Stars and Beach-Deep Roots

My mother is Brazilian. Most of her family lives in Natal, a city on the northeastern coast of Brazil.

"You Were Here" by Andrea Bonifacio

The English word “natal,” pronounced nayt-l, means, among other things:

1. of or pertaining to a person’s birth
2. residing over or affecting a person at birth
3. (of places) native: nostalgia for one’s natal town

Natal, pronounced na-tahl in Portuguese, means “Christmas”. Most Americans have never heard of Natal—when you mention Brazil to them, the first thing they think of is Rio. But when you ask Brazilians about Natal, they all sigh and tell you how beautiful it is, or what they have heard of its beauty. Clique aqui para leer informações de Natal.

Here are a few items of note about this city:

• It is reputed to have the best air quality in all of Brazil.
• Due to its geographical position (the “Corner of the Continent”), the city served as a US airbase in World War II.
• It has a lot of beautiful beaches and dunes.
• It is home to the maior cajueiro do mundo (the biggest cashew tree in the world).
• Being so close to the Equator, it’s sunny and warm around 300 days of the year.

That is Natal. From the other cultural and climatological side of the world came my father.

Dad is Swiss-American, born in rural Washington State. He came to Natal in 1967, traveling there with  two other Wise Men, sent by the American military. They came to map out a piece of a global communication net whose connecting points were monitored by satellites and measured by the positions of stars in the sky.

“…And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem.”

“American Wise Men” by Andrea Bonifacio

One day in Natal, Dad found himself in a store, exhausting his limited Portuguese as he tried to make a purchase from a sales-savvy store clerk. As he stumbled through sentences and painful pronunciations, he was suddenly saved by uma senhora gracioso with a little conhecimento do inglês and a kindness-of-strangers heart. She spoke to the clerk on Dad’s behalf, and with that simple gesture, the transaction was completed and my parents’ story began.

Looking for uma mapa, Dad found uma mulher instead.

"At First Sight" by Andrea Bonifacio

Their weeks-long courtship was shepherded by a flock of siblings and a translator-cum-chaperone, and carefully couched in conservative, Catholic tones. Finally, my father proposed in writing (he doesn’t remember what), she responded in agreement (she doesn’t remember how), the shepherds gave their blessing, and on December 23^rd, they were wed.

And the rest é história.

"Gótico Americano" by Andrea Bonifacio

Inasmuch as they’ve been together for so many years now, it’s an effort for me to reimagine and understand what that natal moment—and the first few months of their relationship—were like: Culture clashes, communication contusions, passionate celebrations, patience and forgiveness.

I’ve created a few metamorphical* sketches to illustrate what their courtship and early marriage might’ve been like. Click here to see them:

Culture Clash
Culture Crush
Together-Asunder

Até logo,
Andrea

* that’s my name for it: a series of images to be viewed one after the other, illustrating a metamorphosis

All text and images Copyright 2009 Andrea Bonifacio