I am saddened by the lack of quality and passion seen in the "Monday of carnival" by Rio's escolas de samba.
Usually the camarotes, the high-priced private balconies inside Sambodromo, are full hours ahead of time. But this time, you could see gaping holes where obviously nobody had shown up (or had not been able to afford to rent them). On the other side, in the bleachers section, the crowd looked like they had been double-ticketed, they were so packed. That tells me that the recession has well and truly arrived even in the most anticipated touristic event in Brazil's calender.
So far, only Salgueiro have what I consider to be an outstanding overall presentation.
Comically, Ronaldinho Gaucho and Pato of AC Milan called up the Globo presenters to say they were gathered with a group of carnival aficionados in Milan, even at that late hour. They called in specifically to say they were impressed by Salgueiro's band.
I'll post some photos for you to see -- though as Sundries readers know, the photos of the carnival always look fantastic. It's the narration that people like me provide, that separates the mediocre from the outstanding.
Unfortunately, I will have to shuck the chaff from the wheat this year.
It's late, there are still two escolas left to go at 4:30 AM EST, so please forgive me if I am not on time on Tuesday.
Either way, the Junior Senator from Illinois needs to get a lesson in geography fast. I mean, Christ on a swing set, who does he think he is? George W. Bush?
UPDATE Sunday 14:00: Senator Obama gave an important foreign policy speech in Miami, and there's good news, and bad news. WGM struck YET again!
But he also used a word in a context few in his Party have ever used towards a certain Latin American leader.
"Since the Bush Administration launched a misguided war in Iraq, its policy in the Americas has been negligent toward our friends, ineffective with our adversaries, disinterested in the challenges that matter in peoples’ lives, and incapable of advancing our interests in the region.
No wonder, then, that demagogues like Hugo Chavez have stepped into this vacuum."
First of all, this is factually incorrect.
President Hugo Chavez "stepped into" his position of power on 2 February 1999, after his election in 1998.
To those who wish to reply that Obama meant the Bush Administration's policies exacerbated the situation, allowing Hugo Chavez to exploit it, I say, which Bush Administration are you referring to?
Perhaps GHW Bush's in 1992, when Hugo Chavez first attempted a military coup? Which was successfully defended and he was then imprisoned for it?
Because this Bush's foreign policies certainly didn't create any vacuum that allowed a man like Chavez to rise, two years after his incarceration. From 1994 to 1998, the haughty arm's length remove of the Clinton administration contributed to this rise.
It took President Clinton nearly 5 years into his term before he deigned to set foot on South American soil, doing so only on October 13, 1997 (!).
Do you remember his first stop? I do. It was Venezuela.
Gosh, President Clinton. Thanks for keeping your eye on the ball.
But wait, there's good news, as I mentioned. Senator Obama did mention a significant word that the Bush Administration has failed to use in its almost 8 years of existence.
Although some bloggers failed to preface the above quote, they did note that Obama called Chavez a "demagogue".
I realise he was speaking to a largely Cuban/Latin-American crowd here in Miami, as the Senator is desperate to be more amenable to Hispanics in his campaign, having to date failed dismally.
But at least he said it.
Now let's see how Hugo Chavez replies, as last time he called President Bush a queer ("pajarito", the universal Spanish slang word for a homosexual man) a "burro", and a coward.
