Myth
No one contributed more to the consolidation of this myth of racial brotherhood than the anthropologist Gilberto Freyre . In the early 1930s he advanced the view that somehow the Portuguese colonizers were immune to racial prejudice, that they intermingled freely with Indians and blacks. If Brazilian slavery was a not entirely benevolent patriarchy, as some people liked to believe, the mulatto offspring of the sexual contact between master and slave was the personification of this ideal. The mulatto was the archetypal social climber, transcending class boundaries, and was upheld as a symbol of Brazil and the integration of the nation's cultures and ethnic roots. "Every Brazilian, even the light-skinned and fair-haired one," wrote Freyre in his seminal work, Casa Grande e Senzala, "carries about him in his soul, when not in soul and body alike, the shadow or even birthmark, of the aborigine or negro. The influence of the African, either direct or remote, is everything that is a sincere reflection of our lives. We, almost all of us, bear the mark of that influence." The myth has endured, even in the minds of those who are also prepared to admit its flaws: "I believe in our illusion of racial harmony" said the singer Caetano Velosa, in an interview in early 2000. Accepted with, if anything, even less questioning outside Brazil than within, the concept of a racial paradise in South America was eagerly grasped. For those outside Brazil struggling against the Nazis or segregation and racial violence in the USA, it was a belief too good to pass up. "Whereas our old world is more than ever ruled by the insane attempt to breed people racially pure, like race horses or dogs", wrote the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig in exile in Brazil, "the Brazilian nation for centuries has been built upon the principle of a free and unsuppressed miscegenation, the complete equalization of black and white, brown and yellow" ( Brazil - Land of the Future, 1942). Brazil was awarded an international stamp of approval - and its international image is still very much that of the happy, unprejudiced melting pot. Anomalies were easily explained away. A romanticized image of the self-sufficient Indian could be incorporated into Brazilian nationalism as, deep in the forested interior and numbering only a quarter of a million, they posed no threat. Picturesque Indian names - Yara and Iracema for girls, Tibirica and Caramuru for boys - were given to children, their white parents seeing them as representing Brazil in its purest form. Afro-Brazilian religion, folklore and art became safe areas of interest. Candomble , practised primarily in the northeastern state of Bahia and perhaps the purest of African rituals, could be seen as a quaint remnant from the past, while syncretist cults, most notably umbanda , combining elements of Indian, African and European religion and which have attracted mass followings in Rio, Sao Paulo and the South, have been taken to demonstrate the happy fusion of cultures.
Fun Tipsmary says "Bring your inhaler if you have asma." tips for BrazilRobyn says "Dont go it so boring,so dont go " travellingayanda says "can anyone tell me about cheap accomodation in brazil?" Tour Brazil and Argentina On Line (Video + Stills)David Mundstock says "My recent movie, “Tango and Samba Falls”, presents highlights of Argentina and Brazil, starring Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Iguazu Falls.
Tango in Buenos Aires, meet Evita, enjoy Gaucho dancing from the Pampas; and then north to the Argentina side of massive Iguazu Falls, featuring “The Devil’s Throat”.
Across the border to Brazil, for a close-up of the falls from below. In Rio, gaze at the views from famous mountain tops, and look for the Girl from Ipanema at Rio’s beaches. Take in a Samba show, featuring costumes that range from almost nothing to extremely elaborate and colorful. With digital effects.
“Tango and Samba Falls” can be seen on the web, if you have a high speed internet connection. This is a free, non-commercial, streaming video on the Windows Media Player. No ads and no strings attached. I sell absolutely nothing.
With any modem you can view a gallery of Argentina/Brazil still pictures.
There are over 30 of my other amateur travel videos on-line including trips to China, Russia, Antarctica, Italy, Britain, Hawaii, Australia, Bali, American National Parks, Africa, Greece, and Turkey; see lions, whales, elephants, or penguins.
The planet is yours, including my Home Page giant galaxy of still pictures from every continent.
To watch videos or look at the stills, please ask a search engine for: Intrepid Berkeley Explorer" hellomeiden bantugan says "cn u v my chatmate"
Your Tip for Brazil
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