlocked teenagers selling jewelry and fruit dot the beach by day, and by night there's always a drum circleon the torch-lit quadrado, complete with capoeira dancers and the unmistakable smell of a certain burning herb. At the rustic new Mata N'ativaPousada hotel, next to a listing for Reiki sessions and yoga classes, is a warning that the cost of removing henna tattoo stains from sheets will beadded to your bill. Mata N'ativa's owner, Daniel Victor Santos, is a shy, 30-year old Jesus look-alike in board shorts. He is happy to lead a kayakexcursion on the water-lily-dotted Rio Trancoso, and he'll throw in a delightful lecture on nature preservation free -- though the calls of the brightCorrupiao and Xexeu birds almost drown him out.''
When I came here in 1997, it changed my life,'' says André Zanonato, co-owner of the sleek hotel, Etnia Pousada. He and his partner, Corrado Tini,previously lived in Modena and worked in fashion and design but found that ''in Europe, everyone is stressed, afraid of terrorism. We came here tostay in nature and find balance in our lives.'' (Etnia's in-house art therapist probably helps.)
Zoning laws in Trancoso are keeping overdevelopment at bay -- there's that biribando ethic again -- but rumors abound that a Txai resort hotel is inthe not-so-distant future. And Club Med has already arrived. Perhaps this will prompt Brazilians to pack up and pioneer the next great vacation spotin a country that still has large chunks of terrain unexplored by the nonindigenous. Some have moved on already: Gloria Coelho, the São Paulo-basedfashion designer, recommends Ponta do Corumbau, a beach rimmed by a coral reef four hours by car (or 20 minutes by private plane) from PortoSeguro. Trancoso residents don't much care. ''The important thing about Trancoso isn't that it's chic, although it has become a fashion place,''Zanonato says. ''The important thing here is the nature. And the people who live here understand that.'' If you don't believe him, just ask Vegetal --that is, if you can find him.
Alexandra Marshall is a New York-based writer who often covers Brazilian fashion.
April 24, 2005 TRAVEL Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections RSS Help Back to Top
Gisele Bundchen and Leonardo DiCaprio are regulars there. When Naomi Campbell visits, she stays in a palatial beach house owned by DonataMeirelles, the buyer for Daslu, the São Paulo boutique that sells more Chanel than any place in the world (except at Chanel itself). The Brazilianinterior design star Sig Bergamin has a house there, as do Swiss bankers with low profiles but high balance sheets. Waiting in an eternal passportcontrol line at Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo, I ran into Kai, one-fourth of the downtown New York design collective As Four, and thestylist Victoria Bartlett. Guess where they were headed? So what if reaching its white shores takes three flights, a short ferry and a bumpy hour inthe back of a taxi? Trancoso, in the state of Bahia, just might be the chicest beach town you've never heard of.
That trend-obsessed Brazilians of the leisure class have suddenly piled on to Trancoso is not surprising. Until three years ago, when an asphalt roadwas built from Porto Seguro, the place was almost inaccessible. Less typical is Trancoso's history. Though the Portuguese first landed on Brazil'sverdant shores in Porto Seguro, industry, agriculture and the slave trade pretty much bypassed the southernmost part of Bahia, and by the 19thcentury, Trancoso was forgotten. In 1973, when a handful of Brazilian hippies sought to get back to nature and escape a military dictatorship, no onewould have thought to look for them there. There was a post office in a neighboring town, but mail usually took about a month. The quadrado --which boasts one of the country's oldest churches -- was in disrepair. There were no roads and no electricity and no currency was traded among thesmall Pataxo Indian and mixed-race population -- just ''the forest and those beautiful beaches,'' says Ricardo Salem, one of Trancoso's first modernsettlers. ''When I first climbed up the hill to the square, which was just an opening in the forest, I said, I want to live here.''
Salem and the others settled into a peaceful collective. They fished; they had children; they put on puppet shows. But with skill sets honed by lawschool and bumming around Amsterdam and India, the biribandos, as they were called, needed help from the natives to survive. ''By hiring thenative people to help us build houses, we introduced money,'' Salem recalls. ''Soon they started to offer to sell us land. The beach land was lessvaluable to them because they couldn't farm it, so I bought two kilometers, about 300 meters deep, for the price of a Volkswagen Beetle.'' Sounds likea sucker deal, but no one knew the value of that land then. Today, a 100-yard-wide plot on the same beach would cost anywhere from $800,000 to $1million.
