Episódio 40: Marching Band (Banda marcial)

Duolingo English for Portuguese Speakers Podcast

Quando Gaia Herrick tava no segundo ano do ensino médio, ela fez uma coisa que sempre tinha sonhado: entrou na banda marcial, ou marching band, da sua escola.

Nesse tipo de banda, os músicos marcham com uniforme, em formação e fazendo coreografia.

I remember the first time I put on my uniform.

It was incredible!

Gaia adorava o uniforme – com botões dourados e franjas.

E ela tava superanimada com a música.

Mas sendo uma pessoa com deficiência, ou disabled, o que mais deixava ela feliz era mesmo poder fazer parte da banda.

As a disabled kid, I didn’t get to have the same experiences as everyone else, like playing sports.

I couldn’t participate in a lot of team activities.

I felt very isolated.

And so, being able to wear a uniform and being part of a team was amazing.

Welcome to “Histórias em Inglês com Duolingo”.

Eu sou Helena Fruet.

Nesse podcast, você vai poder praticar inglês no seu ritmo, ouvindo histórias reais e emocionantes.

Os protagonistas falam um inglês simples e fácil de entender — perfeito pra quem tá aprendendo.

No episódio de hoje, temos duas histórias de pessoas que encontraram suas comunidades em bandas marciais.

Esse tipo de banda tem origem nas forças armadas, mas hoje é muito comum em desfiles e jogos de futebol americano.

Gaia lembra de ver a banda marcial nos jogos que ia quando era pequena no Michigan.

I have always been a huge fan of football…and marching bands.

I remember watching them when I was a kid, and I thought they were so cool.

The style and the sound of marching bands is so unique.

There’s nothing like it.

Desde as primeiras vezes em que viu as bandas nos jogos, Gaia quis participar.

Ela adorava a coreografia, o jeito com que os músicos se movimentavam todos juntos e claro, a música!

I started learning how to play instruments at a really young age because my dad was a musician.

He was a guitar player in a lot of different rock bands in the 90s.

And then, right before I was born, my dad decided to go back to college to study music.

So, he got his master’s degree and started teaching.

My dad was actually my first music teacher.

Gaia aprendeu a tocar trompete e piano, mas no fim acabou escolhendo o clarinete como instrumento principal.

Ela tocava na banda da escola – e adorava! Gaia nasceu com uma doença que debilita seus músculos.

Desde os 10 anos, ela não consegue andar facilmente sozinha e tem que usar uma cadeira de rodas, ou wheelchair, na maior parte do tempo.

At first, it didn’t really change anything for me except at school, everyone wanted to push me around in my wheelchair, which was nice, but also a little annoying.

You can’t trust 11-year-old kids to push a wheelchair because they crash into things! I also didn’t really like to use my wheelchair, so I tried to walk as much as possible.

Quase ao mesmo tempo em que Gaia começou a usar cadeira de rodas, a escola dela fechou.

Todos os alunos foram transferidos pra outra escola local.

Então, Gaia e os pais foram conversar com o novo diretor sobre as aulas e como ela ia se locomover.

Things did not go like we expected.

My parents and I thought the principal was going to help us make a plan for me to use my wheelchair at school.

Instead, the principal said, “I don’t think you can be in the school band if you’re in a wheelchair.”

Era uma escola pequena, e todos os alunos da aula de música tinham que participar da banda marcial.

O diretor disse que se Gaia não pudesse marchar, ela também não podia fazer as aulas e continuar tocando.

It made me really sad.

I loved playing in the school band.

It was my favorite class! When he said that, it made me feel like something was wrong with me.

Os pais de Gaia ficaram furiosos.

Depois de várias discussões, o diretor aceitou que Gaia fizesse as aulas de música.

Mas ele não deixou que ela participasse da banda marcial.

Em vez disso, enquanto a banda tocava no campo, ou field, Gaia teria que vender sanduíches na barraca de comida.

It was really sad.

I had to watch all of my friends on the field, which is where I wanted to be.

I learned all the music, and I played it well, but I wasn’t allowed to participate.

It was awful!

