In 1960 we received an invitation to play in Recife, a wonderful, exciting and dangerous place, often described as a “social jungle”. The Forr? party took place on the first floor of Caxang??s neighbourhood theatre. With its high ceilings, wooden floors and balconies, the place was perfect for these kinds of events. When all the windows were wide open, there would be a wonderful breeze during the hot tropical evenings. Since everyone was looking for amusement, the place was packed on weekends. People from all corners of society would arrive nicely dressed, animated and chatting loudly over the sound of clinking glasses. Pernambuco?s Cacha?a, considered by many, especially by the locals, to be the best in the country, had started flowing generously and the popular sugar cane based alcohol lives up to its reputation. We always had a few shots to warm up before performing and by the time the place was packed we were already in a very good mood. Our local cacha?a had loosened the bodies and minds of everyone in the room, people started to pair off and twirl around to the sound of forr? music, smiling and sliding their feet off the floor - a reflex picked up from dancing in rural villages to avoid kicking up the dust”.
