Rodrigo Amarante: Maná
I will say nothing more than how much I admire Rodrigo Amarante, and let him explain this sweet video by himself (the below is a translation directly from his website the above photo is his grandmother). Let's get personal:
"These images were shot by my father and my mother in 75 and 76 during carnaval in a town called Saquarema near Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The people you see in these shots are my family members, parents, grandparents, uncles, cousins and close friends, people who were my childhood heroes. Every year they put together this parade you see (with all costumes made by my grandmother and her sister!), in a small samba-school called Saquarema De Banda that started with family and friends and soon became the biggest one in town. That name is a pun in portuguese because the word “Banda” means band but “De Banda” means crooked, bent, wasted, and you can see here why they chose that name. They were all clowns, children in spirit. This was how I grew up and as soon as I could hold a stick I was playing with them on the parade. These were the happiest times in my childhood and me and my sister are forever marked by them. My sister Marcela, who directed and edited this video with me, plays now in one of the most celebrated samba-schools in Brazil called Mangueira and it was for her that I wrote this song. Maná is the grace, the gift, and Má is her, Marcela. This video is an homage to those who were part of this parade every year and especially the older ones who made it all happen and are a proof that despite our belief that we are so modern and free on the 21st century our parents and grandparents were a lot less square than we are. Well, at least mine."