The President of the United States, Barack Obama, last Sunday promised, during a speech addressed to the Brazilian people in Rio de Janeiro, that he will return to the city for the Summer Olympic Games in 2016.
After pointing out that Chicago, the city of Chicago, which is Mr. Obama’s birth town, was defeated at the poll which chose Rio de Janeiro to be the host of the Summer Olympic Games, Mr. Obama assured everyone that “if the Games cannot be held in Chicago, the only other venue which I would like to see hosting the Games is Rio de Janeiro”. “I am thinking of returning in 2016, when this happens”, Mr. Obama promised, amid a thunder of applause at the famous Theatro Municipal.
It may be a better idea if, in preparation for this forthcoming visit, Mr. Obama could brush up on the pronunciation of the names of the leading Rio de Janeiro football clubs, as in his speech, in the presence of 1.8 thousand people, the US President kicked off his speech with a greeting in Portuguese, with the enthusiasm and applause from those present.
“Da Cidade Maravilhosa, boa tarde a todo povo brasileiro", said Mr. Obama, in good Portuguese. However, his lusophone language skills soon showed themselves to be limited.
The President thanked everyone (with a simple “obrigado”) for coming along to the Theatre on a Sunday and with the possibility of later watching a derby match between local football clubs CR Vasco da Gama and Botafogo FR.
Mr. Obama found no problem to pronounce “Vasco”, amid jeers from some people present who went as far as shouting “Flamengo!”, this being a club which gave the President an official club shirt this Sunday, this being presented by Patrícia Amorim, the Flamengo Club President.
However, with a chuckle, he had difficulty to pronounce “Botafogo”. “I now see that Brazilians take football very seriously”, he said.
Initially, the speech was scheduled for the open-air venue of Cinelândia, but for security reasons, among others, at the last minute the venue was changed to inside the theatre.
The President tried to add a touch of informality to his speech by greeting people from Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Bahia and Minas Gerais, and this went down well with the audience which ebulliently applauded on several occasions.
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04/05 | News
