Blanka
Encyclopedia
is a video game character
from the Street Fighter series of fighting game
s. Blanka is depicted as a feral savage, with green skin and long orange hair, resembling a monster
more than a human. He is one of the original eight characters featured in the first version of the Street Fighter II
games.
, the concept behind Blanka was conceived early on, appearing in an early design document as an African man named "Anabebe" who was raised by a lion. After the release of Final Fight, Capcom approached the concept of Street Fighter II once more, and considered several designs for such a character, first one based on masked wrestler modeled after Tiger Mask
and a later ninja-inspired appearance. The design later changed to a large man with thick hair and sideburns named "Hammer Blanka", before eventually becoming Blanka.
he wears. She reveals that Blanka was once known as Jimmy, before he was in a plane crash as a little boy. This crash caused him to be raised in the wild, although he has connections to a local village. Ever since the crash, Blanka/Jimmy had been separated from his mother.
According to some sources, Blanka acquired his electrical trait from the same plane crash due to an intense electrical storm at the time (the cause of the crash). According to the instruction manual for the SNES version of Street Fighter II it states he learned the ability from electric eels.
In Street Fighter Alpha 3, his character design was changed to make him less ferocious-looking. His in-game story, just like the in-game stories of the other characters in the series, serves as a precursor
to the events of Street Fighter II. The game tells a tale of how Blanka ate a melon on a poacher's
truck and traveled to civilization for the first time. Playing the game as Blanka, the player eventually faces Dan Hibiki
as one of Blanka's mid-bosses
. It is then revealed through in-game dialogue that the two know each other and that Blanka had once saved Dan's life. Blanka faces Zangief
as his second mid-boss and unwittingly prevents Zangief from helping to destroy the Shadaloo criminal organization. He then faces Shadaloo member Balrog
before facing M. Bison
. After Bison is defeated, Blanka, Dan, and Sakura
work together and destroy Bison's psycho drive weapon.
Blanka made appearances in several spin-off
titles. Blanka is available as a playable character in the later games of the Street Fighter EX
series, Street Fighter EX2 and Street Fighter EX3
. He also made appearances as a playable character in Capcom vs. SNK
and Capcom vs. SNK 2
. According to his ending in Capcom vs. SNK 2, he thought he was flown home, but when he got off the plane, he ends up in a zoo instead.
Blanka also appears in Street Fighter IV
, where he now lives with his mother in the city. Feeling out of place among the locals, Blanka feels as though he's an embarrassment to his mother and decides to travel the world, getting involved with the events of the game while doing so. However, it turns out his mother was never ashamed of him and loves him just the same.
from plants to better blend in with the jungle environment, a color change that eventually became permanent. His coloring changed in later games, making him bright green with vivid orange hair as opposed to the yellowish green skin he had in Street Fighter II. Blanka's style of fighting in the games is a self-taught savage fighting style though the Street Fighter 2 game manual states his fighting style to be Capoeira
.
While Blanka's in-combat vocalizations are exclusively limited to feral yells and growls, some iterations of the series feature post-fight screens that depict Blanka declaring victory using actual words. In Street Fighter IV, Blanka speaks regularly, in victory quotes, cutscenes, and Personal Actions.
Most of Blanka's special moves have Blanka rolling himself into a ball and launching himself at his opponent. There are different variants to this attack (wherein Blanka travels straight forward, upward, along the ground, or in an arc). Blanka's Super Combo in Super Street Fighter II Turbo is the "Ground Shave Rolling", which is an enhanced ground-roll attack. In Street Fighter EX2 and Street Fighter IV
he has an electrified version of this move.
However, Blanka's signature attack is his "Electricity" move. Blanka crouches down and emits an electrical current from his body that shocks his opponent, should they touch him while it is active. He also gains a sliding attack, Amazon River Run, in later games that can pass under projectile attacks.
In Street Fighter EX3
, he gains a tag-team super move when paired with Dhalsim.
