I do my post for last week today because I was quite busy last week and I did not manage to do it properly. Anyway, I found the two articles quite interesting. We are quite used to associating Latin America with the two examples given this week. Indeed, the futebol and the telenovelas have a broad and multinational audience. The first article about the futebol was interesting. Indeed, I know that futebol was a popular sport in Latin America but I did not realize that it has such a big impact. In his article, Alex Bellos stressed the relationship between futebol and politics. He explains, « Futebol gives Brazilians a feeling of national identity-citizenship ». Thus, the defeat of 1950 is considered as « the most beautiful and most glorified (…) historical examples of national crisis in Brazil ». But, how a sport could embody a nation? I think that this defeat transformed the futebol into a national element. Indeed, Brazil was a young country and had not any experiences of a national tragedy. That is why; this defeat became a symbol of the Brazilian identity. I assume that after this defeat, the national identity increase. But, the identity created seems to be based on a « sense of inferiority and shame ». Thus, Brazilians suffer from this defeat but their sufferings contribute to increase the national feelings of identity. Nevertheless, some of the aftermaths of the defeat were also the rise of the racism against people from slave backgrounds. Thus, the model of a Brazilian nation based on mestizaje was put into question. This illustrated how it is difficult to make a nation. I found the second text also interesting. It deals about the telenovelas in Latin America. Ortega explains that modern telenovelas are inspired by radio novelas, which were broadcasted in the early 1900’s. This text reminds me the article of William Rowe and Vivian Schelling who explain that the telenovelas are the new form of the folletos, which were prevalent at the end of the 19th century. Thus, the development of telenovelas traduces the change from a traditional society to a modern and urban society. Moreover, the author stresses the relationship between the upper culture and the popular culture comparing the opera with the telenovelas. I assume that the two types of cultures are both important in the construction of a national feeling.