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Catalans Abroad
6 September 2015 2.00 h

Albert Garcia Adell

Sao Paulo (Brazil)

The pearl of the Atlantic

Albert Garcia Adell is from Barcelona. Twelve years ago he went to Brazil to teach at a local university. He's now a professor there and has no plans to return.
Can you rec­om­mend a place to have lunch with friends?
I'd sug­gest a restau­rant called “Boca e Sabor”, where you'll taste the best ba­callà , or cod, money can buy. It's in the city cen­tre and it is not ex­pen­sive at all.
Where would you have a spe­cial din­ner for two?
Maybe the Paula Restau­rante: healthy food in a nice place, close to the sea.
When is the best time of year to plan a visit? 
Any­time! We get great weather all year long. You can go to the beach in win­ter and sum­mer­time. I'd sug­gest avoid­ing Jan­u­ary, when tourists in­vade the city.
  What is the best kept se­cret about the area? 
To choose the beach that fits your needs wisely. Fam­i­lies head to En­seada and sin­gles go to Per­nam­buco.
Why did you leave Cat­alo­nia?
I was of­fered a se­mes­ter at the Uni­ver­si­dade de Rib­erao Preto, in Sao Paulo, teach­ing at the ed­u­ca­tion fac­ulty. I had no plans to stay more than those six months, but I fell in love with a city on an is­land next to Sao Paulo: Guarujá. Two years later, I'm still here!
Why did you choose Guarujá?
Well, Sao Paulo is a gi­gan­tic city, but Guarujá is on an is­land, with a beau­ti­ful beach and a great cli­mate. The uni­ver­sity has a cam­pus here, so it's the per­fect place!
Are you happy with the job op­por­tu­ni­ties you found in your adop­tive coun­try?
I was very lucky. I got a per­ma­nent job as a teacher in the uni­ver­sity as soon as I fin­ished my se­mes­ter as a guest teacher.
What do you think is the best thing about liv­ing there?
Guarujá is a per­fect mix. Less than 300,000 in­hab­i­tants, mag­nif­i­cent beaches, qual­ity tourism, a good uni­ver­sity en­vi­ron­ment. I love fin­ish­ing my work­ing day and spend­ing the af­ter­noon at the beach, en­joy­ing a caipir­inha.
What would you most like to change?
Some­times it is too rainy, but you get used to it.
What do you miss most from home?
Fam­ily, friends, my granpa's ar­ro­ces, and, most of all, Barça. Peo­ple in Brazil are all foot­ball fans, but I miss the matches at Camp Nou.
What do you con­sider the high­lights for any brief visit for the first time?
Don't come if you don't like the sun and the beach. If you do, you have more than 25 dif­fer­ent beaches to enjoy. The food is great and there is a very ac­tive night life. And you have Sao Paulo one hour away, where you'll find lots of places to visit and things to do.
Are there any places to avoid at all costs?
Guarujá is a very safe city. Sao Paulo is not. Fol­low the in­struc­tions of the lo­cals and don't go sight­see­ing on your own.
Do you plan to go back to Cat­alo­nia?
Ab­solutely not. After more than a decade, I don't imag­ine my­self any­where else but in Guarujá.
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