In Brazil's Amazon, Santa swops his sled for a boat
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MANAUS (Brazil) • In the heart of Brazil's steaming-hot Amazon region, a sled would be of little use to Father Christmas. Instead, perched on the prow of a rumbling river boat, he waves cheerily to the excited children who wait for him at the river's edge.
His red-and-white costume stands in sharp contrast to the emerald green tones of the world's largest tropical forest and the muddy brown waters of the Solimoes River, which feeds into the mighty Amazon.
"Merry Christmas!" Santa cries, vigorously ringing a bell as his boat approaches the town of Parana da Terra Nova, 24km from Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon.
Part of a seasonal initiative by non-profit group Friends of Father Christmas, he travels to impoverished communities of Ribeirinhos (families living along the river). When he finally sets foot ashore after a three-hour journey, this not-your-average-Santa does what Santas do everywhere - he opens his arms to greet the giddy children who run up to meet him.
"You can't change the world, but you can make children smile at Christmas time," Santa tells AFP. (Don't tell the children, but his real name is Jorge Alberto. He is 57 and his beard, sadly, is fake).
Furthermore, he lets AFP know there is nothing really jolly about having to wear the heavy, plush outfit in the sweltering heat, in the remotest regions of the Amazon.
Santa also has to borrow a small boat to get into one narrow branch of the river and walk with trepidation across a rough-hewn wooden footbridge that inspires little confidence.
But when the Amazonian Santa arrives at his destination, the payoff is huge: the ear-to-ear smiles on the faces of children who are able, for a moment, to forget the harsh realities of life in a poverty-stricken, coronavirus-scarred region.
"Our challenge is to go to places where no one else goes," says Ms Denise Kassama, 50, the coordinator of the project which aims to bring Christmas cheer to 4,000 children this season. "We don't just come to distribute gifts, we come to bring joy."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
