41/52 Leandro Calado

41/52 Leandro Calado

“What inspired the move to Canada? I always had this thing where I wanted to live abroad and… that's the part that is complicated, because I never understood why.

Like, what pushed me to do that? I’ve spent many years of therapy, just talking about that, trying to figure out if I was pursuing freedom, being a queer man in Brazil, raised Catholic. I feel like the most recent thing that made me move here was, Brazil was on this spike of fascism and right wing politics with Bolsonaro. It just became a place of uncertain safety for me.
I don't know if that was part of it, but I always liked English. I taught myself English when I was a very young age.

I discovered Britney Spears and I loved her. I would just listen to her songs and look for the translation. And then Whitney Houston, or Celine Dion, and then there would be TV shows that wouldn't air in Brazil, like America's Next Top model or Survivor.
So I would download them illegally and then just watch them with no subtitles. So I had to force myself to understand what they say.

It's been Six years in Toronto now. I feel like I have freedom and safety and I really think I found myself here. I love this city.”