Brazzil - Year 13 - Number 189 - December 2001

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4

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

It all started as a trial balloon. The PFL, a conservative party allied to President Fernando Henrique, wanted a strong name that would be accepted as a running mate in Brazil's 2002 presidential election. They chose Roseana Sarney, a bright star from the party who was already getting glowing reviews as governor of the poor northeastern state of Maranhao. It didn't hurt the fact that she was a woman and the daughter of former President Jose Sarney, despite the fact that his presidency was memorable mostly for the gargantuan inflation rates it produced.

Following a massive exposure through the airwaves ("Not even Coca-Cola used so much advertising," complained opposition leader and presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva) Sarney's name started to grow fast on national polls. By mid-December in a surprising development that caught even her creators off guard, Roseana was having enough votes to come in second in the first round and win the elections in the runoff. The last CNT/Sensus (National Confederation of Transportation/Sensus Institute) shows that Roseana would get 42.7 percent of the votes against Lula's 38.4 percent in a runoff after losing 23.7 percent to 27.1 percent in the first round. The elections are in October. Will the winds continue favoring Sarney? Keep tuned in.

We will.

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Cover Our nex- president might be a woman Cover by Alex Korolkovas

Couteuts 11

Media The TV show that put Globo on its knees

II

human Rights Darci Frigo gets RFK award

II

Fiction The spy who came from Brazil

II

First Person Facing Rio's sidewalk

11

Agrarian Reform FAO report contested

11

Motion Picture Moviemakers find unanimity

21

olitics The end of congressional impunity

23

Response Americans do have a heart

21

Energy No one wants to invest in Brazil

21

Behavior Dissecting the Brazilian soul

32

Short Story "0 Ataque" by Luiz Ruffato

3/

Language English for Brazucas Ill

31

Behavior Sex and tenderness in Brazil

43

Literature

Music Oh-so-soft Gilberto Gil

41 12

Mario Quintana's witticisms

Theater

Cacilda Becker and Aug usto Boal

Departuuts, 08 Ruldlihas 18 letters 47 Cultural Pulse 49 Classifieds 50 That's Brazilian

POST MASTER: Send address changes to BRAZZIL PO Box 50536 - Los Angeles, CA - 90050-0536

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5

TV Front Window With opportunism, little scruple and a recipe that has drawn TV audiences around the world, SBT (Sistema Brasileiro de Televisao—Brazilian System of Television) has consistently beaten Globo—a TV network that with opportunism and little scruple has maintained a far-ahead first place for decades—in the Brazilian TV's audience war. The answer to the almost uncontested Glcbo's leadership is Casa dos Artistas (Artists's Home), a term that until now meant a retirement home for older artists who in their old age were having serious financial problems.

Casa dos Artistas is based on "Big Brother," a creation from the Dutch TV. Aired originally in Holland in 1999 the idea was sold to 33 countries. In Britain, "Big Brother" was a hit in the summer of 2000. The show with a group of unknowns locked inside a house without any contact with the outside world was the talk of the country, and its final episode was seen by 10 million people. In the US the idea was less successful. CBS paid $20 million and used 28 cameras (including in the bathroom) and 60 microphones to capture for three months the life of 10 people confined in a wired house built in San Fernando Valley, in Greater Los Angeles. They all had to fit in two bedrooms. Every two weeks two people were eliminated by votes from their peers and the TV audience, the last one got a reward of half a million dollars. The show that started with a 27 share (almost one third of all TV sets turned on that night) in the Nielsen ratings soon fell to a 10 share (less than 10% of the TV viewers.

Silvio Santos, a folkloric figure and former street vendor who owns and controls SBC as a small town coffee shop, enjoyed all the success without paying a dime to the Dutch and chose for housemates a group of semicelebrities of Brazilian TV, fashion and music world. The detention would last 50 days. The prize for the last survivor: around $100 thousand. The airing of the program was maintained a secret until Sunday, October 28, when SBT started to air promos of the show.

The show became a fever, with 20 million people watching it daily. Veja (1.3 million copies), Brazil's most influential weekly newsmagazine, dedicated a cover to the program. The 9-pm spectacle went to peaks of 43 points in the lbope, the Brazilian Nielsen. Globo, which for 28 years has led the Sunday with the prime time program Fantastic°, ran for cover while rocker Supla one of the guest in the Casa dos Artistas sang with his 11 companions of captivity: Mais um dia aqui rem poder sair dentro desto prisdo Silvio Santos vem ai corn Inuit() Mope ele vai sorrir Another day here Not being allowed to leave Inside this prison Silvio Santos is coming With lots of lbope he'll smile Globo went to court to prevent the program from being aired. After all, it had a good reason for that: the giant network—the 4th biggest in the ;world, just after the American three sisters—had bought, in August, the rights to exhibit the show in Brazil. The show is scheduled for March 2002.

For some time, the Rio network seemed to have the upper hand. A judge accepted the argument of Globo that Casa dos Artistas was a breach of copyright and ordered SBT to stop airing the show. The measure, though, was annulled by another judge, and the show went on.

6

RAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

f Thomas Notermas, spokesman for Endemol, the Dutch company that created Big Brother, says that he deals with piracy wo.4\ their shows all the time, but nothing has ever come close to Sic's plagiarism: "This is the most scandalous infraction I've ever seen."

Luis Erlangeer, director of Central Globo de Comunicacao, called the SBT action an act of piracy: "This must seem like just another skirmish to the audience, but it's something much more serious. It's a question of knowing if intellectual property is something that will be respected in Brazil."

The fancy living room was the favorite place for the participants to show off most of the time in skimpy clothes. Silvio Santos used a neighbor's house, in the Morumbi neighborhood in which he lives, to be adapted to serve as the stage for his show. The participants had to make do with two bedrooms, one bathroom and a kitchen. Differently from the European model, SBT chose people well known from the Brazilian public. People like models Alessandra Iscatena, Mari Alexandre, Nubia Olive and Nana Gouveia, actress Barbara Paz, singer Patricia Coelho, singers Supla (rocker and son of Sao Paulo's mayor Marta Suplicy) and Leandro Lehart, plus actors Alexandre Frota, Matheus Carrieri, Taiguara Na7areth and Marcos Mastronelli, Two of the girls showed it all in Playboy, two of the boys also appeared naked in magazines.

Forty microphones and 33 cameras were installed, most of them behind mirrors in a way that the cameramen could not be seen by the artists. More than a simple dispute the war between the number one and far-behind number two showed the degree of distrust and the bad blood between the two competitors.

In its official announcement Globo accused Santos's network of piracy reclaiming higher moral ground. "The Brazilian entertainment industry can only grow if it's based on respect for the law and moral principles." To which SBT replied also in an official note: "The Brazilian entertainment industry can only grow if TV Globo will let it."

Globo's official note: "A country that does not respect the intellectual right will never be developed. The Brazilian entertainment industry can only grow if it's based on respect for the law and moral principles.

Frequently our images are used without authorization disrespecting and preventing artists and technicians to receive credit for their work. Once again we are victims of piracy: SBT presents a show that's nothing more than a sensationalist plagjartsm of Big Brother, a world famous attraction, whose rights were acquired by us in August, as is common knowledge.

Our indignation is even bigger because at the time that the Brazilian society yearns for ethics, this type of behavior is an example of disregard for one of the most elementary valuesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the one that one's rights end where another's rights begin. We have no other remedy but to appeal to the Justice, which, we should mention, has just voted in our favor in another action against the same TV, which was fined and forbidden to air a plagiarism of our program Genie Inocente (Innocent People)."

Central Globo de Comunicacao.

SBT's official response: "The Brazilian entertainment industry can only grow if TV Globo will let it. Globo Network commemorates the first defeat of its show Fantcisuco threatening to sue SBT for plagiarism of a program not shown. Not satisfied with defeating Globo TV's audience index all through Sunday, SBT had the imprudence of, for the first time defeat the Fantastic°, without asking for the due forgiveness to this pillar of morality and correction that is Globo TV. In truth SBT, Sunday, SBT lost only to Corinthians (popular soccer team), one of the hired hands of Globo, which was not playing as expected, but ended up playing a great match. To top it all, Saturday, battling against SBT's novela, the Jomal Nacional (prime-time new program) hit a new mark in its downhill trajectory, going down to 31 percent, a new experience. All of this without mentioning Xuxa, Faust& and other innocent people, all of them deserving of our esteem and respect, but who are routinely defeated on Sunday afternoons.

For all of this it is fair that Globo sue us, even though it is for plagiarism of a progrm that hasn't even been produced. It will be plagiarism by guess, by premonition.

Globo is right when it says it is a victim of SBT and its illegal practices.

After all, due to the fierce, immoral and illegal persecution of which it is a victim, Globo TV has been reduced toamereNational TV Network, plus a National Radio Network, plus half a dozen newspapers that haven't allowed it yet to eliminate the competition, including a new newspaper in Sao Paulo that, as we all know, didn't have a newspaper with the high ethical and moral principles of the current Diario de Selo Paulo.

Not to talk about the companies and entrepreneurs affiliated with the company,h one less powerful than the other, not , , aving, as a rule, more than the leading newspaper in each state.

This is so true that they only own a sole company of Televisios by Satellite, distributing mere 60 channels, and a few other cable TVs with the same number of channels.

Also in the editorial area, Globo has not surpassed a couple of dozen titles and it wasn't able either, until today, to eliminate other recording companies with its Som Livre. Let make if brief: so much is the persecution moved against the company by the insatiable SBT that Globo was able to secure exclusivity only for the whole Brazilian football and the next two World Cups. All of this without places to present their ads, without resources for a more aggressive marketing, causing them enormous losses and offering gifts for those who subscribe to their titles, modest that's true, only TV sets or plane tickets to any place in Brazil.

Globo is right when it says in its note that "the Brazilian entertainment industry can only grow if it's based (sic) on the respect for the law and moral principles" and that "society yearns for ethics."

This is true. As we know, it is highly moral and ethical to pay fines and assume the judicial cases of author under contract, so that SBT cannot use a sole writer; it is extremely ethical to buy events to not show them; to suborn people under contract only to mess up the competition; as we know, it's extremely ethical to sell newspaper at the cost of desperate parents and kidnapped daughter (a reference to the covering Globo gave to the kidnapping of Silvio Santos's young daughter earlier this year even though the tycoon had asked media outlets to not divulge news while negotiations were going on for the release of the youngster). All of this is highly commendable, it is exemplary."

SBT, while Globo is not the sole medium, the sole employer, is not the sole Power, the Big Brother who yearns to be the owner of the TV who will keep us under surveillance, until this day SBT will continue working and defeating, without luxury and with modesty, cxgreii&c;a de . tvoks'iao ho.." rt.Ma a TV cc. Cal, dal 4rtMas, da SST, in,. lorntstl 160:Wit. defeating the Power, the Wealth and the Prepotency, today disguised as moralists. por 1(1. m0l,k5 do SBT's management" A

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

7

Darci Frigo, 39, a Brazilian land rights activist won the 2001 RFK Human Rights Award, which was presented to him last November 20.

The award created in 1984, which celebrates the life of late Robert F. Kennedy honors, according to the RFK Center for Human Rights "individuals who, at great risk, stand up to government oppression in the nonviolent pursuit of respect for human rights." Frigo is the first Brazilian to receive the prize.

Darci Frigo, a former seminarian and passionate defender of the poor and the landless in Brazil, is an attorney an human rights advocate with the Pastoral Land Commission, an ecumenical arm of the social ministry of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops. The Commission is the leading organization dedicated to human rights protection in rural Brazil. It documents human rights violations, produces periodic reports and supports and assists landless workers in their struggle for land rights. Through the Commission, Frigo has organized rural labor unions and represents squatters involved in land disputes. A member of the National Network of Popular Lawyers, he is one of the most visible and effective human rights defenders in the state of Parana. He was born in Capinzal, in the neighboring state of Santa Catarina.

The human rights activist reports that a significant number of the several hundred people killed in rural conflicts in the past several years in Brazil have been in the state of Parana. From January 1997 to December 2000, 16 people have been killed in land conflicts and 20 others survived attempts on their lives in this relatively small southern state. None of the responsible persons in these deaths and attempted killings have been convicted. In the same period at least 36 death threats against those involved in rural conflicts have been registered.

Before joining the Pastoral Land Commission, Frigo founded human rights centers in Ponta Grossa and in Curitiba, both in the state of Parana. In 1986 he participated in the founding assembly of the Brazilian Human Rights Movement.

He was invited to present a report on forced labor in Brazil to the United Nations in 1994 and helped prepare a report for UN's High Commissioner Mary Robinson's visit to Brazil in May 2000. Last June he represented the Brazilian human rights movement in a regional Latin American meeting on human rights defenders.

Since joining the Commission, Frigo has been threatened repeatedly. In 1986 he was accused of defamation for exposing a federal representative who forced children to perform hard labor. In 1993 Frigo was threatened by military police while representing a client. In 1999 he was attacked and detained by military police in Curitiba. In early 2000 he received three death threats which led him to request protection measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In spite ofallefforts to stop his work, Frigo continues his fight on behalf of the landless poor.

Is the prize important forhis work? Frigo answered this question to a reporter from ezine "No.": "The prize is important because it gets international visibility to Brazilian agrarian question. The recognizance by the RFK Center for Human Rights is going to open many doors so that we will be able to ask the support of international organizations for our projects. At the same time it will help us maintain the agrarian reform in the Brazilian political agenda."

Translated by Friends of the MST volunteer Richard Paige.

Human Rights Medal of Honor

One hundred and thirty-seven years ago, the Countess Isabelle Sophia Bario, diplomatic representative ofEmperor Dom Pedro II ofBrazil, sailed to war-ravaged America, to negotiate with President Lincoln to allow Brazil to trade with the Confederate States of America. In fact, she was a rebel spy and instead of treaties, Sophia was after Union secrets. What she found instead was intrigue and murder. Fleeing for her life, Sophia was rescued by Captain Robert Norton, a Confederate cavalry officer. Thus began a torrid love affair with strategic implications. â&#x20AC;&#x17E; mr7,144,r, Countess Bario's story comes from Marietta author Derek Hart. For Love or Honor Bound is a Civil War historical omance novel based in large part on the author's ancestors, who fought on both sides during the conflict. "My relatives were from South Carolina and Pennsylvania," stated Mr. Hart. "The attic was rich with letters and diaries--tales of valor and sacrifice for causes each believed in."

Derek Hart has been writing fiction and studying military history for over 26 years now, but the War Between the States has always been close to his heart. "Ever since childhood I was intrigued with the Civil War," the author said, "but when you discover your ancestors actually fought in it, well that makes it personal and real. I write fiction, so it was just natural to spin tales about the Nortons and Oetzels and how the Civil War changed their lives."

Taking the genealogical research seriously, Mr. Hart delved into state and county records, read scores of Confederate and Union regimental histories, and even employed a Brazilian friend to help translate Portuguese and advise on Brazilian customs. The book is fiction, but I made every attempt to blend fact with literary license, especially concerning family roots." Hart said.

Derek Hart's passion is writing action/adventure fiction, with over 10 novels, three screenplays, and hundreds of short stories to his credit. Mr. Hart resides in Marietta, Georgia, USA with his wife and son, where he is the Director of Training & Development for a major corporation. For further information, please visit www.xlibr is. com/ \ ....derekhart or www.derekhartbooks.com

Book

My Belle Spy

8

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

"tst of don't get me wrong, I love Rio. 1, go there every year. It's just that street â&#x20AC;˘ maintenance could use a little work. Let me explain.

Back on the last day of August, I did a face plant. Here's how it happened. I was out for a morning run, doing my usual five miles at about 5:30 a mile, nothing too strenuous for a superbly conditioned athlete like myself. Rounding a corner, I saw three young toughs molesting a group of nuns and little children. Using my best impression of a martial arts expert, I stepped up to the plate, disabling two of the three with a series of spins and well-placed kicks. When I spun around with a kick at the third, he managed to grab a hold of my foot and twist. Arms flailing, I landed on sidewalk, face first. The results were not pretty.

Okay-okay, that's not what really happened. What really happened was that I -was out for a morning walk ... walking briskly, mind you ... when I stepped in a hole and turned my ankle. Some combination of physics and aging reflexes dictated that the first thing to hit pavement was my face.

(I figured I could tell any story I wanted because there weren't any witnesses. I know that because as II cried my way back to the hotel, I didn't pass anyone paralyzed by laughter.)

Anyway, the results were not pretty. The first result was that I bled all over myself, not to mention the sidewalk and the inside of a cab. The second result was that I spent six hours in the emergency room. Why is it that everything happens so quickly in emergency rooms on television and so slowly in emergency rooms in real life?

After two of those six hours, a nurse walked over and asked, "Are you bleeding?"

Sorely, I nodded.

"Do they know you're bleeding?" I nodded again.

"Okay," she said and walked out of the room.

After X-rays and a CT scan and a couple of examinntions';th,Cerdict was: broken nose, pushed-in teeth, and fractured facial bones.

Believe me, among the phrases a thirty-something woman does not want to hear from a doctor is "fractured facial bones." "The bones over the sinuses here in the front of your face are very thin," he said.

"It's kind of like an eggshell cracking."

It'll be awhile before I eat hard-boiled eggs again. Anyway, I'm back home here in Alaska now, and since the Rio sidewalk assaulted me, I've been to several doctor's appointments and to more than a few dentist's appointments. Here it is, months later, and my face...

Well, the good news is that I'm no longer bleeding. The bad news is that anyplace my face is not scabbed over it is black and blue. Anyplace it is not either of those, it is yellow. I have a new bend in my nose and braces on my teeth... which is like having a mouth full of barbed wire.

I'm not complaining, mind you. Considering what happened to all those people on September 11th, I got offeasy. But I haven't been doing much. It's kind of hard going out of the house when you're expecting people to take one look and start screaming.

Soon, I'm told, I 'llbe as pretty as I -ever was. (Some goal that is.) The swelling and bruising willgo away and the doctor will finish reconstructing my nose. The last time I saw him, he said he'd need a good photograph to work from. I've looked. I haven't been able to find one that's just right. Maybe you can help.

Do you have a sharp, full-face photo of Yasmine Bleeth I could borrow? Just kidding. The End The author is from Palmer, Alaska C 2001 by Janett L. Grady

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

r

The ABRA (Associacao Brasileira de Reforma Agrariaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Brazilian Agrarian Reform Association) is contesting what the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has to say about agrarian reform in Brazil in the FAO's "State of the World of Food and Apiculture - 2001." According to the Association, certain passages of the report "are a far cry from the scientific care and political neutrality that characterize the report as a whole." ABRA wrote to the FAO director general, Jacque Diouf, asking that corrections be made.

According to the letter from ABRA, the FAO report "reproduces, in various moments, data and discourse from the Brazilian government about the supposed merits and achievements of the Agrarian Reform program."

The FAO report says that the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration has done the most for agrarian reform in the country, when that "was the exclusive result of the intensification of struggles of Brazilian rural workers, augmented with the internal and international repercussions of the massacres at Corumbiara and Eldorado de Carajas."

Another point that ABRA regards as incorrect is in regards to the Rural Land Tax (ITR). The 1996 ITR legislation, cited as coercive and punitive for the large landowners' properties, is milder that the previous 1994 law. The proposed revenue from the tax for 2002 is $99 million, while in the last year ofthe 1994 legislation $114 million was raised. In other ords, this year's ITR revenue will be 47.5% less than that of the previous law if corrected fpr inflation.

ABRA also disagrees with the manner in which the number of land settlements realized between 1997 and 1999 is presented and the World Bank's market-based agrarian reform program. These two points, cited by the FAO as positive, are shown to be far from reality. The Cedula da Terra program, for example, has various Irregularities, such as the precarious nature ofthe technical reports, the over-valuing ofland and productivity on unproductive large land holdings.

The ABRA letter demonstrates these and other errors in specific cases in Bahia, Minas Gerais, Maranhao and Pernambuco.

Upon receiving the FAO report, the Cardoso administration published congratulatory ads with the headline, 'Even the United Nations praises Agrarian Reform in Brazil in major Brazilian newspapers. According to the ABRA letter, "besides the publicity in the 1 press, the Internet pages of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and INCRA (National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform), continued to celebrate the 'approval of the UN' of the agrarian reform , program. They published the section on Brazil in the FAO document.

However, as usual, two types of fraud were detected in the material: 1) the FAO text was not reproduced in its entirety; passages that did not interest the government's propaganda were eliminated: 2) the unfaithful translation of certain passages in the report, changing words and expressions from the original text, in ways that would amplify the supposed merits a the government."

Correction, Please

The 4th Brazilian Congress of Cinema congregating 36 organizations dealing with movies in Brazil, has just ended this past November 11. Among other measures, the meeting chose a new president. He is renowned film producer Assuncao Hernandes who produced among other movies A Hora da Estrela (The Hour of the Star), which won a Silver Bear in the Berlin Movie Festival. Gustavo Dahl, the previous president, from now on will be directing Ancine (Agencia Nacional do Cinema--National Agency for Cinema), a federal agency that regulates the movie market in Brazil. Dahl was nominated for the post by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

For short-movie producers the highlight of the encounter was the moment when an agreement was announced between them and exhibitors establishing that movie theaters from now on will show shorts before the feature attraction.

Such exhibition was obligatory during the eighties, but was abolished in 1990 by President Fernando Collor de Mello when Embrafilme/Concine were extinguished.

According to the agreement multiplexes will show combined shorts in one /hour session programs. Other theaters will show them before the main attraction.

Exhibitors also declared their commitment to show national movies, promote their release through serious marketing and do something as simple as showing the movies at the previous scheduled dates.

Everybody seemed happy at the end of the congress. So much so that Ugo Sorrentino, president of the National Federacy of Movie Exhibitors, called the encounter the "Consensus Congress".

4400-â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;4

Movie Time

10

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

Mrs. President Roseana is the major star of the P rty of the Liberal Front, the trump card th party is playing in the race for the presi ency.

Furthermore, she is beautiful and el gant, well spoken, and attractive on a tel vision screen. And she is the only woman in the crowd of starched, male politicians.

KIRSTEN WEINIOLDT

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

The presidential election in Brazil is still a year away, but that does not mean it is on the backburner. In fact, the country is abuzz with the name of a shining star, which may play a significant role in next year's presidential election as well as the next four or even eight years. That star is Roseana Sarney, the governor of the state of Maranhao, and a representative of PFL (Partido da Frente Liberal—Party ofthe Liberal Front). The next president of Brazil could conceivably be a woman—a woman of a well-known political family. Her father was president of the republic, Jose Sarney, and her brother, Jose Sarney Filho, is Minister of the Environment. At this time Brazzil Magazine finds it prudent to take a closer look at this unusual player in the Brazilianpolitical game.

The Biography Roseana Macieira Sarney was born on June 1, 1953 in the home of her maternal grandfather, in Sao Luis, in Maranhao. She was 12 when her father was elected governor of Maranhao, which caused the family to move from Rio, where they were living at the time, to Sao Luis. In 1968, she participated in the student uprisings in Rio and, in 1970, in her father's campaign for the senate.

Educated in social sciences at the University ofBrasilia (UnB), Roseana received her master's degree in political science in Switzerland. It was in Geneva that she had her first health problems. After an emergency appendectomy at a local hospital in 1973, she had a number of after-effects that resulted in more operations.

Upon her return to Brazil, Roseana worked for five years at Novacap, the firm, which constructed Brasilia, and later at the Institute of Economic and Social Planning of the Secretariat of Planning. In 1981, she went to work as cabinet advisor of Senator Jose Sarney.

Roseana and her husband, Jorge Murad, personal secretary to the president, were considered the most influential couple of the New Republic. She had greater ascendancy in the political area and he, the economic area. The two, married since 1976, had the power to make or break politicians.

In 1987, they separated, but not for long. Roseana married Carlos Henrique Abreu Mendes in 1989, at the time secretary of the environment of Rio de Janeiro. But, in 1994, she and Jorge Murad went back to living together and re-married in 1997.

Catholic and adoptive mother of Rafaela, Roseana was elected Federal Representative of Maranhao in 1990, with 45,000 votes, the greatest majority in the state.

In 1993, she was investigated by the CPI (Commissao Parlamentar de Inquerito do Orcamento—Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry of the Budget) under suspicion of having involvement with the contractor Norberto Odebrech.t. The following year, she was elected governor ofMaranhao, in a tight race, defeating Epitacio Cafereira of PPR (Partido Progressista Renovador—Progressive Reform Party). In her government she has promoted an administrative reform in the state, and many public servants have been dismissed.

In 1997, she encountered a crisis with the Civil Police of Maranhao because of the involvement of a group of police officers in the massacre of four gunmen accused of killing representative Stenio Jose Mendonca. Roseana ended up dismissing the secretary ofJustice and Public Safety, Colonel Jair 12

Xereo.

In 1998, her government met with additional problems. Her major social project, an industrial park in Rosario, failed and was the subject of an investigation of the Federal Justice Department, suspected of bidding fraud.

Despite not being able to campaign in the interior of Maranhao, due to several operations, Roseana was re-elected with 66 percent of the vote for another term in office.

After assuming the office for the second time, she pulled off a small administrative revolution. Roseana put an end to the position of Secretary of State. The 18 people who held that title were substituted with eight "executive managers." In 2000, she was again plagued by health problems. In April, she had surgery for repair of the patella of the right knee, fractured in a fall. In the month of October she had surgery to remove a nodule in her breast.

The Personal Recollections Encountered on the internet at www.evirt.com.brimulher/cap09.htm was this unsigned piece describing Governor Sarney.

"And speaking of a woman of success, nothing simpler than pay homage to a great, distant friend of whom I am very proud: Roseana Sarney, the first woman governor of Brazil and also the first to govern a state for two administrations.

Our first contact happened in Imperatriz at the house of another great friend and neighbor, Nice Lobao, wife of then governor Edson Lobao, today senator of Maranhao. The first lady of Maranhao always loved receiving her friends, musicians, poets, and personalities at the house of her father, then president and today, senator and writer, Jose Sarney and her mother, Dona Marly on the beach of Calhao, in Sao Luis.

A sociologist, Roseana resolved to also involve herself in politics, like her relatives, first as representative, where she stood out in the National Congress by her elegance and also as the muse for the impeachment of then President Fernando Collor. Her dynamic performance, culminated with the election to Governor of Maranhao, a charge she has taken on with great competence.

Humble, Roseana, in addition to being a person with a public dedication, has not changed her habits because of her position.

She likes to cook her way, principally seafood, and enjoy her family—impresario, musician, and composer Jorge Murad and the daughter Rafaela. Also, when she can, she can be found on the beach at Meio in the numerous restaurants that exist there.

She loves music and was raised listening principally to regional songs of Maranhao, which has many admirable talents, such as Papete, Josias Sobrinho, Chico Maranhao, Sergio Habibe, Ubiratan Souza, Chico Pipira, Cesar Teixeira, Cesar Nascimento, Beto Pereira, Jorge Thadeu, Celia Leite, Regina Telles, Gabriel Melonio, Rosa Reis, Roberto Brandao, in the capital and in the interior Lourival Tavares, Erasmo Dibel, Carlinhos Veloz, Nenem Braganca, Zeca Tocantins and Beto (meu) Terra. Many ofthose have frequented her house in nightly serenades.

We have much in common in habits and likes. She, like I, loves red clothes, and when she's not dressed in a blazer for work, she is in jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers. Roseana was always a person who pursued her dreams with tireless determination.

She always said that she would be governor of Maranhao. She BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

could have used and abused the fame and power her family wielded, but on the contrary, preferred to study in public school and familiarize herself up close with the problems of the population. Sensitive, Roseana does not fit the mold of cold and calculating politicians. I say this because I know how much she suffers seeing someone treated unjustly. She truly loves Maranhao and her people, and her government has been returned to the people.

Many men said they would not vote for her because she was a woman, but she was not discouraged and received the majority ofthe vote. Now, in this election for governor, Roseana repeated the feat and had a great showing at the urns. Her margin of vote was above 60 percent of the electorate proving the preference of more than half of the Maranhense (from Maranhao) electorate.

Even when she had to confront several operations, she returned beautiful and complete to the Palacio dos Lefts to fulfill to the letter the wish of the people of Maranhao.

Incidentally, achievements in the Sarney family are not a novelty. The father, Jose Sarney, is so loved in the NorthNortheast and in most states in the country, that he succeeded in getting elected senator of Maranhao, after having been president."

The Politics In Correio Braziliense, on September 6, 2001, you could fmd the terse, brief announcement about the governor of Maranhao.

"The governor of Marankdo, Roseana Sarney, accepts presenting her name as pre-candidate for the presidency. In truth, it is a strategy of PFL to obtain the best conditions to negotiate a good position on the list of government positions for the succession of Fernando Henrique Cardoso."

The PMDB (Paitido do Movimento Democratic° Brasileiroâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement) would do well in taking precautions. The PFL has resolved to enter into the race for a key position in the government succeeding FHC. In a meeting ofthe National Executive Committee, the current president of the Senate, Edison Lobao (PFL-BA), in the role of spokesman of the governor of Maranhao, Roseana Sarney, communicated that she accepts presenting her name as precandidate for the Presidency ofthe Republic. Roseana made this gesture at the request of the party, which is going to test the electoral chances of its stars, and she was the one who stood out most distinctly.

At the same time as she put herself at the disposal of the party, she put the brakes on those who thought about nominating her for the vice presidential slot in a government headed by the PSDB, "No voter asked me to be vice presidential candidate in any elective contest," responded the governor, who achieved the acceptance of all the pefelistas (members of the PFL). "Roseana doesn't accept being second to anybody. And we're not discussing vice president. We're talking about candidate for president, vice president is jusfadornment," said the president of PFL, Jorge Bornhausen.

In truth, it is not a discourse to be taken literally. What the PFL wants is to place itself advantageously on the list of government posts, even if that means, ultimately, occupy the BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

vacancy of vice p sident. First, the party wants to eliminate the PMDB from thee uation, as they have no name thrown into the hat. And the seco d objective is to demand a defmition of the PSDB. If it (PSD ) wants to head the list, the party has to present a name with real e ectoral potential. And for that, therefore, the PFL nominates oseana: while the Minister of Health, Jose Serra, withers, R seana appears well placed in the polls.

