Cosmic rays have long been a topic of intense research activities in Brazil. Due to the contagious enthusiasm and excellence of the men who introduced this field in the country around 1930, a tradition in cosmic ray physics was built and over the past eighty years there have always been one or more groups of scientists dedicating their efforts building detectors, performing experiments and obtaining top results in this research area. Although many physicists spent their lives working in cosmic ray physics in Brazil, one must acknowledge the enormous contribution of Gleb Wataghin and Cesar Lattes to making this one of Brazil's most traditional areas of research in Physics. Wataghin and Lattes are the main protagonists of the story of cosmic ray physics in Brazil.