Music & Family

Since my dad plays instruments at home and is always playing Samba with his friends, he becomes a big reference for me when it comes to music. However, I decided to interview my mom for this assignment because she listens to more of a diverse music genres, my dad only listen to Samba and the Beatles, so it would be no fun to interview him. My mom was born in 1965 in the south of Brazil, and the moved to the Southeast, which is where I was born. 

Interview

Me: What did you listen to when you were my age?

Mom: A lot of Nacional rock like Titans, Barao Vermelho, Cazuza, Legiao Urbana, and international would be Queen. Also, a lot of the songs that played at nightclubs from the 70/80s like Tina Turner, and I loved to dance to these songs.

 

Me: Do you still listen to those kinds of songs?

Mom: I rarely listen to music now but when I do is normally Christian music, I really like the ones from Padre Marcelo.

 

Me: How would you describe your relationship with music?

Mom: In my adolescence music was never really that big of a deal for me, but I’ve always liked to dance. Dance was the most fun part for me. I now listen to Christian music because I am on the choir in my church. I only started listening to samba after a met your father.

 

Me: If you could listen to only one artist who would you listen to?

Mom: If could only pick ONE artist? Oh that’s a hard one. I think I would pick Tim Maia. This is a hard question, I’m saying Tim Maia but I like a lot of different artists too.

 

Me: What about songs in movies

Mom: Whichever song from Saturday Night fever, I LOVE IT!! I still want to go out dancing to these songs to this day.

 

Me: I thought you were going to say Mamma Mia.

Mom: Oh I also love Mamma Mia, see it’s so hard to only say just one there are so many options.

 

Me: What do you think of the songs I listen to now?

Mom: I think you can listen to a lot of nice songs, that Samba playlist that you have is so good and I love it, but the American rap songs that you listen are so boring and I hate it. I also hate the Brazilian Funk songs that you listen to; they are so dirty. But besides that, you listen to some good songs.

Me: How does music in general makes you feel?

Mom: Happy. Every time there’s music I dance, and I love to dance so that makes me happy.

 

Me: Is there any particular music genre that you like to dance?

Mom: Umm I don’t really have a favorite one but I like to dance music from the 80s. I also love to dance Samba, not by myself though because I can’t “sambar” by myself, but I like to dance it with your father.

 

Me: How do you think music connects you to your community?

Mom: Recently is more of the choir song, because everyone that is in there has the same purpose, it’s similar connections with God, everyone gets emotional sometimes and it really is just amazing to me.

 

Me: What’s your memory of music when you were a kid?

Mom: My parents weren’t really music people, so I would just listen to kids songs whenever we were playing with friends.

 

Me: How did you connect me with music when I was a kid?

Mom: I used to sing you the same songs that my mom used to sing it for me. “Alecrim Dourado,” you used to love that song, so it was Brazilian kids’ song of the time that I would sing for you. Your dad is more of a “music person” so the music in you life comes more from your father, when we would take you to his Batucadas.

 

Me: Is there any song in your wedding day that was special to you?

Mom: To be honest I don’t really remember the songs that played in my wedding, but one song that will always stay with me is “Jesus Alegria dos Homens”, because it is the song your sister walked in at her wedding, and it also played at my wedding when we were signing the papers.

Me: Did you every wish you played any instrument?

Mom: Today no, but when I was younger I really wanted to play the flute but I stopped taking classes because of money. I was really young; I was like 15 years old.