Roseana is, th s, the trump card PFL possesses to influence the choice of the ture candidate in a government alliance. It is true that she has been praised by the PFL through an immense exposure in the p 's television programs. Coincidence or not, the PFL began to reak out that strategy when the PSDB began to offer the remot possibility of an alliance between Jose Serra, PSDB, and the g vemor of Pernambuco, Jarbas Vasconcelos, PMDB. But eve though some pefelistas say in conversation that the candida y of Roseana is a bluff, because she is a candidate practi ally elected to the Senate, some treat the proposal seriousl , and all count on her name to prepare the game for "rnakin nice" with the party.

The order is t avoid that the PFL ends up isolated, with the PSDB and the P DB migrating toward candidacies of opposition or throwing the party into the condition of third in an alliance. Under at angle, the pefelistas will follow in the primaries in the r cc for president with the maximum, which the vice-president M co Maciel defended in the meeting: "She is a good name, an who has time, is not in a hurry."

Better Perfo mance At the hour, which the party has a name like Roseana, it gains strength, fo example, to defend its criteria of choice for government can idate in the presidential succession. At the meeting, Bornha sen defended three criteria. Primary elections, where any voter ho wants to be able to help indicate the name of a member of overnment; or opinion polls, for the choice among affiliates; r electoral research. Ifthe criteria go to polls, Bornhausen dou that any ofthe PSDB will be competition for Roseana.

During them eting ofthe Executive Commission, a national poll ofthe Institu o Vox Populi, in which Roseana appears with the best perfo ance among the presidential hopefuls, she comes up in a vi al dead heat with Ciro Gomes, PPS. Ciro arrived at 15 per nt, Roseana at 14 percent, which Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, P is the favorite at 32 percent. The governor of Minas Gerais, hamar Franco, PMDB, came in at 9 percent, and the governor of Rio, Anthony Garotinho, PSB, 7 percent, and the Minister of Health, Jose Serra, PSDB, 6 percent.

With Roseana out of the equation, the opposition gains ground, a detail that attracted the attention of the PFL. In that scenario, Lula soared from 32 percent to 38 percent and Ciro from 14 percent to 18 percent, and hamar from 9 percent to 11 percent. "She does not transfer votes to the government, says political scientist Joao Meira, of Vox Populi, who inte reted the poll to the PFL. Meira remembers that half the lev rage of the governor is owed to the party programs. And is exposure will continue at least for the next months with a thi d ofpefelista programs showing the image of Roseana. "At le t half of those numbers are due to the work of communication, but those who think the PFL is pulling a 13

candidate from a bag of tricks, is wrong, because she has characteristics like empathy and charisma, which were fundamental for this contest," affirms Meira.

Vox listened to 2,500 voters in 139 municipalities between the 24th and 25th of August. The margin of error is 2 percent. One of the most attention getting facts is the second round. If the election were to be held today, nobody would gain on Lula, but Roseana and Ciro would have a better showing. The governor would achieve 32 percent ofthe vote and Lula 46 percent. Ciro would have 33 percent and Lula 47 percent. Minister of agriculture, Pedro Malan, would remain with only 10 percent, and Lula would have 57 percent, the worst among the names researched. Serra would have 22 percent and the petista (of PT, Partido dos Trabalhadores, Labor Party) would have 49 percent.

The Competition PSDB (the President's Party) Candidates: Jose Serra. The Health Minister is the preferred candidate of the PSDB. His problem is that he does not surpass 6 percent.

Tasso Jereissati. Like Serra, the governor of Ceara is not taking off. And President Fernando Henrique Cardoso does not trust him.

Paulo Renato. The Minister of Education wants the candidacy. But nobody takes him seriously.

Finance Minister Pedro Malan. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso wants him. But nobody takes that seriously.

The PMDB candidate wants to win the convention of the party to compete in the race for vice president on the short list.

Ex-president and Minas Gerais's governor Hamar Franco is well placed in the polls, but does not have his party's support to compete as president.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The candidate of the PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores—Workers' Party), leading in the polls, is the adversary to be defeated. This is going his fourth attempt as presidential candidate.

Former Ceara's governor and former Finance Minister Ciro Gomes. the candidate of PPS (Partido Popular Socialista— People' s Socialist Party) seeks to obtain the support of Leonel Brizola, of PDT (Partido Democratic° Trabalhista—Workers' Democratic Party) and of hamar Franco to go face to face with Lula.

Rio's Governor, Anthony Garotinho, was already the best placed in the polls. Part of the his party the PSB (Partido Socialista Brasileiro—Brazilian Socialist Party) does not support his candidacy.

The Press From the Brazilian website, www.observatoriodaimprensa. com.br, which sees things from a somewhat different point ofview, Chico Bruno has the following to say about the presidential election and Roseana Sarney: "We are more than a year away from the election, but the Brazilian press, every month, prints the intentions of the voters for the presidential election of2002. They are polls requested by industry organizations, such as CNI (National Confederation of Industry), CNT (National Transportation Confederation), and others, with the exception of Datafolha (which belongs to newspaper Folha de Silo Paulo). They, included, already 14

defined that there exist five candidates in the opposition: Lula, Ciro, Itamar, Garotinho, and Eneas. Since the final candidate still doesn't exist, the results are innocuous.

Those surveys divulged by the press with pride are serving as a test balloon for dubious interests. If not, we'll see. The PFL contracted for a trifle of $102 thousand, according to their own press, heavyweights of Brazilian advertisement to create and produce three television commercials starring the governor ofMaranhao, Roseana Sarney. Those commercials were and are being distributed solidly all over the country. A media plan worthy of the launching of a new automobile, by the quality of the material and the quantity of insertions into TV prime time. The governor is well directed, and her performance in front of the cameras is very good.

Immediately, the research institutes, by order of the confederations, controlled by politicians of the PFL, placed the name of Roseana Sarney to be assessed as she confronts the names of the opposition, as a possible candidate of the race. In the polls she appears with something around 13 or 14 percent, vying for second place with three candidates in opposition to the government.

The political commentators analyzed the results of the various angles and scenarios, which go from the strength of PFL's bargain, to make her candidate or, who knows, vice president, to a possible weakening of the power of ACM (political boss Antonio Carlos Magalhaes, former Bahia senator) in the equation. What no journalist analyzed, unfortunately, was the use ofparty electoral advertisement and the polls to sum up the operation unleashed by the PFL to gain importance in the current political game. All fell into the trap of the PFL and were used. It is hard to understand that the journalists with so many years on the scene, are so naïve, to the point of not perceiving the tricks played by the Brazilian liberals.

Fortunately, the great majority of the Brazilian electorate is not, at the moment, in a climate of electoral contest, despite the insistence of the great majority of the press to anticipate the electoral discussion. A great parcel, perhaps the majority of the Brazilian electorate, is worried about the rationing of energy, the make-up of products, the fall in buying power, security, unemployment, and with the problems of their cities, caused by mismanagement on the part of state and municipal governments, as their own research shows. Ifthe voters and the readers are not in a climate of elections, why does the press insist to such a degree on the subject?

It would be pertinent that the newspapers, magazines, and finally the media Would request, through their associations or syndicates, a poll to learn what the reader wants to read at the moment, something like what TV Globo does to learn what direction the soap operas should take. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any indication that this will happen. Please understand, that is not valid for day to day factual happenings.

It is valid for knowing why the readers are not stimulated by the anticipation of the electoral climate, why they don't enthusiastically take to the streets to demand the ousting of Jader Barbalho and prison for Maluf, the way they did with ACM and Arruda.

At the same time, principally the newspapers and magazines are going to be spending the energy of their reporters learning what Lula thinks of Tony Blair, Ciro at a dinner with businessBRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

men and the president of the Republic, Itamar of the president, and Garotinho of the gospel. Another nuisance is to every day see the inferences that Malan, Serra, Paulo Renato, Tasso, Add°, and Alcicmin could be the government's candidate to president and now even Roseana. Declarations, which once publicized, are subsequently analyzed by the political pundits and echoed by other personalities. A type ofjournalism, which was established in the origins of social columns and which the social columnists do not even use anymore—the gossip, which today is restricted to journalism, dedicated to the private lives of other people, principally of artists. On the contrary, no newspaper, magazine, television or radio station makes use of sending special envoys to Geneva, Jersey, or Cayman to delve into the case of Maluf, instead."

Off the Air In Rio's daily Jornal do Brasil, there appeared the followlog: JornalNacional, the prime time news show from TV Globo, was pulled from the air yesterday, in the city of Imperatriz, in Maranhao, to obstruct the publication of a poll pointing out the advantage of Epitacio Cafeteira, PPR, over Roseana Sarney, PFL. The Globo affiliate, TV Mirante, of the Sarney family, transmitted the telecast normally. When the segment with poll results was announced, the station went offthe air, impeding the publication in the area of Imperatriz—capable of deciding the election, with its 500 thousand voters. The rival station, TV Capirtal, affiliate of Record, however, recorded the segment and broadcast the numbers: 51 percent for Cafeteira and 39 percent for Roseana.

State representative Aderson Lago, PPR, one of the coordinators of the campaign for Cafeteira, advised later that this happened. He denounced, also, that Sarney found a formula to cheat the legislation, which keeps him from appearing with his daughter. According to Lago, the ex president recorded dozens of video tapes and distributed them to municipalities of the interior, putting the mayors in charge of broadcasting them on small TV stations.

In his appearances, Sarney asks for votes for Roseana and complains, saying that his enemies want to expel him from Maranhao. Lago says that the images of Sarney fit into the windows of propaganda of the local stations. On the broadcasts of the large networks, the segments with national announcements appear, but when there is no announcement for the regional blocks, generally the screen goes dark or is preempted by a vignette. "Several mayors are already seeking out Cafeteira, saying that they are obligated to interfere in the transmissions, in virtue of the power of the Sarney family.

The Accomplishments As governor of Maranhao, Roseana Sarney has changed the face of politics with a restructuring of the government system. Such a thing alone would not make a difference if the Maranhenses (inhabitants of Maranhao) did not see a difference in their lives. One project that would bring additional jobs to her state was the establishment of a new branch of the brewery Schincariol in Caxias, Maranhao. The press was there to cover the event.

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

Occupying an area of a mill ion square meters, the factory will be the most modern in Latin America and will supply the entire state and much if the Northeast with beer, soft drinks, and mineral water. Th total investment by the brewery in Caxias will be R$99.7 million "With this f ctory, we open new perspectives and new horizons for Caxi , especially because we are generating 2,000 new jobs, directl and indirectly," declared the governor, who revealed the pla ue for the launching of the factory standing beside the mayor fCaxias, Marcia Marinho, PFL, and the CEO of Schincariol, N Ison Schincariol.

Caxias comp ted with four other cities in Maranhao for the right to house th Schincariol factory. "What weighed in the decision was the uality of our water and the facility for access to other cities i the Northeast," emphasized Congressman Paulo Marinho, FL. "We have good water, the area at our disposal, and an advantageous locale between two capitals.

Caxias today is g ving a boost to the development, inaugurating a new time, in hich the perspectives of work and income certainly will be uch improved," said Marcia Marinho, as she signed the agree ent between the prefecture of Caxias and the company.

For Governo Sarney, the installation of the factory represents a leap for t e development of Caxias and the region. "At a moment in wh' h Brazil is living in a situation of crisis, the attraction of in estments to Maranhao is an important advance," reiterate the governor. "The government of the State will give all the i centives necessary for the dream of development of Caxias c be realized," she concluded.

The Schinca iol brewery will have the annual capacity to produce 1.5 mill on hectoliters of beer and draft, in addition to soft drinks and m neral water. "The construction of th i s modern factory in Caxias is the proof of growth of our brewery. Of every 100 beers open today in Brazil, 10 are from Schincariol," revealed Nelson chincariol. The new unit of Sch incariol will be ember of next year. When the factory starts inaugurated in functioning, it ill guarantee the creation of 1,100 new jobs directly and anot er 1,000 indirectly.

The Intervie s Roseana is th major star ofthe PFL, the trump card the party is playing in the race for the presidency. Furthermore, she is beautiful and elegant, well spoken, and attractive on a television screen. And she is the only woman in the crowd of starched, male politicians. With her government supported by 88 percent ofthe population of Maranhao, she is the governor with the highest rating in the country.

But when questioned whether she would be a candidate to succeed FHC, she becomes more cautious: "I think that there might be a more advantageous step. First we have to strengthen the PFL, then talk about names."

She is often heard complaining about discrimination against women, the Northeast, the PFL, and her father, Senator Jose Sarney.

Excerpts from interview from o Estado de Sao Paulo appeared on the w bsite of the PFL. The PFL is romoting your image heavily in the South.

What is the inte tion of yotkand the party?

15

It was the determination of the leadership ofthe PFL to show the executive side ofthe party: governors and mayors with solid approval. Of the six governors of ours, five were reelected and many ofthe new mayors are well thought of. This face ofthe PFL was not very well known.

Then why is it that the themes they tackle are national and not regional?

But they are themes, which are very relevant to the discourse ofthe PFL as well as my own. The theme ofdiscrimination against women, for example, is one that I felt on my own skin when I was candidate for the first time, in 1994. According to the polls, 12 percent of the electorate of Maranhao did not vote for me simply because I'm a woman. The second discrimination is against the Northeast. I participated in meetings of governors, institutions, and governmental organs, where it was repeated that the Northeast is the problem area of the country, the backwards part.

The idea that remained with the campaign on TV is that the PFL is promoting you as candidate for the presidency.

The intention of the PFL was not to promote a name for the candidacy but an administrator and a politician, who might be a woman, and someone who was working out. The idea was to show that the party knows how to govern. There is also a most violent discrimination against the PFL. I say that! was rewarded because I'm a woman, Northeastern, daughter of Jose Sarney, and affiliated with the PFL. As the highest rated, is your name a natural for the presidency?

I think that is a step further on. First the construction. The first thing that we would want is to strengthen the party, and then we can't talk about names. Strengthening the party, certainly, there will be names to choose.

Could you comment, please, if you would be an excellent candidate for vice president on a ticket with the PSDB at the head?

Already, the discrimination begins. Why give the PFL the vice presidency if our numbers look good? It is a form of discrimination.

Woman and the Northeast?

Both. Today the vice presidency for the PFL is outside our thinking, but we don't know if it will accommodate the political forces. Like the PSDB, the PFL could very well ally itselfwith the PMDB. Do you intend to be more compatible in April of2002, and then what?

The primary idea is for me to candidate for the Senate. But I will listen to the direction of the party leadership.

Ifan alliance PSDB-PFL-PMDB succeeds, will the head of 16

the list be the PSDB? Not necessarily. Could be the PFL or the PMDB. What is necessary is that there really exists an alliance.

What is the assessment you would give of the government ofFHC? It is complicated, but I think he advanced. The stability of the economy is a good conquest. The Law of Fiscal Responsibility is, too. As to the errors, my father committed the error of creating the Cruzado II, and FHC's error was regarding the privatizations. It was wrong to direct the resources of the privatization only to reduce debt. Part of it should have gone to the infrastructure, because our social debt is very great. But my assessment is more positive than negative.

The Political Phenomenon The above is a term often used about the governor from Maranhao, woman and North Eastern, who has so enchanted the country. Therefore, she is being courted by various news organizations to give interviews and opinions. Cidades do Brasil, found on the internet at www.cicladesdobrasil.com.br, published another series of questions and answers by the often outspoken but still very politically conscious Sarney.

Happy with the local polls and with the strong indications for the presidential succession, the governor of Maranhao contests the label of political phenomenon and refutes it emphatically, "What I am is my work."

Even so, she does not deny the possibility of being a presidential candidate, and with a certain indifference, she affirms, "I don't know what the future will bring."

Futurology aside, Roseana Sarney is the first female governor elected and reelected in Brazil and is practicing a new administrative model in Maranhao, definitively burying an already tired political and administrative structure of the government, accommodated for many years.

As governor of Maranhao, you have achieved important conquests like the extension of industrial park and investments in diverse sectors of the economy. You also made substantial changes in the structure of the government. What are the results of those achievements?

I needed to tidy up the house to make it to my liking. I'm the one who gets things done. Nothing else will do. I'm unveiling a new manner of governing. In this second term, I decentralized the government and created management units, which are much closer to the people and who are my representatives right beside me.

Formerly I had 28 secretaries who were here in Sao Luis, distanced from the state, which is very large. Today! have eight thematic management units, which formulate policy, and the regional managers who are at the base and execute those policies.

Every month, my managers and I board a bus and travel the state, in an itinerant government, conferring with the lists that BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

I carry in briefcases corresponding to each one of the 217 municipalities, if the measures were achieved.

just as importarrt to administer well as to have a good work structure.

Do you think that the run-ins between the PFL and the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso may interfere in the mission of the president in finding his successor? How do you see the PFL? In politics nothing is impossible, but today, it would be very difficult. It is more realistic to maintain the alliance with the three parties, which are the base of support, the PFL, the PSDB, and the PMDB. Many people want to stamp the PFL as a party of the right, of the bosses. I think nothing of the kind. It is a professional party, which has ideas and lets its affiliates grow. People discuss and debate. My politics are the worry about the social issues, with the collectiveâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;what people generally identified with the left.

Do you beli ye that Brazil ought to be on the road to a parliamentary emocracy?

We are alrea y somewhat parliamentarian. Everything has to be approved i Congress. it is just that Congress participates in the approvals ut not in the planning. There ought to be such a union. Thebes for Brazil would be a mixed model, which has a district and m ority vote.

To what do you attribute this economic, social, and political crisis the country is going through, and how do we get out of it?

Brazil went through a very difficult time. The social questions were relegated to a second or even a third plane. We have to defend the stability of the currency at the price of immense sacrifice. The social cost was very high. The social indicators were very bad.

Now this is starting to change. I feel that the Federal Government now is more worried about the social questions; for example, in the area of public safety, it launched a program to help the states. Two areas in which I think that the Federal Government got it right are education and agrarian reform.

If the government really invests in the social question and in urgent problems such as safety, and if the economy improves, the employment situation will automatically improve.

Would you be able to identify where Fernando Henrique went wrong?

From my point of view, when he started his second term, he should immediately have initiated the reforms. And he did not. For me, the most important is political reform, even more important than the tax reform. I, in the first place would establish political reform and secondly, an administrative reform to speed up the public policies and make public services more efficient.

But early on at the beginning of the second term we had these international crises like Russia, Japan, and the Asian tigers, which precipitated our own crisis and impeded that advance.

What would be your reform?

Our constitution of 1988 is a bit hybrid. It is partially parliamentarian for a presidential regime. It would be necessary to adapt and discuss questions like party loyalty and strong partiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;establish norms for national policy. Another important point is the relationship of the president with the legislative and judiciary powers. If the president is strengthened, that relationship is stronger. Even as a senator, I will fight to see these political and administrative reforms happen. I think it is BFtAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

The numbe of feminine voters, this year, has already surpassed the asculine voters. Do you think that this factor may weigh in a election for the presidency of the Republic?

Are taboos and rejudices being torn down?

In reality, p ople see women as an alternative. In the old days, in meetin s of political discussions, for that fact that I'm a woman, I was outsider. People would approach me to ask how my family as doing.! felt discriminated against. But today, no. My opinion are being heard.

The opinion polls in respect to the next candidates for the presidency oft Republic place you in a highlighted position with indices of s much as 12 percent of the intention of the voters. You we e already appointed by vice president Marco Maciel as a go d option of the party for the succession of Fernando Hen que. Do you intend to be the second representative of Ma ran Ao in the presidency of the Republic?

Since I was beady a congresswoman and daughter of the president of the epublic, I have a view of the big picture of the country. Today 'm not a candidate for president but senator for my state. But I on't know what will happen in the future. The municipal elections will be important for the presidential succession, because they constitute the base of any politician.

We are in that process, the first step to a future definition. On the other hand, I can't say that there aren't worries about my health, but I have always overcome those. It is a fact that challenges and strengthens me. I am totally recuperated and ready to confront any campaign.

Will Roseana Sarney be the next President of Brazil? It is probably unlikely but not impossible. Is she better or even different because she is a woman?

Roseana Sarney is a politicianâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;raised in apolitical climate and trained in the political tradition. Politics and sexist prejudices aside, another concern will be her health, which has encountered a variety of problems over the years. It will be interesting to watch, some of us from a great distance, what happens a year from now when all Brazilians go to the polls.

Kirsten Weinoldt was born in Denmark and came to the U.S. in 1969. She fell in love with Brazil after seeing Black Orpheus many years ago and has lived immersed in Brazilian culture ever since. Her e-mail: kwracine&erols.com

17

though tragic. I thought you were a bit hard on the poor curator, had 1 been in his place, (might have cried as well. I teach a course on Brazilian history at the University of the West Indies (in Barbados), an island where Villa-Lobos once lived for some months(he was pursued here by an inamorata, alas, unrequited love). Excuse my_presumption, but do you know of theexistenceof a Brazilian artist by the nameof Marty ? (or a name quite similar?) He painted in the 1970's and 80's. Thank you,

Karl Watson St Michael, Barbados A MINUTE OF SILENCE

You are invited to participate in thisdialogue Write to Letters to the Publisher P 0 Box 50536 LosAngeles,CA90050-0536 or send E-mail to brazzil@brazzil.com

[II -azzisla1I 11 l 111.1 ieo your list. l I always knew Brazzif was a tasteless, low-brow rag. But still I read it since there are so few online journals devoted to Brazil, a country I've long had a deep interest in. You r October issue, however, went beyond the pale. And then no apology in your November issue. You must have zero editorial standards. Worse, you must have no moral conscience. Your morafrelativism is scary. I don't want lobe associated with Brazzil in any way. Just being on your e-mail list makes me feel dirty.

Nathan Brinkman nathanbrinkman@hotmaiLcom BAD CHOICE am writing in response to a suggestion t at someone made on your magazine's web pagetorum.

How could you possibly jusfifythepublication in your magazineoftheodious, hateful anti-American diatribe written by Dione Rppha? Her writing was a web of generalizations, opinion masquerading as fact and conclusions completely unsupported by the facts.

When I tried toengage her, diplomatically atfirst,she couldn't afford me the courtesy of a reply ordefend her positions. Her response still shows that she is incapableof defending her positions.

Pleaseforgivethe sarcasm, but as I said on the forum, if I wrote an article titled "Come Sua PrOpria Bosta: E Bom Para a Sairde" ("Eat Your Own Shit: It's Good for Your Health') in which I actually encouraged peopletoeat their own excrement, would you printitorbe obligedto iprint it?Idon'tthinkso. Why then did you decide-to publish the execrable garbage spewed forth by Ms. P4ocha? I would really appreciatethe courtesy of a reply. Thank you. Sincerely,

Randy Paul Via Internet ODDBALLS AND ALL want tot an you or pu • is in_g a t e etters, even some that were pretty rough. Events like this bring out all sorts of people. Perhaps my friends and relatives in Brazil do not represent the majority, but most are sensitive people and concerned about what happened September 11. There are weirdoes in Brazil as in the United States. I recently read a scientific article about the water resources of Brazil and what is happening to them. This might make an interesting story as most of Brazil's energy comes from water. Keep up the good work.

George Pichel Dana Point, California l ot i m prece illip on tg411ffl-ifjiof lenfflH a was funny 18

s a :razi Ian an. a sar or oils to exten to our Kiwi friends our condolences at the murder of Peter Blake in Brazil. Peter Blake was a great yachtsman and competitor and certainly deserved al3etterfate.

I was pleased to read that Peter and his crew had been well treated in the upper reaches (socalled uncivilized areas) of the Amazon Basin and only when they reached so called civilization were they assaulted.

Unfortunately Brazilians have come to expect these things; but it drives away tourists and the assaulters when caught, which is rare, get very light sentences. I don't know if the Brazilian government has apologized for this terrible incidenl, but I felt it should.

Many of us sailors received nothing but great treatmenfin New Zealand and I know that at least two famous Brazilian sailors, Wilfredo and Heloisa Schurman, who in their twocircumnavigations spent a lot of time in New Zealand, came to fove the land as did all of us yachties.

George Pichel gpichel@earthlink.net BRAZIL FOR GOOD am an mencanw o astrave err to :razi an lam returning in March 2002. I was too young, the last time I went, to appreciate and understand where I was. Hove the country and have been studying it on my own outside of school. lam also intrigued with the language and the accents.lthinkAmencans are too dull to appreciate your beautiful country. As someone stated earlier, don't mind us and what we think. Most of us in the USA are clueless.

I want to meet as many Brasileiras e Brasileiros as I can. All the Brazilians] know are very kind, (not to sound redundant) open, and interested in me, as an American. I want to live in Rio and spend the rest of my days there (Ilha Grande seems suitableforme as well). On another note, a lot of people think education is supposed to get them a very good job, but they all have the wrong mind set. Education enriches lives. That being said, I will always be a student of Brazil. Ate logo!

Adam Lee Via Internet ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE real) your essay on :razi an. mus say FOR MORE LETTERS AND ENTIRE LETTER SEE: http://www.brauil.com

it fully explains the same way I've felt. I've visited Brazil six times within the past year and many Brazilians speak of Brazil in such a negative way.

It was perplexing to me as aforeigner who looked at the spectacular sites and businesses and thought to myself. This is one awesome country. It has many problems but thankfullylneverfelt them on my short trips to Brazil. By the way, it would be a dream if I could move to Brazil particularly Sao Paulo. Do you have any ideas on what jobs 1 could search for? I am fairly educated and a hard worker that's looking for a change. At the present time lam an airline pilo-t but I'm not sure if this is whatlwanttocall along term career, If you have any companies that would hire me or if you can give me any information I would really appreciated-it. Thanks from

Alex Soto Miami, Florida pilotboy1234@aoLcom TENDER MEMORIES Dear ruce ilman, many thanks oryour al in Caymmi's Court,' which I just read in Brazzil. It made me cry for joy. I just got the magazine—its delivery is always terribly late. I confess that as a formerBrazilian, lam not much of a fan of contemporary MBP—too rocky for my taste. I was, however, moved to tears by your gentle approach to Caymmi, who attended and participated with his guitar and his silken voice at my farewell party in Rio, before my departure for London to work at the BBC. Caymmi and a Paraguayan guitarist and singer, Vargas, were there to cheer up my family, my friends, and me too. He was a wonderful guy, sweet, soft spoken, friendly, unassuming. I loved him, but I neversaw him again—that is why I write in the past tense.

I have heard "him" many times on a radio jingle that used his song "Meu Limao, Meu Limoeiro, meu Pe de..." to advertise Johnson Waxes. You probably know that Johnson had a plant in Fortaleza, Ceara (or thereabouts) where they processed Carnal:the wax, the base of most Johnson waxes.

It is an incredible coup of my good luck that you should pick the old songs you did such as the lamentous"Felicidade" by Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. I never met Torn, but was a member of the patota of Vinicius, Paulinho Mendes Campos, Eneida, Carlos Arthur Third (then the husband of Tonia Carrero and my colleague—as art director— at Grant Advertising, where fwas copywriter), and so many other lovely guys and gals, most of them now dead.(I cannot lasltoo much longer as lam 84.)

Dear Bruce, your article reopened my heart to memories of my distant youth. And, if I cry, as I told you (and am still crying over the keyboard) I cry for o . Many many thanks, brother! Urn abrago do

Wilson VeHoso Zephyrh ills, Florida Can't you find Brazzil at your Brazilian consulate?

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We may be witnessing the beginning of a new era in Brazilian politics, with the recent approval by the House of Representatives of the first stage of a law lifting parliamentary immunity from prosecution for elected representatives, except in special cases. A further vote is needed in the Lower House, and the Senate still has to give its backing, but these are expected to go ahead without any problem and the law could be in force by the end of the year.

Reformers have been calling for an end to the questionable Brazilian brand of parliamentary immunity for years, so why has it happened now? The law will end an absurdly wide interpretation of the generally accepted principle that an elected representative should be able to speak freely, without fear of prosecution or persecution. In Brazil this freedom goes further and covers any kind of prosecution, even on charges that have no connection with politics. The only way politicians can be prosecuted is through a complicated procedure, in which the Supreme Court must examine the evidence, then seek Congressional approval for the prosecution to go ahead. Politicians are pretty good at closing ranks and this approval is seldom forthcoming.

The justice authorities have no choice but to wait until the end of the mandate before acting. The weekly newsmagazine Veja singled out the case of a Senator who is said to have once disappeared with a R$12 million (about US$4.5 million) bank loan which he has never repaid. This Senator's mandate does not expire until 2007, and if he were to stand again and be re-elected to a further eight-year term, then nothing could be done until at least 2015. Can anyone imagine a prosecution going ahead after all this time?

There are currently almost 30 outstanding requests by various justice authorities against politicians, for crimes that have no bearing on their political activities. Underthe new legislation, immunity will only cover areas directly linked to political matters. If this is approved and the law is changed, it could have a big effect on next year's elections: a number of members ofCongress could find themselves being prosecuted and, in some cases, facing jail sentences if convicted.

There are several reasons why this move is good for Brazilian democracy, apart from the obvious need to end an injustice. First of all, the voting figures in the Lower House were impressive-412 in favor and only 9 against. The Senate is also expected to pass it by a wide margin. Considering that members of both houses have been involved in scandals and allegations of corruption, one 20

If a new bill is approved and the law is changed, it could have a big effect on next year's elections: a number of members of Congress could find themselves being prosecuted and, in some cases, facing jail sentences if convicted.

JOHN FITZPATRICK

BRAZZIL -DECEMBER 2001

might have expected greater opposition. However, the politicians seem to have accepted that the constant image of allegedly crooked politicians never facing justice was bad for their image, and bad for democracy. The wide margin might also mean that the overwhelming majority of elected representatives have nothing to hide. It might be difficult to persuade voters of this but, for once, let us be charitable and give politicians the benefit of the doubt.

Cynics might also say that the reason politicians approved the change was because it is cosmetic and, as so often happens in Brazil, legislation will not be enforced.

We will have to wait and see, but the one important aspect of this new law is that justice officials will be able to make their investigations and press charges as they would with any other private individual, without needing to inform the political authorities or get their backing. At the same time, public prosecutors with initiative, ambition, or who just want publicity, will have a tool ready and waiting to be used.

Reformers have been calling an end to parliamentary immunity—often described as parliamentary "impunity"— for many years, so why has it happened now? There are no easy answers to this one, but I would like to propose a few suggestions. Politicians, especially younger ones, realize that the old system can no longer continue. In my opinion, one of the main reasons goes back to the constitutional change made during Fernando Henrique Cardoso's first mandate, to allow incumbent presidents, state governors and mayors to seek re-election. This move put an end to a system introduced in many Latin American countries to prevent strongmen hanging on to power, by limiting their mandate to one term at a time.

