Currently, the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympic Games are happening. As per usual, the games attract worldwide attention with spectacle and athleticism. However, Brazilian band Malvina has seen another, ugly side to the events that isn’t televised. As they say in the statement found below, “In one side: the party, the sportive celebration, the medals. Corruption, poverty, lies, power in the other.” In response, they’ve written a protest song by the name of “Scenario”. You can give this a listen just below and find the band’s description of the circumstances under that.
Malvina on “Scenario”
In one side: the party, the sportive celebration, the medals. Corruption, poverty, lies, power in the other. The Olympic games, which happens in the city of Rio de Janeiro connect the highest level of athletes of all modalities from all over the world to a hype in Brazil. The annihitalion, shady deals, ethnic cleansing, unreasonable expenditures and the offensive against the human rights are also included in the games and despite the high sums in make ups, are visible.
Aware of all the ruthless action which begans in 2014 with the World Cup of FIFA, and now with the Olympic games, Malvina will not let it pass in silence as a natural band of Rio. The single called “Scenario” is an invite to the reality behind the false glamour of the sport’s megaevent.
Working on a new album and using the ideas around them as tools, from the punk to progressive music, the band keeps the questioning and resistance position and brings us the duality amongst two antagonistic realities of the Marvelous City. The natural grace of the city and its opulent nobility and the injured and exploited life of citizens which became already invisible for the law and the media. Olympic games can shows the disparity, the distance between the social classes which results in more violence and increases the present political crisis with the public fund undermined by the corruption which infected the country.
The lyrics go directly to the throat of an audience who only is looking for the breaking records, goals, and marked points, the miserable medals of the athletes who also doens’t received the right investment. Far worst than that is the evicted families whom had to leave their homes to make way for the iconic Olympic Ville. The poor and the black people which were under the mire of the ethinic cleansing of the State’s program.
As 2 years ago, Brazil becomes a footbridge to the first World. And as in the World Cup, political, economical and social crimes make the citizens, hostages of tirany. But what about the social benefits which comes along with the development of the city? It proves itself meaningless with more than 94% of the total cost payed by the public fund, despite the public-private partnerships propaganda.
The first World countries are becoming more and more out of megaevent’s routes. As an example, Sweden refuses to be the host for 2022 Winter Olympic Games alledging other priorities. But there’s other aspect that make coherent the interest of emergent countries:
“Politicians see their brightened image by their competence of had attracted a global event, which puts the city or the coutry-host in the world’s display” wrotes João Sette Whitaker in his article “A Millionaire Theatre”.
The politics for the megaevents results in a increasing unbalance between the social classes, and in the case of Rio especifically, the creation of more physical space amongst the incompatible realities of the city. If there’s a legacy from these games is this political conquest of it’s space.
Scenario is an invite for a brand new paradise which shows it dimensions and it’s real consistence: a unknown city for tourist as for it’s own population.
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