Rio already has a side: Rio is already for Lula.

Rio de Janeiro holds secrets in unexpected corners. Bars, restaurants, streets, squares, and buildings conceal aspects of the transformation of the habits and customs of its inhabitants. Revisiting them with heightened senses helps to write important chapters in the city's contemporary history. These are addresses imbued with tradition and symbolism imperceptible to the naked eye, almost always obscured by the hustle and bustle of the metropolis's harsh routine. Unveiling them is one of our most pleasurable tasks.

On the eve of crucial elections, the Rio Já He visited some of these iconic places. A boozy temple of the Rio de Janeiro left, nestled on one of the slopes of Morro do Pinto, in the port region, Bar do Omar is not just a charming little bar where the essence of Rio culture is professed. In recent years, it has also become a space of political resistance, around which admirers of former president Lula gather daily, fueled by samba and beer. It functions as a kind of informal committee for the Workers' Party candidacy.

It is no coincidence that we ventured into this festive Carioca stronghold of defense of democratic institutions. By visiting it, we crossed the line, abandoning the farcical neutrality of other media outlets, to take a side. With absolute clarity and full awareness of the importance of the historical moment, we stand with Lula. In the current situation, only he can rescue the democratic values ​​debased by the current leader. And guarantee the resumption of the country's socioeconomic development, restoring dignity to the lives of Brazilians, especially the poor and disadvantaged. The narrowing of the paths between civilization and barbarism demands clarity; it discourages tergiversation. Hence our unwavering position in favor of the only competitive progressive candidacy.

Rio Já is pluralistic but within democratic limits. We encompass all tendencies and currents expressed in this vast political field. However, there is neither complacency nor omission in the face of this grave moment in national republican history. The gravity of the situation demands clear and forceful positions. For this reason, we deem it appropriate to publicly state our unequivocal support for Lula.

With that said, we venture back into the city's inner sanctum to reveal the beauty and charm of a seventy-year-old restaurant: Churrascaria Palace. This ancient address on Rodolfo Dantas Street, near Beco das Garrafas, the birthplace of Bossa Nova, and near the inner sanctuaries of Rio's lower reaches, is anything but obsolete. About to turn 71, it displays youthfulness without losing the tradition of excellence built over years of service to the city's gastronomy.

With Portuguese heritage, the restaurant received the Best Meat in Rio award last year, demonstrating its exceptional trajectory in the market. Palace is one of the very few establishments that has managed to endure decades without losing the quality that made it a pioneer in all-you-can-eat special cuts.

More than just a gastronomic experience, Palace is a repository of part of the city's cultural history. The restaurant's traditional Art Deco dining room was the setting for flavorful stories and memorable drinking sessions involving characters from Rio's social scene. Jorge Amado and Zélia Gattai, who had a reserved table there, shared moments of love in the 60s. The writer from Bahia lived in the same building as the restaurant and also had the privilege of being the only customer to occasionally receive food at home.

Last month, master João Donato celebrated his 88th birthday there, alongside Carlinhos Lyra, Marcos Valle, Wanda Sá and Gilson Peranzetta, in a night enlivened by the piano of Wan Chagas, a legendary figure in the neighborhood's nightclubs and hotels.

The quindim served at the restaurant is prepared according to Vinicius de Moraes' recipe and comes with a shot of White Horse, the poet's whiskey. Palace is one of the few restaurants with a genuinely Carioca soul and spirit. Its dining rooms retain a climate, an aura, that goes beyond the unanimous recognition of the quality of the meats served. It exudes the glamour of a time when Copacabana was experiencing the golden years of the Little Princess of the Sea.

From the Palace Hotel we went to the best Amazonian food restaurant in the country. Far from the streams of the forest, right in Praça Mauá, we visited the branch of Casa do Saulo, perhaps the most genuine representative of original Brazilian cuisine.

Located in the Museum of Tomorrow, the establishment is another initiative by the intrepid Saulo Jennings. A Business Administration graduate, he began fishing for food after becoming unemployed. From his simple home on the banks of the Tapajós River, he taught kitesurfing lessons and began preparing baked fish for his students at the end of the class. "I noticed they started coming more for the fish than the lesson," he recalls. With five locations, Saulo is now the most celebrated chef on the Amazon culinary scene.

In search of unlikely success stories, we arrive at Ceasa, on the decaying and turbulent Avenida Brasil. There we meet José Nilton Barbosa, a Paraíba native from Campina Grande who, in 1978, settled in the Acari favela to try to make a living in Rio. Forty years later, he has become a prodigious businessman, a sort of king of Ceasa, where he runs a company with 300 employees, 18 stores, and a monthly revenue of over R$8 million.

“If I tell my story to the cart driver, the donkey cries,” jokes José Nilton, or rather Cabeludo, a nickname he has had since his youth. 

The character himself narrates his saga in a thought-provoking interview in the pages of this edition.

Good reading