This week Valencian Fallas artist Vicarro let his work all over the world go viral in a way that he might not have kept possible before, but for all the wrong reasons. The 'ninot' figure, deliberately made as an act of satire, by Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior did not go well with a lot.
His piece was called 'The Golden Crap' and mocked the Brazilian football player for missing the balloon d'Or last year. Given the tense relationships between Valencia CF and Vinicius, and the racial abuse he suffered in the past, many saw it as a further racial attack on his figure.
Navarro has since made a statement on social media in the aftermath.
“These last 24 hours have been the most surrealistic of my professional life. After I had desired death and received all kinds of insults on social networks, from people who don't even know me, after making a ninot of the football player Vinicius, for the Ninot exhibition in Valencia, I will now solve the issue. I am not going to explain a second to those who are not interested, what the Fallas are, the work of the Faller@S artists, what is or not humor, something as subjective as how people exist in the world. “
“Nobody or someone will now come to us and tell us where the red lines of satire and creativity are, as if censorship returned, and much less of people who don't know and have not even been interested to know what a falla is, Earlier from publishing sensational and centralist headlines that encourage hatred. Let them see for the Madrid media that it is not very good to be Spanish and not to know one of their most important festivals. I am sorry, but I am not someone for grandparents and cats, maybe one day, but for now I prefer rock & roll more …. and for the Valencians, Faller@s and non- Faller@s, let's defend our culture and our roots because they are not going to do it elsewhere. Viva Valencia, Viva Les Falles and Viva Ons Land. “
In the meantime, the president of Las Fallas, Vicente Rodriguez, invited Vinicius to come to Las Fallas to see the figure himself.
“For a Valencian, having a ninot is a symbol of pride. We invite Vinicius to come to La Falla to see the figure. These things are never done with bad intentions. Las Fallas is satire and criticism, “he noticed to Marca.
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