Review of Mixórdia de Temáticas: Série Lobato (Ricardo Araujo Pereira)

I started the year traveling in Portugal, and whenever I travel there (which is at least once a year) I buy some books that I could not get any other way, since living in Germany makes it more difficult to find books in other languages. I don’t say it is impossible, but more difficult for sure and, yes, more expensive. I am a fan of Ricardo Araujo Pereira, and as he publishes something new every year, on every visit to Portugal I have to get his new book. In this case, his summary of his “mixórdias”.

My criticism of Portuguese literature, or rather the literary industry in Portugal, is that books are very expensive there, and, I assume, it makes it difficult for them to reach a larger audience. On the other hand, what I see as positive is that readers always find a way, and many second hand book fairs are organised continually, where you can buy books a few years old at a tenth of the original price. There are also many second hand book shops, where you can get books for a lower price, and these places are often very picturesque, you need to wander a bit in those shops to get lost between those old volumes and the smell of old paper and humidity. Unfortunately, Ricardo Araujo Pereira’s books are relatively new (the ones I bought have only been a few months old at the time) and, therefore, quite expensive. But hey, while on vacation I wanted to pamper me a bit and bought two of his books: «Mixórdia de Temáticas: Série Lobato» and «Estar vivo aleija«. In this post I would like to talk about the Mixórdias, and in a later post I will talk about “Estar vivo aleija”.

If you do not know the author, Ricardo Araujo Pereira, I leave the English Wikipedia link with his biography, although if you speak or understand Portuguese, my recommendation is that you visit the Portuguese page of Wikipedia. The Portuguese version has many more details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Ara%C3%BAjo_Pereira

What is the book about? What is a “mixórdia”? I will try to answer those points right away. Ricardo Araujo Pereira appears as a daily guest on the “Radio Comercial” in Portugal, where he does a small programme called «Mixórdia de Temáticas«, which would be like a «mix of themes«. Every day Ricardo talks about a different matter, in a humorous tone, no more than five minutes. The sketches are normally performed by Ricardo using different voices, and above all, different accents from Portugal, particularly from the North of the country. It is mostly observational humour. They are so funny, that many have remained in the Portuguese popular culture.

«Mixórdia de Temáticas: Série Lobato» bears that name because every year Ricardo publishes a book about his “mixórdias” and gives every series a different name. These books consist of the texts or scripts of each of his daily shows. Clearly, it is not the same as listening to it, or seeing it (because “Radio Comercial” now also uploads the videos of the recordings on the radio to its website), but they are very funny texts anyway.

Here is the link for the “Radio Comercial”, if you would like to watch Ricardo Araujo Pereira and his programme: https://radiocomercial.iol.pt/videos/mixordia-de-tematicas

Final comment: I love Ricardo Araujo Pereira and I love his type of humour. Out of every five of his sketches there is one that is pure gold, but the others along the way are very entertaining. However, the one that is pure gold can make me laugh for a whole week. “Mixórdia de Temáticas: Série Lobato” is highly recommended for those who know something of the culture of Portugal or have any connection with the country, as is my case. (I am related to Portugal by marriage, just in case you were wondering).

Book quote (in the original language, Portuguese): “Futuramente, quando a humanidade tiver colonizado outros planetas, vai dar jeito a minha especialização em furto de galinhas.” (O Jedi de Fafe).

Keep on reading,

GG Klimt

Questions to answer in the comments:
Have you read any of Ricardo Araujo Pereira’s books? And in particular, have you read “Mixórdia de Temáticas: Série Lobato”? Did you like it? Do you agree with my final comments on the book? Have you read any similar book of the same genre that you would like to recommend? Please answer these questions in the comments section.