Super Sonic Samba School San Diego, CA By: Michael Martin Saturday, March 2, 2013 Old Sugar Mills Winery, Clarks- burg, Ca - With the first few months of the new year behind us, SSSS has taken things to another level. Quality per- formances in Northern Cali- fornia were led by three mainstays within Super Sonic. The mainstays, also known as Tres Rainhas da Bateria are: the reigning Rainha, Dina Bedenko „13, Courtney Carter ‟12, and Monique Guzman ‟11. During the Inaugural Clarksburg Brazilian Car- nival event held at the fa- mous grounds of Old Sugar Mills Winery, the Tres Rainhas da Bateria pro- vided high octane dance routines and solo acts; quintessential to the fantasia-clad dancers who perform at tradi- tional Brazilian Car- nivals in Rio de Ja- neiro. The combined efforts of the Rainhas marked the first time SSSS was invited to an event outside of Southern California. In a giddy like manner, Monique said “it‟s a big deal. We‟ve never had this type of exposure”. Dina and Courtney shared the giddi- ness of Monique, and agreed they were equally excited about what the northbound trip involved: organizational exposure in Northern California, and the opportunity to show- case the dancer prowess of SSSS. (Continue on pg. 3) Wayne group throughout the years. That is Wayne English. Wayne has been with Super Sonic since its infant years in 1994. He has been an active bateria member, attending just about every gig that can be remembered. He has served for several years as an officer and general member of the Super Sonic Samba School Board of Directors. In addi- tion, he has been a liaison for Super Sonic by seeking out new gig opportunities and informing the commu- nity about Super Sonic. Wayne has dedicated numer- ous years, days, and hours to this group even behind the scenes. As an elder of the group, he works hard to maintain the integrity and mission statement of Super Sonic. He has served as an ambassador for this group in the San Diego community by assisting with the Neighbor- hood Unity Foundation grant. (Continue on pg. 3) A Samba School Lesson 2 Wayne 2 Tres Rainhas da Bateria 3 Gigs, events, socials 3 Member‟s Meeting Minutes 4 Inside this issue: Back For the Very First Time The SWIRL May 2013 Volume 1, Issue 3 By: Courtney Carter Super Sonic Samba School has been in the San Diego commu- nity for over twenty years. This samba school has evolved from a grassroots group of drum demonstrators to a refined samba school, following the spirit of the escolas de samba in Rio de Janiero. Although Super Sonic has changed many times, one pillar has supported this
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Transcript
Super Sonic Samba
School
San Diego, CA
By: Michael Martin
Saturday, March 2, 2013 Old
Sugar Mills Winery, Clarks-
burg, Ca -
With the first few months of
the new year behind us,
SSSS has taken things to
another level. Quality per-
formances in Northern Cali-
fornia were led by three
mainstays within Super
Sonic. The mainstays, also
known as Tres Rainhas da
Bateria are: the reigning
Rainha, Dina Bedenko „13,
Courtney Carter ‟12, and
Monique Guzman ‟11.
During the Inaugural
Clarksburg Brazilian Car-
nival event held at the fa-
mous grounds of Old Sugar
Mills Winery, the Tres
Rainhas da Bateria pro-
vided high octane dance
routines and solo acts;
quintessential to the
fantasia-clad dancers
who perform at tradi-
tional Brazilian Car-
nivals in Rio de Ja-
neiro. The combined
efforts of the Rainhas
marked the first time
SSSS was invited to
an event outside of
Southern California. In a
giddy like manner,
Monique said “it‟s a big
deal. We‟ve never had this
type of exposure”. Dina and
Courtney shared the giddi-
ness of Monique, and
agreed they were equally
excited about what the
northbound trip involved:
organizational exposure in
Northern California, and
the opportunity to show-
case the dancer prowess of
SSSS. (Continue on pg. 3)
Wayne group throughout the years.
That is Wayne English.
Wayne has been with Super
Sonic since its infant years in
1994. He has been an active
bateria member, attending
just about every gig that can
be remembered. He has
served for several years as an
officer and general member of
the Super Sonic Samba School
Board of Directors. In addi-
tion, he has been a liaison
for Super Sonic by seeking
out new gig opportunities
and informing the commu-
nity about Super Sonic.
Wayne has dedicated numer-
ous years, days, and hours to
this group even behind the
scenes. As an elder of the
group, he works hard to
maintain the integrity and
mission statement of Super
Sonic. He has served as an
ambassador for this group in
the San Diego community by
assisting with the Neighbor-
hood Unity Foundation
grant. (Continue on pg. 3)
A Samba School
Lesson
2
Wayne 2
Tres Rainhas da
Bateria
3
Gigs, events, socials 3
Member‟s Meeting
Minutes
4
Inside this issue:
Back For the Very First
Time
The SWIRL
May 2013 Volume 1, Issue 3
By: Courtney Carter
Super Sonic Samba School has
been in the San Diego commu-
nity for over twenty years. This
samba school has evolved from
a grassroots group of drum
demonstrators to a refined
samba school, following the
spirit of the escolas de samba in
Rio de Janiero. Although Super
Sonic has changed many times,
one pillar has supported this
By Olia Gaidarenko
Carnival has been celebrated in Brazil
for centuries. Samba schools were
first introduced as part of the festivi-
ties in the late 1920‟s. The very first
group to call itself a samba school was
Deixa Falar, founded in the second
half of the 1920‟s. It is
said that they called
themselves a samba
school because they met
right next door to a chil-
dren‟s school. Mangueira
was founded a couple of
years later. Deixa Falar
eventually split up, and
later got back together
as Estacio de Sa, making
Mangueira the oldest,
although not the first,
samba school in exis-
tence.
