Florencia Grimaldi is a famous opera singer traveling on the Amazon River in search of her long-lost lover.
As she journeys down the world's largest river to the Brazilian city of Manaus, she encounters fantasy and mysticism along with the other travelers.
The College of Music will perform Grimaldi's tale in the opera "Florencia en el Amazonas," or "Florencia in the Amazon." The opera's first performance will be held at 8 p.m. Friday in the Auditorium, and is indicative of the university's effort to establish links with Brazil and Latin America.
"Music is so ingrained in Latin American culture, which is just so rich," said Joe Baunochvocal, a performance doctoral student who plays the captain in the opera.
"Florencia," composed by Daniel Catán, is performed entirely in Spanish, with English subtitles projected above the stage.
The opera will take place in conjunction with the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies' undergraduate student conference, which begins today at the International Center.
Global social science junior Ryan Horn will present on conditional cash transfer programs in Brazil at the conference.
"The program's goals are to affect poverty in the short term by giving direct cash deposits to families and investing in human capital," Horn said.
He became interested in the country after visiting João Pessoa, Brazil, in 2001 and staying with a foreign exchange student whom he had hosted in the United States.
MSU's Brazil Initiative, which started in 2005, aims to establish links between the university and Brazil in areas such as geography, history and linguistics.
As part of the initiative, classes and study abroad programs are offered to help students gain knowledge of the South American region.
In the fall, Saulo Gouveia, assistant professor of Spanish and Portuguese, will teach a class on Portuguese for Spanish speakers.
Gouveia also plans to establish a study abroad program focused on language and culture in Florianopolis, Brazil.
This summer, a study abroad program in the country will focus on geography and forestry in the Amazon. That program, Environment and Development in the Brazilian Amazon, will be led by geography Professor Antoinette Winklerprins.
Studying the environment in the Amazon is much different than studying the social and cultural issues of the rest of Brazil, Winklerprins said.
"I work in the Amazon, and I happen to be in the political state called Brazil," Winklerprins said, "but its like a different dimension."
Horn said despite the work the university has done to facilitate connections with Brazil, he still sees a lack of student involvement.
"There's enough faculty members that care enough and know enough," Horn said, "but I feel we're missing some sort of middle step in connecting students to Brazil."
