Cowboy Ronald Reagan and Brazil's Mystique

Brazil is the last big frontier of retirement for Americans. The city
of Barretos is on the road for those Americans who live and love
the country lifestyle. Whether Reagan's legacy has any meaning
for Brazilians in Brazil, Barretos can only gain by honoring
President Reagan in a city where the cowboy is still king.

Edgardo Quintanilla

A significant legacy of President Ronald Reagan is that image embodies the medium and the message. It is the photo of Reagan riding a horse and dressed as a cowboy while waving and flashing a big smile which lingers for some of us. Such picture is a perennial montage of hope in the big frontier.

The only Brazilian place which should put the memory of Reagan to some use is Barretos. Set in the arid northern hinterlands of the state of São Paulo,Barretos is famous for the biggest rodeo of South America, which this year will be celebrated the last week of August.

Recent reports from the Festa do Peão de Boiadeiro indicate that American cowboys are traveling to Barretos to compete, to fall in love, and to enjoy the pleasantries of finding so much in common with their fellow Brazilian cowboys.

Whether it is naming a street after Reagan or erecting a statue of Reagan as a cowboy, Barretos would do homage to the American cowboy lifestyle. It is such way of life which Reagan enjoyed while away from politics.

The use of Reagan's image might bode well for Barretos's economy. It is not a sign of partisanship. It would create a bridge of goodwill and friendship with the Colossus of the North, especially with the western states of the United States.

It would attract more American tourists and dollars. It would place Barretos on the map of cities associated with Reagan. Above all, it would be a celebration of hope in the big frontier which the image of Reagan as a cowboy epitomized.

The big frontier of open spaces and blue skies is basically a myth made in Hollywood. Under the seemingly free and open spaces were always the native indigenous communities who were there before the first American cowboy got into a horse.

The story of how the cowboy won the American West by displacing the indigenous communities is told in such non-fiction books as Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Interestingly, some indigenous communities have publicly celebrated the memory of President Reagan as one who advocated for the rule of tribal government as shown by a June 11, 2004 one-page homage paid by a tribal association of indigenous communities to the Los Angeles Times.

The money used for such ad came from legalized gambling in casinos on tribal lands in California.

In the era of globalization, every town shapes its own destiny and history while never remaining an island unto itself. Whether Barretos wishes to cast its lot in honoring Reagan is up to the people and government of the municipality of Barretos. Even if Barretos decided not to have anything to do with Reagan, the ensuing debate in Barretos would be useful to all of us.

Every year more Americans are attracted to the hope of retiring in Brazil. It is not the lifestyle of big cities that these Americans will be looking, but the comfort and safety of small towns and cities, like Barretos, where the dollar might go a long way. It is better to be a big fish in a small pond.

Brazil is the last big frontier of retirement for Americans. Barretos is on the road for those Americans who live and love the country lifestyle and wish to see the end of their days in Brazil.

Whether one loves or hates Reagan, and whether Reagan's legacy has any meaning for Brazilians in Brazil, Barretos can only gain by considering whether to honor President Reagan in a city where the cowboy is still king.

Edgardo Quintanilla, an American Immigration Lawyer, is a member of the State Bar of California and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He can be reached at eqlaw@pacbell.net.