Maria Paula Giacomelli
On one of the hottest mornings in recent times, in the midst of the heat wave that is ravaging Brazil, a woman enters a sports court in the east zone of São Paulo through the back entrance. Wearing a beige hat with a black band and khaki pants, only the presence of four security guards around her reveals that she is the heiress of a monarchy.
This is Elena de Bourbon, 59, firstborn daughter of King Juan Carlos 1st of Spain. With discreet clothes and no makeup on her face, her presence in no way resembles the uproar that other members of European royalty usually cause — like Prince Harry, to remain in a name that, even though he is in the royal lineage of his country, should not reach to the throne.
The infanta, that is, daughter of the king, but not heir to the crown, entered discreetly and without much fanfare to participate in a social football project supported by Fundación Mapfre, a company of which she is international director. The venue was the Centro Social Santa Luzia, in Artur Alvim, in an event held this Wednesday (20).
Children of different ages were already waiting for her, some wearing Brazilian shirts and others wearing costumes of the character Emília, from Sítio do Pica-Pau Amarelo. It was only when she sat down in the chair reserved for her, in the center of a table also occupied by Santiago Solari, former Real Madrid player, that a first smile — shy, the kind that doesn’t show teeth — was seen. While the ceremony did not begin, the two engaged in a friendly chat. He spoke and she nodded.
Before anyone decided to get funny, the organization immediately gave the warning: Elena doesn’t like photos being taken too close and wouldn’t speak to the press. Even the photographers had a designated distance and could only position themselves up to the middle of the court for the images, with the infanta being at one end of the place.
While the children danced excitedly to the theme song of the TV show starring the group created by Monteiro Lobato or the funk song “Flow”, by MC Guimê, she showed a slight expression of fun, but without leaving her costume.
Positioned at the edge of the field, the security guards gave in to the tranquility of the event and, at a certain point, sat down. But without letting your guard down. One of them gave details of how the security scheme works, with the inspection starting two days before.
“We came here on Monday (18) to assess what the region is like, observe the place and look for possible escape routes”, says Lucas Nascimento, 35, a security guard at the foundation. He says that the choice for Elena to enter the school was through the parking lot at the back because it is more closed and less visible.
“The person who drove the car she was in was a police officer and the vehicle is like this, with black film for the windows. The other security guard and I came in another car, behind, to shield hers. Nothing ever happened, but we have to be prepared to mitigate something.”
When it was time for the coffee break, the table was plentiful and full of options: French bread, sliced bread, cold cuts, cream cheese, watermelon and orange juice, brigadeiro and, of course, coffee with milk and cheese bread. But the infanta opted for fruit, and even so she was very selective — she only ate one or two pieces.
O F5 found that, at another event this week, she didn’t even want to try a sweet peanut to avoid gaining weight. However, she had a Brazilian delicacy that made her curious. Despite not having tried it during the event, she asked for the cheese bread recipe to take to Spain.
Can she find sweet cassava starch and semi-cured Minas cheese there?
Source: Folha
I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
