brasil observer #13 - english version

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FREE ISSN 2055-4826LONDON EDITION

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JUNE 19 – JULY 2

OCCUPATION CLOSE TO THE STADIUM

WHERE THE WORLD CUP STARTED

IN SÃO PAULO IS THE MOST VISIBLE

DEMONSTRATION OF THE HOUSING PROBLEM

IN BRAZIL WHERE 5.8 MILLION FAMILIES

HAVE RESIDENCES >> Pages 10 & 11

FOOTBALL’S PARTY Find out what’s been happening inside the World Cup >> Pages 12 & 13

OLIVER KORNBLIHTT / MÍDIA NINJA

PHOTO: PAULO PINTO/ FOTOS PÚBLICAS

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LONDON EDITION

EDITOR IN CHIEFAna [email protected]

EDITORSGuilherme Reis [email protected] Kate Rintoul [email protected]

PUBLIC RELATIONS Roberta Schwambach [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Bianca Brunow Dalla, Bruja Leal, Gabriela Lobianco, Luciane Sorrino, Marielle Machado, Michael Landon, Nathália Braga, Ricardo Somera, Rômulo Seitenfus, Rosa Bittencourt, Shaun Cumming, Wagner de Alcântara Aragão

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FRONT PAGE REPORT

CONECTANDO

BRASIL OBSERVER GUIDE

PROFILE

2014 WORLD CUP

Brazil’s challenges on housing policy

Musings on the World Cup

Discovering women living on the streets

Amazonian cinema and much more…

Gilles Peterson

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IN FOCUS

BRAZIL IN UK

BRASILIANCE

Important news from last two weeks

Brazilian national football?

Prince Harry is arriving in Brazil

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sexta-feira, 13 de junho de 2014 11:22:36

16|17 GUIDE COVER STORY18 NINETEEN EIGHT-FOUR 19 GOING OUT20|21 TRAVEL 23 WORLD CUP TABLE24 MUSIC TO WEAR 25 NEW CANVAS OVER OLD

The World Cup began and the country surrendered to the party, as all the doubts that had echoed in the months before faded. The question ‘Imagine what will happen in the Cup’ have been answe-red by an almost unanimous “Brazil is the best World Cup ever”.Although it is important to maintain a critical mind because, as we know, the World Cup has a beginning, middle and end. And Brazil has the rest of 2014, an important year for the country ahead when the party’s over.As we have discussed before, Brazil will hold a presidential elec-tion later this year that will decide the direction for the country over the next four years. Voters will go to the polls just three months after the the World Cup comes to the end and it’s already been clear that politicians are warming up with TV and advertising campaigns aired to captive audiences as a ‘test’ during the event.Lots of campaigns, including social movements have been using the the opportunity to reach international press and high visibility that the World cup provides to raise awareness for their causes.One such group are the Homeless Workers Movement who have established a temporary camp - The People’s Cup to provide shelter to families priced out of renting and also to draw attention to the

housing shortage. While it could be argued that rising real estate speculation has been affecting Brazil, the World Cup has certainly amplified this in certain regions. The issue of long term affordable and secure housing is not one that can be demarcated with a clear beginning, middle and end as hosting a major world event does. In this edition, you can find out more about the scale and causes of the hosing problem in Brazil. Guilherme Reis visited the “People’s Cup” occupation close to Sao Paulo’s Itaquerão stadium, that hosted the opening of the 2014 World Cup. You can read about his visit on 10 and 11.For those who are in London and missing the green-yellow festivi-ties of Brazil, don’t worry! London is now home to little Brazil! Of course it’s not the same but with lots of parties, club nights, festi-vals and events, you can definitely get a taste of Brazil in London. On page 15 of the BO Guide you can read an interview with Vanessa Robinson-Gabriel, who’s one of the organisers behind the first Amazon Film Festival, which is part of Joga Bola!, a Brazilian cultural showcase of events taking over east London’s Rich Mix throughout theWorld Cup.Enjoy the edition and see you soon!

E D I T O R I A L

THE BEST WORLD CUP EVER?By Ana Toledo – [email protected]

3brasilobserver.co.uk

IN FOCUS

AÉCIO: OPPOSITION CANDIDATE

At the recent national convention, the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democrat Party) defined the candidacy of Senator and chairman of the party, Aécio Neves, for the presidential election in October this year.In a 20-minute speech, Neves said he intends

to promote the “reunion of Brazil”.“Instead of a new and promised improve-

ment, we missed the way. Inflation is back delaying the national agenda. Brazil does not accept more co-opted and harnessed State. We want the end of the serial scandals and endemic corruption. Across the country, we see a huge cemetery of unfinished works,” Aécio Neves told the convention.The former governor of São Paulo and former

Health Minister Jose Serra said the candidacy of Neves represents the changes that Brazil wishes and is part of the longer term approach by the part. Speaking during the 2010 elections Serra said: “We believe in building values and we need to learn to live with differences. The PSDB was not born to destroy, but to serve the country. Brazilians want more truth, tolerance, responsibility and no more frustration”.Born in 1960 in Belo Horizonte, Aécio Ne-

ves studied economics at the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) of Minas Gerais. He is the son of Maria Inês and former Congressman Aé-cio Ferreira da Cunha and grandson of former president Tancredo Neves and Congressman Tristão da Cunha. He was elected Senator of the Republic for Minas Gerais in 2010. Ruled the State for two terms (2003-2010) and was a congressman for 16 years, having chaired the House of Representatives. Aécio Neves chairs the PSDB since 2013.

WHO’S AFRAID

OF POPULAR

PARTICIPATION?President Dilma Rousseff recently

signed a decree establishing the Na-tional Policy for Social Participation, with the goal of supporting the for-mulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies, as well as the improvement of public management.With this, the government institu-

tionally enforces a policy that has been in action since 2003, when for-mer President Lula first linked the General Secretariat of the Presidency with civil society organisations.According to official data, between

2003 and 2012, more than 7 million Brazilian citizens participated in 87 national conferences, across 40 areas. Within the federal government, the-re are over 120 councils, of which about 40 have many representatives of civil society, ensuring spaces for dialogue and social control. In addi-tion to this, there are about 270 acti-ve federal public hearings that assist citizens in their relations with the government.With the recent decree, Rousseff

appears to be more open to dialogue and the demands of social move-ments. In the protests of June 2013, one of the main criticism of the Pre-sident was were that she did not listen to these sectors.Predictably, the mainstream media,

(which speaks for Brazil’s conserva-tive financial elite), has labelled the the decree as “Bolivarianism” in re-ference to the former president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. They ab-surdly dubbed it “dictatorial” and as a “threat to democracy” when the whole purpose of the decree is just expand the forms of public participa-tion and discourse.Elected congressmen and coun-

cillors will continue to have the same powers, as defined by the Constitu-tion, so the question remains, who is afraid of the people?These are the same people who

ignore any discussion of a democra-tic media law, calling it “censorship” when the project in fact seeks to amplify the voices of society, pre-venting monopoly and concentration of the media.

10% OF GDP FOR EDUCATION

Brazil’s education system has 20 new ob-jectives to achieve as part of the National Education Plan approved by the full House of Representatives, which will now go to the president for approval.Under the plan, the investment in educa-

tion will grow steadily until 2024, reaching the equivalent of 10% of GDP per year - nearly double the current value (5.3%). In 2019, the fifth year of the plan, the amount should already have grown to 7%.The approved text also relates to resour-

ces that can also be used in the University for All Program (ProUni), which gives tax exemption to private schools and colleges that grant scholarships. Other schemes to benefit include the Student Financing Fund (FIES) and the Science Without Borders.Although this has been questioned by

some critics. Congressman Vieira da Cunha said the adoption of the text, which relies upon incentives, distorts the goal of 10% of GDP to public education in 2024. The bill was endorsed by the chairman of

the Education Commission, Glauber Braga. He argued that the programs “may even be extended, but to argue that 10% is invested in public education. Only this way we will ensure real possibility of an expansion of supply and quality”.The 20 objectives include: the eradication

of illiteracy; increasing childcare facilities in high school, in vocational education and public universities; universalisation of school care for children between 4-5 years old; and the provision of full-time teaching for at least 25% of students in basic education.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN BRAZIL

The Brazilian Agency for the Pro-motion of Exports and Investments (Apex) expects to double the value of the business closed last year du-ring the Confederations Cup. New projections calculated on the

number and potential of foreign bu-sinessmen invited to the World Cup has been raised from US$ 3 billion to US$ 6 billion the volume of in-vestments and exports. “Estimates can change. Prior query

to the company about how much they intend to spend, and what the potential of business to be gene-rated,” said the president of Apex, Maurício Borges. In meetings held with thousands

entrepreneurs during the Confedera-tions Cup, US$ 1.8 billion in exports and US$ 1.2 billion in investments were closed. To achieve the goal, the World Cup Project of Apex increased the number of guests from a thou-sand entrepreneurs to 2,300, and has promoted meetings with companies of all sizes.The representative of Apex said that,

at the time when economic growth oc-curs more slowly, the project can help the image of the country. “Surely it is time to show a strong and creative production sector,” he said. He explai-ned that entrepreneurs think in closing business in the long term and does not adhere to current economic data, but the potential presented.

Demonstrators in front of the National Congress: the desire to direct participation of the people is evident

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BRASILIANCE

NEW STADIUMS, OLD TROUBLES The World Cup in Brazil has improved

part of the infrastructure of national

football, but the elitism of sport, fiscal

irresponsibility of clubs and subservience

to commercial interests of television are

still problems that need to be addressed

Football is more than a sport in Brazil. It is part of Brazilianness. The Seleção and the football clubs are more than teams, they are national symbols. The beautiful game is part of the intangible culture of the nation. It is a reason to strike up a conver-sation at the bus stop, in the eleva-tor, in the waiting room of a clinic - often, it is the only theme that can bring together different social classes. It is cause of extreme joy, or deep disappointments. Sometimes it creates

confusion, fights, violence. But almost always it results in big parties.Since the country was confirmed to

host the FIFA World Cup, much has been discussed about the legacy of the event. In the run up to the competition, many construction projects in airports and urban mobility, such as bus lanes and subway stations were planned and undertaken. But what about the impact of the competition on national football?Whatever the outcome of the World

Cup, Brazilian football will never be

the same. If the title goes to the team of Neymar, it will be a milestone for the national sport. Adversely, another failure in a World Cup played at home and the first in a decade of games, and Brazil will be forced to reflect on our inability to achieve success.That said, changes in Brazilian foo-

tball tend to rely less on the outcome of the World Cup as we have seen with the depletion of a management model that has led to mobilisation of players and fans.