The 1994
live-action Street Fighter
film
combined Blanka and the unrelated supporting character Charlie (Guile
s deceased war buddy in the original game) into a single character. Kim Repia plays the role of the mutated Blanka, with Robert Mammone as the human Carlos. At the beginning of the film, Guile's close friend Carlos "Charlie" Blanka is taken captive by Bison (Raúl Juliá
) who subjects him to genetic testing to create the perfect soldier. While the mutation is successful, Blanka retains Charlie's personality, as Dr. Dhalsim, the scientist in charge of the project, had given him the wrong cerebral programming in order to "keep him human" (and partially because he resented Bison's plans). Blanka and Dhalsim fight Bison's troops together during Guile's invasion of Bison's base, but opt to remain behind and perish in the destruction of the base. The film was made prior to Charlie's introduction as a playable character in the Street Fighter Alpha games and therefore conflicts with the Charlie Nash storyline established there.
In the American cartoon series, Blanka was portrayed as the protector of a small Brazilian village who eventually "rejoined" the Street Fighter team. Blanka appears as one of the more recurrent characters in the U.S. cartoon, acting as a scout gathering information for Guile
and his friends on various missions. He was voiced by Scott McNeil
.
In UDON
's Street Fighter comic adaptation
, Blanka is introduced as a Shadaloo prisoner who is essentially a living weapon used by the organization. He is unleashed on Delta Red when they discover Shadaloo's base of operations but ceases his attack when painful memories of being brutalized by Cammy are evoked upon seeing her. Blanka is captured by Delta Red and his mind is eventually freed from Shadaloo's influence. While in transit with Delta Red, their plane is captured by Shadaloo forces and Blanka is once again forcibly subjected into servitude for Shadaloo's purposes. He participates in the Street Fighter tournament on Shadaloo island but is eliminated in the early round. Once the Psycho Drive is destroyed and the island is evacuated, Blanka returns to his senses. The aftermath of the comics shows a similar ending to the official canon (being reunited with his long lost mother).
In the 2010 Capcom game Dead Rising 2
, Blanka's head available as a weapon in various toy stores but is referred to as a goblin
mask
.
Also in an episode of Mad
, Blanka made a brief appearance in a guide to video game cheats.
In June 2011, he appeared briefly in a "Yourfavoritemartian" music video on YouTube, with over 5,000,000 views as of July.
. IGN
ranked Blanka at number seven in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, noting his unique characteristics and uniqueness amongst characters in the series; the sentiments were later repeated by GameDaily
in their "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" article, in which he placed fourth. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
described him as resembling "some ridiculous hair-club-for-Hulks member", though stated his electric attacks made him an effective character if mastered. Gamespy
named him one of the "25 Extremely Rough Brawlers" in video gaming, praising the brutality of his attacks.
The Brazilian version of the politically-oriented humor television show CQC
interviewed people in Spain
, asking who were the most known Brazilian people. Blanka ranked third after Gisele Bündchen
and Pelé
.
In 2009, hours after the announcement of Rio de Janeiro
as the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics
an internet meme
began to spread depicting Blanka as unofficial mascot of the event.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Street Fighter series of fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
s. Blanka is depicted as a feral savage, with green skin and long orange hair, resembling a monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
more than a human. He is one of the original eight characters featured in the first version of the Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
games.
Conception and creation
Designed by Akira YasudaAkira Yasuda
is a Japanese animator, character designer, game designer and mecha designer, who works under the pen name "Akiman".-Career:...
, the concept behind Blanka was conceived early on, appearing in an early design document as an African man named "Anabebe" who was raised by a lion. After the release of Final Fight, Capcom approached the concept of Street Fighter II once more, and considered several designs for such a character, first one based on masked wrestler modeled after Tiger Mask
Tiger Mask
is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's Bokura Magazine from 1968 to 1969 and was later published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 1970 to 1971...
and a later ninja-inspired appearance. The design later changed to a large man with thick hair and sideburns named "Hammer Blanka", before eventually becoming Blanka.
Character history
Blanka's first appearance in the Street Fighter series was in Street Fighter II. In his Street Fighter II ending, he reunites with his mother Samantha, who recognizes him from the ankletAnklet
An anklet, also called ankle chain or ankle bracelet, is an ornament worn around the ankle. Barefoot anklets and toe rings historically have been worn for centuries by girls and women in India. In the United States both casual and more formal anklets became fashionable in the late twentieth century...
he wears. She reveals that Blanka was once known as Jimmy, before he was in a plane crash as a little boy. This crash caused him to be raised in the wild, although he has connections to a local village. Ever since the crash, Blanka/Jimmy had been separated from his mother.
