Tito Beltrán
Posted on 01/07/2008 9:47:09 AM PST by WesternCulture
Swedish opera star Tito Beltran has lashed out at his adoptive country ahead of his forthcoming rape trial, describing the country as "worse than Chile during the dictatorship".
Believing himself to be the victim of ethnic discrimination, the popular tenor has vowed to burn his Swedish passport after the trial.
"Swedes are as racist as they come," Beltran told Chilean newspaper Las Últimas Noticias. "This country doesn't tolerate 'blackheads' [svartskallar], of which I am one," he added.
Beltran, 42, is accused of raping an 18-year-old nanny at a hotel in Nötesjö in Skåne following his participation in a Rhapsody in Rock concert in the area in 1999.
"When all this is over I am going to hold a press conference so the whole world can watch as I burn my passport and tell the Swedes to take a running jump," Beltran told Las Últimas Noticias.
The Chilean-born singer goes on trial this Friday at Ystad District Court. Speaking from his remand centre at the weekend, Beltran told tabloid Aftonbladet that he had only given the nanny, who worked for actress Maria Lundqvist, a back massage.
Beltran said that the young woman came to his room, eventually stripping down to her underwear. He said they slept side by side, but insisted that it was "very innocent."
The tenor believes the accusations made against him to be part of a conspiracy orchestrated by a former relative, a prosecutor and a number of famous Swedes, Expressen reports.
"I have spent 20 wonderful years in Sweden but now I have also seen its flip side and it is worse than Chile during the dictatorship," Beltran told the newspaper.
The singer explained to Las Últimas Noticias that he had lost 10 kilos since being taken into custody in early December.
"But that is only because I am disgusted by Swedish food. I want nothing more from that country," he said.
Following the alleged rape, Maria Lundqvist encouraged her nanny to report Beltran to the police. She is now among those set to testify against the tenor. Among other stars due to give evidence in court are musician Robert Wells, Eurovision star Carola Häggkvist and singer Lill Lindfors.
Beltran meanwhile has rejected calls from the public prosecutor for the trial to be held behind closed doors.
"It has to be public so that nobody can manipulate any evidence," he told the Chilean newspaper.
Tito Beltran has become a well-known tenor in opera houses around the world, performing regularly at London's Royal Opera and the San Francisco Opera. He has also made regular appearances on Swedish television.
“The singer explained to Las Últimas Noticias that he had lost 10 kilos since being taken into custody in early December.
“But that is only because I am disgusted by Swedish food. I want nothing more from that country,” he said.”
- I’ve often heard that the food served to Swedish prison inmates is much better than what suspects held in custody get.
Maybe Beltran should consider the option of ‘singing out’?
I see he’s following the advice that Britney emailed to him. Hope it helps his career.
1999? Statute of limitations?
So I take it, he won’t be auditioning for “Mamma Mia!” anytime soon.
What a smegging idiot. He is as paranoid as Hugo Chavez.
I loved his story about laying next to the nanny after she pitched her kit (”it was very innocent”). If an attractive Swedish nanny stripped down to her knickers and laid next to me, things would not remain “very innocent” for very long.
Tito Beltrán
He's no Enrico Palazzo.
Blackheads? More like the Swedes don't like pinheads. Just what race are Swedes "racist" towards?
He said she said. What’s the evidence?
“The 99 cent “Ikea breakfast” just isn’t enough for most people.”
- Italians and the French have a reputation of being fussy and squemish about what they eat, but IKEA’s food has been very succesful even in these countries. But of course, ordinary Italians and French don’t have to feast on foie gras, Alba truffle and champagne all day long to keep their voices in shape.
It looks like Beltran could afford to loose some pounds/kilos:
http://www.titobeltrantenor.com/
An overweight Latin midget from Hell?
Ich bin ein svartskallar, and the Swedes were just fine to me.
“He said she said. What’s the evidence?”
- I haven’t heard of any technical evidence yet, but according to some sources, evidence against him is strong. In a case like this, “strong” evidence would mean more than mere accusations from one person/a group of persons against a certain suspect.
So he admits he's a zit?
“Just what race are Swedes “racist” towards?”