Cardoso was rightly accused of wanting to hang on to power, but as his first term was successful, and since he agreed to share the change with others holding elected positions at the executive level, he won overwhelming approval. The consequences of this were that incumbent leaders who wanted to stay in power had to campaign on their positive records in office. Incumbents could also no longer leave a string of debts for the next administration to tackle. This latter point was also tackled in another groundbreaking law on fiscal responsibility, limiting the amount local governments could spend and introducing the possibility of criminal charges against those who overspend and leave the bill for the next incumbent to deal with.

The fact that Cardoso was re-elected in the first round showed that the electorate was prepared to reward a politician who had done a good job. In this case, it also allowed for what was possibly the smoothest transfer of power in Brazil's history. It may also explain why the devaluation ofthe Real in 1999, only a month into Cardoso's second mandate, did not bring the dire consequences which some observers had predicted. The promise of a continuation of the same policies with the same president and same finance minister cannot be underestimated.

Another factor is next year's presidential and state elections, now less than a year away. The honesty factor will play a role, as Brazilians become more mature politically, and less willing to put up with the old-style political BFtAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

boss who used his office to enrich himself, family and cronies. Older voters recall how they were duped by Fernando Collor back in 1990 and will be more careful this time. Cardoso may not be charismatic or popular, and he has had tO make a lot ofbacicroom deals to ensure the continuity of his coalition government but, overall, he has been ethical and honest.

His PSDB party has also been fairly untarnished by corruption and its leading figures, like the late Sao Paulo state Governor, Mario Covas, Health Minister and possible presidential candidate Jose Serra, and Education Minister Paulo Renato Souza, all have reputations for honesty. The PSDB is still in the driver's seat and in a strong position to provide the next president. It is more in line with the progressive social democratic parties in Europe than its main coalition partners—the PFL and PMDB—or the main opposition, the leftist PT, or Worker's Party. Neither the PFL nor the PMDB enjoy reputations as honest parties.

The PT, wh ch in typical left-wing fashion thinks it is immune fro corruption, is facing a crisis in Rio Grande do Sul here the state Governor, Olivio Dutra, is facing impe clunent on various allegations of misconduct. If thi affair is not settled quickly, it could damage the PT s reputation as an ethical party in next year's election . The PT's probable presidential candidate, Luiz Inaci Lula da Silva, may be riding high in the polls but the p rty itself has not lived up to expectations, not only n Rio Grande do Sul but in sao Paulo where the perfo ance ofthe mayor, Marta Suplicy, has been amateuris and incompetent.

The media has also played an important role in bringing about his change. For a country where a large percentage oft e population is illiterate or semi-literate, and a magazine can cost a day's wages, Brazil has an astonishingly large number of serious newspapers and magazines. Most of these publications are owned by groups with ax s to grind, usually political. While they enthuse about 4ie freedom of the press and the need to safeguard democracy, they are generally pompous, biased, and willing to run stories which have been leaked to caus problems for one side or the other.

Media companies are often family-controlled, petulant, and potentially Jangerous enemies, as many politicians have learned in the past.

Despite this hypocrisy, the Brazilian media has done a good job overall in exposing a lot ofwrongdoing by politicians. The media has also been quick to exploit the Internet, not only as a way of spreading fact and opinion but to cbtain fast feedback from readers. Magazines have pub 'shed the e-mail addresses of politicians and encourage readers to contact them directly. Politicians with no hing to fear should actually be grateful i as the Internet has improved contact to the news me ha, between them d their constituents.

The Intern t has also brought the outside world closer, and Br ilians are more conscious of how other democracies o erate. They have seen Bill Clinton subject to a length investigation over his extramarital affair and business d alings, George Bush's daughters fined 21

for illegal drinking, and former U.K. minister Peter Mandelson fired for lying to Parliament. This case received a lot ofpublicity in Brazil, as Mandelson has a Brazilian boyfriend. If other democracies can punish their politicians, or the daughters of their presidents for wrongdoing, then why can't Brazil?

Brazilians were proud to see Cardoso address the United Nations and the French National Assembly recently. Cardoso wants Brazil to have a permanent place on the Security Council, and most Brazilians want it too. Might rather than right decides the make-up of the Security Council, and two of its permanent members, China and Russia, are certainly not true democracies.

Brazil does not have the military might to gain a place, but if it consolidated itself as a genuine democracy then this could change. One only has to look at how the European Union has helped develop democracy in places like Spain, Portugal and Greece.

One law will, of course, not end corruption and bring Brazil the international recognition it craves, but one must hope that this legislation will shortly be on the statute book, so that voters see that their representatives are no longer prepared to hide behind an unjust protective shield.

Finally, one man who has certainly benefited from this process has been Lower House President Aecio Neves, a member from the state of Minas Gerais. In less than a year in office, he has done an impressive job. Under his stewardship, three important measures have gone though: the parliamentary immunity law, an amendment restricting the use ofpresidential decreesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;so called "provisional measures" meant to be used

in emergencies but thrown about quite casually by Brazilian presidents over the years, and a project to create an ethics committee. Neves is amember ofCardoso's PSDB and received his reward recently, when he was invited to join President Cardoso on his recent, highly successful trip to Europe and the U.S. During the European trip, he visited the Vatican and was photographed being blessed by the Pope. What was he praying for, one wonders, as he knelt in front of the Pontiff? Neves has a lot going for him. He is young, photogenic, and the grandson of Tancredo Nevesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the first civilian president elected by Congress after the end of military rule in 1985, who became ill and passed away before taking office. Melo is a rising star with quality credentials and, hopefully, good ethics.

He could be a future president.

John Fitzpatrick, the author, is a Scottish journalist who first visited Brazil in 1995, and has been based in Sao Paulo ever since. His career in journalism that started in 1974 includes stints as a reporter in Scotland and England, deputy editor of an English-language daily newspaper in Cyprus, news editor of a radio station in Switzerland, financial correspondent in Zurich and Sao Paulo, and editor of a magazine published by one of Switzerland's largest banks.

The author is an occasional guest Editor on InfoBrazil. He currently runs Celtic Comunicacoes, a

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Dear Editor, thank you for publishing several letters sent in by your readers in response to opinions expressed by some Brazilians regarding the 9-11 attacks on the United States and their aftermath. Although a few of the letters contained languages I do not approve of, the responses show the depth of the anger that Americans feel as a result of the 9-11 attacks. The expression goes that "a man's home is his castle" and he can fight ferociously to defend it when attacked, especially by someone he has welcomed into the castle. I consider the unsympathetic opinions expressed by some Brazilians to be either very badly timed or simply the ranting of envious aid sadistic individuals. The opinions are very un-Brazilian.

Americans generally have a very positive image of Brazil ans, and! am convinced that the current exchange will contribute to a better understandi g and, perhaps, strengthen the long existing friendship and good relation between Brazi ians and Americans. Brazil and the United States have a lot in common, both in their hist ries and the ethnic makeup of their populations. Indigenous Indians before the arrival f the Europeans inhabited the two countries. African people were later brought into e countries to work in the plantations, and formed the third elempt in the creation of both societies. Today, Brazil and the US are multi-ethnic societies with citizens that cab trace their ancestry to all corners of the globe. This is what makes it very easy for Americans and Brazilians to feel very much at home in either country barring the difference in language.

I was in Brazil when the terrorists attacked the United States, and most of the people I spoke to about the incident simply commented that it was a terrible tragedy. When the "you asked for it" comments began to appear in the papers,! wondered if all those people really wanted to say "terrific" instead of "terrible." Many Brazilians do not understand the basis of United States foreign policy; those who consi ered themselves informed, think we are always telling other people what to do. I don' blame them because many ordinary Americans don't understand our foreign policy w ich is why the government always try very hard to win public opinion whenever the country is involved in any military action.

Misunderstanding exists between societies, for examp e, I have heard Brazilians comment that people in other countries, US and Europe speci wally, are`yi-ios "or "cold" meaning that they do not welcome strangers or give them ttention. This is a common BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

23

misunderstanding that can exist between different societies and people, even within the same society. For example, such misunderstanding exists amongst the southern, northern, and the western parts of the United States, and between the southern and northeastern parts of Brazil. While preconception and stereotyping cannot completely be eradicated, we should be careful not to translate such erroneous generalization into hatred or wishing disaster upon one another.

A young Brazilian male returned home from the US shortly after the 9-11 with a broken arm, and the news reporters were waiting for him at Sao Paulo's airport. He stated that some young Americans who mistook him for an Arab attacked him at a telephone booth, and he had to defend himself. What was odd to me was that one of the news reporters asked him if the people that attacked him were brancos ou negros (whites or blacks).

My first thought was that, perhaps, the reporter expected the answer "negros", which would give her one more unflattering behavior to be blamed on black people.

Otherwise, does the skin color of the angry Americans that attacked the young Brazilian really matter? I am sure that the same reporter would not go about researching how many white and black Americans or citizens of other countries died at the twin towers on 9-11. Brazilian press does not use the word "African-American" as black Americans chose to refer to themselves in the US, my guess being that it does not fit into their skin color categorization scheme.

How would Americans react if Brazil lost thousands of her people in one single day as a result of terrorist attacks? The US government would probably send some military hardware and intelligence help, if Brazil needed such help to strike back at the perpetrators and the country that harbors them, to prevent a repetition of such attacks. The Brazilian diplomatic missions would be inundated with e-mails and letters of sympathy and support from ordinary Americans, the same ordinary Americans that were massacred at the WTC. Relief organizations would receive millions of dollars in donations and thousands of tons of materials to help the people affected in Brazil. I doubt that a single American would choose a moment of such an enormous catastrophe to pick up his or her pen and send a letter to a newspaper to advance an argument or even a suggestion to the effect that Brazil "asked for what she got."

If the police, security or military forces of other countries trained in the United States during the Cold War, an era of communist revolutions and military coups, ended up torturing and killing their own people, I would put the blame squarely on the shoulders of those governments. The FBI, which is responsible for internal security in the US does not torture and kill hundreds of Ameri cans for their political views. Brazil sells arms to third world countries, for security purposes, but sometimes those countries may become embroiled in civil strife or in conflict with neighboring countries. Brazil cannot be blamed for the direction the armed forces of other countries decide to point the guns sold to them. Human beings are not perfect and, therefore, cannot create a perfect society, but it appears that the rest of the world expects the US to always satisfy everyone's interest.

This past October I attended a concert in Hollywood Hills to raise fund for orphanages in Brazil, for the second time in two years. All the musicians that performed at the fund-raising were Americans; the only Brazilian connection being a 13-year old piano genius, Otto Ribeiro Ehling, whose mother is Brazilianborn. Brazilians made up only about 10 percent ofthe attendees; the rest were Americans. So, you see, temos compaixdo (we have compassion) for others, and nclo somos frios (we are not uncaring), and those of us that attended the fundraising event 24

could also have been targets of terrorist attacks because we are Americans or because we chose to live in America. Many Americans are passionate about Brazil because they see Brazilians as very open, free, and easy-going people like Americans.

I am not a sports fan; however, I would route for the US ifits team plays against Brazil but would route for Brazil if its team plays against any other country.

Of course, we Americans "cry" and feel sad when some catastrophic event occurs in other places, whether it is a natural disaster or caused by man. I have "cried" many times in my lifetime for other people. I "cried" when the first Prime Minister of the newly independent Republic of Congo, Mr. Patrice Lumumba, a former trade unionist, was killed by the then Commander of the Congolese Army, Joseph Mobutu, with the backing of the CIA. I felt triste (sad) when the President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, was overthrown in a military coup, perhaps with encouragement from the CIA. I "cried" when the Chilean army under General Pinochet killed the democratically elected President Salvador Allende, again with CIA backing.

And I "cried" once more when I saw the late President Allende's wife in a documentary film making a remark that she believed that someday the people of South America would be free.

I was triste when the Hutu tribe in Rwanda massacred over 800,000 Tutsis, their own countrymen, women and children. I still feel triste because a civil war has been going on in Angola, a former Portuguese colony, now for about 32 years and the population is still suffering. I feel triste whenever I see a terrorist stripe a bomb to his body and blow himself up in the mist of innocent men, women and children in Israel. I feel triste when the Israeli jetfighter or helicopter fires a rocket on suspected terrorist hideout and end up killing innocent men, women, and children.

I "cried" when terrorists drove a truck loaded with explosives into a building housing American Marines in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 269 and wounding many more American Marines. The Marines were there to stop the Lebanese Muslims and Christians from killing each other, but it did not matter to the terrorists why the Marines were there, they simply hate Americans.

I felt triste when Somalis were starving to death because of the civil war in their country, and I "cried" when 18 American soldiers were killed while they were in Somalia to maintain some order, so that the starving Somalis could be fed by the international relief agencies. The Somalis dragged the bodies of the dead peacekeeping American soldiers and soldiers from other countries that they killed through the street. I "cried" when terrorists blew up two American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killing 224 innocent people, out of that number, only 12 were Americans, the rest were Kenyans and Tanzanians.

I felt triste when terrorists blew up Pan Am airline in the air, over Scotland, killing all the passengers. I felt triste when terrorists piloted a barge loaded with explosives into US navy ship SS Cole in Yemen killing 16 servicemen and wounding several more, or when they blew up a building in Saudi Arabia housing American service men and women killing many soldiers.

I felt triste when Petrobras' oil platform collapsed following an explosion and several workers lost their lives. I was triste when the Brazilian car race champion, Ayrton Senna died in a racing accident, and I felt triste when Brazil lost to France 3-0 in the last World Cup. And of all the racecar champions, Ayrton Sena was the only one I ordered his T-shirt from an auto-racing magazine. I felt triste whenever a confrontation between the members of the Brazilian Movimento das Pessoas Sem Terra BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

(Movement of Landless Persons) and the police resulted in deaths.

I feel triste when homeless children get killed by the police or vigilantes on the streets of Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro for stealing or simply for constituting a public nuisance. I feel triste when I see a young girl of school age working as empregada (housemaid) instead of being in school and getting an education. But I am not so irrational as not to realize that the economy of Brazil is not yet developed to the level where enough crumbs could fall to those at the lowest wrong of the society, so that they would have enough to eat.

And I feel triste when black Zimbabweans encouraged by President Mugabe kill white Zimbabwean farmers and burn down their farms. You can imagine my tristeza (unhappiness) when terrorists who called themselves "Muslims" attacked the United States and killed over 5,000 men, women, and children and caused damages to the tune of billions of dollars in one single day.

Civilization is not a predetermined event, rather it is an ongoing process in human history; we learn as we go. If you consider how many thousands of years it has taken us to get to where we are, you would realize that we are all groping in the dark, and once in a while we stumble on something that leads us so far and then stops, until a new door opens. Each phase teaches us something about where we are going or whether we should abandon the particular activity in which we are involved or change it.

Every human event in history should be examined in the context of the period and the circumstances under which it occurred. Decisions made by the United States during the Cold War were based on perceptions of the era. Each phase in human civilization may be abandoned when it dawns on us that the activity is immoral, oppressive, or unproductive. Hopefully, we learn something that could help our process of civilization.

We cannot go back and change slavery, for example, because it occurred at the period when man's perspective on morality and civilized behavior was not properly developed.

The races knew very little about one another at that time. If the situation was switched and the Africans were more advanced than the Europeans, at that time, I have no doubt that slavery would have occurred in the other direction. If any other country were in the position of the United States as an economic and military power, it would probably not do anything differently than the United States. If we continue to use past events to cause such unprecedented destruction of lives and properties as in 9-11, we will destroy humanity before we have the opportunity to learn from our mistakes.

All human empires and civilizations are bound to decline; the United States is no exception. But such a decline occurs gradually and almost naturally, and perhaps, from within the society, and hardly recognized as occurring. Considering the weapons of war that man has presently acquired, any attempt to destroy a country like the United States by violence would put the entire human race in a great peril.

The character of the American society will gradually change over many years, but not by violent attacks such as 9-11. The US is gradually turning into a big nation with smaller nations inside it, due to large immigrants coming into the country. The immigrants no longer disperse themselves into the population and adopt American culture and way of life; instead they try to recreate the societies they came from inside the United States.

Upon becoming citizens, most of the immigrants simply vote for politicians with the same national origin as themselves. Demographers have estimated that over 50 percent of the population of the United States will be Hispanics by the year 2050.

BRAZZIL -DECEMBER 2001

To that estimate, add immigrants from other parts of the world, and it is my guess that the United States would gradually take on new characteristics that could be somewhere between the First and Third World. The fact is that the natural dynamics for this change can be described as an osmosis process.

American businesses, big and small, need immigrants for cheap labor and large number of consumers, making many Americans millionaires whilb the immigrants enjoy improved standard of living from what they used to know.

The point of this is that the "Jihad Warriors" who want to destroy the United States, and everyone else who wishes to see this country fall on its face, have no choice but to wait for the natural process of decline to take its course. They will certainly have a long time to wait. Besides, if this country declines economically and militarily, there is no doubt that the less developed countries of the world would decline even faster.

Nobody is going to benefit from the decline ofthe United States as an economic and military power, no matter what part of the world he or she lives.

The fact that some Arabs have resorted to suicide missions is nothing new. Japanese kamikaze pilots were crashing their fighter planes loaded with explosives and fuel into US warships, and their soldiers would not surrender when surrounded. This behavior resulted in the United States' decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Japan surrendered following the second atomic bomb in Nagasaki. Perhaps some Arabs feel a sense of frustration and humiliation for not being able to win a war against Israel, and believe that they can redeem their honor by causing a great destruction somewhere in the world. But there are other ways a people can redeem their honor other than by destruction.

1 If all Palestinians were to renounce all forms of violence against Israel or any other countries, I have no doubt that the rest of the world would admire them and stand behind them in their quest for a Palestinian homeland, with lost borders regained from the Israelis. Israel will not continue to hold on to those Palestinian territories under their control presently for a minute longer. If the Israelis do not relinquish the occupied territories, the whole world, including the United States, would turn against them. The former Soviet Union provided military and economic aids to many Arab countries in their war against Israel, yet that has never led the Israelis to launch suicide attacks against Russia and its citizens.

It appears that some of the criticism leveled against the United States is rooted in envy arising from the economic and military power of this country. It fits the old sour grape expression about human behavior. People sometimes condemn those that are ahead of them because they cannot compete or do not wish to put in the efforts required to compete. Americans are not warmongers, they send American soldiers to help in war torn areas of the world where other countries do not have the means to take the lead.

In the process of helping to prevent one group of people from killing a weaker group, they end up getting involved in war, people die, and the United States ends up getting blamed. If the United States decides not to get involved in those crisis-ridden spots in the word, then there are those who would accuse her of not caring beaause of the "race" of the people involved or the lack of economic importance of the countries involved. It has become a case of "damn if you do, damn if you don't" for the United States.

Paul Betterman, the author, lives in Ls Angeles, California. You can contact him at bman(&,pcma2ic.net 25

Last month, on the upbeat, we reported that the Brazilian electric sector had finally made some faint progress in its public policy.

The issue resolved was about what to do with the new production from newly installed turbines of the giant hydro generator at Itaipu. Eletrobrns (the government holding company for federally owned electric properties) sought to sell this new generation on the wholesale market. Distributor-clients protested, believing they were entitled to purchase this additional electricity on the same pro-rata basis as under their present supply agreements. They initiated suit.

After preliminary court findings favoring distributors, Eletrobras finally agreed to the distributors' rights with the intention of settling this particular distributors' contractual claim. No doubt Eletrobras interest in settling was somewhat influenced by the financial conditions of the distributor clients of ltaipu, as well it should, but more probably it was because it did not involve immediate cash lossâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an ever present element in fiscally responsible government decision-making in the chaotic world of Brazilian current account deficits and currency devaluations, managed or otherwise.

Forget about 'that' upbeat stroke for distributor financial health. A federal judge has just barred that option and held that the new production is sovereign property of the government to do with as it sees fit. It effectively barred Eletrobras from agreeing to such a resolution and issued the appropriate temporary injunction. (No one bothers to count how many injunctions regulate the electric sector: there are, for example, ones that force distributors to cut service to consumers who exceed their proper rationing quota, and ones that force distributors to continue servicing those same electric-power-hungry clients).

Unfortunately the uncertainty this kind of `deus ex-machina' intervention breeds is totally inconsistent with the purposes of a coherent energy sector. Distributors, most with hard currency loan payments, and all with decreasing value in their real receipts, are in dire financial straits. Since distribution is the only part of the electric sector with significant privately owned assets, any prudent direct investor cannot avoid observing that even in times of crisis, industrial organization in Brazil is so incoherent that there can be no firm conclusions upon which any particular new project can expect to project cash-flow, then follow any coherent investment or borrowing scheme. At least not in electric.

The latest attempt by the government to enforce coherence in the sector (and under pressure from the billions of financial

'ovesnment has n sting generation to Ian will, nces eazil has to attract tial private investment to electric sector.

CONRAD JOHNSON

losses in distributor revenues resulting from rationing) is for the government development bank (the BNDES) to lend some fewer billions to distributors until new tariff increases can cover these previous operating losses. Is this financial largess another up beat? Maybe not.

Reportedly the Rio de Janeiro distributor Light will receive the right to increase its rates to consumers even above its petition to the industry regulator Aneel. How could that happen? Because other billions of historical distributor costs like those resulting from dollar pricing of diesel oil for generation of electric in remote areas (a cost increasing by over 40% in 2001), and previously considered particular firm 'management' errors and not reimbursable expenses, will now be calculated and included in the rate regulation process.

New rating decisions, in other words, will take into account past conceptual errors of Aneel regulators that represented previously `unreimbursable' costs for distributors. Of course stopping the litigationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that had questioned Aneel rate calculations based on original franchise agreementsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;is however, part of the 'right' to BNDES financing. As well, distributors must forego the billions government-owned (and other) generators would owe distributors under Annex V of those agreements because of decreased demand due to rationing. That too will be part of the "temporary" financing package. Every distributor is a publicly traded company: imagine the nightmare for accountants, analysts and investors, to say nothing of banks that would like to lend to distributors.

Of course all of this confusion is because the government was following a good plan to regulate and liberalize the entire sector, but cannot now implement the plan because it cannot get political support for following its own original evaluative plan to make electric energy a market sensitive to price and other competitive conditions. Regulation of some rates has already been removed and all electric energy was to be market-priced by 2006.

What is new is instead the realization of the present elected and appointed authorities that the political costs of risking electric 26

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

prices to market forces cannot confront (1) the heavy hand of the entrenched interests of Brazilian politicians in government companies like the vertically integrated Furnas, (2) the entrenched belief of Brazilian opinion makers in the proposition that important things like consumer price of electricity are better left in benevolent political hands than trusted to the forces freeprices exert on open markets, and (3) the firm citizen approbation ofthe opposition political camps that stand against privatizations and other such "neo-liberal technical" considerations.

We have reported for some time on the legal and regulatory contradictions in the sector. The original round of privatizations was to be followed by privatizing and decoupling vertically integrated government generators, yet in the 1990's. No doubt every firm that invested in privatized assets believed it. Each responsive government official, including President Cardoso, has now for years reaffirmed that privatizations and sector legal modernization and reform would continue.

But the economic daily Valor published on November 5, 2001, the story that must have been hidden from the public for many months: the government has no intention of trusting generation to market conditions; it has been developing a plan to keep long-term government control of generators. The federal executive branch will, in Portuguese, instead pulverizar (sell non-controlling shares to private investors) Furnas and its Northern federal giant cousins Chesf and Eletronorte. The plan will, in plain English, pulverize the good chances Brazil has to attract substantial private investment to the electric sector.

Distributors have not shown much interest in the BNDES financing scheme, but most are desperate. Reportedly the distributor for the State of Goias has negative cash flow and is behind in payment for Furnas generation. Luiz Carlos Guimardes, Executive Secretary ofthe distributor trade group Abradee even suggested on November 6 they "negotiate a moratorium" on distributor payments to government generators. A Brazilian industry consultant commented on the distributor plight, "they've got their underwear in their hands".

RIO-SP FROM LAX

Distributors believe, with good reasons, that only significant rate increases across-the-board, coupled with new understandings about reimbursable expenses, currency devaluation effects and future regulatory agreement on what Brazil expects from the sector can keep their operations rational and predictable. But what value will that have if, as is probable, opposition political thinking will assume control of federal generation in 2002? Their favorite candidate, Lula, has repeatedly affirmed his distrust of foreign interests. He equates IMF lending rates with "loan-sharking'; think how 'dirty' the idea of simple electric distributor profits must seem when left to the evil of free market pricing?

Humor is the only relief. The Sao Paulo Minister of Energy, Mauro Arce, who is also an important member of the "executive committee" organized to deal with "the energy crisis" in Brazil, said recently in commenting on the State's financial problems with the CESP-Parand generation complex (a 'real' privatization that had to be cancelled for "lack of investor interest"): "I'd like some of those political elements that opposed our auction on the premise we were selling too cheap to come around just now and help us figure out how to service our over US$3 billion foreign debt on the project out of our decreasing and devaluing income".

The scheduled October auction of the crown jewel of Stateowned electric companies, Copel, controlled by the State of Parana, which various current investors in the sector called "truly cheap", has also been postponed for "lack of investor interest". We promise to report on any event that might make the Brazilian electric sector attractive to foreign investment again, but we are not hopeful; and that, is truly serious for Brazil.

Conrad Johnson, the author, is an American attorney, permanently residing in Brazil.

He writes for various publications on development and legal issues in Latin America. You can reach him at conradgalternativa.com.br

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The Art of Being Brazilian The Brazilian jeitinho is a means that Brazilians use to accomplish things— it may involve something as simple as a wink and a smile or something as serious as bribery.

LORETTA MURPHY

We all know that globalization is here to stay and that anyone who tries to treat the concept as a crazy, new idea has been living on another planet for the last century or so. Like it or not, ALCA and FTAA are here to stay, apparently regardless of whom they harm and whom they benefit. Multinational companies are crossing new borders and setting up in those countries which provide competitive advantages and economic opportunities. In order to be attractive to these conglomerates, developing countries have had to improve their competitivity and become more efficient in order to increase profits and thus foreign interest. So what can those of us who are jumping on the global train do to help ourselves? One option is to increase our understanding of other cultures and practices.

Everyday, representatives from all over the world meet in the same room— both physically and virtually—to conduct business. Effective communication is one of the keys to conducting successful business affairs. Merely learning the language is no longer enough—it is imperative to be able to understand other forms of communication—gestures, nuances and other even more subtle forms ofhuman interaction which may go unvoiced and therefore unseen to the untrained eye. "Outsiders" who are not familiar with their foreign counterparts' culture may find themselves unable to manage or react to certain situations which is embarrassing, at the very least, and often costly in terms of relationship formation and financial benefits.

We've all got a story about a business blunder or cultural faux-pas. I once met a British business owner in Brazil who refused to learn Portuguese or anything about the Brazilian culture. He had good business ideas but he insisted on doing everything the "proper" way (read, "his" way). He never really came to know his clients. He never listened to them nor did he try to understand their needs. Needless to say, several failed marketing campaigns and tens of thousands of reais later, his business is still struggling.

The knowledge of and respect for the individuals with whom one negotiates is necessary in order to foster positive business relationships and to avoid possible offence. By familiarizing ourselves with cultural traits we can make ourselves aware of and even learn to expect certain behaviors in given situations and know how to react to this. With this knowledge we can turn our international business affairs and company mergers more efficient and therefore more successful.

In developing an understanding ofthe local culture in which companies are situating their factories and plants, managers can thereby try to comprehend what will motivate local staff and how to deal with local business culture. Moreover, by developing sensitivity to the culture of our clients, we can appeal to their personal sides, thus winning favor and, hence, gain more market share. Therefore, it can be said that cultural knowledge is a competitive advantage.

Brazil is one country of interest in terms of cultural knowledge. It is a fast-developing nation, hailed by economists as an economic miracle with regards to its rapid progress since the Plano Real was implemented and inflation was brought to a standstill. This has compelled multinationals and foreign investors to take more interest in the potential business opportunities that Brazil has to offer. Knowledge of its diverse culture and background would be useful to foreign businesses entering Brazil.

Three Races, Five Traits In his book Casa Grande e Senzala (The Masters and the Slaves), the Brazilian sociologist Gilberto Freyre introduces a racial triangle which is the base on which Brazil was built. These

28

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

4M01.41,1,'

are: 1) Portuguese colonists—production systems, social structures, strict value system; 2) baptized natives—sexual and family relations, magic and mysticism; and 3) African slaves— religion, magic, culinary skills. This triangle developed into a unique cultural mix which served as a base for other cultures (Italian, Japanese, German, etc.) whose people came and further diversified Brazilian society.

Although, from an outsider's view, it often appears to be complete chaos, there are, in fact, several characteristics which give the Brazilian people a national identity and uniformity.

Alexandre Freitas, author of Cultura Organizacional e Cultura Brasileira, discusses five basic cultural traits which unite the majority of Brazilians. They are outlined below.

Brazilian Cultural Characteristics 1. Hierarchy • Tendency towards centralization of power among social groups •Distance in relations among different social groups • Passiveness and acceptance of inferior groups 2. Personalism • Society based on personal relationships.

•Search for proximity and affection in relations •Paternalism: moral and economic dominion 3. Malandragem •Flexibility and adaptability as a means of social navigation • Jeitinho 4. Sensuality •Preference for the sensual and the exotic in social relations 5. Adventurer •More dreamer than disciplined •Tendency toward aversion of manual or methodical labor Of course, not all Brazilians fit into these patterns exactly and we cannot stereotype an entire nation but if we use these characteristics as a basis on whicli to analyze Brazilian culture and organizational behavior, then foreigners can better prepare themselves for business and daily life in Brazil.

The following literary analysis discusses Brazilian culture, based on these five cultural traits and an analysis of how these traits affect Brazilian organizations.

HIERARCHY Catholicism, slavery and patrimonialism The hierarchical system found within many Brazilian organizations can be traced back to the Roman invasion of Iberia.

Roman law left its mark on Iberian society and eventually led to "Direito Canonico" (Canonic Law) through which the Iberian high clergy legitimized itself and thus, as Freitas puts it, "... became holder of extraordinary mystic, moral and even legal prestige over the peninsular populations."

Portuguese religious orders were entrusted with great auBRAZZIL-DECEMBER2001

thority and infl enced political, military and daily aspects of peninsular life. was this mixture ofreligious order with military warrior that 'di covered' and colonized Brazil, and eventually influenced the grarian system that exists to this day. The film At Play in the ields of the Lord with actor Robert De Niro, demonstrates a I-too-realistically the political stronghold that the Catholic C urch held over much of South America at the time of the Eur pean invasion.

