Sport in Artur Azevedo's revues: a reflection of developments in late 19th century Rio de Janeiro society.

Knijnik, Jorge ; de Melo, Victor Andrade

In this article, we have no intention of discussing inter-semiotic dialogues or the similarities and dissimilarities that can be identified between the languages of 'sport' and 'theatre; issues that have been addressed by authors such as Schechner (34), Welsch (145) and Gumbrecht (15). Our goal is to explore how in a specific location and period, the city of Rio de laneiro in the final years of the 19th century, the major Brazilian playwright Artur Azevedo made sport an important theme in plays deeply rooted in that society.

During the last twenty-five years of the 19th century, Rio de Janeiro, at that time Brazil's Federal Capital, underwent rapid changes as its inhabitants searched for ways to relate to the global, mainly European, changes that characterized the development of the ideas and imagination of the movement we now describe as 'modernity'. Economically, the abolition of slavery (1) in 1888 was a key turning point; the country was also taking its first steps in the process of industrialization, although the policy of basing the economy on the export of agricultural products was reaffirmed. Politically, Brazil transitioned from a monarchy to a Constitutional Presidential Republic in 1889.

Culturally, Brazil at this time was clearly under European influence, and especially so, the Federal Capital, which was always eager to receive and indeed absorb the news of progress, a worldview that became explicit in the increasing concerns with issues, such as education, science, technology and health, and an interest in urban-inspired reforms, such as those in Paris of the Haussmann period.

The end of the 19th century in Brazil was a period of a great social effervescence as well as tension between members of different social strata, a period marked by political and economic crises and intense cultural change and transformation. Not surprisingly, this period in Rio de Janeiro has been called the Tropical Belle Epoque, (2) on the one hand for its similarities with the European context and on the other for particularities that made this constitution of an urban space and practices in a 'peripheral' country local and unique.

Two social groups played a central role in the processes of transformation into and constitution of the independent country (3) and, specifically, the modern city of Rio de Janeiro. First, there was an intelligentsia, which was in tune with developments in Europe but which had not, unlike earlier generations, studied in Portugal or France (4) but rather had undertaken their education in the new colleges established in Brazil during this period. The second and equally important group was the newly emerging urban bourgeoisie, formed mostly by people connected to trade, military officers on active service, and self-employed professionals, such as engineers, doctors, and lawyers.

It was in this social mix that the public entertainment industry of Rio de Janeiro began to be structured, an industry which has highlighted and indeed emphasised the identity of the inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro from its beginnings until the present day. The Federal Capital was seen by Brazilians across the country as a model of modernity and progress and its 'fun life' came to be considered as one of the city's major and more valued features. (5) At this crucial period, sport and theatre were among the most important leisure pursuits of the Federal Capital's population; (6) they were spaces in which carioca (7) society manifested conflicts and dramatized social tensions. (8) It was in this scenario that Artur de Azevedo produced his most successful theatrical works, incorporating many elements of sport. Before embarking on an analysis of his plays, it is worthwhile offering some biographical details about this remarkable playwright.

Artur Azevedo and Theatre in the 19th Century

Artur Nabantino Goncalves de Azevedo (1855-1908) was one of the most popular Brazilian writers of the final decades of the 19th century. A public servant, journalist, poet, and short story writer as well as playwright, he, unlike other writers of his time, wrote for the general population rather than for the rich and the intelligentsia. He was one of the most critical of writers on Brazilian society and its elites.

In 1874, when Azevedo adapted the French operetta La Fille de Madame Angot (9) into Portuguese, he became part of the first group of carioca playwrights, writing about the daily life of Rio de Janeiro and its residents. Prado, a current and influential Brazilian intellectual and theatre critic, affirms that Azevedo:

was the axis around which Brazilian theatre revolved. As a critic, emulating the French critic Francisque Sarcey, he had both a good knowledge and control of theatrical practice. And as an author, an admirer of Moliere, many of whose plays he adapted into Portuguese, he preferred the comic genre, which he explored in all directions ... As an active participant in the theatrical life of Brazil, he was aware of what was done in theatre in France and Italy. It can be said that although he was a journalist and senior public servant, Azevedo lived in and or the theatre. (Prado "Seres, Coisas, Lugares" 49)

