Since our coverage of Brazil's carnival celebrations began on Monday, curious readers have been musing on the lucky bastards who get to paint fake pasties, images of Obama, and "pieces of tape" on the queens of the parade.
Luckily, MSNBC took a break from goofing on Bobby "Hale-Bop Eyes" Jindal to bring us a profile of one of those lucky bastards...
Among the highlights from the extended profile (geez, you would think the reporter actually desired to stick around all those completely naked women getting done up in exotic colors) of Betto Almeida, the most hated man in South America today, are these choice moments:
...he spends hours painting the bodies of gorgeous women — and earning as much as $2,000 a day...
"You wouldn't believe how many applications I get for an assistant," Almeida deadpanned, never taking his eyes from his work as he brushed bright orange paint on the stomach of a model in his glass-enclosed studio under the grandstands at the Sambadrome...
...models who earn about $250 a night to mingle, clad only in paint, with high-rollers in the luxury boxes...
Michele Peres, a 28-year-old model wearing tiny black shorts, snakeskin stilettos and a watch... "...his work draws more attention to me. It is good for him, it is good for me."
Both women said some men — mostly foreigners — get a little frisky in the box seats...
...he dipped his brush into one of a dozen plastic water bottles cut in half to hold his paint, carefully painting jaguar spots on the back of the model's thighs...
"...How could I say no?" he asked, diving into a cheeseburger after finishing up with Peres. "A lot of guys are jealous of my job."
The full story is here.
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