English Version | Celebrate Good Times

Blowing out the candles is only one detail of a birthday celebration, and it is usually the least memorable. We more quickly remember the immediate meeting of our face with the cake after a friend's prank.

The late-night chats, the nonsensical laughter, the taste of whipped cream two hours after non-stop dancing. Sooner we forever imprint the memories of pleasure on the surface of the skin, of glances that don't take off, of the heat of the space - and the human heat -, of the vibration in the air and the intimacy that can't be explained but is palpable, more unforgettable than the second we blow out the candles. Sooner we forever remember the moments in silence, when the body collapses on a makeshift sofa after a well spent evening, the moments that are not recorded on the phone because the distraction is so great that social media is made of flesh and blood, the moments that are shared over and over again at friends' dinners afterwards, and the moments that are never spoken of again, but that remain alive in the minds of each one. Because these, unlike candles, do not extinguish.

Creative direction and styling by Alexandre Dornellas. Photography by Mari Zabenzi.

Translated from the original on The 20th anniversary issue, published November 2022.Full story and credits in the print version.