CARIOCA FROM MIAMI

I still remember the first time I saw you. From up high, I could see the trees and the mountains. What they told me was true: there's a forest in the middle of the city!

Where I came from, the only forests I’ve seen only existed in my dreams. We had the sea and lakes, and that was pretty much it. Some alligators here, dolphins there... A few palm trees... but the only real fruit tree I had ever seen was an avocado seed that my mother and I planted in our backyard. I was always thrilled to eat broccoli, oh, to be six years old...

When I got here, I saw that everyone was literally walking around as they pleased, in shorts, bikinis, flip-flops, and even evening dresses. On the Copacabana beach, you could see everything and hear everything. But the heat, oh the heat. It got the best of me.

Forty degrees, my love? What's all this for? It was enough to take away the youthful spirit of a child. I would stand in front of any fan I could find. And I stopped wanting to dress myself.

The jokes, the slang... Everyone seemed to be laughing at something different, and I wondered if they were laughing at me, too. In reality, people were just being happy, and Cariocas laugh really loud! Here, we’re happy, in a very strange way, unlike anywhere else.

I didn't understand the Carioca dialect. I didn't understand how things worked, why so many mean jokes, how so many people lived on the streets, and why the North Zone was so different from the South Zone... You taught me. At twelve, I started exploring you on my own, taking the subway, the bus, crossing the city, crossing the forest, and discovering something new every time. The botanical garden, the museums, the beaches... Walking downtown, feeling the energy of old Rio became an addiction in itself.

My school had an ocean view; I can't imagine anything more romantic than that. On some mornings, the sun illuminated the entire classroom, and it felt like we were somewhere in heaven. It was hard to see the blackboard behind the teacher. I loved it.

My career took off in tourism because it was easy to understand what those who arrived here felt. It was a mix of horror and enchantment, but when anyone asks me, to this day I still beat my chest and say: Rio de Janeiro is the best place in the world..

My career took off in tourism because it was easy to understand what those who arrived here felt. It was a mix of horror and enchantment, but when anyone asks me, to this day, I still beat my chest and say: Rio de Janeiro is the best place in the world.

In my years here, there was never a lack of someone approaching me crying on the beach and asking, "Is everything okay, colega?" There was never a shortage of a cold beer, nor a good bar joke. There was never a lack of something to do any day of the week, at any time of day, alone or with someone. You, Rio de Janeiro, are a real companion for those who can handle your pace.

I carry in my body and soul the marks of the difficulty of establishing a life here. The danger, the price of things, the politics... We pay a high price to live in the purgatory of beauty and chaos, but those who survive here feel like kings, sit by the sea, and laugh in pity...

...at those who live in São Paulo.

Signed, Carioca from Miami.