Cultural Blog Post 4

Regions of São Paulo

Brazil is a divided country. A country where people do not see each other as equals. This is represented in one of the songs that we learned about where it talks about the regions in Brazil. This song is written from the perspective of someone living in the north, which traditionally is a poorer and agriculture based area. When they sing about the regions of Brazil however, they do not sing about the regions in the south. In a way Northern Brazil does not recognize the south as part of Brazil, partially for such a large difference in culture but also for another key belief that the south has about the North.

The south of Brazil does not want anything to do with the rest of Brazil. The south has always been more industrial and as a result, there is a higher GDP and your average Brasileiro from the south is significantly richer than that of the north. The south of Brazil believes that it would be better off without the North, and that the north is holding them back economically.

I think that this belief can be similarly attributed to the film A Que Horas Ela Volta?. The film shows that although the wealthy family living in Morumbi in Sao Paulo is associated with their housemaid and her daughter, they don’t really want anything to do with her. They view her as someone of a poorer background and as someone who is an outsider to them.

A similar divide can be observed racially. We had learned about the ratios of ethnicity in different regions in Brazil. Many of the regions in Northern Brazil have a majority of inhabitants that identify as not white (Brown or Black). In the south however, the majority of people identify as white. I have observed a similar thing as well from class as well as in the films that we have watched. If a family has some sort of housemaid, typically the family will be white, and the housemaid will be of brown or black complexion. I think that the continuous stereotypes further propagate the divide that exists between the north and the south, between the black and the white.

I believe that this divide which is so deeply ingrained in the mind of most Brazilians will start to change however. I think that the construction of a city like Brasilia is an example of the change that is to come. While Brasilia isn’t exactly part of Northern Brazil, its values definitely would lean more towards values from Northern Brazil than a state like Parana would. The interesting thing is however, is that Brasilia is a city that is industrious, while also in the north (relatively) as well. This is an example of a contradiction that has existed between the north and the south of Brazil so long. It shows that Northern Brazil can be industrious as well, and this tenant can be extrapolated to the economic divide in Brazil as well.

Jessica in the film A Que Horas Ela Volta is that Brasilia, that contradiction. She might not have brought up with the most money, but her attitude shows a breaking of the barriers that have existed between the rich and poor for generations. It shows that this divide doesn’t have to exist. It shows that “Mixing makes us whiter”, meaning that the more that the regions of Brazil mix as well as their people, everything will move to one balanced melting pot, with barriers broken down, and further extinguishing the cultural, racial, and economic divide that separates Brazil.