Let the Aryanists know! Brazilian race and nation in the 1938 France World Cup

ABSTRACT

Getúlio Vargas’ dictatorship (1937-1945) attributed to sports a key role to foment the formation of a ‘new Brazil’, using football as a crucial element to promote the state nationalist policy. A propitious moment for this attempt would be an international event, a space in which Brazil could demonstrate to the civilized nations – especially to the European countries – the best qualities of ‘the Brazilian race’. This arena was the 1938 World Cup, played in France. This essay presents some aspects of the relationship between football and the construction of Brazil’s national identity in the early twentieth century. My focus on the 1938 World Cup is due to the fact this was a quintessential event not only for the history of Brazilian sports but also for the debates on scientific racism and the construction of national identity. This event shaped, more than eight decades ago, the ways through which football articulated the core commonality of the Brazilian society, becoming one of the key elements to understand contemporary Brazil.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest is reported by the author.

Notes

1. ‘Um team afro brasileiro … ’. Correio da Manhã. Rio de Janeiro, June 16, 1938, 6.

2. Gilberto Freyre, ‘Foot-ball mulato’. Diario de Pernambuco. Recife, June 17, 1938, 4. The article was written for the Diarios Associados, an important group of Brazilian newspapers.

3. Schwarcz, The Spectacle of the Races.

4. Ventura, Estilo tropical.

5. Weinstein, The Color of Modernity. It must be kept on mind that the Modernist Movement started in São Paulo, a city where a significant part of the Afro-Brazilian culture was diminishing as a result of the arrival of a large number of European immigrants in the city. In 1920, 35 per cent of the population of São Paulo were foreigners. See also Poppino, Brazil and Brookshaw, Raça e Cor na Literatura Brasileira. The Manifesto Regionalista (Regionalist Manifest), however, was a result of the Regionalist Congress organized in Recife (the capital of the state of Pernambuco), where essayists, novelists, musicians, painters as well as historians, sculptors, engineers, economists, biographers, etc., could discover and articulate a legacy of peculiar myths, landscapes and memories from the influence of Portuguese, African, Dutch and Brazilian-Indian cultures. Through the selective recovery of what would individualize the referred space, this varied cultural production invented the codes of symbolic comprehension of a community and adapted to them simultaneously, thus acquiring an unequivocal regional character and enabling Pernambuco to perceive itself and present its own pernambucano identity. Gilberto Freyre is one of the most important names among the articulators and propagators of the Manifesto Regionalista.

6. To better understand the antecedents and the context of the 1930 Revolution, see for example Williams, Culture Wars in Brazil; Diacon, Stringing Together a Nation; and Carvalho, The Formation of Souls.

7. Thomaz Mazzoni was born in Polignano a Mare, Italy, in 1900. He arrived in Brazil with his parents still a child when a group of immigrants left Italy to São Paulo. As a journalist, the quality of his work gave credibility to Mazzoni and led to the publications (during the 1930s) of his sports Almanacs in other Brazilian states and even in Argentina. Mazzoni wrote more than 20 books related to sports and earned the moniker ‘Olimpicus’.

8. Thomaz Mazzoni, ‘Pode-se ir a Paris por 500 réis’, A Gazeta, São Paulo, April 6, 1938, 9.

9. ‘Para que o Brasil compareça condignamente à “Taça do Mundo”’, A Gazeta, São Paulo, April 26, 1938, 11.

10. ‘Impatriotismo de alguns clubes cariocas’, A Noticia, Joinvile, April 9, 1938, 8.

11. ‘A Representação Brasileira no Campeonato Mundial de Futebol’, O Estado de S. Paulo, São Paulo, April 17, 1938, 15.

12. Ibid.

13. Sevcenko, ‘Futebol, metrópoles e desatinos’.

14. ‘O Brasil no Campeonato do Mundo – O primeiro contacto dos nossos jogadores com os francezes’, Correio da Manhã, Rio de Janeiro, May 17, 1938, 7.

15. Ibid.

16. To know more about the Ação Integralista Brasileira (AIB) see Trindade, A tentação fascista no Brasil and Silva, Estudos do Integralismo no Brasil.

17. Pereira, Footballmania. A different perspective on this matter can be seen at Pardini’s Masters Thesis, ‘A narrativa da ordem e a voz da multidão’.

