The first Music in Trancoso festival will be held from March 17 – 24, 2012, featuring international classical music virtuosos and Brazilian musicians performing at a spectacular, 790-seat, amphitheater nestled within Trancoso’s famous red cliffs overlooking the ocean.

The temporary amphitheater has been designed with an eco-focus by architect François Valentiny, with acoustics conceived by engineer Nicholas Edwards

The goal of the event is to encourage sustainable development through music and culture, and along-side the musical program will be held free workshops and master-classes offered to students of Trancoso’s schools

Performers include the Bahian Youth Orchestra conducted by Ricardo Castro, with international soloists such as:

Andreas Grünkorn, cello
German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin

Benoit Fromanger,flute
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

César Camargo Mariano, piano

Jonathan Williams, french horn
Chamber Orchestra of Europe / BBC Symphony Orchestra

Katia & Marielle Labèque, piano duo

Mônica Salmaso, vocal

Richard Galler, bassoon

Rudiger Liebermann, violin
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Sizão Machado, bass

Teco Cardoso, woodwinds

Ulisses Rocha, violin

Walter Küssner, viola
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Walter Seyfarth, clarinet
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

With the generous support of various sponsors, the entire program of Music in Trancoso is free to the public

Ticket information and a detailed concert schedule are available at:

www.musicaemtrancoso.org.br

The town has lost one of its most loved and respected natives today with the sudden passing of Maria da Glória Teixeira da Conceição, better known as Dona da Glória. Born June 26, 1945, she lived her entire life in Trancoso and raised a vibrant family from her house on the Quadrado.

She was well-known as a mid-wife, delivering many of Trancoso’s children, and also for her skills as a natural healer. Her garden contained many herbs and spices she used for healing as well as cooking, and she was acclaimed for the typical Bahian dishes she served generously to family, friends, and at times even strangers. In 2004 Glória was one of the first friends the creators of UXUA made in Trancoso, being welcomed frequently in her home for coffee and friendly conversation, while eventually becoming her neighbors and celebrating Christmas dinners and countless birthdays and anniversaries at her table.

UXUA had already honored Dona da Glória by naming one of its casas the Quintal da Glória (Glória’s Garden). Glória’s hospitality will never be forgotten by anyone at the hotel, not by the staff nor by the many guests she made feel welcome by greeting them in the afternoon from her bench outside her house. All our condolences go out to her husband Seu João and her seven surviving children, Baiana, Nelly, Nanda, Duda, Som, Careca, and Nando.

NOTE: Dona da Glória can be seen explaining Trancoso traditions in a short documentary film created for UXUA by the Brasilian director Cisma, a movie filmed during Trancoso’s Festa São Brás on February 3, 2011. Release will be in early October.

Wilbert Das, Dona da Glória, and Trancoso artist Valquito Lima celebrate together Festa São Brás.

The acclaimed sporting group Capoeira Bahia Sul held their 5th bi-annual international congress from July 25 – 31 in nearby Arraial d’ Ajuda. UXUA Casa Hotel has worked closely for years with this organization to encourage participation in this traditional Afro-Bahian sport. Capoeira Bahia Sul’s local gym in is underwritten by the hotel, permitting low-income Trancoso residents to study regardless of their ability to pay fees.

To honor UXUA and Trancoso’s support, on July 31 hundreds of Capoeira Sul da Bahia’s members from around the world performed an exhibition in the town’s historic Quadrado, and the various Mestres (capoeira masters) of the group gathered in a spectacular roda (performance circle) and enacted combat with each other as a part of the congress’s closing ceremony.
After the event, a Bahian luncheon was offered by UXUA in the gardens of the hotel’s Casa Seu Irenio, where important leaders of the organization joined together, such as Mestre Railson, Mestre Mao Branca, Mestre Som, Prof. Diney and others.

UXUA wants to congratulate Capoeira Bahia Sul on their growing success in the world, and especially on the wonderful results achieved within the local community of Trancoso. For more information on the group visit:

http://www.capoeirasuldabahia.com.br/eng/default.asp

The 6th bi-annual congress will take place in July 2013 in Trancoso.

