Don’t miss this opportunity: great Brazilian artists, journalists, scientists, businessmen and philosophers speak their minds in the new TED conference series produced in São Paulo.
Some highlights (for the versions with English subtitles, click on their names and make sure the CC button, that turns on the captions, is on):
Regina Casé is the comedian who founded Asdrúbal Trouxe o Trombone troupe in the seventies, then gave life to memorable characters of the comedy show TV Pirata, in the eighties. In 1989, she met researcher Hermano Vianna and this led to a turning point in her career. Together, they created a group of studies and professional partnerships that caused her to shift the focus of her work from art to anthropology. This partnership gave way to Brazil Legal, Muvuca, and Central da Periferia, among other projects that bring to the little screen the realities of the country.
Fabio Barbosa, president of the Santander Group Brazil and my former boss, one of the leaders of the debate about corporate responsibility and sustainability in the country. A brilliant man with a very advanced vision. Since 2000, he developed a strategy at Banco Real (that now belongs to Santander) that includes offering lines of credit for companies that wish to comply with environmental standards and cutting companies that harm the environment off its client list (I was part of the team in charge of these cuts). The plan became the object of a study at Harvard University. Keep reading
IBGE, the Brazilian bureau of statistics, released today the 2008 edition of its Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (Pnad), a reduced version of the census. In my latest post I quoted an economist who, based on this report’s data, concluded that Blacks have consistently improved their financial situation in the last 15 years. The statistics published today highlight the state of the country’s health.
These are the main conclusions:
77.3% of the interviewees consider themselves healthy or very healthy (this percentage is higher in the upper classes). Only 3.8% said their health was bad or very bad.
On the other hand, 11.2 million people over 14 informed they have physical limitations. For them, it is difficult to walk 100 meters (328 feet) or to go to the bathroom by themselves. This is a slightly growing trend that affects 7.5% of all men and 9.1% of women. Among the elder population, 27% face that type of restriction. Keep reading
Most Brazilian lullabies and children songs are scary like hell. Some of them are not exactly child-appropriate. Or human-appropriate.
Check this hit parade:
The big classic “Atirei o Pau no Gato”, that says: I hit a cat with a stick, but he didn’t die. Mrs. Chica was surprised by the cat’s cry.
What about the morbid “A Canoa Virou“: the canoe turned down, because someone let it happen: [name of the kid] didn’t know how to row. If I were a little fish and knew how to swim, I would rescue [the kid] from the bottom of the sea.
Or the even scarier “Nana neném“: sleep baby, because Cuca (a forest monster) will come for you. Mammy is in the plantation and daddy is working.
Or the vaguely racist “Boi da Cara Preta”: Black-faced ox, come for this kid that is afraid of grimaces!
Or the gloomy “O Cravo Brigou com a Rosa”: Carnation fought with Rose, under a set of stairs. Carnation got hurt and Rose lost her petals. Carnation got sick, Rose came visit. Carnation fainted. Rose began to cry.
You can also try “Ciranda, Cirandinha“, that says: “the ring you gave me was made of glass and broke. The love that you had for me was not enough and vanished”.
Or “Samba Lelê”: Samba Lelê is ill, his head is broken. What he really needs is to be spanked.
You’ve got the spirit.
You don’t have to have a PhD in Psychology to realize you might want to keep your kids away from this songs. Instead, look for Paulo Tatit’s brilliant work – such as “Palavra Cantada” and “Pé com Pé“. Or maybe, go for Chico Buarque de Hollanda’s “Os Saltimbancos”. Also, check the Cocoricó TV program soundtrack. This (low quality) video of a Cocoricó’s sketch shows some of the main characters, chickens, singing their omnipresence and offering translations of “hen” in different languages.
A huge percentage of the Brazilian population spends Sundays in front of the TV (at least 60% watch the evening programs). So, Sunday shows are extremely important in terms of ad sales and the war to gain audience can be ferocious.
Three TV hosts are essential to understand what Brazilians see, learn and feel on their free time.
First the delirious, surreal Chacrinha. Abelardo Barbosa (his real name) was a huge success between the fifties and the eighties, till his death, in 1988. He will be remembered for a long time, thanks to a mix of his glittery outfits, catch phrases repeated over and over, double entendre songs, pineapples and codfish thrown to the audience and close ups of girls with large bottoms, shinny beachwear and white boots – the chacretes. Named as porn stars – Rita Cadillac, Fernanda Terremoto (Earthquake), Lia Hollywood -, they were huge sex symbols. Also known as Velho Guerreiro (Old Warrior) – thanks to Gilberto Gil, that payed homage to Chacrinha in his song Aquele Abraço -, he brought to the telly the spirit of the counterculture and the unconventional seventies. Lots of fun, anarchy and nonsense.
Then, Silvio Santos, the billionaire communicator that began his career as a street vendor in Rio. Today he owns SBT, one of the main TV networks of the country. He is capable of selling absolutely anything to anybody – I can testify. I attended one of his programs, Topa Tudo por Dinheiro (Money is worth anything, in a very free translation) in the mid-nineties. His domain over the audience – that was invited to do demeaning things to earn some extra cash – is almost supernatural (in this video, a guy offers to eat a blade, a battery and a whole egg). Silvio’s trademark is a huge smile and the ability to talk to his all-female audience as if he was an old family friend. He also tends to praise enthusiastically whoever governs the country (he is an apple polisher to the left and the right, no distinctions). His shows have been aired non-stop since the early sixties and used to be extremely long – he could be on the stage for 12 hours at a time when he was younger.
Finally, Fausto Silva, that leads the Sunday show aired by TV Globo, the main Brazilian communications network, since the late 80s. Known as Faustão, due to his huge dimensions, he developed a style that includes half naked dancers, insults towards the audience and his cameramen, lots of candy camera shots and live bands. He probably shouldn’t be here, in the company of two of the main communicators that ever landed Brazilian TV. But, if you visit somebody in Brazil next Sunday, there is a good chance the TV will be on – most likely, tuned on Faustão.
So, next Sunday, where are we meeting to watch the afternoon show? My house or yours?
Don’t miss this opportunity: great Brazilian artists, journalists, scientists, businessmen and philosophers speak their minds in the new TED conference series produced in São Paulo.
