RIO GRANDE DO SUL: WHERE THERE IS HUMAN WARMTH!
Ana dos Santos
    Temperature can be very low in the most southern region of this tropical country. There, such a paradox, we  can savor the human warmth of the "gaúcho", brazilian people who suffer chilly, sometimes freezing nights, with white snow adorning the darkness of the night. In such nocturnal passages, like companions, we enjoy the warmth of the fire, the bitterness of our "chimarrão" (herbal tea) and the redness of the wine.
   Gaúchos have the privilege of enjoying - in their landscapes - the endless green in the "pampa's plain" and the palette of colours of sunset on river (or lake) "Guaíba" water around Porto Alegre. Many couples wait for sunset along the river banks as they make love and sip a chimarrão and waiting for the stars that will bring the night.
   While the sun goes down we can visualize a spectre of lights that will certainly alter our emotions. Besides, melancholy nights bring on a desire for amusement, recreation and pleasantries. At a port that carries "happiness" in its name (Porto Alegre = The Happy Harbour), you will never be short of options for the traditional "bohemia". "Cidade Baixa" ( The Low Town) is one of such places. The region maintains the charm of the 1930's and we can promenade along its trees all way where we walk under the light of holophotes that lighten old colonial houses. Intellectuals, artists and poets make this democratic space an ideal scenario for dancing, and feel enamored under the full moon light.
   There is an old gaúcho song that goes: "It is my Rio Grande do Sul, sky, sun, south, earth and colour/where whatever you may plant will grow and where the prettiest flower is love!". Sometimes we will surely encounter here is human warmth!
(Brazil by Night - 2008) á venda em http://livrariacultura.com.br