According to some sources, Blanka acquired his electrical trait from the same plane crash due to an intense electrical storm at the time (the cause of the crash). According to the instruction manual for the SNES version of Street Fighter II it states he learned the ability from electric eels.
In Street Fighter Alpha 3, his character design was changed to make him less ferocious-looking. His in-game story, just like the in-game stories of the other characters in the series, serves as a precursor
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the events of Street Fighter II. The game tells a tale of how Blanka ate a melon on a poacher's
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
truck and traveled to civilization for the first time. Playing the game as Blanka, the player eventually faces Dan Hibiki
Dan Hibiki
is a video game character from Capcom's Street Fighter series of fighting games. Introduced in Street Fighter Alpha, Dan is consistently portrayed as an arrogant, overconfident, yet utterly feeble character.-Concept and creation:...
as one of Blanka's mid-bosses
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
. It is then revealed through in-game dialogue that the two know each other and that Blanka had once saved Dan's life. Blanka faces Zangief
Zangief
is a fictional character in the Street Fighter series of video games. Created by Akira Yasuda for Capcom, Zangief first appeared in Street Fighter II, later appearing in other games, media, and promotions related to the Street Fighter franchise...
as his second mid-boss and unwittingly prevents Zangief from helping to destroy the Shadaloo criminal organization. He then faces Shadaloo member Balrog
Balrog (Street Fighter)
Balrog is a character from the Street Fighter fighting game series.Balrog is depicted as an African American boxer wearing blue trunks with white trim and a torn white shirt under a blue tank top. He wears red boxing gloves and boxing shoes...
before facing M. Bison
M. Bison
M. Bison, known in Japan as Vega, is a video game character created by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, he is a recurring character in the Street Fighter series of fighting games, acting as the final boss and primary antagonist of the Street Fighter II and Street...
. After Bison is defeated, Blanka, Dan, and Sakura
Sakura Kasugano
is a player character in the Street Fighter series of fighting games. Sakura is portrayed in the series as a young Japanese schoolgirl who idolizes Ryu, whom she wants to be trained by.-In video games:...
work together and destroy Bison's psycho drive weapon.
Blanka made appearances in several spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
titles. Blanka is available as a playable character in the later games of the Street Fighter EX
Street Fighter EX
Street Fighter EX is a head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN hardware in . It is a spin-off of the Street Fighter series co-produced by Capcom with Arika and was the first game in the series to feature polygon graphics...
series, Street Fighter EX2 and Street Fighter EX3
Street Fighter EX3
Street Fighter EX3 is the third console installment in the Street Fighter EX series developed by Arika and published by Capcom. The game was released in 2000 for PlayStation 2 in Japan and North America, and subsequently released in Europe in 2001....
. He also made appearances as a playable character in Capcom vs. SNK
Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
is a head-to-head fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for Segas NAOMI hardware and later ported to the Dreamcast...
and Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, known as Millionaire Fighting 2001 in Japan, is a sequel to the fighting game Capcom vs. SNK. This game was released on NAOMI hardware in the arcade...
. According to his ending in Capcom vs. SNK 2, he thought he was flown home, but when he got off the plane, he ends up in a zoo instead.
Blanka also appears in Street Fighter IV
Street Fighter IV
is a fighting game produced by Capcom. It is the first numbered Street Fighter game released by Capcom since . The coin-operated arcade game was released in Japan on July 18, 2008, with North American arcades importing the machines by August...
, where he now lives with his mother in the city. Feeling out of place among the locals, Blanka feels as though he's an embarrassment to his mother and decides to travel the world, getting involved with the events of the game while doing so. However, it turns out his mother was never ashamed of him and loves him just the same.
Characteristics
Blanka's most apparent characteristic is his green color. His in-game storyline states that he was once extremely pale and was once known locally as the homem branco (white man) and adapted the branco into his name Blanka. His green skin color in the games is attributed to his constant use of chlorophyllChlorophyll
Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros and φύλλον, phyllon . Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light...
from plants to better blend in with the jungle environment, a color change that eventually became permanent. His coloring changed in later games, making him bright green with vivid orange hair as opposed to the yellowish green skin he had in Street Fighter II. Blanka's style of fighting in the games is a self-taught savage fighting style though the Street Fighter 2 game manual states his fighting style to be Capoeira
Capoeira
Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...