- Their own race perhaps. Just like most PC people throughout the West, PC people in Sweden agree the Caucasian race has caused more evil than all other races.
Of course, 99% of all Liberals and Socialists would never claim that the behavior of the white man is due to genetics, but to them it is OK to slander the white race, especially white men with lots of power, in ways which never would be tolerated in the case of colored/black peole.
For instance, it’s PC to say that selfish, stupid, rich whith men constitute the main threat to the environment while it, naturally, would be an act of racism to claim that selfish, ignorant, uneducated Africans is a major problem in this regard.
So true!
"Just a massage" 'splained this to his wife.
Robb lost his next election.
Hard to believe eh?
These people have long memories.
NOTE: IKEA has been highlighting some Skane designs and patterns for the last year.
Historically quite accurate, too, for the last few centuries.
OTOH, Caucasians have also done more good things during this period than all other races.
Frankly, white men have done most of the stuff, both the good and evil types.
“This happened in Skane. Every now and then you hear complaints from this “formerly Danish” part of the country that Swedes are oppressing them.
Hard to believe eh?
These people have long memories.”
- In many ways Sweden is very homogeneous, but already before the 1950’s, when mass immigration began, there were several different ethnic groups within the country’s population although the only ‘true’ minorities were the Sami people in (the Swedish part of) Lapland together with some Gypsies/Romani people and some Jews.
To a large extent, the natives of Skåne/Scania feel like an ethnic group of their own, being neither Swedish or Danish.
Other parts of Sweden where you find a strong desire to promote and express a unique cultural/ethnical identity is Jämtland (a region that used to belong to Norway) and the island of Gotland (in the Baltic Sea).
Europe is even more of a confusing, multilayered patchwork than many non-Europeans and even Europeans themselves are aware of.
Although the conversation below is fictional, it illustrates how complicated the issue of ethnicity and nationality is in Europe:
Visitor to Munich, Germany adressing a local: “-Would you say Munich is the most ‘German’ city in the whole of Germany?”
Local resident of Munich: “-No, Munich isn’t German at all, it’s Bavarian!”
Visitor: “-So people in Nuremberg and Munich feel like they are Bavarians, not Germans?”
Local: “-Actually, the Nurembergers aren’t real Bavarians, they’re Franks!”
Visitor:”-So the ‘Franks’ in Northern Bavaria have a lot in common with the people in Northern Germany, the are like 50% German and 50% Bavarian?”
Local:”-Not really, most of the Franks today live in France and the Northerners are ‘Prussians’. The Franks are not Prussians”.
Visitor:”-So the Franks originate from France, are they a ‘Gaul’ tribe?”
Local:”-No, no, no, they are a Germanic tribe”
Visitor:”-Now get I it, the Franks have their roots here in what we today call ‘Germany’, just like the other Germanic tribes but a lot of them went west to France?”
Local:”-Hate to disappoint you, but the Germanic tribes didn’t come from this part of Europe at all”
Visitor:”-But?..”
Local:”-All of the Germanic tribes once lived in Scandinavia. They begun spreading south around 850-900 BC”
Visitor:”-I see, but back to the original question, what city is the most typically ‘German’ city throughout today’s Germany, at least I’ve understood it can’t be Nuremberg”
Local:”Many Germans would actually say it IS Nuremberg”
—
“NOTE: IKEA has been highlighting some Skane designs and patterns for the last year.”
- That’s interesting and I think it’s a good move by IKEA. Skåne/Scania is a great part of Sweden in many ways. I’m not from Skåne myself, but I would gladly admit that Skåne is one of the most fascinating and dynamic parts of Sweden. For being such a comparatively small region in terms of land mass, Skåne has really got a lot to offer.
Lately, Malmö, the largest city in Skåne, has received a lot of bad press (even internationally) because of the chaotic Muslim immigrant situation there. However, the problems can’t be compared to what goes on in places like LA and although there are lots of Muslims and other immigrants in many parts of Malmö, the real trouble is limited to a small residential area of 20 000 inhabitants called Rosengård (the metro area of Malmö has over 600 000 inhabitants).
Best of regards, fellow FReeper!