Despite recognition for his journalism, literary production and, in particular, for his chronicles and tales, Azevedo's theatrical work is often considered the best part of his vast literary output. His plays, and in particular the comedies, are still appreciated and indeed performed in present day Brazil. Prado reinforces this point when he states that Azevedo's plays are still alive in the Brazilian cultural scenario:

The part of his repertoire that has aged less, and which is continuously reappearing in modern productions, is not the most fancy and literary texts. His qualities were in playwriting, work made for the stage, not for the printed page; the plays were written with the knowledge of the income that would be made from the actors he was writing for. (Prado "Historia Concisa" 147)

In Brazil in that fin de siecle period, European theatre productions were the main point of reference. The plays, which were very successful in Rio de Janeiro, were mostly in the French style, especially those in the realistic and the romantic genres, which were a feature of the austere Gyrnnase dramatique (10) in Paris.

The special feature of Azevedo's plays, which made him the favourite of audiences in Rio de Janeiro, came from the strong influence of the French theatre of the Alcazaru and more attuned to social dynamics, increasingly marked by a kind of excitement and energy: musical numbers, spells, a frenetic pace, bodies displaying parts, which were previously 'hidden', more permissiveness, and a kind of uncomplicated humour that did not depend on irony. This kind of spectacle reverberated with the public and became widely popular in the Brazilian capital, though it was always surrounded by controversy and, in particular, concern about matters of decency and morality. (12)

Partly influenced by French operetta, with origins dating back to the 18th century, Azevedo created a new genre called revistas--revues--which appealed directly to Brazilian taste. It was a result of the popularity of Azevedo's work that revues came to dominate the theatrical scene. With these light shows filled with music, dance, and humour, the playwright helped bring the general public back to the theatre. (13)

Indeed, one of the main features of Azevedo's theatrical work is that it addressed the most significant events in the life of the nation: everyday life, manners, social and political tensions. The playwright created a kind of social map that contributed to peoples' awareness of the rapid changes of that period, but it was a consciousness tinged with laughter at all the minutiae of life and society. Azevedo's annual theatrical revues acted as a way of solidifying society's awareness and, subsequently, memory of the newly-forming Brazilian society, not lust in Rio de Janeiro but across Brazil, and international events were part of th is awareness. Nicolau has highlighted how the daily themes were embedded in the revues, which always used humour to deal with them:

Essentially, the theatrical revue is characterized by the constant desire to narrate the most significant events of national and international reality, spanning the previous year, through ironic humour. Scenes of everyday life, social customs, elections, and diplomatie agreements are critieal social issues addressed by these revues, which far from being a minor genre, signal a mimetic desire to portray reality in their own way. (Nicolau 3)

However, it is important to note that the reality portrayed in Azevedo's plays was not a mere transposition of real facts to the stage. The work was a recreation of reality based on the artistic prineiples of comedy (14) as a way of developing a critique of the customs, manners and abuses of the new ruling elite of the newly created Republic.

By advocating abolitionist and republican ideals, Azevedo became a leading critic of the contradictions and ambiguities of a country that wanted to shake off its colonial past. His plays helped to create a new identity for the citizens of Rio de Janeiro, the cariocas, who would become famous for their fine irony and sharp, sarcastic criticism of political and social events. (15)

Sport in Azevedo's Revues

It is estimated that Azevedo wrote over 200 pieces in various genres, of which about twenty were revues. References to sports practice are present in many of these works. This paper focuses on two of these revues, The Crook (16) (1885) and The Federal Capital (17) (1897).

The Crook, written in partnership with Moreira Sampaio, premiered at Teatro Lucinda in January 1886. The title in Portuguese (O Bilontra) refers to a swindler who sold a noble title to a rich but extremely naive Portuguese trader, (18) an actual case that came to the Brazilian courts.

