A Moment When All Concepts Get Lost

1 Ismael Ivo is refering to the Hartz reforms in Germany, a set of recommendations that went on to become part of the German government’s Agenda 2010, led by then chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Many considered that the reforms would lead to the biggest cuts to the German system of social security since World War II. A direct consequence was upheaval in Schröder‘s own Social Democratic party and controversial discussions and protests among the population. The comparison with Lula refers to hopes being pinned to other social democratic governments, often dashed by the reality of government actions. In Lula‘s case, investigations against him were launched in April 2015 on suspicion of bribery in office. He was accused of having worked, while president, to ensure that the construction company Odebrecht won lucrative public construction contracts in other countries. On 12 July 2017 Lula was sentenced to nine years and six months imprisonment for corruption. The public reputation of the political elite has suffered extremely badly from the case.

2 Expressionist dance (German “Ausdruckstanz” or “Neuer Tanz”) is a term for a movement that arose in 1900 as a protest against the artistic stagnation of classical ballet and towards maturity in the future of art in general. This new dance was freer, natural and less rule-governed. It was strongly influenced by the passage of the expressionistic visual arts. The terminology is diverse and the concept of “expressionist dance” came in and around the mid-1900s, and went into the broader concept of modern dance by the end of the 1900s, it came to largely be reunited and fuse with traditional ballet.

3 Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religion that developed in Brazil during the early 19th century. It developed among Afro-Brazilian communities amid the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 19th centuries. It arose through the blending of the traditional religions brought to Brazil by enslaved West and Central Africans, the majority of them Yoruba, Fon, and Bantu, and the Roman Catholic teachings of the Portuguese colonialists who then controlled the area. Between 1549 and 1888, the religion developed in Brazil, influenced by the knowledge of enslaved African priests who continued to teach their religion, their culture, and language. In addition, Candomblé absorbed elements of Roman Catholicism and includes indigenous American traditions. It is practiced primarily in Brazil, and is also practiced in other countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela.

4 Umbanda is a syncretic Afro-Brazilian religion that blends African traditions with Roman Catholicism, Spiritism, and Indigenous American beliefs. Although some of its beliefs and most of its practices existed in the late 19th century in almost all Brazil, it is assumed that Umbanda originated in Niterói and surrounding areas in the early 20th century, mainly due to the work of a psychic (medium), Zélio Fernandino de Moraes, who practiced Umbanda among the poor Afro-Brazilian slave descendants. Since then, Umbanda has spread across mainly southern Brazil and neighboring countries like Argentina and Uruguay.

5 Orisha are spirits sent by Olodumare, the name given to one of the three manifestations of the Supreme God or Supreme Being, in the native religion of the Yoruba people. Most Orisha are said to have previously existed in the spirit world, and then become incarnated as human beings on Earth. Others are said to be humans who are recognised as deities upon their death due to extraordinary feats accomplished in life. Many Orisha have found their way to most of the New World as a result of the Atlantic slave trade and are now expressed in practices as varied as Santería, Candomblé, Trinidad Orisha, Umbanda, and Oyotunji, among others.

6 The Pantanal is a natural region encompassing the world’s largest tropical wetland area, and the world’s largest flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay.