Portraits of Brazil

Brazil is my birthplace. Now, living so far away, I believe that one of the best ways to describe Brazil is by citing the music of Ary Barroso, “Aquarela do Brasil”. He composed this song in 1939 referring to a watercolor painting. Brazil is a mix of people from everywhere in the world, a real mixture of colors. When I “traveled back” to the past to select these pictures, I felt the emotions as a vibration of my memories sounding like Brazilian voices singing along all kinds of Brazilian instruments playing in my mind.

These pictures were taken more than a decade ago and somehow it is still part of me. Here I ask permission from the late Mister Ary Barroso to share a little piece of his magical song together with these portraits:

“[…] Brazil! Good and pleasant land of the beautiful brown girl with the indifferent gaze. Brazil, samba that gives the world cause to wonder. Brazil of my love, land of Our Lord… Open the curtain of the past. Bring the black mother out of the pastures. Put the Congo king dancing the Congo. Let the troubadour sing again to the melancholy light of the moon every song of my love. I want to see this lady walking through the halls, wearing her garments of lace […]”