This is what I was told by my host mother, Cathy Donovan from Blackrock, Dublin, more than 10 years ago. I was chatting with her during breakfast before I headed to my English school and referred to Bono as Bono Vox. She gave me a bewildered look and said: It´s Bono! We call him Bono in Ireland.
I´d known him as Bono Vox all my life in Brazil. I felt as if I had lived in a jungle in a remote part of the world, which is probably how some people see us. However, Brasilia, where I´m from, is far from such a thing.
Anyway, I was pleased Cathy put me straight. When in Rome we must do like the Romans, when in Ireland, like the Irish, so even though I went back to Brazil and lived there for several years before returning to Ireland, probably for good, I completely dropped Vox from my vocabulary. I know some wish I dropped Bono too, but that is a totally different matter.
Happy Birthday, Bono!
