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Cariocas – Street Photography with People of Rio de Janeiro

I love asking people questions. Sometimes, I wonder if this is the reason why I liked the name “Mark” so much, my little question Mark—he still doesn’t get the joke, though.

I can’t help it, I’m curious about other people’s perspective on the word, their life, tiny details I notice and can be explained so easily by someone who knows better than me, random bits of trivia and new ideas. You talk, you learn.

So, I ask questions. Where are you from, how is life, do you like living here? Most people like to talk about something—the key is to find out what they are passionate about.

I can see what Brazilians are passionate about. They love going to the beach, they like to drink, men are definitely more into butts than breasts, they seem to enjoy life, hanging out in groups, music, party, football and sports in general. This is a rather simplistic view of Brazil, almost a cliché—I know. But I haven’t been able to dig much deeper. Chatting with Brazilians isn’t easy.

Oh, people are polite, kind even. They are remarkably well behaved when drunk (more on Carnival later…). But they are also very even and calm. They don’t complain loudly—in fact, except when they party, Brazilians aren’t loud. They aren’t particularly curious about foreigners and they seemed almost annoyed with us for not knowing stuff completely obvious to Brazilians. Occasionally, people simply repeated whatever I hadn’t understood louder, much like a cliché of the American tourist shouting in English hoping foreigners will understand the language better (hint: it doesn’t work). Brazilians didn’t even seem curious about other parts of their own country or other ways of life. Their perspective seemed to be “this is my life, my little world and I’m fine with it.”

Which is a perspective as good as any other, I guess.

Yet, I wonder how life is for Brazilians. I can see how diverse the country is—even in a city like Rio de Janeiro, a middle-class sixtysomething in Copacabana has very little in common with the sixteen-year-old kid from the favela. Just the way they coexist and occasionally meet on the beach or in the street is fascinating to me. Maybe that’s why Brazilians stick to their own world—it’s just an easier way to live without envy or resentment.

I didn’t have any long and insightful conversation with Cariocas but I observed them. Here are the people of Rio de Janeiro, a collection of candid shots taken all over the city during the week before Carnival!

Kids seeling booze before a bloco, Ipanema
Police horses, Ipanema
Police force, Ipanema
Mothering and kids rising with water dripping from a truck full of ice, Ipanema
Juice bar, Ipanema
Woman checking out carnival costumes from a street vendor in Copacabana
Auction house, Copacabana
Street vendor selling fruits, Copacabana
Feng enjoying an empadão, Botafogo
Security guards in an office building, Botafogo
Movie being filmed, Botafogo
Juice and snack bar, Botafogo
Commuters, Botafogo
Man on a smoke break, Largo do Machado
Street vendor selling books, Lago de Machado
People walking by a graffiti-covered wall, Catete
Shopper in a newsstand, Catete
Man sleeping in a car, Catete
Man unloading beer, Lapa
Street vendor selling Havaianas, Lapa
Beggar, Cinelândia
Mark and the police, Cinelândia
Musicians, Cinelândia
Street vendor selling shoe laces, Centro
Street vendor selling hats, Centro
Women walking by Carival costumes, Centro
Shoeshine, Centro
Police, Centro
Couple kissing, Centro
By the bay, Centro
Couple selling beer at a bloco, Centro
Brazilian beauty’s ideal, subway
Going to a bloco, subway
Couple kissing in the subway
Carnival performers reloading their subway card
Kids asleep at a bloco, Ipanema
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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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