Por causa dessa experiência – e de outras tão duras quanto essa –, os pais de Gaia tiraram ela da escola.

Ela estudou em casa por dois anos.

Depois, no segundo ano do ensino médio, ela foi pra uma nova escola.

Mais uma vez, os pais pediram pra falar com a diretora e os professores.

I was really nervous about the meeting because I had so many problems at the other school.

I hoped my new school was going to be different.

When I met the band teacher, I told him that I wasn’t allowed to be in the band at my old school because of my wheelchair.

And he just said, “Of course you can be in the band!” I was really happy when he said that.

Music has always been my passion, and I wanted to continue doing it.

My new band teacher was very kind, and that meant a lot to me.

O professor disse pra Gaia que ela podia fazer as aulas de música e tocar na banda marcial, mesmo que não pudesse marchar com seus colegas.

My band teacher had an idea: another member of the band could bring a chair onto the field so I could sit down.

Then, the rest of the band marched around me, so I was included too.

A primeira vez em que Gaia se apresentou com a banda marcial foi antes de um jogo de futebol americano.

I remember it was a pleasant fall day, which is rare for the state of Michigan.

It was cold but not freezing, so we were comfortable in our uniforms.

The smell of high school football was in the air: dirt from the field and popcorn.

And my whole family was there.

Quando entrou em campo com a banda, Gaia tava nervosa.

Mas ela também tava emocionada.

It felt like the whole community was watching the game because football is really popular in my town.

Everyone goes to football games.

At first, I was a little nervous with all those people watching me.

But I love performing.

And the community was so positive.

Everyone was just happy that I was there.

I was happy that I was there too, playing in the band like everyone else.

Being in the band was what I always wanted.

Pra Gaia, essa foi a primeira de muitas apresentações em bandas marciais.

After that first game, so many people came to me and said, “I’m so glad that you’re in the band.” It was nice to feel needed, wanted, and accepted.

It was just magical.

That really helped me feel confident.

That experience changed everything for me, and it helped me become the performer that I am today.

Gaia tocou na banda durante o resto do ensino médio.

Quando foi pra faculdade, ela pôde marchar na sua cadeira de rodas.

I can’t play my instrument and move my wheelchair at the same time, so one of the other band members pushes me while I play.

We have to work as a team, but it’s a lot of fun!

Antes de começar, uma observação sobre a próxima história: ela tem referências a alcoolismo e violência contra a comunidade LGBTQIA+.

Assim como Gaia, Marsha Stone também encontrou sua comunidade numa banda marcial.

Marsha cresceu em Nova York na década de 60, quando ser abertamente gay ou lésbica era extremamente perigoso nos Estados Unidos.

I knew I was a lesbian when I was very young.

But because of the society that I lived in at the time, I thought I could never tell anyone my secret.

In the 1960s, being gay was not only illegal, it was also considered a mental illness.

As a teenager, I knew someone who had to go to a psychiatric hospital because her parents found out she was gay.

Então, quando Marsha começou a fazer amizade com outras pessoas gays, os encontros eram geralmente em lugares mais escondidos, como bares – longe da vista do público.

The only places we could socialize were bars.

And at the bar, I drank — a lot.

By the time I was in my late 20s, I knew I had a problem with alcohol.

Marsha achava que se parasse de ir nos bares, ela perderia sua única conexão com a comunidade LGBTQIA+.

Era difícil ficar fora do armário, ou out of the closet, em todos os lugares.

Ou seja, era difícil assumir sua identidade sexual.

Mas um dia, em 1979, quando ela tava andando no que na época era o coração da vida gay na cidade de Nova York...

I was walking down Christopher Street and I saw people with instruments standing on the sidewalk.

They were giving everyone papers that said: “Take your instrument out of the closet and join us in the New York Gay Community Marching Band…” Those people wanted to start a marching band, but they needed more musicians to join them.

Marsha amou a ideia.

Ela tinha tocado trompete no ensino médio, e o instrumento dela continuava no armário – literalmente!

I told them I played in high school, but that was more than ten years ago.

They were really nice.

They said it didn’t matter what my musical level was and told me I could join the band.

