Brazil just wasn’t the place to stay for 30-year-old, Paulo Costa, who has a passion for mountain biking and snowboarding. He, alongside many other volunteers, will be at this year’s Brazil Fest held on August 18 on Granville St.

Paulo Costa in Whistler. Photo courtesy of Paulo Costa

“I had a dream to live in the first world and a dream of snow boarding,” says Costa, an engineer who worked for Nokia in Brazil.
He came to Canada four years ago and, although he says he loves Canada for its scenery, friendly people and different cultures, he will always be Brazilian, which is why Costa is a committed volunteer to the 4th annual Brazil Fest.

One of the reasons he joined as a volunteer is to correct some of the stereotypes people might have about Brazil, he says. Costa admits that most Brazilians love to sing, dance, and that the beach is a big part of their culture, but there’s more to them than just the fun aspects of life.

“Everyone thinks that everyone is walking around topless and that there are nude beaches and that we play soccer and throw carnaval parties all the time,” says Costa.

Brazilians are hard working people, he says, and going to the beach or to the mountains is mostly done during holidays because not everyone in Brazil lives on the coast.

Beyond the stereotypes like food, dancing and Brazilian beach culture, Costa says his country of birth has a long history of multiculturalism that is rarely mentioned or even acknowledged, but that this is the Brazilian way.

Canada and Brazil are similar because of all the different ethnicities that co-habitate, according to Costa, but he laments the fact that people seem to keep to themselves in Vancouver in ethnic enclaves like Richmond and Surrey.

There are parts of Rio where the predominant population is Japanese, which Costa compares to places like Richmond, but he says people in Brazil mix together and that differing ethnicities is not a problem. Costa recalls having a girlfriend of Japanese heritage, but he didn’t see her as Japanese, just Brazilian. But when she came to Vancouver, people were confused when she identified herself as Brazilian.

“[People] only saw [her as] Japanese. In Brazil everyone is Brazilian. We don’t really separate people,” he says.

This is the kind of mentality that Costa wants to bring to Vancouver through his volunteerism. He says that, on top of the opportunity to educate people about his country and its culture, he likes that he can meet other Brazilians. But, Costa is also dismayed that a more prominent Brazilian community hasn’t been established and he knows it’s because of the transient nature of those who travel to Vancouver.

Costa is looking forward to meeting people of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds at this year’s Brazil Fest. He admits to not knowing very much about Canada before he got here and that most of his information came from watching movies or what he learned through the Internet. But others who have traveled to Canada said the people they met were what stood out, despite stereotypes of Canadians.

“I was told that even if it was cold here, that the people are friendly,” says Costa.