Gildete

When Gildete told me that she is from Santa Catarina, Brazil, I had a flashback to my childhood in Buenos Aires. Our neighborhood carnavales were very modest in comparison to the sophisticated productions in Rio de Janeiro. But they were, nevertheless, the last and most anticipated celebration before the end of the summer. The best part of carnavales as a kid was filling up water balloons and aiming them at unsuspecting passersby. Since practically all the kids in the neighborhood were doing the same thing it is hard to believe that people were caught off guard. But you could still witness the pure delight of those teenage boys at the sight of a soaked mamasita who was conveniently wearing a white t-shirt. Ok, we all enjoyed that sight but for girls it was a different type of appreciation. At night, neighbors would gather on the streets, dance to the music while watching the parade and admiring the men, women and transvestites dressed in provocative customs. Then we would go home and watch more Brazilian carnival on TV. We simply couldn't get enough of the festivities.
Flash forward to the present and Gildete tells me that it's not all about carnivals in Santa Catarina. Blumenau, which is in Santa Catarina is home to one of the biggest Octoberfest celebrations in Brazil. Gildete is of German and Italian decent. And even though she spoke to me in Portuguese and I responded in Spanish, I could understand that she spoke proudly of her mixed European ancestry and the fact that she was on a family vacation. Gildete, her mom and 10 additional members of her family had made the 9-hour long voyage from Santa Catarina. Most of those family members were having lunch at McD's too.