Kiko Nogueira: Caetano blamed the 'ninjas'

247 - In offering a mea culpa for the photo in which he posed with a t-shirt covering his face, in defense of masked protesters, Caetano Veloso places the responsibility for the situation on the Mídia Ninja group. This is the opinion of journalist Kiko Nogueira, from [source missing]. Diary of the Center of the World.

According to him, Caetano, "in his vocation to appear and to try to seem 'young', aligns himself with what he believes to be new, with controversial results." In an article, the journalist questions, referring to the Black Blocs: "If he doesn't believe in violence, what was he doing with a group whose tactic is vandalism?"

Read here Caetano's article, published last Sunday. And below, Kiko Nogueira's article:

Caetano, but you can call him Jabor.

Caetano Veloso published a mea culpa in his latest column for Globo, "Um Dia Aventuroso" (An Adventurous Day). He spoke about the photo he took with a black t-shirt covering his face, in the guise of a black bloc protester, taken during a visit to the headquarters of Mídia Ninja in Rio de Janeiro. He explained the circumstances in which the portrait was taken. The image fulfilled its objective of generating discussion. (O Diário commented here).

"I'm just an old man from Bahia, but I've lived here for many years, and I think banning masks in a city like Rio is symbolic violence," he wrote in the newspaper. "Now I see that they put the photo online and someone immediately tweeted that I'm opportunistic and inciting violence. No. I understand that Black Bloc is part of it. But I'm not even a staunch anti-capitalist. And I want peace."

Basically, he claims he was tricked by members of Mídia Ninja/Fora do Eixo. He tells a far-fetched story about how he, Sidney (?), Yvonne Maggie, and Olga Bronstein took the subway to the South Zone, ate sashimi, and ended up at the meeting at UFRJ.

No one has the right to be surprised by Caetano. In his vocation to appear and to try to seem "young," he allies himself with what he believes to be new, with controversial results. But this business of shifting the responsibility onto the shoulders of the "ninjas" doesn't help (his manager and ex-wife Paula Lavigne enthusiastically declared, "no one can stop Painho!").

The photo of him dressed as a Black Bloc member was published on the Mídia Ninja page—and also on the singer's social media profiles, managed by his advisors (the same team that runs the website). It makes no sense to claim he didn't know what he was getting into. Why, then, the video testimony? If he doesn't believe in violence, what was he doing with a group whose tactic is vandalism? What does it mean to not be a "convicted anti-capitalist"?

Caetano Veloso was an Arnaldo Jabor in reverse. (Jabor was a little faster: he changed his mind about the protesters in 48 hours). He's obviously not stupid. Perhaps it's just time for the old Bahian to get old.