Madrid coincidences.

by Denise Nascimento (Brazil)

I didn't expect to find Brazil

I never imagined that movie stories could happen to me. But, they happened. Madrid, October 22, 2016. My first international trip. Everything was still unknown. The images that were previously only seen on television and on the internet have become real. It was a dream being lived in splendid seconds and minutes. The streets with candy vendors, each entrance with its specific jamón, the accent meetings contributed to everything that became magical. When passing through, I remembered that all the effort and savings had been worth it. When we entered our accommodation, I made the decision to sleep on the couch. What had been a bad choice for my spine, became the best option for my eyes. Madrid was beautiful. On the second day, 23, after the curves of Picasso, the malevolent colors of Dalí and the contemporary works that Reina Sofia housed, we decided to start a gastronomic tour of the Lavapiés neighborhood. How welcoming he was. International flavors, laughter with a Brazilian accent and stories that only Madrid could provide. My most striking happened on the subway. We were going down Lavapiés station and my ticket got stuck. Those awkward situations that only happen when you're on the other side of the world. But, while trying to understand what happened, I see a friendly smile and a sequence of words in Spanish that I didn't understand at all. He was a tall, calm man helping me to pass the turnstile. I thanked him in Spanish, but the brief dialogue continued in English. As we walked down the stairs to the station, we asked each other's nationalities. He was Senegalese. Tall, smiling and led my family and me to the right train. He entered. I do not. Soon, my family members regretted that the only person I had met was leaving on the train. But the trip did not end after that and we continue to visit the only Madrid. Wide streets that sold the best churros, an autumn chill that packed the sidewalks and cooled the peculiar bocadillos. On our last day in Madrid, we took our final tour of the markets. And we went back to Lavapiés. This time, it was our way to one of the main squares. Since we started walking through the neighborhood, I realized a group of men at the end of the street. They were laughing in a similar way to the Brazilian and one was brushing his teeth in the middle of the street. Their skins reminded me of my country, their circle of friends reminded me of my street. We passed them until I heard a scream. “Brazil, Brazil!” echoed the voice. It was the Senegalese on the subway, remembering me and shouting the name of my country. I replied with a distant "Hi!" and I left. Felt, however. I returned to Brazil with a coincidence of a film that was not completed and a story that I tell today. Maybe, I decided not to come back after "Hi!" to have a reason to return to Madrid. Or, fear and shame have not let me exchange more than these words. This was my local connection that I never expected to find with the city that wakes up after 9 am and serves sugary Berlin balls in the morning. I hope to see you again and also find a part of Senegal that I left there. That's my unfinished film story.