Rapidinhas

Behavior

Nice Girls &
Naughty Fun

"Born under the sign of fire, at age 23 this Arian is a blazing ember… He is a man for many trips. His dream: to have sex in a crowded train or on top of a horse. Wow." Thus starts a profile on model César Oliveira in the sixth and most recent issue of Íntima, only the latest entry in a stream of magazines being launched in Brazil whose main ingredient is naked men. The men-bare-all glossy mags can be seen in every newsstand these days competing with older publications such as Playboy, Ele e Ela, and Sexy, which have prospered hawking naked women.

While Íntima is the first naked-men Brazilian magazine made for a female audience, gay publications have pioneered in the field catering to those looking for male skin periodicals. Lacking their own publication, women in search of some eye excitement have helped boost the circulation of gay publications like G and Gold. And now the gay public is doing the same for Íntima, representing 15% of the new magazine's readers.

The publishers of Íntima seem to be at a crossroads. Despite the ever-sung female romanticism and fantasy there is a revolt brewing among the magazine's readers who are asking a little more daring offered in the pictures. A forum on the mag's Website with dozens of critical messages against the soft approach to nudity had a sole complimentary note. Signed by Ly, the message said in part, "The magazine is excellent. Artistic nudity is better valued among us women while men prefer pornography."

All the other women who left messages don't seem to agree with her. There are several notes stressing the message, "Down with censorship". Marta, for instance, talks about starting a boycott: "Without penis in an interesting state I will not buy the magazine anymore. I don't know how you dare deprive us of the penis, this is absurd! I don't know who invented the idea that women don't like to see dick in interesting state. Let's boycott the magazine until it shows what interests us. Down with repression!"

Lenora asks: "When are you going to liberate the bilaus? Gee, so much repression! How can I fantasize if I cannot see the object of my desire, gorgeous, big and most of all hard?" Sandra demands equal rights: "Why do only men have the right to see naked women, we women want them naked too."

Clay also seems ready to start a revolution: "I can't get used to all this prejudice that resides in the minds of the men and some women who work in this magazine. Haven't you found out that we are not the same anymore? I want everything that I have the right to. Pricks now!"

Eliza doesn't hide her disappointment: "Where's the dick?", she asks. "What's the purpose to show a naked man without showing what matters the most? When I thought I was going to see it… there was the hand of the poor man covering it. I am livid. Is this magazine perchance owned by a man? We want to see a stop to this."

Carla appears more resigned than revolted: "I suggest you take a look at G Magazine. There you will find men really and totally naked. Lamentably we women still have to consume material destined to the gay public since the media simply ignores our hankerings and sexual desires."

According to G Magazine's editor Marcos Brandão women represent from 30 to 40% of the publication's readership. The closest competition to G, is Gold, created by Bauer, a former G photographer who wanted to show men in even more daring poses and fantasies than those portrayed in G. "We have no limits," he told Rio's daily Jornal do Brasil. "We don't like the idea of showing little buttocks, and shriveled pricks. Everybody wants to see the hot stuff, things on fire."

In Íntima all the naked men are shot by women. Alessandra Levtchenko one of the photographers, explains her work: "My goal is to only reveal the intention of a hard-on, but I need to show something. Women want to see." Under pressure of the readers, Íntima has become a little more daring. Marcos Salles, the publisher of the magazine, recognizes that they started showing frontal nudity when the readers demanded it. "Here the women are the bosses," he says.

Apparently led by the Íntima competition, other women's magazines are also showing more male skin. The Brazilian editions of Elle and Cosmopolitan, which is called Nova in Brazil, started to show more than naked backs of men. Elle went as far as putting for the first time a man on its cover. He is soccer player Raí.

Culture

U Turn

The Academia Brasileira de Letras (Brazilian Academy of Letters) is best known for its afternoon tea and the diplomatic politeness of its 40 ancient venerable members. Lately, however, the academicians have passed more than the teapot during their somnolent meetings. The conversation among the illustrious writers was spiced by a controversy to elect or not a right-wing intellectual to seat 21 left empty by the recent death of Dias Gomes, a well-known leftist playwright.

Vying for Gomes's place—and he ended up winning it—was none other than economist and former finance minister and ex-senator Roberto Campos, one of the brightest minds in the land, but also a man often accused of extreme coziness with the military regime during the two-decade long dictatorship (1964-1985) and unconditional backing of privatizing policies. Campos was Finance minister during General Castelo Branco's presidency (1964-1967). Seat 21 seems predestined to oscillate between the right and the left. Dias Gomes, a communist, succeeded Adonias Filho, who was a fascist, while Adonias himself had replaced Álvaro Moreira, a communist.