The playwright presents a series of witty criticisms of the widespread cunning that existed in Brazilian society. Using the habit and taste for gambling as background, Azevedo dramatizes the clash between the two social orders, the Monarchy and the order bringing the promise of progress, the Republic.

In this context, horse racing, one of the first sports to develop in Rio de laneiro, (19) is used as a metaphor for dishonesty in contemporary Brazilian politics and economy. It is interesting to note that, already at that time, horse racing was widely criticized for allowing people to gamble. The biggest hypocrisy was the fact that the leaders of the horse racing industry claimed their intention, the development of Brazilian racehorses, was hoble, while they were in fact actually only interested in making profits from gambling activities.

The third act takes place entirely in the Derby Club, a horse racing association that embodies the transition from an aristocratic society whose elite gathered at the Jockey Club, the historic racecourse, to a society with a more bourgeois profile, whose leaders would meet, in the future, at rowing, cycling and athletics clubs. (20) The crucial difference in the nature of sports clubs is explicit from the outset. (21)

Sportsman 1: Let it go! It's the most beautiful of the meadows!

Sportsman 2: I prefer the Athletico Fluminense Club, (22) which also opened this year.

Sportsman 1: For God's sake, Mr. Xavier, do not confuse the two things! A club is a club, a meadow is a meadow!

Sportsman 2: I know that, it's not great news.

Sportsman 1: And thinking about rates, I'd rather those with animals. Donkeys without tails are not for me!

The three characters the Comendador, (23) the Portuguese fooled by the crook, bis nephew Alexandre, and bis daughter Carolina go to the Derby Club not only to have fun with the racing itself, but also to amuse themselves by observing la creme de la creme that want to see and be seen parading on the social stage. Their dialogues reflect the author's vision of the hypocrisy surrounding horse racing and gambling:

Comendador: Let's go to the bleachers.

Carolina: It's still early, daddy, let's see it from down here.

Comendador: So wait a minute ... I'11 make a bet ... I'm an old-school liberal, but I confess that occasionally I like risking my ten thousand reis (24) on the legs of a horse ... Moreover, sport has nothing to do with a citizen's political views.

Alexandre: Oh! Certainly!

Comendador: And then, the improvement in horse racing, resulting from the inter-breeding of French and English donkeys with Brazilians donkeys, of whom there are many, (25) deserves the attention of patriots like me, not least out of class spirit.

The Comendador describes himself in this part of the play as an old-school liberal; however, by the end of the play, he has become conservative. Here, he can be seen as seeking justification for the act of betting in the same way that members of the Brazilian elite were looking for excuses to behave in morally questionable ways.

Azevedo includes a portrayal of the grandstands at the racetrack as a place for the new members of fashionable society to be seen, a place where it was becoming more common for men to encounter women, including 'ladies of questionable morals':

Carolina: I am very sad, cousin Xandico! (26) Mr. Faustino does not leave my head ... But do you know that girl? Who is she? What is her position?

Alexandre: She has a position ... horizontal.

Carolina: Horizontal? What is that?

Alexandre: She is a seamstress ... she sews for the battalion ...

Carolina: Oh! And that pays for all that luxury?!

Alexandre: Oh! She could pay for ... she's a respectable lady!

But let's change the topic.

Carolina: To talk about what?

Alexandre: About my love!

Carolina: What, here?

Alexandre: Here--everywhere! Look, I'm ready for the wedding. I only need your consent and some money for the outfit.

Carolina: So little!

Alexandre: I have a good job, and the bosses have already promised me an interest in the firm. Forget that rogue who is unworthy of you.

Carolina: (Half decided) Well, yes, wait for a few more days ... I will try to heal myself, so ...

Alexandre: (Very happy) Ah!

Horse racing is presented as a fashion involving all strata of society but featuring the exploited poorer and more gullible members of society who had a simple dream of making a fortune.

What lies behind the superficial glamour of the simulated European lifestyle is referred to by the character Jogatina (27) when she speaks of the true purpose of the great majority of people attending the races: the search for a clue to secret of the bets:

Faustino: (Confidentially) gut ultimately, what would you like me to do?

