Fernanda Santos is Phoenix bureau chief for The New York Times. Her first book will be published in 2016. She grew up in Brazil—a “mutt,” as she likes to say, of Portuguese, African, and Native Brazilian descent. She speaks four languages, and has reported and written in three in the United States and Latin America. She lives in Phoenix a short walk from Piestewa Peak, where she, her husband, and their daughter love to go hiking on moonlit nights. Before moderating a panel on the relationship between Arizona and Mexico, she chatted about her book, her father’s work ethic, and her love for women who fly.
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
People who are late. It sounds so lame to say that, but it’s totally true.
I know it’s a terrible question to ask, but have you finished your book yet?
It is in my editor’s hands. It’s about the 19 firefighters killed in a wildfire in Arizona in 2013.
Who was your childhood hero?
My dad. My father grew up poor. He lived behind a butcher shop but never had money to buy meat. He grew up to be a successful man and a great father, a great example to us at home. I think a lot of my work ethic and respect for people came from that.
How do you power your home?
Coffee. We do not have solar panels. Maybe when they’re cheaper, we will get them.
If you had just one day in Brazil, where would you go?
It’s not where I would go, but whom I would take with me. I would go to the beach by my parents’ house and take my mom and my sister and my aunt Tanya and talk all day.
What condiment best describes you?
Habanero peppers.
It’s 10 p.m. in Phoenix and you haven’t eaten all day. Where would you go?
I really love going to places that have great outdoor seating. I’d probably go to Chelsea’s Kitchen and sit outside, look at the canal, have a margarita. Or go to Lon’s at the Hermosa Inn—if I made a lot of money that month.
What person living or dead would you most like to meet?
Amelia Earhart. I just think it’s so awesome for a little girl to want to fly, when flying was not something that a little girl was supposed to do.