Carnaval 2008 - Viradouro to Present Holocaust Theme

The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro began this weekend.

eFluxMedia reports that a carnival float showing the victims of the Holocaust and a Hitler figure was banned from participating at the Rio Carnival after the Jewish community opposed to it. Yesterday a judge issued an injunction that will not allow the samba group to participate at the parade with the Holocaust-theme float after the Jewish Federation of Rio de Janeiro, the Fierj, filled a lawsuit against it, the Associated Press reports. José Roitberg, a federation spokesman, said: "It's inadmissible that they could have a parade float depicting dead Jews and a live Hitler on top of them. “The samba school Unidos do Viradouro, which came with the idea of the Holocaust, said that the theme was made in order to remind the people about the horrors in the past and to try to prevent them from happening again. Paulo Barros, the creative director of Viradouro said it was a respectful reminder of the Holocaust. He said: "This an extremely serious work, and people think we're mocking," Telegraph.co.uk informs. Judge Juliana Kalichszteim from the Rio de Janeiro state said: “Carnival should not be used as an instrument of hatred, any kind of racism and clear trivialization of barbaric and unjustified acts against minorities. “The Holocaust theme float of the Viradouro group was one of the several planned by the samba school to use as part of its theme “It Gives You Goose Bumps.” Another float by them represents cold, fear and birth. Viradouro is scheduled to parade on Monday and it didn’t say if it will have a live Hitler. According to the judge, the group can participate, but it will have to remove the mannequins that stand in for the dead bodies. If they will ignore the order they will be fined with $113,000 and $28,000 for every dancer that is dressed like Hitler. The Carnival is an annual festival held in Rio de Janeiro 40 days before Easter. It marks the beginning of the fast and is a major tourist attraction. Rio Carnival is an official competition made up of 12 separate parades of the samba schools from the city’s favelas and lasts four nights.

The Carnival started on Sunday. The 12 schools of samba presented a parade of 80 minutes with hundreds of dancers and musicians dressed in different costumes, each school depicting a theme on the float. At the end of it one of the samba schools is declared a winner.

My favorite is still Beija-Flor. They won last year, and this one they are between the favourites. I'll update later with the results for 2008.

Article from www.efluxmedia.com ; Foto: Desfile da Beija-Flor by José Patrício/Agência Estado for carnaval2008.terra.com.br

Shocking News

I'm not returning to this blog with good news, but somehow I wanted to leave a small homage to one of my favorite actors, Heath Ledger, who was just found dead yesterday in New York.

I was at work when I first read the news on CNN site, and remained stunned for a few minutes, incapable of reacting. I hate what celebrity does to really good artists, and I really don't agree with what someone I know said, that all truly good artists, staring with Van Gogh - a well known opium addict - have some sort of addiction that "allows" them to create, to express themselves.

Heath was only 28... cute guy, father of a 2 year old girl, Academy Award-nominated... And he had such a great and addictive smile...

I first saw him act in "10 Things I Hate About You", maybe the only "teenage" movie I like to watch without getting bored. I found him charming, funny, cute as a devil, and promising. I always laugh when I see that movie, Heath and Julia Stiles are do great together... I mean, how can you not, when you have dialogs like...

Patrick: Well maybe you're not afraid of me but I'm sure you've thought about me naked, huh?
Kat Stratford: [sarcastically] Am I that transparent? I want you, I *need* you, oh baby, oh baby.

or...

Patrick: Hey there girly... how you doin'?
Kat Stratford: Sweating like a pig actually and yourself?
Patrick: Now there's a way to get a guy's attention huh?
Kat Stratford: My mission in life but obviously I struck your fancy so you see it worked... the world makes sense again.

Then I loved him in "Casanova", cried next to him in "Candy", remembered childhood and fairy tales when I saw "The Brothers Grimm", adored him in "The Patriot", "A Knight's Tale", "Ned Kelly", even in "Brokeback Mountain".

Heath Ledger was born in Perth, Australia, and named Heathcliff Andrew after the main characters of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights." He began acting at a local theater as a child.

Ledger's first American film was the teen comedy "10 Things I Hate About You" in 1999, and he immediately attracted attention from Hollywood. He passed up several scripts before taking a role in the Revolutionary War drama "The Patriot" in 2000 and "A Knight's Tale" in 2001. He also played a supporting role in "Monster's Ball," among other films.

"In a way I was spoon-fed a career," he told the Glasgow Herald in 2005. "It was fully manufactured by a studio that believed it could put me on their posters and turn me into a product. ... I hadn't figured out properly how to act, and all of a sudden I was being thrown into these lead roles."

But Ledger was perhaps best known for his 2005 portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in "Brokeback Mountain," about two cowboys who had a secret romantic relationship. The role earned him an Oscar nomination.

"I felt that choices were being made for me, so I feel this has been my time now to find the good stories and test myself," Ledger told the Glasgow Herald in the 2005 interview. "It has been an interesting year, where I finally have a sense of accomplishment."

Ledger has a daughter, Matilda Rose, born in 2005 to his then-girlfriend, Michelle Williams, who played his on-screen wife, Alma, in "Brokeback Mountain." The couple have since separated.

News taken from cnn.com ; Shoking News© 2008 moonlight ; PHOTO from upload.moldova.org