STAIRWAYS TO HEAVEN - GOOD BYE SELARON

I always wanted to write about good news, telling you the best places to go, also writing about my life as a Tour Guide and also I am very opened about my personal life here in my blog. It is my space where my friends and my guests can get to know me better, my way to express my feelings and my opinions. I have wrote about anyone who passed away but this time, it is different...I lost a friend and Rio, my home and my land, just lost an icon...Someone that I always said...a symbol of Rio....

Selaron died because he could not stand greedy...his creation was his own madness...he loved to say that...24 years ago he started changing the life of a whole neighborhood by placing little red tiles on the wall, he was an artist that chose to live in Brazil because Rio was a city that conquered his heart and we welcomed him so greatly that he paid us back with the best of his talent. He changed a whole stairway in two very old districts of Rio: Santa Tereza and Lapa.

Sadness was not his thing...he had his crazy opinion and he was not modest at all, but all great artist has the right to be arrogant and special...

Every meeting with Selaron was one of the highlight of my tours...Selaron was a great friend who always supported my work, and his assistant Cesar was always there ready to make Selaron's Stairs even more perfect. I had the honor to place one italian tile of Saint Francis, because Selaron knew that I am a cat person and Saint Francis is the protector of animals. My friend Omar from Venezuela was there and we had lots of fun!

I had the privilege to learn more about his personality...he gave me the chance to take so many pictures and I got together all the best photos that I took and I gave him my best work as a tribute to him. This day we told jokes and we could talk about daily life, He was one of my friends and someone who always gave a plus in my tours. One of the main rio's character always ready to tell funny stories to all my guests!!!

Selaron gave me time to take to his stairs maybe one of the biggest groups that I organized and I had the great help of Marcone and Sonia. We told our group that they were about to see some of the greatest symbols of the city. And they were so excited to see the artist in his stairs and we had this historical pictures which we are honored to be there in such a special event. They were members of Semester at the Sea, families from USA, CANADA AND ENGLAND. 

This is the work of an excellent brazilian photographer Carlos Levitanus that I took the chance to post in my blog with great honor, thankfulness and happiness...This is Selaron in a very rare moment, but it is the last of his photo that I post in my blog...A tribute to one man that gave his life for his incredible work that changed the history of our city!!! Rio is now the city where Selaron left his most incredible work. 

He usually sad...I am better than Michelangelo...Picasso was a failure...he said he was the most complete painter in history...If he was right, I will never know but for sure he was big in our hearts and lives and as a real Carioca I must say...THANK YOU SELARON FOR EVERYTHING!

Rafael Torres Lopes
Tour Guide and Travel Planner