Campos got 20 of the votes against 16 for professor Bella Josef, the other candidate. The other two candidates—they didn't get any vote—were educator Hamilton Werneck and unknown Ismael Marinho Falcão. Writer Jorge Amado, another left sympathizer, was the only one who abstained from voting. Although sick, he could have mailed his ballot. According to tradition such an abstention is taken as displeasure with the voting process. Afonso Arinos de Mello Franco also didn't vote. But this was expected since he had not officially been inducted to seat No 17, which was vacated by the death of philologist Antônio Houaiss.

From the other 36 Academy members 20 mailed their votes in and 16 went to cast their ballots personally. Nélida Piñon, who is teaching in the US, mailed her vote. The other two women in the Academy, Lygia Fagundes Telles and Rachel de Queiroz, did the same. Among the women, only Queiroz voted for Campos.

Dias Gomes died in May in a freak taxi accident in São Paulo. His wife, actress Bernadeth Lyzio, threatened to take Gomes's remains from the Academy mausoleum where he was buried if Campos won the vote. Dismissing the declaration of the stepmother, young trumpeter Guilherme Dias Gomes told reporters: "This has to do with her desire to be in evidence. It must be her irresistible syndrome to be in the news."

This was the third time Roberto Campos was a candidate to the Academy. He had lost previously to historian José Scatinburgo and then in 1992 to diplomat Sérgio Rouanet. Used to controversy, Campos commented on his victory while receiving friends at home: "I am a controversial man and not one that draws unanimity, but this exasperation of opinions around ideologies should not exist anymore at a time the world sees the end of ideologies." And he added: "I thought this discussion about left and right had become obsolete. The world is divided today between liberals, like myself, and dirigists."

As for being "immortal", the designation the academicians receive, Campos said lightheartedly, "I consider myself an immortal since the article 230 of the 1988 Constitution, which I helped to put together, said that society has to respect the elderly."

The failed trial for the Academy in 1992 left Campos "disappointed" as he confessed later. In 1995 he was awarded the ABL's José Ermírio de Moraes prize for Lanterna na Popa (Stern Lantern), his memoir book, a 1400-page volume dealing with 50 years of Brazilian history. The work was chosen as the best of the year. Even this nod from the academicians though did not encourage him to try a third time for the Academy.

Open opposition to the Campos candidacy appeared on July when a letter attributed to academician Barbosa Lima Sobrinho, the president of ABI (Associação Brasileira de Imprensa—Brazilian Press Association) announced his opposition to Campos and made an appeal that the Academy members vote against the economist. Lima Sobrinho denied being the author of the letter, but restated his dissatisfaction with the Campos candidacy.

The Academy ritual calls for a ceremony in which ABL president Arnaldo Niskier burns the ballots after the election and announces that the winner was chosen by unanimity. Another myth buried by this last election is the one that the vote is secret, even though some academicians refused to tell for whom they cast their ballot.

Loathed Bob

For decades now, Campos (Fields, in English), who considers himself a liberal, has been called Bob Fields by some of his foes, who cannot forgive him for his perceived Americanophilia. Cartoonist and writer Jaguar wrote in his column in the Rio daily O Dia: "We cartoonists call him only Bob Fields, hors-concours entreguista (pejorative term meaning a sellout merchant and imperialism's puppet). He must be feeling superb seeing the government dismantle Petrobrás (the state oil monopoly), sticking precisely to his primer.

"But this is too little for so much megalomania. His is lacking the `glory that elevates and consoles,' as stated by Machado (Machado de Assis—1839-1908— Brazilian's grandest writer and the founder of the Academia). He wants to be immortal. With Lex Luthor Machiavellianism he is running for the seat left vacated by Dias Gomes at the ABL—who would believe—Dias who always despised the huckster."

Jaguar ended his diatribe with a threat to the academicians: "If you elect Bob Fields it will be war: I will fulfill my promise to throw rotten eggs at the statue of Machado de Assis the day of the swearing in." Campos's induction to the Academy will occur on October 26, when according to tradition the former minister has to make a speech praising his predecessor in the seat. He already knows in part what he is going to say: "This is a multifaceted institution, in which we don't discuss ideology, only knowledge."

This coming March, the ABL will have another election. There are already four candidates in the race, among them writer Carlos Heitor Cony, who has a guaranteed vote: that of Campos. The novelist defended in his newspaper-syndicated column the need to ignore ideology when choosing a new member in the Academy. He not only did not adhere to a movement to launch his own candidacy to face Campos but also appeared on a TV program backing the economist.

