New York – Chronicle of a great love

It was a Sunday morning and the streets were practically deserted. I had just got off the subway at Manhattan’s Harlem station for a very specific purpose: to attend a gospel session. The low-rise ocher brick buildings reminded me of the TV show Cheers, which during the 1980s/90s made us laugh with the dry tirades of a smooth Ted Danson, a young Woody Harrelson and the sexy Kirstie Alley. “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name…” was heard in the opening theme.

But what I really wanted to hear was gospel. I questioned a lonely old man dressed in denim overalls, crouched by a wall while painting a mural with a soda ad (was it Fanta?). I asked him which place he recommended and he suggested Mount Moriah Baptist Church, a building with an imposing Romanesque facade where, every Sunday, large buses dropped off tourist excursions at the door.

I went in that direction and along the way, when I stopped to photograph one of the small brick buildings, a tiny figure appears, dressed in white from head to toe, including a cap, ankle-high lace stockings and shiny sandals. As soon as she saw me, she invited me in. I looked around to confirm that it was really me that was being addressed and I didn’t see anyone; I shrugged my shoulders and went inside.

The hours that followed were among the most intense I have ever lived. More than 15 years have passed, but I remember it as if it were today. If I close my eyes, I still feel the same electrifying energy of half a dozen souls (by the way, all women or children) chanting at the top of their lungs: “Hallelujah!Praise the Lord!”  They say you never forget a great love. I never forgot New York.

At the top of the list were: Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim, Central Park, Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building. Of course, there was also Ground Zero.

I landed at John F. Kennedy Airport in spring 2004 with a detailed roadmap of the places I was going to visit and the day. At the top of the list were: MOMA (Museum of Modern Art), Guggenheim, Central Park, Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building. Of course, there was also Ground Zero. I took a taxi to Manhattan Island and went to pick up the keys to the house of a friend who, given that she was travelling, had loaned me her apartment.

I don’t know what spirits inhabited my dreams that first night. What is certain is that, the next day, I went out onto the street, opened the pad on the page where the roadmap was written down and thought: “Forget it! I will do just what I feel like! Feel in which direction the wind pushes me…” – what, today, would be called “follow the feeling” or… “go with the flow”. I put the pad away, looked left and right and asked myself, “Now what? Am I going this way or am I going there? ”.

Infected by these infinite possibilities, I surrendered myself to the city as if surrendering to a great love: with an open heart, with everything we are! That’s how I found myself having dinner at the Alfama restaurant, a few metres from the actor Harvey Keitel; watching experimental theatre in a Brooklyn alley; tirelessly photographing the Guggenheim’s facade for an hour, always from the same angle; delighting with the delicacy of cherry blossom petals; talking to one of the firefighters who participated in the 9/11 rescue operations; boating on the Hudson River with a kitchen helper; and dancing wildly in that little Sunday congregation in the Harlem neighbourhood.

Today, I return to the city in the company of my friend Vasco Célio, director of photography at Índico. 10,000 km separate us, but we still walk together through the avenues of memory, exchanging notes in a long telephone conversation. “You know, I went to New York to heal a heartbreak,” says one. “Look, I was there twice: once before 9/11 and once after,” replies the other.

After all, the beauty of travel is the stories that remain. Stories created by us in each choice we make: “am I going this way or am I going that way?” Here on these pages two of these stories intersect – one in words, the other in images – of two travellers who, at different times, gave themselves over to one of the most captivating cities in the world.

▶ HOW TO GO

In the context of the pandemic, it will be better to avoid the Johannesburg route, as some countries have banned the arrival of passengers from South Africa.

 ▶ WHERE TO STAY

If you prefer a quieter area, the ideal is to look for one of the several hotels or private accommodation in Central Park. To enjoy the pulse of the city, nothing like Times Square.

▶ WHERE TO EAT

To enjoy the intoxicating pace of the city, choose street food, including delis or the famous corner pizzerias that serve the best slices in the world (or so they say!).

▶ WHAT TO DO

The options are countless: between shows on Broadway (or off-Broadway); visits to museums; jogging in the gardens; boat trips; the Empire State Building for panoramic views; or the Harlem neighbourhood for a gospel session.

▶ WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

Before travelling, be aware of the restrictions in force due to the Coronavirus pandemic, including the possible requirement to undergo quarantine upon arrival.

Issue 66 Mar/Apr | Download.