#look at Vinícius HE WAS SO FUCKING GREAT

[realmadridfamily]

No this is big lies Madrid don’t love him how about carlo ancelotti congrats and support vini (2ed) and Carvajal (4th ) but not Bellingham (3rd) exactly after the ballon D’or , never not even once supporting him for ballon D’or after the great solo carried his team for whole fucking hlaf of the season ( w vini out for 3m) to reach final stages and win the liga even after everything the president go on press conference mentioning every single player even the one left except Bellingham

Bellingham was shitty at bayren game and everyone sslander him on that , same with euros he was shity except for some moments and great great final game so its the right for england to be hard on him ( messi face it, every single player showed for his club face iit) it always national team priority for fans and media ( cause logically they will except you to be better for the national team not worse any less than good is disappointing)

But it look like bellingham loves and ok if madrid media take shit about him ( since last games and even at the season beginning) but not ok if England did that

Even his action bellingham want to be captain for england even that not even close now but he can’t pull these moves and attitude in madrid

I was talking about Madridistas, about fans. Don't accuse me of lying if you can't read with understanding :) He and Vinicius are the ones people are most crazy about. Carlo's congratulations were ironic. If someone didn't get the message, it's their problem. I've said it a few times already, Vinicius was supported the most when it turned out he had the best chances. The funny thing is Real Madrid are currently being criticized for instead of focusing on the Vinicius campaign they also focused on Dani and Jude. So you criticise Real Madrid for something they didn't do while now the club is being criticised for actually doing it O.o President? Florentino said: "My opinion is that this year the Ballon d'Or should have clearly gone to a Real Madrid player, regardless of the criteria. It could have been Vinícius, as most fans around the world were asking for. The majority of L'Équipe readers in the newspaper's poll chose Vinícius, with 41% of votes to 13% for the second player. It could have been our captain Dani Carvajal, if they had given extra weight to his European Championship win with Spain. It could have been Jude Bellingham, who reached the Euro final and had an extraordinary season. It's really hard to explain why a Real Madrid player didn't win." I don't see any favoritism here, just a statement of fact. His words are also a summary of the entire "campaign". How the media treated Jude is his feeling, not mine. If he felt a difference then there was a difference. The media in Spain (it also depends on which media we are talking about, Catalan or Madrid-based) are specific and can bite if they want to. It's obvious he will be criticized if there's a reason, but he hasn't been "attacked". Many legends could say something about this (Cristiano, Bale or Benzema). Recently there has been more explanation for him and demands that Carlo finally put him in his position. Anyway, it's not a comparison of who is better or worse, who can do what and who cannot. The media will always look for something sensational, but there are also limits of respect that may have been crossed. These are HIS feelings. If he keeps repeating with a big smile that he wants to stay here because he feels great, it means he feels loved.

[am-flying-solo]

OOC WEEK: Day Two

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

 (I'm so excited for this one, it's so rare for me to be able to tell gringos about my culture and my country ok, I'm sorry in advance for the amount of videos and links I'm gonna throw here.)

What country are you from?

The big political mess that is Brazil. Born and raised! I'm originally from Fortaleza, in the northeast, one of the poorest regions in the country, known for: its amazing beaches, sex tourism for wealthy gross foreigners and the severe droughts during most of the year. I moved to Brasília, the capital, when I was seven. It's a planned city known for having a desert/savannah climate, lots of politicians and modern architecture (by Oscar Niyemeyer). Now I live in São Paulo, the country's biggest urban center. Who knows where I might go next?

What is your first language? Do you speak any other languages?

My first language is Portuguese. I also speak English (well, obviously) and some Spanish.

What language would you like to learn?

SO MANY. Ok, first maybe German or Russian, but I'd also like to learn French at some point. I've been practicing ASL online, as well as LIBRAS (Brazilian sign language), but it may take me a while.

What’s one movie from your country that you like (or recommend others see)?

This is a hard question, because there are so many that I'd like people to watch, but I can't even find subtitled trailers for most of them on youtube, so bear with me. The most well-known Brazilian movie may be CITY OF GOD. It's gotten a few Oscars and it was a hit on Cannes back in 2002. It's such a gritty, violent reflex of life in the slums of Rio. Most of the actors weren't even properly trained actors, they were real people from the community in which the movie is set. It makes the film even more authentic. Those people are acting out their real lives on screen.

Another big favorite is the drama/dark comedy STOMACH - A GASTRONOMIC STORY. It tells the twisted tale of an amazing cook, with a clever twist - he's in prison. It's funny and dark, with an unexpected ending.  

If you're bored and you have access to Netflix, you might want to check out 3%, the new Brazilian dystopian sci-fi series that offers an interesting latin american take on a genre that's been predominantly american for ages.

I can literally spend all day making movie lists to suggest, someone stop me. 

Pick a song from your country (or in your language) and talk about why you like it

Again, there's so many! But these are some of my favorites:

PANIS ET CIRCENCES by OS MUTANTES, a post-modern critique of the apathy of the bourgeoisie: 

CONSTRUÇÃO (Construction) by CHICO BUARQUE, a neo-concrete poem about the ordinary tragedy in the life of a common construction worker who dies on the job, and a social critique about the hardship of the working class:

And the more recent AMOR MARGINAL by JOHNNY HOOKER, literally translated to "Delinquent Love", a song about love affairs on the margins of society.

