Madonna in Rio: fans highlight the importance of the artist who broke taboos and changed lifestyles | Fun

Rio – The wait is over! Copacabana Beach, in the South Zone, will host this Saturday night (4) the last show of Madonna’s “The Celebration Tour”, with an audience estimated at more than one and a half million people, the biggest in 40 years. career of the 65-year-old singer. Fans from different regions of the country arrived in Rio and eagerly await to see the Queen of Pop live, like Claudia Avellar from São Paulo, who wasn’t born yet in 1993, when the diva performed her first show at Maracanã.

“I hope to be transported to what I didn’t experience. I want to feel what it was like in the 1980s”, comments Claudia, 29, who founded the Madonna Literal fan club 12 years ago, a group that has already reached the singer’s eyes. “The name came from a method of having a comical page to translate the song literally. I decided to start posting news about life and career. And it exploded. When we joined Instagram in 2015, the team grew and even her manager followed us.”

For the fan, Madonna is more than a singer. “She changed my style of thinking, she taught me about feminism, she taught me to accept who I am the way I am, she taught me to love others and to have a great connection with her songs. I usually say that Madonna is a lifestyle”, he reflects.

Unlike Claudia, Marcelo Soares arrives from Natal, from Rio Grande do Norte, with a wealth of stories involving the pop diva. At 50 years old, the communications advisor, who is also part of Madonna Literal, has been following the singer since she was 16, when she first heard the song “Like a Prayer”, one of the queen’s biggest hits.

“It was the first clip of hers that I heard and it got me in a way. Wow! What an interesting thing, what a fantastic woman, what courage to stand up to the church. And to this day I’m in love, not only with the artist, but with the politician , who defends minorities, who has strong opinions and goes against taboos”, reports Marcelo, who sold chocolate cake to see the singer’s shows. “Being here in Rio, on this day and at this historic show represents a dream come true.”

Pioneer in social causes

Tico Malagueta, another member of the fan club, highlights the singer’s importance in social causes. “My relationship with Madonna has a lot to do with the place of recognition of who I am, as she has always been linked to social causes and, mainly, to the LGBTQIA+ community”, comments the São Paulo native, adding about the artist’s influence on his life.

“When I was a teenager and still looking for information about issues I was trying to deal with, I saw Madonna as a friend who touched on topics I wanted and I still didn’t know exactly who I could talk to”, he reveals.

‘She is freedom’

The pioneering spirit highlighted by Tico is deepened by Horacio Brandão, who turns 53 on Monday (6), and has been following Madonna for more than three decades. Communicator and entertainment professional, Horacio presided over a fan club in the 1980s, watched her 24 times and even worked on the singer’s show in 2008, in Rio.

“Madonna influenced our sexuality by telling women that they can have children without needing a man, by saying that you can be Catholic, but you don’t need to feel guilty about having an exacerbated sexuality. She makes a boy who He’s been considered sick his whole life because he’s gay, he’s empowered. It’s freedom. It’s disruptive”, he analyzes.

According to Horacio, the artist shaped his life. “She gave me my first job in the media. My only jobs were because of her. She made my life,” he says. “If I know English, if I know photography and fashion, if I insist on my ideals, if I don’t accept a no straight away, if I know how to give an interview, it’s because there is a Madonna in my life. It’s not a characteristic of a saint, as it is alive, but it is a materializer. Whoever connects with its energy, whoever devotes this love and passion has benefits.

The communicator began following the singer at the age of 12, when he heard the song “Everybody” on the soundtrack of the soap opera “Final Feliz”. “I listened almost all day and was hooked on that woman. So, I started hunting for anything about her, I even went to the building’s trash can,” recalls Brandão, who soon began corresponding with other fans in Brazil and organized the first meetings in Rio.

Horacio also says that he was impressed with the idol’s decision to perform in a Rio postcard. “I never imagined that she would translate this show to the beach, but she is ‘grill material’. And the Brazilian quality as a fan is unique on the entire planet. No one is public like Brazilians are”, he says, remembering the artist’s relationship with the country. “She has already sung with a Flamengo shirt, she has already climbed the hill, she dated a carioca called Jesus, she sang with Caetano Veloso… There is a declaration of love for Brazil.”

Numbers

The show by the female artist who sold the most records of all time will be held on a stage with dimensions worthy of its importance. The space, in front of the Copacabana Palace, is twice the size of the others used on the world tour: 812 square meters, with a 24-meter front, and a ceiling height of 18 meters to the ceiling.

In addition, the singer has three catwalks where she will walk and dance during the performance. The central one is 22 meters long and the lateral ones are 20 meters long each. It is important to emphasize that this structure was built 2.40 meters high from the ground, allowing the public to see it on the beach. There will still be a accessible platform for people with disabilities and free water distribution.

The performance will feature the participation of four of the singer’s six children, including Mercy James, who appeared on stage during tests carried out last Thursday (2). The sound check, in fact, raised rumors about the participation of Pabllo Vittar and rhythmists from samba schools. The North American, who covered her face with a mask, rehearsed alongside the Brazilian musicians a version of the song “Music” in samba. On the occasion, images were also shown with the faces of Abdias do Nascimento, Daniela Mercury, Elza Soares and Abdias do Nascimento.

The free show is scheduled to start at 9:45 pm and end at 11:45 pm. After the performance, DJ Pedro Sampaio will lead the party. For those who are unable to watch up close, there will be a live broadcast on television. For those who are going to Copacabana, it is recommended to use public transport, as there will be a special arrangement.