A JetLife Rio Takeover Recap โ July 2026
Brazil is the shit.
The food, the beaches, the music, the nightlife, the views, the energy. Rio feels like New Orleans, Miami, and Essence Festival had a baby and raised it on Copacabana Beach.
But I went to Brazil with one specific expectation.
I wanted to experience the African diaspora.
Brazil has one of the largest Black populations in the world, so in my mind, I was expecting Black people everywhere. Atlanta energy. Jamaica energy. Beautiful Black faces in every direction.
Baby, that is not what happened.
The Hotels Were Beautiful. The Staff Was White.
We had two oceanfront hotels: the Fairmont and the Windsor California.
The guests who paid for the upgraded experience stayed at the Fairmont. The Fairmont is stunning. Very Ritz-Carlton. Very polished. Very "we fluff your pillow before you even realize you are tired."
The aesthetics were absolutely phenomenal.
But everybody was white.
The man opening the car door? White.
The person greeting you inside? White.
The concierge? White.
The front desk? White.
The servers? White.
The hostess? White.
I said, okay. Maybe I just caught the Fairmont on Caucasian Tuesday.
Maybe Brazil Was Hiding the Black People Until the Weekend
Then we went to Marius, one of the most expensive restaurants in Rio.
Everybody was white.
The doorman, the servers, the people bringing the food. White, white, white.
At that point, I was still trying to be reasonable.
Maybe Brazil was hiding the Black people until the weekend.
The next day, we went to Christ the Redeemer and the Selarรณn Steps.
The driver was white.
The tour guide was white.
Everybody working around us was white.
Then came the yacht party.
The captain was white. The crew was white.
By day three, I had officially had enough.
"Where Are All the Black People?"
I asked my guide, "Where are all the Black people? This is supposed to be one of the largest African diasporas in the world."
She said, "They are in the favelas."
Excuse me?
All the Black people are in the slums?
She said there were also a lot in Bahia, but my brain had already pulled the emergency brake.
I came to Brazil looking for the African diaspora, and apparently the African diaspora had been placed in another zip code.
Now, let me say this. I know race works differently in Brazil. I know everybody who looks white to me may not identify that way.
This is simply what I saw from my perspective while moving through luxury hotels, restaurants, tours, and tourist spaces.
And from where I was standing, Black people were nearly invisible.
Mauricio: Get Out
There was one Black man working at the Fairmont.
His name was Mauricio, and he brought me coffee.
I looked at him and said:
"Blink twice if you are okay."
He looked like he had accidentally wandered onto the set of Get Out and was waiting for somebody to unlock the door.
He looked very quiet. Very nervous. Very "please do not ask me anything while management is watching."
Now, I cannot tell you what that man was actually thinking.
But by that point, seeing one Black employee in the entire luxury experience felt so unusual that I noticed him immediately.
Mauricio, wherever you are, I hope you made it out.
Slavery Ended When?
On our final day, we went behind the scenes of Carnival, and I asked again:
"Where are the Black people?"
The guide said slavery had only ended about 150 years ago.
The way he said it, you would have thought it ended last Thursday and everybody was still waiting on HR to finish the paperwork.
I was sitting there thinking, sir, 150 years is not yesterday.
But the deeper point became clear.
Ending slavery did not magically create wealth, land, ownership, opportunity, or access.
The rules changed on paper, but the social structure clearly did not disappear with them.
The Black People Were Not Missing From Brazil
It was missing from the spaces where wealth, tourism, luxury, and visibility were concentrated.
That is a very different thing.
I came expecting to see Black people everywhere because this is one of the largest African diasporas in the world.
Instead, I kept seeing Black culture without seeing many Black people in the luxury spaces benefiting from it.
That part bothered me.
Would JetLife Go Back? Absolutely.
Let me make this very clear:
Brazil is the shit.
The beaches are beautiful. The food was excellent. The energy is unmatched.
Rio has this electric, slightly chaotic, sexy little pulse that keeps you awake even when your body is begging for sleep.
It reminded me of New Orleans. It had that Essence Festival feeling where culture, nightlife, music, and celebration spill into the streets.
We will absolutely return.
Next Time, We Are Going Deeper
Everybody will stay at the same hotel.
I still love the Fairmont because the aesthetics are phenomenal, and the location on Copacabana Beach is nearly perfect.
We will still have the yacht party.
We will still visit Christ the Redeemer.
We will still give everyone free time to explore Brazil for themselves.
But next time, we are adding far more Afro-Brazilian culture, Black-owned businesses, Black nightlife, music, food, history, and community.
Because I refuse to travel to one of the Blackest countries in the world and somehow end up on a five-day white people scavenger hunt.
My Final Take
Beautiful country.
Incredible trip.
Mild racial confusion.
Mauricio may still be blinking.
Would absolutely return.
Marie is the founder of Designer Vacations by JetLife, a luxury group travel agency curating cinematic experiences around the world. Ready to travel? Visit jetlifevacation.com.
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