.
While Blanka's in-combat vocalizations are exclusively limited to feral yells and growls, some iterations of the series feature post-fight screens that depict Blanka declaring victory using actual words. In Street Fighter IV, Blanka speaks regularly, in victory quotes, cutscenes, and Personal Actions.
Most of Blanka's special moves have Blanka rolling himself into a ball and launching himself at his opponent. There are different variants to this attack (wherein Blanka travels straight forward, upward, along the ground, or in an arc). Blanka's Super Combo in Super Street Fighter II Turbo is the "Ground Shave Rolling", which is an enhanced ground-roll attack. In Street Fighter EX2 and Street Fighter IV
Street Fighter IV
is a fighting game produced by Capcom. It is the first numbered Street Fighter game released by Capcom since . The coin-operated arcade game was released in Japan on July 18, 2008, with North American arcades importing the machines by August...
he has an electrified version of this move.
However, Blanka's signature attack is his "Electricity" move. Blanka crouches down and emits an electrical current from his body that shocks his opponent, should they touch him while it is active. He also gains a sliding attack, Amazon River Run, in later games that can pass under projectile attacks.
In Street Fighter EX3
Street Fighter EX3
Street Fighter EX3 is the third console installment in the Street Fighter EX series developed by Arika and published by Capcom. The game was released in 2000 for PlayStation 2 in Japan and North America, and subsequently released in Europe in 2001....
, he gains a tag-team super move when paired with Dhalsim.
In other media
Blanka makes a brief appearance in the Street Fighter II animated movie in a hotel where a luxurious convention is held. Blanka appears in the evening entertainment where he is lowered from a cage to fight Zangief. Blanka uses his Rolling Attack and Electric Shock when fighting. He was voiced by Unshō Ishizuka in Japanese and Tom Carlton in English.The 1994
1994 in film
1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
live-action Street Fighter
Street Fighter (film)
Street Fighter is a 1994 American action film written and directed by Steven E. de Souza. It is based loosely on the same-titled video games produced by Capcom, and stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Raul Julia, along with supporting performances by Byron Mann, Damian Chapa, Kylie Minogue, Ming-Na...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
combined Blanka and the unrelated supporting character Charlie (Guile
Guile (Street Fighter)
is a fictional character in Capcom's Street Fighter series of fighting games.-Street Fighter series:Guile made his first appearance in Street Fighter II as one of the eight selectable characters featured in the first release of the game...
s deceased war buddy in the original game) into a single character. Kim Repia plays the role of the mutated Blanka, with Robert Mammone as the human Carlos. At the beginning of the film, Guile's close friend Carlos "Charlie" Blanka is taken captive by Bison (Raúl Juliá
Raúl Juliá
Raúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay was a Puerto Rican actor.Born in San Juan, he gained interest in acting while still in school. Upon completing his studies, Juliá decided to pursue a career in acting. After performing in the local scene for some time, he was convinced by entertainment personality Orson...
) who subjects him to genetic testing to create the perfect soldier. While the mutation is successful, Blanka retains Charlie's personality, as Dr. Dhalsim, the scientist in charge of the project, had given him the wrong cerebral programming in order to "keep him human" (and partially because he resented Bison's plans). Blanka and Dhalsim fight Bison's troops together during Guile's invasion of Bison's base, but opt to remain behind and perish in the destruction of the base. The film was made prior to Charlie's introduction as a playable character in the Street Fighter Alpha games and therefore conflicts with the Charlie Nash storyline established there.
In the American cartoon series, Blanka was portrayed as the protector of a small Brazilian village who eventually "rejoined" the Street Fighter team. Blanka appears as one of the more recurrent characters in the U.S. cartoon, acting as a scout gathering information for Guile
Guile (Street Fighter)
is a fictional character in Capcom's Street Fighter series of fighting games.-Street Fighter series:Guile made his first appearance in Street Fighter II as one of the eight selectable characters featured in the first release of the game...
and his friends on various missions. He was voiced by Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil is a Canadian actor and voice actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
.