Pick a classic song from your country - aka one that everyone knows, one that’s representative of your country, etc

The most well known Brazilian song is probably GAROTA DE IPANEMA (Girl From Ipanema) BY TOM JOBIM AND VINÍCIUS DE MORAES. A classic Bossa Nova song so iconic that Frank Sinatra himself has recorded a cover:

The song that represents my northeastern roots and the place I'm proud to call home, however, is ASA BRANCA (White Wing - it's a type of bird) by LUIS GONZAGA. It's about the long droughts, the plight of the field workers that had to leave the countryside for better opportunities as their cattle and the harvest died, and the hope that the first rain would bring:

What’s a book from your country (or in your language) that you’d recommend?

The first book that comes to mind, and the most inherently brazilian piece of literature for me, is GRANDE SERTÃO VEREDAS, known in english as THE DEVIL TO PAY IN THE BACKLANDS, by GUIMARÃES ROSA. It's widely considered one of the most important south american books of all times, though it's no easy read.

check it out HERE.

It tells the story of Riobaldo, a mercenary in the dawn of the 20th century that, upon reaching old age, decides to tell his story. It's got everything. Outlaws, war, death, a deal with the devil, homoerotic subtext, you name it.    

What’s your favourite childhood story from your country or culture?

Since we're all about werewolves here, I'm going to tell y'all the werewolf story every Brazilian child was told. Unlike the european tradition, in Brazil, a werewolf (we call it Lobisomem) is believed to be the seventh son after six girls. Most stories say they transform on Fridays at midnight on a crossroad, and they can only turn back if they return to that same crossroad at dawn. Some stories say they must cross seven cemeteries before the day breaks to be able to return to human form. They're bloodthirsty and they're said to be specially fond of eating unbaptized babies, which prompted people to baptize their kids as fast as they could.

If you kill a werewolf when they're transformed, they'll return to human form, so you'll end up with no proof that the man you just killed was a Lobisomem. But if you know who he is, and say his name before he expires, he'll stay in wolf form. 

Talk about a tradition from your country or culture that you love celebrating:

Definitely the Festa de São João (Feast of Saint John). It's celebrated on June (usually around the 24th, but it's such a big deal that it happens all over the month), and it's similar to a county fair. There's folk music, square dances, games, a big bonfire and lots of delicious food - mostly corn based. So much corn. People dress up, it's great. It looks like this:

Fave food from your country/culture:

THIS IS TOO HARD. But I'll go with FEIJOADA. It's basically this big ass stew of black beans and pork (usually ribs, bacon, ears, tongue, feet, tail - whatever you wanna throw in), sausage and bay leaves. We eat it with rice, kale with butter and orange slices. It's the best thing ever, I promise.

Best season of the year in your country?

To be honest our seasons here are like hot, hotter, hot as fuck and hellfire. We don't get four defined seasons in tropical countries. I like winter because it's usually less hot. Usually.

What’s one thing that you wish you could change about your country? Why?

Politics. I'm sorry guys, I'm gonna get super political here for a moment: our political system is bred and based on corruption since our colony days, we just suffered a coup d'etat, and we're drowning in economical neoliberalism, which is crushing our already overworked, underfed working force. We're still licking our wounds from 30 years of a bloody military dictatorship. We live to work while our politicians live in luxury, and a brutal military police exterminates people in the slums with no accountability. We're the number one in LGBTQ murders IN THE WORLD, which makes me feel for my safety constantly. We're a dystopian future already. 

Down with capitalism, I'm all for the revolution.

What’s one thing that you’re proud of about your country?

You see, I struggle with this, because I'm deeply involved with politics and sometimes I just feel hopeless about it all. But if anything, I'm proud of my people's artistic sensibility. From oppression, we've created amazing art, we've fought censorship and torture and exile and we still had the heart to create. That's no easy feat.

Name a country you’d like to visit. 

ALL OF THEM. But uh, Ukraine. 

Top three cities you’d like to visit: 

Chernobyl, Paris, Koshu.

What’s the best place in your country that you’ve ever visited?

Ouro Preto! A historical city in Minas Gerais, full of old buildings, old mines that you can visit, pretty rocks and hills. There are almost no cars on the streets, and the streets are all made of cobblestone, and it's like it has stopped in time. It's amazing.

Have you ever been abroad (out of your country)? If so, where did you go?

Nope. I have no money. Help. 

What are some myths or stereotypes about your country or culture that are either true or are false?

Well, we're known for three things: soccer, carnival and beaches. We are totally crazy about soccer, I won't deny it. Carnaval is also a huge deal. Seriously, it's said the year doesn't start until after Carnaval, because January is all about the prepping for the extended holiday/big fucking parties. Beaches are also amazing. Those are all true. 

We don't, however, live in the jungle. I promise. Don't believe the Simpsons, we don't have monkeys roaming the city either. And no, J.K. Rowling, we don't mysterious golden ruins in the middle of the rainforest, try Ecuador, maybe. And we're not all about sex. Brazilian women are often horribly over sexualized by foreigners. 

And that's your overly-long rant about Brazil! 

De nada!