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 São Paulo held its St Patrick's day celebrations early this year as U2 (or Ooh Dois as a Brazilian I know calls them) and painted the town green. Fans queued up for days to buy tickets and the shows were a sell-out. As usual, Bono grabbed the headlines and played the role of the caring committed rock star, which Sting (remember him?) created about 20 years ago.
However, instead of being photographed next to an Indian chief, with plates in his mouth and feathers on his head, as Sting so memorably did, Bono's photo opportunity was with none other than President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bono invited himself to lunch and since Lula's gift of the gab hints at an Irish forefather he and Bono must have had a good blether. Bono's rapturous welcome was not universally shared as some Brazilians are starting to get a bit fed up with foreign do-gooders visiting their country and mouthing platitudes. The Folha de S. Paulo newspaper ran an article accusing Bono of being a politically correct bore. If you don't agree, I'm sure the following tosh which Bono produced during one of the concerts will convince you: "Martin Luther King did not just have an American dream but an Irish dream, a Latin American dream. Sing for Peru, for Chile, for Argentina, for Brazil." Mick Jagger Visits São Paulo's Hogwarts As Bono was fretting about human rights in Latin America, Mick Jagger was also in São Paulo following the Rolling Stones concert in Rio de Janeiro. Whereas Bono the philanthropist was charging fans to listen to him, the Stones, who are notoriously money-minded, gave their show for free. This was a generous gesture and allowed people of all classes to watch the concert. Pity St Bono and his pals did not do likewise. However, Jagger was not in São Paulo to have tea with Lula or tour a favela but to visit his young son who is a pupil at the posh British school called St Paul's. This is a kind of Brazilian Hogwarts and probably the only school in São Paulo where the pupils wear uniforms and ties rather than the shapeless tee-shirts and shorts with a logo that pass as uniforms in other schools, private and public. No doubt Sir Michael Jagger felt at home when he saw the big Union Jack hanging outside the building and learned that lessons were bilingual. After all, Jagger himself was once a middle class schoolboy. Since then, he has spent four decades fooling the world that he is some kind of Mississippi bluesman - an English Muddy Waters or Blind Willie McTell. Dylan's Turn Next The next bunch of up-and-coming and has-been rock stars set to visit us include Coldplay, Oasis, Santana and Bob Dylan. Hopefully they will stick to playing their music and keeping their political opinions to themselves. Although Dylan became famous back in the 60s for his "protest songs", he never regarded himself as a political animal at all. In his autobiography, which was published recently, he writes of his annoyance and frustration at being presented as the voice of his generation. Despite having produced some of the best lyrics ever written, Dylan is surprisingly inarticulate in expressing himself and thankfully usually keeps his mouth shut. If only Bono would do likewise. It will be interesting to see if Dylan sings "Mozambique" from the "Desire" album, an unusually happy song which has a reference to a "Portugal bar". I was always curious about the origin of this song and wondered if it had any connection with Mozambique which used to be a Portuguese colony. An Internet search was entertaining and rewarding. While one Dylan fan claimed it was about the country, which plunged into a terrible civil war after the Portuguese fled, a better informed fan gave a more likely explanation. He said Mozambique was the name of a beach in northern California where Dylan used to spend time with his wife and kids. Another song on this album "Sarah" refers to idyllic family holidays on the beach so it may well be true. Johnny Cash Falls on Deaf Ears I had a pleasant experience recently when I went to see the film John and June, based on the life of Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter. The cinema was virtually empty and it was a pleasure to watch the movie without having to listen to the sound of people chomping popcorn, slurping Coke and talking on their cellulars. I was a little surprised at this lack of interest since Johnny Cash had become a bit of an icon to up-and-coming groups, including our friend Bono, just before he died. Although Cash's style was different from anything found in Brazilian music there is a kind of country and western music called sertaneja. In fact, one of the most popular films made in Brazil recently Os Dois Filhos de Francisco (Two Sons of Francisco) tells the story of sertaneja duo brothers Zezé di Camargo & Luciano. John Fitzpatrick is a Scottish writer and consultant with long experience of Brazil. He is based in São Paulo and runs his own company Celtic Comunicações. He can be contacted at
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. You can read more by him at his site www.brazilpoliticalcomment.com.br. © John Fitzpatrick 2006
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Anyone interested in rock music history, and maybe meeting a few legendary characters, should check out the site
Coldplay and Oasis are up and coming? Have you hd your head buried in the sand recently? They are two of the biggest bands on the planet.
"The cinema was virtually empty and it was a pleasure to watch the movie without having to listen to the sound of people chomping popcorn, slurping Coke and talking on their cellulars."
The idiocy of this statement is almost indescribable! You make yourself sound like a self centred tyrant with nothing better to do but complain about anything you can think of.
This whole article was poor, you may have good gramatical ability, but you certainly have no idea how to write an interesting piece. My advice to you is this - Start enjoying life and don't be so insecure with yourself, then maybe you might be able to appreciate the differences between cultures an accept them. If all your articles about your contempt for the Brasilian way of life, leave!