Deixa Palar paraded
during Carnival for the
first time in 1929. In
1930, there were already
five schools parading, including Man-
gueira. The samba schools began com-
peting during the parade, and Deixa
Falar won in 1930 and 1931. By 1932
there were 19 parading schools. In
1933 the parade started being spon-
sored by Brazil‟s biggest media group,
„O Globo,‟ which established a list of
judging criteria.
The parading structure of samba
schools derives from groups that
marched during Carnival in the 19th
century, who already had a theme,
floats, and a flag-bearing couple. Each
samba school has its own distinctive
colors, and their color schemes are
reflected throughout their presenta-
tions. There are more than 70 samba
schools in Rio, and they all parade
during the four day Carnival celebra-
tion. Each year, they pick a theme,
write music and lyrics, make floats
and costumes, and practice all year to
succeed in their parades. They are
subject to strict hierarchy and are
organized into six competitive
leagues, the Special Group and
Groups A – E. The first three groups
parade in the Sambadromo, the fa-
mous .5 mile-long ave-
nue with overflowing
bleachers on both
sides. All others pa-
rade in the streets and
are free to watch and
maybe join in.
The Special Group is
comprised of the 12
biggest and most spec-
tacular samba schools.
Their Carnival contin-
gents typically consist
of 3,000-5,000 people.
Each year, the lowest
scoring school from the
Special Group is down-
graded to Group A,
also known as the Access Group.
Group A consists of 10 less successful
schools, the best of which joins the
Special Group in the following year.
The lowest rated schools that get to
parade in the Sambadromo belong to
Group B, or the Base Group.
per Sonic Samba School. Although many
people have come and gone in this
group, Wayne has remained consistent.
However, recently, Wayne has resigned
as a Board of Director officer and has
decided to take a hiatus. This time is
needed for Wayne as he recently lost his
sister and must deal with family respon-
sibilities and bereavement. Still, Wayne
plans to be active in Super Sonic as
much as possible. “I won‟t be too far
away,” says Wayne. Thank you, Wayne.
Wayne represented Super Sonic at the
San Diego City Hall meeting, showing
our support for the World Beat Center.
Furthermore, he is always willing to
provide assistance to individual mem-
bers when needed. He is our unsung
hero. Wayne was asked how he has seen
Super Sonic grow and develop into the
group that it is today. He replied,
“Super Sonic has never coordinated the
music with the dancing, until recently.”
This has been a major milestone for Su-
A Samba School Lesson
Wayne (cont.)
Page 2 The SWIRL
The Rio samba schools usually have
two physical locations. There are the
samba halls, where people of all ages
gather to play, dance, and learn the
school‟s enredo (theme song) for the
year. The school‟s administrative cen-
ter and president are typically present
there as well. Often, these are located
in very poor and sometimes dangerous
parts of town (favelas). There are also
facilities for the production of the
floats and costumes. Since 2005, all of
the major Rio samba schools have
their production facilities in the same
location, Samba City, which is open to
the public.
Many of the Rio samba schools were
originally part a soccer club in their
area. The samba schools represent the
community spirit of a neighborhood
and bring a sense of belonging. They
are truly an integral
part of people‟s lives
and have tremendous
community support,
with thousands of peo-
ple showing up to re-
hearsals, samba
nights, and carnival
preparations. Some
are politically involved, too. The
schools raise money from ticket sales
to their samba nights, television
broadcasts, and dance events, as well
as sponsorships.
Jorge Alabe, who also performed in
Clarksburg, eluded that SSSS dancers
captivated the crowd. “I was very
proud of them. Their fantasias were
sharp, the dance routines were fantas-
tic. I wish SSSS the very best and look
forward to performing with them in
the future”, remarked Jorge. With
that being said, the Tres Rainhas da
Bateria of SSSS was tailor made for
this premiere event.
The Rainhas experienced a few short-
falls at the Carnival event but despite
the technical and personnel miscues,
they were versatile with the changes
and remained consummate profes-
sionals. “I‟m still in awe of how won-
Credit is owed to Courtney as the cu-
rator for the Tres Rainhas dance rou-
tines, while serving as liaison with the
Carnival coordinator. “I alumed at UC
–Davis, and was cognizant of the
small but potent Brazilian enclave in
Sacramento.” Courtney said. “They
invited me to perform and I was able
to recruit SSSS‟s current and former
Rainhas, to share the stage with me.
We conducted additional rehearsals,
outside of the regularly scheduled
SSSS practices. Our preparations paid
off because we were so organized, pro-
fessional; we amazed the onlookers.”
World class Brazilian percussionist,
and northern California resident
derful, astonishing, and breath-taking
our performance and costumes were.”
In context to an organization ascend-
ing to another level, SSSS reached
new heights to gaining exposure and
providing quality performances. The
performance in Clarksburg is a tell
tale sign that
in the future,
we will return
to northern
California to
perform.
Samba School (cont.)
Very First Time (cont.)
June
29th– LA Culture Festival
July
20th– San Diego Pride
May
5th– Spring Quarterly Meeting
18th– Beach Soccer Championships
24-26th– SF Carnival
Gigs/Events/Socials
Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 3
If you have any
ideas for gigs/
events/socials,
let the Board
know.
Super Sonic Samba School Quarterly Member Meeting 2/18/13
Attendance – Courtney Carter (C), Wayne English (VC), Michael Martin Jr. (Sec), Lily Gonzalez (Treas), Olia Gai-