Tavares, Maria "Tita" (1975 – )

Small, spring-loaded regularfooter from Titanzinho, Brazil; world-ranked #4 in 2000. Tavares was born (1975) and raised in Titanzinho, an equatorial fishing village near Fortaleza, atop Brazil's eastern horn. She began surfing at age five on a finless surfboard made from a discarded wooden door, and was riding the same board three years later when she entered her first competition. At 19 she was the Pan American amateur champion; at 21 she became a full-time pro, and in 1999, her first full y...