They made their way over to Miguel’s mother. Her face lit up when she saw him and she squeezed him into a tight hug, kissing him on both cheeks.
“This is Alfie and Emilia,” Miguel told her. “They’re going to be in my children’s parade. This is my mother, Doña Costa.”
“Nice to meet you.” Alfie and Emilia smiled politely.
“Wonderful to meet you, too!” Doña Costa exclaimed. She had a dazzling smile just like Miguel’s.
“Papa and I invited them to stay with us for a few days,” Miguel added.
She looked confused. “Where is your family?”
“Our parents are here for work,” Alfie said. “They’re letting us explore as long as we check in with them a couple times a day.”
“I thought I could show them around a bit between rehearsals,” Miguel explained.
Doña Costa nodded. “Lovely!”
“How’s rehearsal going?” Miguel asked. Alfie was relieved he was changing the subject. He didn’t want Miguel’s mom to ask too many questions!
“Great! We’re in really good shape,” Doña Costa said. “We were just taking a break, but we’re about to start up again. Why don’t you grab a few chairs along the side and watch?”
Miguel nodded and motioned Alfie and Emilia over to the side of the room. Doña Costa used a microphone to call everybody to attention and explain which section of the parade they were going to rehearse. The percussion section led the start of the routine while the dancers got into place. Miguel paid close attention. He followed every move and every musical note. Alfie was surprised he was so attentive when it wasn’t even his parade.
After watching intently for a while, Miguel spoke to Alfie and Emilia. “There are more than seventy samba schools that each represent a different neighborhood in Rio.”
“That’s a lot of neighborhoods!” Emilia said.
“Rio is a big city!” said Miguel. “So each samba school has its own flag colors and they choose a theme song, costumes, and floats for their Carnival parade.”
“And your mom is the head of this samba school?” Emilia asked.
“That’s right.” Miguel smiled proudly. “She has been the Carnival designer for Borboleta for seven years.”
“Cool,” Emilia said. “What does borboleta mean?”
“It means butterfly in Portuguese,” Miguel explained. “Borboleta has been in the Special Group of elite samba schools for many years. It’s a huge honor.”
Emilia nodded and smiled. Alfie could tell she really enjoyed learning about Carnival.
Miguel stood up. “Well, let’s head back home. My mom will be here for a while longer, but we don’t need to wait for her. She practically lives at the rehearsal hall during Carnival season.”
Miguel waved to his mother across the room. She blew kisses in his direction and waved at Alfie and Emilia before advising another large group of performers.
Alfie, Emilia, and Miguel took the bus back to Botafogo. The air was still surprisingly warm—it felt like most summer days back home and it was already nine o’clock at night. And Alfie expected the streets to be quieter now, but there were still plenty of people bustling around. “The streets are so busy,” he remarked.
Miguel nodded. “Cariocas eat dinner pretty late. It’s normal to sit down to eat at nine or ten o’clock.”
“I can’t imagine eating that late at home!” Emilia said.
“Yeah!” Alfie smiled. “I don’t think my stomach would let me wait that long to eat dinner!”
“I’m guessing my dad made just a light dinner tonight,” Miguel said. “After the feijoada this afternoon.”
“I think I’m still full!” Emilia said, and they laughed.
When they arrived back at Miguel’s apartment, Señor Costa was just putting out a salad, some fruit, and freshly baked bread. “Nothing fancy,” he said. “Although I did make brigadeiros for dessert.”
“This is definitely your lucky day,” Miguel told Alfie and Emilia. “To have feijoada and brigadeiros on the same day!”
“What are those?” Emilia asked.
“They’re a special chocolate dessert made from cocoa powder, butter, and condensed milk,” Señor Costa answered. “The dessert was created in the 1940s and it was said that the first person to try it was a brigadier general in the army, so that’s how it got its name.”
“Now we usually eat brigadeiros at birthday parties and other special occasions,” said Miguel.
“Or when we have special guests,” Señor Costa added. “Go ahead, try one. I’m always a believer in eating dessert first.”