REPRODUCTION

Even with new arenas, high ticket prices and awkward scheduling mean that Brazil is only 18th place in the number of public attendance in stadiums, behind the USA and Australia

By Wagner de Alcântara Aragão


MOUNTING CLUB DEBTS

CLUBS’ DEBT EVOLUTION

DEBTS OF THE BIGGEST CLUBS IN 2013

One of the claims Bom Senso FC is the establishment of control mechanisms that control fiscal irresponsibility of Brazilian football clubs. According to data released by the movement, over the past five years, the debt of clubs increased almost 75%. “Only for the government,” says the group’s information, “clubs owe about R$ 2.5 billion. This is equivalent to 75 hospitals and 178 classrooms.”Bom Senso FC warns that failure to pay wages and image rights of athletes “has become common practice”. The movement requires the adoption of a system of control called “Financial Fair Play”, which obliges clubs “to spend only what they earn”. “The goal is simple and aims to ensure the sustainability of sporting institution and the healthy development of the market”, the movement address.

Year Billions (R$)2008 2,732009 2,912010 3,432011 4,062012 4,75

Team Billions (R$)Flamengo 757Botafogo 699Vasco 518Atlético-MG 438Fluminense 422Palmeiras 311 Santos 296Grêmio 276São Paulo 250Internacional 229Cruzeiro 199Corinthians 193 * D

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GENTRIFICATIONThe gentrification of the sport,

which has been going on for a few years now, needs to be considered with changes from the World Cup. The 12 arenas built or renovated for the tournament are a luxury. Athle-tes have now everything they need, however the stadiums are no longer accessible to low-income workers - precisely those who have traditio-nally filled the bleachers throughout footballing history in Brazil.The Brazilian Championship last

year had some matches played in the World Cup arenas of Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Recife, Salvador and Rio de Janeiro. In these pla-ces, the cheapest ticket cost, on average, R$ 150 (around £45). This value was equivalent to about 20% of the current national minimum wage in 2013.The enhancement of the ticket pri-

ce, however, is not exclusive to new stadiums. For eight years now, the major clubs established the figure of socio-supporter. The aficionado joins the club at a lower cost than traditional partners, and with fewer rights, but with the advantage of obtaining considerable discounts of tickets in the championships the team races. On the other hand, and even to encourage the crowd to join the scheme, ticket price at the box office was high.In summary: the fan should have

enough to pay for a monthly mem-bership income or to spend a con-siderable amount when they spora-dically choose to go to the stadium to watch a match. Here’s an exam-ple: the Brazilian Championship this year, started in April and sto-pped in May because of the World Cup, a ticket to the games at the stadium of Curitiba is costing at least R$ 90 (or 12% of the current national minimum wage, which is R$ 724 now).The former player Romario, a

congressman from the Rio de Ja-neiro State, warned about the ex-clusion of the poorest from Brazil’s stadiums. “You do not see more in the bleachers fans wearing shorts and flip-flops. The ‘geral’ [sector of the stadium were people watched the matches on foot, and so with cheaper ticket] was eliminated. Ti-cket prices are exorbitant,” he said warned in Congress a year ago.

TELEVISIONAnother exclusion factor is the

kick off time of football matches. The origin of this problem is another illness of Brazilian football: subser-vience to the economic interests of Rede Globo, which holds the rights

to broadcast major championships. To meet the needs of the communi-cation group’s schedule (which runs a subscription service), the games are divided into rounds on the we-ekend (Saturday and Sunday) and weekdays, they occur on Wednesdays and Thursdays.It happens that, on weekdays, by

imposition of Globo, the matches broadcast live start at 22h - after the flagship primetime program-ming, the ‘Novelas’. These matches finish close to midnight. Leaving the stadium at this time, in ci-ties like São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Salvador, Recife and Fortaleza, the fan har-dly comes to their house before 1am. When you consider that most workers need to wake up at 5 or 6am to go to work, it becomes impractical to go to the football stadium during the week.The athletes are also affected. Last

year, in an interview with sports daily newspaper Lance!, Midfielder Alex, a former player on the Bra-zilian national team and currently at Curitiba, criticised, the excessive interference by Globo on the mana-gement of Brazilian football. “We know that Globo works depending on the ‘novela’. I’m going to play, I see a bad situation: I need to stay in the hotel all day waiting for a game ten o’clock at night. But I’m in a hotel, comfortable, I’ll play 90 minutes, take a shower and I’m leaving home. And what about the fans? The guy leaves home or work, needs to go to the stadium ten o’clock at night, watch the game, go home, and still need to wake up seven in the morning the other day. This is inhumane. Be-cause of this the national stadiums are empty.”In the House of Representatives,

more than ten years ago a bill au-thorising state broadcasters to trans-mit, without costs, sporting events of national interest was passed. A similar bill was introduced in the House seven years ago. In practi-ce, these projects end the exclusivity that commercial broadcasters acquire by buying the so-called transmission rights. This democratises access to such broadcasts and reduces the po-wer of private channels to impose restrictions that match their interests and not of the general public.In justification of the bill of 2003,

the author - a congressman from Bahia, Edson Duarte, pointed out that the Constitution provides that the media cannot be monopolised, directly or indirectly. The acquisition of exclusive rights to broadcast spor-ting events by private broadcasters is considered “unacceptable”. “The situation is a blatant abuse of econo-mic power and discrimination against people with less purchasing power, who cannot afford the service of

paid TV,” Duarte said.On 26 April, the rights were

again debated in the House of Re-presentatives. Across Latin America, in countries like Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela and Ecuador, the transmission of events like the World Cup is not the monopoly of private companies as public and state channels are also entitled to do the transmissions.

MOVEMENT OF PLAYERS.The World Cup in Brazil can be

an important moment in the history of football in the country, but a de-cisive turning point would be the mobilisation of the players who last year founded the “Bom Senso F.C.”, or Good Sense F.C. It is an organi-sation formed to protect the interests of athletes and fans. They pledge to recast the timetable and create a system of financial control of the clubs; and are collecting suggestions directly from fans on their website (www.bomsensofc.org.br). On 26 May, the group’s leaders

were met by President Rousseff and won membership of the trustee in the struggle for demands of athletes. At the meeting, the players discussed the need for a Fiscal Responsibility Law of Sport (in debate at the Con-gress), the regulation of participation of athletes at meetings of the bodies and the creation of a National Foot-ball Development Project.Again it was Alex who has spoke

publicly after this event. “It was a fruitful meeting. Not every president has provided available time to wel-come athletes and hear stories that have been reported since the football elite to the lower classes. We left with three well-defined points. The president and the government pled-ged to the points to be opened in the near future. Each back home well satisfied way.”According to the survey of the

group, of 684 professional football clubs in Brazil, 583 did not have a schedule of competitions. Eighty--five percent of the clubs are inac-tive for more than six months. Of the approximately 20,000 professio-nal athletes, 16,000 earn less than two minimum wages and worse, be-come unemployed for at least half the year. Gentrification affects not only the fans: the professionals of the sport are increasingly excluded too. Also according to them, althou-gh the “country of football”, Brazil is the only 18th place in public at-tendance of games in stadiums with an average 12,971 people per game. This is behind Australia (17th with 12,990) and the United States (8th with 18,845), countries without a strong football tradition.


BRAZIL & UK

Prince Harry visits Brazil

Brazilian Chamber of Commerce holds annual summer event

From the British Embassy in Brasilia

Prince Harry will visit Brazil in June 2014. HRH comes to the country on June 23, before travelling to Chile on June 26. The visit confirms the interest of the UK in the region and reflects the strong relationship that these two coun-tries have with the United Kingdom. The visit will also allow Prince Har-

ry to give continuity with the links he began to develop in South America du-ring his official visit to Brazil in March 2012. The Prince will have commitments on behalf of the Government of His Majesty and also in relation to its main charitable interests, including underprivi-leged youth, sustainability and promoting

the work of the Armed Forces. He will also attend two matches of the World Cup during his trip.In Brazil, Prince Harry will visit Bra-

silia (June 23): a hospital specializing in rehabilitation, orthopedics and neu-ropsychology; and also attend the match between Cameroon and Brazil in the World Cup. Next stop is Belo Horizon-te (June 24): the training base of the Olympic and Paralympic Teams of the UK during the Olympics in Rio in 2016; after he’ll attend the match between Cos-ta Rica and England. Next is São Paulo (25-26 June): an environmental project that helps protect the Atlantic Forest; a community program that helps disadvan-taged children; Feast of the Queen’s Bir-

To celebrate summer in the Bri-tish capital, the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain invites its members and friends to another edition of the annual barbecue. This year, the event will take place on July 3, from 18h, at Dartmouth House in Mayfair, central London. It will be another opportunity offered

by the institution to networking and in

this case, a chance to enjoy a Brazi-lian barbecue, complete with caipirinhas cocktail and well known sound of the Clube do Choro UK, which will be res-ponsible for animating the environment. The entrance to the event costs £ 40

for members of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce; non-members pay 65 pounds. The organization reports that on the day there won’t be game of the World Cup.

The Royal family member arrives in the country on

June 23rd and will attend one of the games of the Seleção

thday promoted annually by the British Ambassador Alex Ellis in Brazil; and a social project to help reduce crime and drug use.Prince Harry visited Brazil earlier in

March 2012. On this occasion, His Royal Highness visited Rio de Janeiro, where he participated in an event of GRE-AT campaign at Sugarloaf, and sporting events to demonstrate the links between London 2012 and Rio 2016.

