Monday, October 5, 2009

Butts on Parade!

Bunda. Bunda. Bunda. Bundinha. Bundão.

Ass, after ass, after ass...

Note: If you feel that making observations scientifically upon the female butt in Brazil may be sexist, the please don't read this! I'm only relating what I see. If that offends you, then perhaps you should be watching David Letterman these days either!!!

Walking down any street in Rio is like a Macy's Thanksgiving Parade of Asses 24/7!!! Absolutely fascinating. Women here are built differently than women in the USA (Glenda was an exception!), and in a very good way. (Maybe men here are too, but, honestly, I don't have time to notice.)  I suppose it's the mixture of races here that has allowed the Brazilian bunda to have evolved in such an interesting fashion: Portuguese, African, Spanish, Italian, Indian, though I'm guessing it's mostly the first two to which we owe this gift from the DNA gods.

{You've figured out that bunda=ass. But there's more. Bundinha=nice, tight, especially attractive ass (not too big, maybe a bit small). Bundão=more or less, fat ass (this word can also mean lazy ass, lard ass; bundona is a variant, as is bunda mole meaning soft or lazy ass).}

I really don't know how to describe this phenomenon. The bunda protrudes, it's round, it moves. Imagine two smallish (sometimes large) beach balls mounted independently on a frame, but linked to move in a very interesting synchrony: one goes up, the other down, but somehow moving a bit out, a bit in as well, as if sort of moving in a limited circle. Sometimes very pronounced, sometime less so. Sometimes the balls are nearly complete hemispheres protruding from the hips, sometimes a bit less. Luckily, many Brazilian women wear extremely tight clothing to facilitate scientific research such as mine!

Portuguese has a word for this movement: rebolar, which actually means to move around like a ball, but the dictionary goes on the allow that rebolar can sometimes be lascivious, as in dancing a certain way.  I'd like to suggest that this lasciviousness, though completely unintentional most of the time, also occurs on the street, day in a day out. It's impossible to miss, and often impossible to NOT fixate. Hypnotic, and much more effective than a pocket watch swinging back and forth. I catch myself in this several times a day. Sue me, I am a male with (sometimes) functioning parts.

Now, about that dancing. When Brazilian women dance samba, all of this rebolando stuff is multiplied and exaggerated 100-fold. I don't know how they do it. I've tried to analyze it many times, always with long, careful observation (for science). They move their feet (and legs, rembember, connected to the ankle bone?), and the movement transfers to those quite firm (hopefully) beach balls which then go into an even crazier orbit. My research topic will be something like: "Why American Women Can't Dance Samba: Anatomical Origins of the Bunda Rebolando in the Samba of Rio de Janeiro".  Will need lots of research subjects! As if....

Regarding the Macy's reference: sometimes it appears, when especially graceful, that the bunda on the street is somehow floating...no, not as large as a Snoopy balloon, but floating, swinging, enticing.

I think I need to apply for that research grant tomorrow.

2 comments:

JBS said...

Where's the pictures that go with this post SambaMaster?

Joe Randel said...

Quality, Mike, on so many levels. Am sure you're familiar with Carlos Durmmond de Andrade's ode to the bunda: http://www.memoriaviva.com.br/drummond/poema092.htm