18. Thomaz Mazzoni, ‘O Embaixador Souza Dantas tornou-se o “fan” nº 1 dos brasileiros’, A Gazeta, São Paulo, May 28, 1938, 12. During the World War II, ambassador Souza Dantas suffered official retaliation for disobeying the Brazilian government providing thousands of visas to Jewish refugees, against president Vargas’ orders. To know more, see Koifman, Quixote nas trevas.

19. ‘Todas as atenções voltadas para a estréia dos brasileiros na “Taça do Mundo”’, A Gazeta, São Paulo, June 4, 1938, 11.

20. ‘Gagliano Netto (Metralha)’, Diario de Pernambuco, Recife, June 12, 1938, 3. Gagliano Netto, nicknamed ‘Metralha’, was born in Recife in 1911 and became the main ‘speaker’ of the Rádio Clube do Brasil during the international matches of the Brazilian national team since the South American Championship played in Buenos Aires in 1937.

21. ‘Hoje no Parque, Brasil x Polonia – A melhor reportagem cinematográfica sobre o jogo de football’, Diario de Pernambuco, Recife, June 13, 1938, 13.

22. ‘Todas as atenções voltadas para a estréia dos brasileiros na “Taça do Mundo”’.

23. ‘Torcendo pela vitória dos brasileiros – matou-o a emoção!’, Correio da Manhã, Rio de Janeiro, June 7, 1938, 20.

24. ‘Estrangeiros, mas brasileiros’, A Gazeta, São Paulo, June 7, 1938, 10.

25. ‘O embaixador Souza Dantas e os jogadores falam sobre o match’, Diario de Pernambuco, Recife, June 9, 1938, 8.

26. Leônidas da Silva, mostly known as ‘The Black Diamond’, was born on 6 September 1913 in Rio de Janeiro (RJ). He was one of the most extraordinary players of all times. Fast attacker, skilful and opportunist, he gained fame in the 1930s and 1940s. He played for the Brazilian national team and for football clubs like São Cristóvão, Sírio Libanês, Bonsucesso, Peñarol (Uruguay), Vasco da Gama, Botafogo, Flamengo and São Paulo. He won the following titles: Carioca Championship for Vasco da Gama in 1934; Carioca Championship for Botafogo (1935); Carioca Championship (1939) and Rio-São Paulo Tournament (1940) for Flamengo; Paulista Championship for São Paulo Football Club (1943, 1945, 1946, 1948 and 1949); Rio Branco Cup (1932), 3rd place in the World Cup (1938) and Copa Roca (1945) for the Brazilian National Team. In Brazil, he is known as the inventor of the ‘bicycle kick’.

27. ‘Leônidas é um espantalho – Disse o Comandante Attila Soares’, Diario de Pernambuco, Recife, June 9, 1938, 8.

28. ‘O jogo Brasil-Polônia e a confraternização das colônias’, A Gazeta, São Paulo, June 8, 1938, 1.

29. ‘A Victoria dos Brasileiros contra os poloneses é mais do que um triumpho esportivo, reaffirma o valor da raça e exalta o Brasil’, O Imparcial, São Luiz, June 6, 1938, 1. Within the studies on Brazil’s diplomatic history, the tendency among historians is to emphasize the Brazilian participation during the League of Nations as a fiasco, resulting from strong domestic motivations. When it comes to the period around the 1930 Revolution led by Getúlio Vargas, studies have stated that Brazil had little interest in foreign policy. Moreover, during his authoritarian regime, initiated in 1937, Vargas’ guiding principles towards the international scenario ranged from pragmatism to contradictory divergencies. By observing the dilemmas of Brazil’s international politics on the eve of World War II, it is not surprising that the Brazilian press took advantage on the success of the national football team in France to poke the country’s diplomacy. To learn more on the diplomatic history of Brazil, see Albuquerque, Seitenfus, and Castro, Sessenta Anos de Politica Externa Brasileira (1930–1990).

30. ‘A Vibração da Cidade pela Victoria do “Scratch” Nacional’, Diario de Pernambuco, Recife, June 15, 1938, 11.

31. ‘A Europa Curvou-se Ante o Brasil … ’, Diario de Pernambuco, Recife, June 15, 1938, 5. Valdemar Cavalcanti (1912–1982) was one the most important journalists in Brazil at his time and a pioneer as a literary critic; Manuel Diegues Junior (1912–1991) was a member of the American Anthropological Association, the Brazilian Historical Institute, among other cultural institutions, and was the president of the Latin American Sociological Association.