In recent years, Prince Harry has su-pported a number of charitable works aimed at helping underprivileged young people to develop their skills and as-pirations, supporting communities to preserve natural resources and promote the work of military men and women. These issues also represent key areas of work of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

g For more information about the GREAT Britain House please visit: www.greatbritainhouse.ukti.gov.uk

g F or more information visits www.brazilianchamber.org.uk

DIVULGATION/UK IN BRAZIL

DIVULGATION

Harry visited one of Rio’s slums last year

Barbecue happens on the 3rd of July


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PROFILE

How much do you know about Brazilian music? If you are a keen listener to the sounds coming out from the giant South Ameri-can country, then no doubt you know of Gilles Peterson. The DJ, producer and broadcaster, born in France and brought up in Croydon presents a weekly radio show for the BBC called Worldwide. DJing since the eighties, Gilles

lives in search of what he calls “the perfect beat”, hovering from Tokyo to Havana and Cape Town to Finland. Along theses musical journeys, Brazil has been one of his highlights as he has become a prolific ambassador for the music of the country. Earlier this year he was working in Rio to produce his new album Brasil Bam Bam Bam, in collaboration with the artist col-lective Sonzeira.This record is the latest product

of a 25-year-long dedication to pro-moting the full scope of Brazilian music in clubs and on the radio. “Brazil’s music culture is mas-

sive. There’s the North – Bahia, Recife, the Afro-Brazilian sound. There’s batucada, the heavy sam-bas,” says Peterson. “Then Bossa Nova – Tom Jobim and all that history. There’s baile funk. There’s Tropicalia and the more soulful, funky scene championed by groups like Banda Black Rio, Trio Mo-coto and icons like Gilberto Gil. Such a huge amount of stuff to fit in. I wanted to try and cover it all – to make a kind of Buena Vista meets club culture, but to keep it sonically very modern.”Before heading to Trafalgar

Square on 12 June to play at Brazil Day in celebration of the World Cup’s kick off (which I also attended and photographed for this edition) Gilles spoke to Brasil Observer about his musical love affair with the country.

DJ, broadcaster, producer, label boss or plain old record collector. With so many titles, which one do you prefer?

At the end of the day I’m a DJ – that’s where I started and that’s where I still happen to be all these years later!

Can you remember the first time you listened to a Brazilian song?

GILLES PETERSON’S BRAZILIAN PASSION


One of the UK’s most influential DJs speaks to Brasil Observer about his new album Sonzeira: Brasil Bam Bam Bam and remembers the first time he listened to Brazilian music By Rômulo Seitenfus

I think it was a Batucada by Ney de Castro that I found in a record shop near my grandmother’s hotel in France. That was when I was 12 and I haven’t stopped dancing since.

How did you start to understand Brazilian music and introduce it to the UK?

George Duke’s album Brazilian Love Affair was significant for me as it introduced me to Milton Nascimen-to. Once I heard him I discovered Lo Borges and then people like Jose Mauro and Sergio Ricardo. I love this kind of song writing. I had been organising events in Lon-don since the mid eighties, I brought over Joyce and always went to see Airto Moreira and Flora Purim when they came to town. The first concert I saw was Tania Maria in 1982, it changed my life and was probably the reason I went even deeper in Brazil-ian sounds.

What differences can you see be-tween Brazilian music back in the 80s and nowadays?

Nowadays the music feels fresh again, especially all the independent stuff that’s being made in Sao Paulo. I love the way so many groups are fusing electronics with a more tradi-tional Brazilian sound. I love Gra-veola and Metá Metá. I also enjoy the sambass coming out of the dub scene and artists like Karol Conka from the funk scene. 80s Brazil was all about the Lincoln Oliveti ar-rangements for me!

Your new album mixes different generations of Brazilian music. How did the project develop and what does this mix give to listeners?

I’m hoping to introduce people to the deeper side of Brazilian music, incor-porating more traditional sounds and artists like Arlindo Cruz, Chico Cha-gas and Nana Vasconcelos. Working with songwriters like Gabriel Moura and the newer generation of Ema-nuele Araujo and Kassin is important to balance with legends like Marcos Valle and Elza Soares.

What is the most Brazilian part of your personality?

Passion!


FRONT PAGE

A CUP BUT NO HOMEThe Homeless Workers Movement’s occupation of land near to the World Cup arena in São Paulo is the most visible action against the growing housing

problem in Brazil: 5.8 million families do not have an adequate residence, challenging the government to control growing price speculation

Sao Paulo, 11 June 2014. The day dawned to a cold and rainy start in the largest city of Brazil. In the east side of the State’s capital, close to where the Brazil team would kick off the World Cup at the Corinthians Arena the next day, land has been occupied by five thousand families in a protest against rising property prices and the lack of social mobility in the region. The occupation, one of many that

have taken over land in Brazilian me-tropolises where prices have been ste-eply driven up by real estate specu-lation, is called People’s World Cup. Situated on the outskirts of the Carmo Park, on top of a hill tom which you can see Sao Paulo’s recently built FIFA standard stadium. Organised by the Ho-meless Workers Movement (MTST, in Portuguese), families mostly from near neighbourhoods who could no longer afford to pay their rend started arriving at the site on the evening of 2 May.This was the case of Luciano, who

appears to be around 40 years old. He is a bus driver and has a wife and two daughters, the family arrived at the camp on the first day because his income could no longer cover their ac-commodation expenses. With his hands in his jacket pocket and red eyes that seem to show that he has not had the best night’s sleep he manages only a small smile as he notices some people in the camp having fun as he prepares to head to work.The decision to leave the relative

comfort of standard residences due to escalating prices is a difficulty shared by the majority of families occupying the narrow area of the People’s World Cup. According to Fipe-Zap index (a natio-nwide real estate index), the value per square meter in the Itaquera region of Sao Paulo increased by 165% over the last six years. Those earning the national minimum wage of R$ 724 per cannot afford the average regional rent of R$ 600 per month.Another member of the group, Cleber

sipped a small cup of steaming coffee on the otherwise cold morning and said “I have been here for over a month. I’m 28, but I have only lived in Sao Paulo since I was 17. My mother lives here

too. But I want to bring my two dau-ghters who are in Bahia”, he says while prepares for another day with the com-munity who are living in tents supported by wooden sticks.Cleber finishes his coffee and starts

his working. He is unemployed, so de-votes his time to the community. At night, he does what they call a “trail”, patrolling the camp after people have gone to sleep to make sure candles and fires are not burning in order to pre-vent fires. As the Brasil Observer’s visit took place before noon, he was working on preparing the communal area for the opening day of the World Cup, on which the residents planned to host their own football tournament.Brasil Observer spoke to Antonio Ser-

gio Lima, 40, one of the leaders of the occupation. To start with he discussed the latest victory for the MTST which took place two days before, when the Federal Government announced that in conjunction with the city and the State of São Paulo, the land of the People’s World Cup would be intended for the construction of affordable housing. “It’s a freedom. We needed a new form of campaign”, said Serginho, as he is kno-wn. Although the fate of those occu-pying the land is far from secure as at the time of writing the decision is yet to be approved by the the Sao Paulo City Council vote.Serginho lead introduced reporters to

the core members of the occupation, who tell stories of resistance and col-lective commitment, personal and social tragedies that expose the veins of a so-ciety in movement. Although Sao Paulo has the worst situation in the country the housing deficit they are protesting against is not a localised problem.

HOUSING SHORTAGE A new study conducted by the João

Pinheiro Foundation, in association with the Ministry of Cities, revealed that the housing deficit grew 10% from 2011 to 2012 in the nine cities monitored by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (see table).

Presently in these regions, there are a total of 1.8 million families without a proper residence. In the rest of the coun-try, the numbers are more hopeful: the overall national housing deficit fell by 1.6% in the same period. There are still, however, 5.8 million Brazilian families living in inadequate housing.The analysis is based on the National

Survey by Household Sampling (PNAD). To calculate the housing shortage in the country, four categories relating to sani-tation, overcrowding and the proportion of income spent on rent were considered.The composition of the housing deficit

in 2012 showed that the biggest problem facing families was the excessive burden of rent. This accounts for 2 million and 660 thousand units, or 45.9% of the deficit. The number of poor households that spent more than 30% of their inco-me to pay rent in 2012 was 11% higher compared to 2011 and 35% higher than in 2007. This is caused by sharp increa-ses in rental prices. For example in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, rents rose by 97% and 144%, respectively, from Janu-ary 2008 to April 2014, according to the Fipe-Zap index.According to Paula Santoro, professor

in Architecture and Urbanism at the Uni-versity of Sao Paulo (USP), “The price rise is related to the increase in the purchasing power of property permitted by changes in real estate financing, for example, the extension of time for pay-ment to 30 years, which allows the total amount paid for housing to be greater. Rental pricing is influenced by prices for the purchase and sale of properties, which are high and this means that fami-lies have to commit a greater amount of their income to pay for housing Santoro told Brasil Observer.Guilherme Boulos, national coordina-

tor of MTST, believes that the World Cup has exacerbated the problem. “The investments associated with the World Cup potentiated real estate valuation. Where ever there is are mega event, there will also be heavy property spe-culation. The greatest legacy of the World Cup was transferring resources for large contractors and urban real es-tate speculation,” he told the magazine Carta Capital.

