Sufi music and dance at the deep heart of Cairo.


The Hussein (zone where the famous "Khan el Khalili" market can be found) is a treasure island to be discovered. Thanks to fellow musicians and dancers, I discovered another spot (not accessible to tourists) where Sufi musicians and dancers gather for soulful concerts. First, there is the mystical palace where the concerts take place. Fatimid and Mameluk buildings with that rare air of "A thousand and one Nights". You expect Shehrazade to come out from behind a curtain at any given moment...it is MAGICAL.

Then there is a funny mix between RELIGIOUS and SECULAR elements. Like sacredness and prophanity holding hands. Sheikhs - who are treated and act like super stars - praising Alah, the Prophet Mohamed and the "Koran", dancers of "tannoura" that REALLY believe in their own connection with God, through whirling, musicians who are, obviously, under the effect of some kind of drug and "shaaby" singers adding spices to the gathering.

How apparently opposite worlds touch is something interesting to observe. Nothing new in Egypt, may I add. Contrasts and opposites touching each other is a constant in this country. These evenings just have a certain "je ne sais quois" that leave me hanging between the sky and hell.

Egypt is crazy and Cairo is a madhouse. That is for SURE. But NEVER, EVER will I call BORING to this place. Everything BUT boring.

Hell season has arrived to Cairo!


I try to be optimistic and practice the so much needed quality of patience (from which I lack so much, God bless my Soul!)and tolerance. I try to live inside my own protective bubble as much as possible, I am the good girl who tries to cover herself with a bag of potatoes in order not to be so much sexually harassed from the moment I step out of my home and I have adopted the marvellous magic of isolating myself from the dirty sexual comments men throw at me in the streets of Cairo by listening to my music on the Ipod in a dangerously high volume.

I get it, "walahi!", I get it! The unemployment rate in Egypt is higher than ever, leaving frustrated men out there with nothing to do except to release their own fragility on the weaker link (that is Women and Animals, both pratically equal in rights and due respect, according to the dominating male perspective!). The sexual as well as the MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, SPIRITUAL repression has been increasing with clear exterior signs and that turns potential Human Beings intos wild beasts of the Paleolitic caverns.
I get it, I do! My "Buddha" side shows compassion towards all kinds of weirdos, freaks, disonesty and a state of madness that seems to be invading the Fifth Dimension (that is Egypt) and the whole world.

But, as my astrologer friends, would add: my Mars and my Pluto are VERY active and my explosive nature finds extra reasons to expand when the "Hell season" starts so early on...From a couple of days ago, it feels like Summer in Cairo. Hot, hot, hot!
With that, apparently, simple weather transition, comes an ever growing puzzle to solve: what do I dress when going out from my home.

Two options are available, none of them really appeals to me:

1. Covering myself with large, long coats and scarves that do not allow any form of my body be visible or even easy to imagine. I MUST look like Godzilla and carry a "Rambo Part III" expression on my face and, even then, I will be sexually harassed by men but just a little bit less than if I dared to dress like normal people under extreme heat. Being a "normal person" in Cairo, when you´re a woman, it never comes without a price tag.
Consequences: I may die suffocated or cooked under the protective garments but, hey, I will die of an honoured death and that may count!Right?! ???

2. Dressing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt (loose t-shirt, NEVER tight to the body, unless I want to be raped, followed by cars and men who will not let go until I agree with enter their vehicles and do what they consider women who walk free in the streets should do)and, therefore, being slightly comfortable while facing the extreme heat.
Consequences: Strong, irritating, offensive, aggressive sexual harassment garanteed. You may have a nervous break down, your hand´s middle finger can be stuck into the erect position for a long time after you used it so continuously and with such conviction and maybe, if you´re like me, you may fall into the murderer cathegory once you explode, once and for all, and throw yourself to the neck of one of your offenders, squeezing it until he shouts his dirty mouth.

Hmmmmmm....Not much of a choice, neither one of them...
Don´t you just love a precocious Summer in Cairo?!

And that is what I call multi~tasking...

Waking up early. Feeding all the animals in my home and in my building.

Sending letters to friends in Portugal just because I am an old fashioned romantic girl who still FEELS hand written letters to your loved ones are irreplaceable and no computers can send the smell of rose perfume I drop on the paper sheets or the humanity of my hand writting.

Shopping for the fridge and for my own "feminine boudoir" (in my gym bags there is a strange mix of light bulbs, cloth washing stuff, vegetables, cat food, a new book I could not resist to buy although I have a million more waiting to be read, lipstick and black satin pantyhose for a Valentine s party tonight & fresh oranges).

