"Saudade" - my favorite word that I have learned in all my travels. While it has no direct translation from Portuguese to English, it has been described as "the recollection of feelings, experiences, places or events that once brought excitement, pleasure, or well-being. And which now triggers the senses and makes one live again." Perhaps some of my Brazilian friends for whom I have Saudade will chime in to further enlighten us...
As the bloqueos marched through the streets trailed by hundreds, or sometimes thousands, of people dancing and singing behind them I found myself drawn to the intent gazes of the passengers in passing busses...
We gave these kids a bit of change and some fried cheese my brother was eating.
I started to walk away to find another beer and to forget about them. Instead, I found myself standing across the street from them, watching. I wanted something from them.
They were handsome, with intelligent eyes. And gifted actors as well - their faces and actions fleeting quickly and effortlessly through a range of emotions. Some real, some contrived.
They lived on the street. Their teeth were rotting and they had swollen scars in strange places. One of them wore a glittery lace purse...
Amidst all the hedonistic revelry of Carnival I found time to sit, converse (in a mix of Spanish, Portuguese and sing language), and pass the camera around with a few different groups of kids. Why? I don't know. Maybe because kids like to play as much as I do. Maybe because I'm still stuck somewhere between a 'kid' and a 'grownup'. Maybe because their eyes reflect a world devoid of the cynicism with which I sometimes see it (see last post). Or maybe it's their curiosity that I find most refreshing.
"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."
While all the revelry of Carnival certainly didn't create a negative reaction of equal proportions, it did throw the daily lives of the homeless into stark contrast with the joyously carefree world surrounding them.