In his book, he Pan-American Dream, author Lawrence E. Harrison also p ints to religion as one ofthe main culprits for the delayed de elopment of Brazil. He blames the "extreme inequality in e distribution of income, wealth, land and opportunity an difficulty in building democratic institutions" on the Ibero-C tholic anti-entrepreneurial, anti-work culture, inherited from he Portuguese.

Harrison q tes Brazilian sociologist Raymundo Faoro in his description of the seventeenth century Portuguese: "All produ tive activity was painful and dishonorable: agriculture, ev n the comme rce that he tolerated, and industry. He w bored by the absence of a spiritual goal, of glory, in these occupations."

Such abho ence for physical labor resulted in the mass importation of human slaves as the base for the labor force which was, as Harrison puts it, "...ordered and repressed, separated and uieted, generating a social stratification and rigid hierarchi lization of it actors, establishing an almost infinite distanc between owners and slaves."

In the senz as (slaves quarters) were the slaves and in the Big House was e patriarchal family, which eventually established the arist cratic power in Brazil. Harrison writes, "By centralizing the power on the patriarchal figure (which, without doubt helped t give origin to our machistic elements), the colonial family enforced the idea ofthe normality of power, of respectability nd of unrestricted obedience."

Anyone wh has watchedthe Brazilian novela Terra Nostra, situated in post slavery, rural SAo Paulo, will remember actor Antonio Fagun es portraying the powerful family-head with subordinate fa ily members and slave-mentality towards crop workers. The atriarchal family established and perpetuated family ties wi in their businesses and organizations and their organizational alues continue to affect Brazilian organizations and soci to this day, This leads s to the idea of patrimonialism/mercantilism, which reflecte the values and attitudes of their architects and managers, eliti t values and attitudes that stressed the individual and the f m ily over the community; that discouraged the free flow of id as—and even of broad-based education; that sh ed basic concepts of fair play; that saw govent as an instrument to advance the narrow inter sts of a few at the expense of many. (Harrison) his attitude is deeply ingrained in the Brazilian psyc e and "...is an obstacle to progress in part beca se it enshrines status rather than achievement and erit." Racial prejudices "...situate people by the c lor of their skin or by money, by the name of their family or by the car they use." (Harrison) e effect of these cultural values on Brazil's org izations has resulted in a reduced capacity of soci I organization. According to Brazilian sociologist ergio Buarque de Hollanda in his book Raizes do B asil (The Roots of Brazil) "... (e)ffectively the • hum le, anonymous and disinterested force is a powerful agen towards solidarity of interests and, as such, stimulates the ational organization of men and sustains the cohesion amo them. Wherever there is any prevalent form 29

ofwork ethic, there will likely be order and tranquility among the citizens because they are necessary, one and the other, towards harmony of interests."

PERSONALISM Familism and "Live and Let Live" Personalism is an instrument used by Brazilians to relate to other people with emphasis on personal knowledge as opposed to functional rights and duties. It is especially used in business affairs and may result in a longer time than an American normally would spend closing business deals as Brazilians take more time to get toâ&#x20AC;˘ know their foreign counterparts in order to gain trust and confidence in whatever endeavor they are about to embark. Hollanda sums up Brazilian personalism as follows: "From friends, you may ask and get anything. This type of intercourse penetrates all social relations. When one wants somebody to do something, the best way to achieve it is by making that somebody a friend. The method is also applicable in cases where one wants services provided and then the imperative attitude is considered particularly inappropriate.

The result is that relations between employer and employee are quite often more friendly here than in any other part (of the world)."

A society based on personal relationships and where trust is formed from proximity and affection seems like an excellent environment in which to effectuate change and innovative business solutions since good relationships and open communication between people are key factors for any business relationship. On one hand, the Brazilian is sociable and open to communication and dialogue. In general, the Brazilian has a wide network of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances with whom s/he fosters extensive informal relationships. But, on the other hand, the danger lies in the lack of cordiality in formal relationships which can be seen everywhere from the poor customer service in both the public and private sectors (where the citizen is subject to the employee's state of mood) to the day-to-day attitudes of the individual, for example, in traffic, where one is given the impression of being in a war-zone. &Tame magazine journalist David Cohen writes "The Brazilian limits his/her concerns to his/her family and, maybe, to a few friends. There is no clear notion of citizenship, of nation, or of consideration for the collective dimension of society." This individualistic attitude does not favor a hol istic/global perspective when approaching problems.

Brazilian anthropologist Roberto da Matta, who also makes the following observations about the 'live and let live' attitude in Brazil, "If I am buying from or selling to a relative, I neither seek profit or concern myself with money. The same can happen in a transaction with a friend. But if I am dealing with a stranger, then there are no rules, other than the one of exploiting him to the utmost."

While it is true that Brazilian organizations are effectuating change by implementing Quality Programs such as ISO 9001 and importing and adapting other norms to train their employees, it is necessary to focus on the individual's sense of community as well, in order to truly effectuate change within organizations and society.

30

MALANDRAGEM(Hero without Morals) Jeitinho, Flexibility and Lack of Respect for Rules According to Harrison, "Sixty percent of the scandals (in Brazil) are relatedto government contracting; 20 percent are due to overregulation; and 20 percent can be attributed to the 'hero without morals' that Brazilians so admire." The herowithout-morals is better known as the malandro in Brazil. He is often seen as a charming comic hero in Brazilian films and fiction, manipulating his way around difficult situations using his jeitinho. This is often learned at an early age as can be seen in Jorge Amado's novel Capitcies da Areia (Captains of the Sands).

Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of dealing with the Brazilian Federal Police or other bureaucratic organizations in Brazil will know the importance of profic iency in the science of jeitinho. The Brazilianjeitinhois a means that Brazilians use to accomplish thingsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; it may involve something as simple as a wink and a smile or something as serious as bribery. This method of problem solving has two sides. On one hand, it is often dishonest or unfair to others since it is used towards personal interests. On the other hand, it represents flexibility and adaptability to an otherwise complicated and bureaucratic system.

This allows the Brazilians to adapt much easier to changes presented in any environment.

The Brazilian has a unique capacity to adapt to situations which would be unfathomable for people from other cultures.

For example, during periods of currency devaluation, Brazilians witnessed rates of inflation that reached 100% in 1980 and 200% in 1983 and 1984. Inflation became hyperinflation reaching in 1993 2679,4%. In other words, from one day to the next, the acquisitive power ofthe Brazilian citizen dropped by enormous quantities, thus making it virtually impossible to plan something as simple as grocery shopping from one day to the next, much less, corporate organizations on a long term basis. How Brazilians survived these difficult times may seem a mystery to Americans who have always enjoyed a relatively stable economic environment but the Brazilians know that at these times, the jeitinho and adaptability are vital tools to survival.

On the business side, according to David Cohen, "In Brazil, the corporate hero is the eliminator of fires, the solver of problems. The planner, on the other hand, is seen as boring, bureaucratic, dreamer, unrealistic... The positive connotation proliferates eliminators of fires and the image of Brazilian executives is effectively of people who are flexible and react quickly to emergencies."

According to Alain Belda, world president of Alcoa, "All models of change at Alcoa are more quickly implemented in Brazil." and his antecessor Paul O'Neill affirms that"... in Brazil, nobody needs to explain very much when they see someone doing something a better way: the new way is adopted immediately."

The philosophy behind thejeitinho, as a formatter of mental processes which facilitate flexibility and capability of adapta BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

tion, is positive for companies. However, there is a downside, as anthropologist Roberto da Matta warns in Carnavais, Malandros e Herois "...the use ofthejeitinho and the reoccurrence of an aristocratic social hierarchy result in the total mistrust of the universal rules. A mistrust which generates its own antithesis—the hope that we will finally see the laws being followed."

SENSUALITY

hours at the office. However, society, in general, does not value those tasks deemed as 'trivial' or 'physical' and the middle and upper classes would much rather pay someone to wash the car, clean the house or even train the dog while they devote their time to 'more important', higher-paying work or to leisure activities.

The ready availa ility of low-skilled, low-paid labor in most Brazilian states akes this all the more possible.

The dreamers • irit fosters creativity in people thus inspiring talent in the area f fine arts—a very strong trait in the Brazilian people, and a de ite benefit welcome in most organizations, especially those nvolved in the arts, marketing and public ately, the adventurer spirit can result in a lack relations. Unfo of discipline and n aversion to manual or methodic labor. This can be a peril to razilian organizations.

Calor Humano and Affection Internationally known for the sensuality, which can be seen at Carnaval, Brazilians like 'calor humano' (human heat)— close contact, affectionate gestures, and conversations with not-so-subtle innuendoes.

ING UNDERST Brazilian sensuality can be dated back to the miscegenation of the Portuguese with Arabs, who often practiced polygamy, When a Brazi ian looks at North America s/he wonders at the thus the mixture of Mohammedan with Christian morals and values, with the resulting phallic influences and liberal attitudes quality of life, th organized social system, the clean cities and in Portuguese Catholicism. Later, with the discovery of the New the educated and • olite citizens. When a North American looks World, the Portuguese were introduced to the liberal indig- at Brazil s/he en ies the tropical climate, exuberant and liberal enous sexual morals in which polygamy played an important lifestyles, the liv ly and festive environment and the carefree, affectionate people. part, as well as affection.

From a North American point of These mixed values have resulted view, Brazilian society would benefit in the liberal attitudes towards sexufrom stronger laws and perhaps stronality that can be seen in modern times ger punity on those who break the in Brazil, where laws, making it more difficult to bend "... the Brazilian includes a good the rules. This might reduce the rate of dose of sensuality in his/her relaviolence and criminality, as well as tions as a means of social navigation corruption within organizations. Perin order to achieve what s/he desires haps by recording, remembering and more easily. We like close contact, learning from past experiences, Brazilskin, affectionate words, and risque ian organizations could advance more glances. Our common chats and conrapidly.

Emphasis on quality educaversations contain, between the lines, tion is a cornerstone to this advancea certain content of naughtiness, of ment. sensuality." (Freitas) On the other hand, from a Brazilian point of view, North If applied to organizations, the sensual manner of the Brazilian people can be used as a tool for successful contacts Americans could stand to "lighten up" and become more flexible and in business transactions facilitating the closing of deals and with their "rules for the sake of rules" which are often enforced personal interrelations in general. Neurolinguistics and other to promote order but do not necessarily help all stakeholders. sciences dedicated to the study of marketing suggest that the By encouraging flexibility and open-mindedness, North Americustomer needs a good dose of seduction in order to become can organizations could improve their services.

North Americans and Brazilians stand to learn a great deal attracted to any product. A light conversation, a simple look, from one another. By fostering friendly political relationships, personal charisma, an affectionate gesture which inspires confidence and respect, are-all powerful resources to be used in the political leaders could set an example for their people. Increased seduction of the customet. Such sensualism applied to busi- exchanges of learning and leaching experiences, partnerships ness affairs does not denote sexuality but rather personal and resources would benefit both nations' populations. In this manner, perhaps more North Americans and Brazilians would be magnetism. able to see and understand one another's lifestyle and organizational culture, learn from that experience and draw a bridge ADVENTURER between the two cultures. In doing so, perhaps we will be one step closer to achieving a "happy-medium"—a perfect balCreativity vs. Method Hollanda observes that "...a dignified sense of idleness ance— between the North American and Brazilian cultures. always seemed better and even more noble to a good Loretta Murphy is a Canadian who first came to Brazil Portuguese... than the insane struggle for each day's bread .

(Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro) as a Rotary Exchange What he admires as an ideal is the life of a great gentleman, student in 1987. She has traveled extensively exclusive of any effort, of any concern." He further adds that throughout the country and has lived in Salvador, "...what is predominant is the antiquated conception that idleBahia since 1997. Her interest in Brazilian ness is more important than business and that productive culture has recently led her to complete activity is, in itself, less valuable that of contemplation and a monograph entitled "Cultural Differences in Brazilian and Canadian Organizations" on which this article was love." based. For further information, e-mail her at This is not to say that modern-day Brazilians are not hardlomurphvAuol.com.br workers. Brazilians are ambitious, determined and put in long 31 BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

Para Sebastiao e Geni

Attack The director of the Cataguases High School, professor Guaraciaba dos Reis, behind a huge rosewood desk explained, "Mr. Sebastiao... Mr. Sebastiao...

First of all, let me make it clear to you: since 1945,1945 I repeat, when they lost the Second World War, the Germans don't even have Armed Forces anymore...

Furthermore, if someone wished to attack Brazil, why would they start by Cataguases?

LUIZ RUFFATO

Naquele verao, meus pais tiveram a oportunidade de apertar a mao da felicidade. Em janeiro, enquanto nuvens negras, la para os lados de Barbacena, assustavam os ribeirinhos do Beco do Ze Pinto, tementes das aguas aleivosas do Rio Pomba, entulhavamos um caminhao de mudanca corn nossos trens. Finalmente, nossa casinha quatro-comodos, no Paraiso, ficara pronta. Dois anos naquele bafafa, da compra do terreno a ligacao da forca; dois anos de garrafas termicas de café para o pedreiro, para o servente, para o poceiro, para o ajudante, para o eletricista, culminando corn os sacos de pao-com-molhode-tomate-e-cebola e os litros de quissuco no domingo da batecao da laje. Meu pai, que vigiara, passo a passo, a edificacao, desde a concretagem das bases ate o assentamento da privada, desde a amarracao das folhas de amianto da varanda ate a chumbagem dos pes do tanque-de-lavar-roupa, estava fora-de-si. Abracava a todos, conhecidos ou gentes nunca dantes vistas; falava alto, o que nao era do seu feitio; ria por bobicas, por lereias...

Minha mae, mulher sensivel—"Claro que estou feliz, imagine!, estou chorando é de boba, tontice mesmo, tontice"—ponderava: au i viveram vinte anos "0 Reginaldo era de-colo ainda, uma coisiquinha assim"; verdade, as enchentes que estragavam corn tudo—"Perdi a conta dos colchOes jogados fora"—ficariam para tras, mas, ate disso, tinha certeza, sentiria saudade, ate disso; e mesmo esse negiacio de morar tudo amontoado, paredee-meia, espirro-saade!, faria falta, no Paraiso as casas salteadas, envergonhadas umas das outras; faria falta a camaradagem, ah!, faria!, ate as brigas, as confusoes, os disse-me-disses, a mexericagem, formavam uma familia, a cara e a coroa; e, o mais importante, iam se libertar do aluguel, um suor suado a toa, para matar a sede do senhorio, sim, isso que era importante, repetia, ajeitando o ronrom, aprisionado num saco de estopa espichado no chao da bolera do caminhao de mudanca, que adernava, resfolegante, pela morraria do Paraiso.

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

Em fevereiro, meu pai, corn a ajuda do Reginaldo e da Mines, meus irmaos, comprou a prestaeoes uma televisao Telefunken vinte-e-tres-polegadas para minha mae poder acompanhar as novelas, "Urn descanso pra cabeca, voces nao fazem conta", e para suas pemas encipoadas de varizes. Mas, tudo esvaziava de sentido, comparado ao sonho que estava cumprindo, datado de menina, nos cafunclOs-do-judas, gostava nem de lembrar: viver debaixo de urn teto decente, seu, corn urn bonito amarelao no cimento liso. Esse, seu Anico pedido. Economica, ajuntou nota a nota, separadas da paga pela lavagem das trouxas de roupa, e aprecou loj a por loj a de material de construed° o pO da cor da sua exigencia.

Depois da mudanca, toda manila de sabado, aproveitandose da ausencia do Reginaldo e da Mirtes, na fabrica labutando, e da do meu pai, encerrado na quitanda, minha mae se punha a arrumar a casa. Cedinho, me despachava de bicicleta a um posto na Vila Teresa para comprar um litro de gasolina. Enfiada num vestido de child° surrado, lenco amarrado na cabeca, eta sobracava os comodos: corn os restos de uma camisa-de-malha velha tirava a poeira dos mOveis e lustrava-os corn Oleo-deperoba; arrastava-os de um lado para outro para barrer os cantos; embebia de gasolina a cera cristal amarela e espalhavaa pelo chao. "Eu sempre quis assim... uma casa sO pra mim... pra sempre... ninguem Onde eu pregar urn prego, ele fica... mais tira... ninguem..."

Nessa epoca, meu pai andava contaminado pela ideia de mudar de ramo, passar o comercinho de uma-porta-só e abrir um armarinho de miudezas num ponto mais para os lados da Rua do Comercio, se sentia insatisfeito corn o que tinha, achava pouco, no fim das contas mat arranjavapara o aluguel, e, acima de tudo, angariara urn nome, urn conhecimento, um respeito, seria assim, urn pulo-do-gato... No entretanto, colecionava dias ocultos em ovos caipiras, limOes galegos, laranjas campistas, batatas inglesas, toletes de film, trabesseirinhos de palha, fluidos, pedras-de-isqueiro. Ao meio-dia, entre verduras desmaiadas, sintonizava a Radio Aparecida para ouvir o padre Victor, "Os ponteiros apontam para o infinito". As tres da tarde, entre agonicas verduras rejeitadas, sintonizava a Radio Aparecida para ouvir o padre Victor, "Consagracao a Nossa Senhora".

A Mines completara dezessete anos e cacava um rapaz que pudesse soergue-la da condicao de operaria para a de gra-fina.

Na sala-de-pano da Industrial, longe do barulho, do calor, do abafamento, do ar viciado da flacao e da tecelagem, todas as recentes conquistas da familia contavam pouco para eta. Queria conhecer logo um que morasse no centro e fosse proprietario de uma otica ou uma loj a de eletrodomesticos. Pois, namorar povo da fabrica?, que nem eta mesma?, de jeito mane ira! E nada tambem de dono de botequim, que isso era coisa de portugues, da camisa a ninguem. Enquanto isso, ajeitava-se no sofa-cama da sala para dormir e namorava escondido urn ze-mane qualquer nos escuros da Praca Santa Rita...

Eu tinha onze anos incompletos e estudava no Colegio Cataguases, de manha. A tarde, me enturmando, jogava pelada no campinho do Paraiso, de depois-do-almoco ate a hora-doangelus. A noite, descia para o Beira-Rio, peixe-fora-d' agua, e perambulava, desconfiado, fazendo nada, observando os bandos que sanfonavam para cima e para baixo, despropositadamente, uma partida de jogo-de-botao, uma brigade catadores de marra, o carro novo da ma, urn programa engracado na televisao, um bebado recalcitrante, uma revista de mulher pelada, uma luta arranjada, urn salve, urn desarranjo intestinal, uma pedrada numa vidraca, uma bola-de-meia, urn caco de vidro no pe, uma bicicleta enfeitada... Os mais velhos pavoneavam-se em frente casa de possiveis futuras namoradas, urn viola°, inameras vozes desafinadas, e as meninas suspiravam, mangavam,

sonhavam, ridicularizavam, desfaleciam, debrucadas na janela.

0 Reginaldo era grande, passado dos vinte, e por volta do natal havia anunciado, para grande alegria dos meus pais, que ele e a Rejane tinham brigado, que nao estava mais gostando da filhada Sá-Ana—"Bern que a senhora avisou...", ele reconheceu; "Meu filho, cora ao de mae nunca erra...", minha mae falou; "Deus ouviu as ninhas preces", meu pai completou. 0 que os incomodava dev ras, alegavam, nem tanto era a Sá-Ana ser preta-preta, retint —ate porque a Rejane era mais puxada para mulata, me io chocolate, observavam -5 mas por causa do terreirode-macumba que tnantinha nos fundos da casa, vizinha ao Beco do Ze Pinto. Nao 6 questa° decor, minha tilde frisava, é que esse povo mexe corn o que nao deve, corn feiticaria, corn o tinhoso, Deus que me-livre-e-guarde!, alcava os olhos aos céus, benzendose e beijando o breve, que trazia sempre pendente do pescoco.

No Paraiso, Reginaldo, assim que despido do macacao fedendo a graxa, enfronhava-se nas tides da casa, parecia que apaixonado: barria o terreiro corn uma vassoura-de-mato, que minha mae cortava toda tardinha nos altos do pasto; corria os morros, uma bomba de veneno nas costas, ands dos paneloes de formiga; abraeava as mudas recem-plantadas corn pequenos circulos recortados em pedaeos de pneu de bicicleta; velava a bomba Marumby, que an-ancava agua do poco de dezesseis metros de fundura e jogava na caixa d'agua, em cima da laje, sempre atento para ver sea valvula nao engasgava. Ai, tomava banho, engolia urn pao-corn-manteiga corn urn copo de toddy, escovava os dentes, deitava-se, ligava o radio-a-pilha Semp vermelho, e girava e revirava o dial a cata de alguma estacao de ondascurtas, que estivesse transmitindo em portugues aquela hora, e, no caminho, esbarrava em linguas impronunciaveis, estranhos ruidos, masicas exOticas, barulhos escalafobeticos...

Dormiamos no mesmo quarto, as camas separadas por uma me sinha lab irintada de cupins, em cuj a gaveta, pas sada a chave, ele guardava o cortador de unha, urn pote de brilhantina, o pincel de barba, o aparelho de barbear, uma caixa de gilete, um tubo de creme de barbear, um vidro de aquavelva, algumas ampolas de principe-da-noite, um canivete suico, uma chave-de-grifo, urn paquimetro, uma lupa, uma carteira-de-dinheiro corn folhas de plastic° para proteger os documentos. Na parede contraria, dividiamos um cariado bufe, que usavamos para, dobradas, alojar as nossas roupas limpas.

Numa madrugada friissima de maio, despertei aterrado, o alarido das criacOes assustadas no galinheiro, o coracao aos murros, um arrupio na espinha, uma bambeza nas pemas, urn zunido zunindo em-dentro da cabeca, meu corpo hirto assentado no gelido chao de cimento, envolto num breu tao espesso que poderia esmigalhar entre os dedos, a treva, o cheiro do coisaruim, meus olhos esbugalhados, o horror, a treva, entao ouvi a voz fugidia, as pilhas gastas, sussurrar, em meio a urn oceano ) de Londres de interferencias "Aqui, Radio BBC, trans ( ) de ) ovas instrucOes ( ) ssao em portugues ( ) devem ) undo agentes da ci ( Cataguases. 0 ata ( )". E, num botetraicoeiro, ) leste, a esquadrilh ( ocorr( o silencio apresou o mundo, e tudo transformou-se num liquido pegajoso, malcheiroso, visguento, que, entomando-se, afogou a si prOprio.

De manhazinha, o despertador. Minha mae levantou, pegou uma vasilha dentro do armario, escancarou a porta da cozinha, abriu a torneira do tanque-de-lavar-roupa, encheu a leiteira de agua, depositou-a na trempe, pousou acucar no fundo, acendeu uma boca do fogao-a-gas, entrou no quarto, murmurou, "Reginaldo, ô Reginaldo, Cinco horas!", passou a sala, murmurou, "Mines, 6 Mines, Cinco horas", voltou a cozinha, encheu uma lata de milho, dirigiu-se ao terreiro, convocou as galinhas, pruuuu-ti-ti-ti, pruuuu-ti-ti-ti, meu pai tossiu... depo is.... o cheiro 33

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

de café... Mirtes resmunga qualquer coisa... meu irmao abre a gaveta damesinha... o cheiro de pao-na-frigideira... "friagem"... "este ano"... "pra pagar no dia"... barulho dos limpa-raios coloridos no aro da bicicleta do Reginaldo... o tamanco da Mines... "Benca, Benca, pai..." Minha pele queimava a roupa, o suor molhava o capim do colchao. E a morte, pensei.

Fogo. Agua. A morte. Tomei melhoral e tomei novalgina, tomei coristina etomei conmel, tomei cha-de-folha-de-laranjeira e chade-assa-peixe, a febre cedeu, os musculos, entretanto, todos moidos.

Apos o almoco, minha mae, "You dar um pulinho na ma, fazer armazem, ja-ja eu volto", adormeci, um prato de mingau-demaisena forrando o est6mago. 0 vento traquinou pelo quintal: derrubou a tabua-de-carne que secava junto ao poco d'agua, derrubou mudas de roupa do varal, levantou poeira no agreste do pasto, espalhou cisco, espantou as galinhas, quanto tempo, esse ziguezague? A cabeca no cobo da minha mae, "Ele esta variando, Tido, you fazer urn chi-de-melaopra ele, coitadinho".

Agarrei o brago do meu pai, "Pai... vac) atacar...", "Quern?, meu filho, quern?", "Eles, pai... vao atacar... de aviao...", "Quern falou isso, meu filho?", "A radio, pai... o homem... a radio..." Meu pai passou a mao na minha testa, "Voce esti variando, meu filho...

Calma, esta tudo bem... Calma...", e gritoupor minhamae, "Geni, vem logo, o menino... A febre..."

Passado o susto, mergulhamos na placidez azul de junho e nas mansas ferias de julho.

Na segunda semana de volta As aulas, agosto entrado, especulava num finzinho de tarde, no cocoruto do mono, um cam inhozinho de formigas, organizadissima estradapreta maoe-contra-mao, onde seria o olho-do-fonnigueiro, aquele fib erratico que se perde no fundo profundo da terra, para, conhecendo, melhor combate-las, quando, sem mais, o ceu, as raras nuvens branco-r6seas que preguicosamente se esticavam para o sub, me lembrou os aviOes, o grunhido dos motores... uma madrugada... o radio ligado... Sim, nao era sonho, nao era pesadelo, eu tinha ouvido, nao estava variando... Cataguases ia ser... mesmo... bombardeada! Desci a encosta a galope e, ao entrar em casa esbaforido, esbarrei no Reginaldo. "So anda correndo, esse moleque..." "Reginaldo..." "Que que foi?" "E.. que... Nada... Nada nao..."

—0 que que anda, meu filho, te machucando por dentro?, minha mae perguntou, enquanto estendia a roupa-branca no quarador.

—Nada nao, mae.

—Filho, nao mente pra sua mae... Voce tern andado tao... borocoxo... tao caidinho... Nao esta gostando da casa nova? E isso?

—Nao, mae...

—Entao... Esta... apaixonado? E? Heim?

—Para, mat! Nao é nada disso... E seri°, mae... Muito serio...

Nao é brincadeira nao...

Minha mae jogou a agua-com-saban que restava no fundo da bacia sobre o capimangola alto, enxugou as maos no avental encharcado, e postou-se a minha frente.

—Filho, aconteceu alguma coisa?

Tentei evita-la, mas ela agarrou meus bracos, enlacou meus olhos.

— Responde!, filho-de-deus: aconteceu alguma coisa?

Sentada em volta da mesa, a familia, meu pai pediu para que repetisse, para participar o que sabia.

—.Id falai, pai...

—Fala de novo... 0 Reginaldo e a Mines nao ouviram ainda...

Cabisbaixo, envergonhado, acuado, Vöo rir de mim... vdo rir..., engro le i "Eu ouvi... na radio... que vao jogar bomba... em Cataguases... que é pra todo mundo... ficar..."

0 Reginaldo deu urn murro na mesa, falou: —Que radio, so! Esse menino é urn fantasista, pai, vive inventando moda...

—Pra mim, ele é é doente-da-cabeca, disse a Mirtes.

Sal alado em direcao ao campinho terraplenado no alto do Paraiso, vontade de nunca mais per os pes naquela casa, raiva do Reginaldo e da Mirtes, de quem, alias, nem devia ser irmaode-verdade, desconfiava, irmao-de-criacao, isso sim, como deixara a entender certa vez a tiaNeuma, que eu tinha sido pego na enchente, que minha mae, agua na altura do peito, tinha me achado numa cestinha, a alga engastalhada nos galhos de uma laranjeira. "YocénAo nasceuem margo? Marco nag, tern enchentedas-goiabas? Pois!" Ganhei a estradinha que enviesava morraria acima, de-chao, ressulcada pela enxurrada, calhaus magoando a banda dos Os enchinelados, uma pirambeira, casinhas adoentadas agarradas A terra amarela esfarelenta, laje na altura do arruamento, fedor de porcos no cercadinho, uma plantacaozinha de mandioca, um alastro de verdurinhas magas, urn gato espreguicado na janela, outro encaracolado na porta da sala, sobre um tapete imundo, dois filhotes rolam na poeira do terreiro, e cachorros e cachorros e cachorros, todos na viralatice, continuei caminhando, os tetos espagando, um barraco aqui, um puxado ali, !dem baixo o Beira-Rio enrodilhado no Rio Pomba, uma parte do Paraiso, entrei na mata, uma vez acompanhei minha mae na panha de lenha, numa parte onde as grimpas entrelacavam as folhas e o so!, a custo, chovia seus raios no mato rasteiro, "Mde, tern lobo aqui?" "Lobo? Tern n'do, meufilho", subi numa pitangueira, me-lambuzei da fruta, madomei esticado no silencio, os olhos enfeitigados pelas serpentinas luminosas que boiavam no ar, nem percebi a noite invaclir a tarde. Passei duas vezes em frente àminha casa, cade coragem?, mas o cheiro do alho torrado para fazer mingau-de-fubd mais a promessa de tomar banho, trocar de roupa, me enfiar debaixo de uma coberta quentinha, me convenceram. Cheio de porens, penetrei, pe-ante-pe, na cozinha, minhamae, como que prevenida, atenazou minha orelha esquerda, "Aonde voce se meteu, peste?", ralhou, "Ai, ai, mae, minha orelhar, "Deixou todo mundo preocupado, 6-coisa!," gritava, os labios descoloridos, "Quer me matar de susto? E?", o dedo erguido nas minhas fucas, "Vai ja pro banho, jar, urn tapa na bunda, "Seu pai esta louco da vida! Revirou a cidade de pemas pro ar... e nada! Aonde voce estava escondido, heim?, diacho!, aonde? Nas pintangueiras? Sozinho? 0 que voce foi fazer heim? 0 que? Ai, minha nossa! E assim... Os filhos... Ai, ai, ai".

Na hora da janta, meus olhos rastejantes, a indiferenca do Reginaldo, o esgar da Mines, o sermao silencioso do meu pai, mais ardido que uma coca de vara-de-marmelo.

