Pelé, the Brazilian and world soccer legend, passed away in late December, just a few weeks ago. For many, he was the greatest to ever play the game. He won three world cups, scored countless goals, and elevated the profile of Brazil across the globe. This presentation will revisit Pelé's career and its fascinating and complicated impact on Brazilian culture.
Paulo Moreira has a PhD in Comparative Literature from UCSB. He taught at Yale for nine years, and now is an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. With several articles on Brazilian, Mexican, U.S. and Latin American literature, cinema, and culture, he has published two books: Localismo Modernista: Faulkner, Guimarães Rosa e Rulfo (Editora UFMG, 2012) and Literary and Cultural Relations Between Brazil and Mexico: Deep Undercurrents (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). He is currently working on a book tentatively called Journey into Latin American Imagination.
Part of the Latin American Studies lecture series, "World Cups and Soccer Legends: Why Soccer Matters in Latin America."