Paula Góes

Brazilian journalist and translator living in London. I blog [pt] about translation and Brazilian literature and poetry available in English. I am also proud to be a volunteer translator for the Global Voices Lingua project in Portuguese.

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Latest posts by Paula Góes

What if Obama was African?

  November 19, 2008

Suppose Barack Obama was running for elections in an African country, would he have become president? Mozambican author Mia Couto raises the question, and bloggers from Mozambique and Angola respond. Paula Goes translates their reactions from Portuguese.

Brazil: Is Obama the American version of president Lula?

  November 10, 2008

In the case of Lula, hope overcame fear. In the case of Obama, hope overcame prejudice. Both leaders won peoples' trust that changes would come. Six years on, Brazilian electors are yet to see many of the dreamed changes come true. Can Barack Obama learn from the errors of a Southern neighbor?

Obama Made in Brazil – Part II

  November 8, 2008

Brazilians celebrate Obama's victory in Brazil and Obama lookalikes have been spotted all over the country. A blogger claims that Obama would not be born if it wasn't for Brazil, and another expects a Obama baby boom in there too. The US elected president still fascinates its southern neighbor.

Time to Say Good Bye to Bush and Meet the Real Obama

  November 5, 2008

"History never moves with the big things but with the small ones. History changes when, in the armpit of life, a seed of difference germinates, even if a small one. And Obama is this difference, his election was and is that difference. He will be a diagonal between the two theses. Little by little, against racists and racialists. With the whole Africa inside of him, fulfilling his Kenyan destiny. N'Kosi sikeleli Africa!"

Elections through the Eyes of a Mozambican Tourist in New York

  November 5, 2008

Just a day before November fourth, Mozambican blogger Manuel Araújo arrives in New York. In this translation from his blog, you will see his fresh testimony on the elections atmosphere in the Big Apple's streets and learn about a casual encounter with an Obama supporter. "I found this conversation interesting because my new friend did not even ask me who I supported. He assumed that, being black and being where I was, I could only support one candidate - Barack Obama!"

Obama or McCain – Who is Better (Or Less Bad) for Brazil?

  October 31, 2008

This is the first US presidential elections in which Brazilians clearly see issues close to their hearts at stake. Both candidates have at some point touched on biofuels, international trade, Latin American integration and the place of Brazil in the world. Bloggers from Brazil have their say on who is a better president from their perspective.

Will the elections end up in another Bradley effect?

  October 17, 2008

Bloggers throughout Brazil have promoted a new banner in support of Barack Obama, in which the race question is imbued. The "Não vote em branco" strap line has a simple but yet clever word play: in Portuguese, it means both at the same time: "Don't cast a blank vote" and "Don't vote for a white person."

Obama: Made in Brazil

  October 15, 2008

None of the six "Obamas" running for office in Brazil - despite trying hard to capitalize on the American candidate's popular appeal and the wave of Obamania that has taken the country aback - succeeded in getting elected in the recent October 05 municipal elections.

Paris Hilton Ready to Lead America

  August 6, 2008

"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead," says celebrity Paris Hilton in a tongue-in-cheek online video reply to the advertisment launched by John McCain. The viral caught the blogosphere by storm, triggering millions of hits and thousands of comments and blog posts around the world in less than a day. Paula Goes reflects on a few voices in this post.