Alfie grinned. He liked that idea. He wondered if he could convince his mom to let him start having dessert first! Alfie and Emilia each picked up one of the chocolate balls. They were heavy and looked like truffles rolled in chocolate sprinkles. Alfie bit into his brigadeiro, breaking the crust of sprinkles and sinking his teeth into a gooey center. The inside was the consistency of a soft caramel, but it was all chocolaty goodness.
“Yum!” Emilia said, taking the word right out of Alfie’s mouth. “It’s sweet, but not too sweet. And I like the crunchy sprinkles.”
Señor Costa nodded. “Traditional brigadeiros are always made with chocolate. But now people make them with all kinds of different flavors: pistachio, caramel, cherry, coconut—almost anything you could imagine!”
“I think I’d like to try every flavor!” said Alfie.
“I guess I better get busy then!” Señor Costa laughed.
Alfie ate the rest of his brigadeiro. It was only their first day in Rio, and they’d already had such amazing food. He couldn’t wait to see what they’d try tomorrow. He just hoped there would be more exploring and less practicing on the menu.
The next morning, Alfie and Emilia woke up early. Alfie could smell fresh bread baking again, and his stomach growled, despite all the food he’d eaten the day before.
Out in the kitchen, Miguel sat at the table sipping coffee and eating a bun. “Good morning!” he said.
“Morning!” Alfie said.
“My father made some pão de queijo. He had to head to the restaurant early, but he wanted to make sure we had something to eat for breakfast.”
“That’s very nice,” Emilia said. “They smell just like the ones we made with Zia!”
Alfie thought it felt like ages ago that they’d been helping Zia make cheese buns in their kitchen at home.
“Practice doesn’t start until later this afternoon, so I thought we’d explore Rio a bit first,” Miguel said. “Sound good?”
“Yefth!” Alfie cheered with his mouth full of cheese bun. This was what he’d been waiting for.
“Great.” Miguel laughed. “First thing we need to do is get you two some sunscreen. You’ll be redder than this tablecloth soon if we don’t! Then I thought we’d go up to the top of Corcovado to see the Christ the Redeemer statue up close. And the view from there can’t be beat.”
“That sounds perfect,” Emilia said. “Can we stop and get some new clothes on the way? That way we don’t have to waste time going to our hotel.”
“Excellent idea,” said Miguel. “And you’ll definitely need bathing suits if we’re going to swim at the beach in Copacabana today.”
Alfie grinned from ear to ear. “Let’s go!” he said as he popped the rest of the cheese bun in his mouth. Emilia gave him a look like he was being rude, but he was too excited to care.
Outside, the day was already heating up. Alfie could feel the intense sun bouncing off the concrete sidewalks and the buildings as they walked. Miguel led the way to a bank to change their money and then to a small department store a few streets away. Alfie and Emilia bought sunscreen, beach hats, and bathing suits. Then Alfie picked out a T-shirt and Emilia chose a colorful cotton sundress. They also bought a cheap tote bag to put their stuff in. Once they paid for their
things and slathered themselves with sunscreen, they were ready for their day of exploration.
“We’ll go up to Corcovado first,” Miguel told them. “It’s less crowded with tourists in the morning, plus there’s a better chance it will be clear at the top. It gets hazy in the afternoon, or sometimes it’s even covered by the clouds—that’s how high it is at the summit.”
Alfie peered up at the towering mountain as they walked toward it. It was definitely high!
“How do we get to the top?” Emilia asked.
“You can actually hike to the top if you want to,” Miguel said.
Emilia’s face fell. “Are we doing that?”
“No!” Miguel laughed. “It’s a pretty serious climb, and we don’t have time for that today. There’s a tram that takes you up the side of the mountain, if you don’t hike. That’s what we’re taking.”
“Good,” Emilia said. Alfie could see her shoulders relax again.
