Who is Brazil?

Like any complex culture, it is unreasonable to try to pin down Brazil to a single, united identity because they do not really have many sweeping characteristics. Sure, there is the cordial man, the mixing of races, and the uniting futebol, but considering any of what I speak about in the coming paragraphs as fact would be unwise as I am only one person who has spent a month in two Brazilian cities. Nevertheless, I will try to use my limited knowledge and unique perspective to define who Brazil is.

Firstly, I do not want to start in the exact way that the prompt for this blog post suggests, but I have been feeling a need to speak on the North American influences that are abundantly apparent in the products, fashion, and architecture of Brazil. The power of international North American brands, such as the brand barons of Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Heinz, are ever present when ordering a burger and listening to North American pop songs in a Brazilian restaurant. I was upset at first at how North American many of the restaurants in Sao Paulo felt, as Brazilians have a very similar diet, except with more natural sources of beef and fruit juice. After a while, though, I realized that Brazilians have a very odd way of eating compared to North Americans. They are extremely worried about being polite, avoiding mess, and keeping themselves clean by holding finger foods with napkins. This is intriguing and made me consider that this may be out of necessity because being unclean could mean infection and death. On the other hand, it may just be that us North Americans eat like our chimpanzee ancestors. Either way it is exciting to see these differences in food culture and being able to ponder their prospective origins.

The people on the street also look like Europeans and North Americans, in both complexion and fashion. But, then again, the complexion makes sense when we have common ancestors. The fashion, though, is the interesting part because Brazilians seem to be at the extremes of North American fashion. The businessmen are all dressed in the finest of suits, while the punk teenagers have one-of-a-kind hairstyles and flashy clothing. I saw more clothing with English than Portuguese, which again may speak to the power of the North American brand, but makes me wonder how popular it is to dress like a North American.

Likewise, the architecture in Brazil is interesting, because you can see such heavy European influences in the southern city of Curitiba and the finance district of Sao Paulo, but such practical, concrete, American buildings on Paulista Ave. This may lead one to think that Brazilian architecture is just a carbon copy of their influences, however that is not the case. Thanks to a few revolutionary architects, Brazil is blessed with unique masterpieces of architecture, such as the South American Museum area in Sao Paulo and the eye-shaped museum in Curitiba.

Nevertheless, the best part about Brazilian buildings is not the architecture, but rather the graffiti. It is impossible to go a block in Sao Paulo without seeing gorgeous graffiti on a building. I feel that this graffiti is very representative of the personality differences between Brazil and its relatives. Most of the graffiti is dominated by long, swooping strokes of vivid color that can go all the way from the top to the bottom of a building. This style makes sense for Brazilians to paint because they mostly work with spontaneity rather than planning, so these veins of color are representative of the pulsing, colorful veins of Brazilian hearts. Likewise, most of the graffiti is graphic and abstract, which lends itself to the expressive, complex emotions of Brazilians. What’s more is that the graffiti itself has a relaxed, spontaneous attitude to it, being that graffiti is traditionally not planned by the state or a business to be made on a building. In the US, these works of art would be scrubbed off the wall the next day, but the Brazilian demeanor of relaxation makes it obvious that these murals would be allowed to stay until they wear away from the weather. I know that these are very general traits that do not apply to all Brazilians, but I feel that a people’s art is the best representation of their inner selves, and can destroy the outside view of Brazil being a less developed United States.

Furthermore, the musical art of Brazilians provides insight of the upmost quality, because Brazilians adore dancing and music. Samba, which would have been impossible without the mixing of Brazil’s many African roots, is perfectly representative of Brazil. Samba is perfect because there are different forms of samba throughout Brazil, but they each have the underlying beat pattern that is integral to Brazilian samba. Not only that, but every Brazilian I have met knows how to dance the samba. Even though I have only observed two cities, neither Sao Paulo nor Curitiba are the origin of samba, yet everyone still knows how to dance to samba.

Another dance that I was impressed by, and found some interesting implications in was forro. Forro is the Brazilian version of salsa, and the difference shows. Like samba, forro (from the male position) is focused on footwork, instead of moving the hips. Yet, it makes perfect sense that forro is different from the salsa that the rest of South America creates, because Brazil is consistently a part of South American culture, yet always stands out from the common shared characteristics. Whether in music, language, or customs, Brazil is always related to, but not the same as the rest of South America. This may be a lingering effect of their shallow language barrier, because it allows Brazilians to interact with Spanish-speaking South Americans, but not to connect as easily as one can with a member of one’s native language.

