Daughter of Pelé, Kely Nascimento sees a conservative wave as a reaction to progress

Kely Nascimento, 54, is proud to be the daughter of who she is.

He describes himself as an activist on issues of race and gender, presents the pronouns he identifies with (a concern of the LGBTQIA+ community with non-binary people), celebrates the release of the film Marighella, shares publications by Mídia Ninja, advocates for vaccination and debate even on the Palestinian question.

“This conservative wave is a reaction to inevitable progress, a strong reaction to a woman president and a black president,” he tells sheet.

New York resident since age eight and graduated in arts, is mother of four, runs the Nascimento Foundation and is directing the documentary “Warriors of a Beautiful Game” about women’s football, which should be released in 2022.

“[Com o filme] I saw the connection of being Pelé’s daughter and talking about football. I saw in women’s football a mirror for all gender inequality in the world, reflected in the football of each country. It was a marriage of all my passions.”

How was your childhood? It was as normal as it could have been with my father being who he is. Moving to the United States was like going to Mars. I dreamed of one day having a video phone so I could see my grandmother every day. I studied at the UN school, which gave me a sense of thinking globally. To understand that other people in the world had other ideas, other passions, other religions that were just as important as mine.

And when did you start getting interested in political issues? I was always interested and we always talked about race in my house. People say my dad doesn’t take a stand, but he’s from a completely different culture. My father tells a lot of racism stories. My mother [Rosemeri Cholbi] it always showed the differences in how races were treated on television, in movies. And I noticed early on that everywhere we were invited there was no one who looked like me [negra de pele clara], just who was serving, and absolutely no one like my father [negro de pele escura], not serving.

Do you agree with the criticisms that your father doesn’t take a stand? It would be a wonderful world if Pelé were Pelé and were also super activist. People like to compare him to Muhammad Ali. It would be interesting to compare him to Cassius Clay [nome de Ali antes de se converter ao islamismo]. Then you will see the culture where my father was formed as a person and the culture where Cassius Clay was formed. Education, influences, examples of activism. Cassius Clay, of course, had an activist soul. But it is different to be in a democratic country that has a government that is acting in an undemocratic way than in a country with a military government.

So, to answer you, I agree with the frustration behind the criticisms and I also agree that he [Pelé] did a lot just to exist. It would be great if when younger he had an influence that would make him a super activist, it would be ideal, but if you look through the lens of 1960s Brazil… It’s not very difficult to understand. Until recently, sport was the only way a person like my father could see the world. I am so grateful that he is black. A black man who left Brazil representing the country, this is very strong.

Do you remember having suffered racism with your father? Not with him. But without it, it was common. My father’s building in New York was in a very white place, and when I arrived, I was always asked who I worked for, what family I was babysitting. I’ve always had this microaggression routine, until today. my neighbor here [nos EUA] I couldn’t believe I had bought this house.

Why use football in your initiatives? Sport is a mirror of society, so the most practiced sport in the world will be one of the best mirrors. That’s the first thing, sport is one of the best social tools, along with art and music. And also because I’m Pelé’s daughter, I bring a natural spotlight to the things that bother me and that I want to talk about. I saw that he was a person who brought a lot of love and affection from the people he was with and I had in mind: “How can we take a little of this and use it to continue doing good things?”.

And you’re making a movie about women’s football… When I met Laís Araújo [jogadora e protagonista], I started researching women’s football and, oh, I was shocked. I know that Brazil is an extremely sexist country, but what shocked me was that I didn’t know anything about women’s football. How could I not know that until 1981 it was illegal in Brazil? [A prática foi ilegal entre 1941 e 1979, e só foi regulamentada em 1983] Then I saw the connection of being Pelé’s daughter and talking about football. I saw in women’s football a mirror for all gender inequality in the world, reflected in the football of each country. It was a marriage of all my passions. The idea is to make a film that reflects the passion, affection and love these women have for football in a cinematic way that is generally only used for men’s football.

Why was the anti-racist movement in sport, in 2020, more shy in Brazil than in the US? Here they are more comfortable talking about this topic, and the athlete here is at a higher economic level. But we are advancing in Brazil, for sure our turn will come. But it’s going to be different, because it’s a different country, another culture. I’m very happy when I hear Djamila Ribeiro speak, when I see films like Marighella.

Have you ever suffered retaliation for what you post on the internet? Yes, but I’m not silly either, I want to be alive so I can keep screaming. I don’t fight with crazy people, there are a lot of people who are just angry. For me, this conservative wave is a reaction to inevitable progress, a strong reaction to a woman president and a black president. You have to understand that the laws that govern us are made by a racist system, just being a non-racist person doesn’t change the fact that you [branco] take advantage of the laws that were made for you to win. And this is a very difficult subject for many people, because immediately a person feels guilty and nobody likes to feel guilty. That’s why this wave is a reaction.

In your father’s last hospitalization, you posted a lot about him and your networks grew. Did something change for you? When I started posting at the hospital, my followers doubled. It was interesting because first I had to block my dad’s trolls, which came too. Afterwards, I didn’t know if these new followers wanted to know what I want to say. I thought, “Well, let’s see what happens when I get back home and start posting, for example, against Bolsonaro.” So far so good! It’s something I tried very hard to avoid when I was young, this charge of having to be what people expect of you. But today it’s different, it doesn’t affect me that much, because I know who I am.

Have you ever been judged for getting something ‘just for being Pelé’s daughter’? I don’t know if people think that. That was my insecurity, I thought it was always better for people to find out after they already knew that I deserved to be in that place. I was always very proud to be Pelé’s daughter, but I wanted to prove myself first. Today I feel like I’ve proved myself, I feel much safer with my identity.