The day I fell in love with Brazil
Since I wrote my first story, I’ve been thinking that I’ll make a 2018 resolution out of it. I’ll write every good story that I lived, whether it was recent or ancient, I’m not interested in time more than the story itself.
Back in 2013, with 23 years, I was going through my final effort on graduating from a Master degree in Electric and Computer Engineering from University of Porto when I decided to apply to INOV CONTACTO, a Portuguese Government Program to facilitate internship somewhere around the world in your field of study.
I few months later when I’ve heard that Piracicaba was my destination I was confused because I’ve never heard the name but soon understood it was a small town in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.
In March 2014, on my way to Brazil for the first time, moving from my parent’s house for the first time, living alone for the first time, well, doing a lot of big things for the first time. But it was only when I sat foot in São Paulo that I realised what I was doing: a brand new and exciting life in a new town with new opportunities, new everything…rrrrrrr, WAIT, NOT SO FAST. In my first night on the other side of the Atlantic, looking from my studio window, with no electricity because my landlord was only going to call the electric company the next Monday, in 2 days from then, I was fu***ing desperate. I mean, what was I thinking accepting this? Right there all the doubts in the world landed in my head: Was I good enough to do this? Was I going to enjoy it? Am I capable? All those doubts tired me to the point of fell asleep. The next day I waked up renewed but not yet convinced, only time taught me to be patient.
In one month things become way joyful as I started working, making friends and travelling to several cool cities like São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Guarujá, Fortaleza, Santos, etc. The most incredible thing I discovered in Brazil was not the weather, the bikinis, the girls or even the rich animal wildlife, the most incredible thing there I discovered were the people and myself. Brazilians are an awesome people, hosts and true caring friends, a bit like the north of Portugal.
I’ll jump right to the day that I fell for Brazil…
Back in 2013 as in nowadays Brazilians were known by their passionate way of exercising their democratic right to public manifest. They are used to manifest against politicians or politics and in Piracicaba things were no different.
I, as any good Portuguese, was way to curious to not go to one manifestation. At the time they were manifesting against the “rise of the bus fee”, or as they say “o aumento da tarifa do ônibus”. It was a Friday afternoon after work when I noticed some call to action in a city culture group in Facebook that I was in. As soon as I arrived home I began packing a bag with one or two sandwiches, a bottle of water and my, inseparable, Canon 600d.
I left home and went to the gathering spot, in front of the Town hall, where I saw young students and old workers together pacifically exposing their ideas and ideals, it was a beautiful show to witness. It was at that moment when I decided I was going to document the whole thing.
I soon realised they were reclaiming on a lot of issues. From the bus fee (at the time was the most expensive in all Brazil) to the excessive power from the Executive power (President, State Governor and Mayor) and the Legislative power (councilmen, senators, etc.). What triggered this manifestation at the time was a change in the constitution, PEC 37, that would allow to “bury investigations” against politicians.
Others reclaimed the same rights and social status for homosexuals. At the time, same as today, “gay cure” was a thing as many believed in it.
Other subject that had a lot of hype in the media was the absurd cost with the World Cup 2014. In a country where there the basic healthcare system and the education forgot about the poorest, spending more than they had on a Football tournament was a sad reality to watch. We all know that Brazil is the country of Football, not just because they’ve always had fantastic players, from Pele to Neymar, but also because of their world cup titles. Every kid in Brazil, especially from the Favelas (slums) dreams to be the next Neymar and finds in Football an escape from the shitty reality they live in. At the time they were expecting a total cost of $8 billion but the actual costs were around $11.8 billion. That’s an absurd amount of money even for a country with the size of Brazil and but especially for a country with so severe poverty and illiteracy problems.
But Brazil was under maintenance.
When you live in Brazil you can easily witness that there are only two main social classes, the very rich and the very poor.
Back to my undercover journalism at the manifestation I was granted the opportunity to talk, photograph and film people at my own risk and asking them their opinions as well as exposing my own. It was a really pacific manifestation with some excesses, setting tyres on fire at the highway was one of them, but that didn’t stop the activists to sing and cheer all along. It was something beautiful to see because it was the reflex of the most genuine good people I met so far.
Brazilians developed something really special that’s the ability to live haply with very little. They all might face several severe problems but they always had a good smile talking to people and they have a stupendous fate about the future and all people, and that’s why I fell in love with Brazil.
Oh, that’s right, the gun pointed at my head thing. When we took over, by assault, a highway, cars started U-turning to flee. At that time, I was in front of the crowd to get a proper shot when suddenly, some local slum kids started running after the cars throwing rocks at the glasses. Some random guy with his front car glass broken leaved the car with a gun pointed at the one idiot standing there, me. There I was, with my Canon in my right hand and not a shot was taken, I was completely paralysed. Soon, the more seniors approached the guy with no fear and he also forced to flied. That was the point when I hid my camera in my bag and ran for at least an hour home without stopping or even feeling tired. When I arrived home I started editing the video and the photographs, it took me all night and the results are here:
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL4rXWZtG18
It was only then that I realized that every day is a new day and we shouldn’t take it for granted. Brazil kinda forces you to think like this because it often felt like walking on a tightrope with all the fun and danger it involves.
