Relações entre as míticas de Garrincha e Macunaíma: literatura, futebol e identidade nacional

Abstract

This dissertation proposes a comparative analysis between the figures of Garrincha, Brazil's iconic footballer in the 1958 and 1962 World Cups, and Macunaíma, the title character of Mário de Andrade's work, in order to reveal similarities between them and their roles in the affirmation of a national ethos. The central objective is to identify how these figures, although controversial, were crucial to the Brazilian cultural imaginary, analyzing Garrincha and his dribbles—which challenged the "mongrel complex" (complexo de vira-latas)—in dialogue with Macunaíma, the "hero without any character" who relates to the archetype of the Brazilian malandro. Methodologically, the approach is situated between 1958 and 1969, a period in which filmmaker Joaquim Pedro de Andrade released the fundamental films for this research corpus: “Garrincha, alegria do povo” (1963) and “Macunaíma” (1969). The work is theoretically grounded in authors such as José Miguel Wisnik (2008), Ruy Castro (1995), Nelson Rodrigues (1993), Alfredo Bosi (1988), Stuart Hall (2011) The results indicate that Garrincha and Macunaíma consolidate themselves as modern myths that naturalize the tensions between norm and deviation, discipline and improvisation, and order and trickery (malandragem). It is concluded that the poetics of Garrincha’s dribble and Macunaíma’s astuteness represent a creative resistance to the logic of productivity, reaffirming a national identity that recognizes itself in invention and the shifting of boundaries as legitimate ways of inhabiting Brazilian modernity.