Em meados de outubro, o zunido do radio arrancou-me do sono. Arreceando assustar o Reginaldo, engatinhei A cata do aparelho no negrume da madrugada, prendi-o entre os dedos, arrasteio, sentei-me na beira da cama, procurei o botao do liga-desliga, mas, antes de achd-lo, escutei, nitido, "Aqui, Radio BBC, transmitindo desde Londres, em mais uma emissao em portugues. Seguem novas instrucOes ao povo de Cataguases: o ataque alemao, segundo agentes da CIA, devera ocorrer no fim de dezembro. Vinda do leste, tuna esquadrilha bombardeara impiedosamente a cidade, abrindo caminho para a Cavalaria e Infantaria. Mais uma vez, recomendamos: mobilizem-se!" Meu corpo, um piaq desequilibrado, o cora* aos murros, urn arrupio na espinha, uma

34 BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

bambeza nas pernas, uma barulheira em-dentro da cabeca, a treva, meus olhos esbugalhados, cord a cortina que separava a cozinha do quarto dos meus pais, entrei, "Que foi?" "Sou eu, me..." "Quern 6, Geni?"Soueu, pai..." "Vern ca, meufilho... Que que foi? Teve um sonho ruim?" "Mae... Pai... eu... eu... eu ouvi... aquela coisa... de novo..." "A guerra?", perguntou meu pai, aflito, vestindo a boca corn a dentadura. "E... a guerra...", respondi, focinhando-me entre os dois.

Dia segttinte, meu pai iniciou uma peregrinacao, na tentativa de fazer-se ouvir pelas autoridades competentes: 0 prefeito, Dr. Manoel Prata, estava em Juiz de Fora, "Tratamento de sande", explicaram, "Sabe quando ele volta?", "Sei dizer nAo"; 0 vereador Levindo Novaes, conhecido de-vista, ouviu-o pacientemente, enquanto cumprimentava urn e outro na Rua do Comercio, "Seu... Sebastiao? SebastiRo! Seu Sebastiao... sinceramente acho isso tudo, como you dizer?, estranho... meio... absurdo... Mas, o senhor pode ficar tranquil°, eu you propor, numa pr6xima sessao, que o assunto seja colocado em pauta... Pode ficar sossegado... Born, seu SebastiAo, eu preciso ir andando... se o senhor precisar de mais alguma coisa, nAo se acanhe... pode me procurar..."; 0 padre Heraldo, da Igreja de SA° Jose Operado, conduziu meu pai ate a porta da sacristia, a mkt em seu ombro, disse, sorrindo, "Seu Sebastiao, isso é imaginacao... pura imaginacAo do menino..."; 0 Ze Pinto, seu bastante conhecido ex-senhorio, "Di uma coca de corriAo nele, bem dada, passa pimenta nos beicos dele, que ele parade inventar mentira. E, 6, quer um conselho?, faz isso logo, porque depois... depois tern jeito mais nRo... Escuta o que estou falando..."; 0 prefeito, Dr. Manoel Prata, estavaem Belo Horizonte, "Foi resolver umas pendencias la....", explicaram, "Sabe quando ele volta?", "Se dizer nAo"; 0 diretor do Colegio Cataguases, professor Guaraciaba dos Reis, MIAs de uma enorme mesa de cabiuna, adomada por um solitario vazio e um pequeno busio grego de gesso, argumentava, "Seu SebastiRo... seu Sebastiao... Antes de mais nada, deixe-me esclarecer uma coisa pro senhor: desde que perderam a Segunda Guerra Mundial, em 1945, em 1945, eu repito, os alemaes nem Forcas Armadas tem mais... E, nAo fosse isso, imagine o senhor... essa noticia ja seria do conhecimento, no minim°, do Presidente da Republica, o senhor concorda? Alem do que, ca entre n6s, seu Sebastiao, se alguem fosse atacar o Brasil, por que que ia comecar logo por Cataguases?, heim, seu SebastiRo, me explica, por que logo por Cataguases? Olha, seu filho 6 urn born aluno, esforcado, tern born comportamento... nao seria o caso... seu Sebastilo... de o senhor... encaminha-lo... a um medico.., urn... psiquiatra... quern sabe é coisa boba... urn tratamentinho a toa resolve... Tern al o Dr. Gilson Machado... o senhor conhece, nAo conhece? pois entAo... atende no INPS... é s6 entrar na fila... vai cedinho... pega a ficha..."; 0 delegado, Dr. Anibal Resende, apertou a mAo do meu pai (camarada) "Obrigado, seu SebastiRo, por ter aceitado o nosso convite. Isso so me di mais conviccao de que se trata de urn grande equivoco... e é isso, alias, que nOs vamos esclarecer agora... (Acende um cigarro) Pode se sentar, seu Sebastiao, fique a vontade. Born, pranao me estender muito, seu Sebastiao, vamos direto ao ponto: (ironic°, a voz alterada) que raio de histhria 6 essa que o senhor anda espalhando por al, seu SebastiAo, de que Cataguases vai ser invadida pelos alemaes?

Quem foi que inventou urnabesteira tao grande, seu Sebastiao?

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

(compreensivo, a voz mais baixa) Seu Sebastiao, deixe-me explicar uma co sa pro senhor: o senhor, a sua familia, sAo pessoas de bem, onhecidos, ordeiros, cumpridores do dever...

Agora, o senho já ouviu falar dos comunistas? (diddtico) Existe em nosso pais gente que quer implantar o terror, irmAo matando irmao, (rz voz ampliftca-se, o suor escorre da testa) (As mAos gesticulam, teatrais) quer ver o Brasil nas marts dos comunistas, da Russia!, seu Sebastiao, da RUssia!, onde os valores cristlos de nada valem, onde os homens dividem as mulheres corn os amigos, as filhas dormem corn o pais, os padres sAo enforcados por pura diversAo, onde na° ha lei, s6 anarquia, bagunca, perdicAo... (gritando) Sao esses comunistas, seu SebastiAo, que espalham noticias como essa que o senhor an a espalhando, corn o objetivo de provocar o panic°, a desorde , a desconfianca... (esmurra a tnesa)(Levantase, acende out o cigarro, acalma-se) Seu Sebastiao... seu SebastiAo... dei e-me fazer uma pergunta pro senhor e queria que o senhor me respondesse corn toda sinceridade: (fixa seas olhos nos olhos do meu pai) seu Sebastiao, o senhor conhece algum comunis ? Mt viu um? NAo? 0 senhor sabe quem comunista? NA° (Senta-se, limpa o rosto corn um lenco, enfiao de novo no bo so de tras da calca)(sarcdstico)Nem n6s, seu da policia... Sabe por que? Porque SebastiAo... Ne comunista nao az isso escrito na testa... Como posso ter certeza de que senhor, seu SebastiAo, nao comunista, se o senhor esti agin o como urn? Born, estao vamos dar urn voto de confianca pr senhor, seu SebastiAo. (autoritdrio) Agora, a partir de hoje senhor esti proibido, proibido, o senhor entendeu?, de a rir a boca pra falar sobre isso. Proibido! Outra coisa: vamos c fiscar... temporariamente apenas... todos os aparelhos de r to e televisao que o senhor tiver em casa... (gritando) Eu n o tenho nada corn isso! Se o senhor ainda esta pagando a televi Ro, problema seu! Estou sendo seu amigo, seu Sebastiao, nao s i se o senhor percebeu? (Pega um papelzinho na gaveta) (a v z mais mansa, confidente) 0 senhor tern urn filho... Reginal ?, Reginaldo... tinha um tio meu que chamava Reginaldo... Bo , o Reginaldo trabalha na Manufatora, nao mesmo? E tern u a filha... Mirtes... a Mirtes trabalha na sala-depano da Industr al?, belo emprego, helm, seu SebastiAo... Os filhos bem enca inhados, gracas a Deus... (comovido) Pois é, e tern gente que ura que o senhor 6 comunista, s6 pra ver seus filhos serem m dados embora, s6 pra ver a familia do senhor passando dificu dades... Que mundo, esse, seu Sebastiao, que mundo! (amig Alt, nAo esquece de levar o menino no psiquiatra, corn recomendou o professor Guaraciaba..."; 0 medico-p iquiatra, Dr. Gilson Machado, me disse para esperar la fora, ou-se para meu pai, "0 menino... parece... tern uma ten denc ia.. a esquizofrenia... a... loucura... vamos... vamos • continuar acorn anhando... ficar de-olho... vamos ver o que acontece..."

Haviamos v slumbrado um dia a felicidade?

Minha mle guou. A tardinha, sentada na poltrona da sala, a porta as escan aras, nenhuma brisa a espanar o calor, os olhos esmaecidos tro ecayam nos desenhos do bordado da toalha que cobria am inha, onde, ate ha pouco, lembra?, pousava a televislo, a no sa televisAo, que nem tinhamos acabado de pagar ainda.

EntAo, as Aos magras, manchadas, feridas pela agua sanitaria, busca am cobrir o rosto curtido pelo sol, meu Deus, me ajude!, tent yam compreender o que se passava, que mal tomara sua casa sua familia, que forca era aquela que ameacava tornar ao chAo o ue levararn vidas para erguer, o que, meu Deus, 35

esta havendo, o que?, ndo ajuizava por que as vizinhas a evitavam, por que as comadres escapuliam, por que os moleques a apontavam, zombeteiros, por acaso sabiam todos de algum algo que ignorava?, por que entdo no dividiam corn ela?, por que?, sentia-se como se dona de uma doenca-ruim, de urn maldo-sangue, levantava-se, suspirava, procurava, atraves da janela, uma explicacdo, as roupas ressecando penduradas no varal, amontoandose empilhadas no guarda-roupa para passar, a janta por fazer, a poeira acumulando-se no amareldo, esmagrecida, entojada, cabelos desgrenhados, varizes estuporadas, "Tido... o menino... o menino é doido, Tido? E doido?"

Meu pal perdeu a graca. Cofiava os dias embirrado no entre-quatro-paredes da quitanda de chdo serenado, lendo amiudado jornais passados que iriam no apOs embrulhar verduras, legumes e frutas, entrincheirado num silencio enfezado, cada vez menos granado as coisas do mundo, nos confins de tarde entornando cachaca na venda, mastigando tira-gostos, um jilo cozido, urn ovo colorido, uma 1 ingiiica fi- ita, remoendo as lorotas, as vantagens, as novidades dos que largavam do servico na Industrial, ralando o braco no chapisco daparede de casa noitefeita, fedendo a alcool, recendendo a vomit°, esquivando-se dos sonhos que infestam a madrugada.

0 Reginaldo voltou para a Rejane—"Mandinga", jurava minha mde falando ate em casamento, enxoval, compra de moveis, em viver-sob-o-mesmo-teto... A Mirtes reconsiderava, juntar os panos corn urn igual talvez ndo fosse tdo seri° assim...

Em tudo, o desdnimo.

Onde a explicacdo para aquela desgraca? Onde?

Urgia o tempo, larguei a escola.

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Corn uma talhadeira, demarquei no cimento debaixo da minha cama urn quadrado de trinta centimetros, para desgosto da minha mde. Corn a cavadeira, alimentei o buraco. De comeco, explodiram calos-de-sangue, o servico so avancando guiado pelas mdos mumificadas; d noite, latejavam os musculos, incendiava a cabeca, enjoava o estomago, roiam os rins, rilhavam os dentes. A terra desassentada carregava num balde de zinco, a aka amarrada a uma corda, escalava as paredes umidas, puxava, despejava num carrinho-de-mdo, uma, duas, tres, quatro, cinco viagens, ate enche-lo, conduzia-o para o atras da casa, riscando o chdo do quarto e da cozinha, a um agora monturo, outrora pequena horta, e voltava d faina. Quando reparei os dois metros de fundura, empunhei urn enxaddozinho e cavuquei lateralmente, dia e noite, endiabrado, corpo bobo, maquinal, ate esculpir urn aposento pequeno, metro e vinte de altura, hum de largura, hum de comprimento. Al, a enfeitacao: calcos de madeira para amparar o teto, taubas para forrar o chao, uma extensdo de forca, meu colchdo-de-capim, meu trabesseiro de pena. Uma tampa de lad° cerrava a boca do buraco.

Na folhinha, dezembro dobrado ao meio.

This short story ("0 Ataque" in Portuguese) was originally published in Geractio 90, Manuscritos de Computador, an anthology of 17 authors and the best short stories published in Brazil in the '90s. The book was organized by Nelson de Oliveira. You can contact Boitempo Editorial, the publisher, at www.boitempo.com or calling 11-3875-7285.

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BRAZZIl - DECEMBER 2001

Like in most languages, in English the "tone" of a sentence indicates what it really means. The tone is a combination of the volume and pitch of the voice, and emphasis on different parts of a sentence. Thus, in a sentence like the one in the title, stress on get and much less stress on out and here may indicate a friendly joke meaning approximately "Let me do it, you can't do it". It may also be a round-about way of saying "You don't know what you are talking about" or "that just cannot be!" In other words, it is not a hard expulsion.

The idea is to convey a meaning without risking offending the other person. Of course, much of it depends on the degree of closeness between the two persons talking. A father, for instance, may say "Get the hell out of here!" to his son and the son understands that it just a matter of emphasis. So in this sentence, hell, instead of a curse, a really bad word, means only now, right away.

Even a phrase like "son of bitch" can be used in a friendly, intimate way, and even as a term of endearment and admiration. Once, Fortune magazine printed a story (artigo) on a famous businessman then highly admired for his ability to negotiate. It began with a big decorated A at the top of the page, opening the following line: "... Son of a Bitch is what those closest to him call Mr. X." (Actually, in the Sao Paulo of the 30's, among young reporters, newsmen, etc, "litho da puta" was equally a term of affection, reserved only to a few well-beloved friends. And that, 70 years ago, was nothing like the "computerese" English invasion of today. It was sheer coincidence.)

English is also the champion language of the double meaning, thanks to its abundance of phonemes—sounds used in words—that can be written in several different ways. Some are quite ancient, such as cavalier, which means "a gallant, refined fellow" but also "haughty" (altivo), "full of himself' (cheio de titica), and "contemptuous" (desdenhoso). In the two meanings the word is the same, derived from French cavalier, a well-dressed man of good taste and Another feature of En lish that manners and "an armed warrior", a "combatant," who by definition must be a rough often is a puzzle to speake s of other individual. languages—particularly the Romance But what is one to do when there are two words—written exactly the same way but languages—is that in Engli h a noun pronounced differently—with two exmay be used as an adjecti e without tremely different meanings? If you think there is no such a thing, think again. any change in its spelling.

One such word is primer pronounced with a long A (praimer) meaning "a cap or W I LSO VELLOSO fuse that triggers an explosion" and "a first coat of painting, applied before the definitive coat." And primer, pronounced with a short i, almost an EE, meaning an elementary textbook (cartilha). And it is cartilha in all its meanings, that is, a basic text on any subject of learning.

Incidentally, primer in the first case is called estopim in Portuguese.

English f r Brazue s

"Get Out of Here!"

BEtAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

37

Another feature of English that often is a puzzle to speakers of other languages particularly the Romance languages—is that in English a noun may be used as an adjective without any change in its spelling.

This causes a lot of confusion even among those who know English fairly well. Take the expression public relations for instance. It means "relations with the public, with the costumer, with the user, the client, the patient, etc". Translating it as "relaccies pfiblicas" is a very common error in Brazil.

Among other things, public relations or PR may be a very discreet, very hush-hush activity, nothing ptiblico about it. In some cases, the phrase may be used in "secret public relations" which is perfectly possible. How could it be Relac5es Piblicas secretas?

It may take the shape of a spokesman for a company to seek a private meeting with somebody who feels (justifiably) a certain amount the anger against the company, may even consider taking the company to court (processar a companhia).

Since there is no interest on either party in advertising the misdeed or action that caused disgust, or the terms of a negotiated accommodation (an acceptable although delicate explanation, a fair compensation, a non-pecuniary advantage, etc.) it develops in a private place, out of sight, out of sound.

Everybody is—or should be happy and the public may never learn of the incident.

A more trivial use of a noun, or even a name, as an adjective, may be the title of an organization, a newspaper, a periodical publication. But a great number of Latin Americans don't know that, so they can construct phrases like this: "Sorry, but the Los Angeles is late today." They mean the

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newspaper Los Angeles Times. This may create confusion because there are several publications whose title begins with Los Angeles, or Chicago, or Miami, or Boston. In Portuguese, the title would be something like 0 Estado de Minas, 0 Estado de S. Paulo and it would be perfectly acceptable to omit the name of the town. "0 Estado est() atrasado hoje".

In parenthesis, I wish to thank a reader for pointing out a geographical and political error of mine in the first English for Brazucas published. I refer to Aachen or Aix-la-Chapelle or Aquisgran which is in Germany, not in Switzerland. The linguistic aspect is correct but did my memory fail as to location! Old age is the only explanation for my slip.

Aachen is a very important city in Europe. There, Charles, king of the Franks (a Germanic people) was crowned as first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire—Charlemagne (Carlos Magno). It became famous for being the place where emperors and kings were crowned from then on.

Do you have questions, doubts? Put them on a postcard and mail it to Brazzil, PO Box 50536, Los Angeles CA 90050-0536. If you are wired, you may send e-mail to vewilsonA3oaks.com Wilson Velloso is a veteran Brazilian journalist who describes himself as a jack of all trades, master of none. Having begun to work as a boy (vending flowers and candles at a cemetery gate in his hometown of Sao Paulo), he became a journalist and writer, earned a living in Brazil, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Canada. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1955, is an American citizen by choice, and often collaborates with Brazzil. He can be reached, sometimes, at vewilsonA3oaks.com

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Sex? OfCourse!

The sexual revolution and the feminist revolution here have translated differently.

Common behavior by Brazilian men displayed towards their Brazilian female coworkers would merit prison-time in the U.S., or at the very least lawsuits and dismissals.

JOHN ROSCOE Brazil?

Sex. Sex? Brazil.

Yes, a preeminent credential in the Brazil's global reputati n. But is it hype; is it over-romanticized, wishful Milking? Hardly. Yet, Brazil easily escapes the taw ry repute of a Bangkok or an Amsterdam.

Maybe .ecause Brasileiros treat sex in much the same ay that they treat dancing; as a natural, necessa means of expression. When you consider that it's also a basic human pleasure that can be obtained at little or no cost, what could be more welladapted to Brazilian character and economy?

It's as pervasive here, as it is in the U.S. and Europe, but it's different. The romance and steam are still unabashed. "Short-time" motels in Brazil are an institution, rather than a dirty, little rendezvous.

When spoken about or referred to by Brazilian men and women it's the equivalent of talking about going to "make-out" point, to watch the "submarine-races".

On Brazil's Valentine's Day (Dia dos Namorados), there is a line of cars waiting for the next vacancy, so that the rites of amor may be celebrated appropriately. These establishments range from low-end, convenient, private to Sultanic pleasure-palaces.

Seduction is rampant among both men and women.

What makes it so much more appealing is that the best hit-on "lines", are those glances across crowded rooms. This is the moment... .and the smile.., and the look! And, yeah baby!

How serious are Brazilians about their right to indulge their sensuality? Brazil is seldom regarded as having a high-efficiency culture. Yet, in handful of years Brazil has turned around the worst AIDS disaster in the western hemisphere, into a model for other countries in dealing with the HIV plague. In a country where infrastructure and services are spotty and inconsistent, the amount of organization, energy and expertise employed in maintaining a high-degree of sexual freedom is impressive.

Yet, the sensuality that permeates their society and culture is relatively free from vulgarity. Vulgarity is an attempt to burst free from the chains of sexualinhibiti n and hypocrisy. These chains are largely absent' the Brazilian mentality, which is amazing for what is still considered a "Catholic country". In adverti ing, sex sells here as much as anywhere. The difference is that the romance, the intimacy and the aesthetic allure of human sexuality are all emphasized.

Brazilians have been careful not to forget the besli elements of good sex-affection, tenderness BRAZZIL -DECEMBER 2001

39

and playfulness. Their use of language illustrates this: cafune, for example is a word dedicated to describing the tender, and affectionate stroking of the head. While we in the United States use "honey" and "baby" as terms of everyday-endearment, "meu amor" (my love) is most commonly used here. When in the midst of the throes of passion, "tá de-LI—CCCCCCCCCI-aaaa, meu amor" (It's so delicious, my love) just has a certain "ring" to it.

In general, Brazilians seem to be less casual about affection in public. The grasp that lovers display in public is more tentative. Grabbing, groping, hanging-on to, hot-kisses; all seem less apparent then in many gathering places in the U.S. The glaring exception to this is the scene within barzinhos, coffee shops and other seemingly innocuous places. This is where couples will display their romantic intentions, oblivious or perhaps in exhibition, to bystanders. This is the place to "neck" and be seen "necking". But still, the kissing here is of a more tender nature instead of "oral surgery"; a signal that this is merely a prelude to honest romance, even if that romance is of a single night.

The sexual revolution and the feminist revolution here have translated differently. Where I work, and in stories related by other Brazilian acquaintances, common behavior by Brazilian men displayed towards their Brazilian female co-workers would merit prison-time in the U.S., or at the very least lawsuits and dismissals. There is some compliant of abuse and of exploitation; but not a single Brasileira of my acquaintance would trade this situation for what they think are ridiculous laws to regulate what comes natural to boys and girls.

However, there has been a marked change in social attitudes, especially in regards to machismo. This is regarded by the current generation (both men and women) as being passé, a vestige of the antiquated mentality of their parents and grandparents. This is, of course, a generalization; but popular culture reflects this shift in television programs and other media lampooning machistas and the silly, underclasswomen who are attracted to them.

In fact, a popular comedy sketch on Casseta & Planeta, the Brazilian version of Saturday Night Live, is called "Pit Bicha" (it's a play on words, meaning "pit-fag" instead of"pit-bull"). The main character is excessively "butch" with his open-shirts or leather jackets brimming-over with chest hair, "mutton-chop" sideburns and abundant moustache. He is in-your-face aggressive, with a contrived, overly masculine, deep-bass voice. The message is clear: machismo is compensation for deep-seated (to coin a phrase) homosexuality.

There still remains a grudging expectation that many married men will have mistresses, or playmates.. .but the feminist revolution here has extended that expectation to women as well. In a recent English class, that I had given to students working in Brazil's state-owned bank, I took an informal survey. The students were all well-educated, professionals and executives in their 30's and 40's. When asked how many of them had had extramarital affairs, their affirmation was unanimous. When I expressed my amazement, they were amused. One woman, who was a high-powered executive, said that she had caught her husband in an affair, so turnabout was definitely preferable to divorce.

There is a folk-character in Brazilian culture known as Ricardo ("Big Richard", although I have been assured that this name doesn't have any special significance, I still wonder.) He is the 40

man that comes to service all the neglected wives, whose husbands are dallying elsewhere. In a legitimate daily newspaper, among the personal columns, there is one column devoted to "Ricardbes". There are more than a few listed.

Another seemingly healthy attitude here is in regard to ageisni. Older women, meaning 35 to 59 years old, are referred to as coroas, or "crowns". This term was originally meant as a term ofrespect for "elders", but is now used to indicate a woman who has lost the blush of youth. Although it is inadvisable to .use this word to their faces, the connotation is not necessarily that of an undesirable woman. The closest synonym I can find in English is "sugar-mama". Many, many men; from young to old, find coroas to be attractive and desirable, even preferable to inexperienced, unworldly partners.

For the older, middle-aged male, this is a country where his attractiveness to younger females is of a sincere nature, perhaps more so than in any other country of the world. A combination of graying hair, and the tranquil confidence that often accompanies age, is a powerful aphrodisiac.

But finally what separates Brazil from the Bangkoks and Amsterdams of the world is the commercial aspects of sex.

While undoubtedly there is a huge, established and welldeveloped sex-industry throughout the country, at times it seems akin to selling ice-cubes in Antarctica. This industry is well utilized by tourists and locals alike, widely available from women with no other prospect of survival.

Although prostitutes occupy the lowest social strata here, it's not unheard of, perhaps not uncommon for middle or upperclass men to make an "honest-woman" of a "putinha" (the diminutive form ofputa or prostitute). There is a big problem with child-prostitution here, although this seems to be being confronted by authorities in a very high-profile manner. I have seen permanent metal signs that look like traffic signs, except that they direct you to refrain from sexual-exploitation of adolescents.

Brazil does have appeal to the throngs ofmiddle-aged European and North American men that immerse themselves in flesh-pits of Asia or Holland, or other "cheap-sex" capitals. A "last chance", with money taken from "petty-cash".

But it's easier to compare Brazil's overall attraction, to that of idyllic, Polynesia. Those paradises and their nubile, maidens and healthy native lads gave freedom to the suppressed, repressed people of the 196 and 20th centuries. Brazil likewise, fires our imaginations. It begs the question: "Why settle for simple carnal exercise; when love, passion and romance are in such great abundance?"

LIVING A VEDA POBRE In January of 2001 1 was at a crossroads in my life; and by the age of 43, it was another in a long series of crossroads. And it wasn't a middle-age crisis, either. I had suffered a couple of those some years earlier. No, this was one of those transcendental things.

I had just finished working as an emergency medical supervisor for one of those disreputable Survivor-type shows. I was "flush" with cash, but alone. My only child, a gracinha (cutie) less than three years old, had returned with her mother to Brasilia, eight m nths earlier. Her mother and I had had the cliché' "fiery an volatile" intercultural relationship that ends BFtAZZIL -DECEMBER 2001

in child support. But our mutual love and gratitude for our special child was, and is, undeniable; it remains the sacred and inviolable ground between us.

And so I went to Brasilia on a fact-finding mission. I would examine the possibility of living in a Third-World country as an expatriate American. There is nothing that the First-World offers that can approach the value of the relationship with my only child. I was yet to learn just exactly what this would mean.

My first visions were profound and noble. Well, first !would teach. I had always wished to have taught English abroad. I had even researched teacher-training schools for some years. I would have a modest, yet assured income, doing something that came very naturally to me: sclunoozing. Second, I would bring my computer and teach the children; and with my medical training and experience I would bring hope and medicine to the wretched dwellers in the favelas (shantytowns). Maybe, even go into the Amazon and parley with the indios.

Alright, so perhaps there is faint remainder of a middle-age crisis. The Peace Corps volunteer that never was. But the main thing is that I went. This was the second time! had been to Brazil.

I had come a couple of years earlier, shortly after my daughter was born. My daughter's mother is born to a family of some status, and their amenities and lifestyle, more or less, reflect first-world status. The Dona of the family owns a very large apartment in a good neighborhood of this capital city, and the family has a cheicara (ranch) that has been subdivided into a condominium, and contains the country houses of the children.

The children themselves occupy the professional ranks and count among themselves two physicians, two PhDs, a computer-systems analyst, an attorney and a fighter pilot.

As! had stayed with this family during my initial visit, I had all of the comforts and entertainments of home. I did come in contact with poverty, but alWays as a passerby, dispensing abundant coins to the poor and their children. I had heard about the suburbs of the city, how they encircled the capital in a moat of poverty and insecurity. I wanted to visit them, although I didn't want to go alone, or unarmed.

But during that initial visit! went to the trendy bars with my brother-in-law, saw the grand architecture of this unique eity, and spent a weekend in the resort town of Piren6polis.

This time would be different. Yet, for the first six months it wasn't that different at all, since! was receiving residuals equal to what a mid-level executive earns in Brasilia. I also was provided a teaching position, by my former brother-in-law, to "get my feet wet". The money! earned between this, and another school in which I worked part-time, had seemed negligible. It was in reais, which seemed to be useful only for spending on beer, restaurants and easy-fun in general.

Lunch at Francisco's, in the Patio do Brasil Shopping complex, was an especially nice place to frequent, and watch the executives and politicians with girls that could be their daughters, but probably weren't.

Well, here it is eight months later, ands! count centavos for the bus, and calculate whether to use the food ticket, that! and others receive from our employers, for cafĂŠ da manhti, consisting of hot milk with a shot of espresso, and some bakery item; or should! save it all for my only real meal ofthe day the "economy plate" at Giraffe's, the Brazilian equivalent to McDonald's, except that they offer rice and beans? I look longingly at the Reebok's in the store window, that are quite reasonably priced. Reasonably priced BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

unless you are eariing a currency that makes all imported goods three times as expensive. In the last eight months the real has lost close to half of its value.

I earn 1,166 eais a month, teaching at one of the most successful and de irnitely most expensive English schools in the country. In dollar ,this is less than $450. 0 Two months ago, I had a maid that leaned my studio twice a week, and hand washed my tenni shoes, sandals, sheets and did my laundry, including ironing Now, I am thankful to have learned from her how to do these gs by hand.

It's definitely y, because I am totally "undercover". By night, aprofessor de ingles at one of the most chic places in the capital city, freq ented by congressmen, senators, diplomats and their families well as the more mundane rich and influential. I still have firs -world clothing, and can talk about my travels to Europe and sia, or tell some amusing anecdotes about working on mov -sets and earning scandalously large sums daily. But at thee d of my shift, at 10 p.m., I board the bus with the others that 1 ve in the ring of dangerous suburbs that surround the c* Perhaps someone will call me, but I can't initiate the call om my cellular, because I don't have any credits.

But it's kinda neat.

You're an A erican? First-world? Okay, baby, let's cope.

I had just lefti e Hollywood version of"Survivor" and now I was living the vi apobre (poor life). Hey look mom! No hands!

And so, I re in your faithful correspondent.......here.

VIVA OSAMA Where were ou on September 1 16? Driving the suburban back roads, 20 m. utes from the capital of Brazil? Probably not, but!, like you, w made immediately aware. My cellular phone started to go-oft; ith incredulous Brazilians who felt compelled to reach out and omehow connect with the awful fascination unfolding on tel vision, Internet and telephone.

The first call as from a Brazilian friend and fellow English teacher, Joao Pa lo. His voice was agitated, filled with nervous energy and dism y, as if he were actually on the street in New York. "Are you atching this?! Did you see.... hurry, you've gotta get to a tel vision. Oh, wow! Another!

GOD! What is happening?!"

Oh, man! Oh I, of course, as unable to comprehend what was taking place. An excite Brazilian had just called me to say that New York and Wash" gton D.C., the Pentagon were under attack by airliners droppi out of the sky. I had to get to the electronic orac e for instant truth. Another friend called with the ffer of CNN and lunch. sat transfixed, watching again and again, as the liner was seemingly absorbed into the side of orld Trade Center; thinking ALL THOSE PLE! I was filled with dread, knowing how zation had opened into a new and deadlye phase. called work, and said I would be late; unable o yank myself away from the horror on televiThe people at work were understanding, as if re my family on one of those airliners. They spo e in low tones of support and commiseration.

