I guess none of us spoiled Westerns can imagine what it must be like to grow up in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. The kids of CONFRONTO are among the lucky ones. They have a band and things to in their lives without having to worry about surviving day after day. They are even able to make it to Europe for some shows over here this summer. Listen to their music and discover their rage and hatred towards this fucked-up system. Questions by Bruno were kindly responded by singer Felipe. Go and support CONFRONTO on their Euro tour this summer! Band contact: contato@xconfrontox.com and www.xconfrontox.com

1) Please shortly introduce all band members to the Bullet readers. When did you start & which releases do you have so far?

Confronto is Felipe Chehuan-vocals, Miliano-guitars, Eduardo-bass and Felipe Carlos- drums. We started out in 99 and recorded the only demo we've ever had then. Our debut CD - "A Insurreição" ("The Insurrection") - came out on Liberation/Cospe Fogo in 2001 and is currently being pressed in Europe by Circulation Records, from Germany. We also have a couple of songs on benefit compilations such as The Path of Compassion, on Catalyst, and a song on a compilation against the Free Trade Area of the Americas. We'll soon have a split CD with another Brazilian band called Children of Gaia, which will be out on Liberation.

2) CONFRONTO is based in Brazil's former capital Rio De Janeiro. Most bands seem to be from Sao Paolo. How would you compare: 1) the HC/punk scenes in RDJ vs SP and 2) daily life in RDJ vs SP . Is it very different? Is there a lot of interaction between the scenes in these 2 cities? Are there any HC/punk bands in the countryside at all,or is it just an urban (city) thing?

Rio de Janeiro was the capital of Brazil up to the 60's. The capital city has been Brasilia since then. Sao Paulo is the business/economic center of the country. As for the comparison between the Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro scenes... In Sao Paulo, there are many more people involved with hardcore. Sao Paulo has a longer punk rock tradition than Rio and the rest of Brazil. However, both cities are relatively close to each other, which promotes an intense interaction. Bands from Sao Paulo always play here and the other way round. I'm glad to say that here there are good bands, nice active people full of enthusiasm, willing to do things for hardcore. The everyday life is similar as well. The main difference is that in Rio there are many cheap things to do that are fun, like going to the beach, having açaí (a sorbet made of a typical fruit), going to parks, forests, etc, whereas in Sao Paulo you have to pay for almost everything. There's no way you can deny hardcore here is predominantely based in urban centers. However, there are excellent bands in the countryside as well. There are people involved with hardcore/punk is several parts of the Brazilian territory.

3) Is it easy to get shows in RDJ? Do you often play? Do you play outside of the city a lot? Have you been on a Brazil/South American tour yet?

Touring Brazil or other South American countries is not an easy thing due to the long distances. There are places where you can play now, but it wasn't like that in the past. Things have improved a lot since more people in other areas are getting more active. We've been able to play great shows, especially on the coast. Things in hardcore shouldn't be done by the same group of individuals. Here in Rio, basically the same people had to work their asses to build a scene. Lately, we've been able to count on some new kids, working cooperatively to promote important things like vegetarianism/veganism and politics. We've already played all over Rio de Janeiro, several times in Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Brasília. We've toured Brazil with Heaven Shall Burn and last year we toured Chile and Argentina.

4) How did you get in touch with hardcore? Was it obvious that you all became HC kids rather than metalheads? Your sound is very metallic . Do metal kids also come to your shows?

We've all been involved with hardcore for some time, but were metalheads in the past. The problem with metal, as everybody knows, is that it's totally distant from the outside world. We still enjoy the music, but totally despise some of the metal sectors. We feel we can play metal and still be closer to our socio-political reality, be aware of our political and economic position in this capitalist world. Besides, what we want is to be able to play and hopefully get a different crowd exposed to our message.

5) How important is the message you are trying to spread? Is the music more important?

People in Brazil really lack information, so we believe you should play whatever you're into, but also express what you feel strongly about. Both the music and the message are important to us. Anything you do to direct people towards things that really affect us is important. If a kid goes to an energetic and moving show and, at the same time, gets exposed to something meaningful, relevant, his/her life can be changed.

6) Please explain the following part from your biography: "Through hardcore we try to show that from the moment we are born in a third world country, thus not part of the elite, we are all condemned to the merciless cycle of slavery, exclusion and death."

When you're poor, are born in a poor place and all you see is misery and suffering, you usually have two options: either you fight using whatever you have so you can survive, or you simply close your eyes and surrender to the system that enslaves and kills you. Things here in the third world are like that. Things here are like "I was not born rich or middle class, so I won't have access to decent education. If I don't get education, I won't be able to get a job. If I don't get a job, all I can do is live in the margins, in the isolated outskirts, distant from the centers, in slums, guettos, etc. ". If you don't have a job, you have to support yourself somehow. Some people engage in crime, others live on shitty jobs similar to enslavement. The same power that denies access to education locks you in distant areas or in a slum, from where you can see extremely rich people two hundred meters away from you. In Rio, there are fancy buildings right next to huge slums. This scenario can create such a strong sense of revolt for not having had any chances in life that you end up being locked up or killed by the police. Every single poor person here faces a daily threat: either they fight or die.

7) I was told you are all vegans. Is it easy to be a vegan in Brazil?

Three of us are vegans, one is a vegetarian. We think it's easy to be vegan in Brazil, but we don't have the fancy options you do in Europe. Brazil is the world's second biggest soy bean producer and you can easily find soya based stuff. In Rio de Janeiro, there are four vegan restaurants and several vegetarian ones with some vegan stuff. The meat industry in Brazil, however, is really powerful, so information on its damages and on vegetarianism is not easily found. The hardcore scene in Brazil has played a predominant role when it comes to getting people exposed to vegetarianism/animal rights through the "Verduradas" (Sao Paulo's most tradional DIY fest), and groups like Frente de Defesa dos Animais ("Animal Defense Front"), veganpride.com, vegetarianismo.com.br, etc.

8) You are coming over for a European tour in summer.What are your expectations? What are the exact dates? What can people do if they want to help you out with shows or shelter?

We're really excited about our first European tour. By the way, we'd like to thank you, Bruno, for giving us the chance to play the Ieper fest. It'll be great to play there and meet different people. We'll also play some fests with other Brazilian bands that will be on tour in Europe: I Shot Cyrus and Discarga. Actually, we're touring with a sxe band from Buenos Aires, Argentina, called Nueva Etica, which is also on Liberation. If you can help us out by doing a show in your area, please contact Liberation (liberation@terra.com.br) or Stefan, the kid who's taking care of the tour (stefan@brokenbonesbrigade.de). Check the tour dates at www.brokenbonesbrigade.de