A Conversation with Rafael Costa
Tell us a bit about yourself. My name is Rafael Costa, and I was born in Brazil and raised in the jungle. When I was a few months old, my father, an agronomist engineer, moved to the jungle chasing the dream of getting rich with the rubber trees. Well, it never happened ..but I had the chance to grow up swimming in rivers full of fish and around an untouched nature. For some reason, even today far from everything and everyone, inside the jungle I feel at home.
How did you get into guiding anglers in Brazil’s rainforest?
I never wanted to be a fishing guide. I always wanted to just be in the jungle and show people how amazing the jungle is. Fishing in the jungle… well, this is something that only those who have tried it can really describe. It sure teaches you that you are only a small part of the puzzle.
What do you enjoy about guiding here?
Being a guide in the jungle is certainly not for everyone.
You have to like to know that you do not know anything. And that when you finally learn the answer, Mother Nature
changes the question…
What message do you aim to invoke with your photography?
Most people can not imagine how beautiful the jungle is, and with my photographs I try to show some of this beauty to the lost souls of the big cities. Also, within 5 or 6 months of guiding in the jungle, you will discover a world that few people outside the native life have everlived. I try to show that world with my photography.
How is your experience guiding in the jungle different from other guides around the world?
I understand that there are many places where fishing is always the same and nature follows a predictable course. But in the jungle, every day you will live a totally new experience. Having the humility to understand this will make you a much better guide. The jungle is a living thing, and living things change!
Contributed By
Rafael Costa
Rafael Costa was born in Brazil and raised in the jungle. When he was a few months old, his father, an agronomist engineer, moved to the jungle chasing the dream of getting rich with the rubber trees. Well, it never happened …but Rafael had the chance to grow up swimming in rivers full of fish and around an untouched nature. For some reason, even today far from everything and everyone, inside the jungle he feels at home.