Jogatina: Bet on Regalia, (28) which is the mare I will ride.

Faustino: But look what you are doing ... That leaves me with very little money ...

Jogatina: No worries at all! With my mysterious powers, this mare will win without a doubt!

Faustino: So, I bet?

Jogatina: Everything! And if you find bets outside the system, buy everything. Let's go to place our bets!

Faustino: Let's go! (They leave).

At the end of the play, the losers begin to count their losses, the confusion intensifies, and the conflict is clear:

Faustino: (Entering, disoriented) I lost everything!

Faustino: (Looking to Jogatina) You! You are the cause of my ruin!

Jogatina: What did you want? The damned horse had wings on its feet! We will win with the rerun. (She disappears)

A Gambler: (Walking towards Faustino, who is at the bach) My hundred thousand reis?

Faustino: Which hundred thousand reis? Gambler: The hundred thousand that you lost! Voices: Pay! Pay! Pay! You lost! You lost!

Federal Capital premiered in 1897. This is Azevedo's revue in which sport has its most significant presence. Revisiting characters from a number of his earlier plays, a process that was quite common during bis career, Azevedo dramatises the clash between those who come from rural communities (29) and those who were citizens of a city in the process of rapid modernization. As usual, Azevedo creates typical characters from Brazilian society as well as everyday situations, all imbued with his critical, humorous and acid vision of carioca society.

In Federal Capital, Rio de Janeiro is presented as a kind of paradise of the festive lifestyle, but it is a place where dubious values proliferate, the stage for sin where even the purest turn out to be contaminated by the 'carousal virus'. The drama takes place mostly in a hotel, which presents itself as the purest expression of modernity. Physical activities are presented as one of the privileges offered to the guests:

The Manager: ('Talking to himself) Hands full! Amazing! Was there ever a hotel in Rio de Janeiro like this! World class electric service! Splendid cuisine, chamber music during meals at the round table! A pneumatic dock in every room! Hot and cold baths, showers, swimming pool, gym and massage!

One of the interesting features of the play is the presence of cycling, a novelty that had recently arrived from Europe and which quickly appealed to the taste the stratum of the elite most directly connected to the rapidly developing urban culture. (30) Azevedo did not join in praise for the new practice; indeed, he mocks it: yes, it looks more modern than horse racing and it uses the 'wonderful' technological machine, the bicycle! However, on the stage, around the bikes and in the background, the audience can observe the same old sharks present wherever there is gambling. Was this a metaphor for the Republic? Not necessarily, but most likely.

The bicycle was a novelty that both excited and frightened the population that did not know much about the strange new machine. Azevedo developed characters who have recently arrived in the city from the country. Listening to their voices, it is possible to get a feeling for the contradictory feelings about the new and 'magical' object. One of the most remarkable aspects of the text is the reproduction of an uneducated verbal language, typical of the people from lower classes or from rural communities:

Benvinda (31): Missis? Nhanha? (32) nho Juquinha? Is everything ok?

Eusebio: Yes, everything is ok!

Benvinda: Nho Juquinha, sometimes I saw him passing in the Lavradio St ... with the other boys ...

Eusebio: He's learning to run in the ... in the ... in that car with two wheels ... one in the front, the other in the back ... which we pull on and has a weird name ...

Benvinda: I know.

It is apparent that people were constantly arguing whether cycling was a healthy new habit, merely a child's game, a waste of time, perhaps even an immoral activity, or even a form of gambling:

Fortunata: And Juquinha? Where's that boy?

Eusebio: Let it go, he will never get lost! He is in that Belodromo, (33) learning how to work that thing ... what's the name?

Quinota: Bicycle.

Eusebio: Yes, They say it's a good way to develop the muscles!

Fortunata: Develop vagrancy, more like it!

Quinota: He's so young ...

Eusebio: Let the boy have fun! Go home!

