A CHAT BETWEEN TWO GIANTS
For much of my life, I have lived under the gentle watch of two world-famous statues with a lot in common. Lady Liberty (the Statue of Liberty) in New York City and Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Cristo Redentor as it is affectionately known in Brazil. In their respective cities, these two colossal, symbolic and recognizable landmarks are cherished as beacons of light. Both have the Atlantic Ocean at their feet. Liberty welcomes people seeking safe harbor, and perched on the Corcovado granite pinnacle, Cristo outstretches his arms to the people huddled around the Bay of Guanabara.
Both
landmarks have become prized symbols of peace, freedom, and embrace. They embodied the values, ideals, and
identities of those who cherish them: Christian values in Brazil, and democracy
and hospitality in America. With these
values under attack in both countries, Liberty and Cristo must commiserate over
their loss of guidance. I have often
imagined a dialogue between these two giants. Surely their iconic status and shared traits
give them reason to chat now and then, exchanging views on the people beneath
their gaze and beyond. Their conversation, probably in French, might go like
this.
This week,
Liberty called Cristo to wish him a happy 95th birthday. Cristo sounded downcast because his party had
been eclipsed by a glitzy celebrity wedding in the small chapel at his feet. The groom was a son the anti-wax American Health
Secretary and the bride, a local pop star, daughter of a rich Brazilian
businessman who recently had a falling out with an offspring of the Bolsonaro
clan.
Liberty
tried to cheer Cristo up by reminding him that she had faced worse existential disappointments,
she may not have existed at all. In 1865,
a group of French republican enthusiasts offered the Americans a huge bronze
statue however with a financial catch. A
pedestal had to be built for it. Dismissed
for lack of patriotic value, no one wanted to finance it. Finally, 20 years later, championed by Joseph
Pulitzer, the newspaper tycoon, a crowdfunding campaign raised $100 000 to
build the pedestal where the statue stands near Ellis Island. Since then, more than 12 million immigrants have
landed in America under the watch of the torch-bearing goddess of freedom.
Cristo’s
dejected mood led him to ask Liberty a pointed question: She was no longer
welcoming migrants, therefore no longer upholding her values and visitor
numbers were dropping, was she not thinking of moving back to France? Shocked, she replied that 3,54 million
tourists were more than the paltry 1.5 million who risk their life to go up to
the Corcovado, is not Rio an organized terrorist hotbed? As a proud American, she approved of her
values being reinterpreted like a political and global mirror. She asserted that, unlike other American
cities, New York City does not demolish its landmarks.
Cristo felt
that Christian tolerance should prevail in conversation with Liberty. He told her that he had a change of heart,
has he not evolved from a strict Catholic symbol (to confront the perceived
post WWI godlessness) to becoming a compassionate family member? and “an
accomplice to all this carioca spirit” (Tom Jobim). Still, he could not resist bragging that he has
achieved the seemingly impossible: uniting Brazil’s two main Christian faiths
where politicians had failed.
Cristo ended
the chat by expressing saudade of the pre-cellphones age, when he was
not yet an “Instagrammable” attraction.
Liberty approved the selfie mania, otherwise she would feel lonely. Both are cultural and touristic icons, major
bucket-list landmarks, has fame made them a bit spoilt?
Comments
Post a Comment