Inspired by the sights of the Rio de Janeiro, the culture of this city and about boccia, the Dibo mascot was born under the hands of designer, illustrator and boccia player Thutto Santos. The entire visual identity of the competition is also signed by him.
Thutto Santos | @Bruno Maia – ANDE
“Whoever thinks of Rio, remembers the beach, Corcovado, Sugarloaf Mountain, the Selarón staircase, but all this beauty of Rio is always enhanced by the sunlight and the warmth of its people”, commented Thulio, who added: “Just like the sun, our target ball (the white ball, the Jack) is responsible for the objective of our modality. Everything revolves around her and the whole game is based on her, as it is in the solar system.”
Check out the exclusive interview with Thutto Santos:
RJ 2022 Boccia: What did you feel when you saw DIBO for the first time?
Thutto: I was looking forward to meeting him and was surprised when I met him at the Opening Ceremony rehearsal. It was really cool and I would love for him to become the boccia mascot, not just for the Rio de Janeiro Boccia World Championships.
RJ 2022 Boccia: Is this the first time you’ve created a mascot?
Thutto: It wasn’t the first time I created it, but it was the first time I created a mascot for an event of this size, and also that a mascot of mine came to life.
DIBO & Referees | @Bruno Maia – ANDE
RJ 2022 Boccia: What did you feel when you arrived here at Arena Carioca 1 for the Boccia World Championships and saw all the pieces you created?
Thutto: This project began to be thought of in 2020 and I was looking for something innovative, something that wasn’t obvious, and that’s why I looked for cultural references from the city of Rio to develop something different. I had already created pieces for small events through an agency that I interned, in projects that I developed with colleagues from the agency, but this was the first time that I took on a challenge of the size that this event has. And that’s when the Selarón Steps came up and I wanted to make an allusion to the history of the Steps and the World Champs. Selarón built the stairs with the donation of tiles he received from friends who brought them from all over the world. It is a great work of art made by him with the collaboration of friends. The ladder itself is one of our biggest challenges as wheelchair users, and serves to remind us that no ladder is or will be limited for all of us. That we are able to overcome all the adversities of life.
RJ 2022 Boccia: Of all the graphic pieces, apart from the DIBO, which one do you think is the most beautiful?
Thutto: Without a doubt, the one that struck me the most was Dirceu Forever. And it was also the piece that I brainstormed the most with the Director of Communication and the President of ANDE, Grazie Batista and Artur Cruz. I didn’t know how it would be used, but I was very happy to see that they paid homage to Dirceu’s family during the opening of the Worlds. That was a big deal for me and for a lot of people.
Thutto has Ulrich Muscular Dystrophy and got to know the sport through an invitation from the athlete Antonio Leme, ‘Tó’, in 2015. Both are BC3 class athletes.
Campeonato Brasileiro de Bocha Paralímpica 2022 | ANDE
