How to Be a Carioca

Lesson 2 Getting Started in Carioca

Being the seasoned traveler you are, you know there is more to a city than its sites. Namely, there are the people. And being the adventurous traveler you are, whether on vacation or business, you’ll want to avoid making a spectacle out of yourself by acting like a tourist; you’ll want to act like one of the locals. Therefore, when in Rio you’ll want to be a Carioca!

Now there are Cariocas, and then there are Cariocas, but a true Carioca is a person who:

• lives in the city of Rio de Janeiro, preferably on or near the beach (or else aspires to),

• professes to being between 15 and 39 years old, and

• makes it a habit of going to the beach before, after, or instead of work.

Note: All sexes, social classes, and ethnic groups are welcome.

Of course, you may be wondering if being a Carioca is for you. If so, find out by considering your willingness to do the following:

• Substitute your pale, tense, competitive expression for a tanned look of confident serenity and complacency;

• Trade in your plaid shirts, polyester shorts, and tasseled loafers for a Pizzaria Guanabara T-shirt, surfer shorts, and a pair of rubber sandals, preferably blue;

• Exchange your gold, initialed money clip for a rubber band;

• Drop your third-generation, six-figure corporate name. (Dudu [Doo ’doo] and Bete [’Beh tche] are more appropriate names than Edward and Elizabeth for someone who haggles with the local beer vendor on the beach.)

If you eagerly answered «yes» to the above and are ready to open your heart to the city of Rio, you are already on the road to becoming a true Carioca.