It's customary that the academicians visit the new immortal when he lives in Rio as is the case with Campos. But at least three ABL members didn't do so: jurist Evandro Lins e Silva, economist Celso Furtado, and writer João Ubaldo Ribeiro. All of them voted against Campos.

Summer

Some Like
It Too Hot

Arrastão is the act of dragging and is a fishnet. Arrastão is also the name of a well-known 1965 tune by Edu Lobo and Vinicius de Moraes. But lately arrastão is a term that strikes terror into the hearts of Cariocas (people from Rio). It's a gang raid that generally happens on the beach, with a band of youths acting like a big net and stealing at the same time as much as they can from beachgoers.

The first big arrastão in the news happened in October `92 when organized bands attacked in Ipanema and Copacabana. More than 100 policemen were dispatched to the area before peace was restored. Since then several other big and small incidents of arrastão have been reported. With the arrival of the hot season, Cariocas once again are bracing themselves for the worst. Police reports show there are 42 gangs disputing Rio's South Zone beaches, from Copacabana to Barra.

Most of these gangs come from the favelas (slums) that surround the city, but at least 12 of them are formed by middle-class youngsters who practice jiujitsu. They are a new breed of troublemaker having appeared only in the latest two years. Some of them are also connected to drug trafficking, spanking, and murder.

The four most dangerous areas according to police are Quebra Mar and the sands just in front of the restaurant Bob's, both in Barra and two other sand stretches in Arpoador and Leme beaches. Some of the most dangerous gangs, which carry knives and wood pieces with nails as weapons, have claimed the places as their territory. They are each other's rivals and come from notorious favelas like Mangueira, Cantagalo, Jacarezinho, Morro do Alemão, Cesarão, and Cidade de Deus.

Favela dwellers and jiujitsu practitioners seem to be natural foes in Rio's beaches. Daily O Dia talked to some of the gang leaders. "We want peace, but nobody is going to take us from the beach," said a favela boy nicknamed Rato do Sapê (Sape Grass Rat), adding: "We have less to lose than they have." To what Macarrão do Country (Country Noodle) from a rival tribe moored in Ipanema retorted, "Funkers and farofeiros (chow pan eaters) are not allowed here. We don't allow arrastão either."

When the gang gets together trouble starts even before they arrive at the beach and bury their guns and knives in the sand, according to a recent police report. It's common for them to mug on their way there. It's usual also for them to smoke pot and ransack buses. Some fear that a recent spate of gang violence against buses is just a harbinger of things to come. More than 130 buses where ransacked recently during the Independence Day (September 7) extended holidays.

Accusing the police of racism and of looking the other way when dealing with the jiujitsu gangs, a 17 year-old from the Fubá (Cornmeal) gang identified only as D.A. announced that things will heat up in the coming summer: "We won't run from the war. We go to the beach to play in the water, but we won't be humiliated. This summer we will invade the Zona Sul (south zone) beaches. The enemies are forewarned."

To what X, 24, from the Farme de Amoedo band replies: "Here they will not come. They can even pass by, but if they stay it will be hard to avoid confrontation. We need to impose respect, to defend our territory. If we get lax these suburbanites will take it over and it's going to be hell."

Times are going to be tough for the 400 or so lifeguards from the G-Mar (Grupamento Marítimo do Corpo de Bombeiros do Rio—Rio's Fire Department Maritime Group). Just in case, together with saving techniques and swimming exercises they have been practicing judo and jiujitsu.

Behavior

Cheap,
Cheap
Sex

Promotion: Pay $10 and spend one hour of pleasure with a beautiful woman. Tel: 294-6850. Check it out!

Sauna Très Chic, for man, relax, $5. From 2 PM to 11 PM daily. Rua 21 nº 71 Downtown. Tel: 212-0573.

Andreza _ Blonde, soft to the touch, tender, pretty face and tasty mouth. Complete service. $15. Tel: 944-6052.

Cláudia _ Blonde, 34, light eyes, small breasts, round and retroussé butt. Complete service. $10. Tel: 242-1837.

Camilinha _ A little-girl-style pussycat, 5"1', brunette, hard body, pretty naughty. I adore pleasing who makes love to me. Tel: 242-1944.

GERAÇÃO 2000 _ With 16 girls to better serve you. Check it out. Promotion: Erotic massage from 10 AM to 8 PM with room + condom free. $5. Rua 240 Qd. 64 Lt. 40, St. Coimbra. Tel: 291-4190.

This is just a small sample of dozens of ads from the Escort category, which were published on Diário da Manhã, the leading Goiânia (capital of the state of Goiás) daily on a random day, September 28, 1999, a Tuesday. Ads like this and even in more vivid description have been common for years and are found daily in every large paper across the country. What calls attention to the DM advertising is the incredibly cheap prices at which sex is being offered.