They took the subway from Botafogo to the Cosme Velho station. Alfie was grateful for the air-conditioned subway ride. At the Cosme Velho station Miguel bought their tickets for the red electric train that ran up the side of Corcovado. Alfie strained to look up the mountain as they boarded. It was a steep climb, and he was excited!
As the train started climbing the rocky mountainside, Miguel told Alfie and Emilia a little bit more about the area and the statue.
“Corcovado is in Tijuca National Park,” he said as he gestured to the dense green forest around them. “This is a rain forest, and it’s the largest urban forest in the world.”
“Whoa,” Alfie said, taking in all the colors. The trees and plants were the brightest green he had ever seen. Red, yellow, and other brightly colored birds flew among some of the branches, and he could also hear animal noises that he couldn’t identify. The rain forest was cool!
“Are there animals in this rain forest?” Emilia asked. She must be hearing the strange noises, too, Alfie thought.
“Sure,” Miguel said. “There are tons of tropical birds, ocelots, and howler monkeys.”
“Monkeys?” Alfie asked. Now he was really excited. “Will we see any?”
“We should be able to see some in the trees,” Miguel answered. “They’re pretty small, but keep your eyes peeled.”
“Look at all the butterflies!” Emilia exclaimed. Alfie could see tiny blue and yellow wings fluttering among the thick green plants.
The train continued its steep, steady climb, and the city started to spread out in front of them. Then some movement in a nearby tree caught Alfie’s eye and he saw a flash of brown fur swinging between branches. “I think I saw a monkey!”
“Where?” Emilia pushed up against Alfie’s side and he pointed to the trees where the monkey had been. It was long gone by now. It was so hard to believe they were still in the middle of a huge, busy city with all this wildlife around!
At the top of the mountain there was a chapel and a small souvenir shop. They took an escalator to reach the base of the statue, which towered high above them. Alfie drew in a long breath and held it. The view was like nothing he’d ever seen!
Buildings spread out in every direction, but there was also so much rich greenery, dazzling blue water, and mountain scenery everywhere. And Miguel was right: There were even a few puffy clouds below where they stood!
They walked below the base of the statue to the guardrail and looked out over the city.
Emilia looked up at the statue. “It’s so tall!”
“It actually gets struck by lightning a lot,” Miguel told her.
“Really?”
“Yeah. In fact, a strike not too long ago broke off one of the fingers on the right hand. They had to repair it.”
“That’s crazy!” Emilia said, still peering up at the huge stone figure.
“What’s that round mountain out in the bay?” Alfie asked, pointing across the beach.
“That’s called Sugarloaf,” Miguel said. “You can also go to the top of that mountain to get a different view over the water.”
“Cool,” Alfie said. “But I think this view is probably better. It’s so much higher!”
Miguel laughed. “Cariocas like to argue about which view they think is better.”
Alfie, Emilia, and Miguel wandered around the base of the statue for a while and looked at the view in every direction. It was pretty spectacular. Soon, it started to get more crowded, and the air had grown much more hot and humid.
“Let’s head down before there’s a wait for the train,” Miguel said. “I think it’s about time to cool off at the beach, anyway.”
Alfie nodded as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
By the time they finally made it down to Copacabana, Alfie was more than ready for his first swim in Rio. And he was pretty hungry, too. Luckily, the gray-and-white swirling stone sidewalks were covered with cafés, kiosks, and vendors.
“The food carts remind me a little bit of Hong Kong,” Emilia said to Alfie. Alfie nodded, remembering all the great street food they’d sampled there. He couldn’t wait to try Brazilian street food, too!
“Let’s go for a swim,” Miguel said. “Then we can grab some snacks and hang out for a bit.”
“Sweet!” Alfie said. They quickly found a public restroom and changed into their bathing suits. They dropped their stuff in the sand and dashed straight into the sparkling blue water, ready for some relief from the heat. Alfie’s feet sank into the warm white sand and he let the water wash over them. It was a little colder than he expected, but it still felt amazing. Soon, he was up to his waist, and Emilia wasn’t far behind.
