Paulo Coelho tells Pinoys: 'Your souls lead to the gates of heaven'

By Kim Arveen Patria | Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom 6 hours ago

After an American novelist drew ire by calling Manila the "gates of hell," a popular Brazilian author pacified Filipinos' anger by telling them they knew the way to heaven.

"Dear Filipinos, your souls lead to the gates of heaven," Paulo Coelho said via Twitter, adding the hashtsag "#fact."

"My tweet to Filipinos: another author, I am sure unintentionally, described Manila as 'the gates of hell' in his new successful book," he said in another tweet.

Coelho, famous for his novel "The Alchemist," among others, was referring to Dan Brown who in his "Inferno" described Manila as a city infested by poverty, crime and sex slavery.

The "terrible description" was called out by Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino who said he was

"disappointed" by Brown's portrayal of Manila.

The issue has meanwhile drawn mixed reactions from netizens, even spurring a Twitter trend wherein the word "Manila" in quotes, movies or book titles is replaced by "gates of hell."

Pinoy netizens' anger seemed to have eased with Coelho's tweet, however, with some social media celebrities warmly responding to the Brizilian author.

This included cultural activist Carlos Celdran, who noted on Friday that while Filipinos' anger at Dan Brown is understandable, Manila indeed needs fixing.

"We love you Paulo. #fact," Celdran said via Twitter on Saturday, in reply to Coelho.

This is not the first time Coelho, whose tweets can be read by almost 8 million people globally, had kind words to say about the Philippines or Filipinos online.

A couple of years, ago, Coelho tweeted: "I woke up thinking about the Philippines. I must visit the country..."

His tweet had sparked a Twitter sensation among Pinoys online, and even the Tourism department's account posted: "Hope to see you soon, Mr. Coelho!"

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/paulo-coelho-tells-pinoys---your-souls-lead-to-the-gates-of-heaven-073112412.html