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Posted on Tues, Dec. 26, 2006
Eugene Peter Rausa, 76; 'bitten by the samba bug'
By Gayle Ronan Sims
Inquirer Staff Writer
Eugene Peter Rausa, 76, a civil engineer who while helping to build Rio de Janeiro's Rio Niterio bridge "was bitten by the samba bug" in Brazil and brought it to Philadelphia, died Dec. 23 of lung cancer at home in Chesterbrook.
The son of a Sicilian barber and musician, Mr. Rausa grew up on the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge listening to his dad's Italian band practice between shaves and cuts. He studied accordion and piano at a young age and had a knack for learning languages.
After earning a bachelor's in civil engineering in 1952 from City University of New York, Mr. Rausa joined the Army in 1954. He was stationed in Japan until being discharged in 1956. He used the GI Bill and earned a master's in engineering in 1963 from Columbia University.
While a college student, Mr. Rausa played jazz piano in New York nightclubs. In 1963, he was hired as a civil engineer by Howard Needles Tammen & Bergendoff and worked on projects around the globe.
In 1968, Mr. Rausa was sent to Brazil and became chief superintendent of soil studies for the Rio Niterio box-girder bridge. When the six-lane, 8.25-mile structure was completed in 1974, it had the highest central point of any bridge.
Mr. Rausa married Maria Lucia Caxuxa in 1973 and the couple had two daughters.
Mr. Rausa was a consultant for the department of highways in Brazil until 1985. He was eventually drawn deep into the world of samba. He traveled to every part of Brazil and took more than 9,000 photographs. He told his family, "I was bitten by the samba bug, and I never got over it."
Mr. Rausa learned to play a chuva (rain stick) - a long straw cylinder, lined on the inside with porcupine quills and filled with pebbles and insect wings. When shaken, it produces a sound not unlike rain. It is used in Brazil to ask the gods for rain at harvest time.
He also played a cuica (friction drum), a snare-drum-shaped instrument with a stick in the middle that is fastened to a sheet of tight goat skin. When he wet his hand and rubbed the stick, it produced a sound like a laughing seal.
Mr. Rausa played on TV, in clubs in Brazil and with samba schools during Rio's carnival.
In 1985, Mr. Rausa moved to Radnor to work on bridges linking sections of the Blue Route.
Samba was growing in popularity in Philadelphia, partly through Philasamba.
"Over the next 20 years, Eugene became perhaps the region's most avid proponent of Brazilian music and culture," said Justin Fink, friend and musical colleague.
Mr. Rausa coproduced the city's early Brazilian carnivals, was head of the Brazil-US Center for Education and Culture, a founder of the Burle Marx Music Society, and assisted the city when Brazilian officials visited. He also served as honorary consul to Brazil. Since 1999, Mr. Rausa and his family have performed with the 12-member band Alo Brasil.
Mr. Rausa retired as an engineer in the late 1990s, moved to Chesterbrook and devoted himself full-time to the samba. He played at the Academy of Music, the Kimmel Center, Constitution Center, Merriam Theater and many clubs.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Rausa is survived by daughters Andrea Rausa and Tamara Donatelli; a granddaughter; a brother; and a sister.
A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. Donations may be sent to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tenn., 38105.
Eugene Peter Rausa, 76; 'bitten by the samba bug'
By Gayle Ronan Sims
Inquirer Staff Writer
Eugene Peter Rausa, 76, a civil engineer who while helping to build Rio de Janeiro's Rio Niterio bridge "was bitten by the samba bug" in Brazil and brought it to Philadelphia, died Dec. 23 of lung cancer at home in Chesterbrook.
The son of a Sicilian barber and musician, Mr. Rausa grew up on the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge listening to his dad's Italian band practice between shaves and cuts. He studied accordion and piano at a young age and had a knack for learning languages.
After earning a bachelor's in civil engineering in 1952 from City University of New York, Mr. Rausa joined the Army in 1954. He was stationed in Japan until being discharged in 1956. He used the GI Bill and earned a master's in engineering in 1963 from Columbia University.
While a college student, Mr. Rausa played jazz piano in New York nightclubs. In 1963, he was hired as a civil engineer by Howard Needles Tammen & Bergendoff and worked on projects around the globe.
In 1968, Mr. Rausa was sent to Brazil and became chief superintendent of soil studies for the Rio Niterio box-girder bridge. When the six-lane, 8.25-mile structure was completed in 1974, it had the highest central point of any bridge.
Mr. Rausa married Maria Lucia Caxuxa in 1973 and the couple had two daughters.
Mr. Rausa was a consultant for the department of highways in Brazil until 1985. He was eventually drawn deep into the world of samba. He traveled to every part of Brazil and took more than 9,000 photographs. He told his family, "I was bitten by the samba bug, and I never got over it."
Mr. Rausa learned to play a chuva (rain stick) - a long straw cylinder, lined on the inside with porcupine quills and filled with pebbles and insect wings. When shaken, it produces a sound not unlike rain. It is used in Brazil to ask the gods for rain at harvest time.
He also played a cuica (friction drum), a snare-drum-shaped instrument with a stick in the middle that is fastened to a sheet of tight goat skin. When he wet his hand and rubbed the stick, it produced a sound like a laughing seal.
Mr. Rausa played on TV, in clubs in Brazil and with samba schools during Rio's carnival.
In 1985, Mr. Rausa moved to Radnor to work on bridges linking sections of the Blue Route.
Samba was growing in popularity in Philadelphia, partly through Philasamba.
"Over the next 20 years, Eugene became perhaps the region's most avid proponent of Brazilian music and culture," said Justin Fink, friend and musical colleague.
Mr. Rausa coproduced the city's early Brazilian carnivals, was head of the Brazil-US Center for Education and Culture, a founder of the Burle Marx Music Society, and assisted the city when Brazilian officials visited. He also served as honorary consul to Brazil. Since 1999, Mr. Rausa and his family have performed with the 12-member band Alo Brasil.
Mr. Rausa retired as an engineer in the late 1990s, moved to Chesterbrook and devoted himself full-time to the samba. He played at the Academy of Music, the Kimmel Center, Constitution Center, Merriam Theater and many clubs.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Rausa is survived by daughters Andrea Rausa and Tamara Donatelli; a granddaughter; a brother; and a sister.
A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. Donations may be sent to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tenn., 38105.