"Are you OK?" No, I'm Not S K!! I gotta do something! Oh boy, are those Arabs gonna get it now! They wanna play?! Alright! You have awakened a slee ring giant of great resolve. We have just begun to fight! DO YO KNOW WHO WE ARE!!!!

41

Well, of course, everyone knows who we are. We are the expired, and Brazilian football has regained its spot as the top blue-eyed, blondeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;haired, captain and quarterback of the var- entertainment form. A few of the more politically conscious, sity football team. We are big, strong, intelligent, handsome, have felt emboldened by the passage of time to let me know that talented, privileged and part of the first-world "in-crowd". We this was a wake-up call for American foreign policy. I have heard, are also student body president, and very rich, besides. When third-hand, of conversations more frank, expressing approval we speak we are used to other people listening. We believe that that the U.S. has finally got its comeuppance for its international everyone should play by the rules, our rules. And if any one gets swaggering. Maybe we wouldn't be so cocky now.

An American acquaintance here allegedly broke the nose of too far out of line, they'll have to deal with us. Everyone knows that. So when the biggest, baddest, jock-on-the-block takes a a Brazilian drug-dealer whose terrorist-jokes culminated in the quick series of jabs to the face everyone is impressed and the burning of an American flag he'd drawn. Out in the desperate suburbs, where I live, I'd begun to think people weren't overly tension is terrible.

The students that study at our English school are profes- impressed by a situation not directly connected to their own sionals that occupy the top 1 percent of the income strata of survival. But, yesterday, a local bad boy came trolling down the Brazil, and are educated, well-informed and of various political cracked-asphalt avenue in his lowered, gangsta car. At the top stripes. Initially, their reaction was of solidarity, sympathy and ofhis windshield, large white appliquĂŠ letters proclaimed "Osama horror-and, of course, amazement. What did I think would Bin Laden."

Yup, maybe it's all about Bad Boys and Jocks. happen next? Would there be war? Yes, of course the U.S. must do something. Of, course it must defend itself. But, do you think John Roscoe is a 43 year-old Hawaiian-American (does that means war? such a term exist?) living as an expatriate American I was very discreet in response. "Thank you. Yes, it's in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. horrible." It was difficult to express my feelings, in a way similar He studied journalism and communications at the to the immediate aftermath of fatal accident of a close friend or University of Hawaii, but has had a checkered family member. career, working in non-profit organizations, emergency The students gently probed, checking to see if I indeed came medical services, and most recently the film and television from the land of Schwarzenegger, Eastwood and Willis. I kept industry. He has written, folksy, feature-stories for small myself under tight reign, well aware that it would be too easy to / island newspapers, as well as resumes for all of his friends.

He has one child, a daughter, Nalani, 3 years old, blow my cover as the open-minded, non-chauvinistic, Ameriand three ex-wives. He currently works as an English can-global-citizen. I even allowed myself some bitter amuseteacher in one of Brazil's most chic "English-language ment at the emailed jokes and graphics that poked fun at the mills", catering to the elite.

September 11 th attack. But, inside I knew with the zeal of an SS He can be contacted at johnthemedic@hotmail or his man, my country would punish its enemies. number in Brasilia is 61-946-1818. Please send money.

Over the weeks that have followed, the formal grieving has

EDGARDO QUINTANILLA, Es ATTORNEY AT LAW/ABOGADO/ADVOGAD9 MEMBER, STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA

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BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

The epigrammatic poem has along, influential, and variegated history.

Even a smaller collection of quotations will include Homer, Bhagavadgita, Laotse, Augustine.... These early oneliners are often re-formulated, translated, transformed down through the ages, and a larger collection may trace the basic idea through many centuries, cultures, and authors. The late Gaucho poet Mario Quintana wrote a significant number of epigrammatic one-liners, many included in his collections of poetry, and many of which can be stimulatingly compared to finds from distant cultures. (We note in passing that The Penguin International Thesaurus of Quotations"' contains oneliners from, among many other sources, the Ashanti, Congolese, Malay, and none from Brazil although, as will be demonstrated here, suitable material is not lacking.) As an adjunct for interested readers, related epigrams from other times and places follow some of Quintana's.

Only the clouds are eternal.

(As ?Micas coisas eternas silo as nuvens.)

Eternity is in love with the productions oftime. (William Blake) Reversion to destiny is called eternity.

(Laotse) Indifference is the most refined form of politeness.

(A indiferenca é a mais refinada forma da polidez.)

Politeness, n. The most acceptable form of h ocrisy. (Ambrose Bierce) There can be no defense like elaborate courtesy. (E.V. Lucas) Courtesy is the politic witchery of great (Baltasar personages.

Gracian) We should go through life as if skipping school, not as if going to school.

(A gente deve atravessar a vida como quem esta gazeando a escola e ndo como quem vai para a escola.)

The tygers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction. (William Blake) If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where do you expect to find it? (traditional Zen saying) The reader will notice some contradiction in most ofthe quotations hereon, and is invited to examine the degree to which this element stimulates a greater or lesser satisfaction with the text: why is such contradiction so interesting, what is its appeal to mind and feeling, where does it affect and effect? It must be that deep BRAZZIL -DECEMBER 2001

Mario Quintana 's One-liners "When accused ofcontradictionjust laugh.

You've not really made any gaffe.

At the opposite pole of whole truth It's your mind has arrived, foresooth.

I/

opens, as it were, a "free space" between the reading and the meaning, in which the reader may simply wonder, wordlessly, at what the Romans called penetralia mentis: what is that which touches us about contradiction and satire? Like apainting, a single line can be apprehended all at once; unlike the more temporal forms of art, no distraction or interruption need intervene between the beginning and the end of its experience. If Poe is correct, and true poems must produce a unity of effect, and therefore be read at one sitting, it might follow that the shortest poems are the truest ones, especially where contradiction carries much of the text.

A lie is a truth which forgot to happen.

(A mentira é uma verdade que esqueceu de acontecer.)

inside ourselves there is that very element, waiting to be called up to consciousness by an appropriate set of concepts, of symbols,

Everything possible to be believ' d is an image of truth. (William Blake) A lie always needs a truth for a handle to it. (Henry Ward Beecher) That lies should be necessary to life is part and parcel of the terrible and questionable character of existence.

(Nietzsche)

The soul is this thing that keeps askin us if the soul exists.

(A alma é essa coisa que nos pergunta se a alma existe.)

What's all this about interpreting poems? A poem is already an interpretation.

(Mas para que interpretarem urn poema? Um poemaja eumainterpretaceio.)

...time makes man find himself in his heart. (Bhagavadgita, 4) Learn what you are and be such. (Pindar) Go to your bosom; knock there, and ask your heart what doth it know. (Shakespeare)

To a poet, silence is an acceptable response, even a flattering one. (Colette) A poem points to nothing but itself.

(E.M. Forster)

JOHN HOWARD

Insofar as one is conceived of contradictory beings, and born into a contradictory world, one is by nature a contradictory being, since de nihilo nihiL But then again, maybe something can come from nothing.

Maybe the soul really is what keeps asking if it itselfexists, and does not exist until wondered about, something like faith and fidelity. ...no evidence can be adduced for it which does not presuppose it. 2 The epigrammatic quality, the freque t satirical twist, may inspire a concentrate poetic moment, almost immediately avai able to the memory and therefore, like t pin-point, with greater power of penetr tion than the broader, longer existent. The

That these contradictory poetic statements have so much appeal to the intellect hints at a close association of the two. One needs suppose that poetic contradiction is a form of truth, just as life itself is, with its own deep contradictions. Now a contradiction is a form of dialogue between two opposing truths, and truth is said by some to be by nature a dialogue, rather than a fact.

"Contradiction is the very element of human existence. Man has no `nature'—no simple or homogeneous being. He is a strange mixture of being and nonbeing."

Contradiction as truth, a dialogue between being and non-being: by being a part of the dialogue, non-being becomes a part of Being. Quintana touches on this theme is his Espelho Magic° (1945): Of Contradiction When accused of contradiction, just laugh.

You've not really made any gaffe.

At the opposite pole of whole truth It's your mind has arrived, foresooth.

Da Contradiccio Se te contradisseste e acusam-te...sorri 43

Pois nada houve, em realidade.

Teu pensamento é que chegou, por Si, Ao outro polo da Verdade.

What is the sound of one hand clapping? (traditional Zen koan) The metaphysical essence of contradiction is unavailable to any representation, whatever the art: it is to be conceived as intuition, thought, feeling, but not by sense. The poem points to but does not arrive at, the goal, which is human apprehension ofhuman Being at a deeper level of intellectual pleasure, the mystery to be found right in our midst.

The quotidian is mystery gone incognito.

(0 quotidiano é o incognito do misterio.)

Zen is your everyday mind. (traditional Zen saying) Knowing the mystery ofa body is maybe more important than knowing that ofa soul.

(Conhecer o misterio de um corpo é talvez mais importante que conhecer o misterio de uma alma.)

Nothing can so pierce the soul as the uttermost sigh of the body. (Santayana) If contradiction is truth, would this not imply that nature itself, and all Creation, is contradictory? And of God? Should this hypothesis hold, would it not more reasone to suppose many gods, as Quintana does in other parts of his work? (And then, of course, as intellectual oneupsmanship, theologians can raise the ante, and conceive a Godhead to subsume them all, the poets several Godheads, and so on....)

POEM FORJULIAN THE APOSTATE In the days of the gods everything was simple as they and natural and human and they reigned over the world.

But a unique usurper god came and made the world incomprehensible because his kingdom was not of this world.

And even now nobody knows why he expelled the other gods and began reigning all alone and made men sin —something they had never done before— because to sin in innocence is not to sin...

And so men came to know the marvelous terror of sin —and thus it was the new god brought them a new voluptuousness.

POEMAPARAJULIANOOAPOSTATA 44

No tempo dos deuses tudo Era simples como des E natural e humano E eles reinavam no mundo.

Mas veio urn deus usurpador e zinico E tornou o mundo incompreensivel Porque o seu reino nao era deste mundo.

E ate hoje ninguem soube por que enteio ele expulsou os outros deuses E ficou reinando sozinho E fez todos os homens pecarem — coisa que eles jamais haviam feito antes— porque pecar corn inocencia nab é pecar E os homens conheceram o terror maravilhoso do pecado — e assim o novo deus lhes trouxe uma volupia nova.

A soul without any mystery wouldn't even be a soul...likea comprehensible god wouldn't be God. (Uma alma sem misterio nem seria alma...da mesma forma um deus compreensivel nao seria Deus.)

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. (Einstein) Wonder is the basis of worship. (Thomas Carlyle) The mystery pertains, at least in part, to the mechanism through which contradictions synthesize into one human being.

May the soul be the vanishing point of contradiction. "At the vanishing point of skepticism, which is also the acme of life, intuition is absorbed in its object....Certainly the intuition of essence is oblivious of itself" 4 Certainly the contradiction, absorbed in its object, obliviates itself. One should note the element of humor at that point, the vanishing point of the epigram, which offers one an occasion for absorption.

Despite all contradictions, a man is somehow a singleness, yet to be described as dynamic, not static, like the movement of a solar system, constant change within a pattern, and so on, outward. The harmony, however, does not preclude the eventual collision of a meteoroid with a Jupiter, an event which may raise doubt as to the overall harmony for some, while provoking others, devotees of subtlety, to marvel all the more.

Don't forget that the clouds are always improvising, but it's the wind's fault.

(Nao esquecer que as nuvens estao improvisando sempre, mas a culpa é do vento.)

Nothing is permanent but change.

(Heraclitus) Running beer gathers no foam. (Victor Hugo) All spiritual interests are supported by animal life. (Santayana)

Insofar as the poetic contradiction may touch the essential human one, the poem comes across as a symbolic representation ofthe self, or Self, as the case may be. Then the poet writing about poetry would be the self writing about the Self The self and the Self — these are the two "I's" which so ironize one another in that wonderful line Ifl were to believe everything I think, I'd go crazy.

(Se eu fosse acreditar mesmo emtudo o que penso, ficaria louco.)

All the mind's activity is easy if it is not subjected to reality. (Marcel Proust) Thought is not a gift to man but a laborious, precarious and volatile acquisition. (Jose Ortega y Gasset) And never ask me the subject ofa poem: it's always about something else.

(E nunca me perguntes o assunto de um poema: um poema sempre fala de outra coisa.)

A poet's pleasure is to withhold a little of his meaning. (E.B. White) Innovative artists in Brazil inevitably are harassed by that part of professional criticism which collaborates with the country's notoriously conservative power groups, and Quintana was no exception. He tersely expressed his opinion of the same: Mistreating a poet is a sign of bad character.

(Maltratar os poetas e indicio de mau carater.)

Men are what their mothers made them.

(Emerson) No man can be criticized but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews. (ibid) The man that makes a character makes foes. (Edward Young) Critics are like brushes of a nobleman's clothes. (Francis Bacon) With an artist no sane man quarrels, any more than with the color of a child's eyes.

(Santayana) ' q.v.for the source of several quotations cited.

George Santayana, "Skepticism and Animal Faith," in Philosophy in the Twentiety Century, (Random House, N.Y., 1962) ed. William Barrett and Henry D. Aiken, I, p.44?

'Ernst Cassirer, An Essay on Man (New York, Bantam books, 1970) p.13.

4

Santayana, op. Cit., p.411

John Howard has published the translations of several Brazilian poets, and several poems of his own.

He has an MA in literature from California State University.

You can reach him at Jonhow99(&,hotmail.com BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

I was a lowly midshipman on a training cruise when someone introduced me to Gilberto Gil in some out-of-the-way gin joint in Luanda. It was Ash Wednesday.

The year was 1967. Angola was still under Portuguese rule. Luanda, its capital and largest city—founded by the Portuguese in 1575 in the northwest part of Africa on the Atlantic Ocean—had none of the enduring scars of wartime experiences that it shows today.

Tuca, the late Brazilian singer and a sweet chubby woman who had a strong and enchanting voice, accompanied Gil at the outset of his long successful career as a songsmith. They were touring Africa with a small troupe of Brazilian pop musicians.

We had a glib and friendly chat about trivialities. He facetiously dubbed me "Saylor" and told me about his childhood in the State of Bahia. At one point, he didactically enunciated one of his faN orite courses of reasoning, that is, "the underlyingfacts and causes that provide ogical sense for the premises that establish Brazilian rhythm as one of the most me odious and harmonic in the world of pop music, as a result of its African origins" Throughout his life, Gilberto Gil has aintained this baroque speech, marked by elaborate ornamentation and strained ffects, not to mention the unmistakable modulation of pitch and tone in his typical and graceful Bahian twang.

We were both very young then, and enjoyed playing with words.

He laughed when I told him that any intelligent conversation would have to do with playing on words; the rest were just dull reports or definitions. He vowed to quote me on that one in the future.

Thirty-four years have gone by, and in such a huge time frame I only Even though Gilberto Gil may have defined himself as saw him once in Salvador, in 1975, but we hardly had a chance to talk. an erratic being, with "gusto for political and social Nowadays, I glance through a discussions relating to art", he is not likely to get involved newspaper or a magazine at random and there he is. Gilberto Gil is still in controversial quarrels and squabbles. getting around a great deal, but he hasn't changed much.

I often watch him on TV and ANTONIO SEPULVEIDA read about him in the periodicals.

When I hear him in some talk show, it feels as though we are still back in that small African bar shooting the breeze over a couple of beers.

"I have not yet forgotten the starlight and the moonshine that filtered through the transparent ceiling of my bedroom in the small town of Ituacu, in the interior of Bahia, where I lived out my early youth', he narrates. "I look upon that clarity— charged with some sort oftranscendental energy—as one of my first bedazzlements".

That may well have been the cause for his introspective disposition.

"Through those tiles I could appreciate the night, see the eclipse, and wait for Santa", he reminisces. "The entire idea! acquired on the concept of light, from oil lampions to Aladdin's magic lamp, arises from those first bedazzlements".

Carried away by a flood of inspiration he usually brings out his sense of mystical religiousness.

"Hence I further related to other types of light, interiorized my emotions, and established a bond between the man and the transcendence. I have, therefore, this relish for religiosity, for this human need to find myself explained within the scope

Sweeter and Sweeter

BRAZZIL -DECEMBER 2001

45

of nature, within the cosmos, and also way beyond my own perceptions".

The man, Gilberto Gil, may be introspective, but the poet, the singer and the songwriter are extroverts to be sure.

They've all had a shining and coherent existence together, as well as equally substantial quotas of bedazzlements.

Many were the inducements that led the newspaper 0 Globo to single out Gil as the Brazilian cultural celebrity ofthe year 2000: the record he made especially to be inserted in the deluxe edition of the book inscribed to him by the artist Bend Fonteles (Gil, Voice andGuitar, in 15 Songs); the magnificent show with Maria Bethania on New Year's Eve, at Barra Lighthouse, in the city of Salvador, the state capital of Bahia; the celebration—in partnership with Moraes Moreira—of the 50 year-old existence ofthe electric trio (a truck in motion, rigged with a stereophonic sound-reproduction system, carrying performers of live music that sing sambas, frevos,forros and axetunes, all being typical Afro-Brazilian rhythms); the reunification with Luiz Gonzaga's accordion and timbre on the sound track ofthe movie Eu, Tu, Eles (I, You, Them); the record and the show with Milton Nascimento; the keen insights and positive outlooks by plastic artists about his works; and the certainty that he will soon be able to retake the project of a CD dedicated to Bob Marley's songs.

This tribute to Bob Marley is a paramount object in Gil's moments of introspection and revaluation of his career.

"Those are songs by one ofthe artists who have impressed me the most, both as a musician and as a human being," Gil stresses. "Bob Marley left a colorful and perfumed trail on me that! wish to preserve. I have thought of him a great deal for ten years now as one of the last spokesmen on behalf of the question of the Black Diaspora and of the role of the blacks in this world. I have this urge to repay Bob for all that grandeur of his. With that purpose in mind, I've already talked with his widow, Rita Marley, about my sojourn at Jamaica, in order to finish up the Rio de Janeiro-SalvadorKingston Bridge".

Gil hasn't been on a regular vacation in a long while, and his agenda for2001 was exceptionally varied, and full: a concert tour with Milton Nascimento during the first quarter (Uruguay, Argentina, Northeast Brazil, United States and Europe); a new edition of the World Percussion Panorama (PercPan) Festival in Salvador, So Paulo, Rio, Marseilles andNew York); and the usual invites he's never unwilling to accept, inasmuch as he always feels obligated to help whomever takes interest in his art. The Bob Marley project will have to be put off for the time being.

Even though Gilberto Gil may have, in a recent interview, defined himself as an erratic being, with "gusto for political and social discussions relating to art", he is not likely to get involved in controversial quarrels and squabbles, much less create them. And when he does, it is with the serenity—almost the sweetness—of a sage.

"Yes, I account myself to be growing sweeter and sweeter as the years go by, more and more tolerant in regard to the existence of views that deny my outlooks and assertions", he remarks. "I'm inherently contrary to wrangles. The sword is not my instrument. I cannot reckon my standpoint as essentially dominant. I have no need for winning wars; I've never been much of a warrior. And more and more I tend towards accepting dissimilar ways of thinking out reality".

Gil believes that most of his songs are meant to deal with "the tenuous thread that separates a man with his feet on the ground from a man with his eyes in the sky". In that respect, the poet and the musician are as one entity. Within the 46

songsmith—the writer of lyrics and tunes—there is an impetus that incites integration: "Sometimes, it is the melody that steps forward to settle that sort of dialogue with a compromise. On other occasions, the words make the approach; but sentiments always come first.

Every thought is invariably preceded by a feeling".

And yet there are differences between lyrics and tunes: "Words become broken into fragments, but not music. Words tread various paths, whereas music is Pythagorean, an assemblage of organized sounds. However, both lyrics and melodies empty into the sonorous chaos of the mantra. My music has always been a tribute to this chaotic side of the sounds of nature: the waterfalls, the reverberation of thunder, the singing of the birds, and the blowing of the wind. That is natural and mathematical. Then words come in between. All ofa sudden, you utter a howl, and that means something; that cry winds up in some little space meant to be the dwelling of words. In the end, everything falls into the category of language".

Gil's religiousness is exercised in a very particular manner: the boy who has been brought up within the Catholic faith converts himself into "Candomble", a religion practiced chiefly in Brazil, syncretized from Roman Catholic ritual elements and the animism and magic of Nigerian slaves. Seashells, when cast, will reveal that Gil is of "Xango", a violent and vindictive god whose tantrums are thrown with thunderbolts. Still and all, the "Candomble" gods are hardly known for their logical reasoning or steady behavior.

But the mystic is skeptical of reincarnation.

"In fact, a syllogistic tenet such as mine finds it difficult to grasp this migration phenomenon of souls into bodies. Those who choose that route must 'ye had their own set of experiences on this matter. I didn't. I respect those visions, although my Cartesian mind rejects them. According to Patrick Drouot (a French physicist who studied past lives), it is necessary to free your rational consciousness, and let this immense feeling invade you, in order to be able to accept it. There was a time when I simply brushed off reincarnation. Not anymore. That doesn't mean I believe in it; it just means that I'll go along with it".

Once again Gil concentrates on the sheer value of speech and calls our attention to the fact that religious philosophies are very mindful of the importance of words. He sees eye to eye with the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa in that "all is worthwhile fthe soul is not vile", and credits fate with everything he's been through in his existence, including his latest successes.

"Things happen only because you push yourself around.

There's conformity in everything, in your dreams, in your myths.

In other words, things come to pass in conformity with your age', as time and space urge you to action. Summing it all up: we're talking reflections here; the world mirrors you, and you mirror the world."

Turning back to his first lights, Gil believes that this world is a permanent continuance of the battle between duskiness and luminance, between intuition and reason.

"It is a struggle against that gravitational feeling that glues us to the ground and subjects us to the creeping impulses ofenvy, hatred, wrath and all other forms ofjustification for small souls.

A few special men won that battle: Einstein, Gandhi, Mandella, Martin Luther King Jr.... and, to be sure, Dorival Caymmi."

Sources: http://www.gilbertogil.com.br/ http://percpan.terra.com.br/saim2.asp?codigo=79 Jornal 0 GLOBO: oglobo@globo.com.br http://www.brazilianmusic.com/mluiz/ http://mpbnet.com.br/musicos/gilberto.gil/ BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

elations. Written by Claudia Vasconcelos, directed by Jairo Matos, Alessandra Thomazini, Keila Taschini, Rosangela Frasao and Veronica Mello.

Eu Falo o Que Elas Querem Ouvir (I Say What Women Want to Hear) Comedy. Politicians kidnaps a theater director so he can help him win the election. Written by Mario Prata, directed by Roberto Lam with Paulo Gorgulho, Javert Monteiro, Angelo Paes Leme and Maria Clara Fernandes.

Davies Just-released or re-released American movies:

III Conversa Privada (Private Talk)—Comedy. The idea is to tell the public things that normally are only said between four walls.

Series of sketches and monologues by the female group Grelo Falante (Talking Clit).

Scenes are interspersed with songs and dance.

Deus Lhe Pague (May God Reward You)— Comedy. A bum gets rich by begging. Written by Joracy Camargo, directed by Paulo Afonso de Lima, with Benvido Siqueira Copenhagen—Scientists Niels Bohr, from Denmark and German Werner Heisenberg get together to discuss the construction of the atomic bomb. Both were awarded the Nobel Price. Written by Michael Fryn, directed by Marco Antonio Rodrigues.

0 Gordo e o Magro Vdo para o Celt. (Larry and Hardy Go to Heaven)--A couple and their adventures to build a wall. Written by Paul Auster. With Isabel Cavalcanti and Ronaldo Serruya.

Bugiaria—Joao Cointa and his misadventures before the Inquisition. Considered the best play by the jury of respected Governo do Estado award. Written and directed by Moacir Chaves, with Ord Figueiredo, Claudio Baltar and Candid° Dam.

SA1 PAM Agreede - 0 Pe Esquerdo da Jornalista (The Newswoman's Left Foot)—Drama.

Written directed and interpreted by Jair Alves. After winning the fight against a serious disease, a woman journalist goes back to work to face corruption.

Carine—Drama. A jailed commander accused of slave and weapon trafficking has only one hour to live when he receives the visit of someone telling he is going to write his biography. Written by Guil Branco, directed by Renato Kramer, with Renato Kramer and Guil Branco.

As Mais Fortes (The Strongest Women)— Three high school friends get together to party after being apart for more than a decade. They end making unexpected revBRAZZIL -DECEMBER 2001

A Cartada Final (The Score), A Conspiraccio (The Contender), A Enfermeira Betty (Nurse Betty), A Fuga das Galinhas (Chicken Run), Al. - Inteligencia Artificial (Al. Artificial Intelligence), Amnesia (Memento), Atlantis: 0 Reino Perdido (Atlantis: The Lost Empire), Como Ca-es e Gatos (Cats and Dogs), Feliz Coincidencia (Happy Accidents), Final Fantasy (Final Fantasy), Hora do Recreio (School's Out), flora do Rush 2 (Rush Hour 2), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (Tomb Raider), Moulin Rouge - Amor Em Vermelho (Moulin Rouge), 0 Barato de Grace (Saving Grace), 0 Dia do Terror (Valentine), 0 Diario de Bridget Jones (Bridget Jone 's Diary), Olhar de A njo (Angel Eyes), Olhos Famintos (Jeepers Creepers), Os Outros (The Others), Os Queridinhos da America (America's Sweethearts), Pecado Original (Original Sin), Refem do Silencio (Don't Say a Word), Replicante (Replicant), Requiem Para um Sonho (Requiem for a Dream), Ricos, Bonitos e Infteis (Town & Country), Rugrats em Paris - Os Anjinhos (Rugrats In Paris: The Movie), Shrek (Shrek), Todo Mundo em Pcinico 2 (Scary Movie 2), Velozes e Furiosos (The Fast and the Furious) Bufo & Spallanzani (Bufo & Spallanzani)--Brazi1/2000—Directed by Flavio R. Tambellini, with Tony Ramos, Jose Mayer, Isabel Gueron, Malta Proenca.

Based on Rubens Fonseca's novel. Ivan, an insurance inspector, doesn't believe when one of his clients shows up dead. He thinks the policy holder ingested a poison extracted from a frog that makes him look like a dead person.

0 Xango de Baker Street (Baker Street's Xang6)—Brazi1/1999—Sherlock Homes and his sidekick Watson travel to Rio during the Brazilian Empire to help solve a crime that occurred in Rio de Janeiro. Based on J6 Soares's book of same name. Directed by Miguel Faria Jr, Joaquim de Almeida, Anthony O'Donnell, Maria de Medeiros and Marco Nanini.

Memdrias Ptistumas (Posthumous Memoirs)—Brazil/Portugal, 2000—An adaptation of Machado de Assis's Memerias Pestumas de Bras Cubas. Already dead,

Bras Cubas tells about his adventurous and sad life filled with passion and money problems. By Andre Klotzel, with Marcos Caruso, Walmor Chagas, S6nia Braga, Milena Toscano, Vietia Rocha, and Otavio See www.memoriaspostumas.com.br Copacabana—Brazi1/2001—The theme: old age in the most famous beach of Brazil: Copacabana. Alberto, an old photographer getting ready to celebrate his 90th birthday, reminisces about his past. By Carla Camurati, with Marco Nanini, Ida Gomes, Myrian Pires and Laura Cardoso.

Taind—Uma Aventura na Amazonia (Taina—An Adventure in the Amazon)— Brazil/2000—Indian girl Taina lives in the Amazon with her little monkey Katu.

Some smugglers give her a hard time trying to get her animal. By Tania Lamarca and Sergio Bloch, with Eunice Baia, Jairo Mattos and Caio Romei.

0 Grilo Feltz (The Happy Cricket)— Brazil/200l—Cartoon. Grilo Feliz cannot be the joy of the party anymore when lizard Maledeto decides to steal his guitar.

By Walbercy Ribs

ooks

lest sellers FICTI1N

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NINFICTI1N 1. Um Dia Daqueles (Sextante) Bradley Trevor Greive 2. Querida Mamie Obrigado por Tudo (Sextante) Bradley Trevor Greive 3. Jack Definitivo (Campus) Jack Welch 4. Arte da Felicidade (Martins Fontes) Dalai Lama 5. Quem Mexeu no Meu Queijo?

(Record) Spencer Johnson 6. Semente da Vitoria (Senac) Nuno Cobra 7. Os Cem Segredos das Pessoas Felizes (Sextante) David Niven 8. Pelo Amor ou Pela Dor (Caminheiros) Ricky Medeiros 9. Dicionario Houaiss da Lingua Portuguesa (Objetiva) Antonio Houaiss 10. Voce: A Alma do Neg6cio (Gente) Roberto Shinyashiki According to 1stot Genie, http://www.terra.com.br/istoegente/ 47

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TRANSLATOR, INTERPRETER, PROOFREADER

IARA R. BRAZIL ENGLISH, PORTUGUESE, SPANISH Medicine, arts, journalism, films, psychology, education, literature, technical

ATA MEMBER - BA IN TRANSLATION Call

(310) 838-5719

email: iarareginaPyahoo.com

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We bring you infectious energy, a driving rhythm, and the most innovative Brazilian instrumental music

(310) 839-3788 WHEREVER YOU ARE IN THIS GALAXY

ME Q11114 Egli ATTORNEY AT LAW/ABEADO/ADVINDO

bit

NEEDS VOLUNTEERS

Chamber of Commerce Call Now

MEMBER, STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA

Tel: (310) 556-7958 Fax: (310) 375-2276

IMMIGRATION MATTERS BUSINESS VISAS DEPORTATION DEFENSE DIVORCES

323-255-8062

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY CALIFORNIA

brazzil@brazzil.com

www.BrazilCalifornia.com 1801Ave. of the Stars. Ste. 1201-Los Angeles, CA 90067 E-mail: chamber@ BrazilCalifornia.com

(818) 986.1295 e-mail:eqlaw@pacbell.net

FOR PROOFREADING WRITING MAINTAINING MAILING LIST & EVERYTHING ELSE

j I WANT MORE INFORMATION ON ADVERTISING IN PLEASE SEND ME A MEDIA KIT. COMPANY: CONTACT: ADDRESS: CITY, ST, ZIP: PHONE: PRODUCT:

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BRAZZIL - PO BOX 50536 LOS ANGELES, CA 90050 Call (323)255-8062 or E-mail: brazzil@brazzil.com

For Ad, call (323) 255-8062 or E-mail: brazzil@brazzil.com 48

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

Procuro motoristas de caminhao - Truck drivers

wanted, class A-Hazard, 2 yrs + Experience 818985-9979 [185]

' ac ma mg BRAZILIAN ROMANCE - The best Matchmakers Service in Brazil! Wonderful Brazilian girls seek relationship with foreign gentlemen. Photo-Gallery in: www.brazilianromance.com e-mail: btazilianromance@uol.com.br [186]

' ace aneous lam looking for desktop publisher, copy & art, advertising, mailing list broker, printing services.