BTW, if you take a good look at the map you'll see that from the area of the Royal Palace (Malmohus) you can see Sankta Olaf in Denmark).
That's on the other side of the Golden Sound/Golden Strait ~ the Royals kept the other royals in their sight for centuries.
We finally had a major genealogy hit on some of our Huguenot ancestors. They abandoned France in the late 1500s, and abandoned Sweden circa 1700 and Finland about 1800-09, with intermediate steps along the way ~ a statue in Latvia, factories in Vassa Finland on the Gulf, relatives in the service of the Czar's cousins in Alaska and California, and on and on ~ absolutely truly incredible stuff.
And, along the way I discovered Skane. It was "conquered" and acquired by the Swedish king in that tumultuous period right after the King of Denmark assassinated the Swedish nobles.
Boy was that ever a mistake. Must go back over that history repeatedly to keep these `````son and `````dottir people straight, and then there are the French ~ scandalous the way they spent perfectly good money on silks and wines. Very unSwedish.
Gotta' tell you, I really didn't think the Scandinavia had a complex history until I got into this.
To a certain degree, true racists are right in saying that PC propaganda IS aiming at weakening 'The culture of the white man', but Liberals and Socialists are not obsessed with race issues like they are. What Liberals & Co are up to is trying to alter a CULTURE, in the first place the traditional Western one. This, they have in common with Nazis and other believers in totalitarianism and mystical theories about racial supremacy, but like we all know Liberals and Socialists don’t view culture as a consequence of genetics and apart from that, their political goals are of course very different from right wing extremists (or what to call them).
In many parts of the Western world, PC Liberals and democratic Socialists unintentionally undermine the values and ideals we Conservatives share with them, namely those of freedom, democracy and civilization by labeling all sorts of criticism of Multiculturalism and immigration policies as ‘xenophobia’ and ‘racism’.
Most Conservatives are NOT racists and the Liberals and the lefties are aware of this.
I’m a white, blond and blue eyed Swede, but I don’t walk around all day feeling proud of my skin pigments.
However, the biggest problem is NOT that PC people treat me and other Conservative adversaries of Multiculturalism unfair. The main issue here is that their shortsighted propagandistic behavior endangers the foundations of democracy.
Liberalism and democratic Socialism (which is a strong political force in over here in Europe) threaten democracy from within.
The PC Multiculturalists, far from adopting a true ‘Liberal’ stance, reason the same way as the Fascists and Nazis do; “those who are not with us, are against us”.
A society dominated by PC media and politicians leaves its citizens with no choice; either you are PC or you are a Fascist, a sexist and a racist.
If Fascism is the only political force that, theoretically, is ‘allowed’ to gainsay Multiculturalism, the very concept of being a true citizen is under threat. Such a political climate will produce two main categories of public debaters; outspoken enemies of democracy and ‘democrats’ in name only - citizens that either don’t wish to function as democratic citizens or people who have forgotten how to.
In ancient Athens, men gathered to speak their minds and make a contribution to their nation as free citizens in the ‘Agora’, the open place of assembly. Disagreement was common, but so was true patriotism and beneath the surface of fierce controversy and antagonism, there was a certain degree of mutual trust in the sincerity of the other speaker. Without such a mutual trust, a constructive debate cannot function and without constructive debates, democracy cannot function.
The only city which has had an impact throughout Western history that rivals Athens is Florence, Italy, the city that ‘invented’ the modern world by ending the Middle Ages and giving birth to the Renaissance. Presently, we Westerners have to decide if we wish to continue living in the ‘Prolonged Renaissance’ that is the Western World of today, or to surrender civilization.
Western Civilization is about preserving a unique cultural heritage; the ideals of freedom, citizenship and true human progress. Of adventure, patriotism and the desire to do what is right. The day we give up on these values, handed down to us throughout time from men like those who once gathered in the Agora, the West will cease to exist.
I'll grant you Athens, but I think Rome has been a much bigger influence in western culture than Florence.
The culture that the Florentine "Renaissance" was a rebirth of was essentially that of Rome.
I'm reading Colleen McCullough's Roman novels right now and the parallels between the Roman Republic and ours are astonishing.
