Final thoughts

Today we are in Santo Antônio on our final leg of what has been a long, stressful, physically exhausting and eye opening three months. I now understand why many Brazilians consider their country to be a continent in its own right. There is a common language, a common belief in the national identity coupled with an un-failing patriotism but within the walls of Brazil are divesities and extremes rarely seen in the modern world. When I think back to my time in the Southern part of Brazil with its European values and strong colonial culture and watch through my hotel window here in central Bahia it is hard to imagine that the two are connected at all. The conclusion that I have drawn as a European living in a South American country is that evolution is more powerful than tradition. In musical terms South America is a powerful example of this. When you are involved in a process of developing audiences you can see first hand that the power of creation equates to musical evolution. Full houses, people thirsty for knowledge, a lack of pretence, an innocence that is all but lost in the developed world. For me, the challenge now is to raise the levels and standards, to see a critical movement forming to help push on and develop artistic levels and to maintain what is for now a very healthy cultural life here in Brazil. Sonora Brazil has been a success, yes there are many things that can be improved in logistical terms but the mission is a just one and is planting firm seeds for future generations. No more is that more apparent than here in Bahia where we have played to crowds in excess of 2000 people. There is no European equivalent that can boast this level of interest. Cultural development in Brazil is to be admired the world over.