“I have a bit of a hothead. This is not the kind of statement you expect when interviewing the new Radio-Canada meteorologist. And yet, this is word for word what Waldir Da Cruz said during our meeting Zoom.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Of course, the successor to Pascal Yiacouvakis is not a hothead in the pejorative sense of the term. One only has to listen to him describe – eloquently and calmly – the impact of climate change to realize it.
His jacket and tie suit doesn’t fit with the image we have of an exalted person who thrives on danger.
But the taste for risk, Waldir Da Cruz has been cultivating it for a long time. He also left France in 2010 to follow pilot training at Saint-Hubert airport (we will come back to this).
He didn’t know anyone except a long-time friend who had lived in Montreal for twenty years.
“At the beginning, it was slightly destabilizing, but at the same time, it was very exciting. It was a new life…with a plethora of novelties and opportunities to be had. »
Another example of risk-taking (perhaps more calculated, this time): when the management of Radio-Canada contacted him to pass in front of the lens, Waldir did not hesitate for a single second.
“When there is the unknown, I go there with my head down”, sums up Mr. Weather with a smile.
Dreams of altitude
Born in Paris in 1982, Waldir Da Cruz has always been interested in the sky. His first plane flight, he passed it with his nose glued to the window, captivated by everything he saw around. When his parents took him to visit the family in Cape Verde, this archipelago located off the coast of Senegal, in Africa, he liked to spend his days with his uncle air traffic controller, to observe the planes landing and taking off.
Once in Quebec, his dreams of altitude led him to the University of Quebec in Montreal, where he enrolled in a bachelor’s degree in meteorology.
I learned the profession of meteorologist in a country where something is always happening somewhere. You can lose or gain 20°C in the space of six hours. It gives so many things to tell, to explain.
Waldir DaCruz
With no jobs in his field upon leaving university, Waldir found himself a bartender at 4and Mur, speakeasy in the Latin Quarter. He worked there for nearly three years, learning the ins and outs of the trade from renowned mixologist Alexis Taoufiq.
“On the communication side, it gave me a lot of positive things. It was rewarding. It taught me to adapt to different types of customers. Because in one evening, you can go from the best to the worst from one table to another. »
In 2018, Waldir Da Cruz finally got a job as an on-call meteorologist at The Weather Network. He toyed with the project of creating his own web channel until he received a call from Radio-Canada to pass in front of the lens. He was retained after passing his on-screen audition.
In North America, there’s this mentality of, “OK, we’re giving you a chance. Show us what you are capable of.” In France, it’s more elitist. Not everything is accessible to everyone.
Waldir DaCruz
Waldir remembers his first live on the air, on January 11, 2021, with Christian Latreille at the helm of the news bulletin.
“I was sweating the stress! exclaims the meteorologist.
On a cloud
Following the departure of Pascal Yiacouvakis, Radio-Canada confirmed, on April 7, the appointment of Waldir Da Cruz as meteorologist in the information service of the public broadcaster. A few days later, the principal interested party relayed the news on Twitter, specifying that he had been sending his message (weather pun alert) “from [son] little cloud “.
More than two weeks later, he still hasn’t come down. (And we don’t know if it was a cumulus, a cirrus or a nimbus.)
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Waldir DaCruz
“On the one hand, it was brilliant, but on the other hand, it was dizzying”, comments the one who can be seen every evening at the Newscast by Patrice Roy. “Between the work, the messages, the storm in Manitoba, the snow in Quebec… I haven’t realized yet. Everything happened so fast. »
His selection drew an immediate – and largely positive – reaction from viewers. Comments abounded on Facebook and company. According to the lucky winner, curiosity partly explains this avalanche of comments, especially since he is replacing a meteorologist who has held this position for 28 years.
“People were like, ‘Who is he? We never heard of it. It looks like it came out of nowhere!” »
The growing popularity of weather-related topics is also said to be a factor.
“It’s going up exponentially. You can watch it on Twitch and YouTube. English-speaking meteorologists have hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Because after all, the weather is kind of what governs our daily lives. How are we going to dress tomorrow? What can we do on the weekend? Are we preparing the BBQ? Do we go skiing? People want more precision. And they want to know the why and how. »
Although he has just taken office, Waldir Da Cruz has not written a cross on aviation. But only for his personal pleasure.
“Because one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve had so far is when I flew an airplane and I was alone at the controls. My instructor remained on the ground. I was in my little Cessna and I was like, “Wow! I’m really stealing!” The feeling was just indescribable. It was exhilarating. »
A hothead in the clouds? Why not !