New Books In Latin American Studies

Today we are joined by Gregg Bocketti, Professor of History at Transylvania University, and author of The Invention of the Beautiful Game: Football and the Making of Modern Brazil(University Press of Florida, 2016).  In our conversation, we discussed the transplantation of European sports to Brazil, the rising success of the Brazilian national team in the 1920s and 1930s, and the development of O Jogo Bonito style of play.In The Invention of the Beautiful Game, Bocketti takes on the traditional nationalist narrative of Brazilian football, which suggests that their successful teams of the interwar and postwar era, which occurred following the shift from foot-ball to futebol in Brazil, arose from the countries specific cultural and racial heritage.  Brazilian soccer’s triumphs emerged from the successes of its racial democracy.  Bocketti’s unique organization illustrates the contradictions in this national myth through five thematic chapters.  He analyses the grafting of European sports in B