What is also true is that there was a new leisure space in the city: cycling tracks, which soon began to compete with racetracks with a population avid for entertainment and looking as well for ways to display themselves, and perhaps to earn some money. In Federal Capital, an entire act takes place at the National Bike Trail. This what the chorus made up of amateur biker intone at opening of the play (ironically, needless to say): There's nothing like Coming to the Belodromo! These are very Amusing races! Unfortunately All too often The people, poor people! Are cheated here!

According to Azevedo, what really matters to people at the Belodromo is gambling, the chance to bet and win some money. The playwright explores the subterfuge in the fabrication of the results of the bike races there. While naive people believe in the fairness of the competitions, some already know precisely who to bet on:

Lourenco: Are they already selling?

Guedes: It's been a long time!

S'il-Vous-Plait (34): It's already the second turn!

Lourengo: What's agreed?

S'il-Vous-Plait: Menelik wins.

Lourenco: Felix Faure is not racing?

S'il-Vous-Plait: He's racing.

Lourenco: But if he has a 'good machine', he can win even against his will.

S'il-Vous-Plait: It's agreed that he will fall on the fifth lap.

Lourenco: How many laps are there?

S'il-Vous-Plait: Eight

Lourenco: Who else is racing?

S'il-Vous-Plait: Garibaldi, Carnot, and Colibri.

Lourengo: Who's this Colibri?

S'il-Vous-Plait: He's insignificant ... a blunderbuss (35) ... worthless ... I didn't even include him in our scheme!

Lourenco: How much are the others placed?

S'il-Vous-Plait: Fifteen thousand reis each.

Lourenco: And ten percent of the profits for the three of you. Good (Giving money to Lemos). Here we are, Mr. Lemos, go and place some bets. (Giving money to Guedes) Go, Mr. Guedes, buy other ten. Go separately, each by himself, to disguise what is going on. Otherwise, the division of the win will not even fill a tooth cavity. I'll buy three bank cheques. Let's go! (They exit)

The Belodromo is also a place where social differences are highlighted, where those who can understand and manage the social codes of the newly emerging city can be identified. It is also a place where prestige and status defining who is who on the social scene is displayed. Consider the dialogue between the characters Lola and Figueiredo (both from the city) and Eusebio from the countryside:

Lola: It's going ... These are the effects of the Chambertin! Eusebio! Where ... ? So ...? Co and place some bets to take an interest in the race.

Eusebio: I don't understand anything about it!

Figueiredo: Choose any name among those! Look on the board ... Liguria, Carnot, Menelik, Colibri, and Felix Faure.

Eusebio: Colibri! I want Colibri!

Figueiredo: I heard that that one is worthless ... what they here call a blunderbuss ... What about the Presidents of the French Republic? Don't they smile for you?

Eusebio: No sinho, (36) I don't want another! Colibri is the name of a donkey that I got there on the farm. Dolores, Mercedes E. Blanchette (At the same time): Don't do that! If it's a blunderbuss, it's worthless!

Lola: Let him go! It's a guess! Go buy five bets at that counter.

Eusebio: Where?

Figueiredo: In that hole!

Eusebio: How much is it?

Figueiredo: Five bets are ten thousand reis

Eusebio: But how is it done?

Figueiredo: You extend your arm, aim the money at the hole, open your hand and say--Colibri!

Eusebio: Yes, sinho. (He goes)

Benvinda, the mulatto maid who comes from a rural community and is seduced by Lourenco, also believes the competition is honest and, without following her companion's advice also bets on Colibri:

Lourenco: (Running) If I run I get it open ... But look at Menelik (He disappears)

Benvinda: No, sinho, no sinho. I don't like Menelik! I do not like this man: looks like a priest ... is very sick ... Neither this nor any ... I do not like anyone ... What I best have to do is to go back to home and ask for forgiveness to my mum. (There is the sign of closing the bets).

(Voices among the people) It's closed! It's closed! No, I couldn't buy! (They go to the back of the stage to watch the race)

Lourenco: (Coming back) I am always on time to buy the bet! (He gives the bet ticket to Benvinda) What a weird idea to bet on Colibri!

Benvinda: That's why Colibri is the name of a donkey who is in a farm where I stayed for a while ...

