The Mystery of Rio

by Alberto Mussa

  And the reason is, since I myself am Baeta, I will not allow the character to venture beyond these our cramped circumstances.

  Therefore, all that is left to do is to thank the city and its god, which have allowed me to live, and especially to imagine, which is the most dangerous form of experiencing life.

  And if I am granted one last wish, it is that my body remains and dissolves in this fabulous soil, which is that of all of the oxóssis, the caboclos of the forest, and of Saint Sebastian.

  Rio de Janeiro,

  March 1, 2010, to January 20, 2011.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks—

  to Joãozinho, the first to hear and discuss with me the story in this book, before I even started writing it;

  to Elaine, for her constant and engaging inspiration;

  to Nilton da Silva Nascimento, a model public servant, who was my guide through the House of the Marquise de Santos, today The Museum of the First Reign;

  to José Minervino, who led me through the fascinating gravestones and tombs of the English Cemetery, where I intend to be buried one day;

  to Edu Goldenberg and Paulo Klein, for all of the information and resources they shared with me concerning the administrative history of the civil police of Rio de Janeiro (they should not, of course, be held accountable for my small fictional liberties);

  to André Luiz Lacé Lopes, for his bibliographical suggestions and for having revived in me memories of capoeira from my adolescence;

  to Fred Mussa, an angoleiro master and a dear brother, for sharing with me his intellect and his wealth of resources concerning the history of capoeira;

  to Luiz Carlos Fraga and Ronald Cavaliere, whose deep literary knowledge and whose immense enthusiasm for crime fiction I have found very inspiring;

  to Miguel Sanches Neto, for his striking critical abilities and his profound literary knowledge;

  to Stéphane Chao, for his indispensible erudition on all things mythological;

  to all the people who directly, indirectly, and emotionally contributed, and will continue to contribute, to this adventure: Adriana Fidalgo, Ana Lima, Ana Paula Costa, Andréia Amaral, Beatrice Araújo, Bruno Zolotar, Camila Dias, Carolina Zappa, Cecilia Brandi, Cécilia Maggessi, Elisa Rosa, Fátima Barbosa, Gabriela Máximo, Guilherme Filippone, Ivanildo Teixeira, Juliana Braga, Leonardo Figueiredo, Leonardo Iaccarino, Livia Vianna, Magda Tebet, Márcia Duarte, Maria da Glória Carvalho, Regina Ferraz, Sérgio França, Tatiana Alves, Vivian Soares;

  and to Luciana Villas-Boas, as always, for everything.

  Glossary

  agremiação: literally, “guild.” In Rio, a precursor to today’s samba schools

  batuque: a musical rhythm of African origins

  caboclo: an ancient indigenous spirit, also a Brazilian of mixed white and native or native and black ancestry

  Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas: the name of a Brazilian native spirit

  cachaça: a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane

  Candomblé: a religion of African origins

  Candomblé de Inquices: a tradition of Candomblé typical of Angola

  capoeira: a Brazilian martial art of African and native roots; one who practices that art

  carioca: a person or thing from Rio de Janeiro

  Casa da Pedra: the first stone building erected in Rio de Janeiro

  Chica da Silva: Francisca da Silva de Oliveira (1732-1796). A real historical figure, she began life as a slave but became a renowned society lady.

  Colégio do Castelo: a Jesuit school on Castelo Hill, Rio de Janeiro

  corpo fechado: literally, “closed body”; a body that is immune to harm as a result of magic

  Iansã: a female deity in the Candomblé religion

  jogo do bicho: literally, “the animal game”; an illegal lottery popular in Rio de Janeiro

  Macumba: a spell; a religion of Angolan and Congolese origins

  mãe-de-santo: literally, “mother of the saint”; a female religious leader who oversees Candomblé ceremonies (see pai-de-santo)

  malandro: a streetwise Rio de Janeiro archetype who lives by his wits and avoids work

  mameluco: a person of mixed native and white ancestry

  mandinga: a spell; or behavior typical of a malandro

  Mina: a reference to the Mina Coast in Africa, a region that was the birthplace of many of the enslaved Africans brought to Brazil

  pai-de-santo: literally, “father of the saint”; a male religious leader who oversees Candomblé ceremonies

  pernada: a primitive type of capoeira

  porta bandeira: literally, “flag-bearer”; the dancer who carries the flag representing an agremiação

  preto velho de quimbanda: ancesteral spirit of an African slave

  puíta: the original name for a cuíca, a friction drum

  quilombo: a village made up of runaway slaves

  Rancho das Sereias: literally, “Ranch of Mermaids”; the name of a carnival agremiação

  roda: literally, “wheel”; a gathering of malandros

  rodas de fundanga: circles made of gunpowder, used in sorcery

  Saci Pererê: a mythical one-legged trickster and an important figure in Brazilian folklore

  São Sebastião: Saint Sebastian, the patron saint and protector of Rio de Janeiro

  xaréu: a type of saltwater fish

  About the Author

  Alberto Mussa was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1961. His father’s family originated from Lebanon and Palestine, and he explores Arab-Brazilian identity in his works. In addition to translating poetry and short stories, Mussa has written several novels about the history of Rio de Janeiro. He has won numerous awards, including the Premio Biblioteca Nacional for Queen Jinga’s Throne (1999) and the Casa de las Américas and APCA prizes for The Riddle of Qaf (2004).