From My Notebooks In 1974: Rio de Janeiro
19th July 2026 |
Rio de Janeiro, July 3rd
Arrived the day Brazil was eliminated from the World Cup. Stepped into Baby’s flat, such priceless art, to struggle out of my clothing.
[Well, that needs some explaining. Before I left London a friend of mine, Roy Round the ballet photographer, gave me an introduction to a wealthy man in Rio known as “Baby” Bocayuva. He subsidized a ballet company run by his ballerina wife, Dalal Ashcar. I arrived after dark and unannounced at his apartment in Ipanema after a long ride. I gave Roy’s name and was instantly received with delight as I struggled out of my filthy clothes standing on a valuable carpet surrounded by world class art. That, in contrast to my reception in Fortaleza, was what defined my perception of Brazil.]
July 4th
Lunch with M.Luiza at Carreta. Introduced to Ballet Dalal Ashcar.
[To compensate me for being locked up in Fortaleza they adopted me. Baby gave me the use of a small apartment. Dalal deputed one of the teachers, Maria-Luiza, who everyone called Lulu, to take care of me. “Caretta” was a restaurant with sublime steaks.]
Maria-Luiza or Lulu – my guardian angel in Rio
July 5th
Morning to Baby. Visited quarry at Ibrati. Biggest in Brazil. [The source of his wealth.]
There follows a list of all the people I was involved with during the following month: Baby, Dalal, three sons, (daughter in Paris, daughter-in-law’s father is Faust at L’Express – an important left-wing newspaper in France). And a baby son by Dalal. Lulu, Holly, Gill, Antony, Christine, Miriam, Jandira, Manuel, Markus, Ben, Le Professeur, Alci, Marcia, Kubitschek (ex-President of Brazil), Barbara, Maria-Estelle, Maria de Gloria Chagos, Adolfo Bloch (big newspaper proprietor – Globo) Lucy Bloch, Geraldo, Ylen Kerr, Antonio Carlos, Esmeraldo & Tito Ryff (Apt 301) Elena and Renato, Lulu’s mother, grandmother, sister, brother-in-law, nephew and nieces, godmother, Déa (Buzios), Bob Alexander, Roger Austin, Axel Galles, Mike Sarne, David Zing.
Places
Ipanema, Leblon, Gavea, Botafogo, Copacabana, Flamengo, Corcovado, Boa Vista, Avda Brasil, R.Alfandega, Yacht club, museum, Barra de Tijuca, Lagoa, Batabui, Cabo Frio, Buzios, Petropolis, Vassouras, Araros.Events
Quarry, Bauhaus, “Pippin” (a show), Dinner and talk with Kubutschek, visit to Manchete, Lunch at Botafogo, Bank of London, Alfondega at Galleão, Ballet of Oscar Arrais, Churrasco at Bambui, Visit to Vassourras, Arraras and electric carver, morning on Ipanema beach, night with Christ., Buzios, mussels, Mrs Ferguson, Macumba at Petropolis
[Was invited to take a trip across the Bay. Achille Markov, the Swiss ballet master, resembles Danny Kay, with pointed white leather pumps.]
Achill Markov, the ballet master, with Holly, Lulu (and me of course) crossing the bay, followed by the best shrimp dinner of my life.
Rio de Janeiro, July 11th
Meant to finish piece for S.T. Woke at 8.30 (later each day). Went across to market and thought to buy a steak. The “filé mignon” was “acabo” – finished. I asked for something else. He was a surly man and might have been handing me shoe leather. It looked as if it was off the loin. An Englishwoman warned me that anything but filet was really for stewing. She’s nuts. It was delicious (relative to my expectations) and tender. Filet is 22 cruzeiros a kilo, and now I work it out, I find this meat cost the same. That’s 62 pence a pound. Eggs are 4.50 a dozen = 2p each (big, hard shells. Butter costs over £1 a kilo.
Cheese also costly. But 6 limes for 5p; big avocado for 9p; oranges for 1p – 3 cruzeiros a kilo; rice a bit more. Salario minimum is 320 cruzeiros a month = £5 a week.
[I tried hard on my journey to keep tabs on the cost of living for ordinary working people. For the moment I was in the lap of luxury, but it was all fantasy. It could and would vanish the instant I moved on.]
The view from “my” apartment window in Leblon.
Sat in front of window to eat. Beautiful day, fog has cleared, men working on high rooftops and sunning themselves. Looked at my work for half an hour and gave up. Laundry has lost my “Colorado beetle” vest. I hope they find it. He speaks some English.
“Are you American?” he asked. “No English.” He confirmed it. “You are English? Good. Americans are shit!” What does he know about either?
Marcia [Kubitschek’s daughter] has talked to her father about seeing me. He wants it to be next week. The ST has not called yet. It’s the one problem, and it costs a fortune to compensate for. What’s more, it encourages waste, I’m sure.
She (Marcia) has made me a temporary member of the Country Club, and a card is to be left for me at the [dance] studio. She thinks the prices there are quite cheap, and no doubt comparable food elsewhere would be twice the price, but I still shan’t be able to afford it, except as an extravagance. It crossed my mind that the facilities might turn out to be a gift, and I couldn’t decide what to do in that case. I shall have to dip a toe in the water and see how hot it is.
Went for a ride instead to Barra, Tijuca, looking for way up to Boa Vista. Saw the boys on their boards sitting out to sea waiting for a ride. It’s quite true they do seem to be worshipping some invisible deity on the horizon. One small boy has developed a way of spinning his board back over the crest to stop. Another came out towards me wearing black flippers. He placed them carefully on a rock to dry. Then, out of the sand he hooked his goggles and tube, then sandals and finally a vest, all buried from sight. A bit of wood with a skewer in it was also part of his outfit.
At last found the road up. In the folds of the hillside the vegetation is interspersed with bananas. There are also little four-petalled flowers in red & blue all over the side of the road. Passed a house of concrete actually shaped like the prow of a big launch.
First there’s a sign saying Alto Joã. Then an unsigned road and another marked Joã. When you’ve been to Joã (and halfway round Brazil) and come back to the same junction it seems reasonable to take the other road and suppose that Alto is a place and not a description of Joã. Took long winding road to Vista Chinesa. Looks down on the Lagõa and Copacabana, like an architect’s model, because the lagoon is like glass. The city is really squeezed between the mountains with many tall blocks. It is made to be seen from the air.
In the shrubbery in front of the mock Chinese pagoda saw a little hovering bird, busy among a bunch of blooms. Magic is just seeing something as though for the first time. Afterwards comes the business of explaining and exploiting.
From there down to the lagoon, petrol and a free cafesinho. Lulu, at studio, goes off to see psych. [She was in therapy] Holly talks to me. Then Lulu invites us both to Carreta – the churrascaria – in the same street. H is very stubborn and English behind her balletic flutter. Lulu all too compliant. I get a distinct feeling that between them I have been maneouvered. I don’t in the least mind it.