Ile Aiye: Lovely Brazilian Music

I’m presently teaching a student from Brazil who has also become a friend. Both of us are mothers and share a similar view of the world, so we just naturally hit it off. She has been sharing some of her political and cultural interests with me so I’ve been learning a great deal about Brazil’s leaders, music, culture, problems, assets, etc.

Many times her lessons will send us exploring the internet to find out more about a topic. During our last class, she told me about her favorite singer, Marisa Monte, who has quite a luscious voice and provocative style. When I get some extra money, I plan to buy one of her CDs. Here is Marisa singing on YouTube —she’s definitely worth listening to.

When I told my Brazilian student that one of my daughter’s favorite songs, Ile Aiye, is also Brazilian, we had to go searching for a version of the song online. What we found is a gorgeous version of the song by a group of women who sing acapella music from around the world. The group, which consists of five ladies, is called AkaBella and their repertoire includes songs from such places as Russia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Cuba, Brazil, Japan and North America.

Hearing these ladies (Nola Pierce, Verena Reece, Lorenza Simmons, Lauren Smith and Melody Walker) sing Ile Aiye, a song that my little lady has loved since she was an infant, made me smile and clap my hands. I was also quite surprised that my Brazilian student/friend knew all of the words. Evidently it’s a song that many Brazilian children learn and remember with affection.

Check out AkaBella sing this lovely tune on YouTube. You’ll wish you knew Portuguese so that you could sing along.