By Guilherme Reis


(1) People’s World Cup: housing occupation which is home to 5,000 families

(2) Protest in front of the Corinthians Arena

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NUMBER OF FAMILIES WITHOUT ADEQUATE HOUSE

HOUSING POLICYThe main housing policy developed

by the federal government is transmitted through the ‘Minha Casa Minha Vida’ (My House My Life) programme. Ac-cording to the Ministry of Cities, since the program was installed in 2009, it has delivered 1.68 million housing units, be-nefiting more than 6 million people. The goal is to deliver 2 million units by the end of 2014, reaching an investment of R$ 234 billion.Loans for housing are provided for fa-

milies of three income groups - to R$ 1600 (Track 1), between R$ 1600 and R$ 3100 (Track 2) and from R$ 3100 to R$ 5000 (Track 3) monthly. In the case of group 1, the provision of the house should not exceed 5% of the income of the recipient, with a minimum value of R$ 25, for a period of 10 years.But, according to Paula Santoro, “not

all the buildings that are being built have been purchased by those who need them and the scheme is having an opposing effect, inflating land prices and making access difficult.” This has a knock on effect in metropolitan regions, where buil-ders that participate in the programme only build accommodation for those in need very far from the city centre because land is cheaper. Santoro, says that in order to change

this situation, rather than building new houses, the government needs to “incor-porate policies that are articulated to other forms of property, such as public stock sale, lease associated with social politics.” In this case, the mayor of a city would buy properties to rent to low-income fa-milies with subsidised prices, similar to schemes in European countries like Ger-many and Portugal.Brasil Observer contacted the National

Department of Housing, but had not re-ceived a response at the time of going to press. It can be reported that the govern-ment has promised to expand the ‘Minha Casa Minha Vida’ (My House, My Life) programe. In this expansion, instead of going from the government to contractor, money will be intended for social move-ment or other entity that is responsible

for deciding how the building will be and establish who will win the house within the rules of the program.In Taboão da Serra, in Greater São Pau-

lo, the MTST maintains a development of this programme and at least 380 families will receive the keys of their new home by the end of the year. Also in the re-gion, apartments sized at over 60 square meters, up from 39.6 square meters of the minimum standard of the federal scheme are being built. The movement claims that this model generates greater efficiency be-cause it allows the construction of larger and better houses.

‘THE STRUGGLE IS THE LEGACY’In the People’s World Cup, lunchti-

me approaches. Residents of the G2 camp have set up an improvised food court in front of the communal kitchen, where the dish of the day is rice, be-ans, chicken, pasta and salad. Sergio explains that the occupation is divided into sections to facilitate the organisa-tion. Altogether there are eight, each with 600 families. “Occupation without moving forward does not make sense”, he says with some pride to see that the movement is organised as it has it achieved important victories both in and outside the camp.But he recognises that there is still a

long way to go. “What do we do with these kids that are here and cannot go to school?” Serginho asks. Access to health care in the suburbs is another recurring topic on the agenda as well as police violence: “there are police cars around the camp, but so far they have not ente-red,” he says with some relief.Serginho concludes that “The greatest

legacy of the occupation is the struggle itself.We sat at the table with government because of the popular force. The fighters that are here are reflections of the mani-festations of June last year. We lost the fear to speak, to demonstrate. And now it is impossible to get off the streets.”

Cities 2011 2012 VariationBelo Horizonte 115.045 148.163 +28,8%Curitiba 68.835 86.820 +26,1%São Paulo 592.405 700.259 +18,2%Fortaleza 108.959 124.701 +14,4%Rio de Janeiro 299.659 331.260 +10,5%Recife 111.555 108.835 -2,4%Porto Alegre 95.504 86.263 -9,7%Belém 73.655 65.712 -10,8%Salvador 135.430 112.952 -16,6%Total Metrópoles 1.601.37 1.764.965 +10,2%Total Brasil 5.889.357 5.792.508 -1,6%


2014 WORLD CUPW O R L D C U P 2 0 1 4

By Guilherme Reis

MUSINGS ON THE WORLD CUP

I always like to tell people that the penalty charged over the goal by Italy’s Roberto Baggio in 1994 was my first memory of a World Cup. In fact, lie.I have an even earlier memory of my elated father, wandering through the house full of people watching the TV, saying “eating brings luck, good luck to eat”. He had a bowl of popcorn in his hands and the Brazilian Team was about to decide the World on penalties. I do not even remember the charges, just the effort to correctly pronounce the celebra-tion “is tetra, tetra is”. I was four back then when Brazil did the Tetracampeão to become four-time winners.Twenty years later, and the sounds of horns are waking me up in my house in São Paulo. I stare out the window and see the flags of Brazil on the balconies of the buildings. It’s game day. It’s Cup day. Day of Brazil in the Cup. Day of Brazil team in Brazil!That feeling of being in the city where the whole world was looking was ho-nestly unique. Everything had a diffe-rent pace. Some people leave work early. Those not working spend the day orga-nising the party. And those who have to work improvise with TVs and dressing in green and yellow colours.Those who were lucky enough to be at the Corinthians Arena did even better. I made my way to Vila Madalena, to watch the games at a friend’s house, with many friends, the taste of barbecue, beer and Brazilian music - which played throughout the game, so the commentary was mixed with Test for heart.I’m glad because it meant I didn’t have to listen to the pitiful insults directed at

President Dilma Rousseff. Focusing on the ball game was what we all should have been doing. Croats in front, what a fright. Thankfully we had Neymar, twice, and Oscar, that great goal! It was a party! The streets were crowded and the Village celebration goes on well into the night.And the World Cup, seems to be everything. Already i’ve heard gringos asking why the World Cup isn’t always in Brazil. And how many gringos I have seen! Brazilian love gringos. We want to talk to the gringos. And as a gringos like Brazil!In less than a week, there is talk that Brazil will be Cup Winners’ Cup without the embarrassment of before. The pro-tests of the year before seem like a dis-tant memory. Well yes, they also happen and are here and there for all to see as well. Police repress with force and ar-rests, activists denounce and follow firm without succumbing to the “homeland of cleats.” Who said that people supporting the Copa people forget the country’s problems? We do not forget! Those who want to protest, protest. Those who want to enjoy the World Cup party. And those who want the two balances a fine line, but no less interesting.This is the Cup of Cups because in less than a week, Holland scored 5 against reigning cup holders Spain and Germany beat Portugal by 4. England and Italy played a great game in Manaus and Messi shook things up and of course Neymar has had some magical moments. And because the South Americans, like the Brazilians, sing their anthems as ca-ppella even before the game starts. Let me be clear: Football is the most popu-lar sport in the world.

HERE AND NOW

I write these lines as I travel from Sao Paulo to Belo Horizonte, where I will watch Belgium and Algeria in Mineirão. So, perhaps I could have picked a better game but this was a big one for those in London? The streets were filled with are celebrating, with Belgian and Al-gerian, Algerian and Belgian, and soon has the Brazil game! How will twist the mineiros?Wow, what a beautiful stadium! The

colours blend, because here every game has three twisted: the mastermind, Visi-tor and Brazil. Here we are in the legu-me red, green, white, yellow and blue.Argélia comes out ahead, but Belgium

turns things around to win by 2-1. Thou-gh the stadium was filled with a lot more nationalities, including many Ar-gentines, Colombians and Chileans!To remind your of the region’s, mining

tradition: drover beans were being sold at the door of the stadium. Europeans were eating them by hand, but who cares?Later it was time for Brazil against

Mexico. Well … I guess I need not dwell. What a bad game! The string does not shook. The goal did not cry out. The Belgians are still on the streets of Belo Horizonte, even three hours after the end of their game, looking suspiciou-sly at our selection. Like us Brazilians. Oh boy. It will not be easy to finish as world champions for the sixth time on the 13th July.The bus heading to the airport, just

over an hour flight ahead of us back to Sao Paulo, I take leave of those musin-gs. At least for now. That Cup!

GIL LEONARDI/IMPRENSA MG

ALEXANDRE MACIEIRA/RIOTUR 31

RÔMULO SEITENFUS

13brasilobserver.co.ukW O R L D C U P 2 0 1 4

Green and

Yellow London

With the temperature in London almost like Rio, foo-tball fever came to the city on the opening day of the World Cup 2014. Brazil Day brought approximately 25,000 people to-

gether to fill Trafalgar Square with the colours, sounds, flavours and joy of Brazil.The full day event was hosted by Capital FM’s Kat

Shoob, and attractions included a DJ sets by BBC 6 Music presenter Gilles Peterson and DJ D. Vyzor, There were also dance performances from London School of Capoeira Herança, Maracatudo Mafuá, Clube do Choro UK, Monica Vasconcelos, Paraíso School of Samba, Forró dance, an inflatable football pitch and Brazilian cuisine..“This month is an exciting time for us and something

we’ve been preparing for since Brazil was announced as the 2014 World Cup host country. Today we wanted to bring a slice of Brazil to the UK, and showcase our passion for football and Brazilian culture to the fans who weren’t able to make it to Brazil for the tournament”, said the Ambassador of Brazil to the UK, Roberto Jaguaribe.Besides the cultural programming and celebration of

the World Cup in Brazil, Brazil Day featured videos promoting tourism in Brazil and lots of journalists were invited to cover the event, which was an achievement of the Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Culture and Em-bassy of Brazil in London, with support from the City of London and Embratur.

