This was originally published on my old blog BackpackBook (Livro de Mochila), a project that blended literature and travel, sometimes just traveling in my lucid dreams. It ran as “Brasília à Amazônia” on March 9, 2010.
It all started once I decided I was an Americanoid or Europeanist Brazilian, the kind who only notices the value of his own country after running it down in front of foreigners.
I was ashamed of not knowing my own country, of ignoring it (with a great deal of ignorance) and generalizing about it without having any real sense of its size. I made plans to do something about that, starting with the Amazon that belongs to the foreigners. I went there in December 2008 to see whether it was still ours and what was left of it.
I don’t know what I’m destroying
By “luck”, I got a short stop in Brasília. It was useful for noting down that I must come back and throw a shoe at the president. I’d always had a minimalist curiosity about seeing this place, and I’ll admit I was surprised, though I don’t know exactly by what. Then again, who am I to have a formed opinion after three hours walking around a city.
The other stroke of luck, a real one, was my travel companion. Cassio (Cazzo) Lacerda made this trip more special, and it was a friend of his who took us on a tour of the capital. I’ll confess I was a little disappointed by Oscar Niemeyer. I think he likes concrete too much.