I’ve understood that there is a feverish interest for genealogy in the US of today. This is a very good thing and by today, an average American probably knows more about his/her background from a genealogical perspective than an average European (although Europeans sure know a lot about their local traditions, regional history and such matters).
“And, along the way I discovered Skane. It was “conquered” and acquired by the Swedish king in that tumultuous period right after the King of Denmark assassinated the Swedish nobles.”
- As you might know, Sweden (which at that time included Finland), Denmark and Norway formed a union in 1397, called the Kalmar Union.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmar_Union
After some time, large parts of the Swedish elite got annoyed because they felt too much power tended to be concentrated in the hands of the Danes and the wars they waged furthermore disturbed our foreign trade.
We broke free from the union in the early 16th century and started to orient ourselves towards the goal of making the Baltic Sea an all-Swedish inland sea, a ‘mare nostrum’ (Latin for ‘our sea’), just like the ancient Romans did in the case of the Mediterranean Sea.
We were almost successful, but Danish fury over having lost what today is called ‘Scania’ together with Halland and Blekinge, led to Danish participation in an alliance with two leading European powers of that time, namely Russia and Poland, aiming at ending the Swedish supremacy in the Baltic Region. These plans failed disastrously and even though Sweden in the end suffered defeat at Poltava, there were not one, two, three, but four nations nearing total collapse at the end of the Great Nordic War (1700-1721). It is more than trifle ironic that the consequences of the reign of Czar Peter The Great, a Russian ruler often portrayed as a great, enlightened, reform-orientated modernizer, was that Russia at the end of his rule was lagging behind Western Europe even MORE than prior to his accession to the throne.
Today, there is economic progress in Russia, but there is still a long, long way to go.
Despite the fact that Russia has a population of 142 000 000, lots of successful corporations and enjoys a healthy economic growth, Scandinavia, with a mere 25 million inhabitants all in all, today boasts a combined GDP that is actually 25% LARGER than its Russian equivalent!
Fortunately, Denmark as well as the other Scandinavian countries never decided to return to backwardness like Russia did after 1721.
Well, now it’s getting late here in Thule, so I’ll simply finish by saying:
Good Night and greetings to Indiana from Gothenburg, Sweden
“I’ll grant you Athens, but I think Rome has been a much bigger influence in western culture than Florence.”
- I beg to differ.
The Romans were industrous and competent in many fields, but what they did was more or less just to carry on the heritage of the Greeks. You could call the Roman contribution to Western history an enhancement of something that was already there. In a cultural sense, Rome was a colony of Athens.
Renaissance Florence revolutionized literature, the concept of democracy, music, trade, industry, architecture, mathematics and philosophy and it’s not incorrect to say that men like Leonardo da Vinci invented modern science, even if modern science didn’t gain a position of a true ‘societal institution’ until the days of The Royal Society (founded in 1660).
There are many differing views on the importance of Renaissance Florence, but in my eyes Florence of that time was the emryo of the modern world we live in today. Florence managed not only to resurrect Antiquity, it managed to surpass it.
Take architecture. Neither the Romans or the Ancient Greeks could have erected a structure like this (and furthermore, well educated Florentines realized this and it provided them with an indomitable inspiration):
http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/sijpkes/arch374/winter2001/sfarfa/ensayo1.htm
Thanks for commenting.
Like said above, it’s getting late.
Best of regards, fellow FReeper!
Most of them were named that before the Civil War, and even before the War of 1812, and some before the American Revolution (1776).
The "Union" referred to is none other than the Kalmar Union.
All those towns were founded by descendants of folks who settled New Sweden (in roughly Delaware, NE Maryland, and SE Pennsylvania).
Apparantly the breakup of the Union wasn't all that popular among American Colonial period Scandinavians.
Of note, it's the Swedish, Finnish and Sa'ami speaking, but otherwise Russian Orthodox Scandinavians who persisted in naming every town they settled "Santa Claus" or "Saint Nicholas".
So next time you're out driving around in this country, keep your eyes open ~ the earliest Scandinavian people in America (17th Century) left their mark on the landscape and it's there to be read by the knowledgeable.
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