12 of June, opening ceremony of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the green and yellow party in the heart of London

GIL LEONARDI/IMPRENSA MG

ALEXANDRE MACIEIRA/RIOTUR 31

RÔMULO SEITENFUS

MARCELLO CASAL JR/AGÊNCIA BRASIL


CONECTANDO

HOW TO PARTICIPATE?Conectando is a project developed by the Brasil Observer that aims to put into practice the concept of ‘glocal’ communication, helping a local story find a global audience of readers. You can be involved too, just send your story to us! Find out how to get involved by contacting [email protected]

The Sé Square in the centre of Sao Paulo was founded in the colonial era and in the 1970s, underwent a renovation that replaced the church for the Metropolitan Cathedral we have today. In its surroundin-gs, we can still view landsca-pe works that had to be desig-ned and developed at the time of construction of the subway station - which, indeed, is one of the busiest in the city.The square of the Cathedral

is a historical symbol of São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, and the square is still ground zero of the city. Nowadays, howe-ver, the square does not enjoy the same “social value” that of the last century - and is frow-ned upon by many of the gro-wing number of locals living on the streets that are in it.Residents living on the stre-

ets transform the square, the public space, their home, a location where they spend 24 hours a day living. In this pu-blic space, we find their life stories replete with social con-flicts that worsen every mo-ment lived on the street.There are many stories. But

there are similarities: physi-

cal and sexual violence, hun-ger, loneliness, need of drugs, pain and suffering. While stu-dents of the seventh semes-ter of Nursing course of the Sant’Anna University, we are faced with those listless eyes, dirty faces marked by vio-lence, social prejudice; some do not know the meaning of their own existence, resigned to anonymity. Invisible people.As students, we feel the

need to experience this en-vironment, to know how this population actually lives, spe-cifically women like us who, for various reasons, are in this condition. From this point we chose Sé Square to be the site of our research, focusing on women as the centre of a whole discussion: the way they live on the street; how they gain access to health ser-vices; which health care they seek; how to get the reproduc-tive health acclaimed by the Ministry of Health. With great surprise, we were

warmly received. We noticed that the women saw us as a link to get to health facilities; an opportunity in the search for solutions to their problems,

not only those problems spe-cific to women, but also the general necessities.When asked about what they

observe in their bodies, if they seek to identify potential proble-ms, they returned a look of dis-trust and insecurity, but respon-ded. Of those interviewed, most said use SUS (Brazil’s national Unique Health System) for con-sultations and other events, what we consider, without doubt, a positive point.For what we got that first

contact, some of the women had some awareness regarding health and hygiene, and even being on the streets, they have not lost their femininity, the essence of being a woman. However, others in the same situation street were adrift, at the mercy of fate, since the drugs taken in public space from a large Brazilian city found themselves disconnected from the real world, without any possibility of claiming their rights. Although they have similar problems, the ou-tput of this situation certainly will not be the same for all and the magic in being a wo-man can never return.

Sé Square, in the centre of São Paulo, where there is a concentration of peo-ple who live on the street

MARCELO CAMARGO/AGÊNCIA BRASIL

INVISIBLE WOMEN For the CONECTANDO project, Nursery students of the

Sant’Anna University detail their first contact with homeless women living on the streets of Sao Paulo

By Ana Nascimento, Deize Almeida, Flavia Cruz, Monique Burgo, Sandra Almeida e Terezinha Pires – from São Paulo, Brazil*

g T he students have been in the centre of São Paulo under the supervision of the Nursery doctor Soraya El Hakim as part of research project on women who l ives in street’s situation.


Brasil Observer

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The first Amazon Film Festival gets underway London and to celebrate, the Brasil Observer has an exclusive interview with Vanessa Gabriel-Robinson, one of the event’s organisers who explains the ideas behind the project and what we can expect.

>> Read on pages 16 and 17

Chega a Londres a primeira edição do Amazon Film Festival e o Brasil Observer traz uma entrevista exclusiva com Vanessa Gabriel-Robinson, que explica as razões do projeto e o que podemos esperar.>> Leia nas páginas 16 e 17

AMAZONIAN CINEMA IN LONDON


By Gabriela Lobianco

The first Amazon Film Festival in London will take place between 10-12 July at Rich Mix, in the east side of the capital. Seeking to capitalise on the cur-rent interest in Brazil during the World Cup, including the fact that the Ama-zonian city of Manaus was host to the England team’s debut in the tournament, this festival has been perfectly timed. Produced by Instituto BR, a nongovern-mental organisation whose motto is to ‘promote Brazil in the 21st century’, the event is part of the Joga Bola! - A free Brazilian Cultural Festival.Abroad and even within Brazil, little is

known about the northern region of the country. Using this as a starting point, the festival reveals the rich culture of Manaus, capital of Amazonas State, and local productions of the State of Pará for foreigners and also Brazilians. The re-sults are a feast of films, documentaries, animations and shorts, produced by local filmmakers in the region. A cultural and social showcase through environmental issues and policy in the Amazon rainfor-est are among the topics covered.On the 12 July, the festival closes with

a free screening of the animated film The Wave - Party at Pororoca (directed by Cassio Tavernard), recommended for the family from 2pm. After the movie, parents and children can enjoy a pro-gram of fun activities - including face painting with Amazonian animals and a creative workshop.An integral part of the festival is the

affiliated free photographic exhibition Visions of the Amazon in the Lower Café Gallery, at Rich Mix, which is open from 14 to 31 July.To better understand the purpose of

this first edition of the Amazon Film Festival, Brasil Observer exclusively in-terviewed one of the organizers, Vanessa Gabriel-Robinson.

How was the project born?

In London, I saw several events that evoked the Amazon, always in a very exotic way. We must show the area from another perspective. We have a very interesting and rich culture, the result of a blending of Indians, Portuguese, African, Lebanese, Japanese and many other cultures. There is rich audiovisual production in the region, even with little financing. And this is au-diovisual production that helps keep alive the memory of the Amazon. So why not?

Did you receive any kind of sponsor-ship?

No. We tried, but were unable to gain

government support. This is a shame, be-cause I see a few projects done by Brazil-ians in the North. Renata Peppl, my busi-ness partner, and I understand that the project needs to happen. Now, we have an Indiegogo [crowdfunding] campaign to help us to pay some major expenses of the festival, such as the license for movies, subtitles for two films, the production team and the materials for the exhibition we will show at Rich Mix.

Why is it important to bring films from the Amazon to London?

I believe that gives opportunity to the di-rectors of the region tell their story and provides a voice to local filmmakers. The festival is a showcase and an opportunity for the talents of audiovisual production in the region, to have success and tell a good story. Above all, I think these people need opportunity. There are very interesting and unique narratives that form a quilt patch-work of diversity.

What was the selection process for the programme?

The idea for the festival came from the very premise that beautiful stories about the region that should be counted. I knew that there were some films I wanted to put in and some filmmakers with whom I want-ed to work with.

Furthermore, it was very important that people like Dani Franco and Alfonso Galindo, from Belém, and Fernanda of the Festicine Amazônia, from Rondônia who are part of the region’s audiovisual sec-tor and updated me on the production. I did not want to build the program alone. In order to show a new perspective on the region, it is necessary to have the nomina-tions and suggestions of filmmakers, pro-ducers and critics.

Documentary films dominate the festi-val, is there any specific reason? Is this the type of local production or a more realistic reading of the regional culture?

The main factor is economic. In terms of fiction, there is a predominance of short films directed and produced very well throughout the region. One must under-stand that only in the last four or five years has it been made easier to make a film in this region. Until recently, many filmmak-ers in the region were languishing to get a good camera, a good sound system, and production for which they did not have to pay exorbitant prices.

Making a short film is less costly than a full feature. The crew and cast meet, shoot for a week, often work for free and with local support, then hopes to be selected to

FROM THE TROPICAL FOREST TO THE SCREENS OF LONDON

Corumbiara, directed by Vicent Carelli, docu-

ments the heart-war-ming contact between the researchers and a

family of Canoé Indians, and contains unique foo-

tage of one of the last survivors of an unknown

tribe (When: Friday, 11 July, from 6pm)

showcase the work throughout Brazil. Fictional feature films requires a big

investment and cities that are outside the Rio-São Paulo circuit, which do not rely on local public encouragement, still some suffer to put their ideas on the big screen. With these considerations, the documen-tary format is much more affordable.

In the event of the festival, it was easier to find documentaries subtitled in English. We could not commit the resources and time to subtitle films.

Are all the films are produced by people from the Amazon?

The main objective of the festival is to show the place through local narratives. But in addition to this, there is a production that is not local, which focuses on the social problems of the region and is presented in a very interesting way. So, our decision was to have a very intense focus on cultural is-sues in the north and choose the state of Pará that is, above all, very symbolic for all cultural production that State is not only for the region but for the country.

You can see this diversity watching mov-ies Brega S/A, by Vladimir Cunha and Gustavo Godinho, Daughters of Chiquita, by Priscila do Brasil, and Driven by Faith

and Juliana fights the jambo-tree of the Devil for John Baptist’s Heart, by Fernan-do Segtowick and Roger Ellarrat, respec-tively. All address the culture of the state of Pará region from different angles, with a very critical and innovative look.

On the second day, the festival turns to productions that focus on social and po-litical issue in the region, something that cannot be ignored. Corumbiara and Toxic are strong, compelling films. We also have a film by Gavin Andrews, a Canadian who has lived for more than ten years in Amapá, and shows the difficulties that coastal com-munities have in communicating with the town and as a radio program, which has existed for 50 years, tries to reduce this distance.

Do you think the Brits receptive to this culture?

British people are very curious and this is always very good for those who are do-ing something for the first time. The Rich Mix loved the idea from the first moment a year ago when we started talking, and it was a very strong indication that we were on the right track. The most impor-tant thing is to show our diversity to new audiences.


Vocês têm algum tipo de patrocínio?

Não. Tentamos, mas não conseguimos apoio governamental. O que é uma pena, pois vejo poucos projetos feitos por bra-sileiros sobre a região Norte. Eu e a Renata Peppl, minha sócia, entendemos que o pro-jeto precisa acontecer. Agora, estamos com uma campanha no Indiegogo para pagarmos algumas despesas importantes do festival, como a licença para os filmes, legendas para dois filmes, equipe de produção e o material da exposição que iremos fazer no Rich Mix.

Qual a importância de trazer o cinema da Amazônia para cá?

Primeiro, acredito que dá oportunidade ao realizador da região contar sua própria história e dar voz aos realizadores locais. Vejo o festival como uma vitrine e uma opor-tunidade de mostrar o talento da produção audiovisual da região, a capacidade de fazer bem feito e de contar uma boa história. Aci-ma de tudo, acho que essas pessoas precisam de oportunidade. São narrativas muito inter-essantes e únicas que formam uma colcha de retalhos diversa e interessante.

Como foi o processo seletivo para mon-tar a grade de exibição?

