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 I
was very excited to receive an invitation to Brazil from Lauro Valério
(pictuure left), Presidente da Associação dos Acordeonistas
do Brasil (www.acordeon.com.br)
through Italian artist Mirco Patarini (picture right) to come to
Jaú City and attend the 1st Concurso Internacional de Acordeonistas
(1st International Accordion Competition).
 Until
booking the flight, I never realised that Brazil was so far south
of Washington DC and just how large South America is. After the
2007 Coupe Mondiale in Washington DC, Mirco Patarini and I flew
to Miami (1,476 km) and then a further 6,512 km overnight to São
Paulo arriving at 7:30 am the next morning, 21 August.
From the air, the first view of Sao Paulo was of a huge city, quite
a bit of fog/smog and tall buildings which seemed to stretch forever
across the horizon. We were met at the São Paulo-Guarulhos
International Airport by Lauro Valério snr and Lauro jnr
(21 years) who then took us on a tour through São Paulo to
our hotel.
With a population of about 18 million, São Paulo is one of
the biggest cities in the world, with streets constantly full of
people and cars with an enormous amount of buildings under construction.
A hugely vibrant city clearly going 24 hours a day.
 Lauro
Valério Jnr took us to lunch to the "Anhembi Churrascaria
Restaurant", which is known for the Brazilian traditional meat
selections. We started off lunch with a traditional Brazilian drink
named Caipirina that has a taste reminding me a little of tequila
and enough alcoholic punch to lift your head a few cm, each time
you took a most enjoyable sip. The meal featured a marvellous array
of salads and pastas and the Brazilian tradition of Churrasco where
they bring around many different meats to your table to select from.
What a feast.
We waited for Maestro Paolo Gandolfi (picture left) to arrive from
Italy later that day, and due to delays, it was 10:30 pm when we
set off for Jaú City, about 120,000 people, some 270 km away,
where the event is being held. The roads to Jaú City were
new and in good condition and at that time of night, the traffic
relatively light. After stopping for a light dinner on the way and
going through some heavy fog over the mountains, we arrived at our
hotel in about 3am.
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Wednesday, 22 August 2007
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Accordion events in Brazil are normally non competitive festivals
so the 1st International Accordion Compeition is quite a historic
first. Some 48 entries were received and the numbers after listening
to the audition tapes required from candidates, was trimmed to 26
contestants including 1 contestant from Chile, 1 contestant from
Argentina and the balance from different states of the Brazil confederation.
  The
1st Concurso Internacional de Acordeonistas has been organised by
the Associação dos Acordeonistas do Brasil (www.acordeon.com.br)
with substantial support from the Jaú City cultural and educational
authorities, the newly completed Valério & Sanzovo Accordion
Factory of Jaú City, the Valério Accordion Importing
business and the Scandalli
- Paolo Soprani Accordion
Factory of Italy (company logos below).
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 The
afternoon included a visit to the Valério & Sanzovo Accordion
Factory where the contestants were coming to register.
This Valério & Sanzovo Accordion Factory was opened 30th
December 2006 and is a partnership of Brazilan owners in co-operation
with development partners Scandalli Accordion Factory of Italy.
The factory is planning to manufacture smaller model accordions
for the South American market. |
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Valério & Sanzovo Accordion Factory
of Jaú City
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Factory owners Lauro Valério (left) and
Angelo Sanzovo (right) with Mirco Patarini of Scandalli and Paolo
Soprani (Italy - center).
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View of the factory floor.
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Factory Showroom with Angelo Sanzovo,
Mirco Patarini and Lauro Valério
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Television press release being preprared by
Secretary Angelica Sobrinho and Angelo Sanzovo.
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Competitors Registration at the factory: Giordano
Mahatma Rosendo da Costa, Ignácio Hernández Maturana
and Secretary Angelica Sobrinho.
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Jaciano Fogaça and Gregori Mathias
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Street banners let the city population of Jaú City know
about the first accordion competition in Brazil.
In the evening was dinner for all the contestants and adjudicators
and officials at a local Pizzeria. There the draw for playing order
was made. The contestants are listed on the day they are playing. |
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