Room to relax

Rio de Janeiro is without a doubt one of the busiest cities of South America. Commuters, locals, tourists, thousands of taxis, packed buses, all types of street vendors and delivery bikes, countless shops, hotels big and small, tons of luxury condos, middle class homes, and some of the largest favelas or comunidades in Brazil all converge in Rio. 

The people of this city, like everywhere else in this country, are also victim of a system that disproportionately favors the powerful. Inequality is the norm, crime is high and cheating at all levels is bread-and-butter. 

All this movement and fragile institutions makes it so that here everyone is on a mission, and everybody is watching their backs. But...

Despite all the craziness you can expect from a busy city, I find very few people racing in metro stations, taxi drivers show me videos of their kids, strangers are more than happy to answer all sorts of questions, and waiters at restaurants will divide the check in as many parts as you want & charge each person with separate credit cards! 

Despite the helplessness systemic disparity and burocracy creates, conversations with locals about the state of their country aren't any more heated than conversations with publically concerned citizenry in developed countries.

The zona sul of Rio, where I spend most of my time, also emerged as a urban ecosystem with plenty of organic and planned leisure outlets hugged by a forest, the water and the sun. This is key to me because the carioquice or way of being of Cariocas as an immaterial culture is one with the outstanding space that houses it. In my humble opinion, this allows locals (and visitors alike) plenty of actual physical and mental room to relax, no matter what!

Do you want the truth or something beautiful?

Do you want the truth or something beautiful? In certain special cities you don't have to choose and I find this to be particularly true and distinct in Rio de Janeiro.

Here, I have been inspired, transported by the stunning architecture of "Rio antiguo" juxtaposed with the dirt and decay that surrounds it today. I have felt joy when surfers walk with their boards on the broken sidewalks of Ipanema. And I have felt both sorrow and excitement whenever I see the buildings surrounding the jungle and magical coastal landscape of this city.

Cities like Berlin or Paris continue to evolve into exquisite blends of old and new, tradition and innovation, historical and shiny buildings, etc. revealing at every corner their truth and beauty. But as I unconsciously charter Rio and my experience of Rio throughout the weeks, I realize how here the convergence of truth and beauty is not so much about the bones of the city. For me, it is something far less planned and much more dependent on the seemingly irrelevant and daily decisions of the people who call this land of contrasts home.

I am genuinely curious about the Carioca people who have painted across the city some of the most colorful murals I have ever seen, and the people who decide not to cover them up when they are painted illegally. I am mistified by the women that worship the cult of beauty and luxury, and the same women who know how to walk carefree to the beach with barely a pair Havaianas. I take my hat off in front of the honest, humble, poor Cariocas who have in them the mental and physical strength to stack their tiny homes on the steepest mountains of the city, thriving against all odds. All of them and others, create an ecosystem that vibrates at a unique and delicious frequency you can feel in your soul anytime you pay attention while in Rio. After all, "pra fazer um samba com beleza é preciso um bocado de tristeza" says Vinicius de Moraes.

Thank you to my dear friend Rolando who last week walked the beaches and streets of Rio with me without much of an agenda, who indulged in "salgadinhos" anytime we felt like it, and became my accomplice during a night of bossa, caipirinhas and cheap wine. Thank you for making my journey in Rio the more exciting!

The Love Headquarters

(Representation of a favela at the Museo de Arte do Rio)

The people of Rio love, they mean it and want to spread it. 

During my first week in Rio I have found red hearts plastered all over the city - a lot of red hearts! But what's interesting to me is that more often than not, the hearts are drawn as a symbol of good-will, hope, change, or a deep sense of pride for what means most to locals.

A lot of people find passion to be the common denominator of the flagship cultural traits of Cariocas. I believe the passion we all perceive in their poetry, music, dance, etc. is their unique expression of a collective spirit of love for everything that is good and true to them.

This love, passion and heart tattooed city is a Brazilian gift to the world because it is a one-of-a-kind reminder to come as you are, to express your inner-most dreams and to simply love more! #maisamor

("Vandalism" on street signs around the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon)

(Painted tiles at the General Osorio metro station representing the Carnaval bloco "Simpatia é quase amor" of Ipanema)

Democracy meets the beach

I grew up in the Dominican Republic, a country full of beautiful summer landscapes, joyful people that breathe hospitality and according to many Dominicans, the place where God lives. The Dominican Republic is also the cradle of European colonizations and slavery in the Americas, and a country that until today faces deep socio-economic contrasts and injustices that can make you want to barf.

If you know a little bit about Brazil, then you understand the two countries have many many things in common. However, there is one thing in particular about Rio de Janeiro specifically that catches my attention, and that is somewhat different from the Dominican experience: the beach is a democratic space.

Rich, poor, young, old, big, small, fit or floppy, gay or not, black, white or anything in between - everyone converges at pretty much the same stretch of beach. And that is beautiful to me!

The beach in Rio is the playground, the park, the gym, etc. for everyone and anyone. It is perhaps one of the most used urban beaches of the world, bread and butter for its locals and really part of the fabric of this city.

It is debatable if the same thing happens or not in the Dominican Republic because we don't exactly have a highly frequented urban beach in Santo Domingo - although I don't have many questions about what would happen if we did. Furthermore, it is also debatable if a true confluence of race, class, sexual orientation, and hot and not-so-hot bodies hang out together at the beach (indeed, the different "postos" or lifeguard towers have each their stereotypical crowd). What is not debatable is that in Rio, there is no real room for being territorial about beach space or judgemental in your heart and mind about who or what is acceptable at the beach. This is against the inherent value of freedom every Carioca has in its heart, at least when enjoying the sun and sand! 

***Sorry! No picture of me in my bikini on the sand yet. I'm working on it :-)

Loaded (with suitcases, not money!)

My husband is mostly a Brazilian by passport and for his love of the beautiful game. Brazilian "salgadinhos" and fresh juices have a special place in his heart too, but all else is pretty much American. He prefers though to be described as a San Franciscan - after all, it is the city where he was born and raised, and the place he couldn't even bear to leave to go to college. Now, he works for a non-profit where he led the development of the first mobile App to help low-income entrepreneurs write a business plan with a few clicks on a smartphone. This non-profit venture is now expanding to Rio de Janeiro with a 6-week kick-off project, so my daughter and I left the city by the bay to keep the family together this summer ("winter" here).

This trip also coincided with the expected birth date of our first second-cousin in Rio, and our daughter's second birthday, so we are very excited about this precious time together. This trip is also surfacing the so many things I love about this country and city, thus the name of my blog: Carioca Wannabe. But... do I have in me what it takes? I am certainly not as comfortable in my skin as every single woman here seems to be, no matter their age, size or shape. There is one thing I can do for sure so far: pack like a Brazilian! I guess I am a version of a "sacoleira."

I look forward to sharing my journey here with you, and hope I either help you get to know Rio or show it to you through a different lense.

Até logo!