samba de verao

during my student years i had worked as an interpreter on EU-Russian Chamber of Commerce conference. it was a group of 15 of us, who were translating everything during several days. at that conference i got to know a person working in UNECA's Ethiopian office. he was a very interesting person, who had the same passion for brazilian music just as i did. he gave me the cd of BossaCucaNova and told me it was a band by children of those great musicians who invented bossa nova. since then i have learned everything about this band and listened to tones of their music and loved them more and more.

i have noticed that somehow my love for bossa nova keeps on bringing me new friends all the time. be it a colleague from diageo's london office, or a coach from creative workshop in kiev, or a neighbour in the plane to istanbul - once you realize you have a partner in bossa nova love - you immediately know you have a new friend.

so here is the great song 'samba de verao' for you in two versions - first, by caetano veloso, which i have heard many years ago and loved instantly and second, live version by bossacucanova and marcus valle, a perfect version for such a sunny day as today.

funny story about this song is that i adore it so much i know it perfectly by heart, and in queues or any other places where i have to wait, i count the waiting minutes by singing this song, which is 3 minutes strict, it has become such a funny habit, that i don't need alarm clocks anymore.