On February 22nd 2023, CLACS and Cafezinho* had their first event partnership of the semester: Cafezinho Carnaval edition! In this event, the Portuguese-speaking community at IU and Bloomington had the opportunity to make their own Carnaval masks and learn how to dance samba with Laís Lara Vanin and Gabriella Bain. Both are members of the African American Dance Company at IU. Laís is a PhD candidate at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and a performer. Gabriella is a ballerina and a Junior in Folklore and Anthropology. By the end of the event, there was also a roda de samba** where students could show off the samba moves they learned with Laís and Gabriella!
*Cafezinho is the Portuguese-speaking hour in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. During the 2022-2023 academic year, the PhD student Bruna Kalil was the organizer.
**Roda de samba is an improvised meeting of musicians and people that are singing, playing, and dancing samba.