Still, the biribando spirit is in no danger of disappearing. The local dress code calls for nothing fancier than Havaiana sandals and a sarong. The aptlynamed Vegetal, another original settler, may have cut his hair -- it was draining his energy, man -- but he still adheres to an all-flora diet. During thehigh season of January and February, dreadlocked teenagers selling jewelry and fruit dot the beach by day, and by night there's always a drum circleon the torch-lit quadrado, complete with capoeira dancers and the unmistakable smell of a certain burning herb. At the rustic new Mata N'ativaPousada hotel, next to a listing for Reiki sessions and yoga classes, is a warning that the cost of removing henna tattoo stains from sheets will beadded to your bill. Mata N'ativa's owner, Daniel Victor Santos, is a shy, 30-year old Jesus look-alike in board shorts. He is happy to lead a kayakexcursion on the water-lily-dotted Rio Trancoso, and he'll throw in a delightful lecture on nature preservation free -- though the calls of the brightCorrupiao and Xexeu birds almost drown him out.''
When I came here in 1997, it changed my life,'' says André Zanonato, co-owner of the sleek hotel, Etnia Pousada. He and his partner, Corrado Tini,previously lived in Modena and worked in fashion and design but found that ''in Europe, everyone is stressed, afraid of terrorism. We came here tostay in nature and find balance in our lives.'' (Etnia's in-house art therapist probably helps.)
Zoning laws in Trancoso are keeping overdevelopment at bay -- there's that biribando ethic again -- but rumors abound that a Txai resort hotel is inthe not-so-distant future. And Club Med has already arrived. Perhaps this will prompt Brazilians to pack up and pioneer the next great vacation spotin a country that still has large chunks of terrain unexplored by the nonindigenous. Some have moved on already: Gloria Coelho, the São Paulo-basedfashion designer, recommends Ponta do Corumbau, a beach rimmed by a coral reef four hours by car (or 20 minutes by private plane) from PortoSeguro. Trancoso residents don't much care. ''The important thing about Trancoso isn't that it's chic, although it has become a fashion place,''Zanonato says. ''The important thing here is the nature. And the people who live here understand that.'' If you don't believe him, just ask Vegetal --that is, if you can find him.
Alexandra Marshall is a New York-based writer who often covers Brazilian fashion.
April 24, 2005 TRAVEL Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections RSS Help Back to Top
Where life's just one long party- The Independent,(London) Dec 31, 2000
Charles de Ledesma
Until recently it was hard to glean much information about the global party scene. Now the seismic growth of dance music, aided by the internet and abetted by cheap flights, has made access to music events across the globe far easier. The key party season is just beginning, running through to March. The best-known locations - apart from the summer Mediterranean hotspots of Ibiza and Ayia Napa - are Koh Phangan in Thailand and Goa in India. These are still strong, but the freshest energy can be found sprinkled around Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as well as in the Latin countries of Mexico, Brazil and Costa Rica. A recent development has seen world music hop on the back of this party circuit. In Morocco, for example, the 2001 New Year's Eve festival in the Atlas mountains pairs Gnawa drummers - traditional ritual percussionists - with trance and techno of the sort that one can hear the world over. As is customary with the Berbers, mint tea will be served all night. Of course, there is a downside to global party-hopping. Facilities tend to be basic - most sites are loaded with tents and hammocks competing for the shade. And you can get bored of eating felafel. So why bother? Because there's simply nothing to compare with dancing under the stars, followed by the sight of the sun rising to reveal yet another beautiful day in stunning scenery.
