I made a joke and they laughed, finally...

That's right. Not all humor can survive the language barrier.

While eating last night I was treated to rabo de boi (Ox-tail) among a selection of six or seven other poteins. I imagined one night as I lay awake thinking, with all this food Odelva might be slowly pushing me closer and closer to a heart attack from eating so she can have her daughter back. Just a little thought, anyway...

My father-in-law Mauro is a hardworking and driven man who fights the traffic and tussle of commuting everyday to and from the Ibirapuera Moema district of Sao Paulo.

As the evening progressed, Mauro ate one serving of Ox-tail and then another big serving and then yet another our eyes grew with amazement. Finally, as he grabbed the dish for more, I exclaimed:

"Somewhere there is an Ox walking around without his tail."

And it brought the house down. We laughed and laughed. Hours later Odelva would break into a laugh and when asked she'd just say "Ox without his tail."

Santos e Bahia

The city of Santos today is thought of as the place where the greatest futebol (soccer) player and statesman in the world Pelê played the game. Founded in 1535 and located on the coast a hours drive south of Sao Paulo, Santos became a rich harbor for the export of coffee after the Scottish came and built the tram.

The train revolutionized the economy of the entire region when its powerful pistons allowed exporters to move large quantities of coffee beans out of the mountains to the market rapidly. Brazil is now the largest exporter of coffee in the world. Santos and Sao Paulo consequently became wealthy off coffee and it all began here in the port of Santos.

Brazil also has the largest population of Japanese in the world outside Japan. Immigration of the Japanese to Brazil began in earnest after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 with almost all ancestors coming through Santos harbor.

In one huge wave of immigration, roughly 150 thousand Japanese came to Santos bound to labor contracts but once freed of their obligation (they had to buy their freedom from the bosses) they moved to Sao Paulo to a section of the city known appropriately as Liberdade or Liberation. In Liberdade the Japanese numbers grew and the prospered. This year Sao Paulo is celebrating 100 years of Japanese assimilation.

BAHIA

Almost everywhere you look in São Paulo there are signs of the immigration of the people from the state of Bahia. near the equator. Patricia's mother Odelva is from Bahia. Baiano cuisine brought down from this hot climate of the North and coastal regions is more piexes (fish) based than carne (meat) and often associated with pheasant food.

The Baiano in São Paulo are regarded similarly to the poor Southerners from Mississippi and Alabama who relocated to New York - often with contempt or embarrassment by upper class society. Bahia is associated with discount furniture marts, street food, heads of fish swimming in you stew, and black magic.

Baiano moved to São Paulo reluctantly due to severe draught but kept together with solidarity and pride in their heritage and cultural traditions.

Odelva told me that when she arrived in São Paulo in the early 1970s at the age of 17, she already had three sisters living in this massive city of immigrants. Yet, Odelva could not find her sisters. As a teenager she was employed by wealthy Paulistas in their homes - given food and lodging but no salary or income - she was an indentured cook.

Years past before Odelva realized she might be entitled to a wage or that she possesed the rights to free herself from her labor.

As closely as my in-laws have been able to figure, Odelva left Cruz das Almas and Mauro Timbauba on exactly the same day at the same time without knowing eachother or being incited to this harmonious seminal beginning.

Comida de rua

In any large city, London, New York, or Tokyo with a foot mobile fast-paced hardworking population you'll find comdia de rua (street food). For New York it is pizza-by-the-slice, bagels with smear, knish, babka and other wonderful Jewish deli delights. In London you will find fish-and-chips, sausage pasties and rolls, and Greek gyros. Tokyo has its sticky buns. All items you can buy on-the-fly and eat on the go.

In São Paulo you will find exactly the same items that make for an inexpensive lunch between appointments or just off the subway. If anyhting, Paulistas prefer the savory to the sweet. This list of items will cost you approximately a buck a piece and go very well with a visit to the barraca de suco (juice bar) for incredible manga, passion fruit, pineapple and watermelon drinks.

Coxinha -- chicken and cheese inside deep fried dough

Empadinha -- pie-like crust filled with heart of palm and baked similar in name to Chilian empanata, however, can very widely depending on preparation

Pão de batata -- a potato bread baked with spiced chicken

Bolinho de queijo -- cheese filled dough that is deep fried

Pão de queijo -- cheese mixed with a bread-lke dough (no four however) and baked until golden and crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside

O PÃO NOSSO DE CADA DIA

Every morning the padaria makes crusty little loaves called pãozinho with an exquisitely golden brown crust that splits across the top and has a light soft white fluffy interior.

These bread loaves are so much like bread sold in France, Mexico, and that I remember most distinctively from living in England. Even the smell wafting down the street in the morning is as warm to the senses as sunshine. Wrapped warm in small brown bags, with blue inked crested logos and sayings like "Give us our daily bread" there is nothing like this bread to feel you've finally left America and with good reason.

On Mauro e Odelva's street you will hear each morning a variety of sounds and melodies as street vendors come selling aqua (water), propane gas (this truck plays a distinctive melody you might associate with ice cream trucks in the US), and tamales. Odelva tells me there are two different tamale makers and she listens to the call from the better of the two. Patricia laughs when I marvel at the convenience of having these mobile vendors come selling.

AQUA DE COCO

Coconut water is the magic rejuvenator of life. For roughly a buck and a quarter, a street vendor whether on the beach in Rio or walking the sides streets near Ave. Paulista will grab a green coconut fresh off the tree and using a Facão (machete) will whack off the head and foot, then cut a vee-shaped wedge to make a hole in the top and slip in a straw. With this in hand, the desperate feeling of heat and humindity seems less overwhelming. A good vendor will chill the coconut prior to cutting so tha water is cold.

Ah, the joys of big city life!

Mercado dia

Saturday is market day and we walk down to the end of Patricia´s street to the vendors who line the twisting hillside drive with their Mercedes, Fiat, and Toyota trucks and from which they roll out the fresh vegetables, fruits, and meat. The small vendor who makes a sweet cloudy drink by pushing a reedy stalk of sugar cane tempts us. Patricia and Odelva buy a prickly vegetable, Maxixi native to Brazil that when skinned and chopped is very much like a cucumber and belongs to the same family.

My job is to assist the meat vendor with sharpening his knives and promote the State of Minnesota among these rolling hills of Taboão de Serra. You can be sure nobody knows what Minnesota means or where I might be from, however, the meat vendor is very friendly and offers and thumbs up to my efforts. Nothing like being a friendly ambassador in Brazil for America. Viva Minnesota!