They swam in and out of waves, splashing and laughing. The sun shone strong on the water. Alfie could definitely get used to this, he thought. He wasn’t missing snowy February back home at all.
Alfie floated on his back for a while and then remembered how hungry he was. He looked around for Emilia and Miguel. Emilia was heading out of the water and back onto the beach. Miguel bodysurfed a wave toward Alfie. “Hungry?” he asked as he swam close.
“Definitely!” Alfie said.
They stumbled out of the water and back onto the warm sand. Miguel ran over to a kiosk and rented a giant beach blanket and a red-and-white-striped umbrella. Emilia spread out the blanket while Miguel opened the umbrella above them to provide some shade.
“I’ll go grab us some snacks so you guys can try a bunch of different things,” Miguel said. He dashed across the beach.
“Alfie, look!” Emilia pointed to a group of kids who were playing soccer in the sand just down the beach.
Alfie watched closely. The players were really good. He thought about how fun it would be to play soccer on the beach! Back at home they had to play indoors until late spring.
Before long, Miguel returned with paper plates loaded with food. He set the plates on the blanket and pointed out each delicious-looking treat to Alfie and Emilia. “We have grilled shrimp, deep-fried salted cod balls, and pastéis, which are kind of like empanadas.”
“I don’t think I’ve had an empanada before,” Emilia said.
“It’s like a pastry, but it’s filled with savory ingredients instead of sweet,” Miguel explained. “Pastéis are similar to empanadas, but the dough is fried so they are crispier on the outside. These pastéis have cheese and chicken inside.”
“Yum!” Alfie chimed in.
“Then I also got slices of mango and papaya and some fresh coconut water straight from the coconut.” Miguel held out a large green coconut with the top hacked off and several skinny red straws sticking out. “I thought we might need something to balance out the pastéis and cod balls.”
“It all looks delicious. Thanks, Miguel,” Emilia said.
“Yeah, thanks,” Alfie added, taking a bite of a salted cod ball. The whitefish inside was chewy and seasoned with a hint of salt.
&nbs
p; “My dad makes really good salted cod,” Miguel said. “You have to soak it overnight to get just the right texture and flavor.”
“Your dad’s already such a great cook,” Emilia said. “It doesn’t seem like he’s still training at all.”
“Well, he’s definitely had a ton of practice,” Miguel said between bites of grilled shrimp.
“Alfie,” Emilia started, “remember those fried fish sandwiches we had in Naples by the sea?”
“Oh yeah,” Alfie said. “I wonder what kind of fish that was.”
“Wow, it sounds like you have traveled quite a bit,” Miguel commented. “Hong Kong, Naples, New Orleans.”
“We’ve also been to Paris,” Emilia added.
“I haven’t been out of South America yet,” Miguel said. “You guys definitely have me beat!”
Alfie smiled. They really had been to a lot of amazing places already, all thanks to Zia. And they’d tried so much fantastic food everywhere they went. Alfie felt lucky. He picked up the pastéis to sample yet another new food. The thick, fried crust was crispy on the outside and doughy on the inside. The melted cheese oozed out when he took a bite. The flavor of the cheese mixed perfectly with the slightly spicy shredded chicken.
Emilia took a drink of coconut water. “I’ve never had this before. It’s so light and refreshing. I love it with the pastéis.”
Alfie popped a grilled shrimp in his mouth and leaned back on his hands. He took in the scene of people frolicking in the water and laughing, playing, and eating on the beach. He could definitely see why Zia loved it here so much. He wasn’t sure he ever wanted to leave!
An afternoon rainstorm cut their beach time a little short, so Alfie, Emilia, and Miguel packed up their things and headed to the rehearsal hall early for the day’s practice. Even though they weren’t due to start for an hour, there were already lots of kids and adults there working on final preparations. Marta was busily sewing away in the corner, so Alfie and Emilia stopped by to check on their costumes.
“I’m almost finished!” Marta called over the whir of the sewing machine. “I will have yours ready to try on at tomorrow’s final rehearsal.”
Rio de Janeiro! Page 4