A LECTURE ABOUT MOLDOVA IN PORTO ALEGRE

My father Mauro Tolpolar was invited by the writer Paula Taitelbaum to lecture about our journey to Moldova and the documentary Mamaliga Blues. This free and open event took place at the annual Porto Alegre book fair this November. Some footage of the film, maps and cemetery pictures were shown on a big screen. People that listened and watched it were very interested, asked many questions and even got motivated to search for their own roots. Because Moldova is unknown to most of Brazilians, it is perceived as an exotic and distant country. Mauro was glad to bring to attention a little bit of History in this part of the world.

GRANDMA MAKES MAMALIGA!

Grandma Amalia kindly agreed to show us how to make a mamaliga. You can't miss this!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px2qpOqMHCs



We'll be posting more updates, videos and pics at the link below of our campaign. Check it out!
http://www.indiegogo.com/Mamaliga-Blues

MAMALIGA BLUES IN THE STREETS OF LOS ANGELES

Distributing flyers around Los Angeles is not an easy task – the city is so spread out. So we had to document it. Special thanks to Lia, Briley, Julie and Erin!

MAMALIGA BLUES FLYERS

We'll be passing these around in Los Angeles, putting it on local businesses and so on. Anybody interested in doing the same in your area, let us know, we can send a jpeg for you to print out.

Thanks!!

WE ARE ON INDIEGOGO!

As you all know, in 2008, my father, sister and I went to Moldova (once part of former Bessarabia) to search for our Jewish roots. My paternal grandparents were born there and immigrated to Brazil in 1931, surviving the World War II. The result of our trip is the documentary Mamaliga Blues, a film about our search for family traces lost during the Holocaust, the history of Bessarabian Jews, and the uniqueness of this fascinating country. We’ve been working passionately on this project for the last 3 years. It is almost done and very little is needed for it to become a reality.

Our film needs support for completion and that is why we are launching the IndieGoGo campaign. Click on the link below to learn all you need to know in order to be a part of this project:www.indiegogo.com/Mamaliga-Blues

And also check our official website: www.mamaligablues.com

All donations are tax deductible, the site allows you to donate online and you can also send checks. Help us to rescue a little bit of the history of this region. We have many great perks in return to send your way!

"Like" us on Facebook and please spread the word to your friends!

Thanks for joining us on this exciting project. We look forward to hearing from you!

Cassio Tolpolar - Producer/Director

CLOSER TO SPIELBERG

My parents were just in LA to visit their granddaughter - not me, my sister or my wife:) Their stay was wonderful, and talking to my dad, he told me a few more things I didn't know about my grandfather. Moshe Tolpolar traveled back and forth between Bessarabia and Brazil before he settled forever in Porto Alegre, in 1931. However, in the 20's he already started to leave his mark in this Brazilian town. First, he subscribed to the legendary Yiddish-language daily newspaper The Forward, based in New York (http://www.forward.com/).

But before that, in 1915, he had been one of the founders of the first Yiddish-language newspaper in Brazil, Di Menscheit, in Porto Alegre.

My dad said that Moshe also subscribed to the Jewish Argentinian newspaper "El Diario Israelita" and the Brazilian magazine "Aonde Vamos?" (both in the 50's). The funny thing was that while The Forward was a left-oriented newspaper, "Aonde Vamos?" was written by right-wing Jews.

While in the Grove/Farmer's Market (if you've been in LA you've been there), we spoke more about philosophical matters. I asked my dad "So now that you're 72 years-old, what life lesson could you give me, is there anything special advice?" He looked and me and promptly replied "I'm still looking for it".

The same day we had dinner at the Kosher restaurant "The Milky Way" owned and hosted by Leah Adler, Steven Spielbeg's mom. The food was just OK. Actually Leah is the real star of the establishment, cheerful and very sharp. Walking around, you can see pictures of her with the famous son and other celebrities. We all had a great time.

THE QUEST FOR THE MOLDOVAN SALAMI

I had just moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 2005 when my dad came to visit me. I was sleeping in a cheap futon, which he then slept on and I moved to the floor, had no job and was feeling horrible. You need at least one year (and a job!) to start getting used to Los Angeles. In any case, having him around for a few weeks cheered me up. I remember when we went to a grocery shop once and found a salami from Moldova. We were very surprised and bought it right away. This was before our trip to Moldova in 2008, and anything from Moldova would trigger our curiosity. We went home and ate it. It was not great, but it was from Moldova.

My parents returned to LA for a 20-day visit a few days ago and my dad and I thought of trying to find the salami again. I looked in a few grocery shops but could not find it. The one we bought it last time was closed. Then we went to Jon's, a traditional Armenian market where you can find the most interesting produce, beer from Estonia, cookies from Malasia, guarana from Brazil and maybe salami from Moldova.


We went first to the meat/delicatessen produce section, but the attendant had never heard of it. There was salami and sausages from Romania, Russia, Armenia, Germany and Hungary. But nothing from Moldova.




We walked around the place, got soda from Lithuania and cookies from Poland, saw marmalade from Israel and cheese from Greece. It was then that, all of a sudden, we saw the salami. It was actually the salamiS, as there were 3 distinct kinds.


We picked up one and went back home for dinner - very happy.


This one was different than the one from 2005. Soft and not spicy, an almost delicate taste to it. True that the salami is made in the US - but who cares? It's Moldovan style!


NEXT: More adventures in Los Angeles!