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Meet Eduardo

Faces of Rio 2016

By Rachel Tobias

August 7^th, 2016

Meet eduardo.

While enjoying a fresh suco de maracujá at the lovely Cafecito in the bohemian neighborhood of Santa Teresa, Eduardo approached my table to see if I would like a painted tile. I had seen him paint one for the couple at the table next to me and was both intrigued by his artistic process as well as happy to have some company.

He broke a white tile into three uneven pieces, and began to paint with his fingertips across each individual piece of tile. Using his fingers to mix colors, a small toothpick-like tool to create detail, and a blotting towel to create texture, he painted three astoundingly detailed scenes of Rio de Janeiro which came together to create a truly beautiful mosaic.

The three pieces of tile took about half an hour, and while he painted, we talked. We spoke about his art; I flipped through his smartphone album of tattoos he had created as he painted. We spoke at length about the Olympics.

These games are not for us. They’re for you.

Eduardo and many of his peers will not be going to any Olympic events this summer. For one thing, they wouldn’t be able to afford a ticket, he told me. But more importantly, they’re deeply frustrated, and their abstinence from the Games is partly in protest. Eduardo explained to me how much is lacking in Brazilian society, and in Rio in particular. Basic healthcare. Universal education. Reliable infrastructure. The list goes on. It’s not difficult to understand why Eduardo and scores of other Brazilians can’t rationalize why $12 billion should be spent on an event that many of them can’t even afford to partake in, when basic needs cannot be met in a country in the middle of an economic disaster.

My conversation with Eduardo challenged many of my own feelings about the Olympics, namely my idealistic vision of this as an all-encompassing event that brings everyone from around the globe together in harmony. I was deeply saddened to think that in many ways, he was right, and that he would likely never get to enjoy the Olympic Games in the way that millions of others around the world can. I felt frustrated for him, and frustrated that this thing that I cherish so much is ultimately serving as a detriment to the people it’s mean to celebrate.

On the other hand, I felt validated around my belief that the Olympics can indeed be a mechanism for positive change, if and only if we rethink the model and the approach. Much of what Thomas Bach is trying to do with Agenda 2020 is attempting tackling this in the long-term; but there still remains a need to shift the legacy perception and culture around the Olympic Movement to be something that is designed to move communities forward, rather than pull them backwards. Our world looks different in nearly every way than it did twenty or thirty years ago; technology, population, infrastructure, mobility, urban planning have all changed so drastically, and require a different approach to how the Olympic Games are shaped and structured.

It was important for me to hear Eduardo’s story, and to gain empathy for his anger and frustration at his government. We cannot change what has already been put into effect here at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, but I’m certain there is opportunity to explore the ways in which we can design for opportunities like this at future Games, and create a truly universal and sustainable experience.