They make us happy, proud and sad. We know their names and life stories. They break the records and set the new ones. We follow their every move, we cherish any chance to get close to them. They persuade us to buy the famous brands, we listen to them. They are rich and glamourous, we want to be like them. There are very few people on Earth who have reached the status of modern gods. The worldwide media made them the focal point of nearly six billion human souls, who love and worship them. They wield an enormous power over the admiring masses and precious few of them use this power to make a difference in the lives of others. Caesar Lima, a renowned photographer, began the ATLETA project in order to explore the glamour of professional sports. ATLETA spans the globe seeking out the few sport heroes who speak the universal language of compassion. The ATLETA concept materialized in May of 2002 when the entire planet was preparing for its seventeenth World Cup soccer tournament. At that time a group of international soccer stars had come together to donate their time to The Cafú Foundation For Homeless Children and DIMOS, the organization dedicated to the fight against leukemia. On May 6th 2002 more than 50,000 people had gathered at Stadio Olimpico in Rome to watch a charity soccer match between the world’s two perennial superpowers - Italy and Brazil. Shortly before the game, Caesar Lima setup a makeshift photo studio in the stadium’s dressing rooms and took portraits of the sport’s idols ­ Marcos Cafu, Emerson, Oscar Cordoba, Ze Maria, and others. The ATLETA marched on. Soon it contained the portraits of surf, volleyball, basketball and motoGP superstars. The third phase of the project will be completed in October of 2005.