Excessive competition, dwindling clientele, and economic hard times have drawn prices down steeply in the Goiás sex market as shown in the ads published at the DM and O Popular, another daily from the area. In one such a complete sex program including the lady, room and a condom is offered for a mere $5 (or 10 reais theses days). Two of the places offering such a program during its happy hour (from 10 AM to 8 PM) are Meson and Geração 2000 (Generation 2000). These are blue-collar places. More sophisticated houses, however, are also in a cutthroat competition. Real Privê, Platinnum and Estância NM, among others, offer striptease all day long and credit cards are accepted to pay for munchies as well as for copulation.

The girls for sale seem to approve the price cuts, which reduce their own paychecks. Talking to Diário da Manhã, Renata, an expert in "erotic massage", a code name for sex, commented: "Today it is very hard to find a man willing to spend $25 in an erotic session even if he has this kind of money." DM also listened to businessman Márcio Delon, 36, who frequents theses places: "It sure is a different promotion. But I still want to know the level of the women."

Memory

Taciturn
Creator

"The written word always attracted me. I still didn't know how to read, but loved to keep watching the letters on pieces of paper, on all kinds of labels, on wall calendars and then I would try to copy the letters with coal on the sidewalks and walls, or on the floor with a little stick. As soon as I learned how to read I suffered a kind of disappointment. To me the stories I read seemed inferior to those that I imagined when I only could look at the letters. But that was because I lived in a very small town where all there was to read was the schoolbook. Only at age 12 when they took me to a bigger city I had access to other books and the enchantment came back and continues till this date."

Considered the most important Brazilian master of the fantastic realism current, José J. Veiga, who died September 19 from pancreatic cancer, at age 84 in Rio, didn't like to give interviews. The quotation above comes from one of the rare occasions in which he agreed to talk publicly about himself and his work. Probably he wouldn't care to know that his death was almost completely ignored by the Brazilian press.

The Goiás media were among the few to mention his passing. After all José Jacinto Veiga was a son from that state even though he had spent his life in Rio. Veiga was born on February 2, 1915 on a ranch between Corumbá and Pirenópolis. He moved to Rio when he was 20, after having finished high school at the Liceu de Goiás in Goiás Velho, the former capital of the state.

In Rio he was a shop attendant, prescription drugs peddler, radio announcer, and public servant. He graduated from Rio's law school Faculdade Nacional de Direito in 1943, but opted for being a journalist. In 1945 he moved to London to work for the BBC radio programs in Portuguese as a translator and commentator. After coming back to Brazil in 1949 the writer worked as journalist for the dailies O Globo and Tribuna da Imprensa, and for the Reader's Digest Brazilian edition.

His debut as a fictionist happened in 1958 with the publication of a series of short story in the Sunday literary supplement of Jornal do Brasil. Veiga was already 44 when he published in 1959 his first book, Os Cavalinhos de Platiplanto (Platiplanto's Little Horses), a collection of short stories, which won two national literary prizes: the Prêmio Fábio Prado de Literatura from the Brazilian Chamber of Book and the Prêmio Monteiro Lobato. Extremely shy, the writer spent two weeks locked in his house soon after the publication of the book.

Regionalist, gothic and leading representative of the Brazilian fantastic realism were some of the labels attached to Veiga's literary production. His work was translated to several languages, including English, Russian, Czech, Swedish, Spanish and French. In 1997 the ABL (Academia Brasileira de Letras—Brazilian Academy of Letter) gave him a life-achievement award, but he didn't care for the Academia and was opposed to literary theory, which according to him was a hindrance to literary creativity.

He was a good friend of late Guimarães Rosa, considered Brazil's greatest contemporary fictionist. Curiously they were both cat lovers and became friends after their wives struck up a friendship, having met in a veterinarian's office waiting room.

Bibliography:

A Hora dos Ruminantes (The Hour of the Ruminants), 1966

A Máquina Extraviada (The Misplaced Machine), 1968

Sombra de Reis Barbudos (Shadow of Bearded Kings), 1972

Os Pecados da Tribo (The Tribe's Sins), 1976.

De Jogos e Festas (Of Games and Parties), 1981

Aquele Mundo de Vasabarros (That World of Vasabarros), 1982

Torvelinho Dia e Noite (Whirl Day and Night), 1985

A Casca da Serpente (Serpent Skin), 1989

O Risonho Cavalo do Príncipe (The Prince's Laughing Horse), 1992

O Relógio Belisário (The Belisário Clock), 1995

Objetos Turbulentos (Turbulent Objects), 1998

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