Eubioticamente atraídos
the tropicalist crusade
Historic Press
THE TROPICALIST CRUSADE
Nelson Motta
Published in Última Hora, February 5, 1968
The film Bonnie and Clyde is currently enjoying tremendous success in Europe, and its influence has extended to fashion, music, decoration, food and customs. The 1930s have come alive in full force. Based on this success, and also on the current pop universe – with “psychedelia” dyng and new trends emerging – a group of filmmakers, journalists, musicians, and intellectuals decided to found a Brazilian movement with possibility of having international repercussion: Tropicalism.
It accepts everything that the tropical life has to offer – without prejudices on the aesthetic level, without hesitations about bad taste and Kitsch – merely living tropicality and the new, still-unknow universe that it contains.
THE PARTY
The release of the Tropicalist crusade would happen at a party at the Copacabana Palace Hotel. The swimming pool would be covered in water lilies, the pergola decorated with palm branches, drinks served in coconuts or pineapples that would also act as lamps, illuminated from within.
The music would be based on the samba ballads of the 1950s, and the menu, quite sophisticated: aperfits: egg shakes and salami sandwiches with Minas cheese (optional); vatapá as the main dish; and marshmallows for dessert. Finally, intead of liqueur, Bromil cough syrup would be served in small chalices.
THE STYLE
While linen suit, supremely elegant. But careful with the lapels, which should be as wide as possible. Navy Blue suits with white stripes are also permitted, but only when worn with red rayon ties.
The shirt must be of nylon, preferably with large genstone buttons. A pearl on the tie, of course, while the most sophisticated may wear an emerald or turquoise stone, which, as everyone knows, is the Fashionable gem.
There is a trend toward promoting pants identical to Renal Borghi’s in The Candle King, the pansexual pants.
For the beach, the fashion is Bermuda shorts made of nylom but with their lenght reduced by manual Folding, as well as a white linen shirt that would also have its sleeves folded up with care. Caps, many caps around the Fourth liifeguard station at the beach – white caps with green transparent plastic visors (to protect: against the sun). But the most desired: Pay-Ban sunglasses. Or mirrored ones.
Turquoise, orange, hot pink, and green-yellow are the fashionable colors, worn by women in dresses cut off at the knee and opening out in great circles. Petticoats, lots of them, and starched, are always good. Hair spray, Iiters of hair spray, for every woman to create giant hairdos – the higher the hair, the more beautiful. Tropicalism triumphs.
For the men to stay up to par, the great novelty is hair coloring. Even before hair turns gray, it gives just “that” light blue tone to it. The color for hair is “turkey wing” with lots of Royal Briar gel, which highlights and perfumes the Style.
THE LIFE
It is time to abandon foreign influences and create our own great mystics. Those who have Arigó don’t need Muriaachi Maeshi anymore. Posters must be released wiith the great national figures of tropicalism, so that everyone can display in their living rooms gigantic pictures ofAdemar de Barros, Leonel Brizola, and Benedito Valadares – important precursors of Tropicalism.
One day the news hits: Chico Buarque and MPB4 are going to Jau, where they will be meditating with Joaozinbo da Goméia. Soon, thousands of youth will be invading Jau, the new city-sanctuary of Brazil.
Magaldi and Maia will be using a new style of advertising based on the Casas Pernambucanas, which is shown in theater reviews and mainly, in the “see before you, illustrious passenger, what a handsome dandy … ”
Photographs in black-and-white, but hand painted. Pay attention to the the light blush of the faces. Down with Ektachrome.
THE ART
We need to renovate Brazil’s art. More than ever, it is necessary to rehabilitate Qswaldo Teixeiira, bring still-lifes to homes once more – the copper and bronze stains, fruit spread out over the middle. Let’s return to the purity of forms the mastery and delicacy of the line. Get rid of Portinari and Antonio Dias!
The names indicated For the Federal Theater Counsel wi11 be Gomes Leal and Americo Leal, the wonderful inventors of the noon to midnight strip shows: the striptease starts when you arrive. Paissandu will be abandoned to the flies while Cineac will live out its glory: the greatest sin within everyone’s reach, the true truth-cinema.
The samba-ballad, national song style, will experience its greatest splendor, and the cavaquinho will be elected the instrument in fashion, replacing the old-fashioned and foreign electric guitars. Every young person will have a cavaquinho and many groups will emerge – many of them regional, all standardized and whit the indispensable straw hat, since the panama hat is only for wearing on the street, whit a linen suit.
As long as Tom Jobim and Vinicius exist, Tropicalism will never work. Large portraits of Vicente Celestino and Gilda de Abreu should illuminate the bedrooms of young people and act as the unattainable ideal of perfect love and worldview.
It is hereby proclaimed: the end to any type oflighting other than rotating glass lamps with illustrations of steam-powered trains or else models fashioned from conch shells.
Also valid are red or green lights accompanied by the image of Saint George, which must always be placed above the crystal cabinet.
Porcelain penguins only on top of the refrigerator. On top of the refrigerator, any other type of animal is tolerated, as long as it is made of porcelain and covered in leather.
In the blender, a large Bahian skirt made of plastic is suitable and for handle on the fridge, nothing is better than a big fish, also made of plastic. Plastic and porcelain are the perfect materials of Tropicalism.
THE PHILOSOPHY
“Tell me who you out with and I’ll tell you who you are.” “I’m a man who has worked tem years without taking a vacation.” “Thank God I don’t owe anyone anything and my house lacks nothing.” “I raised my clildren and married off my daughters and can rest in peace.” “The best perfumes are in the smallest bottles.”
“If it’s this delicious green, what will you say when it’s ripe?” “The little dog has a telephone ?” “She was the daugther-in-law mommy wanted.” “A daugther of mine will never do that.” “Separated or whore, it’s all the same to me.” “Modern art is for deceiving dopes.” “Do you think I’m a fool?” “ In my day, there was none of this.”
These and other phrases of the same ilk, as well as almost all of the proverbs in the Porteguese language, will form the master narrative of the philosophy of Tropicalist life. Mother’s Day, New Yars’s, and Christmas are the most important holidays because Tropicalism demands events and occasions. The commemorations will take place in the open air, in contact with nature, in endless picnics where there will be oranges, bananas, grilled green beans, bottels of guaraná with milk in them, and rolls of brown paper. Down with dinners and cocktails. Long live the picnic!
Don’t miss the baptisms and the parties on September 7! It’s so cool!
Saint George is our saint and carnival is our party.
For a tropical world! For the sun! For brasilian swing!
Long live the tropics! Long live the tropics! Long live the tropics!
P.S. Don’t forget that men’s shoes must always be two-toned and that the noblest material is crocodile or snake skin. For women, the heels, covered in satin, should be very high and thin, and the toe as pointy as possible.