National Geographic earlier this year recognized UXUA Casa Hotel as one of South America’s most authentic hotels, featuring UXUA on the cover of its publication titled World’s Best Hotels; see UXUA’s Casa da Árvore (treehouse) at:

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/hotels/

In a separate issue National Geographic cited Bahia’s coastal destinations for preserving nature and local cultural heritage in an article which took measure of the impact of tourism on the world’s beaches. The magazine writes of Bahia: “Along much of this coast, small fishing villages that celebrate their rich cultural heritage dot hundreds of miles of unspoiled beaches.”

Each year Trancoso residents celebrate the arrival of June with a series of parties called the Festas Juninas. Traditional music fills the air and dances and games are held throughout town with young and old participating.

The month is climaxed with the 3rd most important annual Saint party celebrated in town (after January’s Festa de São Sebastiao and February’s Festa de São Brás), which is the festa de São João, held on the 24th of June, and closely followed by the smaller Festa San Antonio celebrated June 29th.

Pataxó Indian tribes have lived in southern Bahia for countless centuries, and the native families of Trancoso descend from them. Several Indian reservations can still be visited within one hour of Trancoso, and the hotel’s décor features many elements created by Wilbert Das with Indian artisans who reside there.

In celebration of Pataxó heritage, on April 15th the annual Pataxó Indian Games were held at the Praça do Cruzeiro in nearby Cabrália. Hundreds of Pataxó from across Brazil participated in sports such as bow and arrow, wrestling, axe throwing, races on land and water, and the always-popular canoe race. Indian dances were performed throughout the event with traditional cuisine served.

Since August 2009 UXUA creator Wilbert Das has invited artists visiting Trancoso to collect their impressions of the village and UXUA in a simple visual format; scrolling, digital canvases which can be shared with the world online.

A group of photographers, fashion designers, graphic artists, and painters have taken up the challenge and created a series of very personal works, now published on the UXUA website at: www.uxua.com/artistcanvases

New canvases will be published in the future, while those already online have been contributed by artists from all around the world such as:

Diederik Verbakel and Marieke Holthuis, Fashion Designers, Holland
Fernando Lombardi, Photographer, Brazil
Taylor Peden and Jen Munk, Photographers, USA
Simone Malacchini , Graphic Designer, Chile
Damiao Conceição Vieira, Painter, Brazil
Enea Pieraccinni, Photographer, Italy
Mirjam Bleeker, Photographer, Holland
Francesca Magliani, Photographer, Italy

The UXUA Artist Canvases launch as a part of a complete restyle of the UXUA website, featuring not only information of UXUA, but also about the history and lifestyle of Trancoso

UXUA creator Wilbert Das has been honored by the Trancoso community by being nominated as festeiro (honorary host) of the town’s oldest and most colorful religious festival, the festa São Brás, held over 24-hours starting at 9 pm the night of February 2nd.

The traditional party this year included performances by local musicians of Trancoso playing samba and forro, as well as special performances by Cezinha and Elba Ramalho, one of the best-loved forro performers in Brasil.

Wilbert’s co-festeiros were two members of native families, Cabocla Barreto and Cássia Bandera. Together they worked to respect the traditional roots of this annual celebration, re-introducing some historic aspects which hadn’t been practiced in recent years, such as traditional games for children on the Quadrado for the town’s children

Iemenja is the traditional goddess of the sea, and she is adored not only by the traditional fishermen of Trancoso, but also by the townwomen who view her as a sympathetic feminine figure and protector. On February 2 every year in the late afternoon processions of natives in white, traditional Bahian dress walk from Trancoso’s Quadrado down to the beach and send offerings to Iemanja in small wooden boats which are launched into the sea; offerings to the goddess include white fragrant flowers, perfumes, soaps, and products to enhance beauty.

Another edition of the vibrant annual party, the Festa São Sebastião runs over the 19th and 20th of January. This is a distinctly Bahian interpretation of a traditional Saint Day, mixing both Christian and African traditions. The entire community, young and old, celebrate with enthusiasm, making this a true high-point of the summer for the people of Trancoso.