Project "Jonna Maria"

Please Help Me Go to Brazil and Make My First Solo Album

Hi! My name is Jonna Threlkeld: singer/documentary journalist. I'm headed to Brazil in early February to share my music with the people I meet there, and, in return, learn as much varied "traditional" Brazilian music as I can to help inspire my first solo music album.
I have been fascinated with Brazilian music since my third year of college in 2007 when I first heard a song by the Brazilian singer Marisa Monte, "O Bonde do Dom." It was this song, the flowing delicate Portuguese lyrics, and the clear, enchanting voice of Monte that immediately made me decide I wanted to learn Portuguese, go to Brazil, and make music there. I kid you not, the idea happened before the song was even over.
A journalism major, I enrolled in Portuguese 101 and somehow survived 2 years of classes everyday. To motivate me to stick with it, I promised myself a trip to Brazil when I completed the two year course. So, I saved up, and in August of 2010, I went to Brazil for one month, traveling Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Recife, where I met some very amazing and generous people I will never forget, and who I told I would see again one day when I returned.
Now is the time. On January 20th, I will be 27 years old. A milestone year for a musician. This is the year my musical career becomes my focus. I've even gone and quit my job. The album, tentatively titled "Jonna Maria" (my nickname given to me by my Portuguese teacher), will be a fusion of my American Folk and 40's-60's pop music influences, and native Brazilian rhythms and chord progressions, with lyrics in both English and Portuguese.
I am asking for $3,500 as a "reach for the stars" number, even though for the traveling I hope be doing and gear I still need to acquire, it is minimal. I would like to take a decent quality DSLR camera with me to take powerful images and capture HD video for daily updates and my eventual documentary about this journey. A laptop with good memory for holding a lot of footage and letting me edit video efficiently would also be ideal.
This is a very exciting time to be in Brazil. I know that some of my own friends will be traveling there in June for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. I would love for them to be able to reference my experience as they start to plan their own adventures. Carnival, one of the largest week-long, country-wide celebrations in the world, FULL of music, color and cultural pride, will take place in the middle of my travels in late February. This is a big time in Brazilian history for the struggles of its GIGANTIC and growing lower class, who have been protesting their government against hosting the World Cup, as much as they LOVE futbol, for splurging their tax dollars on new stadiums and lodging, and continuing to ignore the need for better education, transportation, and general well-being.
This has been my developing dream for the past 5 years, and now you can all watch me make it happen. I will owe it, and WANT to owe it, to you, my peers, friends and loved ones, to everyone who has encouraged me to pursue this great adventure, to anyone who wants to hear the music I will make, and who chose to support me, both now and long before I even knew I had it in me.