INDIA
Despite a clampdown, including a ban on loud music after 10pm, the once celebrated Goa scene has not hung up its chillum quite yet. Small parties regularly occur at Vagator's hill top Nine Bar (5pm- 9pm daily) with locals and guest DJs turning up the beats through the evening. The party continues inland at North Anjuna's Primrose cafe (10pm-3am, daily) which serves excellent food. Most party-seekers will be taking the six-hour bus journey from Goa's capital, Panjim, south to Gokarna, just inside Karnataka state. During March's seven-day Hindu festival Shivaratra - the dark night of Shiva - thousands of pilgrims will descend on the small seaside town. Earlier this year three excellent parties took place on Om beach, 40 minutes' walk from town. The beach bar there has ice-cold beer and Thai food. Also accessible from Goa - a 10-hour bus ride - is the ancient town of Hampi. Parties occasionally happen here against the stunning backdrop of 16th-century ruins. Information is hard to come by but try Tranceculture and Chaishop .
AUSTRALIA
Three areas in Australia are preparing for serious party action in the coming months: Byron Bay in northern New South Wales, around Sydney and around Melbourne in Victoria state. Byron's regular full-moon parties take place in the forests or on the hills overlooking the stunning coast, while the annual Electronic Music & Arts Festival - which has just finished - brings together music and arts at the Red Devils' rugby-league ground in town. Close to Sydney, January's annual Summer Dreaming Festival is going ahead in picturesque Glenworth Valley (net: www.glenworth. com.au) one hour north of the city. This is one of the world's top trance events with DJ Tsuyoshi Suzuki and local act Grey Area. pagina 1 van 3 Independent, The (London): Where life's just one long party 10-5-2006 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20001231/... Green Ant (net: www. greenant.com. au) and Earthcore (net: www.earthcore. com.au) are pushing the Melbourne region into the lead this season. Earthcore's five-day festival over this New Year's Eve is situated in an extinct volcano in the Grampians region, and Green Ant's Australia Day Long Weekend festival at the end of January adjacent to national forest at Beaufort, near Ballarat, two hours from Melbourne. For information, visit http://www.raves.com.au/.
SOUTH AFRICA
Cape Town has rapidly become the southern hemisphere's capital for outdoor party action, even eclipsing Australia. Earlier this year the two main organisations, Vortex (tel: 00 27 21 531 2173) and Alien Safari (net: www.aliensafari. co.za) used impressive locations including an island on a lake, a network of apple orchards and a park beside a shallow river, all within easy reach of the city. Most events are over-nighters with local DJs and electronic tribal bands like Nagal warming up for guest DJs. Food, beer and tea are plentiful and there are tents if needed. These parties are also breaking down South Africa's still persistent racial divide - in March 5,000 people went to a Vortex party, including large groups of blacks and coloureds from the Cape Flats township. You can rely on there being an outdoor event almost every weekend right up until April, culminating in 2001 with Alien Safari's two-week party safari to Zambia, where a 10-day event is planned over June's total eclipse (net: www. solipse.com).
BRAZIL
April's Celebra Brasil festival on the edge of the Mata Atlantica (coastal forest), two hours up the coast from Sao Paulo, was the first extended outdoor dance-music event in Brazil. Organiser Milton Fukui from Daime Tribe, who does a weekly club night in Sao Paulo, wants to take party- goers on a hike next year deeper into the jungle (Rave on). The possibilities are limitless in this massive country but, so far, events have tended to hug the coast. North of Rio de Janeiro, in the south of the state of Bahia, lies a little seaside town, Trancoso, where bars and cafes play trance and chillout music, and small weekend parties take place. Head on up the coast and you'll get to the former Brazilian capital, Salvador. January sees Catholic and Candomble festivals where percussive Batacuda music plays. In March there's carnival when bloco-afro and samba electrify the atmosphere day and night.
MEXICO
Luis Delgado, who runs the Mexican City shop Sound Sorcery (net: http://www.soundsorcery.com/), says that trance parties regularly take place in spectacular outdoor locations, including Ajusco and the lush Desierto De Los Leones in the mountains, 30 minutes' drive from the city, and Acolman, near the pyramids of Tehotihuacan, to pick up on "the energy of past cultures". But Mexico's best-kept secret is the beach town of Playa del Carmen in Yucatan, about two hours by bus from the tourist resort of Cancun. There are two bar/clubs, The Espiral and the Zulu Lounge, which look out at the coast; there's always music there but the full moon usually provides an excuse for a full-on party with most taking place in the jungle. Expect Ibiza-style house music as well as trance.