Direct Mail Service -Marlene Soares (626)453-0577 Los Angeles (CA) [189] Looking for partner to buy or build pousada in Northeast Brazil. See the Northeast with our 4x4 tour, Natal to Jericoacoara on the most beautiful beaches. E-mail: zo@planetguides.com Phone: (941) 774-7458 [178]

brand-ADS 13231 255-8062 ; 00 S WoridTech announces two new pocket guides: (1)

Rio deJaneiro, (2) Salvador Bahia. For information maleksan@starpowernet [190] CANDANGO BOOKS: On-Line Sebo

http://

www.silvaoxendalebooks.com [184]

;unless I ppor llhlIJ Home-Based Business -Earn upto$6,000working

from home! miw,quickbuilders.com/3144 24 hs info:212-461-2511 [184]

asses corn www.macetesdoingles.com. Livro/CD por $20 ensina ossegredos da pronOncia. [191] Aprenda ingles como nunca antes

Portuguese made easy - Brazilian teacher, 21

years experience, gives private Portuguese lessons. Reasonable fee. Rejane. 310-842-4949 Email: marh@aol.com [185] English Classes - San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City-$310 1 month-$675 3 months -$9756 months, 1-20 provided, International Acad emy of English, 1-800-789-8068 [185] Conversational Brazilian Portuguese Method

tried several methods to learn BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE, butwhen I started lessons with NILSON, I knew immediately that I'd found the best one. And in just a few months, I was able to communicate on a one-on-one basis." Individual, Total Immersion, Corporate Group and Semi-Private. Phone (310) 379-0738 [187]

n er mimeo Experienced "Brasileiro" Guitarist; Brazilian native Joao Junqueira (MFA in Jazz Guitar at CALARTS) is available to play, sing and record, solo or accompanied, his specialty, Authentic Brazilian Music, Originals and Jazz Please call (818) 716-9353 or write j_junqueira@yahoo.com [179]

a

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Voce quer &heir° extra? Buscamos brasileiro

para ajudar nossa familia corn nosso portugues.

Moramos em Orange County, CA. (949)837-3150 Blair [187] BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

Learn to play Brazilian percussion. Videos for sale. Visit us on www.bridgesto.com Demo and free lesson on the website. [186] Brazilian Music in its totality. Samba, bossa nova,

chorinho, balk, axe, and more. Merchant Express (954)785-2131

ewspapers ' agannes Jomais e revistas do Brasil. Recebemos jomais diarios e todas as principals revistas, incluindo masculinas e femininas. Tel. (954) 785-2131

'ersona 'roman see s man Best Case Scenario - Attractive, warm, sophisti-

(925)609-9023. E-mail: petenaji@pacbell.net [189] American male, 37, college educator, seeks Brazilian lady forfriendship/relationship, Los Angeles, CA area, Daniel 310-257-8940 delse@csulb.edu [187] Elderly Black American seeks Brazilian lady 40 plus. Write Don Clifford, PO Box 512491, Los Angeles, CA 90051-0491 [185] Sagittarlan or Gemini girl preferred by a holistic doctor and astrologerfrom India, 45 years old, who is US citizen and well settled in Beverly Hills. Would like to meet a pretty slim female. Call Dr. David 323936-1449. [183] American Male, 33, engineer, seeks sincere attractive Brazilian lady 21-35 forfriendship and possible relationship. In the Bay Area/San Francisco, California. My interests are soccer, motorcycle, outdoors, travel, and Brazilian cultural enrichment. Email: acsmeteng@hotmaitcom Prances-Amencano, 45, delgado, atraente, olhos azuis, professor, falofrances, ingles, espanhol, urn poucode portugues, procurobrasileiradelgada, 1838 morandoem LosAngeles. William (310) 305-2090 [181] Brazilian man, lam looking for American person.

I am single, I am 28 years old. E-mail: lindos@msn.com [178]

ersona 'an see s man Brazilian bottom, 33 ylo, 55", 123Ibs, white skin,

seeks black, young top man who wanna move to Brazil and share a whole life. Valdeck - Phone 011 5571 981 1990, valdecka@hotmail.com [163]

'ea sae VendoApartamento de quarto/sala. Uma quadra

cated, soft-spoken, slender 55' American ex-pat (Denmark) finds cosmopolitan European/Brazilian/ American man, good soul, bright, secure, trim56-63 for love inside friendship. (323) 851-2767 janessecret@yahoo.com [188]

da praia em lguaba, Rio de Janeiro. Apenas $13,500.00. Prediocom 7 apartamentos, 1 loja em Cabo Frio. Lucia Tel (818)508-4950 [189]

Educated DWF mid age +, attractive brunette,

Historical Santa Teresa. Beautiful 2 bedrooms, all

green eyes, petite, 128 lbs. Lover of Brazilian music, travel, country living, beach, people, good food, more, Seeking nice gentleman Brazilian or American/Euro. Medium figure, no vices, Christian believer, good sense of humor, outdoor lover. lam an American citizen andfinancially stable. Write, send picture full body to PO Box 87, Eagle Creek, OR 97022-0087 (Laura) [185] Brasileira, 35 anos, morena, atraente. Falo

Portuguese Ingles.Procurobrasileirodeascendencia africana em Los Angeles, educado e culto. Enviar foto. E-mail: pmgutier@aol.com [185] Educated, pretty Brazilian lady iso nice semiretired man. We'll teach English and enjoy beautiful nature in Maceio, Brazil, most of the year. Write to 41 Sutter #1033 San Francisco 94104 [180]

'ersona an ee s Homan 5'8" tall, athletic, seeks Brazilian or Latinogirl, age 35+, for possible marriage.

Handsome US Citizen,

111 a furnished, big balcony with view to the city. Close to sambOdromo (where the Camaval parades happen), tothe Christ statue and doseto all beaches. For Camaval orfor months. Owner lives in Los Angeles.

Rentfor only $50 per day. Call 310-450-7501 [179] • FEIRA L1VRE RATES 50c a word Phone is one word •DISCOUNTS For 3 times deduct 5%, for 6 times deduct 10%, for 12 times deduct 15% • POLICY: All ads to be prepaid Ads are accepted at our discretion Your canceled check is your receipt Please, include address and phone number, which will be kept confidential • DEADLINE: The 25th of the month Late material will be held for the following month if appropriate •TO PLACE AD Send ad with check, money order or your Credit Card number (plus your name and expiration date) to.

BRA ZZIL P.O. Box 50536 Los Angeles, CA 90050-0536 49

(323)937-3835

• Instradon

Brasil Brasil Cult. Ctr (310)397-3667 Modern Lang. Center (310) 839-8427

• Mild 8 Art Rosin

ArtMedia (310) 826-1443

• Lail SIPFICIS

Meiojas & Ferraz (310) 360-0901 Pre-Paid Legal Services (562)437-7807

• MIS

Finance Plus Mort. Corp.

(310) 585-8911

• Matemalter

Fogo e Paixao (310) 450-4586

• Physician

Nilson A. Santos (213) 483-3430

• Psychatber/Consel.

Elizabeth Almeida, M.A. (310)470-0214 Dr. Jefferson Si (213) 207-2770 Tania Haberkom, M.A. (310) 840-5380

• Minna

Brazzil

ItMien • inks Livraria Plenitude (800) 532-5809

• Consulate Consulado do Brasil (617) 542-4000

• Realist

Sylvio P. Lessa (617) 924-1882

• food 8 Products

Brasil Brasil (617) 561-6094 Food Mestizos (781) 322-4002

• instructin

Approach Student Ctr (617) 787-5401 Braz. & Amer. Lg. Inst.

(617) 787-7716

• Publication

The Brazilian Monthly (617) 566-3651 Bossa: Braz. Jazz Guide (617) 262-9997

• Restaurants

Café Brazil (617) 789-5980 lpanema (508)460-6144 Tropicana (617) 567-4422 Pampas Churrascana (617) 661-6613

Chicago • Consulate Consulado G. do Brasil (312) 464-0244

• frilISININIS

Portuguese Lang. Ctr. (312) 276-6683

Dallas Ft Houston, TX • CM 8 ASUCII118115 Brazilian Cultural Center (713) 961-3063 Fila Brasileiro Association (817)447-3868

•food Fronds

Taste of Brazil Toll Free. (866)835-5556

•lostration

Capoeira Golpe Bonito (713)463-6584

•Restaurants

Boi na Brasa (817)329-5514 Fogo de Chao (972)503-7300 (713)978-6500 Samba Café (713)961-7379 50

• NMI AIM

(323) 255-8062

Brazil Brasileiro (972)594-8894 Sergio & Doris Travel (281)679-9979

Ulla Sayegh (310)396-1133 Solon G. Pereira (562) 924-9633

Los Angeles •Airlines yang (800) GO VARIG

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Ar do Brasil (310)473-6482 Bakari Art Studio' (323)857-0523 Folk Creations (310)693-2844 Culture Planet (310)441-9808

•Ado Repair

Cosmo Auto Parts (323)259-9818 Pit Stop (310)643-6666

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Banco do Brasil (213)688-2996

*Bikinis Verao Brazil Bikinis (818) 887-1776

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Samba Collection (562)438-3669

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-Real Estate

• Restaurants 0 Wes

Bossa Nova (310) 657-5070

By Brazil (310) 787-7520 Café Brasil (310) 837-8957 Italia Bahia (310) 657-6306 Roda Viva Churrascarfa (626)839-9950 Sabor Brazil (310)376-7445 Zabumba (310)841-6525

•Dinka

Key International Group (562)437-7807

•Translatin/laterp.

Brazilian Int. Affairs (310) 854 5881

•Trarel/Toors Brazil Air (800)441-8515 BrazilAdventuresExpeditions (877)2-BRAZIL Brazil Tours (818)767-1200 Cheviot Hills Travel (310)202-6264 Copacabana Travel (800)471-6333 Festival Travel & Tours (800)776-0088 HIS. Internat. Tours (213)613-0943 South Winds Tr & Tours (800)533-3423

Brazil-Cal. Chbr of Corn.

(310)375-2276 Brazilian Sociocult. C. (310) 370-0929 Centro Cultural Gaucho (323) 256-6548 MILA • Samba School (310) 202-8091 Mov. Social Humanista (310) 281-6652 SambaLa -Esc. de Samba (562)438-3669

Brazil TV & Production (562)439-4830

Brazilian Consulate (323) 651-2664

Miami- S.Florida •Airlines

• Consulate

• Dentist

Gilberto Henriques (310) 371-0620 Georgia Maria Ferreira (818) 908-9199

• Events Promotin

Brazilian Nites Prod.

(818) 566-1111 Sayegh Promotions (310)396-1133

• Food it Products

Supermercado Brasil (310) 837-4291

• Health 8 Wien

Hands of Care Mas. Thar.

.

Transbrasil (800)872-3153 Varig (800)468-2744 Vasp (800)732-8277

• Attorney

Joel Stewart (954)772-7600

• Ranks

Banco do Brasil (305)358-3586 Banco Nacional (305) 372-0100 Banco Real (305)358-2433

Banespa (305)358-9167

•Clunk Asnciatins

ABFC • As. Bras. da Flor.

(407)354-5200 Cam. Corn. Brasil- EUA (305)579-9030 ARARA -Amazon. As. (813)842-3161 '

•Consulate

Consulado do Brasil (305)285-6200

• Dentists

Hidimo de Si (305)262-8212 Luciano Garcia (954)424-5868

• foot Rmuerag.s

All Braz. Imp. & Exp. (305)523-8134 Brazil by Mail (954)472-7163 Vanya's Sweets (954)785-0087 Via Brasil (305) 866-7718

•Psychotherapists

Katja Rego Johnson (954)255-5715

•Physicians

Dra Henriette Faillace (305) 935-2452 Dr. Roberto Shaffer (305)535-1694 Dr. Neri Franzon (954) 776-1412

•Puldicatins

Florida Review (305)374-5235

•Real Estate

Simone Bethencourt (954)704-1211

•Restaurants

Boteco (954)566-3190 Brazilian Tropicana (954)781-1113 Porcao (305)373-2777 Steak Masters (305)567-1718

• Pavel Macias

Brazilian Wave (305)561-3788 Discover Brazil Tours (800)524-3666 Euroamirica (305)358-3003 International Tours (800)822-1318 Luma Travel (305)374-8635 Monark Travel (305)374-5855 New Port Tours (305)372-5007 Br Online Travel (888)527-2745 Via Brasil Travel (305)866-7580

New York N. Jersey • Inks Luso-Brazilian Books (800)727-LUSO

•Cies Association

Brazilian Ch. of Corn.

(212)751-4691 Brazilian Corn. Bureau (212)916-3200 Brazilian Trade Bur. (212)224-6280

• CUSI/10 Brazilian Gen. Cons.

(212)757-3080

•Consulting

BBJ (Br. Bus. Junction) (212)768-1545

•fail Pronds Amazonia (718)204-1521 Coisa Nossa (201)578-2675 Merchant Express (201)589-5884

•Publications

The Brasilians (212)382-1630 Brazilian Voice (201)955-1137 OCA Magazine (516)596-1853 Portugal-Brasil News (212) 228-2958

•Restaurants

Brasilia (212) 869-9200 Brazil 2000 (212) 877-7730 Brazilian Pavillion (212) 758-8129 Cabana Carioca (212) 581-8088 Indigo Blues (212) 221-0033 S.O.B. (212) 243-4940 Tapajos River (201) 491-9196

• Trani Apeocies

Nativa Productions (408)287-9798 Kidoideira Productions (415)566-0427

•foot

Brazil Express (415) 749-0524 Mercado Brasil (415)285-3520

•Instruction

Portuguese Lang. Serv.

(415)587-4990

•Money Remittance

Brazil Express-Vigo (415)749-0524 Paulo Travel (415)863-2556

•MIMIC

Cilia Malheiros (650)738-2434 Fogo na Roupa (510)464-5999 Voz do Brazil (415)586-2276

Barb Tour Service (201) 313-0996 Odyssea Travel Service (212) 826-3019

Emiliano Benevides (415)648-2441

San Diego • Auto

Dr. Guilherme Salgado (415)832-6219

Car Mania Auto Repair (619) 223-7748

• Clubs U Assailant

Clube Bras. San Diego (619) 295-0842 Sunday Night Cl. Brazil (619) 233-5979

• Impart/Export

Brazil Imports (619) 234-3401

•Many Remittance

Vigo-California (800) 994-VIGO

San Francisco • AWNS Varig (209)475-1269

• AMMO

Laura Basaloco-Lapo (415) 288-6727 Manoel Faria (510) 537-3533

• Ado

Nilson Auto Body (415) 255-6717 Matts Auto Body (415) 565-3560

• leanly ban

Bibbo (415) 421-BIBO Carmen's International (415)433-9441 Dalven (415)786-6375 Neyde's (415)681-5355

•MOWN

• Physlein •MORI

M. C. Printing (510)268-8967

•Pablicatins

Brasilbest (415)731-1458 Brazil Today (510)236-3688 Brazzil (323)255-8062

•RestatirillpitClubs

Café do Brasil (415)626-6432 Café Mardi Gras (415)864-6788 Canto do Brasil (415)626-8727 Clube Fusetti (415)459-6079 Joao's Restaurant (408)244-1299 Muzzarela Di Bufala (415)346-2284 Nino's (510)845-9303 Terra Brazilis (415)863-5177

•Translation

Port. Lang. Services (415)587-4990 Raimundo Franco (916)443-3162 Roberto Lima (415)215-4990

•Noel Mules

Bay Area Brasilian Club (415)334-0106 Capoeira Abada (415)284-6196 Capoeira Institute (510)655-8207

Paulo's Travel (415)863-2556 Rio Roma (415)921-3353 Santini Tours (800)769-9669 Tropical Travel (510)655-9904 Tucanos Travel (415)454-9961

Micronet (415)665-1994

ashington DC •&Muss

Brazilian Consulate (415)981-8170

Transbrasil (202)775-9180 Varig (202)822-8277

•Chase Association

•Computer

•Canaille

•Rance Instruction

Aqu arel a (510)548-1310 Birds of Paradise (415)863-3651 Ginga Brasil (510)428-0698 Samba do Coragao (415)826-2588

•Rental Care

Roberto Sales, DDS (510)451-8315

•Events Promotion Eyes For Talent (650)595-2274 F. B. C. Events (415) 334-0166

• Ranks

Banco do Brasil (202)857-0320 Banco do Est. de S. Paulo (202)682-1151

•Clubs I Associations

Braz. Am. Cult. Inst.

(202)362-8334 Inst. of Brazil. Business (202)994-5205

•Embassy

Embaixada do Brasil (202)238-2700

•Restaurants

Amaz6nia Grill (202)537-0421 BRi77IL - DECEMBER 2001

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Boat, second from left, in Belfast

Continued from our last issue THE CENTRAL CHARACTERS OF BRAZILIAN THEATER—DIRECTORS AND PLAYWRIGHTS AND THEIR STORIES, LIVES, AND OPINIONS.

Stage Struck HI Created in the 70s, after the political experiences of director Augusto Boal with the Teatro do Arena, in Sao Paulo, the Teatro of the Oppressed conquered audiences and communities all over the world with the possibility of giving voice, gesture, and body to the minorities.

KIRSTEN VVEINOLDT

52

Jose Ligiero Coelho, "Zeca Ligiero" Artist, director, and scholar, specializes in Afro-Brazilian culture. He is based in Rio de Janeiro. Founder of the Graduate Theater Department of the University of Rio de Janeiro and of which he was chairman 1990-92. His publications include Teatro e Comunidade, uma Experiencia (Theater and Community, an Experiment, 1983, Teatro Infantil de Zeca Ligiero (Zeca's Theater for Children), 1986, and Iniciacdo ao CandombM (Initiation to Candomble), 1992. Ligiero is also the author of the authoritative and seminal essay "Candomble is religion-life-art," in Divine Inspiration by Phyllis Galembo (University of New Mexico Press, 1993). He has successfully teamed up with the singer, performer and writer, Dandara, to develop the Samba Project in Rio de Janeiro and, since 1991, in New York. Zeca wrote the script and directed the musical Elegy Crossings with the choreographer Martin Zabgo from the Ivory Coast and Iris Rosa from Indianapolis for the Madame Walker Theater Center in Indianapolis.

The Black Family on Brazilian Stage: from ritual to theater

By Zeca Ligiero Abstract: The Brazilian Black family has been portrayed differently in rituals and the theater. In the rituals of religions such as Candomble, Macumba, and sometimes, Umbanda, the African heritage is much more perceived—strong ethical concerns and high moral standards are perpetuated through the African mythologies derived from ethnic groups such as the Yoruba, Fon or Bakongo. In ritual performances, the family is important not only in the organization and the maintenance of the tradition but in the internal relationships between worshippers, audience and the African deities and ancestors honored. On the other hand, Brazilian "orthodox" theater has portrayed the Black Family in terms of stereotypes forged during the Brazilian colonial times by an imported Portuguese and French theater in which blacks are portrayed as uneducated slaves, perverted, and without any sense of family values. The best example of this theatrical tradition is the play 0 DemOnio Familiar, The Familiar Demon, 1858, by Jose de Alencar, which depicts a "devil" slave who brings the master's household all sorts of misunderstanding.

Abdias do Nascimento Nascimento was born in 1914, the grandson of African slaves. He founded the Teatro Experimental do Negro, TEN, Black Experimental Theater, in 1944 in Rio de Janeiro, thus breaking the color barrier in Brazilian theater. This was a reaction and a part ofhis fight against the racial inequality in Brazil—a country that always prides itself in "not having racism." In 1968, he founded the Black Arts Museum in Rio and the Chair of African Culture in the New World at the Puerto Rican Studies and Research Center, State University of New York in Buffalo, where he taught until 1981.

In 1990, he was elected to the Senate in Brazil and appointed State Secretary for the Defense and Promotion of Afro-Brazilian Peoples. He later became a member of the Rio de Janeiro State Council of Culture and President of the Zumbi memorial, an AfroBrazilian organization of national scope. From the website www.muse.jhu.edu, copyrighted by Mr. Charles H. Rowell, we find an extensive coverage of Nascimento's play Sortilege, Black Mystery. It contains the entire play and makes for fascinating reading.

The preface consists of Mr. Nascimento's own thoughts and writings as well as those of other playwrights and academics. Says Mr. do Nascimento about his play, "This play is one of the products of the Teatro Experimental do Negro, TEN, which I founded

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

in the city of Rio, as an exigency of the lamentable situation, in which black people found themselves in Brazilian society and, particularly, in the Brazilian theater." He also comments that founding a black experimental theater was a task of great complexity. He goes on to say that the "primary intentions of the company is to purge the ancient load of pejorative connotations implicit in the word "black."

"Black was always synonymous with evil, that which was ugly and inferior was always expressed in terms of black." Abdias do Nascimento answers the question of the role of the black man in Brazilian theater, thus: "The same role for which everyday life had destined him: the subaltern roles.

The black man in Brazilian theater either played the grotesque caricature to divert the white audience (the black man rarely goes to the theater) or personified sweeping and submissive Uncle Toms and Aunt Jemimas. He could even be seen taking the parts of folkloric types whose sole function it was to add color to the landscape— supplying a nuance of the picturesque and exotic.. .when one wanted an actor for a role of really dramatic importance, the norm was to take a white man and paint him black. In Brazil, as in all countries where there was slavery, the black man suffered brutal, physical and spiritual violence." About the African religion, he says: "To wipe out the values of the African culture—most of all those of its religion— is an attempt of white, Christian culture, which began when the first slaves arrived in Brazil, around 1530. But despite the dominant power, the candomble maintains itself in the "underground" of Brazilian culture. When the dominant culture makes an act of generosity it is to tolerate black culture on the levels of the folkloric, the playful, the ingenuous and unimportant. Folklore, witchcraft, etc. constitute the "ethnographic material" which for a long time fed a so-called "anthropological science," just as more recently it has become raw material for a new tourist industry...."

Sortilege is a most important landmark in the history of black Brazilian theater. It was written in 1951, but the censors did not allow it on stage until 1957, claiming foul language as the reason. This, however, was just a smokescreen for the real reason, namely an interracial play, showing social interaction and racial hatred. After some changes it was finally allowed at the Teatro Municipal in Rio and in Sao Paulo. Many accused the play of being racist, critics and audience alike.

Some, however, realized its true intention.

Renowned playwright Nelson Rodrigues, who never minced words, had this to say: "And what great and all but intolerable powers of life has Sortilege! In its firm and harmonious dramatic structure, it also constitutes a great and vital esthetic experience for the spectator."

Another of the great Brazilian dramatists, Augusto Boal, had his own comments:

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

"Out of the discrepancy, which exists between the theoretical truth and the practical truth in interracial relations is bori the permanent conflict of Emmanuel." t is heartening to see that the best of th other playwrights recognized Abdias d Nascimento's profound talent. (The pie is well worth reading in its entirety on th website). Abdias do Nascimento spent hi life fighting what he saw as the hypocris of a people, who denies its African her tage (50 % of the Brazilian population i of African descent) and attempts to b white. Among other things, he says: "The work of alienating the black m from his authenticity proceeded witho interruption. Thus the hurried conclusio that the black man is not black: he i Brazilian. But they do not add, maliciousl that which would certainly illuminate th affirmative: yes, the black in Brazil is a Brazilian, but second-class. For being black, he is a declassified Brazilian."

Augusto Boal and the Teatro do Oprimido—Theater of the Oppressed Augusto Boal was born in Penha, Zona Norte of Rio de Janeiro. Son of Portu guese, Boal lived a childhood and adolescence typical for Iberian immigrants, who came to Brazil to start a new life. Studied in the Colegio Brasileiro, in sao CristOvao and spent part of his childhood in his father's bakery. "Since I was little, when worked in my father's bakery, I saw those working class people, the Carioca (from Rio) hardship and the miserable life. Bu the misery now is getting worse," he affirms.

From the bakery to Columbia University, in New York, where he studied the theatrical methods of Stanislavski and learned to write for the theater with John Gassner, teacher of Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams and experienced many phases of indecision: was educated in industrial chemistry and tried his hand a being a pianist. Upon returning to Brazil after the period at Columbia, at the end of the 50's, he was invited to organize the Teatro de Arena, in Sao Paulo. There begins the life of this dramatist, who had already abandoned, by and large, his Portuguese roots. He worked with actors like Aracy Balabanian, Lima Duarte, Flavio Migliaccio, and Juca de Oliveira.

Today, his Teatro do Oprimido, in which theatrical techniques are related to psychology, is promoted in seven favelas (shantytowns) in Rio, among others the Mare and the Pereira°. "As much here as in Europe, we work in violent neighborhoods and put on the Teatro do Oprimido to discuss questions like the violence AIDS, drugs, union problems, and even psychological ones. In truth, we "theatralize" what is in the heads of people and not just what they say."

Created in the decade of the 70's, after the political experiences of the director with the Teatro do Arena, in Sao Paulo the Teatro do Oprimido conquered audiences and communities all over the world with the possibility of giving voice, gesture, and body to the minorities. But there

were those, who accused the method of Boal of being authoritarian and oppressive, owing to the dogmatism of his discourse. In Europe, his method spread in all directions. As far away as Scandinavia, there exists a festival dedicated to his technique.

In 1977 Boal published Teatro do Oprimido, which was re-issued recently in the United States and England, in an enlarged and revised edition. One could say that the Teatro do Oprimido is a technique much more pedagogic than theatrical, whose principal thesis of its creator is to recover the individual subjectivity of people—oppressed socially or victims of stigmas.

The Teatro do Oprimido is more than a theatrical method, it is a social atonement. By means of techniques of the conventional theater, Augusto Boal applies his political and social theses in needy communities and among groups less favored. Implanted in more than 70 countries, the method is a trademark created and signed by the director, who divides his career in two moments—what he calls "normal" and "oppressed."

Alice Lovelace from Atlanta, Georgia, writes as part of an article called Mediation and Theater of the Oppressed in a Process for Social Change: The Evolution of Theater of the Oppressed In the opinion of Karl H. Schoeps, 1977, no one individual played a more important and fundamental role in the modern history of the theater forms than Bertolt Brecht (1896-1956). Brecht proved to be a major influence in the modern theater and offered a challenge to Aristotle's approach to theater as a spectator activity.

Although he agreed with Aristotle that the theater should be, "a place of fun and pleasure," he did want to "wring the pleasure" from his audience by draining them emotionally.

Brecht vigorously objected to the Aristotelian concept of catharsis, seeking instead to stimulate the minds of his audience concerning the world around them, their status in that world and the conflicts that were playing out around them. Brecht desired for the audience to respond with intellect, not emotion.

Schoeps considers Brecht "an original," capable of adapting literary heritage for his own purpose, and successful at integrating economics and politics into his text. For Schoeps, Brecht's contribution to theater is best illustrated in The Caucasian Chalk Circle a play in which the singer/narrator acts as storyteller, commentator and interpreter of the conflict. A character that demonstrates elements of a talented intervener.

Brecht's most remarkable and innovative student to date is Augusto Boal, a Brazilian political activist and artistic director of the Arena Theater from 19561971. In 1979, Boal published Theater of the Oppressed, a book that chronicles the influence of Brecht and education theo-

53

poem or a speech. The objective of each rist, Paulo Freire, on his thinking.

Paulo Freire in 1970 asked that artists scene is to demonstrate "qualitative change show their support of the people's struggle in the system of conflicting forces."

- Commentary connects one scene to by giving themselves over to the thinking of the people. He did not encourage focus- another, preferably in rhymed verse sung ing on the actions of man—such a focus by a choir. Because each scene can show causes confusion—but rather focus on drastic diversity, commentary advises the "the thought-language with which men audience of each change.

- When the refer to reality, the levels at Joker believes a which they perceive that recharacter needs ality, and their view of the more time to get world." Do not go to the their point across, people with the objective to an interview is bring them to salvation, he called. During the cautions, but rather to uninterview the charderstand through dialogue, acter is allowed to "their objective situation and speak directly to their awareness of that situwhat they believe ation." to be true and why.

Boal took this charge to - During exheart, combined his activist hortation, the calling with his theater exJoker makes an urperience and created a form gent appeal to the of theater that proved useful audience in prose to Brazil's underclass's efor song in accorfort to transform their perdance with the sonal and social reality into theme. political awareness and acOne of Boal's tion. Boal looked to theater most popular techas an instrument of education, rejecting the popular niques to help parMaria Clara Machado idea of theater as only specties visualize the conflict is Image tacle and entertainment. His Theater. Image objective was to increase the capacity to confront internal and external Theater was inspired by Japanese filmfactors in deeply rooted conflict by in- maker Akira Kurosawa's study in mulcreasing the capacity to conceive of change. tiple perceptions. This technique deals One of Boal's innovative contribu- with "how we come to create the Other: a tions to community theater committed to negatively-charged rigid perception that social change, was The Joker. The Joker generates bias and hate." Image Theater allows the audience to see the conflict provides a tool to challenge stereotypes from many angles, to contemplate why a and promote empathy. Other Theater of conflict occurred and what could conceiv- the Oppressed techniques include analytiably happen next. Boal in 1979 believes cal image, kaleidoscopic image, screen these goals are reached through a theater image, image and counter image, image of form operating "within the "trans itoriness" the antagonists, cop-in-the-head, and the of theatrical techniques." His seven stage rainbow of desire. approach includes: Dedication, explanaLike Brecht, Boal stands in functional tion, episodes, scenes, commentary, inter- agreement with, but political antithesis to view, and exhortation.

Aristotle. He agrees that theater should - The phase of dedication is very simi- function in the life of the receiver, resolar to the African centered tradition of nating their values and aspirations. Boal Libations, paying honor to the ancestors rejects Aristotle when he declares art inbefore undertaking any public dialogue. dependent in relation to politics.

