Canary on the Brain

Portraits: Cecília Afonsopena

What's in a name? In Rio de Janeiro you might be surprised. Cecília Afonsopena was born in Rio de Janeiro, but her family roots extend well into the country's interior and into the early days of the First Republic. A great grand-daughter of the Brazilian President Alfonso Pena, Cecília is a true "carioca da gema" who cut a swath in New York City in the 1970s. www.thecariorker.com

Go Filthy Get Filthy!

A man remembers a conversation he had many years ago on the terrace of the Theatre of São Pedro de Alcântara between acts of a play, which he doesn't remember nearly as well as the incident of his friend's story about guilt, justice, conscience, and getting filthy rich. (from Suje-se Gordo! by Machado de Assis, translation, performance and violão by Todd Conner) SFX credit to freesfx.co.uk

Nuptial Song

Aging musical conductor Master Roman Pires is loved and respected by all -- a local celebrity, in fact. And yet, his dream has always been to compose. Confined at home during a sudden illness, he finds a burst of energy to compose the one simple melody that will be the fulfillment of his life. A kind of "Eleanor Rigby" in prose, this story is a invocation to the compassion so important in times like these -- indeed, in any time. Every life is a complex story never quite heard, not a number. Singer-songwriter Janeen Rae Heller was commissioned to provide the musical arrangement for this episode and brings us a startling performance of another musical composition by the incomparable Chiquinha Gonzaga. Visit Janeen on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/Musical-Saw-Sawyer-Janeen-Rae-Heller--323527627659379]. Cantiga de Esponsais by Machado de Assis translated and told by Todd Conner

Canary on the Brain

Macedo is an ornithologist (a scientist in the study of birds) who stumbles, literally, one day into a gloomy junk shop to discover a canary in a dilapidated cage. Amid the flotsam and jetsum on a sea of junk, he sees the canary as a ray of sunlight playing in the darkness. When he discovers other extraordinary avian properties, he immediately purchases the bird and is stricken with Canary on the Brain. "Tico-Tico no Fubá" for this episode is played by jazz pianist Carlo Penza.

Among Saints

The perfect conclusion to The Cariorker's Lenten triptyche of stories leading up to Easter. Machado has set this tale of redemption and resurrection in one of Rio de Janeiro's most historic churches. Love transforms, but sometimes in the strangest of ways.