This image is taken from the cover of the 1991 Gilberto Gil album Parabola Camara that he spoke of in his beautiful speech. It shows his daughter carrying a straw basket shaped like a satellite dish. For a speech at a conference with a strong theme of media/comms and developing countries, it barely requires elaboration.
Gil also spoke of the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira in relation to cultural flows - the term 'camara' is what capoeiristas call each other, meaning 'comrade' or 'friend'. Gil's point about capoeira is that it has spread around the world without being part of a government's cultural policy or a culture industry business model. "It was decentralised, and like a virus spread thru all continents. This is more efficient than top down forms of behaviour that to tell nations what they must continue to be."
Personally, his speech delighted me for its references to Tropicalism and 'cannibalism', which I'd just written about for oD's iSummit debate. Also, as part of the preparation for this trip I joined a capoeira class in New York in February, and it is indeed a fantastic cultural mix of music, movement, language and historically embedded practices. To see it all come together in Gil's speech made all those kicks to the head I've had to avoid worthwhile.