MOROCCO
La Theiere Electrik (Tea Productions) in Casablanca has accomplished something difficult in a strict Islamic country: it has kept afloat a weekly club night, The Vertigo, at 110 rue Chaouia (net: www.theiere. org), playing house and techno. Promoter Saad expects outdoor events to mushroom after the electronic festival playing in Ouarzazate (net: www.morocco2001.com) from 30 December to 2 January) when Gnawa trance dancers and drummers, the Blue People of the Sahara and the Dekka of Marrakesh will mix with modern electronica DJs. pagina 2 van 3 Independent, The (London): Where life's just one long party 10-5-2006 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20001231/... Another hotspot is the beach town of Essaouira, where the cafe Chez Moustapha plays reggae and Dar Loubane restaurant has resident Gnawa musicians. For details about June's Gnawa festival in Essaouira visit www.festival- gnaoua.co.ma, July's festival of sacred music in Fez visit www.fezfestival.org), and June's arts festival in Marrakesh visit www.ayyad.ucam.ac.ma/fnap- aga/indexf.htm.
Copyright 2000 Independent Newspapers UK Limited Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved. pagina 3 van 3 Independent, The (London): Where life's just one long party 10-5-2006 http://www.findarticles.com/p/ articles/mi_qn4158/is_20001231/...
Until recently it was hard to glean much information about the global party scene. Now the seismic growth of dance music, aided by the internet and abetted by cheap flights, has made access to music events across the globe far easier. The key party season is just beginning, running through to March. The best-known locations - apart from the summer Mediterranean hotspots of Ibiza and Ayia Napa - are Koh Phangan in Thailand and Goa in India. These are still strong, but the freshest energy can be found sprinkled around Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as well as in the Latin countries of Mexico, Brazil and Costa Rica. A recent development has seen world music hop on the back of this party circuit. In Morocco, for example, the 2001 New Year's Eve festival in the Atlas mountains pairs Gnawa drummers - traditional ritual percussionists - with trance and techno of the sort that one can hear the world over. As is customary with the Berbers, mint tea will be served all night. Of course, there is a downside to global party-hopping. Facilities tend to be basic - most sites are loaded with tents and hammocks competing for the shade. And you can get bored of eating felafel. So why bother? Because there's simply nothing to compare with dancing under the stars, followed by the sight of the sun rising to reveal yet another beautiful day in stunning scenery.
INDIA
Despite a clampdown, including a ban on loud music after 10pm, the once celebrated Goa scene has not hung up its chillum quite yet. Small parties regularly occur at Vagator's hill top Nine Bar (5pm- 9pm daily) with locals and guest DJs turning up the beats through the evening. The party continues inland at North Anjuna's Primrose cafe (10pm-3am, daily) which serves excellent food. Most party-seekers will be taking the six-hour bus journey from Goa's capital, Panjim, south to Gokarna, just inside Karnataka state. During March's seven-day Hindu festival Shivaratra - the dark night of Shiva - thousands of pilgrims will descend on the small seaside town. Earlier this year three excellent parties took place on Om beach, 40 minutes' walk from town. The beach bar there has ice-cold beer and Thai food. Also accessible from Goa - a 10-hour bus ride - is the ancient town of Hampi. Parties occasionally happen here against the stunning backdrop of 16th-century ruins. Information is hard to come by but try Tranceculture and Chaishop .
AUSTRALIA
Three areas in Australia are preparing for serious party action in the coming months: Byron Bay in northern New South Wales, around Sydney and around Melbourne in Victoria state. Byron's regular full-moon parties take place in the forests or on the hills overlooking the stunning coast, while the annual Electronic Music & Arts Festival - which has just finished - brings together music and arts at the Red Devils' rugby-league ground in town. Close to Sydney, January's annual Summer Dreaming Festival is going ahead in picturesque Glenworth Valley (net: www.glenworth. com.au) one hour north of the city. This is one of the world's top trance events with DJ Tsuyoshi Suzuki and local act Grey Area. pagina 1 van 3 Independent, The (London): Where life's just one long party 10-5-2006 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20001231/... Green Ant (net: www. greenant.com. au) and Earthcore (net: www.earthcore. com.au) are pushing the Melbourne region into the lead this season. Earthcore's five-day festival over this New Year's Eve is situated in an extinct volcano in the Grampians region, and Green Ant's Australia Day Long Weekend festival at the end of January adjacent to national forest at Beaufort, near Ballarat, two hours from Melbourne. For information, visit http://www.raves.com.au/.
