Brazil December 2005

Words: Nikki Wright

Front Entrance to Chakras, Sao Paulo, Brazil

I receive my task. Go to Brazil, Sáo Paulo, to be precise. Visit Chakras. Have a great time (in the name of work, of course) and report back on it. I think I can manage that. But what is Chakras? Billed as a new “Gastronomical and Cultural Centre, a place of multi-sensorial experimentation that brings together art, gastronomy and music” I am intrigued to see if it lives up to its grand portrayal.

Flying into Brazil, I was in awe of the lush rolling mountainous areas that surround Sáo Paulo. The burnt orange sunset had endless outstretched clouds and the sky was filled with a spectrum of deep purples, twilight blues and transparent reds.

On arrival at Chakras, I meet its globetrotting creators, Brazilian Miguel Reis and his Italian wife Fabiana. They fused their passion for travel, culture, art and music and the outcome is one phenomenal space that works so well it’s impossible not to be smitten on the first visit. It is divided up into a restaurant, theatre, art gallery and informal club, which is used for art classes during the day.

Chakras Art Gallery, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Chakras Lounge, Sao Paulo, Brazil

As I arrived in the evening, the first thing to do, naturally, was to eat in the restaurant. Think Oriental inspiration, Asiatic beds and tents with Indian parasols spread out over the patio and mezzanine. The menu is lovingly created by top Brazilian chefs and is inspired by French and Italian cuisine with a touch of Oriental flavours. The meal really was delicious and service equally impressive. I had the Papilotte (wrapped on paper) of fresh Codfish, mixed mushrooms, celery and leek with wild rice.

After much food and wine we head to La Suite, Chakras’ musical side. It’s the only place to go for after-hours dancing, informal eating and cocktail drinking. Huge mirrors scale the walls, as do reams of sparkly material. The space harbours the dorming restaurant concept, in which ancient Roman banquet traditions are revisited and canapés are served on lavish beds instead of tables. The DJs play a blend of bossa, Balearic beats and house. After lots of dancing, it’s time to head back to the hotel—after all, tomorrow will be a gruelling day of menu tasting and film watching in the open-air theatre!

Sunday is Film and Food evening and the main square of Chakras is transformed into a cinema, with a bit if a twist. The ceiling is retractable and before I knew it, I was sitting under the Brazilian sky, drinking champagne and watching a subtitled film while the waiters busied themselves, bringing us new tasting dishes from the menu. The food comes courtesy of chef Nilson de Castro (former Le Vin Bistrot ) who has more than 15 years of experience in the business. I found myself forgetting where I was. The central water fountain was filled with petals, and the fluttering tents and twinkling lights made it look like the sort of thing you’d find on an idyllic post card, not in the middle of sprawling metropolis. It felt as though the film (and food) was over too soon and before I knew it the evening had drawn to a close.

The following day was dedicated to the art class, which is always headed up by the talented Fabiana Vizzani-Reis and Sergio Gregorio. A Brazilian artist, he graduated in Belle Art in the late ’70s and today is a teacher at the University Anhembi Morumbi-Sáo Paulo. He has had his art exhibited in Milan, Paris, Lyon and Sáo Paulo among other places.

Only a handful of people can take part in each class, to ensure it’s kept relaxed and personal. It is a perfect summer’s day and so the retractable roof stays open. The mixture of artists and novices sit down to draw the still-life model, who poses on a chair draped in vibrant cloths. I take this opportunity to look at the art gallery. Conceived to promote contemporary art, the IQ Art Gallery has been fulfilling its charter with important exhibits and partnerships including one with the Cooperativa de Artistas Visuais do Brasil (Brazilian Visual Arts Cooperative).

I chat with Miguel and ask him what the fundamental building block for Chakras is. “Chakras was born a multifunctional space. The interaction between all these different areas enable professionals to express themselves...an artist in the IQ Art Gallery, a chef in the restaurant, a DJ at La Suite, a teacher on a course or even a movie director on a cinema evening. This was the spirit behind Chakras...artists expressing themselves in different areas,” he relates. And the design? “Fabiana and I have visited and studied extensively the architecture and the interior

design from the Mediterranean, Morocco, Indonesia, Thailand and India. We have embraced what we loved the most from each culture and fused it all.”

The conversation turns to the CD Miguel and his DJ friend DJ Sin Plomo compiled last year. The double-CD mix is an example of what people would hear on a visit to Chakras. An impeccable mix of tribal, bossa and mellow house, the compilation generated enough interest that after one release, it is to become a series with the next installment due mid-2006. Its graphic design was taken care of by the British-Brazilian artist Olivier Mourao, who contributed to the architecture and decoration of the Pacha night club in Ibiza in the 1970s.

So What’s next for Chakras?

New parties at La Suite

Tuesday Departure Lounge playing the best of nu jazz with Tim Adams (Canada) and Bruno E. (Brazil)

Wednesday—Paradise Suite—DJ Rafa Nunes (Brazil) hosts a night with special releases of albums from major and small labels bringing guests from the music scene

The IQ Art Gallery will be working with Antonio Peticov (www.antoniopeticov.com.br)

The restaurant has a new patissier that will present a new menu of desserts and special appetizers for afternoon tea.

New seasonal menus—The Summer menu is going on right now, with the Fall menu coming at the beginning of April.

Chakras will bring a chef from Europe, who will be named soon.

They will release a new CD: From Brazil to Berlin—hitting the shelves in June 2006. It will see parties celebrating the release in Berlin, Rome, Sardinia and Ibiza. The CD is a distinctive and extraordinary mix of Brazilian rhythms and German electro-house; it’s rare that these genres are blended together to such great effect.

Book of Chakras—To be released at the end of 2006, bringing architecture, decoration, gastronomy and everything else that is central to Chakras...

Chakras Hotel in Bahia—Coming in 2007!