New Year’s Greetings from Gas Pump Zé

Draught Lager on Itararé beach

At the height of summer, the beaches are packed with vendors. In an exhibition of kinetic architecture that includes customised bicycles, hand pulled trolleys and six wheeled carts, everything is for sale. Steamed corn dripping in salty butter, skewers of dried crunchy prawns, meaty kebabs, grilled cheese on sticks, fried fish, freshly roasted cashew nuts, lime and passion fruit cocktails and dozens of ice cream trolleys. Bikinis, hats, buckets and spades, kites, henna tattoos, holiday jewellery, footballs of every size, and then there is gas pump Zé selling Chopp, highly chilled draught lager.  At times like this I think of my family and friends in the bleak northern European winter. When are you coming back, they ask. Not for a while I reply as I raise my glass in a toast. Down with Milei, Trump, Putin, Orban, Erdoğan, Kim Jong Un and all the other narcissistic authoritarians for whom objective historical truth is an inconvenience. Peace and love to all the comrades for 2024.