Na penumbra da sala do laboratório, uniforme e absolutamente
[fechada,
Isolada do som e da luz, isolada do tempo e do espaço,
Procedia-se à investigação memorável.

Procurava-se descobrir o espaço completo e geral
Onde se pudesse definir a pulsação originária;
Pulsação que seria a substância de todas as vibrações,
Desde as que iluminam as estrelas Cefeides
Até as que comovem o coração humano,
As que marcam, domesticamente, o tempo civil nos relógios
E as que passam ondulando nas cordas dos violoncelos;
Pulsação que fosse o sangue de futuros nascimentos e de novas
[cosmogonias.
Dela viria a angústia da matéria dispersa em meio às nebulosas
E que ainda não pôde se converter em estrelas,
Viria a angústia das almas inascidas que, com o frio, e o medo
[de não nascer,
Se abrigam no ventre das mulheres.

Naquele ambiente inerte e indeterminado
Reinava um silêncio liso e sinistro:
Um silêncio que fora a conseqüência de rumores  especiais e
[preciosos,
Um silêncio-fronteira de ruídos apagados em macios de paina
[e de veludo.

Temia-se, porém, a inversão do tempo ou o pânico da luz,
Temia-se, sim, temia-se alcançar a essência do milagre…
Foi então que uma onda ligeira, perdida e vagabunda,
Uma onda que rondava, que rondava na sombra do jardim,
Entrou sorrateira, inesperadamente,
Por uma fresta imperceptível no rádio:

Era uma voz de mulher cantando nas Antilhas

So, a while I go I had this school party. The “Festa Julina”. (It should be “Festa Junina” but the party was on July 2nd).

The Festa Junina are festivities that take place in June in Brazil and are extremely popular throughout the country and among all social classes. Originally called joanina from São João, they celebrate the Catholic Saints: 

• Santo Antônio - Saint Anthony - 13th June
• São João - Saint John - 24th June
• São Pedro - Saint Peter - 29th June

The church fair, usually with a charity bazaar, is called a quermesse. The festivities also celebrate rural life and feature typical dress, food and dance. They usually take place in a large open space outdoors called an arraial and people dress up as farmers, or country folk (caipira) with straw hats and checked shirts or dresses. São João celebrates marriage, so couples dance a kind of square dance called quadrilha which features a mock wedding with the bride and groom. June is the time of the corn harvest, so special dishes are prepared with corn. Canjica is made from grated corn and coconut, boiled with water, milk, sugar ans cinnamon. Pamonha is a sweet concoction of corn paste which is rolled and baked in fresh cornhusks. Pinhão, an edible pine seed is also very popular. A typical drink is the quentão. As the name suggests, this is a hot alcoholic drink with ginger and usually cachaça - a kind of rum made from sugar cane and commonly known as pinga.

source: Festa Junina, by Jack Scholes at The Portuguese Blog.

The traditional party also has a lot of games, such as pescaria, quebra-pote, corrida de três pés, corrida de sacos, carrinho de mão, maçã na tina de água, dança da laranja, tiro ao alvo, jogo das argolas, toca do coelho and a bunch of other games. 

My school’s party was at Monte Libano, a club in Rio and it had three times on the flyer. The earlier, the younger were the kids. The party for the High School classes started at 6 PM and finished at 1 AM. There were a lot of games for the kids, but when we arrived there there were none for us. Mainly because… No one would play it, or at least 90% wouldn’t. And our songs weren’t… So… nice for 10 year old kids. 

I got a ride with Leandro and Fernanda. They said they’d get me at 6PM, but they only got here at 8PM! I was so so so anxious! We got at Monte Libano by 9PM, because Leandro got sort of lost when we were almost getting there, and there was a bit of traffic. 

The party was so crowded! The fact is simply explained because, I go to a private school, and my city is like huge. So the school has several… “schools” in several neighborhoods. And it has 13 schools throughout the city. Imagine 39 classes (1º, 2º and 3º year of High School*, so three classes per school, 3x13=39) with an average of thirty students per class, that would be 1170 students! Plus the people that the students brought. Like a friend of mine brought 10 cousins to the party. So… I’d say it was pretty crowded.