You thought the parrot was retro - São Paulo

Faustão with his dancing girls (from my seat at the football field's bar)

I would be remiss if I did not mention another of Brazil's most well-known presenters. His name is Faustão. I admit that it is many years since I have watched one of his shows, but yesterday afternoon he was on the telly at the championship soccer games. I am guessing that I last saw his show in 1998 when I first moved to Brazil, and from what I can tell, it hasn't changed a bit. Okay, he has definitely lost a few pounds because I always used to fear that one of his shirt buttons would finally give up and pop off into the crowd. He seems safe now.

Faustão pre-weight loss (photo credit fmanha.com.br)

Faustão has a show that seemingly goes on forever. I am actually pretty sure it used to be four hours long but I have to get someone Brazilian who is not BH (who pretends Faustão does not exist) to comment. Yesterday it started at 4 pm, went until 5 pm, then they showed the Corinthians-Flamengo game in the middle. As soon as that was over (around 7 pm), they returned to Faustão until 9 pm. Seems a strange way to do it with a soccer break in the middle, but who am I to argue with globo's formula?

So there he was in front of his huge group of dancing, clapping girls. Yes, in full-on 2013, Faustão presents his "variety" show in front of maybe 25 identically dressed (skimpily, I might add) dancing girls. It is the stuff that gives this country a bad stereotype.

Here is a link to a clip from yesterday (all credit to globo.com) and I hope you can see it in other countries--let me know if it works. 

http://globotv.globo.com/rede-globo/domingao-do-faustao/t/programa/v/fabio-jr-canta-caca-e-cacador/2975774/

The show is billed as "Domingão de Faustão" (Big Sunday with Big Fausto). I just looked it up and saw that this show has been running EVERY Sunday since 1989. Someone is watching this. He has big musical acts on, and interviews people, but in between all this he just talks and talks. They just let him talk. He talks about turkeys (last night's show had a turkey sponsor, and I mean the edible type o' turkey) and then talks about his next guest. Most of the time he doesn't even let the guest talk....he is constantly interrupting while the guest looks nonplussed. 

Faustão's name is Fausto Correa da Silva but I have never heard him called anything but Faustão.  Since I mentioned that his contemporary, Ana Maria Braga (she of the large parrot) was married to a much younger man, I feel it necessary to also tweak Faustão who is married to someone 27 years his junior (he is currently 63 years old).  Time must be a whole different thing for him--he started working at age 15 as a radio reporter, and hasn't left radio/TV since. Certainly he doesn't leave the air every Sunday afternoon until the boys in shorts chase him off.

Faustão post-weight loss and look like perhaps he has gotten a little other work done? Hmmm? Photo credit: ig.com.br