Brasilia - Modern Capitol of Brazil

Myriangela drove us back to Brasilia, determined to join us in Rio for the Tara Workshop in April. She and her husband had taken Sabira's translations of the "Pocket Praises" and shaped them into a Brazilian version complete with stunning graphics taken from the web. Tara had her Dharma hooks in Myriangela, that was obvious, and despite severe financial challenges both she and Nirka were making plans.

Once in Brasilia we were dropped off at Marilda's apartment. She would oversee our care while we taught the weekend workshop, "Dancing the Feminine Archetypes".

Marilada is a tall, elegant woman and she graciously made us feel at home. We rested briefly before being whisked off to the "Meditation Club:. This private country club sported a charming set of neuveaux domes and cylinders, glass and stucco, held together by charming wooden walkways. It had been designed by Shantideva, the fellow we had just met that morning in Alto Paraiso, and was painted a Medicine Buddha Blue.

The large dance room was comfortable. The women were mostly professionals who had been working with Sabira and we were greeted warmly.

Anahata, Sabira and I enjoyed crafting a program that included a medley of dances from the Dances of Universal Peace tradition, The Tarot Dances of Grupo Chama, some new Orisha dances that Sabira was developing, all illustrating the different "archetypes of Tara. We were all transported by the revelations that arose through the collaboration.

Saturday night Anahata went on impulse with Marilda to a Japanese restaurant to bring some food back for the rest of us.

In her words, "The restaurant was deserted except for a couple sitting at an outside table. Marilda greeted them with sounds of delight. The gentleman had been a close friend twenty years ago. As they were catching up I was delighted to chat with his companion, Dulce. This striking Afro-Brazilian woman had recently returned from Lisbon. She was a diplomat, representing Brazil in Portugal and five African nations.

Her English was impeccable and we immediately established Buddhist common ground as she attends a Kalu Rinpoche center whenever she is in Brasilia. She shared her appreciation for the Divine Feminine and on impulse I invited her to join our workshop.

The next morning to my great joy, she came to dance with us. During the break she told Prema and I about an International Woman's Conference that she planned to organize and as the day's wonders blossomed she became determined to bring us back to Brazil to lead dances and share Dharma insight at the Conference.

One especially touching moment of the retreat was when Sabira was preparing to lead the dance of Oshun for the first time. She impulsively went to Dulce and Cida, another Afro-Brazilian woman, and asked for their blessings as representatives of the Yoruba/African people that the tradition developed from. We were all deeply moved.

At the close of the workshop we noticed Flavia in the corner, displaying rainbow webs of shawls. She works with a Woman's Collective, helping them to develop and market this folk art. We ordered a couple of pieces she promised to deliver to our last Brazilian retreat in Novo Friburgo.

The next morning we had two hours to devote to some sightseeing. Marilda explained some of the history of this city that was founded in 1960.

The city was a dream of Jucelino Kubickel, a President of Brazil. He longed to move the capitol of the country from Rio de Janeiro to the plains of Brasilia. The area was empty, not even a native village. He consulted the most modern architects and had the city designed as an airplane. The cockpit is where the government buildings were built, the wings were developed as residential districts and down the center of the city was a set of main arteries which branched into commercial centers.

We chose to visit the cathedral and what a grand display that is. A huge dome, it was once composed only of clear glass but that proved to be too hot. An inner mosaic of glass panes describing sweeping strokes of blue and green frames the of white cloud studded blue sky. Three angels suspended from the towering ceiling could have been mermaids swimming through the depths of the sea.

There were so many architectural anomalies that we had whizzed past to and from the workshop but I asked to be able to take some pictures of the electrical company. The entry was a large five pointed star.

Another happy surprise greeted us in the Brasilia International Airport. There we found a plaque declaring it to be a Monument to Peace, a project of the Sri Chimoy Foundation which has solicited this dedication from public areas world wide.

Sabira shared a fantastic story about some of Brasilia's more ancient history on our flight to Sao Paulo.

But that is another story.....

Enjoy,

Prema and Anahata

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