From Tangier to Rio

Appears in
My Rio de Janeiro: A Cookbook
My Rio de Janeiro

By Leticia Moreinos Schwartz

Published 2013

  • About

When I speak English, most people recognise a foreign accent. Well, sure, I am from Brazil. When my father speaks Portuguese, the same happens. And when my aunt Sarita speaks Portuguese, they think she is a tourist!

Aunt Sarita is my father’s oldest sister. She and my father were born in Tangier, Morocco, and emigrated to Brazil in 1960, when my aunt was 22, the same age I was when I moved to New York.

Recently I started to trace back my family’s history. What brought them from Tangier to Rio? And where does my affinity for cooking come from? I know for sure it’s not from my parents. Although they love to eat, my mother doesn’t cook much beyond making fried eggs - something she does quite well - but only because that is one of her favourite foods to eat.