(AFP) – In Brazil, where he is affectionately nicknamed “Bruninho”, the global star Bruno Mars transformed a small, unpretentious bar into a tourist attraction after his unexpected and improbable visit to a working-class neighborhood.
Douglas MAGNO / AFP
“Bruninho came here!”, we can read on a sign in front of the white and red facade of Laçador, a “boteco”, one of those bars where Brazilians like to sip a beer.
Enough to change the dimension of this modest establishment located in the Cachoeirinha district, a few kilometers from the Mineirao stadium, where the “Uptown funk” singer performed in November in Belo Horizonte (south-east), the third largest city. most populous in Brazil.
“It was a Tuesday morning, I was chatting in front of the bar door with friends, when three super tall guys got out of a black car and asked me if I had any beer,” he told AFP. Ronaldo Teixeira, owner of Laçador.
And when a fourth occupant got out of the vehicle, wearing a yellow and green cap and t-shirt in the colors of Brazil, his build much less imposing than that of the other three, the 62-year-old trader immediately recognized “Bruninho”.
“He sat down and said to me, in a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish, something like ‘Call the guys’,” says the bar owner.
“I immediately shouted: ‘Come, he’s calling us to take a photo!’ Some people from the neighborhood came, he started dancing and I followed him. It was great!”, he adds, reproducing gestures from the choreography, eyes sparkling and smiling from ear to ear.
The sequence was immortalized on a video, an extract of which was published shortly after on the official Instagram account of the winner of fifteen Grammys.
– Can “intact” –
An unexpected advertisement for the Laçador, and a boon for its owner, who opened this bar two years ago, after having had to close a butcher's shop that he had run for more than two decades, due to accumulating debts.
“It has become a tourist place, we receive lots of new customers, people from other cities, of all ages, fans of Bruno,” says Ronaldo Teixeira.
He receives this clientele in a renovated place, thanks to work financed by the brand of beer served at Bruno Mars at Laçador.
For the record, “Bruninho” never opened the can, which was kept “intact” like a treasure by the owner of the place.
He also hung a large red frame on the wall with a photo of himself sitting next to the star, with both men pointing to the sky, a pose popular with the artist.
“When I was told Bruninho was here, I rushed to shake his hand. He greeted everyone, he’s a very simple guy,” says Adilson Machado, a local mason.
“It's great that a world celebrity chose to go to an unknown street, so far from the center, to have a beer,” adds Raphaela Resende, social projects analyst.
Bruno Mars, 39, has never hidden his love for Brazil, where he has already visited on four tours.
And the Brazilian public repays him: he was even symbolically offered a CPF, the identity number for citizens of the largest country in Latin America.
“After more than a month spent in Brazil, I will never be the same again,” the singer wrote on Instagram, in the message that accompanies the video of the notable moments of his last tour, including the visit to Laçador.
