Out With the Old, in With the New...Is It, Really?

I'm not being very original, am I? Neither is the rest of the world, it seems. Israel is bombing Gaza and hundreds are dying. Hotels in Rio are at 100% occupancy; two million people are expected in Copacabana Beach tonight. I went to Ipanema yesterday morning and to the Botanical Garden in the afternoon, and can vouch for the presence of hordes of happy tourists in town. If you want to know what else I saw, you must read my post of December 2007, so I don't have to repeat myself (didn't I say "same old, same old?"). On this last day of 2008, I'd like to tell you about one perceptible change that took place about three blocks from where I live; a very tiny one in Rio terms, but quite a significant one nonetheless. There's a small favela (10,000 people) in my neighborhood called Dona Marta; according to recent editions of the local papers it's been finally "liberated" from drug dealers in a new model of occupation by the State: 125 recent graduates of police academies have moved in as a permanent "community unit." This means that working people will no longer be hostages to criminals; that they should be getting regular utilities soon (as opposed to illegal hookups), and other basic services, such as a daycare and a health clinic. Also, no more fireworks at all hours of day or night, announcing the arrival of a new shipment of drugs and, apparently, no more blaring music all night long (to the general delight and relief of residents and neighbors alike). Real estate agents in this area report increased interest in apartment buildings in the vicinity; also, that values have jumped up suddenly (as you can imagine, living practically next door to violence and drugs won't bring you top price for your property). A couple of reporters from O Globo even ventured to spend the night up there. Considering that journalists who make incursions into such areas rarely come out unscathed (or alive, for that matter), this IS news, indeed! If this experiment is successful, there's hope for other favelas and the city yet.

Last night I walked to the edge of the lagoon to meet a couple of friends (we've had a break from the rains, as you may have guessed!). We just stood there in the breeze admiring the floating Christmas Tree. We talked about the numerous birds that are now, we hope, a permanent fixture there. It means there are fish, one friend said. And that means the water is getting cleaner, I added.

As to New Year's Eve, well, it's shaping up nicely, too. I thought I was going to be alone, but I now have two invitations. I ran into my next door neighbor downstairs; she told me she's going to be home and if I wanted to knock on her door around nine or so...Then a friend who lives two buildings away from me called. Her mom is coming over and her cousin and would I be interested in joining them for a glass of champagne? Isn't life so much better when you don't make any plans?

Happy New Year! I wish I could go to sleep and wake up on January 20th, don't you?

These Sandals Are Made for...

Well, for Christmas presents they'll do just fine! The evening pair I found on sale at a store owned by a young woman with whom I share an old-fashioned name (my middle, her first). Aren't they lovely? I wore them to dinner last night. When I got home, I exchanged them for the second pair, which was a gift from one of my best carioca friends. They're woven with the fibers from the trunk of banana trees; one of hundreds of projects around the country that generate employment and income for women in rural areas (see my post dated December 1). I've been schlepping around the apartment with them this morning; they feel so good! I suppose we all can't wait to try on our Christmas presents, can we?


And, yes, I got a glimpse of Rio's iconic Christmas Tree as my taxi drove around the lagoon; the skies are still heavy with grey clouds that promise yet more rain in the coming days. I wonder if this weather is going to spoil the city's spectacular New Year's Eve party? I'm planning on walking down the street to find a spot near the water among the thousands of revelers in this neighborhood; I don't have the stamina to face the millions on Copacabana Beach anymore. All I can do now is keep my fingers crossed!

And the Dog Ate the Turkey Dinner

I have been reading the papers since I got back to Rio last week, trying to see what columnists have to say this Holiday Season. I agree with one of them: it's hard to be original about Christmas at this point in life. And I'm not the nostalgic type, really, so I'm not interested in remembering past Christmases...I'm already making plans for what I want to do in 2009! As for tonight, I'm going to have dinner at a friend's apartment very near the Lagoa and I hope to get a glimpse of the famous floating Christmas Tree at last. I haven't had the energy to walk there yet, since I got back from my exhausting trip to southern Brazil; besides, it's been raining almost every night. My small family is scattered around the world, in Europe, Canada, the U.S., and Australia. I hope they all have a nice, quiet time. What of presents? Obama will soon be our President and my daughter has a new job she enjoys very much. What else could I wish for? Well, I think you should read this on the New York Times online: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/opinion/24friedman.html. My sentiments exactly!!