SOUTH AFRICA
Cape Town has rapidly become the southern hemisphere's capital for outdoor party action, even eclipsing Australia. Earlier this year the two main organisations, Vortex (tel: 00 27 21 531 2173) and Alien Safari (net: www.aliensafari. co.za) used impressive locations including an island on a lake, a network of apple orchards and a park beside a shallow river, all within easy reach of the city. Most events are over-nighters with local DJs and electronic tribal bands like Nagal warming up for guest DJs. Food, beer and tea are plentiful and there are tents if needed. These parties are also breaking down South Africa's still persistent racial divide - in March 5,000 people went to a Vortex party, including large groups of blacks and coloureds from the Cape Flats township. You can rely on there being an outdoor event almost every weekend right up until April, culminating in 2001 with Alien Safari's two-week party safari to Zambia, where a 10-day event is planned over June's total eclipse (net: www. solipse.com).
BRAZIL
April's Celebra Brasil festival on the edge of the Mata Atlantica (coastal forest), two hours up the coast from Sao Paulo, was the first extended outdoor dance-music event in Brazil. Organiser Milton Fukui from Daime Tribe, who does a weekly club night in Sao Paulo, wants to take party- goers on a hike next year deeper into the jungle (Rave on). The possibilities are limitless in this massive country but, so far, events have tended to hug the coast. North of Rio de Janeiro, in the south of the state of Bahia, lies a little seaside town, Trancoso, where bars and cafes play trance and chillout music, and small weekend parties take place. Head on up the coast and you'll get to the former Brazilian capital, Salvador. January sees Catholic and Candomble festivals where percussive Batacuda music plays. In March there's carnival when bloco-afro and samba electrify the atmosphere day and night.
MEXICO
Luis Delgado, who runs the Mexican City shop Sound Sorcery (net: http://www.soundsorcery.com/), says that trance parties regularly take place in spectacular outdoor locations, including Ajusco and the lush Desierto De Los Leones in the mountains, 30 minutes' drive from the city, and Acolman, near the pyramids of Tehotihuacan, to pick up on "the energy of past cultures". But Mexico's best-kept secret is the beach town of Playa del Carmen in Yucatan, about two hours by bus from the tourist resort of Cancun. There are two bar/clubs, The Espiral and the Zulu Lounge, which look out at the coast; there's always music there but the full moon usually provides an excuse for a full-on party with most taking place in the jungle. Expect Ibiza-style house music as well as trance.
MOROCCO
La Theiere Electrik (Tea Productions) in Casablanca has accomplished something difficult in a strict Islamic country: it has kept afloat a weekly club night, The Vertigo, at 110 rue Chaouia (net: www.theiere. org), playing house and techno. Promoter Saad expects outdoor events to mushroom after the electronic festival playing in Ouarzazate (net: www.morocco2001.com) from 30 December to 2 January) when Gnawa trance dancers and drummers, the Blue People of the Sahara and the Dekka of Marrakesh will mix with modern electronica DJs. pagina 2 van 3 Independent, The (London): Where life's just one long party 10-5-2006 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20001231/... Another hotspot is the beach town of Essaouira, where the cafe Chez Moustapha plays reggae and Dar Loubane restaurant has resident Gnawa musicians. For details about June's Gnawa festival in Essaouira visit www.festival- gnaoua.co.ma, July's festival of sacred music in Fez visit www.fezfestival.org), and June's arts festival in Marrakesh visit www.ayyad.ucam.ac.ma/fnap- aga/indexf.htm.
Copyright 2000 Independent Newspapers UK Limited Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved. pagina 3 van 3 Independent, The (London): Where life's just one long party 10-5-2006 http://www.findarticles.com/p/ articles/mi_qn4158/is_20001231/...
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