In her speech, Fernanda Torres dedicated the award to her mother, Fernanda Montenegro, who competed in the same category 25 years ago - Robyn Beck / AFP
(Not so) basic needs - OPINION
By Claudia Andrade
The basic needs of a human being go far beyond physical survival. It's not enough to breathe, eat and sleep. Each individual needs to have guaranteed access to what allows them to live with dignity: food, drinking water, health, education, and housing. These are issues that have always made me deeply indignant, that have always torn my heart with revolt, and shaped my purpose in life. Throughout my career, I have dedicated my energy to minimizing these inequalities, especially in vulnerable communities. Today, my daily fight for SDG-6, which seeks to guarantee access to clean water and sanitation for all, is a reflection of this greater desire: to restore dignity to those who have been deprived of it. Water is not just life; it is health, hope, and a human right.
But what is dignity? It's much more than surviving. It's living fully, with your head held high, your heart fed and your soul inspired. No, we cannot be content with providing only the bare minimum. Because, just as the hunger of the body demands bread, the hunger of the soul cries out for art, for culture, for beauty. Art expands our horizons, and gives us back the ability to dream, to feel, to be human. And yet, in Brazil, art is selective. It is a privilege for the few. Few can afford to go to the theater, watch a play, or enter a museum. It's as if culture, like so many other rights, were denied to those who need it most.
And this exclusion doesn't stop at borders. Outside, in the world, Brazilian culture is often devalued, and made invisible, as if we were just a country of parties, carnivals, and “bread and circuses”. As if we could be content with crumbs. But we can't. We shouldn't. Because we are much more than that.
And then, yesterday, something happened. Fernanda Torres, a woman who carries in her essence the soul of Brazil and genealogically the legacy of Brazilian art, became the first Brazilian actress to win the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama. An unprecedented award, a moment that took everyone's breath away. It wasn't just her victory. It was the victory of a people who insisted on existing, creating, and resisting. A people who, despite so many inequalities and scars, do not give up fighting, dreaming, and asserting themselves in the world.
This award tells us much more than words can. It shouts out that Brazil no longer accepts being marginalized. It reminds us that art and culture are as essential as the water we drink and the bread that feeds us. They humanize us, they make us alive. They are a right, not a luxury.
Yesterday, when I saw Fernanda receive this recognition, I felt something I couldn't describe without tears in my eyes. I felt that, even amid our many battles over essential issues, we can't stop fighting for art, for what makes our hearts beat stronger.
And if there's one thing Brazil teaches us every day, it's that crumbs will never be enough. We are too big, too creative, too alive to settle for the minimum. We fight for everything. For the basics, yes. But also for the extraordinary. Because every person deserves not just to survive, but to live fully, with dignity, with pride, with a sparkle in their eyes - and with access to everything that rightfully belongs to them. We need to “democratize art” (SDG 19).
Fernanda Torres reminded us yesterday, January 5, 2025, that we are a powerhouse. That our people deserve the world. And that, together, we won't stop until we conquer it.
Text: Claudia Andrade
@cauvic2
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