As published in CLAUDIA

In the early 1990s, while still a journalism intern at TV Globo, I was tasked with participating in the production of a cultural article: the launch of a guide that taught foreigners and Brazilians “how to be a Carioca”. The manual, full of tips and common situations for those who live in Rio de Janeiro, is fun and accurate. The author, Priscila Ann Goslin, had lived in the Marvelous City for years and always had to ‘translate’ the style of the locals to her friends who came to visit. After 31 years, the book was adapted for TV and digital platforms, debuting this week on StarPlus with six episodes and written by Carlos Saldanha, known worldwide for Disney animations such as Rio, Rio 2, and Ferdinando, among other notable works. “I’ve lived abroad since 1991, but I always carry Rio de Janeiro in my way of being”, admits Carlos in an exclusive chat with CLAUDIA.

Just like Carlos, Diogo Dal and Joana Mariani directed Como Ser Carioca, which premiered on the 19th and has a diverse cast, led by Seu Jorge, alongside Brazilian actors such as Douglas Silva and Debora Nascimento, and foreigners too, who help us rediscover the charm that made Carioca a reference for so many years, almost like the “official Brazilian”. Gone are those days and Rio has changed a lot in the last three decades, so much so that the innocence and friendliness of hugging strangers, helping them and always smiling seems strange. But it still exists and it’s great to rescue it. “I remember reading [Priscila’s] book when it was released, but it was only at the beginning of 2008/2009 that I started to think about it in a different way”, explained Diogo, who realized that in the situations mentioned by the author, there was narrative potential. “But it was a guide, I had this desire [to turn it into a story] until I met Joana, who had the same faith in the project,” he said.

The original plan was for a film, but talking to Carlos Saldanha, she realized that it would be more interesting to tell it in episodes, that is a series. “The creative construction was very pleasant, easy and I gained a friend, a brother even”, celebrated Joana. “We realized that if it were a film, there would be a very limited time for so many stories”, adds the director. “A light came on: let’s take a country for each episode, a theme for each episode, but have a carioca to glue all these stories together”, he explained.

And what a carioca! Seu Jorge is the lead, but he is a disguised protagonist. For example, in the first episode, it is Douglas Silva who represents Rio, as a security guard on the Corcovado who deals with the drama of an Argentine woman passing through the city. “As much as we are plural, we have a unique way of living life”, Douglas jokes with Debora Nascimento, who has lived in Rio for 12 years, loved representing a carioca, and who joked about the different Cariocas she met. The actor recalled filming, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, which made the work very difficult, but the magical moment of arriving at Redentor before sunrise, waiting for the light, and quickly recording some of the most striking scenes of the series, with no one but of the cast at the tourist attraction that is one of the seven wonders of the modern world. “It was surreal,” he said, “I still get goosebumps and it was special for me because my daughter makes a cameo too.”

Debora, who had to learn how to play altinha and futivolei, enjoyed the challenge of playing a journalist who is also a girl from Ipanema. “I got some bruises on my legs, but it was fun,” she revealed. “Soraia [her character] has empathy, she has these layers and the way of being from Rio,” she added.

The series may have a greater appeal to foreigners, but it clicks right away. The opening episode places us with two Argentine sisters grappling with the religious syncretism so adopted by everyone, we have another story that connects us with Syrian refugees and so on. There is the best and the worst of Brazil, as the classic written by Fausto Fawcett defines in Rio 40 Graus, which is the opening theme (in bossa nova rhythm and in the voice of Seu Jorge). In fact, as expected, the soundtrack for Como Ser Carioca, written by Maria Gadú, not only packs the stories, but with each new version, it makes us move and sing as well. As Douglas jokes, the series takes a good look at “what it’s like to be Carioca”. “More than that if you draw!”, he joked, laughing.

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