A ideia de fazer o festival veio muito da premissa de que havia histórias lindas so-bre a região que deveriam ser contadas. Eu já sabia que existiam alguns filmes que eu queria colocar, de alguns realizadores com os quais eu queria trabalhar. Além disso, foi muito importante a curadoria de pessoas que fazem parte do setor audiovisual da região e me atualizaram sobre a produção, como a Dani Franco e o Afonso Galindo, de Belém, e a Fernanda do Festicine Amazônia, de Ron-dônia. Não queria construir a programação sozinha. Se eu quero mostrar uma perspec-tiva nova sobre a região, é preciso contar com a indicação e sugestão de realizadores, produtores de festivais, críticos... E daí fazer um balanço que inclui tema abordado, quali-dade da produção e diversidade.

Filmes do gênero documentário pre-dominam no festival; tem algum motivo específico? Trata-se do tipo de produção local ou uma leitura mais realista da cultura regional?

O principal fator é o econômico. Em ter-mos de ficção, há uma predominância de curtas-metragens muito bem dirigidos e pro-duzidos em toda a região. É preciso entender que somente há quatro ou cinco anos realizar um filme ficou mais fácil.

Até pouco tempo atrás, muitos realizadores da região penavam para conseguir uma boa câmera, um bom equipamento de som, uma ilha de produção que não se pagasse diárias exorbitantes. Eu sou ainda do tempo que a gente importava a câmera da Funarte do Rio para Belém para fazermos um curta! Isso no

início dos anos 2000. Fazer um curta de ficção é menos oneroso

que fazer longa de ficção. A gente se reúne, filma por uma semana, muitas vezes trabalha de graça e conta com apoio local, e espera ser selecionado para mostrar o trabalho Bra-sil afora. Longa ficcional exige um grande investimento e cidades que estão fora do eixo Rio-São Paulo, que não contam com o incen-tivo público local, ainda sofrem pra colocar suas ideias na tela grande. Nesse caso, o for-mato documental é muito mais acessível.

No caso do festival, foi mais fácil encontrar documentários da região legendados em inglês. Não poderíamos nos comprometer a legendar o filme e não conseguir finalizar a tempo para o festival. Gostaria muito de dar a legenda para o realizador, mas não foi possível.

Todos os filmes são de produção local da Amazônia?

O principal objetivo do festival é mostrar o olhar local e as narrativas locais. Mas, além disso, há uma produção que não é local, que foca os problemas sociais da região de uma maneira muito interessante e atual. Então, nossa decisão foi focar na questão cultural muito intensa no Norte do país e escolher o estado do Pará que é, acima de tudo, muito simbólico por tudo que produção cultural desse Estado representa não apenas para a região, mas para o país.

Você pode ver essa diversidade assistindo aos filmes Brega S/A, de Vladimir Cunha e Gustavo Godinho, Filhas da Chiquita, da Pris-cila Brasil, e Movido pela Fé e Juliana contra o Jambeiro do Diabo, do Fernando Segtow-ick e do Roger Ellarrat, respectivamente. To-dos abordam a cultura da região do Estado do Pará de diferentes ângulos, com um olhar muito bem apurado, crítico e inovador.

No segundo dia, o festival se volta para produções que focam na questão social e política da região, algo que não pode ser ign-orado. Corumbiara e Toxic são filmes fortes, contundentes. Já o filme do Gavin Andrews, um canadense que mora há mais de dez anos no Amapá, mostra as dificuldades que as co-munidades ribeirinhas têm em de se comu-nicar com a cidade e como um programa de rádio, que existe há 50 anos, tenta diminuir essa distância.

Os ingleses são receptivos a essa cultura tão singular?

Acho os ingleses curiosos por tudo e a cu-riosidade é sempre muito boa para quem está fazendo algo pela primeira vez. O Rich Mix, por exemplo, adorou a ideia desde o primeiro momento, um ano atrás, quando começamos a conversar, e isso foi uma indicação muito forte de que a gente estava no caminho certo. Meu marido é um produtor musical inglês e quando foi a Belém e a Macapá pela primei-ra vez me disse: por que a gente não conhece esse lado da região de vocês? O mais impor-tante é a nossa tentativa de mostrar a nossa diversidade.

DA FLORESTA TROPICAL PARA AS TELONAS DE LONDRES DIVULGATION

1ST AMAZON FILM FEST

Por Gabriela Lobianco

Aproveitando a evidência do Brasil com a Copa do Mundo, além do fato de a ci-dade de Manaus ter recebido a estreia da Inglaterra no Mundial, chega a Londres o primeiro Amazon Film Festival, que acon-tecerá de 10 a 12 de julho no Rich Mix, no lado leste da capital. O festival é pro-duzido pelo Instituto BR, uma organização não governamental cujo lema é promover o Brasil do século 21, e faz parte do Joga Bola! – A free Brazilian Cultural Festival.No exterior e até mesmo dentro do

Brasil, pouco se sabe sobre a região norte do país; com esse mote, o festival descor-tina para os estrangeiros e também para os brasileiros a rica cultura de Manaus, capital do Estado do Amazonas, além de produções locais do Estado do Pará. Ou seja, um banquete de filmes, documentári-os, animações e curtas-metragens produzi-dos na região por cineastas locais. Dentre os temas que serão exibidos, uma vitrine cultural e social, passando por questões de meio ambiente e política na floresta amazônica.No dia 12, o festival encerra suas ativi-

dades com a exibição gratuita do filme de animação The Wave – Party at Pororoca (dirigido por Cássio Tavernard), recomen-

dado para um dia em família, a partir das 14h. Após o filme, pais e crian-ças poderão desfrutar de um programa de atividades divertidas - incluindo pintura de rosto com a imagem de animais da Amazônia e workshop de reciclagem.Parte integrante do festival, a exposição

fotográfica Visions of the Amazon tem entrada gratuita no Lower Café Gallery, também no Rich Mix, e fica aberta entre os dias 14 e 31 de julho. Para entender melhor a proposta dessa

primeira edição do Amazon Film Festival, o Brasil Observer entrevistou com exclu-sividade uma das responsáveis pelo even-to, Vanessa Gabriel-Robinson. Confira:

Como surgiu o projeto?

Em Londres, vi vários eventos que evoca-vam a Amazônia sempre de maneira muito exótica. É preciso mostrar a região de outra perspectiva. Temos uma cultura muito inter-essante e rica, fruto de uma miscigenação de índios, portugueses, africanos, libaneses, japoneses e tantas outras culturas. Há uma produção audiovisual rica na região, mesmo com pouco incentivo. E é essa produção au-diovisual que ajuda a manter viva a memória da Amazônia. Então, por que não apresen-tar a nossa versão sobre a região Norte?

10th, 11th, 12th July at Rich MixPrices for adults screenings: £5, conc. £3, day pass £8Children screening, Amazonian Party and Exhibition: FREEInfo: www.richmix.org.uk


NINETEEN EIGHT-FOUR

LISTENING TO THE NEW BRAZIL OUVINDO O NOVO BRASIL

By Ricardo Somera

Ah, the globalised world... Thanks to the internet, I can be at home in São Paulo and following what’s going on in London’s underground scene. Al-though I have to say, it’s not the same as being in the city, it’s great to be part of this growing dialogue between Brazil and the UK which is largely played out in music with ‘gringos’ discove-ring more of our sounds.The Brazilian independent mu-

sic scene is increasingly gaining ground inside and outside the country due to its great diversity, for not being so centred on the Rio-São Paulo circuit and also because of the facilities that is discovering new sounds in a post-Napster era.Talking to my editors to de-

cide the subject of this column, I learned that Mais Um Discos (www.maisumdiscos.com), an in-dependent label headed by Lewis Robinson, is about to release a new album: Rolê: New Sounds of Brazil. The launch will take place on 9 July at Rich Mix, with a performance of the Bra-zilian singer Tulipa Ruiz, as part of the festival Joga Bola! festival, which, indeed, has a sensational line up (you can read more on the next page). But first let’s talk about the

new album from Mais Um Dis-cos. First, I must say that the album matched my expectations as Robinson has shown for some time now that he is very well connected in Brazil’s music scene. This was evident in the previous two releases: Oi! A Nova Músi-ca Brasileira and Daora: Under-ground Sounds of Urban Brazil. In this latest compilation fea-

tures 43 tracks from 22 different artists and bands, the groups who best represent the new scene, in my opinion, Bixiga 70 (who cre-ate Brazilian instrumental music connected with the Afro-beat and Afro-samba rhythms) and Do Amor (a great band from Rio de Janeiro with strong influences from the Northern State of Pará). Another two of my favourites

are Cícero and Metá Metá. Each from Rio and São Paulo who

have won my ears for a long time. Cícero, with his first album (Canções de Apartamento), pro-ved to be a rare one-man-band, and with the second one (Sábado) became an icon of the soft Popu-lar Brazilian Music. Metá Metá represents the cultural mixed and ritualistic Brazil, the band for-med by major talents of the new generation: Kiko Dinucci, Juçara Marçal and Thiago França.

SURPRISES AND ODDITIES

There are also some great sur-prises on the album. Wado, with his samba songs, is one of my great discoveries this year. I got addicted with his songs “Cordão de Isolamento” and “Fortalece Aí”. Psilosamples is an artist I first

discovered with some friends from Curitiba, at a party in a waterfall in the south of Minas Gerais State. It’s a kind of elec-tronic music with influences from the countryside. Not great for dancing but enjoyable and good for travelling.The down points of the recor-

ds came from Arnaldo Antunes and Rodrigo Amarante. Including Antunes was a lazy choice on an album that’s supposed to show-case emerging talent because he has been well recognised among the greatest Brazilian artists for a long time now. As for Ama-rante, after being part of one of the most influential Brazilian bands in decades, Los Hermanos (of which I am a fan), he joi-ned Fabrizio Moretti (from The Strokes) to form the cute Little Joy act and now resurfaces with his worst job ever: Cavalo. He did not deserve to be among so many new talents.

