Manaus entre Emblemas e Espetáculos

A cidade de Manaus cresce além das expectativas. Definitivamente os limites da cidade na imaginação do mundo transbordam o que seria só o turismo da selva. Sem dúvida os turistas da Copa percebem que é uma cidade grande--grande mesmo--e não o que talvez pensavam: "uma aldéia no meio da Amazônia." Os governos municipal e do estado agendaram um número récorde de eventos culturais durante a Copa, e a segurança e receptividade da cidade têm sido louvadas. Tanto foi assim que, após serem realizados apenas dois dos quatro jogos programados, a cidade de Manaus ganhou o título de "melhor cidade sede da Copa."

http://www.silascamara.com.br/silas_camara/not_completa.php?cod=218

O desenho da Arena da Amazônia faz notícia pelos toques de cultura local e de sustentabilidade: a forma de cesto de palha, a função da armazenagem da chuva, o uso da energia solar, o reaproveitamento de materiais do antigo estádio, etc. Contudo fica claro que o preço enorme da construção e o trânsito piorado causaram polêmica, entanto os três operários que morreram por acidentes durante a construção foram lamentados e martirizados.

http://o.canada.com/sports/soccer/world-cup/world-cup-venue-arena-da-Amazonia

O que acho também relevante da Arena da Amazônia é a relação que ela tem com outra construção emblemática de Manaus: o Teatro Amazonas. Estes dois prédios, construidos para a promoção de espetáculos e para a recepção de visitantes estrangeiros (e brasileiros), agora servem como ícones da cidade. O primeiro do século XIX e o segundo do século XXI; o primeiro com capacidade de 685 pessoas e o segundo de 42.000; o primeiro com palco e o segundo com grama. O primeiro foi levantado como um monumento ao Velho Continente no coração no Novo Mundo; o segundo foi desenhado para refletir formas e valores autóctones (o cesto de palha, a preservação ambiental). O Teatro Amazonas até funcionou como cortina de fundo para a apresentação do cartaz oficial de Manaus como cidade sede, fazendo desse jeito um elo entre passado e futuro.

http://m.fifa.com/worldcup/photos/galleries/y=2012/m=11/gallery=the-host-cities-the-2014-fifa-world-cup-braziltm-unveil-its-official-pos-1954609.html

Apoio e concordo com os desejos da grande e perseverante população manauara: que a nova Arena sirva para muitos eventos além da Copa--concertos, jogos, espetáculos--ultrapassando o objetivo literal do "para inglês (vs. italiano!) ver" para ser uma jóia sustentável mesmo.

BRAZIL vs. MEXICO

There's a lot of me wrapped up in that headline, in many ways! What a great game it was today, one of the most exciting draws you could imagine in what was seen nonetheless as a victory for Mexico. Professionally, I've published more about Brazil than about Mexico. But I've taught more Spanish in my Mexican accent than Portuguese in my Brazilian one. If I were for some reason confined to either of those countries for the rest of my life, I would not care - I would be pleased, and I would feel at home. Such rich cultures, such variety. They are the two poles of what it means for me to be a Latin Americanist.

Because of their sizes, populations, and economies, Brazil and Mexico are the Latin American giants. But more than this, they are the giants of the soccer world. How can this be, if Brazil has won five World Cup championships (the record) while Mexico--though almost always a strong team and one of only a few nations to have hosted the World Cup itself twice--has not yet made it to the Round of Eight? It is because they have the largest populations in the world of soccer fandom. To start with the obvious, we can eliminate the global demographic colossi China, India, and Indonesia, which don't have World Cup-qualifying teams, nor do they seem to have the fan base for them. But what about Argentina? It's also an incredibly soccer-crazed nation with a large territory, yet its population is only slightly more than a third of Mexico's. In the Spanish-speaking world, Colombia and Spain have larger populations than Argentina's, but the two populations together are still shy of Mexico's.

Among the teams at this year's World Cup, it's true that the US, Russia, Nigeria and Japan all have populations greater than Mexico's (but--except the US-- lesser than Brazil's). Still, I would contend that the uniformity of soccer passion across practically all sectors of Mexican society (and including millions of Mexicans in the US) means that the nation as a whole is much more invested in its team than are the Americans, the Russians, the Nigerians, or the Japanese.

What this means is that the particular match BRAZIL vs. MEXICO holds the greatest possible combined national interest among the citizens of the countries whose teams are playing. No wonder it was an exciting game. It probably attracted the largest TV audience of the Group phase matches. Perhaps the teams will meet yet again before this World Cup is over!

