Drones in a shopping mall.

They built a huge shopping mall called "Iguatemi", illegally, on environmentally protected land here. It seems to be quite successful.

There are three malls here now (I count only the free-standing malls- there are innumerable smaller malls which offer, in a smaller scale, the similar services) , all fairly glossy, and serving primarily the needs of middle class females. You need a car to visit one of them, but the others are accessible by public transport. All three malls are costly and bland and their floorspace almost entirely given over to the needs of women.

Studying the mall, it is possible to conclude that women are dominant in Brazilian society because, although they do not hold senior positions in the workplace, the mall indicates the extent to which the market is focused on their needs. Luis Filipe described the society here as a "false patriarchy" because of this- men appear dominant, but in fact are merely the servants of female desire.

It could be argued that I am placing too much importance on shopping in my analysis. To counter this, it should be noted that these malls are easily the largest recent public constructions in Florianopolis, dwarfing the airport, cathedral and bus station. The malls are also the only places open at weekends and late at night. They are a focus for the general culture in a way that the arts centre isn't. I would also add that the shopping mall is more truly representative of the society in a way that displays and events at the art centre aren't.

Florianopolis holds a special position in the contemporary Brazilian imagination, in that it is regarded by so many Brazilians- and indeed foreigners- as sort of Brazilian "city of the future".

"Iguatemi" is extremely uninteresting visually, but it is a suitable place to study the behaviour and interests of Brazil's dominant classes, and I shall be expanding on these points here in later postings.

The ideas in this posting were discussed at length with Luis Filipe, and I wish to acknowledge the importance of his contributions.

A nose like Jo Lo's

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New Service Offered.

A new department has opened at Angeloni's giant flagship superstore in Florianopolis, Brazil.

 This department can be found next to the cosmetics counter, just behind the cleaning products. Angeloni's proudly claim that you can find a replacement here for any part of your body. There are over 1000 parts to chose from in a range of skin tones and sizes, both male and female

. I went there to find out. I'd decided to replace one of my fingers, because I had managed to scald myself a few days earlier, and there was an unsightly red blister on my index finger. After waiting in a long queue, I was greeted by a sweet-natured man, somewhat camp, not unlike a hairdresser. He showed me their range of index fingers and I was able to find one that matched closely. "after a couple of weeks you won't notice the difference. They grow to match your skin tones, " he explained. 

 I remembered then that I also wanted to see his noses. The birthday of my girlfriend was approaching and she had often complained about her nose. "I'd also like a long thin nose, " I said to the assistant. "Jewish?" "I was thinking of something more in the Roman line" He had two sizes. "Don't you have something a bid more like Jo Lopez?" I asked. The sales assistant told me that an order was coming in in a week's time, "but we do an express delivery service". This came as something of a relief as Danielle's birthday was in two days time. Angeloni's would gift wrap the nose and deliver  by special courier direct from the factory. Together, the nose and the finger came to just $55.

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