How Did Pele Influence The World

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Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, was born into poverty in Brazil in 1940. His original nickname was Dico, but his friends started calling him Pele after his favorite football player Vasco da Gama ‘Bile’, whom he mispronounced as ‘Pele.’ Pele had worked many odd jobs to make money. His father, an amateur football player, gave Pele lessons as a child. He had told his dad that one day, he would win him a world cup. He went on to win three. At the age of seventeen, Pele played in his first World Cup, the biggest football arena in the world. Rising from poverty, Pele became the international symbol of football, represented social mobility in Brazil, melted racism, and proved to be an ambassador for peace efforts in Africa. …show more content…

At the bottom of the social pyramid were the blacks; at the top were the whites. A person who climbed from the bottom of the social pyramid to the top in societal and economic status was almost unheard of. Most of the few who did were athletes, and Pele was one of them. Poor people idolized him and made them believe that if Pele could make it to the top, so could they. “Pele’s ascent from poor to one of the most popular and successful figures in the world was a representation of social mobility for the people of Brazil.” Equally uncommon, in Brazil, was Pele’s reputation. His reputation was carried on from generation to generation. Pele managed to stay present in the media and at the forefront of people’s minds. Even as recently as the 2016 summer Olympics, people were asking, “Where’s Pele?” It was anticipated that Pele would carry the torch in the opening ceremony in his home country of Brazil, but he did not. Pele was a symbol of Brazil and the structures within Brazilian society. While the blacks were at the bottom of the social pyramid, in Brazil, this was called ‘racial democracy.’ Brazil had a rigid social hierarchy. Most from the bottom were unable to climb to the top. “With the passage of time, the old soccer mutilated by racism gave way to splendor of its diverse colors.” Most Brazilians remained within their social classes. With little money or means, along with the political upheaval,

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