Rural Odyssey Iv Parallels

Mark J. Curran

Description

Professors Mike and Mariah O'Brien live and work in Abilene, Kansas and then travel and lecture in Brazil. Brazilian Literature, Folklore and Religion ensue.
"RURAL ODYSSEY IV - PARALLELS Abilene - Cowboys - "Cordel" is a return to the "Rural Odyssey" series, a narrative in fiction telling of Professor Mike O'Brien's work on a "History of Abilene," life with his young wife, Professor Mariah Palafox O'Brien, and their jobs at DDEC (Dwight D. Eisenhower College) in Abilene. After telling of his "History of Abilene," the book recounts Mike and Mariah's trip to Brazil in the summer of 1971 via Fulbright Lecture Grants. Mike gives talks on Eisenhower, Abilene and the Cowboy days, cowboys and "cordel," and Mariah lectures on American Literature. "The Great Gatsby," "The Sound and the Fury," and "To Kill a Mockingbird" are a few highlights. They meet important military, literary, and folkloric figures in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Bahia and Recife and visit Brazil's famous tourist and cultural sites as well. Mike's Catholic and Mariah's Jewish heritages come into play.

Sujets

• Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Brazil
• Abilene
• Eisenhower
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Trafford Publishing
• Date de parution: 24 janvier 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781698713939
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

RURAL ODYSSEY IV PARALLELS
 
 
ABILENE - COWBOYS - “CORDEL”
 
 
 
 
Mark J. Curran
 
 
© Copyright 2023 Mark J. Curran. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in these plays are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6987-1392-2 (sc) ISBN: 978-1-6987-1393-9 (e)
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only. Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
Trafford rev. 01/17/2023
www.trafford.com North America & international toll-free: 844-688-6899 (USA & Canada) fax: [phone]
CONTENTS
Prologue
PART I
WORK AT DDEC
1   History. Abilene Cowtown
2   History. Abilene. Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower
3   History. Abilene. The Cemeteries and Movers and Shakers in Town
4   History. Abilene. The Buildings and The Mansions and The Trains
5   History. The Smoky Hill Trail
6   Abilene, The Cowboys, Movies, and Movie Posters
7   The Cowboy Movie Stars from The 1940S and 1950S, A Partial List
8   Select Titles, Western Cowboy Movies, The B Movies and The “Oaters”
PART II
RESEARCH: COWBOYS AND “CORDEL”
A   The Topics
B   Titles from The “Literatura De Cordel” Useful for “Parallels” to The American Cowboy Phenomenon
PART III
THE RESEACH RESULTS
A   Cowboys and Cordel
B   The Bucking Bronco Scene from The Movie “Monty Walsh” with Lee Marvin – Parallel to The Same in “O Boi Misterioso”
C   Wild Brahma Bulls – The Task to Ride Them (U.S.) or to Catch Them and Bring Them Down (Brazil)
D   The “Cattle Call” Song – Eddy Arnold - Yodeling
E   The Dog Hero
F   Brave Cowboys and Brave Brazilian Back Landers
G   Bandits, Heroes and Villains
H   Cowboys, Bandits, and Religion
I   John And Mary Story - Poems: Lovers in “Cordel” The Lovers in Cowboy Movies
J   “Far-Oeste,” “Bângue-Bângue” Movies, and American Movie Stars in “Cordel” at The Fairs and Markets
K   Epithets – Cowboy Movies and “Cordel”
L   The Cowboy Works for The Evil Rancher, Falls in Love with The Rancher’s Daughter, and has to Defend Himself and His Lady in Battle
M   The Bandit Wants to Reform but Is Hunted Down By The Police. Movie Posters
N   Brave Back Landers, A Rich Topic
O   The Cowboys, The Western Ballads, The Movie Songs and Posters
P   Cowboys and “Cordel” – The Guns, The Duels, The Differences
Q   “Cool, Cool Water” and The Desert Crossing in “Cordel” [“Travessia”]
R   “Disparada” and The “Sertão”
PART IV
MARIAH AND WHAT IS TO COME
The Call to Professor Skidmore, Talk With Dean Halderson, and The Plan
THE BRAZILIAN ADVENTURE - 1971
June 10 th . Friday, Varig to Rio, Copacabana Beach, the “Braseiro”
June 11 th and … June 12 th . Saturday and Sunday, Copacabana Beach, Ipanema Beach, the “Hippy” Fair
June 13 th , Monday, the “Escola Superior de Guerra”
June 14 th . Tuesday. The “Casa de Rui Barbosa,” Sebastião Nunes Batista
June 15 th , Wednesday. FUNARTE, Rick’s, Painting the National Library
June 16 th , Thursday, (ah, Bloom’s Day from “Ulysses”) Talks at the Casa de Rui Barbosa, the “Salão Nobre,” the Reception
June 17 th , Friday, Preparation for Talks, “Missa do Vaqueiro”
June 18 th , Saturday, “Umbanda” with Sebastião Nunes Batista
June 19 th , Sunday, The “Feira de São Cristóvão”
June 20 th , Monday, Mariah “Shines” at the Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro
June 21 st , Tuesday, Varig to São Paulo, the MASP “Museu de Arte de São Paulo”
June 22 nd , Wednesday, The José Mindlin Foundation and Meeting Him
June 23 rd , Thursday, Mariah Meets the Rabbi. We Meet Audálio Dantas.
June 24 th , Friday, We Meet Joseph Luyten
June 25 th , Saturday, Prepping for Levi Ferrari, the Interview, Dinner with Audálio and Vanira
June 26 th , Sunday, The “Folk – Art Fair” of the State of São Paulo
June 27 th , Monday, The Talks at USP
June 28 th , Tuesday, A Return to Bahia
June 29 th , Wednesday, The Lower City, the Modelo Market, Rodolfo Coelho Cavalcante and Camaféu de Oxossi
June 30 th , Thursday, Barra Beach, “A Portuguesa,” Tourism in the Old Upper City
July 1 st , Friday, The “Núcleo de Pesquisa da Literatura de Cordel”
July 2 nd , Saturday, Mike talks at the “Club Militar”
July 3 rd , Sunday, Varig to Recife, The São José Market and the Poets
July 4 th , Monday, Meeting Ariano Suassuna and Visiting the Instituto Joaquim Nabuco de Pesquisas Sociais, Meeting David Lisboa
July 5 th , Tuesday, The Recife Synagogue
July 6 th , Wednesday, The Flight to Miami and then Boston, Reviewing Brazil.
July 7 th , Thursday, Meeting Professor Skidmore, Checking In, Tentative Plans
 
