being an European, I am ashamed by the comments you found on America’s culture (or cultural policy). first, the US has something that most European countries do not even dream about: philanthropy. in many cases, there isn’t a philanthropy tradition for Culture, which makes this particular sector extremely dependent on the State. therefore, the State better have a Ministry to manage that dependency. this does not happen in the US. I personally regret this although I believe that both are equally important for different reasons. anyway, not having a Ministry of Culture might not exactly be a bad thing. despite this, and above all, the US has a very strong culture. and any European can easily understand that, if ever interacting with americans or visiting the country. yet, America has blurred boundaries, to an extent we do not understand. European countries have centuries of “culture building” with very well defined limits (or limitations), starting with the ultimate barrier of language. I do believe that this is maybe the richest asset we have in Europe. but I also know that, because language can often become a prison, that might lead to a lot of prejudice against other cultures. I guess the existence of the EU is contributing a lot to enhance tolerance and acceptance; diversity has recently become the motto for European policy making. it takes time but, between being affraid of identity loss and actually enjoying diversity, I think we’re on the right track.

another thing I want to argue is that, despite of Mr. Gil’s wonderful work, which I admire from his musical accuracy to his political sensibility, I don’t agree when you say cultural Ministries tend to promote some few cultural superstars only. taking the European case again, which is the one I am most familiar with, I think this has exactly been what cultural public institutions (including Ministries) try to avoid. support to emerging artists and mobility in the arts are strongly fostered. this means young artists also get a chance to prove themselves to the world and that culture finally circulates, becoming more and more accessible. of course, if you go down to national level, this doesn’t happen in all European countries (unfortunately, Portugal has still a long way to run on these matters…) but something is in fact changing. as Men, Society has its needs. and, historically, we are only now becoming aware of the extreme importance of culture as a source of well-being, sustainability and peace. (of course, there have always been people defending this, but only in the recent years the world was prepared to listen to them) so no, I don’t think Gilberto Gil is the exception that proves the rule but more the wonderful reference that proves the trend. I say vote for him!

and to you and José Murilo, I say thank you. you are definitely right when it comes to governments being more focused on spreading their perspectives and instructions rather than listening and engaging people. thank you for working on that. (I’d like to talk to you more about this for the projects I’m involved with.)

last but not least, you both are much more handsome after the last three and a half years. keep on, utopians! I’d like to see what you’re up to in three and a half years. which doesn’t mean I wont keep an eye on you meanwhile…

beijinho
Fátima