2 Paracambi. A town in the state of Rio de Janeiro and home to a number of psychiatric clinics. The town’s name is also of Tupi derivation, and means, roughly, ‘the green forest by the sea’.
3 the elastic, bovine drool that writer talks about. ‘That writer’ is the Brazilian journalist, playwright and author Nelson Rodrigues (1912–1980).
4 Casas da Banha. A Brazilian supermarket chain in the 1980s and 1990s; the name means, literally, Houses of Lard. The chain was based in Rio, where many people still remember it. It was one of the first to have hypermarkets in Brazil, including their flagship store Porcão (literally: the big pig).
5 Caju. A reference to São Francisco Xavier Cemetery, more commonly known in Rio as Caju Cemetery.
6 I’m leaving for Pasargadae. The English translation of ‘Vou-me embora pra Pasárgada’ — a well-known poem by Brazilian writer Manuel Bandeira (1886–1968). In it, the poet imagines escaping to the ancient Persian city of Pasargadae, which he reimagines as a utopian land: ‘Lá sou amigo do rei / Lá tenho a mulher que eu quero / Na cama que escolherei’ (There, I am the king’s friend / Have the woman I want / In the bed that I choose). Translation by ABM Cadaxa (Oasis 1973).
7 Iansan. (Iansã in Portuguese.) A spirit entity, or Orisha, of the Afro-Brazilian religious faith Candomblé. She is invoked with the phrase Epahei, Iansan!, which is not Portuguese, but comes from the Yoruba.
8 I watched Esper on TV. Ronaldo Esper is a well-known Brazilian fashion and bridal designer who has appeared regularly on TV programmes since the late 1990s, and is famous for his scathing verdicts on Brazilian celebrities’ fashion sense.
9 ‘Boemia’. A song by Teodoro and Sampaio, an extremely popular duo who sing sertanejo music — a genre of kitsch, romantic, acoustic guitar music that is rich in double entendres. The sertanejo is, literally, a person from the sertão, the outback in the North-east of Brazil.
10 National Kid and the Venusian Incas. National Kid (or Nacional Kid, as it was known in Brazil) was a Japanese TV series produced by Toei Company in 1960 and commissioned by Panasonic, then called National. The series never took off in Japan or the rest of the world, but was big in Brazil. Over the course of many series, our hero faced and defeated several enemies. The first of these were the Venusian Incas, who appeared in a flying saucer from outer space and threatened Japan with malevolent deeds.
11 Acugêlê banzai. A reference to the poem ‘Não sei dançar’ (I Can’t Dance) by Manuel Bandeira, in which he describes a cross-section of Brazilian society dancing to a jazz band at a Carnival party. One of the dancers is a Japanese man: ‘O japonês também dança maxixe / Acugêlê banzai!’ (The Japanese man dances maxixe too / Acugêlê banzai!). The poet has brought together ‘Acugêlê’, an African interjection not commonly used in Brazil, and ‘banzai’, a Japanese war cry. ‘Maxixe’ is a Brazilian dance that developed towards the end of the nineteenth century and was also known as the Brazilian tango.
12 One takes ether. The other, cocaine. A second allusion to Manuel Bandeira’s ‘Não sei dançar’. It starts: ‘Uns tomam éter, outros cocaína / Eu já tomei tristeza, hoje tomo alegria’ (Some take ether, others cocaine / I’ve already taken sadness, today I’m taking joy).
13 festa junina. National celebrations of popular saints that take place every June, coinciding with the winter solstice.
14 Roberto Carlos. Often called ‘The King’, Roberto Carlos is a famous Brazilian pop singer whose career has spanned over fifty years.
15 Trilce and Quaderna. Trilce, by the Peruvian poet César Vallejo (1892–1938), is a seminal work of modernist, avant-garde poetry. In one version of events, Vallejo decided to name the work Trilce after listening to his printer repeatedly mis-pronounce the Spanish word tres, meaning three. Quaderna, by one of the greatest Latin American poets, the Brazilian João Cabral de Melo Neto (1920–1999), is written entirely in four-line stanzas.
16 Umbanda. A Brazilian religion believed to have originated in Rio de Janeiro that blends elements of African religions, Catholicism, spiritism and various indigenous beliefs. It bears some similarities to other Afro-Brazilian religions such as Candomblé.
Translators’ acknowledgements
A special thank you to my husband and navigator, Bruno, for his advice, support and infectious enthusiasm.
Zoë Perry
Many thanks to Ana Amália Alves, whose invaluable knowledge and advice helped me negotiate the subtleties of Rodrigo de Souza Leão’s style and humour.
Stefan Tobler
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