Internet Sites Consulted for This Book
About The Author
PROLOGUE
It is late July 1970, and I am back to Abilene, Kansas with my recent bride Mariah Palafox O’Brien. We have just returned from an unforgettable honeymoon trip to Brazil where I introduced Mariah to the joys of body surfing on Copacabana Beach in Rio, its “must” tourist sites of Corcovado and the Christ figure (“Do we ever get away from this guy? Bigger and better, huh!” Mariah poked me in the side and winked.) and Sugar Loaf Mountain. A romantic evening topped it all off – the “Berro d’Água” restaurant and nightclub high above Rio with an astounding view of the Crist statue through the mist and the beaches of Ipanema and Leblon far below. We dined and danced to beautiful, quiet Bossa Nova Music.
I might add that I squeezed in two or three days of collection of broadsides of the “literatura de cordel,” the first with lots of xeroxing at the Casa de Rui Barbosa in Rio, then at the great “Feira Nordestina” in Rio’s north zone and good talks with poets Azulão and Apolônio Alves dos Santos (they were much more conversational with this beautiful girl at my side).
Our travel was terrific; we had a wonderful tourist deal – the Varig Airlines Air Pass which gave us pre-paid passes anywhere in Brazil for one month. So, we hightailed it out southwest to Paraná State and Iguaçu Falls. We stayed at the rather run-down Cataratas Hotel, but with the feature of being just a short walk to the falls. It was romantic (we had never been to Niagara Falls, but you can’t beat this.) We walked for a time and stopped at each entrance and new views until we reached the end and “The Devil’s Throat.” Astounding! Just like Robert de Niro in “The Mission.” The walk worked up a ravenous appetite which was thoroughly satisfied in the terrific buffet “dinner,” unlike the rest of Brazil and more like home: wonderful roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh vegetables, and best of all, real lemon – meringue pie for dessert! Where are we, in Kansas? And all the hotel staff were tall, European-looking, and speaking a Portuguese I had never heard in Brazil, pronouncing initial R and final R like the R in English. RRRRRRR. No trill, no aspiration. Once again, where in the hell are we?
Next day back on Varig to Bahia, the most “African” of all Brazilian cities, former capital of the country for over two hundred years, with amazing, wonderful historical sites: 16 th century architecture and buildings to match, including Brazil’s most beautiful church, A Igreja de São Francisco, a great small beach – Barra Beach – down the hill and with a terrific Portuguese Restaurant to the side. A real “Bahian” restaurant treat was later in the upper city in Campo Grande in the park near the Governor’s Palace and it had all the Bahian food specialties (Mariah loved it, so did I but paid the price later). Finally, we topped it all off the next day with a visit to its famous market in the lower city – O Mercado Modelo – made famous in the stories and novels of Jorge Amado, my favorite Brazilian writer. And we made a great “cordel” connection – the poetry stand of no less than Rodolfo Coelho Cavalcante outside the market. I knew all about him from initial study at Brown and Harvard. He wrote “cordel” broadsides from the 1940s to now in 1970, had over, are you ready, one thousand titles to his credit, and was spearheading a national campaign to make “cordel” and its poets known to all middle and upper-class Brazilians! I practically bought out the poetry stand, perhaps up to 200 titles. Rodolfo had chronicled Brazilian politics since the Fascists of World War II, the Getúlio Vargas Era from 1930 to 1954, the democratic presidents of the late 1950s and now the military dictator ship since 1964. All these events I had studied with Professor Skidmore at Brown and Harvard. I apologized to Mariah for these research moments, but she said she understood and was fascinated by it all and “My time will come young goy, my time will come.”
And the last evening was a terrific show by the “Balé Folclórico da Bahia” which provided music, dance, singing and the best of the African culture! Capoeira, Maculelê, and Candomblé dances. We had a final drink overlooking the Bahia de Todos os Santos and made love later.
The final stop was Varig taking us perhaps two thousand