In UDON
UDON
UDON Entertainment Corporation is a studio of Asian-influenced comic book creators that provides creative services to the entertainment industry. The company is a publisher of comic books, graphic novels, and art books, as well as English editions of Japanese manga and Korean manhwa titles. Erik...
's Street Fighter comic adaptation
Street Fighter (UDON)
Street Fighter is an American comic book based on the Street Fighter franchise and published by UDON under license from Capcom. This series draws not only on the established Street Fighter canon, but also occasionally addresses various continuity retcons, and even draws from fanon and non-official...
, Blanka is introduced as a Shadaloo prisoner who is essentially a living weapon used by the organization. He is unleashed on Delta Red when they discover Shadaloo's base of operations but ceases his attack when painful memories of being brutalized by Cammy are evoked upon seeing her. Blanka is captured by Delta Red and his mind is eventually freed from Shadaloo's influence. While in transit with Delta Red, their plane is captured by Shadaloo forces and Blanka is once again forcibly subjected into servitude for Shadaloo's purposes. He participates in the Street Fighter tournament on Shadaloo island but is eliminated in the early round. Once the Psycho Drive is destroyed and the island is evacuated, Blanka returns to his senses. The aftermath of the comics shows a similar ending to the official canon (being reunited with his long lost mother).
In the 2010 Capcom game Dead Rising 2
Dead Rising 2
is an action-adventure horror-comedy video game, developed by Capcom in partnership with Blue Castle Games, and was distributed by Capcom. It was released on September 24, 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and September 28, 2010 for Microsoft Windows. The Dead Rising staff returned to create...
, Blanka's head available as a weapon in various toy stores but is referred to as a goblin
Goblin
A goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom.They are attributed with various abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little...
mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
.
Also in an episode of Mad
Mad (TV series)
MAD is an American animated sketch comedy series created by Kevin Shinick and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Based upon the magazine of the same name, each episode is a collection of short animated parodies of television shows, movies, games, celebrities and other media using various types of...
, Blanka made a brief appearance in a guide to video game cheats.
In June 2011, he appeared briefly in a "Yourfavoritemartian" music video on YouTube, with over 5,000,000 views as of July.
Promotion and reception
In the February 1992 issue of Gamest magazine in Japan, Blanka appeared in Best Characters of 1991, ranking at number nine, sharing the spot with Ken MastersKen Masters
, originally spelled in Japanese as , is a video game character created by Capcom. As a main character, he has appeared in all of the Street Fighter games along with his best friend and rival, Ryu...
. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
ranked Blanka at number seven in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, noting his unique characteristics and uniqueness amongst characters in the series; the sentiments were later repeated by GameDaily
GameDaily
GameDaily was a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads, The site changed its business model from a flat fee per download CDN distributed service network to an...
in their "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" article, in which he placed fourth. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
described him as resembling "some ridiculous hair-club-for-Hulks member", though stated his electric attacks made him an effective character if mastered. Gamespy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
named him one of the "25 Extremely Rough Brawlers" in video gaming, praising the brutality of his attacks.
In Brazil
Blanka was well received by Brazilian gamers, although Capcom was criticized by some on how it depicted the Brazil. In an interview in a Brazilian gaming site, Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono apologized for the bad impression that the character eventually caused, and got surprised when told that Blanka is extremely popular among Brazilians.The Brazilian version of the politically-oriented humor television show CQC
Caiga Quien Caiga
Caiga Quien Caiga , also known as CQC, is an Argentine television show. Under the format of the production company Cuatro Cabezas, and led by Ernestina Pais, CQC has also been adapted in Spain, France, Chile, Italy, Brazil, Portugal and briefly in Israel and the Netherlands.It won an International...
interviewed people in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, asking who were the most known Brazilian people. Blanka ranked third after Gisele Bündchen
Gisele Bündchen
Gisele Caroline Bündchen is a Brazilian fashion model, occasional film actress and goodwill ambassador for the UN Environment Programme.In the late 1990s, Bündchen became one of the first in a wave of Brazilian models to find success...
and Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
.
In 2009, hours after the announcement of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
as the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...
an internet meme
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
began to spread depicting Blanka as unofficial mascot of the event.