Likewise, Brazil normally shows similar characteristics to North America, but is never the exact same upon closer inspection. This concept is made clear again in Brazilian funk. Although there is some Brazilian hip hop, which is recognizably the same as North American hip hop, the genre that seems to have more traction among the populace is funk. Funk is an adaptation of North American hip hop, specifically similar to trill and trap, but it is much more focused on the music than the lyrics. I find funk to be intriguing because it gives creation access to the extremely poor in favelas, as funk only requires a laptop. This allows listeners to get a look at either the dark lifestyle of favelas, or the dreams of those living in them with next to nothing, making funk another very organic Brazilian construction. However, this look is not always sparkling. Many of the songs speak of gang rape, eluding to a horrific side of Brazil that is just starting to become a topic of public conversation.

Additionally, capoeira is another Brazilian dance and music tradition, but with a much darker past. Capoeira, being developed by the slaves of Brazil when they were unable to practice martial arts and had bedrooms averaging around 3 feet high, is a prime example of how slavery has left its mark on Brazilian culture. Slavery is an important part of Brazil’s history, so of course capoeira is so important to Brazil when so many Brazilians have enslaved ancestors. Likewise, Brazilians seemingly love to dance, based on how often they do so, so it works out perfectly that their main martial art is also a form of dance. This makes capoeira yet another form of Brazilian’s affinity toward dance, because they would not simply fight without also feeling a rhythm.

Furthermore, another leftover of slavery can be seen in the maids and nannies that seemingly every building in Brazil has. From the hostel, to the HUB, to the house in “The Second Mother”, every building seems to have a maid or nanny working there 24/7. I cannot properly speak on the nannies, as my only contact with that side has been through movies and class, but the way that maids work in Brazil is slightly discomforting. In the United States, a building is used throughout the day, and then a janitor, from any sort of background and complexion, comes in at night and cleans the building one time. In Brazil, the maid is constantly present, and constantly cleaning every little mess that we make, giving an uneasy sense of subservience. These maids get extremely anxious when we refuse their help in any minor task, possibly because they may get into social or professional trouble with their Brazilian employers. Also, I have yet to see a white maid, so it is clear that in Brazil, this role is only to be filled by people of color. Likewise, all of the maids are women of the age of either mothers or grandmothers, implying that they do not get to see or care for their families during their 24 hour shifts. Finally, all of maids I have seen wear a similar uniform of scrubs with blue and white portions. All of these traits of the Brazilian maid are eerily reminiscent of the house slaves depicted in their history, and prove that there are lingering aspects of slavery. Unfortunately, I cannot see an end to this practice because none of the Brazilians I know are bothered by this queer practice.

Nevertheless, I witnessed the extreme connections of family in “The Second Mother” between Val and the boy of the family she was the nanny for. These strong, passionate family connections are very characteristic of the cordial man that I have learned so much about. Unfortunately, it is not very possible to witness the family life of Brazilians first hand because I have not been with an entire Brazilian family. However, I can recognize the more relaxed feel of the cordial man. When making purchases here, it is not uncommon for the business to forgo exact change in exchange for convenience. I have also been charged for more or less than I ordered, and been met with indifference toward rectifying the situation. Likewise, I can certainly witness the effects of the cordial men making decisions through passion, which ties back to the graffiti around the cities, and the Brazilian style of futebol.

Brazilian futebol truly surprised me. I have seen extreme fandom in the US with American football and baseball, but I had yet to see the extreme energy and devotion to the local futebol club. Likewise, Brazilian players certainly play with more passion and emotion than strategy. The attacks to the goal by the Coritiba team were swift and frequent, with the fan reacting to each failed attempt. Then, once a member of the opposing team broke away, he sprinted to the goal solo and shot without a second thought, where a more strategic player may have waited for a center-kick opportunity. When the Coritiba team began to lose, the feeling in the crowd was not disappointment, but anger. I was both disturbed and filled with primal excitement by the hostile environment of the stadium, and I could finally understand the mob mentality that leads to deaths over futebol matches.

Brazil is a nation of people that show the details of their past in the actions of their present, from the influences of Europe, the Americas, and their African slaves. All of the culture that comes from these birthplaces is mixed into one beautiful blend of music, art, and personality that the Brazilians continually put out into the world. That is the most exciting part of Brazil; there is a certain freedom for the common person to fully give themselves to the world. While some of Brazil’s people, such as the LGBT community and people of color, do not have the same freedom of expression and compassion, progressive bastions like Sao Paulo give me hope that someday all of Brazil will be able to share in the great Brazilian tradition of expression that I find so intriguing. My only regret is that I did not get to personally experience more of what Brazil has to offer, yet I am grateful that I got to meet a delightful cast of Brazilians, and I was able to become intimately familiar with the unique city of Sao Paulo.