Wall of Macaws

Brazilian artistry on display at O Veleiro Bed & Breakfast (Hospedagem Domiciliar),

Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro

Entrevista: Profecía Maya

El periodista Juan Miret, nacionalmente conocido editor de HispanodeTulsa.com, me ha entrevistado con el motivo del mentadísimo calendario maya y el supuesto fin del mundo...

Salió muy bien la entrevista, y Juan la ha armado en YouTube de manera muy profesional, como siempre. ¡Mil gracias, Juan, por la oportunidad!

No se pierda el blog de Juan, A Hispanic Matter, con excelentes ensayos acerca de las más diversas manifestaciones culturales de Latinoamérica. 

American Funnymen, Mexican Pastiche

Nacho Libre (2006) and Casa de mi Padre (2012) share a Hollywood approximation to Mexico in which an American comic stars as a humble, big-hearted Mexican struggling to do the right thing. In Nacho Libre, Jack Black is a listless monk who aspires to help the orphans he serves by winning fame and fortune as a luchador, while in Casa de mi Padre, Will Ferrell is a dim-witted rancher who must defend his father's lands from the narco-fueled bad decisions of his older brother.

Nacho Libre--a Nickelodeon-funded kids' movie, after all--is the sweeter of the two films. The only violence to be found is in the overwrought theatrics of the lucha libre style wrestling. Goofy but melancholic tag-team sidekick Esqueleto (Héctor Jiménez) is the perfect foil for Black's earnestly ridiculous Nacho, making the pair of luchadores something like a fat Quixote (Nacho) with his skinny Sancho (Esqueleto). The unattainable Dulcinea of the film is Sister Encarnación (Ana de la Reguera), a nun whom none can have yet all covet. Nacho's "dates" with Encarnación (dry toast, tight pants), and his outrageous song of dedication to her, are some of the funniest moments in the film. In the climax Nacho does manage to defeat his luchador nemesis, Ramses (César Cuauhtémoc González Barrón), and then celebrates by taking the orphans on a field trip--in a new bus--to Monte Albán. The soundtrack, with memorable and original contributions from Beck, Danny Elfman, and Black himself alongside classics from Mister Loco, Caetano Veloso and Eddie Santiago, is outstanding. There was talk of a follow-up, but I think ultimately the sequel was "outsourced" from Mexico to China: Kung Fu Panda (2008), in which another portly and comical Jack Black character overcomes the odds to excel in a physically demanding discipline.

In contrast, Casa de mi Padre is a jarringly and explicitly violent film, in spite of the ham-handed meta-cinematic production error jokes. Ferrell's film is all the more disturbing and acerbic, precisely because it's funny even though it has a serious message about the violence of drug trafficking. An offbeat love scene between Ferrell's Armando Alvarez and Armando's brother's fiancée Sonia (Génesis Rodríguez), featuring the absurdly prolonged squeezing of bare buttocks, is contrasted with the graphic violence of a ripped-from-the-headlines wedding party narco-massacre. Entre broma y broma, la verdad se asoma / Much truth is said in jest: the final dialogue, after a US federal agent turns on his corrupt boss to save Armando and Sonia, sums up the lesson with an exchange something like, "No todos los gringos son malos" / "No todos los mexicanos son narcotraficantes." The film features terrific performances by Diego Luna (Armando's brother Raúl), Gael García Bernal (narco kingpin "Onza"), and the late Pedro Armendáriz, Jr. (the Alvarez paterfamilias), as well as an original soundtrack with contributions from Ferrell and other cast members, and Cristina Aguilera. 

While Jack Black plays his character with a comic Mexican-accented English in the English-language Nacho Libre, Will Ferrell actually delivers his lines in Spanish alongside the rest of the Spanish-speaking cast of Casa de mi Padre. This makes the latter a subtitled film in the American market - a gamble the producers must have been willing to take based on Ferrell's fame and on the importance of Spanish-speaking audiences worldwide.

I find that the people who tend to appreciate these two films the most, are those who are familiar with both Mexican culture and United States culture. Especially the symbolically rich visual detail of Oaxaca and the nuanced musical references in Nacho Libre get lost on viewers unfamiliar with Mexican cultural expressions. Likewise for Casa de mi Padre it helps to have a visual and plot-based familiarity with Mexican telenovelas and classic films of the Epoca de Oro. Ultimately, both of these films are silly and self-conscious in their winking Mexican-ness, but all in good fun, and while simultaneously offering up lessons on humility and ethical courage.