An Open Letter To Brazilians About Brazil.

It Was Originally written in Portuguese.

I have been living in the United States for nine years, and I arrived here when I was 38. I had to leave Brazil to understand the country I came from. Of course, Brazil has many problems, but the truth is that most Brazilians cannot recognize how important Brazil and the Brazilian people are to the world.

It’s not about competing with other countries. When it comes to Brazil, it’s not about being or having more than others. It’s about being unique. There is nothing like Brazil in the world. The Brazilian is the guy who “takes water from rocks” and solves problems without resources or a guide. It’s not because the country is poor or doesn’t have resources. It’s because of inequality. And we do great things with little money. We are creative and know how to express ourselves like only a few other nations worldwide are capable. More than that, we are a welcoming people like no other. Of course, not all of us are open and welcoming, and we’re not like that all the time, but if you look around the world, you’ll realize that we are very good at welcoming.

And you might ask me: what is Brazil’s problem then? I would say that most of the problems come from one fact: we look a lot at the neighbor’s grass more than our own and end up getting lost in the lack of focus and self-esteem. We have to look at the problems and solve them, but we also have to look at the good things and make them even better. Brazilians must understand that they have a unique power that comes simply from our way of being and culture. We are indigenous, black, white, and Asian. It’s a beautiful people who need to accept themselves, change their destiny, and transform the world, in a good way, by example.