Trainning in the gym, while listening to music on my Ipod to select new songs to choreograph soon. Running while planning the week and my upcoming trip to Portugal.

Running home to teach yet another private class to another wonderful dancer coming all the way from Italy to learn with me. Feeling honoured and touched by the appreciation and love.

Working on my book while programming the next Cairo "Oriental Ladies Night" and booking one more rehearsal with my orchestra...The list would go on.

Wonder how my body, brain and heart take all the load I put on them on a daily basis, "non stop". Thanking genetics and God for THIS strenght.Today and always.

No need to ask me WHY I LOVE EGYPT...!!!...

"It was just one of those things, one of those crazy flings..." said Cole Porter in a famous song.

I m no Cole Porter so I doubt I can say it better.

Just wonder WHY so many people ask me WHY I live and work as a Dancer in Egypt and WHY I love all this chaos of Cairo.

Yesterday I was reminded of the many complex

reasons that justify this LOVE (as if LOVE was a matter of "justification"!).

Watched, once more, the Sufi show at the "El Khoury Palace" in the Hussein (beautiful way of celebrating Islam through music and dance, although restricted to MEN) and participated in a spontaneous "zaar" session in the heart of a Cairo neighbourhood that I BET no tourist has ever seen. This is what I call the psychologist of the people, specially women, because that s the place where they can release feelings, rage, exhaustion, sadness, all the "demons" inside of themselves through music and dance.

The dialect, rythms and lyrics are specific to the "zaar", they are no common songs. Neighbours come from all the neighbourhood (many of them in their pajamas and night gowns) to play, sing and dance in order to expell what does not need to remain inside them. Supersticions apart, this is a lovely way to LIBERATE oneself...THROUGH MUSIC AND DANCE...where - oh where? - did I ever listened to this?

The diversity and contrasts of this country, this crazy city are MESMERIZING, MIND BLOWING, HEART EXPANDING, SOUL touching...

No need to ask me why I LOVE EGYPT. I just do, as long as it fascinates me as it still does until today. As long as it TEACHES me about ART and HUMANS as this great school still does with me. As long as God wants because only God can make a LOVE be born or disappear into thin air, transforming itself into memory and smooth smiles on the angels´s faces...

The girl who loved Beautiful things.

She searched for them everywhere, as a street kid searches for trouble.

She looked for it everywhere, every day, in every real and imaginary corner, in every person she met *(apparently ugly or beautiful), in every animal, bridge, sky, river, tear or bursting laughter.

Because she searched for Beauty everywhere, she FOUND IT.

Just arrived home *(Cairo)!

With an annoying feeling in my guts. Damn, how much would I love to be able to ignore my intuition, once in a while. But it goes: "BAM-BAM-BAM", never letting rest like an endless headache that only stops when you REALLY acknowledge it.

All seems quiet, despite the chaos still going on with clashes near the famous "Tahrir Square" and the uncertainty of the political results in these elections.

If many are against Muslim Brotherhood winning the biggest part of the Parlamentary cake, then they must remember these were - at least, it seems - DEMOCRATIC elections and the wish of majority must be respected. That s one of the principles of Democracy.

I know, by now, politics is retoric, bluff over bluff, talk-tall-talk with not much done for the people of each country *(let us remember this is not an exclusive of Egypt as there is political corruption all over the world).

The BIG CORPORATIONS, BANKS, ENTERPRISES which own CAPITAL (CAPITAL/MONEY/POWER) are the ones who dictate the LAWS and all political Governments obbey them. So politians, even the ones with good intentions, are nothing but puppets in the hands of the ones - silent, hidden ones - who own the REAL POWER coming from MONEY.

I am not against any one or anything except CORRUPTION, LIES, EXPLOITATION, IGNORANCE, RACISM and lots of ETCS this world, sadly, present us today.

I don t even know what will be the future of my BELOVED EGYPT but I guess I want the same as the majority of egyptians who live and work here, like myself.

Despite my bad gut feeling, I wish to land back home with a simple wish for all of us:

Merry Christmas, Egypt! And this includes all RELIGIONS because RELIGION DOES NOT separate people but UNITES them. Only false religions SEPARATE people and create conflicts and wars between them.

As a follower of the only RELIGION I KNOW ***(and that is LOVE), I simply wish a Happy Christmas time for all of us with tenderness in our hearts, kindness, friendship and lovers, family and HUMANITY as one single BODY of LIGHT.

The excellence of

Portuguese products (finally recognized by portuguese people!).

I find my two main countries (Portugal and Egypt) tremendously similar in many aspects. Astrologers say both countries were born under the sign of Piscis and that already says a lot. There are more troubling similarities, though...

