Wishing I were at Sertanejo Pop Festival 2011

I haven't been to this annual festival of Brazilian pop country music, but I imagine the crowd descending on the city of Belo Horizonte this weekend looks something like this: groups of single young women, groups of single young men, many of whom are decked out in cowboy boots and hats, lots of teen and twenty-something couples eager to be serenaded by lovey-dovey lyrics, and masses of screaming teenage girls completely and totally desperate to see the performance by national heartthrob, Luan Santana. 


If I were in BH this weekend, I would fit into the first category of attendees, but I'm sweating it out in New York and watching videos of the festival and of my favorite Sertanejo duos on YouTube.

Official Sertanejo Pop Festival 2011 video

I was introduced to Sertanejo music on a  two-hour ferry boat ride in the Amazon, far far away from the Central West and South East origins of this music genre. But I am forever grateful to the two pilots who decided to stick the Bruno e Marrone De Volta aos Bares DVD in the player. At first, I was excited simply because I could understand what the duo was singing. Like much Country music, Sertanjo is often slow and tells a story, and so much of the Brazilian music I had heard up to this point was fast paced pop, rock, and rap whose lyrics didn't even sound like Portuguese to me. But once I started processing Bruno and Marrone's lyrics, I began to pick out the common theme of love, heartbreak, sex, and alcohol, with the occasional horse back ride through the sertão (wilderness). Who would want to listen to music about anything else? While Bruno and Maronne are not playing at Sertanejo Pop Festival, I believe no introduction to Sertanejo is complete with out these two pot-bellied men in tight jeans. Here is one of my favorites: Flashback de nós dois is about a guy inviting an ex to re-live their lust for just one night. Hey, we've all thought about it...

And some songs are more sweet than salty. Amigo Apaixonado, by Sertanejo duo Vitor & Leo is about a guy who professes his love to his best friend. Oh yeah, I may or may not have  thought about doing that, too.