Lula, Saddam masks a hit at Rio carnival

www.japantoday.com Saturday, February 22, 2003 at 10:00 JST

RIO DE JANEIRO — A plastic mask of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is one of the top two hits at this year's carnival in Rio de Janeiro, industry officials said Friday.

The factory that makes the masks estimates sales of the masks will exceed 5,000 units.

A mask of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is this year's number one hit, with sales estimated at around 15,000 units.

One mask costs about 3 real, or about 80 cents, at stores selling carnival articles in the downtown area.

Shopkeepers say locals buy Saddam Hussein masks to wear and have fun with during the carnival celebrations, not to support or criticize the Iraqi leader.

"People do not buy these masks for political reasons," said factory owner Armando Valles, 77.

The Saddam Hussein mask has outsold the masks of U.S. President George W Bush and Osama bin Laden, the big hits of the carnival in 2002.

Wearing masks of locally and internationally famous people is a long-standing tradition of Rio de Janeiro's carnival festivities, which begin next Friday. (Kyodo News)