Ministro Gilberto Gil em Luanda e o Brasil na África

O show do ministro Gil em Luanda foi o maior sucesso... a visita tb foi útil de acordo com a Reuters (que tenta explicar os "dreadlocks" usados pela nossa diplomacia...)

Gil, who has released more than 40 albums and helped found the counterculture Tropicalist movement that revolutionized Brazilian music in the 1960s, said he saw no conflict between his roles as a government minister and a feel-good ambassador for Brazilian joie de vivre.

"The arrangement that I made with the president and the government in Brazil is that I dedicate 80 percent of my time to the ministry and 20 percent of my time to my music, to my profession," the star said, perched on a leather armchair after his show.

A reportagem mostra tb nossa influência cultural...

Brazilian culture, largely transmitted through television soap operas, has had a huge impact on Angola in recent years. Many Angolan households gather round their TV sets every evening to watch "Clone," the latest soap to be rebroadcast on state television.

For those equipped with satellite dishes, there is Brazil's largest broadcaster Globo with yet more soaps, plus news, views and Portuguese-language chat shows from the other side of the Atlantic, 24 hours a day.

Even Angolans without access to television can swing to the Bossa Nova beat thanks to the Brazilian music played on local radio stations.

Most Angolans say they like all things Brazilian -- from the music to the fashion -- and some teen-agers are reportedly beginning to speak Portuguese like the Brazilians.

"We have many relations with Brazil, from culture, to dancing, to way of life. And we in Angola, we like Brazil, we're united with him. We're like brothers," said Edson Miranda, a student of Capoeira -- a fusion of martial art, dance and gymnastics that originated in Africa, evolved in Brazil and is making a big come-back in Angola.

De acordo com a MSNBC., o ministro Gil vai tirar um mês de folga do governo para fazer um tour pela Europa.

Mesmo nos países africanos que não falam português temos alguma influência... A Nigéria (que causou alta nos preços do petróleo hj - veja BBC), por exemplo, não assimilou até agora a derrota por 3x0 dos "Eagles" para os "Canarinhos", posteriormente humilhados pelos "Leões" de Camarões na tal da Copa das Confederações. Vale dar uma olhada nesse artigo do nigeriano Vanguard comparando os dois países no futebol e na vida real...

Statistically, there isn’t much difference between Brazil and Nigeria. Both countries have populations of well over one hundred million each, with sharp differences across the divide. Whereas, that of Brazil is along race lines, that of Nigeria is mostly amongst the competing ethnic groups as epitomised by the three majors of Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo. Brazil and Nigeria have both had their share of super power manipulations which have sometimes resulted in failed leaderships. If Nigeria is an underdeveloped nation, Brazil is at best a developing nation. We are aware that today Brazil is almost ten times better than us in terms of economic indices (The Economist: The world in 2002 put GDP and the GDP per head at $514 billion and $37 billion; and $3,030 and $314 in favour of Brazil) but that is only because we have not started to harness our potentials. So why Brazilian football and nation is on the ascendancy, ours is on the decline – that is the difference and the pity of it all.

É bacana ver o Brasil como exemplo para qualquer outro país... Mas é bom estarmos indo para o caminho certo...