Rio Carnival Pays Tribute to Ayrton Senna with Cartoon Characters

Media conglomerates export American culture throughout the world, but other countries often don’t consume that culture in its intended profit-oriented manner. Here’s a great example: a performance that took place yesterday at Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the piece, performed by the Unidos da Tijuca group, ‘speedy’ American cartoon characters are suffused with new meaning as they participate in a performance dedicated to the legacy of Brazilian hero, Formula One driver Ayrton Senna, who died twenty years ago in a racing crash. The characters, portrayed with elegant hand-crafted costumes, include Speed Racer, Speedy Gonzales, Penelope Pitstop, Dick Dastardly, Muttley, The Flash, Cheetara from ThunderCat and Sonic the Hedgehog. Watch a part of the performance here.

(Thanks, Rodrigo Tramonte, via Cartoon Brew’s Facebook group)