IN LONDON

In addition to Tulipa Ruiz, Mais Um Discos also bring the band Graveola to London, who perform at at Rich Mix on 4 July. I do not know a lot about their music, but it sounded very interesting, perhaps more tuned to watching the sunsets in Rio de Janeiro but it should work in east London just as good.

Por Ricardo Somera

Ah, o mundo globalizado... Nem preciso estar em Londres para saber o que está rolando na cena underground daí! Se bem que, convenhamos, não seria nada mal passar mais um tempi-nho por essas bandas... Devaneios à parte, vamos ao que interes-sa! Música! Ou melhor: música brasileira que os gringos estão descobrindo!Conversando com meus edi-

tores para decidir a pauta des-te texto, fiquei sabendo que a Mais Um Discos, selo in-dependente liderado por Lewis Robinson, está prestes a lançar mais um álbum: Rolê: New Sounds Of Brazil. O lançamen-to acontece dia 9 de julho no Rich Mix, com apresentação da cantora Tulipa Ruiz, dentro do festival Joga Bola! – que, aliás, está sensacional (leia mais na página ao lado).Bom, mas falemos então do

novo álbum da Mais Um Dis-cos. Primeiro, devo dizer que não me surpreendo, pois o Lewis tem mostrado há algum tempo que está bem conectado com a cena musical brasileira. Isso fi-cou claro nos dois lançamentos anteriores: Oi! A Nova Música Brasileira e Daora: Underground Sounds Of Urban Brazil. A cena brasileira de música independente cada dia mais ganha espaço den-tro e fora do país devido a sua grande diversidade, por não estar tão centralizada no eixo Rio-São Paulo e também por causa da facilidade que é descobrir novos sons num mundo pós-Napster.Dessa seleção mais recente

de Lewis (que traz nada mais nada menos do que 43 faixas de 22 artistas e bandas diferentes), quem representa melhor a nova cena, em minha opinião, são os grupos Bixiga 70 – com o resga-te da música instrumental brasi-leira que flerta com o Afro-beat e o Afro-samba – e Do Amor – uma banda do Rio de Janeiro com ótimas e fortes influências do Estado do Pará. Dois selecionados estão entre

meus favoritos da atualidade: Cí-cero e Metá Metá. É uma do-bradinha RJ-SP que ganhou meus

ouvidos há tempos. Cícero, com seu primeiro álbum (Canções de Apartamento), provou ser um raro one-man-band e, com o se-gundo (Sábado), virou ícone da MPB fofa. Já o Metá Metá é a cara do Brasil mestiço, dançante e ritualístico; uma banda forma-da por grandes talentos da nova geração paulista: Kiko Dinucci, Juçara Marçal e Thiago França.

SURPRESAS E ESTRANHEZAS

As duas grandes surpresas são Wado e Psilosamples. Wado, com seu samba MPB “catarinese--alagoano”, é uma das minhas grandes descobertas deste ano. Viciei nas músicas “Cordão de Isolamento” e “Fortalece Aí”. Já o Psilosamples é um artista que conheci por uns amigos de Curi-tiba, que conheceram o som em uma festa numa cachoeira no sul de Minas Gerais. Música eletrô-nica com influências do interior. Não é muito pra dançar, mas para curtir e viajar.A estranheza veio por conta

de Arnaldo Antunes e Rodrigo Amarante. Antunes pelo quesito novidade, já que é um vetera-níssimo de guerra e há algumas décadas é reconhecido entre os grandes artistas brasileiros. E o Amarante? Bom, depois de se consagrar na maior banda brasi-leira das últimas décadas, o Los Hermanos (que sou fã de cartei-rinha), juntou-se ao Fabrizio Mo-retti (The Strokes) no bonitinho Little Joy e agora ressurge com o seu pior trabalho EVER: Cavalo. Sinceramente, não merecia estar entre tantos novos talentos.

EM LONDRES

Além de Tulipa Ruiz, a Mais Um Discos traz para Londres a banda Graveola, que se apresen-ta no dia 4 de julho, também no Rich Mix. Conheço pouco o som deles, mas me pareceu bem interessante: música para escutar vendo o por do sol no arpoador, Rio de Janeiro. Para mais informações sobre

o álbum Rolê: New Sounds Of Brazil, acesse o site www.maisu-mdiscos.com.

DIVULGATION

Mais Um Discos release their new album


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PHOTOS: DIVULGATION

LONDON’S BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR

In line with Rich Mix’s aim to de-liver an artistic programme that re-flects the diverse communities living in East London, Joga Bola! Festival presents the cream of the local Bra-zilian scene. Celebrating their 20th anniversary Da Lata brings their mix of Afro-Brazilian music and soul-jazz and former Smoke City songstress Nina Miranda debuts her new live band project. More tradi-tional North Eastern music is repre-sented by Pe-De-Jurema (photo) and the long running Maracatu Estrela Do Norte. There’s also a chance to a wit-

ness authentic choro from Rio with Clube do Choro UK who perform in a ‘roda’ - the musicians sat in a circle jamming. DJs representing the labels spearheading the new sounds of Brazil, including Mr Bongo, Far Out Recordings, Mais Um Discos and the influential Soul Jazz Re-cords plus two of the keys DJs who pioneered Brazilian music in London since the 1980s – John Armstrong and Patrick Forge, as well as the new wave of London tropicalistas such as cut-master D.VyZor, Mov-imientos’ Cal Jader and B-Mundo Discos’ Pedro D-Lita.

Where Rich Mix | Tickets Free >> www.richmix.org.uk

Until 13 July

Following on the footsteps of greats such as Caetano Veloso, at only 27 Maria Gadu is widely recognised as the brightest new star to emerge in Música Popu-lar Brasileira over the last decade. Nominated twice for a Latin Grammy Award – for ‘Best Artist’ and ‘Best Songwriter’ – her self-titled debut album was certified platinum in Brazil and gold in Italy. Her ec-lectic sound incorporates the rootsy acoustic sound of her São Paulo hometown with a brave new blend of samba, Afro-beat, and funk.

The exuberance and energy of Brazil returns to Sadler’s Wells this summer as 38 performers from Rio de Janeiro bring alive the spirit that makes Brazil so unique in the smash hit Brasil Brasileiro. Famed for its sizzling, feel-good dance heritage, this is a country where the musical culture of Africa and Europe merge with dance to create the infectious rhythms of samba. Brasil Brasileiro features an incredible live band, and shows samba in all its forms: from the lightning footwork of the forro to the agility of capoeira and the groovy moves of batucada

Conscientia: Latin American Consciousness, a group exhibition of colonial and contemporary painting and sculpture, curated by Art at Lloyds’ Programme Man-ager Lavinia Freitas and Braziliality Founder Alicia Bastos. Conscientia offers a journey through Latin American consciousness and the historical, political and cultural developments that have shaped it. The exhibition includes a selection of colonial art and works by Beatriz Milhazes, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Cipriano Martinez, among others.

Where Barbican Hall | Tickets £15 - £22 plus booking fee >> www.barbican.org.uk

Where Sadler’s Wells | Tickets £55>> www.sadlerswells.com

Where Art at Lloyds Club | Tickets Free >> www.lloydsclub.co.uk

28 June 8 – 27 July Until 10 September

M A R I A G A D Ú A T B A R B I C A N H A L L B R A S I L B R A S I L E I R O A T S A D L E R ’ S W E L L S L A T I N A M E R I C A N C O N S C I O U S N E S S


TRAVEL

WORLD CUP POSTCARDS FROM BRAZIL

Porto Alegre - RS

Olinda - PE

Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Manaus - AM

Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Whether you’re a Brazilian living in the UK or just a lover of football and fun, no

doubt you’re wishing you were at the World

Cup in Brazil.

Just one week in and there have been so

many memorable games and just as

everyone had hoped, Brazil has been the

stage for hundreds of great moments off the pitch. From England’s

Daniel Sturridge dancing capoeira in Rocinha to the

crowds of different nationalities coming together in Brazil’s

cities, to the vibrant sights and sounds as

whole streets have been covered in green and

yellow flags.

Here’s some snapshots of our favourite

moments so far...

g Do you have a great World Cup photo to share? We’d love to see them! Send it to us via Facebook or Twitter (@brasilobserver) for a chance for it to appear on our site or in the newspaper.

CADU GOMES / FOTOS PUBLICAS

AGNALDO OLIVEIRA JÚNIOR / PORTAL DA COPA

ALEXANDRE MACIEIRA / RIOTUR

ALEXANDRE MACIEIRA / RIOTUR

IVO

GO

NC

ALV

ES / P

MPA

Brasília - DF

DIE

GO

GA

LB

A / P

RE

FE

ITU

RA

DE

OL

IND

A


CARTÃO POSTAL DA COPA DO MUNDO DO BRASILSe você é um brasileiro radicado no Reino Unido ou apenas um amante do futebol, sem dúvida deve pensar que desejaria estar na Copa do Mundo no Brasil.

Apenas uma semana e já houve tantos jogos memoráveis e assim como todos esperavam, o Brasil tem sido palco de centenas de grandes momentos dentro e fora de campo. Direto da Inglaterra, Daniel Sturridge dançando capoeira na Rocinha para as multidões de diferentes nacionalidades que se reúnem nas cidades do Brasil, ou atrações e sons vibrantes como ruas inteiras que foram cobertas de bandeiras verdes e amarelas.

Aqui estão algumas fotos de nossos momentos favoritos até agora...

g Você tem uma foto grande Copa do Mundo para compartilhar? Gostaríamos muito de vê-los! Envie para nós via Facebook ou Twitter (@ brasilobserver) por uma chance para que ele apareça em nosso site ou no jornal.

RICARDO STUCKERT / CBF

CARLOS SEVERO / FOTOS PÚBLICAS

RICARDO STUCKERT / CBF

DIVULGATION

GIL LEONARDI/ IMPRENSA MG

DIVULGATION

Sāo Paulo - SP

Fortaleza - CE

Curitiba - PR

Sāo Paulo - SP

Belo Horizonte - MGFrom England’s Daniel Sturridge dancing

capoeira in Rocinha


OPENS 8 JULY For 3 weeks only!

