Meet Henrique Gomes | Executive Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Henrique Gomes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Henrique, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I began my career as a producer at advertising agencies.
I worked at multinational companies such as FCB and Ogilvy & Mather in Rio de Janeiro, and
after about 10 years in the industry, I decided I needed to become a
more well-rounded and adaptable professional, better equipped to handle changes.
My first move was to switch sides: I left the agency world and
joined a film production company. After 5 years as an executive producer, I felt
prepared to launch my own company.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I work with advertising, so I would say that my work should
be considered art. However, intellectual framework and varied knowledge are necessary
for us to create solutions and overcome challenges.
Therefore, I consider it crucial that the advertising professional
has contact with art, in its various spheres. From classical to
modernism, pop, and everything else. Art sustains life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
What a delightful question!

I live in the Glória neighborhood, a central and highly bohemian area in Rio de
Janeiro, where wonderful figures who forged the culture of this city
in the 20th century lived. Figures like Madame Satã, Chiquinha Gonzaga, and the modernist Mario
de Andrade.
I’ll run through a quick itinerary I did with a childhood friend
named Eliseu Semprini, who came to visit the city.

We all met on the corner of Rua da Glória and
Benjamin Constant, where we prepared for the odyssey to come by eating
a hamburger at a street stall that’s literally at the crossroads of the
mentioned streets. We, who have connections to Afro or Afro-Indigenous religions, have
affection, care, and reverence for intersecting streets. Because of this, we affectionately call it
“podrão da encruza”… it would be something like “dirty food of the crossroad.”
We continued to Rua da Lapa, passing by Bar do Adalto (@bardoadalto),
which has the best caldo de mocotó (cow’s foot stew) in the city. It’s a welcoming bar, frequented
mainly by progressives and people aligned with the various spectrums
of the left. From communist to left-liberal.

We continued stopping at bar after bar until we reached Avenida Men de Sá. We stopped at
Bar da Cachaça (@bardacachaca)
and stocked up on aguardente (sugarcane spirit) with ginger and milk. It’s a revitalizing balm –
but one that is as merciless as a Cossack on the next day’s hangover.
From there, we turned onto Avenida Gomes Freire and enjoyed some samba at
Vaca Atolada bar (@vacaatolada.oficial), which is a sensational place,
full of energy and contagious joy. A little before that, we passed by The
Pride of Lapa (@bar_the_pride_of_lapa) where transvestites put on musical and
dance shows at the bar’s entrance. It’s fantastic!
On the way back, we passed in front of Nova Capela (@nova_capela).
Our intention was to fuel our bodies with one of Rio de Janeiro’s iconic dishes:
Kid goat with broccoli rice and roasted potatoes.
Day was already dawning, and we had our last drinks
at Kusinha Nem, and my friend Eliseu was finally knocked out by the alcohol after
drinking a mango caipirinha.
Leaving there, I still went for a black coffee at Padaria Santo
Amaro, ate bread with egg, ham, and almost an inch of melted cheese, and
prepared to sleep. Especially because the next day we had more bohemian commitments.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
It’s certain that I didn’t get here alone. I had support from many, help,
love, and encouragement so that this path was at least minimally paved.
My main thanks go to my parents. Despite having been born and lived until adulthood in an inland city, my home always had doors and windows open to the world. We were a middle-class family, without many luxuries like travel and the best consumer goods, but it was a home where literature, music, and cinema were valued. And this sharpened my curiosity and desire to know things, people, places, flavors.
I’m very grateful to my childhood friends. These are friendships that
I’ve cultivated for 40 years, and we have a strong connection to this day. I’m very lucky to have
been and still be in contact with such formidable people.

Website: https://peppercine.com.br/

Instagram: @mcg.henrique

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henriquemcg/

Other: https://bsky.app/profile/henriquemcg.bsky.social

https://vimeo.com/henriquemcg

Image Credits
photos by Henrique Gomes