A Brazilian In... Montreal & Stockholm

Victor Carvalho Burnett

Vice: Let me guess… You’re from Rio?

Victor:

I’m from Brasília.

Oops. What’s it like in Brasília?

It’s a very nice city. Not many buildings. Everything is far apart. There’s a lot of nature, but not much to do at night.

When did you leave?

I got here a month and a half ago.

Oh, you just got here! Why did you leave Brazil?

It’s too hot for me. I like colder places, better job conditions, better living conditions.

Why Montreal?

I just got interested in Montreal by reading about it on the internet. I knew people who lived here and they all said good things about the city, so I decided to come.

What did you think of your first winter here?

Oh, I loved it! I like the snow! It was very beautiful.

Just you wait. Are the girls here as pretty as the girls at home?

Oh yeah. I think maybe I’m used to the girls in Brazil. It’s a different beauty, but they’re all beautiful.

Was it difficult to get a work visa?

No. I came as an immigrant, but right now I’m a permanent resident. Basically I had no problems getting in.

Do Canadians out-polite Brazilians?

Brazilian people are not that polite, especially where I come from. People are really cold. And in São Paulo, it’s such a busy life that you don’t actually have time to be polite. But here everyone’s polite. Maybe I’ve just been to the right places.

We’re really just passive-aggressive. So have you found a job yet?

Everyone was telling me it would take me like six months to get a job. But I applied, and two days later I had one.

That’s great. What do you do?

I’m a web designer.

Do you speak any French?

Yes, but not the Québécois French. I’m kind of having a hard time adjusting because the language is completely different from what I learned.

Tabernac! You’ll get the hang of it. Have you been going out a lot since you got here?

Yes, compared to Brasília, this is like heaven on earth. You have so many pubs and bars. In Brasília, we only had ten or 15 in the whole city.

What do you miss about Brazil?

My parents and my friends. That’s it.

That’s it? Nothing about the city you grew up in?

No.

Not even the food?

Oh yeah, the food. Oh my God. I love the food in Brazil.

INTERVIEW BY SARAH STEINBERG

PHOTO BY RICHARD LAM

Ricardo Cerqueira

Vice: What a cute baby!

Ricardo:

This is my daughter, Dharma Isabelle. She’s four months old. “Dharma” is Buddhist and means “absolute truth.” Her mom is a yoga teacher.

With a name like that, I’m not surprised. So you flew to Stockholm for love?

Well, I met a Swedish girl, Isabella. Her family owns a hotel in my hometown, Salvador. You know, the city in Bahia famous for having the biggest and best Carnaval? Anyway, she eventually had to go back to Sweden and wanted me to come visit her, so I did. Stockholm was beautiful and I met some nice Brazilian guys here too. I decided to stay.

Aw, that’s so romantic! Is she the mother of your baby?

No. We broke up a couple of days after my ticket back to Brazil had expired. So I stayed on my own and got a job driving pedicabs. Then I met my current girlfriend, the mother of my daughter, so it all turned out for the best.

What did you do back in Brazil?

I was a graphic designer, but as I don’t speak Swedish, no agency would hire me here. I’ve studied Swedish ever since, but after two years I still suck at it.

Do you have a visa?

Yes, a permanent one! It wasn’t hard to get since I have a daughter here.

Did you know a lot about Sweden before you arrived?

I knew about your Queen Silvia: She’s half-Brazilian! But that’s all.

Sweden has imported lots of Brazilian soccer players. Have you bumped into any of them?

Ha! Yes, some of my friends play soccer. There’s like a small Brazilian society here. As we’re less than a hundred people, we often meet up and have dinner or go out and dance. There’s even a club in Stockholm called Bar Brazil.

Do you think you’ll ever move back?

Definitely. I miss my family, my friends, and my neighborhood. I’ve had four family members pass away while I’ve been here, and I don’t want it to happen again. Next time, it could be my mom or dad, so I want to be close to them. But I’ll wait until my daughter gets older.

What’s the first thing you’ll do when you go back?

Go to the beach! And drink a very cold beer.

Do you find Stockholm tame and safe compared to Brazil?

Amazing things have happened to me here that would never happen in Brazil. For example, we’re sitting in a café with glass windows that nobody’s broken yet! I lost my cell phone here once and the person who found it called my friend, so I got it back. And last Monday on the subway, some money fell out of my back pocket and a guy came up to me, tapped my shoulder, and said, “Excuse me, sir, you just lost this.” I was like, “OK. Thanks.”

INTERVIEW AND PHOTO BY MILÈNE LARSSON