Thank goodness for cartoons!

Transforming research into narrative is an often frustrating process--but it also can be highly entertaining when you're working with pompous rhetoric, witty invectives, and comic strips. These have inspired me to share once again, even if it's but a brief post.

From one of my favorite sources, Diabo Coxo, an 8-page, weekly, satirical magazine published in São Paulo in 1864 and 1865:

Fortunately for me (and everyone, really, because who honestly isn't interested in the theaters of São Paulo?), Diabo Coxo began publishing just after the São José Theater opened its doors. Perhaps the timing wasn't entirely coincidental; as you can see, the short-lived publication loved deriding the theater, its audiences, and performers.

The moral of this post? Next time you cringe at the horn player's intonation, just remember that it was a whole lot worse in 1865 São Paulo.