I had one of those 'menos' moments yesterday at Lollapalooza. We walked to the Jockey Club and tried to go through Portão 6 which was the closest to us but they only told us at the turnstiles that we had to go through Portão 2 which was on the other end. When we finally got there, another 15 minutes walking in the blazing sun, they wouldn't let us in as we didn't have ID for the girls... I'm learning to deal with Brazilian bureaucracy at the best of times, but at my worst (hungry, hot and thirsty) I don't fare well. The guy would not let us through after arguing it hadn't stated it on our ticket, they are only 2 years and 5 months old, they're not drinking, we're not getting on a plane... so instead me and the girls waited on the roadside while Tim went home to pick up all our passports.
Nevertheless once we were in (typical Brazilian style, the entrance for kids had a set of steep concrete steps) I cheered up. It was the first festival for the girls and we had a few bands we were really keen to see - Thievery Corp, Friendly Fires, MGMT. There was also a Kidzapalooza which was super cute - a tent with musical instruments hosted by the infamous music school Souza Lima who do music lessons for kids from 3 years old, as well as local bands. We saw Crianças Crionças by CID Campos who sang about bears and butterflies - super cool, seriously. It was a great hide away when the rain started too!
So then my slow brain finally worked out why the Brazilians are so strict about ID for children. We had matching number wristbands with the girls so it meant that no one could just take our kids and leave the festival. This obviously didn't work in practice - we just walked out of there with no one checking but it's a reminder that we live in a country where some people take other people's children*. And when I think about it logically, I would rather them be more strict about this than not. I would like to apologise to the guy at Portão 2 whose life I made difficult for 5 minutes.. .
Taking children to music festivals is not common here. There was one other 5 month old and a handful of older children, but people were either really excited for kids to be there (we got alot of 'Parabéns', and interviews and photos from random strangers) or absolutely horrified. I have to admit, Jane's Addiction is not really my cup of tea but both Sophie and Olivia fell asleep to them. When the rain started properly we decided to be responsible parents and take the girls home, and listen to Arctic Monkeys from our garden.
Check out Tim & Sophie being interviewed here!
* I know this obviously does not only happen here in Brazil but there is definitely more awareness (documents required) if you have children here. E.g. you need a form (notarised of course) to be able to leave the country if you are travelling on your own with your child. You (we..) should always carry ID for the girls because if you are stopped by the police for any reason you need to prove that the child is yours - this is happened to us once before and we didn't have any documents, small panic attack.
Nevertheless once we were in (typical Brazilian style, the entrance for kids had a set of steep concrete steps) I cheered up. It was the first festival for the girls and we had a few bands we were really keen to see - Thievery Corp, Friendly Fires, MGMT. There was also a Kidzapalooza which was super cute - a tent with musical instruments hosted by the infamous music school Souza Lima who do music lessons for kids from 3 years old, as well as local bands. We saw Crianças Crionças by CID Campos who sang about bears and butterflies - super cool, seriously. It was a great hide away when the rain started too!
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| Sophie taking photos of some festival girls |
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| Playing the xylophone - new favourite instrument - at Kidzapalooza |
So then my slow brain finally worked out why the Brazilians are so strict about ID for children. We had matching number wristbands with the girls so it meant that no one could just take our kids and leave the festival. This obviously didn't work in practice - we just walked out of there with no one checking but it's a reminder that we live in a country where some people take other people's children*. And when I think about it logically, I would rather them be more strict about this than not. I would like to apologise to the guy at Portão 2 whose life I made difficult for 5 minutes.. .
Taking children to music festivals is not common here. There was one other 5 month old and a handful of older children, but people were either really excited for kids to be there (we got alot of 'Parabéns', and interviews and photos from random strangers) or absolutely horrified. I have to admit, Jane's Addiction is not really my cup of tea but both Sophie and Olivia fell asleep to them. When the rain started properly we decided to be responsible parents and take the girls home, and listen to Arctic Monkeys from our garden.
Check out Tim & Sophie being interviewed here!
* I know this obviously does not only happen here in Brazil but there is definitely more awareness (documents required) if you have children here. E.g. you need a form (notarised of course) to be able to leave the country if you are travelling on your own with your child. You (we..) should always carry ID for the girls because if you are stopped by the police for any reason you need to prove that the child is yours - this is happened to us once before and we didn't have any documents, small panic attack.
Sounds like one of those culture clash moments. To Brazilians it's so obvious that everyone is supposed to walk around with ID at all times (and yes, that includes children) that no one would think of writing it on the ticket. It's kind of like in the US where you have to show your ID at bars even if you are obviously over the minimum drinking age.
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