deep brazil » Black

Capoeira through the ages

Regina — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:49:43 +0000

Capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art practiced all over the world, was originally a criminal activity. Even after the abolition of slavery, in 1888, the police would repress any manifestation of Black culture. Lots of the ...

BBC documentary about Brazilian slavery

Regina — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 11:23:15 +0000

Brazil received ten times more slaves than the US. This is their story, told in 2000 by the BBC. It displays all sorts of original documents, plus interviews with historians João José Reis, Cya Teixeira, ...

Blacks that built Brazil

Regina — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:16:13 +0000

Check this beautiful gallery of black characters that built Brazilian history and culture. Bonus: Milton Nascimento’s voice. If you liked this post, try also BBC documentary about Brazilian slavery and Darker middle class and Who’s black? ...

Slavery, according to Elza Soares

Regina — Fri, 13 May 2011 12:06:39 +0000

To remember the slavery days and celebrate the (official) abolition anniversary, a great but disturbing Elza Soares video clip, where she sings that “the cheapest meat in the market is the black flesh”. ...

Presidents in stamps

Regina — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:52:08 +0000

Any philatelist can tell you that there is much more to stamps than meets the eye. This week Correios (the state-owned company responsible for the Brazilian postal service) released a stamp depicting former president Luiz Inácio ...

Who’s black?

Regina — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 06:29:13 +0000

Machado de Assis, the greatest Brazilian novelist of all times, was born black and poor, in one of the hills of Rio de Janeiro, the grandchild of freed slaves. His mother was born in the ...

Darker middle class

Regina — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:24:49 +0000

A new study concludes that 53.5% of Brazilian Blacks and 47.3% of those with a mixed Black and White heritage belong now to the middle class (which includes the so-called A, B and C classes). According to ...

Saints without a halo*

Deep Brazil — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 06:56:02 +0000

They were not canonized. They are controversial. There is even doubt if some of them really existed. Nevertheless, Brazilian popular saints generate deep devotion, pilgrimages and flourishing commerce. Take, for example, Escrava Anastácia. This beautiful slave ...

Unconventional Brazilian beauty

Deep Brazil — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:48:35 +0000

The girl who´s on the cover of Playboy´s Brazilian edition sat today by my side at the theatre – she took her three daughters to watch a children´s play, “Os Saltimbancos“, a version of the “Four Musicians of ...

Racism, the Brazilian way

Deep Brazil — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:10:42 +0000

In Brazil, unlike other countries, different ethnic groups interact a lot – sometimes peacefully, sometimes not. This interaction leads frequently to mixed marriages and a blend of genes and cultural heritage. This healthy mix gets more ...