I had the chance to work on a 3 days project « Brazilian reality and dreams » with the Aurelino Leal high school, one of the 2 public ones of Itacare. (population of about 20 to 25000 people). It was a unique experience to speak with the teenagers, share views with the teachers, get a view on the living conditions of these non privileged teenagers, see how tourism can impact their lives, how the development of Itacaré as a touristic spot in Bahia can transform their perception of their own future.
These is what I wanted to show with « Brazilian reality and dreams » short videos Part 1 & 2. I just finished to edit them and showed them to the teenagers at school yesterday. They were so surprised, proud and I guess pretty impressed to see themselves on screen, on a film made by a visitor and were really excited by the idea of being seen by you all on this blog.t was definitely worthwhile to stay a little more in Itacaré and spent all this time to be with them and energy to do this project – I hope you will enjoy as much as I enjoyed doing this !
How I end up with a « Brazilian reality and dreams » small project with the high school:
That morning of April 13 2011, was the morning I was supposed to pack my bag and leave Itacaré. Like everyone who passes by Itacaré, I didn’t leave that day. At that time I had almost spent 2 weeks in a town where I was only planning to stay a week. Why? Everyone would tell you they don’t know but there is something special about this place. No WOW effect, you just feel home once you get there.
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| From April 2011 – Brazilian reality and dreams – Itacaré, Bahia, Brazil |
Is it very touristy ? Yes, it is, however, the crowd of gringos (non local people) is suprisingly mixed with locals, I didn’t have the feeling of a cute town taken over by the aggressive tourism. Actually the number of mixed couples (often foreign women and local men) you spot there is probably a sign of successful integration.
It is still really hard to explain why Itacaré is so attractive.
So that morning, I woke up too early to get my breakfast, so I went for a walk in the centre of Itacare, where only native people live. I actually hadn’t been walking in this part of the town as I spent the first week learning surfing at the beach. My walk took me in front of Aurelino Leal high school, I innocently went in, had a chat with the Vice Director of the school Sogiane Enguer. It was « Youth Day » – No class today as it was dedicated to the teenagers’ performances on stage : Theatre play, impro, catwalks, song, dances. I gladly accepted to attend the whole day show and decided to stay few more days in order to dive a little in the everyday life of this little town of Itacaré.
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| From April 2011 – Brazilian reality and dreams – Itacaré, Bahia, Brazil |
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| From April 2011 – Brazilian reality and dreams – Itacaré, Bahia, Brazil |
It is beautiful, it is sad, it is Brazil! I had tears watching these kids talking about their dreams, which for a lot of them will probably never be reached. It is a hard reality…
Sis, these kids have more dreams and hopes than us while in high school in Paris …
ces jeunes sont plein de volonté et clairvoyants…et c’est un joli hommage que tu leur as rendu !
Ils sont beaux ces jeunes. Plein d’espoir et certains arriveront a attendre leurs objectifs j’espere, le gouvernement a recemment mis en place un bus gratuit permettant d’emmener les etudiants habitant a Itacaré vers l’Universite de Ilheus (la fac de la grande ville la plus proche). Avant, meme si tu avais le potentiel, tu n’avais peut etre pas le budget pour prendre le bus et te rendre a la fac …