For the Joker's purposes, dedication might Theater for Aristotle was one of the be in honor of a model individual, whose controls to teach and reinforce the inferior personal history lends knowledge to the role of those deemed unequal. Boal interproduction at hand. Thus education of the prets Aristotle's message as "happiness audience begins.consists in obeying the laws." Thus, he - During explanation, The Joker has believes, Aristotle actually constructs a the power to intervene at anytime when it powerful political system "for intimidais believed more information is needed. tion of the spectator for elimination of the The action is stopped and in a lecture bad or illegal tendencies of the audience." format information is shared, maps shown, Published in Motion Magazine—Februor slides might be projected. The attempt ary 15, 1996 is "to place a focus on the action from the perspective of the one who presents it."

Maria Clara Machado—The Lady - Episode refers to the grouping of of the Children from interdependent scenes. Boal calls for two www.multarte.com.br sequences of episodes, stipulating that the

By Lais Garcia first sequence must contain one scene more than the second sequence.

"I don't know how to define my work, - Scenes are a thing of small magni- I create from zero, it is a vocation, I was tude, yet a scene is complete in itself. A born to do this, the theories rest with the scene could be a dialogue, song, dance, critics. A poet doesn't write thus because

54

of that. We are intuitive, it is a question of the moment." Maria Clara Machado She had 80 years behind her, more than 25 plays for children and a whole trajectory of dedication and love for the Brazilian theater. Maria Clara Machado died on May 3", 2001, in Rio de Janeiro.

Daughter of writer Anibal Machado, she was born in 1921 in the city of Belo Horizonte. In 1925, she moved to Rio with her family. Studied in Paris and London.

But it was in 1951, in Rio de Janeiro, that she founded one of the principal and most traditional schools of amateur theater in the country, the Teatro Tablado. The school accompanied the formation of numerous actors and also was responsible for several transformations in children's theater in Brazil. In 1961, she directed the Servico de Teatro e DiversOes do Estado da Guanabara. Soon after, she occupied the post of general secretary at the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro.

Among the principal works of the author were 0 Cavalinho Azul, The Little Blue Horse; 0 Rapto das Cebolinhas, The Kidnapping of the Little Onions; A Bruxinha que Era Boa, The Little Witch who was Good, and Pluft, o Fantasminha, Pluft, the Little Ghost, from 1955. Inarguably, her major success, the adventures of the little ghost permeated many people's childhood, not just in Brazil, but also in several other countries where it was presented. Her plays were included in the book of Teatro Infantil, considered a classic of the genre.

Children's Theater in Brazil Two years ago, the 50th anniversary of the debut of the show 0 Casaco Encantado, The Enchanted Coat, was commemorated. The date is considered as a mark of the beginning of children's theater in Brazil. Until then, there were already manifestations of this theatrical genre, but it was in 1948, with the play by Lucia Benedetti, that for the first time a team of professional adults was united with the objective of realizing a spectacle meant for an audience of children.

Already in the XVI century, Father Anchieta, patron of the Brazilian theater, counted on child actors and audience. The participation of the children was more connected with the impact the presence of the little ones would have in the conversion of the Indians, since the character of the plays was morality and catechism.

At the end of the XVIII century and the beginning of the XIX, it was very common in Brazil to find a presentation of the classics of the theater by child theater companies, but their audiences were still adults.

Already in the XIX century the Teatro Escola emerged, a genre, which comes quite close to what today is known as children's theater. The repertoire consisted of monologues of moralizing character and should have been represented by children, in the houses and the schools.

Thus, until 1948, with the debut of 0 Casaco Encantado, there did not exist a

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

concern about working on thematic dramaturgy with a language and style dedicated to children. From then on, companies were founded for children's theater, which counted on directors, actors, and professional producers. In sao Paulo, the Teatro da Carochinha emerged in 1948.

During the same year, TESP, Teatro Escola de Sao Paulo, was founded.

Stories which Confound In 1951, Maria Clara Machado founded Teatro Tablado and made her great contribution to children's theater in Brazil. Her play for children 0 Boi e o Burro a Caminho de Belem, The Bull and the Don-key on the Road to Belem, debuted in 1953 and was the first of the great successes of the author.

In addition to dramatist, Maria Clara also was an actress. Acted for the last time in 1981, when she substituted the actress Henriette Morineau in Ensina-me a Viver, Teach Me to Live. Of the prizes she received, the highlight were two Moliere Prizes, in 1968 and 1981, the Machado de Assis Prize awarded by the Academia Bras ileira de Letras in 1991, and the Shell Prize in 2000, for her contribution to the national theater.

The children's genre came to conquer its space in Brazilian theater, bound for status as work of art. The quality of the professionals and spectacles have constantly been surpassed. Leaving behind the stigma of "staircase theater" to reach "adult theater," works of true artistic interest and the formation of permanent companies such as Homba, Teatre Anornmo,Tabl ado, and many others, guarantee continuity of the artistic research.

An active participant in the history of Brazilian theater, Maria Clara Machado left a legacy of creativity, love and fight in defense of art. Her characters will always be marked in the memory of children of all ages, who will have in little ghosts, bulls, and little donkeys, a lot of fantasy and inspiration to make history, innovate and, just like she, leave an eternal mark in the lives of many. Maria Clara Machado is synonymous with Brazilian children's theater. It is impossible to speak of one without bumping into the other.

Cacilda Becker—"Grande Dame" of Brazilian Theater A censor of the military regime went to the Teatro Brasileiro de Comedia, the TBC, in Sao Paulo, to prohibit some of the songs of show Tempo de Guerra, Time of War, with Maria Bethania. Plinio Marcos, assistant director, defied the man, and a group of officials wanted to take him to prison. The street of the theater became a battlefield. The entire theater group tried to prevent the imprisonment, but nothing seemed to be of use. Suddenly, there was absolute silence.

A passageway opened in the middle of the crowd: it was Cacilda Becker, who had just arrived. When she approached the police van where Plinio was being held, she said: "Let this man go!" As if he were in front of the Pope, without batting an

eye, the guard obeyed the order. Cacild continued: "Tomorrow we will go to th police station and clear up what happene here, and you, please, be there!" The guar responded, "Yes Ma'am, I'll take care o it."

It was those and others who, after he death in 1969, who were the friends left behind. Cacilda Becker Yaconis (paulist from Pirassununga, born on April 6, 1921 was the "mother" of the world of theater, the one who protected the colleagues from arbitrary acts by the military regime against freedom of expression. But she was, principally, one of the most brilliant actresses of the Brazilian theater. In 30 years of career, she staged 68 plays, in which she performed passionate interpretations, the likes of which few claimed to have seen.

She had a brief stint with the company Os Comediantes, by Ziembinski, and soon after went to TBC, where she remained for ten years. She left in 1958 to form her own company, Teatro Cacilda Becker, which she directed until the end of her life.

Standard Oil She used to say that it was a miserable childhood that transformed her into a strong woman. The father abandoned the family and the mother, an elementary school teacher, to raise the three daughters—Cacilda, Cleyde, and Dirce—alone with much difficulty. When she was nine, Cacilda, the oldest sister, decided that she would pull the family out of misery by becoming president of Standard Oil in Brazil. Knowing that this would not be easy, she woke her mother one dawn: "Mom, swear that you will take me to a big city to study in a good school to sustain our family." A year later, they moved to Santos, on the coast of Sao Paulo. She succeeded in finding a good school but had to leave because they couldn't pay the monthly tuition.

Barefoot It was a stroke of luck that she had learned to dance in Pirassununga. She gave dance recitals to pay for school. "I danced barefoot. The first time I put shoes on my feet, I was 14," she said. This all might have been academic.

Since her family was so poor, she and some friends stole fruit from neighbors.

Once, getting over an iron fence, she had an accident and cut her foot. She got tetanus and almost died.

She was a small and thin woman who, when she stepped onto a stage, became a giant. Ziembinski, with whom Cacilda worked, used to say that his friend "was a fragile, little woman, who didn't weigh anything, but took on enormous undertakings." Working, Cacilda was pure discipline, always the first to arrive and the last to leave from rehearsals.

In addition to her small physique she had the weakest voice, which caused the direc-

tors to avoid that she would have to sing.

On one of those occasions, she shouted: "I will sing, and that's final. I'm Cacilda Becker, and when I pretend that I'm singing, the whole world will believe it." And that is exactly what happened.

Aneurysm In the course of the year 1968, she was president of the Comissao Estadual de Teatro, in Sao Paulo, working for the Secretary of Culture, but continued going to the demonstrations against censorship organized by the theatrical community.

Before starting a protest march, she would ask her friends: "We're not going to have a street riot, are we, people?" They almost always did, but she was never connected with it. In 1969, she staged the play Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett, where she worked side by side with her husband, the actor Walmor Chagas.

During the intermission of a show, Cacilda supported herself on Walmor and uttered her last words: "I think I'm having a stroke." An aneurysm caused her to suffer for more than a month of hospitalization. A multitude of people held vigil during the whole time in front of the hospital. She died at 48, and on that occasion, the researcher Renata Palottini wrote: "The best Brazilian actress, the best friend of her friends, the most combative of leaders, the most sensitive of women—Cacilda Becker."

A Celebration of 80 years of the Myth of Cacilda Becker. April 6, 2001.

From Estado de S'do Paulo newspaper.

Dressed in a beat-up tuxedo (the demand of the role she was playing at the time, Estragon, in the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett), Cacilda Becker weakened unexpectedly, right on stage, in the arms of son Luiz Carlos, Cuca, who was having his debut at the theater. She collapsed later in Sao Paulo, on that 6th day of May, 1969, when the agony started, caused by an aneurysm in her brain. Not even a series of operations could prevent, some 38 days later, the death of one of the principal Brazilian actresses.

She was an actress so complete and versatile that today, when she would have turned 80, her memory is revered with a new production of Cacilda!, play

by Jose Celso Martinez Correa, and with a special show by singer Clara Becker, daughter of the actress, in Pirassununga, the city where Cacilda was born. "The strength of my mother continues powerful and intact," commented Clara.

The magnetism of the actress is what

moves the play, which, again, occupies the space at Teatro Oficina: after a much rewarded career in 1999, Cacilda! returns with Beth Coelho in the first act and Leona CavaIli in the second, interpreting distinct facets of the actress. "Too human, fiery, and diva, in the acting of Beth and, subsequently, the star of Leona in the body without organ, bubbling champagne," comments Ze Celso. The new production marks a continuation of the project of saving the principal works of Oficina of the decade of the 90's.

With the sponsorship of Petrobras, the plan started with a recording of Boca de Ouro, Mouth of Gold, for reproduction on video, DVD, and internet. The play will be available for sale in those formats in June (2001). The project continues now, with the filming of the 3 hours and 40 minutes of Cacilda! "We will not modify anything to adapt the stories to these new media," comments Ze Celso. "The project will faithfully portray the work of Grupo Oficina."

The work of recovering the work of Cacilda Becker, who died at 48, continues in the director's plans. According to him, the first act of the play, which has its new premiere today, represents the first part of a serial and the second, the last part. "The core, the professional life of the actress, is in three other plays, scheduled for 2003."

The multiplicity was a mark of her notable talent, well portrayed by the poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade in the poem Atriz, Actress, written soon after her death: A morte emendou a gramatica Morreram Cacilda Becker.

Ndo era uma so. Era tantas.

Era uma pessoa e era urn teatro.

Morrem mil Cacildas em Cacilda.

The death made amends for the grammar Cacilda Becker have died.

She wasn't just one. She was so many.

She was a person and a theater.

A thousand Cacildas died in Cacilda.

Physically, she was thin and small with a beauty not readily evident. She had little vocal potential, and her nasal voice was hindered by shortness of breath, asthmatic. No difficulty, however, impeded the display of her talent in diverse national and foreign classics. Like in Pega Fogo by Jules Renard, in which Cacilda interprets, with perfection, a problematic boy, of ten years.

That versatility will be celebrated today, also, by a Paulista singer from Pirassununga, at the opening of the Festival do Teatro. "It is the first time that I'm going to the city where my mother was born, and that leaves me very motivated," says Clara, daughter of Cacilda and actor Walmor Chagas. "And I'm certain that she would approve of my repertoire."

Nelson Rodrigues— The Pornographic Angel "Sou urn men/no que ye o amor pelo buraco da fechadura. Nunca fui outra

56

pionship of the tricolor, although he and his brother Mario Filho, who would later • become a famous sportswriter and have his name chosen as the official name of Maracana stadium, could not afford to go out and get themselves to Laranjeiras to see their team play. His father got a job with Correio da Manila (Morning Post) and moved his family to Tijuca, a fact which, at the time, showed an improvement in their standard of living.

Nelson felt the absence of his father, Nelson Rodrigues was born in the city who was always involved in politics and of Recife, in Pernambuco on the 23" of journalism. He was frequently in trouble August, 1912, fifth of fourteen children in school, being expelled for rebellion, born to Maria Esther Falcao and the jour- always questioning his professors, espenalist Mario Rodrigues. His father, who cially those of Portuguese and history. To was a councilman and journalist with compensate for the lack of contact with Jornal do Recife, decided to move his his children, Mario Rodrigues permitted family to Rio, because of political prob- their visits to Correio da Manhei. He said that he never dreamed of his lems. In July of 1916, children becoming journalists. the couple moved to He wanted his daughters to Rio de Janeiro with become doctors and his sons their children. They MFLS "— cARLos voc.r.14:%ia.A.wAL.D.mAN lawyers. This would not be had sold everything easy, however. He got inthey owned to pay for volved in a political battle, the trip, and for a time which earned him a year in they stayed at a jail. This caused youngNelson friend's house. In to sink into depression.

August 1916, they Nelson started his jourmoved into their first nalistic career in 1925, at the residence in Zona age of 13, as a police reporter, Norte of Rio. earning 30,000 reis a month.

Nelson was raised He impressed his colleagues in the climate of the with his capacity for dramatime: fat neighbors in tizing small happenings. His the windows, checkspecialty was to describe ing on the other in"death pacts" between young habitants, resentful lovers, so common in that era. old maids, and sad At fourteen, he had his first widows with their legs wrapped in gauze because of varicose sexual experience with a prostitute and veins. Births were accomplished with the continued to frequent the ladies of the help of midwives at home. Wakes, too, night. took place in the home, and spittoons were Toward the end of the 20's, he and his commonplace. Young Nelson registered brothers worked at A Manila, a newspathis scenario in his memory. It became the per, in different capacities. Nelson dropped base of the characters in his literary work. out of high school and never went back.

Early on, he earned a reputation. One He was given a column on page 3, the neighbor, dona Caridade, told his mother principal page of the newspaper and pubthat all her children were welcome in her lished a variety of articles. His father was house except Nelson. She had seen the 4- very upset when he started "beating up" year-old on top of her 3-year-old daugh- on Ruy Barbosa in hjs column, and when ter, kissing her. "Pervert," she called him. he lambasted the Aguia de Haia (The When he was seven, he asked his Genius from the Hague) his punishment mother to send him to school. He quickly was swift. He was demoted to the police learned to read, but he was often repri- blotter for five months. The newspaper, manded by his teacher, dona Arnalia however, was deeply in debt and could not Cristofaro. In 1920, an incident happened, stay afloat, which caused the family to which later became one of his favorites: a leave.

Forty three days after losing A Manha, writing contest in his class. Each student would write on a free subject. The best Mario Rodrigues launched his new paper piece would be read aloud in class. When with great success: A Critica (The Crithe class was over, the works were handed tique), which would have a circulation of in. The teacher almost fell over when she 130,000 copies. Lieutenant Colonel Carlos read the piece by Nelson. It was a story of Reis sent the police to arrest every adultery. The husband arrives at home to Rodrigues they could find, under the allefind his wife naked in bed and the shape of gation that one of them was behind the a man escaping through the window. The assassination of Argentine Carlos Pinto, husband gets a knife and kills her. The reporter for A Democracia. All, father and story astonished the whole teaching staff, sons, were imprisoned. Nelson escaped, and naturally, it was not read in class. as he was not in Rio at the time. He had It was in 1919 that the author discov- gone to Recife to relieve his depression. ered Fluminense (a Rio soccer team). It Hearing about the arrest of his father and was the first year of the "three-peat" cham- brothers, he rushed back to Rio.

coisa. Nasci menino, hei de morrer men/no.

E o buraco da fechadura é, realmente, a minha (Mica de ficcionista. Sou (e sempre fui) um anjo pornografico." Nelson Rodrigues "I'm a boy who sees love through the keyhole. I was never anything else. I was born a boy, and I will die a boy. And the keyhole is, really, my viewpoint as a fiction writer. l am (and always was) a pornographic angel."

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

On December 26, 1929, the paper after the religious wedding. Elza's brothprinted a story on the first page about the ers threatened to kill him, but eventually, legal separation of Sylvia and Jose Thibau. the family gave their blessing leading to It was a way for the daily to print some- the religious wedding on May 17, after thing on a day with no news, the day after Nelson was properly baptized and conChristmas. On the 27th, in the morning, firmed.

Sylvia came into the office of A Critica His illness was always a part of his looking for Mario Rodrigues. He was not life. One morning he woke up and inin, so she asked to speak to his son, Roberto formed his wife that he was blind. An and shot him in the stomach. Nelson saw inflammation caused by the TB had taken and heard everything. At 17 years and 4 his sight. The doctor gave him medicine, months, it was the first scene of brutal which improved the situation, but 30% of violence that he witnessed. His brother his vision was lost forever. And with Elza died on the 29th. Nobody can become being pregnant and not working, their familiar with the theater of Nelson financial situation was shaky. One day, as Rodrigues without understanding the trag- he was passing the Teatro Rival, he saw a edy of Roberto's death. Sisty seven days long line waiting for tickets. Someone on after the death of his son, Mario Rodrigues line commented, "This second rate play is suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died a raking in a lot of money." A light went on few days later. In the face of those losses, in his head: why not write for theater? the family could no longer live in the same And in 1941, he wrote his first play A house.

Mu/her Sem Pecado, The Woman WithAfter the revolution, A Critica, through out Sin. It is a psychological study of errors in evaluating the situation, was Olegario, an arrogant and prosperous busiclosed and never allowed to re-open. nessman, who is married to the much Milton and Mario Filho were imprisoned younger Lidia and confined to a wheelagain, but soon freed. Nelson worked at 0 chair. Fearing that his wife is cheating on Tempo and later was hired by 0 Globo. He him, he badgers her and spies on her was given his assigned desk in 1932 at a devising one test of her fidelity after ansalary of 500,000 reis a month. He gave it other, only to find when his doubts are all to his mother and received an allow- finally satisfied and his disability revealed ance to buy cigarettes. He was always a as a ruse, that she has run off with the ladies' man and fell in love with several family's black chauffeur. Now playing to different women at this time. full houses whenever it is performed, However, he had other problems. A Nelson failed to find someone to produce dry cough and a low grade fever along it. His son, Joffre, was born, and for mediwith his weight loss, caused him to seek a cal reasons he had to keep his distance to doctor's care. He was diagnosed with tu- protect the infant. But finally, after much berculosis, then a death sentence and the struggle, Woman Without Sin was finally great fear of the time. He spent the next 14 produced at the Teatro Carlos Gomes unmonths in a sanatorium, compensating for der the direction of Rodolfo Mayer. his loneliness with letters, many of which In January, 1943, he wrote his second written to the teacher, Alice, in Copaca- play Vestido de Noiva, The Wedding Dress, bana. It was here that he had his first but although it received positive mention "dramatic" experience, when another pa- in the press, there was hesitation to protient suggested they perform a sketch to duce it "because of the complexity of make a little fun of themselves. While he staging it." But toward the end of 1945 was in the sanatorium, his brother Joffre, and beginning of the following year, Os 21, became ill and ended up spending the Comediantes staged both The Wedding next seven months with Nelson. Joffre Dress and Woman Without Sin at the died at the end of 1936.

Teatro Phoenix for fulj houses. At this When he returned to 0 Globo, he time he began writing Album de Familia, found that the first woman had been hired. Family Album. Upon completion it was Her name was Elza Bretanha, and Nelson submitted to the censors and promptly fell in love. Nelson explained the situation prohibited. The opinions were strongly of his health and financial situation to her divided among critics and intellectuals. It and proposed. Elza's mother almost had a was not freed by the censors until 1965 conniption and told Roberto Marinho from and finally produced in '67.

0 Globo about her feelings. He said to His newest play Anjo Negro, Black Elza, "She knows that you are going to Angel, debuted in 1948. As always with marry a guy, very intelligent and with Nelson Rodrigues, it caused controversy. great talent, but poor, absolutely lazy, and In this case, however, it was allowed by sick. Your mother is right!" Even so, they the censors. This enabled him for the first planned on marrying on Elza's birthday, time to buy a house for his growing family.

May 8, 1939, even if they had to elope.

One of the most frequently performed of However, instead Nelson sent her a Nelson's plays is Beijo no Asfalto, The note saying, "Love, I have a soul full of Kiss on the Asphalt. As a pedestrian hit by sad premonition." It was the tuberculosis, a bus lies dying on a Rio street, a passerby which attacked again. During this next stops to cradle him in his arms and kisses stay in the hospital, he was filled with him on the lips as a parting gesture of jealousy of imagined boyfriends, broke up human solidarity. But the scene is witwith her, but his love was stronger than his nessed by an unscrupulous reporter, who jealousy. On April 29, 1940, they finally proves so successful in convincing a pubmarried in front of a judge but decided that lic hungry for scandal that the men were there would be no wedding night until lovers, that even the wife of the Good

BRAZZIL - DECEMBER 2001

Samaritan comes to doubt his masculinity.

Written for a now-defunct theater company, a founder of which was actress Fernanda Montenegro (great stage actress known in the U.S. for her Oscar nominated role in Central Station), who played the mistrusting wife when the play was first performed in 1961, The Kiss on the Asphalt confronts today's questions of homophobia and tabloid sensationalism.

Like most of his plays, it also contains a large dose of melodrama and characters whose behavior seems so extravagant and extreme that it is sometimes difficult to tell whether the play being performed is a tragedy or an absurdist comedy.

Says Fernanda Montenegro about Nelson Rodrigues: "Nelson always worked with characters in convulsions. He is extraordinary that way, and for the foreigner, he must seem extremely exotic, because he is a writer who defines our culture and our emotionality as Brazilians. A person from outside must be asking himself: 'What is this? What world am I in?"

It was at the time of Anjo Negro that he started a relationship with Eleonor Bruno, known as Nonoca, beautiful, shy, reserved, and lyrical soprano. She was present to keep an eye on her 13-year-old daughter who was having her debut as an actress. It was not long before they were involved in a relationship. He rented a small apartment in Copacabana. All went well until one day in 1950, when Elza pounded on the door and created a scandal. He returned home with his tail between his legs, and the affair ended. Nelson wrote a comedy for Nonoca, Doroteia. It became the debut of two actresses, Nonoca, and the sister of the author, Dulcinha. Fearing that the censors would prohibit it, he submitted it as an "original by Walter Paino," brother-in-law of Nonoca. It was approved and premiered in 1950. Half of the audience gave a standing ovation, and half left in silence. It played for 13 days.

He never reached a level of financial security. Thus, he wrote novels and short stories and thousands of newspaper columns. Ruy Castro, known for such books as Ela ĂŠ Carioca, She is Carioca, and Chega de Saudade, No More Blues, about Bossa Nova, is also the author of 0 Anjo Pornografico, The Pornographic Angel, a biography of Nelson Rodrigues. Mr. Castro argues that Nelson was actually greater as a novelist than a playwright. Says Mr. Castro about his novels: "In novels like The Wedding and Savage Asphalt he penetrates the minds of his characters in a way that is quite startling and simply can't be done in the theater. In both the novels and the plays he works with the same cast of judges, doctors, priests and others who would appear to be upstanding citizens, and treats them with the same malice. But he is better able to show the anomalies and deviations in their hearts and souls."

American actress Amy Irving, married to Brazilian director Bruno Barreto, is planning to produce Nelson Rodrigues' lay Toda Nudez sera Castigada, All Nudity Shall Be Punished. She says about

the author: "Nelson Rodrigues was a keen observer of life who expressed a kind of heightened realism through larger-thanlife characters. This play in particular has a provocative story, entertaining writing and a great character for me to sink my teeth into. To me, he is the heterosexual Brazilian equivalent of Tennessee Williams, someone who writes about the lies and the hidden stories of the middle class, and I don't understand why he isn't huge."

Controversy was always part of his existence. Nelson had sympathy for the UDN (Uniao Democratica Nacional) and horror for the intellectuals attracted by communism. His critics on the left were public and vocal, but that was not his most serious problem. When the military dictatorship began in 1964, Nelson was very openly tolerant to the new regime, behavior considered unacceptable as much in the artistic milieu as among the press. That tolerance only ceased when the dramatist learned that his son, Nelsinho, nicknamed Prancha, was being tortured in prison, in 1972.

His conservatism extended to his personal life. He was very dedicated to his family to the point of never having slapped his children or used bad language in front of them, even though his plays were full of foul dialogue. He was baptized and confirmed in order to marry Elza and, according to his friend, Sabato Magaldi, believed in immortality of the soul and the existence of God, though he did not go to church.

"He made the profane sacred and went to Maracana like others go to church," says his biographer, Ruy Castro. Friends of his judged Nelson to be much more humble than reactionary. He always dressed in the same suit to go to work and wore shoes without socks for lack of money and gave all his money to his mother.

He was also known for his sense of humor. Writer Zuenir Ventura says about him, "Everything that happened to Nelson took on a dramatic dimension. He grasped situations and created a joke in return, always talking with that bovine air." Actor Renato Consorte, who played the investigator in Beijo no Asfalto in the 1961 production, remembers Nelson Rodrigues as "someone very funny, who didn't accept the fact that there were people who didn't understand his plays." Renato tells the story ofNelson with his sons at the door of the theater threatening the spectators coming out, shocked by his plays. "He pointed his umbrella or a walking stick at them and shouted 'Well, didn't you like it?"

His play Perdoa-me Por Me Traires, Forgive Me for Having Betrayed Me, also had problems with the censors. Another

thing happened at the debut. Nelson played the role of Raul. Once again, those booing and those applauding asked for the author.

This time he did not play hard to get and called the audience stupid and cattle. Suddenly there was a gunshot. In the discussion between pros and cons, councilman Wilson Leite Passos pulled his revolver to scare someone who had called him a clown.

There was general chaos. On the following day the censors forbade the play.

From 1959-1960, hundreds of thousands of people followed the story of Engracadinha and her family in Asfalto Selvagem, Savage Asphalt. Two books were pub Ii shed Engracadinha—seus amores e seus pecados dos doze aos dezoito, Engracadinha— her loves and her sins from twelve to eighteen and Engracadinha— depois dos trinta, Engracadinha— after thirty.

At this time there was yet another affair with Liicia Cruz Lima, which resulted in her leaving her husband and kids, getting pregnant and causing Elza to attempt suicide.

His appetite for women was ever strong. The pregnancy, however, was ill fated. The daughter was deprived of oxygen in the first critical time after birth and remained helpless and blind.

Nelson Rodrigues was the author of the very first Brazilian soap opera, but with poor results. A Morte sem Espelho, The Death without Mirror, had all the ingredients to become successful—a great cast with Fernanda Montenegro and Fernando Torres and music by Vinicius de Moraes. However, it was not allowed to air in its intended timeslot, at 8:30 but was given 11:30—a death sentence. One of the problems was his name and reputation, and consequently he used pseudonyms in later attempts., In 1973, he wrote Anti-Nelson Rodrigues. The play did well at the Servico Nacional do Teatro. After a couple of medical examinations, Rodrigues was taken to the hospital for emergency surgery for an aneurysm of the aorta. His doctor forbade him to smoke, but he did, nevertheless. In April 1977, he was again hospitalized with ventricular arrhythmia and inability to breathe. Elza returned home, and they took up living together again. They could often be seen at Joffre's restaurant 0 Bigode do Meu Tio, My Uncle's Mustache, in Vila Isabel.

He wrote his great—and last—play A Serpente, The Serpent, in mid 1979, just before his son Nelsinho started a hunger

strike with 13 fellow prisoners, the last political prisoners of Rio in order to transform the broad amnesty into totally unrestricted amnesty. Finally, on the 23 of August, the author's birthday, Nelsinho wins his freedom, and on the 16 of October, he received his conditional freedom, but he is unable to see his father, who is unconscious in the cardiac unit.

Nelson Rodrigues died on the 21 of December, 1980—a Sunday. Two months later, Elza fulfilled his wish that she—still alive—engrave her name on his tombstone under the inscription: Ynidos para alem da vida e da morte. E so. United beyond life and death. That's all.

The following is a selection of his plays: A Mulher Sem Pecado, 1941 V,estido de Noiva, 1943 Album de Familia, 1946 Anjo Negro, 1947 Senhora dos Afogados, Lady of the Drowned, 1947 Doroteia, 1949 Valsa No. 6, 1951 A Falecida, The Deceased, 1953 • Porem Honesta, Widow, Yet Honest, 1957 Os Sete Gatinhos, 1958 Boca de Ouro, 1958 Beijo no Asfalto, 1960 Otto Lara Resende or Bonitinha, mas Ordinaria, Cute but a Tramp, 1962 Toda Nudez Sera Castigada, 1965 Anti-Nelson Rodrigues, 1973 A Serpente, 1978 In addition there was a large number of novels, chronicles, movies, soap operas, and stories, which have only been touched upon here. For those, who might want to learn more about this great Brazilian playwright, a number of books have been written about him and might be available at www.siciliano.com.br and www.livrariacultura.com.br Another rich source used here comes from www.releituras.com/nelro drig.htm O Teatro de Nelson Rodrigues: uma realidade em agonia, Ronaldo Lima Lins, Editora Francisco Alves/MEC, Rio, 1979 O teatro brasileiro moderno, Decio de Almeida Prado, Editora Perspective/ USP, Sao Paulo, 1988.

Nelson Rodrigues—Dramaturgia e Encenacoes, Sabato Magaldi, Editora Perspectiva/USP, Sao Paulo, 1987 Nelson Rodrigues—Express ionista, Eudinir fraga, Ed. Atelier, Sao Paulo Nelson Rodrigues, meu irmao, Stella Rodrigues, Jose Olympio Editora, Rio, 1986 Nelson Rodrigues: Flor de Obsestho, Carlos Vogt e Berta Waldman, Editora Brasiliense, Sao Paulo, 1985 To be continued on our next issue.

Kirsten Weinoldt was born in Denmark and came to the U.S. in 1969.

She fell in love with Brazil after seeing Black Orpheus many years ago and has lived immersed in Brazilian culture ever since. Her e-mail: kwracinggerols.com

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