32. ‘A palavra de entusiasmo do Ministro da Educação’, Correio da Manhã, Rio, June 15, 1938, 1.

33. ‘Bravos Legionários’, Correio da Manhã, Rio, June 15, 1938, 1.

34. ‘Da Presidência da República’, Correio da Manhã, Rio, June 15, 1938, 1.

35. ‘Da Srta. Alzira Vargas’, Correio da Manhã, Rio, June 15, 1938, 1.

36. ‘ … E em Belo Horizonte’; ‘Passeata em Fortaleza’; ‘Uma medalha de ouro a Hércules, oferta da população de Guaxupé’, A Gazeta, São Paulo, June 15, 1938, 9.

37. ‘O Team Afro-Brasileiro e a sua Admirável “Performance” – como aprecia a victoria do nosso “team” o escriptor Gilberto Freyre’, Diario de Pernambuco, Recife, June 15, 1938, 16.

38. ‘Cousas da Cidade – A Victoria dos Brasileiros’, Diario de Pernambuco, Recife, June 15, 1938, 4.

39. Francisco Xavier Marques, ‘Imagem ethnica do Brasil’, Diario de Pernambuco, Recife, June 15, 1938, 4–10. Francisco Xavier Ferreira Marques (1861–1942) was a journalist, politician, novelist, poet, biographer, and essayist.

40. ‘Troca de Telegrammas entre o Embaixador da Italia no Brasil e o Ministro Oswaldo Aranha’, Correio Paulistano, São Paulo, June 16, 1938, 6. To learn more about the political and diplomatic bonds between Brazil and the totalitarian regimes in Europe (specially Italy and Germany) before the World War II, see the classic article written by Samuel Putnam in 1942 ‘Brazilian Culture under Vargas’ and the remarkable book by Tucci Carneiro O anti-semitismo na era Vargas (Anti-Semitism in the Vargas era) in 1988.

41. ‘Todas as classes sociais enviam telegramas de incitamento aos brasileiros’, A Gazeta, São Paulo, June 16, 1938, 9.

42. ‘O ministro Capanema telegrafou à delegação’, A Gazeta, São Paulo, June 17, 1938, 7.

43. ‘O Brasil foi outra vez roubado!’, Correio do Paraná, Curitiba, June 17, 1938, 4.

44. ‘Brasil jogará contra a Suécia amanhã em Bordeaux’, Correio do Paraná, Curitiba, June 17, 1938, 4.

45. ‘Reagir enquanto é tempo’, Pacotilha, Maranhão, June 20, 1938, 1.

46. ‘Porque os brasileiros não venceram a Copa do Mundo’, O Estado, Florianópolis, March 9, 1939, 3. Leônidas did not play the semi-final match against Italy and the reason is a controversial point. Some narratives say Leônidas was constantly hit against the Czechoslovakians he wasn’t a hundred per cent to play against Italy. Others say that the Brazilian coach was arrogant in benching Leônidas.

47. ‘A recepção dos futebolistas brasileiros no Rio’, O Estado de S. Paulo, São Paulo, July 12, 1938, 5.

48. Darcy Ribeiro interviewed at the TV show Roda Viva, São Paulo, 1995. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAFzOemlAbg.

49. Domingos António da Guia was born on 19 November 1912, in Rio de Janeiro, and died on 18 May 2000. Domingos had a perfect notion of passes and remarkable anticipation of shots, always looking ahead. Due to his almost perfect football, he was nicknamed ‘Divine’. Domingos wore the shirt of the Brazilian National Team in 30 matches. He disputed various South-American championships, without winning any of them. He played in the 1938 World Cup along with Leônidas. Domingos started playing for Bangu (Rio de Janeiro) in 1929. Then, he was transferred to Nacional de Montevideo and won the Uruguayan championship in 1933. Domingos returned to Brazil to play for Vasco da Gama (RJ) and won the Carioca championship in 1934. He was also Argentinean champion in 1935, playing for Boca Juniors (Buenos Aires). He was part of the team of Flamengo (RJ) and won the state tournament in 1939, 1942 and 1943. He was already a veteran when he played for Corinthians (São Paulo) and decided his career had come to an end playing one more time for Bangú.

50. Freyre, preface written in Recife, in 1947, for the first edition of Mário Filho’s O Negro no FutebolBrasileiro. The book is in its fifth edition.

51. ‘Os Jogadores Pedem Noticias’, Correio da Manhã, Rio de Janeiro, June 1, 1938, 7.