Both Portugal and Egypt tend to value foreign products to their own.

Hope the Revolution in Egypt will help change this mentality.

Egyptians have all the reasons to appreciate their own History, products, culture, music and dance, literature, etc and yet they tend to forget about it, leaving it to the tourists. Such a shame...

I don´t mean you should reject foreign treasures - each country has special, unique, wonderful things of their own - but forgetting about your own country´s richness is plain stupid.

Portugal has been charged for the same mistake.

So there I was, yesterday night, in the heart of Lisbon (the city where I was born), preparing myself to watch the classical ballet "Romeu and Juliet" (by our own National Portuguese Ballet Company) when I was faced with the most surprising shop.

In this shop you could find all kinds of products which were created by PORTUGUESE. Obvisouly oriented for tourism, the prices were high but the quality and the pride of presenting our own "stuff" with dignity left me breathless and happy.

If you, at any times, pass through Lisbon, don´t miss it:

http://loja.avidaportuguesa.com/pt/gca/a-vida-portuguesa/contactos

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!


Cold weather is not for me. Winter is a royal pain in the ass, as far as I am concerned. But hey, if you cannot beat them, join them.
Working, writing, having some quality time with family and friends and Portugal, enjoying a Christmas season permeated by the dark economical crisis seeming to drawn Europe into despair.
Hoping this Christmas, a lot more LOVE and PRESENCE will be offered instead of the material gifts nobody seems to be able to buy this time.
There´s always a bright side to every tempest.

Trees and fire, family and loved ones. Simple, brave gestures of tenderness instead of consumism and material goodies. It´s not a perfect or ideal time but we can make it good. We can.
Merry Christmas to everyone!

My beloved Egypt - the aftermath of Revolution...

I had no intention to go into the subject as I see the whole world seems to have an opinion about what s going on in Egypt after the Revolution. Even people who do not live in Egypt and, therefore, cannot have a clear vision of the country´s mentality and under- living conditions seem to "know it all" and express their opinion with such conviction that leaves me speechless, not willing to speak up.
What changed my mind was a phone call I got this early morning from an egyptian friend commenting how the Muslim Brotherhood won the elections on the major cities where the votes have already been counted. I was not surprised but I wish I was.

I had had many conversations with egyptian and foreigner friends about this subject: the future of Egypt. We all had one thing in common: in one way or another, we love Egypt and not just by words but for real.

The ones who do not live in Egypt, as I do for the last 6 years of my life working with and for egyptians 24 per day, seem to be very optimistic and idealistic about the whole subject. I always defended that, if democratic elections were held, Muslim Brotherhood would win and that the daily behaviour of common people in the streets of Cairo were already announcing that.

"Muslim Brotherhood" has been supported, under the table, by the United States and Israel since forever. There is a lot of interest in the victory of this religious faction because they represent another way, probably even more efficient than the one Mubarak imposed on his people, to control, manipulate and enslave egyptian people. The higher powers who are orchestrating this whole operation KNOW what they are doing and, for sure, have the knowledge that egyptian people tend to be religious by nature and that using FALSE religion to manipulate them is the easiest way to have them on their hands. I suffer, in silence, for this.

From my direct experience with egyptian people of all walks of life, I see that their hearts are beautiful but they have been trained, used to survive the only way their country allowed them to: licking the boots of authority and hierarchies, stabbing each other on the backs for advantage, being a smart ass, a thief as opposed to being HONEST and HARD WORKING, qualities which are considered clear signs of weakness and stupidity only proper of ignorant "fellahin" (peasants).

The talents, creativity, kindness, potential for ART and invention I recognize in egyptian people have never been used in their favour, always against them and the ignorance all Governments insist on imposing to its people is the THING that allows them to perpetuate a system that crowns the big thieves and destroys the good people who try to win their life with dignity and kindness.

All the time I discussed the matter of egyptian elections with friends, they were always surprised by my, apparently, pessimistic vision. I defended that the majority of egyptian people are illiterate and highly inffluenced by anything their "sheikhs" say in the prayers at the mosques spread all over Egypt. I defended that I see a scary crescendo of religious extremism in the streets of Cairo, growing day by day, expressed by the increasing presence of the Holy "Coran" in all venues and 24 hours per day. The "Coran" substituted the music and the dance in egyptian lives and that doesn t mean that people are more religious, it means that they are being brainwashed. To follow God´s wishes there is no need to swallow "Coran" 24 hours per day. To follow God´s wishes, you don´t need to cut out music, dance, art, joy from your life and cover women´s heads, faces and bodies. To follow God´s wishes you don´t need to impose it on everybody by making them listen to "sheiks" yelling out hungry messages against the "enemies" of Islam inside shopping malls, shops, taxis, supermarkets.

