Words and images by Cheril Sanchez
The first time I recall a connection to Brazil, I was eleven years old. It was 2002 and I was watching O Clone, a Brazilian novela that aired in Spanish on Telemundo in the evenings. I watched it religiously. Two years later, during the FIFA World Cup, I discovered Ronaldinho. He was my first huge crush. It is only recently that I realized what I was really drawn to was the energy he carried on the field. He moved differently, fluid and playful, breaking into samba when celebrating. The phrase joga bonito, initially popularized by Pelé, described a way of playing that valued beauty and expression over winning.
Growing up Dominican in the Bronx, Brazil felt familiar long before I arrived. In Brazil there is funk; where I come from, there's Dembow. Rice, beans, and protein form the base of both cuisines. There is a similar liveliness and generosity in how people move toward one another. Over time, my fascination stopped feeling abstract and began to feel inevitable. I decided to learn Portuguese long before I ever bought a ticket. When I finally arrived many years later, Rio de Janeiro felt less like a discovery and more like a place my body had already mapped.
In 2025 I spent three months in Brazil, most of them in Rio. Dias de Janeiro no Rio de Janeiro was photographed across January, March, and August, but January set the tone. January marks the peak of summer. Fresh off the high of Réveillon, the beaches are full but never frantic. People arrive with a canga, a lightweight fabric that doubles as a beach towel and sarong, and nothing else. You meet your friends at one of the beach postos where you stay until the sun sets and then you stay a little longer. The slower rhythm of Rio reminded me of home in the Dominican Republic, before the hustle of New York City tried to become my native language. Though it never did.
The people in this series are people I met along the way. Teya I found lying on the sand in Ipanema. My friend Rasaan encouraged me to approach her, and the next day we spent the afternoon at Praia Vermelha. At some point Teya began taking out her braids and without urgency we all joined in. Within the hour she was dipping her curls into the ocean. Others I met through Instagram and mutual friends, through the particular intimacy Rio fosters. Maria welcomed me with a warmth that felt immediate. Through her I met other friends whom I later joined on a road trip from Salvador to Itacaré.
What stuck with me in Brazil lives in the long days of January. It lives in the slow walk or Uber Moto home from Arpoador beach and in the light that lingers over Vidigal and its surrounding mountains long after the sunset. I went out without an agenda and this place left its final and most permanent imprint yet.
Cheril Sanchez is a Dominican photographer based in New York City. Her work explores intimacy and place through portrait-led stories and long-form projects built on trust and cultural fluency. Recent work includes On Motherhood: Single Matriarchs, a study of eleven families led by single mothers.
