Asa Branca

... is the title of what is practically the national anthem of the Sertão (arid interior) in NE Brazil, where we lived for 24 years - doubt there's anyone there who can´t sing it. It tells the all too common story of someone whose horse and cattle have died from lack of water and who is moving away to find work until the rains come again, leaving behind his green-eyed girl. Even the asa branca, a type of dove with white on its wings, has left the area.

Here is an old version by the guy who wrote the song, complete with typical clothes of the region. And here is a version with fairly OK English subtitles (though not sure why they've put the girl's name, Rosinha, as Pinky!)

All this because the MonoMonday challenge was to recreate a song that reminds you of summer. Here in the Alentejo, as in the Sertão, summer for me means almost unbearable heat, reservoirs drying up, animals and people going hungry, plants dying... I do wonder where the world is heading, with heat records being broken over and over.

It got up past 40C again today, so we spend most of the day inside, in the dark, and even now, at midnight, it's still 27C - but we'll try to sleep after a cold shower, all the windows open to catch any breeze, and the fan on. And it's still only early June, not even the summer solstice...

Gratefuls:
- getting a walk in early
- water for our trees and plants
- music that tugs at the heartstrings