Lourenco: Ah! It skips? (An electrical bell rings). If he wins, you'll take the full bet! (There is a gunshot and some music) The race has begun! Let's see it! (They go to the back of the stage)

In this scene, Azevedo demonstrates once again his amazing world and thoughts. If in the new social order, everything seems to be already arranged in official places. In the sports world as well as in real life, things do not always occur as expected; there is room for the unexpected for what was unforeseen in the plans of those who have inside information. Lourenco is full of wonder. Ultimately, the mulatto's bet is the winner.

Lourenco: What a disgrace ... Felix Daure fell on purpose, but over Felix Faure fell Menelik, on top of the Menelik Liguria, on top of Liguria, Carnot, and Colibri, who was in the luggage, did not fall over and no one won the race! What a hint of the mulatta! Where is she? I'll look for her bet.

It is even risky in the city for somebody who does not know its ways. Sport is well represented as a facet of modernity: rather fascinating, since it can be deciphered, something that is not always available to everyone. It can be seen that Azevedo is updating a dialogue from The Crook in his later revue Federal Capital to once again express the ambiguity of this new social order:

Fortunata: (Entering in a rush ahead Gouveia and Quinota) No! I don't want to see my son running in that story! ... As soon as the race finishes, I take him home and he will never come back here! That's incredible! Benvinda disappears ... Mr Eusebio disappears.... Juquinha never leaves the Belodromo .. I can see the moment when Quinota will leave me also!

Quinota: Oh, Mum! You don't need to have that fear!

Fortunata: What a place! I told you I didn't want to come to Rio de Janeiro!

Quinota: The life is so different from the country! (Turning to Gouveia) We will not stay here after our marriage!

Gouveia: Why?

Quinota: Life in Rio is really full of surprises for the mother of a family!

Fortunata: Look at Mr. Eusebio, he is a 50 year old man, who always had good sense, but at the moment he breathed the air in the Federal Capital's, he has lost his mind!

Gouveia: He got the carousal virus ...

Quinota: Here there is much freedom and little scruple ... it is the ostentation of vice ... they do not respect anyone ... It is an evil society, very badly constituted.

Gouveia: I didn't think you were such a good observer ...

Quinota: I'm a hick but not a fool who can't see the evil where it is ...

In tune with the issues of his time, a critic of the hypocrisy that marked a country that claimed to want to champion the idea of progress but retained much of its colonial past, Artur Azevedo's plays exposed the inner workings of a changing society, exposing the ambiguities of the new epoch.

In this context, the inclusion of sport in Azevedo's theatre expresses both the strength of this modern practice and its presence in social life. Sport had the ability to embody and dramatize the contradictions of the processes society was undergoing. Sport, fascinating and dangerous, exciting and disappointing, was clearly an expression of the way the elites conspired to control society; but it was also open to the unexpected, an effective example of the clash between the new and old social structures. Was there a better metaphor for the republic under construction?

Artur Azevedo, therefore, ultimately places sport at the level of the most vibrant expression of the new society emerging at that time. And he does not place it as a model of integrity and health: according to Azevedo, sport is not always an example of the virtue sports leaders like the public to believe it is.

Notes

(1.) Slavery lasted for three centuries in Brazil from the 1550s to 1888. It shaped Brazil's economy, social structure and ethnic profile, as the vast majority of Brazilian slaves were African blacks. More than three million Africans were taken to Brazil to work as slaves during this period.

(2.) Needell 1993.

(3.) Even though political Brazilian independence from Portugal occurred in 1822, political connections between the two countries during the 19th century remained substantial: the first emperor of the independent Brazil was a Portuguese, Dom Pedro I, the Portuguese king's son. After him, his son, Dom Pedro II remained Brazilian emperor until 1889, at which time he was deposed by the Republicans.

(4.) It was very common during the period of colonization and even during the Monarchy for the Brazilian elites to send their sons to take their degrees in Europe.

(5.) Needell 1993.

(6.) Mencarelli 1999.

