Charles,
Talking of Latin culture, did you know that some scholars and sociologists have coined the expression Brazilianized Europe?
Here's a glimpse:
Brazil's self-image as 'racial democracy' a myth, blacks say
Copyright ¸ 1996 Nando.net
Copyright ¸ 1996 The Associated Press
SERRA DA BARRIGA, Brazil (Jan 3, 1996 9:52 a.m. EST) -- The granite statue of the rebel slave leader Zumbi stands in a clearing high in these green hills, a lonely tribute to a broken dream.
Three centuries have passed since Zumbi commanded the Quilombo dos Palmares, the largest community of runaway slaves in the Americas. With nearly 30,000 followers, he shook the foundations of Portugal's slavery-based colonial rule.
But in the end, Zumbi's poorly armed rebels were defeated by 9,000 soldiers and mercenaries supported by cannons. The rebellion was crushed and the runaways' villages burned.
Today, equality remains a distant dream for millions of black and mixed-race Brazilians. And Zumbi again has become a symbol of their struggle.
"Those who say Brazil is not a racist society are denying more than 300 years of slavery," said Zezito de Araujo, a black professor of history at the Federal University of Alagoas in Maceio, 60 miles east of this mountain region.
Brazilian elites have long promoted the nation's self-image as a "racial democracy" where everyone is equal. Black activists say it is nothing more than a myth that comforts the country with the largest black population in South America.
They note that although black and mixed-race people make up nearly half the population of 155 million, few hold top posts in business or government. Of 513 congressmen, only 11 are black.
An overwhelming majority of blacks live in the big-city slums known as "favelas." Most blacks are among the officially recognized 31 million illiterate and, along with mixed-race workers, routinely perform the humblest jobs, from streetsweeping to housekeeping.
Often, blacks' road to success is limited to sports or entertainment. Blacks are prominent in soccer, samba, carnival and "capoeira," a uniquely Brazilian combination of martial arts and dance.
On paper, Brazil has tough laws barring racial discrimination in areas like employment and access to stores, restaurants and public transportation. But the laws are rarely enforced, and most blacks do not have the economic, educational or political means to enforce their rights.
Araujo, the historian, says prejudice is so ingrained that many blacks agree white is better.
"In Brazil, blacks perceive themselves as inferior beings, while whites, regardless of their social or economic standing, perceive themselves as superior," he said.
This poor self-image explains, for instance, why many black Brazilians prefer to be called "moreno" (brown) or "pardo" (dark) --or even try to pass for white.
"They try to deny their past of misery. They feel ashamed of it," Araujo said. "Individuals who are proud of being black are an exception."
They also can be asking for trouble.
Edivaldo Mendes Zulu Araujo, an architect and theater producer, recalled the time he did not answer the son of a high government official who twice called to him, "Hey, moreno."
"When I felt a hand on my shoulder I turned around and said calmly: 'I am not moreno. I am black, don't you see?' The guy got angry, saying I was arrogant and impolite and needed a lesson. He wanted to attack me. Some friends broke in and took me away."
Brazil did not abolish slavery until 1888, long after the rest of the Americas.
While figures are sketchy, historians estimate 3 million to 6 million slaves were brought from Africa to Brazil, where they toiled on sugar and tobacco plantations and in gold and diamond mines.
Life was so harsh that slaves had an average life span of seven years after arrival. Many fled to the thick forest of the Atlantic coastal hills, where they built refuges called "quilombos."
The most famous was the Quilombo dos Palmares in the Serra da Barriga, Portuguese for "belly mountains" because they resemble a man lying face up.
Accessible only from one direction, the 1,427-foot-high "belly" was an easily defended stronghold, and the quilombo grew throughout the 17th century.
Its last and greatest leader was Zumbi. Born in 1655, he was only weeks old when he was taken from his mother and given as a present to a priest, from whom he learned Latin. At 15 he joined runaway slaves in Palmares, and 10 years later became their leader.
A gifted military strategist and social organizer, Zumbi became a master of guerrilla warfare. His goal was the freedom of all slaves in the region, and his name was whispered with fear and hatred by white landowners.
In 1694, soldiers caught and tortured an aide, who led them to the leader's hideout. Zumbi fled but was caught and killed on Nov. 20, 1695.
His head was cut off and taken to the provincial capital of Recife. There it was salted and impaled in a public square, where it remained rotting "to frighten his followers who thought he was immortal," said Decio Freitas, a historian.
Rio de Janeiro observed the tri-centennial of Zumbi's death as a municipal holiday, and President Fernando Henrique Cardoso praised his memory in a speech.
But many white Brazilians sneered at the commemoration as "the day of the Negro."
Brazilian politicians were sharply critical when Pele, the black soccer star who is now the government's sports minister, recently said blacks should vote for blacks as a way to improve their lot.
Many activists are pessimistic.
"They came in the galleys, and remain in the galleys of Brazilian society," said Freitas.
Racial equality will take time and huge investments in education, housing and health that Brazil simply cannot afford now, said historian de Araujo.
"Frankly, I don't see it happening soon, within my generation or the next or even my grandchildren's," he said. "But we blacks never give up hope. Even if time runs slowly for us, we must dream that it will happen in a near tomorrow."
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