Cobra Verde (1987)

Guillermo Coronel: Euclides

Photos 

Quotes 

• Euclides : My name is Euclides. Euclides Alves da Silva Pernambucano Wandereley.

  Francisco Manoel da Silva : I'm a da Silva too.

  Euclides : It's only my chest and shoulders that are crooked - at night, I always dream I have to carry a whole mountain range on my back.

  Francisco Manoel da Silva : You stand straighter than the whole town!

• Francisco Manoel da Silva : Where does the snow come from?

  Euclides : You'll see it out there! It comes from the moon. There's always snow on the moon! That's why it's always white! White and cold. You have to look very carefully.

  Francisco Manoel da Silva : Why is that?

  Euclides : It's because the moon takes the water out of the ocean. And when night falls, the tips of the mountains attract the snowflakes. The snow has salt in it, but only as much salt as we have in our tears.

  Francisco Manoel da Silva : And here on earth?

  Euclides : It's very far away - you must keep going west. Four years on horseback and ten on foot. And after that, there are high mountains. They rise higher and higher - right over the clouds. And then above the clouds, then you find the snow. It only falls in the nighttime. Just like feathers. But it only falls from above the clouds. And then, the whole world turns light, as a feather, and snow white! Even the lions turn white, and the eagles. The rabbits get a snowy coat, and all the animals in the world turn white! And when you're walking through the snow, your feet don't weigh anything at all. And the little snowflakes go flying up in the air, just like feathers.

• Euclides : You'd better be careful when you go to the sea. It's where the tempests are born, and the snowflakes have their cradle.