I LOVE EGYPT and that doesn´t mean I don´t see the bad things happening in it. I see them and I still LOVE EGYPT, despite the bad stuff or even because of them.
I wish to see this country as a FREE place where egyptian people´s abilities and talents are used to the benefit of all, a place where everyone is FREE to choose their religion and their way of life, a place where TRADITIONS add LIFE to people´s existences and do not TAKE away their lives and happiness.
A place where brains are trained to think, question and decide for themselves and NOT formated like computers to follow what religious-political powers wishes them to do for the benefit of the few extremely rich that keep sucking the lives of millions.

All of my hopes go to Egypt, my home, my school, my holly ground, the territory where I rediscovered myself and my ART of Oriental Dance.
Reality is going into a weird direction...I am ready for everything, though cause I´ve been through a LOT and always went out of every situation as victorious and wise as it gets so...let´s face the music, the BIG MUSIC!

For the ones who still wish to close their eyes to reality I say: it´s your right to do so but don´t make others believe in your own idealistic wishes or hipocrisy.
Wishing the BEST for my country who owns hald of my heart (EGYPT, always).

Lovely Friday...(miraculous daily bits that turn reality into JOY)...

Going to the gym in the morning and teaching a bit of portuguese language to the nice, old taxi driver that takes me there. Laughing with him, repeating some portuguese words with me, like a happy, childish sing-along and listening to him thanking me: "Obrigada!" with that smile that always takes me by surprise (how can an old egyptian, poor man who has, for sure, struggled all his life in many difficulties, can STILL have the smile of a child?!).

Arriving home and feeling the smell of fresh "boukhour" (incense) specially burnt on fridays, before and after the main muslim prayer of the week around 12.00h.
The whole building smelling like the best quality saudi arabian incense...and me, being taken by that undescribable pleasure, breathing in, slowly and deeply, sighing in pure happiness.

So much of these small pleasures it is what makes LIFE in this crazy city of CAIRO so special.

"As good as it gets!"

Being a professional Oriental Dancer means building my mind, body, emotional and spiritual re-actions as totally autonomous and only depending on the music and myself.

That's why it has been so wonderful and challenging to dance Tango, attend some milongas (not learning from classes but from dancing with different partners) and see myself progressing, widening my dance/life understanding through the argentinian dance.

Dancing with my favourite Tango partner is another story altogether. It is HEAVEN. It is something I wish every person could experience, at least ONCE in their life time.
As it happens in all genres of dance, there are talented and not so talented people. We all can do it till a certain extent but GENIUS dance is allowed only to a few.

And yeah, GENIUS can be defined by several ways.
My own definition goes through the ability to RE-CREATE the dance, READ the music in a personal, original way, always new and fresh depending on the mood of the moment and SHARE emotions with your partner, besides that SPIRITUAL connection that is so rarely achieved between two tango partners.
Also there are the SILENCES, often forgotten by dancers. How important it is to be able to STOP and enjoy a good, meaningful PAUSE where the imobility says more than a thousand movements?!
Emotion, silences, musicality, technique that you feel like words and not like a dry imposition on your body, etc, etc...the list is endless. When a man and woman can reach this kind of mutual quality in Tango something not short of miraculous happens.
That connection just looks sexy, warm (should I say HOT?! Yes, I should...:), tremendously physical AND spiritual at the same time.

I love my favourite partner for that.
"Fly me to the moon and let me stay among the stars...let me see what Spring is like or Jupiter and Mars..." Indeed he does. And, from the top of my most exaggerated idealism, I want to believe that is TANGO.

Isn't it (just) lovely?

To wake up and teach a group of students that come from Japan at my own home.
We drink tea, work on our dance, share laughs (laugh is one of my most essencial compulsions) and emotions (because dance, without emotion, is NOT dance for me).
I look out of the window and see birds coming to visit my cats , singing for them. All is fine, no matter how many difficulties I face, all is PERFECT as it is.
Realizing this brings me an added jewel made of PEACE.

Having lunch with a dear friend in a gorgeous "vintage" coffee shop that opened across the street from my home. The smell of the cappuccinos, milk, pastry freshly baked, the humming of people coming and going, telling each other about their lives, the walls of this magnificent place covered with old photos of times that are not any more but still cling to us in their beauty.

Playing with the baby cats and their mom (whom I feed every day at the door of my appartment). Going mad with pleasure with their sweetness and perfection.

