Tag: Brazil

  • Bibi Ferreira, 94, performs in NYC and shares her life

    Bibi Ferreira, 94, performs in NYC and shares her life

    Bibi Ferreira (Photo/Willan Aguiar)
    Bibi Ferreira (Photo/Willan Aguiar)

    Bibi Ferreira is an entertainment powerhouse in Brazil — she’s been singing, acting, directing and producing for the past 75 years. At 94, she is also a force that doesn’t quit.

    The “Grand Dame,” as she is often called, was recently in New York City performing “4 x Bibi” at Symphony Space, a show saluting her four singing peers — Frank Sinatra, Édith Piaf, Amália Rodrigues, and Carlos Gardel.

    “They are not my favorite singers, but they are the best,” says Ferreira, in her deep, strong voice, about why she chose these four to tribute. “Piaf was a composer herself.”

    Although born in Rio de Janeiro, Ferreira speaks perfect English, as well as Spanish, French and her native Portuguese.

    “I had a lot of work to do,” she says about her childhood. “I was brought up in a British school. My mother was very tough with me. I spoke five languages at the age of 15. I also learned the piano and violin. It was a very, very busy life. I did whatever my mother wanted.”

    Ferreira’s mother was Spanish ballerina, Aída Izquierdo, and her father, the prominent Brazilian actor, Procópio Ferreira. So the stage became Bibi’s second home from when she was still only months old.  

    “A very special night for me was an opening act with my father on February 28, 1941,” says Ferreira about her professional stage debut at age 18 in the Italian play “La Locandiera.” “My father – the greatest actor from Brazil – taught me everything I know.”

    Bibi performing in "La Locandeira" at age 18. (Courtesy Montenegro y Raman Art) Productions
    Bibi performing in “La Locandeira” at age 18. (Courtesy Montenegro y Raman Art Productions)

    Throughout her career, Ferreira brought some of Broadway’s biggest musicals to Brazil in the 1960’s — as well as starred in them — such as, “My Fair Lady,” “Hello, Dolly!”, and “Man of La Mancha.” She sang and acted, touring worldwide, and even hosted various television programs, including Curso de Alfabetização para Adultos — a televised literacy course which taught more than 30,000 people in Brazil.

    “It was one of the things that most honored my career,” says Ferreira, who takes the art of communication very seriously. “My career has been a success – one on top of the other…The most important thing for an actor is to make yourself understood.”

    It wasn’t always an easy ride for Ferreira. She was married five times and had one daughter. Her last, and most successful, marriage was to Brazilian playwright, Paolo Pontes. However, after only eight years together, he died of stomach cancer at the age of 36, and she never married again.

    “Since I remember at the age of 12, I never decided anything in my life,” said Ferreira about her professional life. [My parents] decided my life…It’s a very severe way of living, but I like music very, very, very much – I really prefer the musicals.”

    These days, although she still performs and tours occasionally, she is now free to wake up when she wants.

    “I wake up, have my coffee and milk, go for the mail,” says Ferreira. “Sometimes I play a little piano which I adore. Then my assistant tells me what I have to do. I get ready, get dressed.”

    What is her most important piece of life advice which she wishes she could give her younger self?

    “Try to be simple. I think simplicity is the most important thing in life. It’s very important to just be yourself…The most important thing in life is to communicate. Just be happy. I could eat everything I want, and my health is good, so I’m happy!”

  • Master yogi, 75, is expert in 1,350 postures

    Master yogi, 75, is expert in 1,350 postures

    Sri Dharma Mittra near the lake at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, August of 2009. (Photo/Lily Cushman Frindel)
    Sri Dharma Mittra near the lake at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, August of 2009. (Photo/Lily Cushman Frindel)

    While most New Yorkers are scrambling around, stressed, and in a hurry, Master Yogi Sri Dharma Mittra is often in a faraway, much more peaceful place mentally, and sometimes physically upside down.

    Often referred to as the “Teacher’s Teacher” by his hundreds of students at the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City, Mittra has taught many prominent yoga instructors in the city since he began teaching the ancient art in 1967. Today, at 75, he still teaches yoga twice a day, five days a week.

    “My favorite pose is the headstand, because the blood comes down to the head, and it increases mental ability,” says the yoga guru.

    Sri Dharma in London, Summer of 2010. The pose is a variation of Nirlamba Shirshasana -- a hands-free headstand. (Photo/Hugh Herrera)
    Sri Dharma in London, Summer of 2010. The pose is a variation of Nirlamba Shirshasana — a hands-free headstand. (Photo/Hugh Herrera)

    Mittra is an expert in more than a thousand poses, however. When he was 45, he photographed himself in 1,350 postures as an act of devotion to his guru – Yogi Gupta. The Master Yoga Chart, which hangs in yoga studios worldwide, is made up of 908 of these photos. And, 608 of these photos were published in his book “Asanas.”

    “I moved to New York City in September, 1964, and I lived here since then,” says Mittra who was born in the remote village of Pirapora, Brazil and was raised Catholic among a poor family of five children. “I came here for more opportunity…there is also more freedom here, and my guru was here, so I had to be here.”

    He says he was around 17 or 18 when he learned about yoga through the books his younger brother was studying.

    “As soon as I learned that the purpose of yoga was self-control, I got really enthusiastic about it,” remembers Mittra. “Yoga comes from about 5,000 years ago in India. Now, we have yoga styles that fit all types of people on the planet.”

    He says he usually follows the form called Asana – the one based on postures.

    “That technique gives you mental, physical and spiritual power,” says Mittra. “We use these three powers to achieve success in whatever we want. More mental control – your mind becomes extremely sharp…It is like going from AM to FM radio – better quality of music.”

    Being a follower of Asana, requires Mittra to also be a vegetarian.

    “Being a vegetarian, you rarely get sick,” he says. “I haven’t seen a doctor for 50 years. When you do the poses, your body doesn’t hurt much and you get less injuries.”

    Mittra is also a champion of meditation – an integral component of yoga, he explains. He has been doing it for so long now, that it has become almost an involuntary habit for him.

    “Meditation doesn’t mean you have to be sitting – you can be walking,” explains Mittra. “I also meditate lying down on the floor, but not sleeping. I put my body in a deep relaxation. Deep inside you ask yourself where you are in your heart, your mind, and you go outside of body consciousness. I keep my mind somewhere else, not on worries.”

    For today’s youth, he advises them to have compassion for all beings.

    “Learn how to see yourself in others,” says Mittra. “From there, you become more respectful… Form a good diet. Be vegetarian, and don’t cook food too much. If you don’t like yoga, you must be active. Be moderate in sex. Get involved in meditation. Without it, you won’t have inner peace.”