No one knew where the money had come from, and to be frank, no one cared as heaps of cash – most of it 50 and 100 real banknotes (about $14.5 and $29 respectively) – were up for grabs.
Despite the fact that the local waters aren’t exactly known for their cleanness, dozens of people ended up charging into the sea to grab their share of the booty while some fishermen boasted of catches up to 1000 reals (about $291).
Kate Negreiros who works at the Urca Grill restaurant located near the beach, told Sputnik that this 'cash tide' caused quite a commotion and that people still dive into the sea in an attempt to find more of the money.
"Some banknotes were in poor condition due to exposure to seawater, so many people came to our establishment to exchange them. I refused them, and they ended up exchanging this money in a bank right here in Urca. I’ve seen people carrying up to 1,500 reals (about $436) but I couldn’t join in because at that time my shift hadn’t ended. Now the news has spread and even now a lot of people keep searching for money at the beach," she said.
Residents are speculating where such a vast quantity of money could have come from while netizens are cracking jokes about the incident.
"Urca beach has more money than me," one of them remarked.
a praia da Urca tem mais dinheiro que eu
— SQL dú Ceasa (@IgorMagalhaes96) 23 ноября 2016 г.
"Yemoja (a goddess from the Yoruba religion associated with the sea) gives out money at the Urca beach. Great woman, isn’t she? No one will find himself in a pinch during Christmas," quipped another.
Iemanjá tá dando dinheiro lá na praia da Urca. Gente fina essa mulher, né non? Ninguém vai passar o natal na crise
— Thatá (@thmzs) 22 ноября 2016 г.
Be as it may, one thing is clear – this unusual monetary assistance will allow many of the Rio residents to celebrate the upcoming holidays in style.