Performing at night with my men (orchestra) or going for a tango (or salsa) night with a selected group of friends, being protected by their true friendship and DANCING, DANCING, DANCING...
Working, believing all is possible, learning how to LOVE despite so many disappointments, rediscovering what it means to DANCE (which is also what it means "to LIVE") and, therefore, be sure I know very close to nothing...I think, no matter what, "what a beautiful world this is, indeed!".

*( The power of )Delicate details.

I live for those unexpected, delicate moments of kindness and beauty. Maybe they may seem insignificant to others and, for sure, they will pass unnoticed to most of us, but I am stubborn and weird that way: I have this strange tendency to focus on BEAUTIFUL details so it s only natural that I can t stop smiling when a cat says "hi" to me on the street 'cause I look at him with the eyes of love or when a stranger has a lovely gesture without expecting anything else in return.
I've seen the best and the worst of humans, I suppose. This school of Egypt is a great one to start/end with. But, no matter how many shocks of terror or joy I may catch inside of me, nothing and no one could ever erase this colourful addiction of searching for the BEAUTIFUL details everywhere.
And, because I search for them, I find them and find them and find them. That s part of the whole thing s magic...

Receiving Alice (in Wonderland)...

Wishing she will always keep the child inside her, the same one who believes in fairies and all possibilities.

May the power of your imagination join hands with your white heart and create ALL you ever wish for.

Wishing you the "eyes" that see beyond the regular eyes of human beings who restrain themselves to the five senses of routinary use.

Giving you a hint of a proud aunt who sees in your name the whole meaning and purpose of LIFE: to create our own wonderland where gardens are always colourful and rabbits sing with us. To create your own beautiful world, despite the chaos of this other world.

To be able to live in this world, without belonging to it or surrendering to its vanishing soul and joy...

To our beloved Alice, all the wonderlands on the palm of her gorgeous hand and all the flights at the distance of a breath.

With endless LOVE from an aunt who never stopped believing in fairy tales and miracles...

The sweet things of life!

It recently opened in Zamalek an irresistible cupcake store that is so gorgeous and stylish that transformed me into an instant costumer.

It s at the number 4 of Brazil Street and it s worth visiting, if only for the beauty of their bags and packages which guard the most delicious and gorgeous cupcakes I ve ever seen.

Just a bit of sophistication mixed in the also irresistible "baladi" side of Cairo...

Note: One of the managers is a cute lebanese man who s not so sweet as his cupcakes but comes close to it!

How wonderful to sit by the Nile with a friend which has nothing to do with the typical mafia of Cairo...Oh, Lord...how much do I crave some purity of intentions, some REAL feeling with no hidden agendas, some TRUE love and friendship with no second intentions, some PASSION of those who do not kill us but ADD LIFE to our lives...

It was a marvellous afternoon by the river Nile and, curiously enough, there wasn t some of the usual clear sexual harassment, none of the staring I never got really used to, no one trying to fool anyone or searching for an opportunity to take away what s not theirs.

A warm, lovely afternoon by the Nile with a loving face that speaks of simple pleasures and treasures. No talk about work, the dance dirty corridors of Cairo or the ones who try to cut my legs so that I won t succeed and share my talent with anyone...no talk of sadness or trials.
Just a peaceful smile from a friend which presence makes it all "good" and bearable.

As we watched the sun go down and the fellucas pass by us, I realized that moments like these are the ones who REALLY feed my soul, much more than the external victories and the pathway (often dark) to material success.

We sang silly songs, we laughed A LOT, we played with children that were around and I had a cat on my lap. We had egyptian food for lunch and an exaggerated sweeted tea in the end of the day. It was all so simple and, may I say, wonderful.
Not exotic or brilliant. Yet WONDERFUL.

Not even the Nile impressed me. It was just the presence of TRUTH and JOY that made my day.
Nothing to write on my book of achievements but...WONDERFUL.

And what else could a girl ask for?

Portugal, the 26th April, 2011

My sister´s wedding!

Oh, yes.

There was the cake and the food overloading.

There was the music and the guests, the rituals and the protocol.

And besides all that and so much more that says nothing to me there was the simple wishing the best to my sister that just got married and carries a baby in her round, beautiful tummy and that makes it a SACRED event.

I ´ve never been a sucker for weddings and society´s ways to control and keep people into "order" but I am surely an incurable romantic and for that I am guilty as charged.

What can I do? I believe in love, despite all odds.

I believe there is SOMEONE SPECIAL out there who brings out the best in you and loves you for who you are, no conditions or concessions made.

The pure, eternal LOVE I wish to my sister on her wedding´s day and the one I wish for us all.

P.S.

My mum danced till her feet bleed.

We wondered the whole time: "What did she eat/drink/smoke?".