No fim da conversa, Marsha tinha topado ir pro primeiro ensaio oficial da banda, uns dias depois.

Mas ela tava nervosa.

O ensaio ia ser numa parte da cidade que era perigosa naquela época.

It was in a bad part of the city because at that time, no one wanted to rent to gay people.

So, that was the only place they could find.

I was in my early thirties, so I wasn’t a kid, but I felt like a kid that first night.

I was so nervous about going to the first practice.

So, my good friend Danny and his boyfriend drove me there.

Mas quando chegou lá, todos os medos de Marsha desapareceram.

The practice was in a dark basement.

There was a heater on the wall that was so loud that it was hard to hear the music.

But it was wonderful! There were about 15 people there — men and women.

And we were just so happy to be together.

Everybody was friendly.

And I felt free.

I could finally relax for the few hours that we were there, making music together.

I didn’t have to be afraid.

No fim do ensaio, duas colegas de banda acompanharam ela até o metrô.

A partir desse dia, Marsha voltou lá com seu trompete toda segunda à noite pra ensaiar.

It was the first time I played my trumpet in more than ten years, but I wasn’t nervous at all.

I was just so happy to be there.

We played a lot of music by the famous American composer John Philip Sousa.

The music was so inspiring.

I lived in a society that treated gay people badly, but being in the band made me feel like I was accepted.

Depois de três ou quatro meses de ensaio, a banda tava pronta pra tocar em público.

Eles fizeram algumas pequenas apresentações e, em maio de 1980, tocaram pela primeira vez na Parada do Orgulho LGBTQIA+, ou Pride Parade, em Nova York.

A parada tinha começado uma década antes como forma de protesto pelo fim da violência policial contra homossexuais.

In 1980, the band marched in the New York City Pride Parade for the first time.

It was intense and powerful.

I felt so free while I was marching with the band.

We were telling the world that we weren’t afraid, and people were cheering.

Back then, Pride parades weren’t commercialized like they are now.

People were so excited and they traveled very far to be there because for that one day, they could be out of the closet, and that was very important.

Marsha achou incrível participar de uma celebração numa comunidade como aquela.

Mas nem todas as apresentações da banda foram bem-recebidas.

We marched in parades where people threw things at us, like eggs and rocks.

I was never badly hurt, but it made me remember that ignorance exists.

Some people came to our parades with signs that said horrible things about gay people.

It didn’t really scare me though.

I mainly felt bad that they were so ignorant.

Apesar dessas experiências, Marsha nunca pensou em sair da banda.

Quanto mais ela tocava, menos ia nos bares.

E em 1986, ela parou de beber e ficou sóbria, ou sober.

The band was my first sober activity, and it was the reason I stopped drinking.

And as the band became bigger and people started to notice us, it made me feel good about myself and my lesbian identity.

In the beginning, there were only 15 people in the band, then it was 30, then it was 40, then it was 50.

It just continued growing!

A banda viajava pra fora de Nova York pra tocar em paradas de outras cidades menores.

Era nessas viagens que Marsha via o impacto que eles tinham sobre as pessoas.

Sometimes people saw our sign that said “New York Gay Community Marching Band,” and they looked really disapproving and unhappy, like they didn’t want us to be there.

And then they heard us play, and suddenly, the little kids in the crowd started dancing.

Then everyone started smiling because we all love music.

It created a connection between our communities.

And I think that’s a very important thing.

Marsha Stone continua tocando música.

Hoje a Banda da Comunidade Gay de Nova York se chama Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corp e tem mais de 250 membros.

Eles já tocaram em lugares famosos, como o Carnegie Hall, e em duas cerimônias de posse de presidentes.

Nossa primeira narradora, Gaia Herrick, terminou o ensino médio e foi estudar na Universidade Central do Michigan, onde tocou saxofone na banda marcial.

A música continua sendo uma de suas grandes paixões.

Obrigada por ouvir mais um “Histórias em Inglês”.

Esse é o último episódio dessa temporada, mas logo voltaremos com mais histórias.

Eu sou Helena Fruet.

Thank you for listening!