"Samba brings me joy and makes me happy," the 59-year-old crooner said in Portuguese, as he posed for photos in the shade of palm trees.
The entertainer in question isn't your average Rio samba star. In fact, he's a South Korean diplomat from a very different seaside metropolis on the other side of the globe. But Lim Ki-mo, Korea's Busan-born ambassador to Brazil, has sung his way to stardom since being posted to the South American country three years ago, with a series of viral performances in which he has belted out Brazilian hits.
Last month, Lim's singing career hit new heights as he took the stage at one of Rio's most illustrious samba spots, Renascença Clube, to perform with one of its top samba groups. Hundreds of samba connoisseurs danced euphorically as Seoul's man in Brasília sang tracks by the legendary composer Adoniran Barbosa and the chart-topping combo Grupo Revelação.
"The crowd went berserk," said Gabriel Cavalcante, the singer who invited ambassador Lim to perform with his group, Samba do Trabalhador.
Footage of the diplomat's impassioned presentation exploded on social media with critics giving him a unanimous thumbs up. "His performances... are filled with emotion and energy," said Rio broadsheet O Globo.
This story is from the May 03, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 03, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Saudi football World Cup is an act of violence and disdain
Well, that's that then. In the event there were only two notes of jeopardy around Fifa's extraordinary virtual congress last week to announce the winning mono-bids, the vote without a vote, for the right to host the 2030 and 2034 football World Cups.
AI has made the move into video and it's worryingly plausible
I recently had the opportunity to see a demo of Sora, OpenAI's video generation tool, which was released in the US last Monday, and it was so impressive it made me worried for the future.
With tyrant Assad ousted, Syrians deserve support and hope
Last week, time collapsed. Bashar al-Assad's fall recalled scenes across the region from the start of the Arab spring almost 14 years ago. Suddenly history felt vivid, its memories sharpened. In fact it no longer felt like history.
TV
The Guardian Weekly team reveals our small-screen picks of the year, from the underground vaults of post-apocalyptic Fallout to the mile-high escapism of Rivals
Albums
Murky love stories, nostalgic pop and an in-your-face masterpiece captured our critics' ears in 2024
Film
Visual language, sound, light and rhythm are to the fore in the best movies of the year
Hidden delights Our 24 travel finds of 2024
Guardian travel writers share their discoveries of the year, from Læsø to Lazio
'It's really a disaster' The fight to save lives as gang war consumes capital
Dr James Gana stepped out on to the balcony of his hospital overlooking a city under siege. \"There's a sensation of 'What's next?'. Desperation is definitely present,\" the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medic said, as he stared down at one of scores of camps for displaced Haitians in their country's violence-plagued capital.
Trailblazers The inspiring people we met around the world this year
From an exuberant mountaineer to a woman defiantly facing the guns of war, here are some of the brave individuals who gave us hope in a tumultuous 2024
Votes of confidence
From India to Venezuela and Senegal to the US, more people voted this year than ever before, with over 80 elections across the world. With rising authoritarianism and citizen-led resistance revealing its vulnerabilities and resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges, has democracy reached its breaking or turning point?
