Madonna kit, songs and even CDs: Orla de Copacabana becomes the singer’s unofficial store; see prices | Economy

“I want my share of this R$ 300 million that the city hall says Madonna will move in Rio”, demands street vendor Moacir Santos, 47 years old, in a rare break between shouts to advertise his “Madonna kit”, consisting of a cap , t-shirt and fan from the queen of pop, all for “just” R$ 120, in Copacabana, in the south zone of Rio, on the afternoon of Friday, the 3rd.

On the eve of the singer’s highly anticipated show, which is expected to bring around 1.5 million people to the beach this Saturday, the 4th, the sidewalks of Rua Rodolfo Dantas, which connects the Cardeal Arcoverde metro station to the point on the beach where the stage is located which will welcome Madonna from 9:45 pm, spent the day and much of the night packed with vendors.

In addition to t-shirts, caps and fans (if purchased separately, at R$80, R$25 and R$30, respectively), towels (R$50) and sarongs (R$80) with photos of Madonna, horns and even CDs (do you remember them, dear reader?) by the singer (R$20). “Today alone I have earned more than I did in the whole of April”, celebrates Santos, the kit seller. “During Carnival we can make a profit, but now it’s better, people are more willing to spend”, he compares.

The movement in Copacabana, comparable to that of New Year’s Eve, indicates an intense economic movement and gives arguments to Mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD), who invested R$10 million from public coffers in the event. There was no shortage of criticism of this investment – on social media, many people said that it was absurd for the city hall to spend on the show when it could invest in hospitals, schools or public safety.

The mayor justifies this by citing the capacity of hotels, a record for this time of year, and the movement at airports and bus stations – which registered a 30% increase in movement this weekend. Around 150 thousand tourists are expected in the city.

Former opponents in local political disputes, Paes and Marcelo Freixo, president of the Brazilian Agency for International Tourism Promotion (Embratur), came together in the same speech: “Madonna’s show puts Rio and Brazil to the whole world, it will be This is a topic all over the world. There are more or less R$300 million injected into Rio’s economy. The tourism production chain is very democratic: it goes from the hotel owner, from the restaurant owner to the taxi driver, from Uber, to the mate seller, Everyone wins. Tourism today accounts for 8% of Brazil’s GDP, generating jobs and income,” he said in a video on social media.

Copacabana restaurants
Cited by Freixo, restaurants in Copacabana are taking advantage of the movement, but, based on the report’s research, this time they have not adjusted their prices, as invariably happens days before each New Year’s Eve. In self-service establishments on the streets close to the show site, a kilo of food varies from R$59.99 to R$100, depending on the sophistication. “Until Thursday, the 2nd, the movement in the restaurant had not changed. This Friday, there were a lot more people, the neighborhood is crowded”, says Almir Pereira, owner of a bar on Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana, about 400 meters away. meters from the stage, which serves food for R$59.99 per kilo.

Among the more sophisticated, the Churrascaria Palace, a few meters from the stage, offers all-you-can-eat meals for R$ 225. Also nearby, Cervantes is famous, with a ham sandwich with pineapple for R$ 33, Galeto Sat’s with portions of heart of chicken for R$52, and Tasca Carvalho, where marinated sardines cost R$35.

Beer for R$10 and cabin kiosk from R$1,000
On the waterfront, the cheapest beer can offered to reporters by street vendors – Brahma or Antarctica – cost R$ 10. A can of Xeque Mate, a rum-based drink that was a hit during Carnival, costs R$ 25 (during Carnival it was R$ 20). Water costs from R$6. “I’m selling well, this heat has helped,” commented Márcio Seixas, 27, who lives in Brás de Pina, in the north zone, and went to Copacabana to try to secure extra income. “I work as a security guard, but I take advantage of my free time to earn extra money,” he said.

As happens on New Year’s Eve, during this Saturday’s show the kiosks will become “boxes”, with food and drinks available, at far from reasonable prices: in the four closest to the stage, the lowest price charged for a ticket was R$1,000 – and they sold out.