(7.) 'Carioca' is the name for an inhabitant of Rio de Janeiro and also for somebody who was born there. 'Carioca' can also be used as an adjective for anything connected to Rio de Janeiro, such as the 'carioca soccer', or the 'carioca music' and the 'carioca humour'.

(8.) Melo 2001.

(9.) The Daughter of Madame Angot, by Charles Lecocq, was premiered in Brussels in 1872. Azevedo's version is hugely comic; the Portuguese title, A filha de Maria Angu,is comic in itself: 'Angu' which has a similar sound to the French 'Angot' is a type of Brazilian food and also means 'big trouble'.

(10.) Aguiar 8. According to the author, a playhouse called Dramatic House (Ginasio Dramatico)was established in Rio de Janeiro.

(11.) A playhouse called Alcazar was established in Rio de Janeiro too at this time (Aguiar 1997)

(12.) Aguiar 1997.

(13.) Aguiar 9 argues that Azevedo's work constituted the reconciliation between Brazilian theatre and the public, which had been in a state of divorce because the former plays were too sophisticated and had nothing to do with the carioca inhabitant's real life.

(14.) Castigat ridendo morus

(15.) Sussekind 1986.

(16.) 'O Bilontra' is the original title in Portuguese. This paper uses the English translation The Crook.

(17.) A Capital Federal.

(18.) It was common at that time for a member of the nouveau riche with no aristocratic heritage to buy a noble title in order to appear to belong to the aristocracy.

(19.) Melo 2001.

(20.) Melo 2001.

(21.) We have not modified the names of the characters of the play. Azevedo used to employ in his plays to his characters, names in English or French, which has been interpreted as an ironic way to say that Brazilian society was controlled by foreigners.

(22.) A new athletics club opened in Rio de Janeiro at the end of the 19th Century.

(23.) Comendador is the title given to someone who received a 'commendation' and could be purchased in those days.

(24.) Reis-19th century Brazilian currency.

(25.) Here, Azevedo is making a play on words as donkey in Portuguese (as in English) can refer to both the animal and to somebody who is stupid.

(26.) Xandico, kindness nickname for Alexandre.

(27.) Jogatina means gambling. This is another side of Azevedo's work, naming his characters with funny names that demonstrated the truth without masks.

(28.) Regalia mean privilege. Another of Azevedo's word plays.

(29.) At the 19th Century, the majority of the Brazilian population still lived in the rural parts of the country. That situation only changed in the last decades of the 20th Century.

(30.) Schetino 2008; Melo 2009b.

(31.) Benvinda means 'welcome'.

(32.) 'Nho', Nha' are the way that the lower level people, the house's workers using the uneducated language call their bosses' son and daughter ... it's something like 'little mister' or 'little miss", it is not an extant word. It's a way at the same time to show respect (showing she is a worker there, she cannot call them only by their names) and intimacy, friendship.

(33.) A bike circuit in Portuguese is a 'velodromo'; in this play Azevedo coins 'Belodromo', with its irony and word play.

(34.) S'il-vous-plait, another French name.

(35.) The original word is bacamarte, originally an old kind of rifle, later used to describe old fashioned, low-class people from the countryside.

(36.) Sinho is lower class Portuguese for 'senhor' (Mister).

Works Cited

Aguiar, Flavio. Antologia do Teatro Brasileiro-a Aventura Do Teatro Musicado (Vol. 2). Sao Paulo: Editora Senac, 1997. Print.

Azevedo, Artur de. A Capital Federa -Comedia-Opereta de Costumes Brasileiros, em 3 Atos e 12 Quadros. Rio de Janeiro: Servico Nacional de Teatro. Ministerio da Educacao e Cultura, 1972. Print.

--O Bilontra. 1885. 11/02 2010. http://www.unicamp.br/iel/memoria/Ensaios/Bilontra/bilontra.doc.Web.

Edmundo, Luiz. O Rio De Janeiro Do Meu Tempo. Rio de Janeiro: Conquista, 1957. Print.

Gumbrecht, Hans Ulrich. Elogio Da Beleza Atletica. Sao Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2007. Print.

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