Brazilians were ranked on the number one list, out of 14 for its samba and Rio carnival; the soccer beauty of Pele and Ronaldo; the minuscule swimwear and toned bodies of Copacabana beach; and the “eye-watering procedures performed with wax,” according to Neild.
He also insists that Seu Jorge, the favela-raised performer’s soulful Portuguese-language David Bowie covers is the icon of cool.
But says, Neild, Brazilian meat and cocoa while delicious are not so cool since farming destroys vast tracts of rainforest and “leaves a bitter aftertaste.”
The only other Latin America/Caribbean nation to make the list was Jamaica.
The country was added to the cool list for Rastafarian, its accent “that’s the envy of the English-speaking world and the planet’s most distinctive and recognizable hairstyle – dreadlocks.”
Reggae singer Jimmy Cliff owned the ‘Icon of cool’ category for Jamaica but Neild said the country is not so cool because of a “high murder rate and widespread homophobia.”
