Selfies from the Brink

By Markus_Hediger

Romildo and the "namoradeira"

Romildo is the owner of a bar called "Qualquer Lugar", meaning Anywhere. It's a very simple bar, nothing fancy (Brazilians call this type of bar "pé sujo", dirty feet, in reference to it's costumers: workers with low wages who do the "dirty jobs"). Romildo is trying very hard to keep his prices as low as possible (we had generous portions of excellent steak and grilled chicken for less than 10 dollars, including an ice-cold beer for the adults and a lemon juice for Isabella). But he says it's not being easy. For a brief moment his ever present smile disappears from his face as he tells me how inflation is ruining his business. Then his smile comes back on and lights up the bar. "Would you like a caipirinha? It's on the house."
All the while the black lady behind him keeps staring dreamily into the distance, wondering where his loved one might be. These statues are a very common sight in our part of Brazil. They're called "namoradeiras" (flirters), are normally life-sized and are put on the windowsills facing the street. The "namoradeiras" are reminiscent of colonial times when there were no TV's and no smartphones and when people would spend the late afternoon at the window, chatting with the neighbors and keeping an eye on their children playing in the streets. The young, unmarried ladies would put their make-up on and flirt with the lads passing by. 
Some of the "namoradeiras" have their eyes not on the street, but on a distant memory of the man they fell in love with.
Romildo never married, and I wonder if the lady behind him reminds him of an opportunity he missed when he was young.

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