Before I forget, I need to tell you about the dog in the title: Many years ago, in Boston, our German shepherd grabbed the champagne-marinated turkey I had cooked and finished it off on the kitchen floor.

Merry Christmas to All!

Photo Credit: Guto Costa at http://www.arvorenatalbradescoseguros.com.br

Mission Accomplished or You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

It wasn't Mission Impossible, not even a particularly difficult mission, just a very tiring one. I had got it into my head that I must revisit my old school and my favorite playground as a child. They are located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, not too far from the Argentinian border, about sixty kilometers apart. It took a two-hour flight south from Rio, followed by a six-and-a-half-hour bus trip and a forty-five-minute taxi ride to arrive at my first destination, the ruins of São Miguel das Missões. Now a beautifully-maintained UNESCO World Heritage site, this was a pretty deserted place fifty-some years ago when I was a tomboy with a predilection for climbing on buildings and trees. This time around, I had a blast walking in and out of the ruins, stepping over stonewalls, or just plain sitting there in the dark with the full Moon behind the trees and a chilly wind blowing on my back. This is still a remote area of rolling yellow and green hills with immense skies above; earlier that evening I was treated to a rare sight: a huge Moon was rising in the East as the fiery red Sun was still high in the West. The next day, I took a bus early in the morning to the town where I was born. I didn't recognize my school until I was inside the new building looking towards the old. I can't tell you how happy I was to climb the wide wooden steps again; I almost felt like I was thirteen in a homemade swing-skirt dress. I think I must have been very happy there; in any case, it was in that building with the gable windows that I learned everything that made a difference in my life: self-discipline, Geography, and languages.


I took this picture of my foot stepping on a patch of native soil. It is as red as I remembered it. And, as you can see, this middle-aged prodigal daughter was wearing a very 2008ish pair of Capri jeans! I'm back in Rio for a couple more months; I know I can leave now...It's mission accomplished!

Around Brazil in Four and a Half Hours

That's how long it took me to walk through (and see a fraction of it!) the Contemporary Rural Brazil Expo this past Saturday before my feet said "enough." I wish I could have spent double the time; I still wouldn't have seen it all. Hundreds of exhibitors from Acre to Rio Grande do Sul came to Rio de Janeiro to showcase their products and crafts; these are all families or cooperatives that make anything from organic coffee and cachaça to bright yellow farinha de mandioca to bacuri bonbons; goat cheese and yogurt; cookies and biscuits; salted cashew and cumbarú nuts; pepper jelly and sauces; every salami and sausage known to man; baskets and placemats from buriti palm; juice and jewelry from açaí, gorgeous capim dourado handbags, baskets and bracelets; necklaces made from tiririca seeds and coquinho; handbags decorated with babaçu nuts sliced and polished; handwoven hammocks and fuxico pillowcovers; and handknit scarves that Barney's buyers would kill for (I'm the proud owner of one of them now). I could go on for at least three more paragraphs filled with exotic names, but you get the idea: the biological and cultural diversity of this country is astonishing. The place was crowded with Brazilians eager to shop and try the different foods. I didn't hear too many languages besides Portuguese, which is too bad. I wish the hotels had filled vans and minibuses with foreign tourists. It's not often that one has the chance to tour this immense country in a few hours and under one roof!


The young lady in this photograph came from the state of Tocantins, representing the artisans from the Jalapão. I went there in 2005 and it's still one of my favorite places in Brazil. I had just bought a bunch of these bracelets when she dropped them on the floor. Notice that even her sandals are made of capim dourado...