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MUSIC TO WEAR

ALTERNATIVE WORLD CUP

STYLE IN AND OUTSIDE BRAZIL

ESTILO COPA DO MUNDO

DENTRO E FORA DO BRASIL

By Marielle Machado

In six years living in the UK, I’ve never seen so much about Brazil as I’m seeing now. Almost every pro-gramme on TV is about the World Cup host, from David Beckham trying to find the meaning of life in the Amazon to documentaries about Rio’s favelas. And it’s not only media that can’t

get enough of Brazil. All the clothing shops have been literally painted gre-en and yellow. But do we need to be dressed like

a giant flag to cheer for the Brazilian team? This week, we had the idea of trying to come up with World Cup the-med, without being cheesy, although it has to be said that the colours on our flag don’t really make this task easy.I didn’t want to wear a football shirt

(I don’t even own one), so I decided to create coordinated outfits in the colours of Brazil. Unintentionally, my two ou-tfits ended up being similar to the seleção’s home and away kits - green and yellow and the blue and white, perhaps they too have been trying to find a way of updating their look!

By Bianca Brunow

Even here in Brazil, green and yellow is a rare fashion combination if you’re not on a football pitch. Our flag has very unique colours which have become completely synonymous with the country. To be honest, I ne-ver really liked those colours together, but I recently started to give it a bit more credit.I am now working at the Liver-

pub in Vitoria, and even though I’m not the most excited person about the World Cup, the bar will be screening for the matches. So it’s only fair to get into the mood and put on my yellow eyeliner and while I might not go as far as donning a Brazil shirt, there are other ways of showing my support through fashion. None of the World Cup inspired

clothes in the shops have won my heart. So I decided to get the “green and yellow spirit” from my existing wardrobe and put together two outfits that capture the vibe of the Copa but that I would wear any other day.

Por Marielle Machado

Nos seis anos que moro fora, nun-ca ouvi falar tanto no Brasil como agora. Na TV inglesa, há desde Da-vid Beckham tentando encontrar o sentido da vida no meio da Amazô-nia até documentários sobre as fave-las do Rio. Mas não é só na mídia que falam do Brasil. As lojas de roupas também se jogaram no verde e amarelo, literalmente.Mas será que a gente precisa se

vestir de bandeira para torcer pela Seleção com dignidade? Foi daí que tivemos a ideia de tentar fazer com-binações não bregas com a Copa como tema, mesmo que as cores da nossa bandeira não ajudem muito.Eu não queria fazer combinações

com camisa de futebol, até porque não tenho nenhuma. Então fui pe-gando de dentro do armário tudo que eu via nas cores da bandeira. Sem querer querendo, minhas duas combinações ficaram meio que ins-piradas nos uniformes da seleção – o oficial verde e amarelo e o segun-do azul e branco.

Por Bianca Brunow

Aqui no Brasil, o verde e amare-lo é combinação rara – a não ser, é claro, dentro de campo. Nossa bandeira tem cores bem característi-cas, então é muito comum associar a combinação do verde, amarelo e azul à bandeira do Brasil. Sempre torci um pouco o nariz para esse jogo de cores. Mas tenho prestado mais atenção. Agora trabalho no Liverpub, em

Vitória. E, por mais que eu não seja lá a pessoa mais animada da Copa, abriremos para receber al-guns clientes. Então nada mais justo que entrar no clima e lançar mão do delineador amarelo, camiseta do Brasil e... ops... Não dá pra mim. Definitivamente nada que eu tenha visto para “uniformizar” as moçoilas durante essa Copa fez verão no meu coração. Então resolvi tirar do meu armá-

rio mesmo o meu “espírito verde e amarelo”, tentando não cair em cli-chês, e juntando peças que eu usaria de boa em qualquer outro dia.

Bianca Brunow: A good excuse to wear this matching outfit, and it’s always good

to add a bit of sparkle too | Pretexto ideal para usar esse conjuntinho: tem que ter

brilho até para torcer

Marielle Machado: Green and yellow are not the best colours together, but blue and white is always cool | Verde e amarelo não são as melhores cores, mas azul e branco sempre fica legal

brasilobserver.co.uk 25

WORLD CUP FEVER IN THE MARVELLOUS

CITY

COPA DO MUNDO FERVE NA CIDADE MARAVILHOSA

By Kate Rintoul

By the time you read this a lot of you will have seen the short film This is what Sao Paulo sounds like when Brazil score, which has gone viral since the opening game against Croatia. I can tell you now that this footage captures only a fraction of the noise and jubilation that I witnessed in Rio. Fireworks had been going off pretty

much all day in the run-up to the game and somehow just as each goal went in (except Marcelo’s own one, of cour-se), lots more crackers could be heard. The reaction seemed so fast that I can only assume that some Brazilians with a penchant for pyrotechnics watch football with a rocket in their hand.I watched the first half in a bar with

seats in the street in my neighbourhood and made my way up the steep hills to meet friends at the legendary Bar de Gomez in Santa Teresa for the second.There was a real party atmosphere in

Santa Teresa that was also totally diffe-rent to what we’d seen before, an inter-national crowd dressed in ironic slogan t-shirts like “Fifa Terrorista” or vintage style kits were out to mingle as much as they were there to see the game. The night of excess and dancing that

followed meant I watched the games at home the next day, although it’s still a pretty communal activity as I can hear the cheers and commentator’s shrieks of “Gooooooaaaaaal” from the boteco next door and flats above.Since last week the city has been

flooded with different nationalities, it’s been incredible to see and amazing to watch people coming together to ce-lebrate. Ahead of Argentina’s game in Rio, the first of the tournament played at the Maracana, it seemed like there

were more Argentines than Cariocas in the city. We met a car-load of fans who had driven for three days with five of them squashed in a hatchback to witness the likes of Messi and Aguero play at the ‘Temple of Football’. Considering this dedication, we thought we could stretch ourselves to make the 15 minute metro journey to Copacabana to watch the game at a Fifa Fan Fest - a huge open air stage on the beach.While it was amazing to be part of

such a huge collective of people, the fact that it got pretty dark and Argentina played pretty badly meant it wasn’t the wholly jubilant experience I was hoping for. I am not that great with crowds and as my enthusiasm for the game diminished, I felt increasingly like I had been temporarily incarcerated with only Coca Cola, compulsive smokers and drunk people with no spatial awareness as company. I’m sure we’ll be back again for a

daytime game when the sun is out and you can really enjoy that special beach vibe but this time we left during the half time break as I had some cooking to do as I am cooking as many World Cup nation foods during the tournament to raise money for the Action For Brazil’s Children Trust (coma-na-copa.tumblr.com). So far I have cooked between one

and three nations per day and I’m definitely having the happiest World Cup of my life as I throw myself into the research, cooking and tasting of so many different cuisines.No matter what the final result is (I’m

rooting for Brazil, of course), I know that I am going to look back on this World Cup with the fondest of memories. It’s incredible to be in this magical country, meeting amazing people each day and doing the things that I love most.

By Kate Rintoul

By the time you read this a lot of you will have seen the short film This is what Sao Paulo sounds like when Brazil score, which has gone viral since the opening game against Croatia. I can tell you now that this footage captures only a fraction of the noise and jubilation that I witnessed in Rio. Fireworks had been going off pretty

much all day in the run-up to the game and somehow just as each goal went in (except Marcelo’s own one, of cour-se), lots more crackers could be heard. The reaction seemed so fast that I can only assume that some Brazilians with a penchant for pyrotechnics watch football with a rocket in their hand.I watched the first half in a bar with

seats in the street in my neighbourhood and made my way up the steep hills to meet friends at the legendary Bar de Gomez in Santa Teresa for the second.There was a real party atmosphere in

Santa Teresa that was also totally diffe-rent to what we’d seen before, an inter-national crowd dressed in ironic slogan t-shirts like “Fifa Terrorista” or vintage style kits were out to mingle as much as they were there to see the game. The night of excess and dancing that

followed meant I watched the games at home the next day, although it’s still a pretty communal activity as I can hear the cheers and commentator’s shrieks of “Gooooooaaaaaal” from the boteco next door and flats above.Since last week the city has been

flooded with different nationalities, it’s been incredible to see and amazing to watch people coming together to ce-lebrate. Ahead of Argentina’s game in Rio, the first of the tournament played at the Maracana, it seemed like there

were more Argentines than Cariocas in the city. We met a car-load of fans who had driven for three days with five of them squashed in a hatchback to witness the likes of Messi and Aguero play at the ‘Temple of Football’. Considering this dedication, we thought we could stretch ourselves to make the 15 minute metro journey to Copacabana to watch the game at a Fifa Fan Fest - a huge open air stage on the beach.While it was amazing to be part of

such a huge collective of people, the fact that it got pretty dark and Argentina played pretty badly meant it wasn’t the wholly jubilant experience I was hoping for. I am not that great with crowds and as my enthusiasm for the game diminished, I felt increasingly like I had been temporarily incarcerated with only Coca Cola, compulsive smokers and drunk people with no spatial awareness as company. I’m sure we’ll be back again for a

daytime game when the sun is out and you can really enjoy that special beach vibe but this time we left during the half time break as I had some cooking to do as I am cooking as many World Cup nation foods during the tournament to raise money for the Action For Brazil’s Children Trust (coma-na-copa.tumblr.com). So far I have cooked between one

and three nations per day and I’m definitely having the happiest World Cup of my life as I throw myself into the research, cooking and tasting of so many different cuisines.No matter what the final result is (I’m

rooting for Brazil, of course), I know that I am going to look back on this World Cup with the fondest of memories. It’s incredible to be in this magical country, meeting amazing people each day and doing the things that I love most.

NEW CANVAS OVER OLD

brasil observer #13 - english version

Documents

world cup pages

best world cup

world cup table24 music

world cupdiscovering

unanimous brazil

behalf of brasil observer

important year

housing problem