2012 Trip to Rio de Janeiro

I made this set of drawings one month ago. They're somewhat diverse from others, the reason being I wanted a more free and "inside" reproduction of what I was actually seeing. I'm happy with the results and I'm looking forward to further explorations of myself and the places and people I see and interact.

I was taking a walk by the Copacabana beachside and there were these guys making a "batucada". Samba, suor e cerveja (samba, sweat and beer)

Me and my friend Flavio taking an espresso inside a mall in Leblon.

Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. That's a socó bird. The Tamoio indians who lived there called the lagoon "sacopenapan" (the way of the sacós).

My family's house in Ipanema. We moved in 1958, my mother still lives there. It's a quite fine example of modernist architecture from the '50s, designed by the architect and painter Carlos Leão.

Rio's fantastic mountains frame Ipanema and Leblon beaches. Seen from Pedra do Arpoador, a surf point.

Lagoa's fauna: that's a "frango-d'água" (water-chicken) with it's red face.

The Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas is full of white herons. These beautiful birds don't fear humans that much and sometimes you can walk by very close to them.

Fishermen throwing their webs by hand at the Jardim de Allah (Allah's Garden) canal that connects lagoa to the sea and divides Ipanema from Leblon neighborhoods.

Sunset at Lagoa. The everlasting Corcovado thrones out in the dark.

First day of my recent trip to Rio. View from Shopping Leblon's rooftop. It was late in the afternoon and a blue magical light surrounded us.