Paul Christopher Johnson
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195150582
- eISBN:
- 9780199834358
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195150589.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
Describes the sociopolitical context of the new republican public order of Brazil between 1889 and 1930 that uncovered a third historical layer of the practice of secrecy, now as resistance to the ...
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Describes the sociopolitical context of the new republican public order of Brazil between 1889 and 1930 that uncovered a third historical layer of the practice of secrecy, now as resistance to the republic.The problem of the classification of Candomblé in the Brazilian public sphere began in 1888 with abolition. It is precisely at this juncture that the relation of Afro‐Brazilians and their religions to Brazilian national identity became a pressing concern. With the advent of abolition and the inchoateness of Afro‐Brazilians’ new social position, their provisional status as “Brazilians” shifted in the eyes of white élites back to that of “Africans” and therefore, foreigners – a dangerous and polluting presence. The liberty of freed slaves to perform religious ceremonies involving drumming, sacrifice, and possession dance was an obvious site of contestation since it was in such ritual performances that difference – the “non‐Brazilian” identity – was most radically marked.Less
Describes the sociopolitical context of the new republican public order of Brazil between 1889 and 1930 that uncovered a third historical layer of the practice of secrecy, now as resistance to the republic.
The problem of the classification of Candomblé in the Brazilian public sphere began in 1888 with abolition. It is precisely at this juncture that the relation of Afro‐Brazilians and their religions to Brazilian national identity became a pressing concern. With the advent of abolition and the inchoateness of Afro‐Brazilians’ new social position, their provisional status as “Brazilians” shifted in the eyes of white élites back to that of “Africans” and therefore, foreigners – a dangerous and polluting presence. The liberty of freed slaves to perform religious ceremonies involving drumming, sacrifice, and possession dance was an obvious site of contestation since it was in such ritual performances that difference – the “non‐Brazilian” identity – was most radically marked.
Kwame Dixon
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813062617
- eISBN:
- 9780813055985
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813062617.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
The struggle for racial justice by Afro–civil society in Brazil and Salvador da Bahia is the main concern of this book. Theoretically this research aims to contribute to Latin American critical ...
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The struggle for racial justice by Afro–civil society in Brazil and Salvador da Bahia is the main concern of this book. Theoretically this research aims to contribute to Latin American critical racial theory and Afro-Brazilian social movements by providing deep insights regarding cultural politics in Salvador da Bahia by exploring the following: various and different of forms of Black consciousness and cultural expressions; different levels of political action and social mobilization by Afro-Brazilian groups; the role of Afro–civil society in relation to the state; and to critically analyze current debates on racial and gender discrimination as well as social inequality. Conceptually, this research seeks to break new ground by examining how Black politics both cultural and formal are articulated and the ways in which the state is responding to various Black demands in Brazil, particularly in Salvador da Bahia.Less
The struggle for racial justice by Afro–civil society in Brazil and Salvador da Bahia is the main concern of this book. Theoretically this research aims to contribute to Latin American critical racial theory and Afro-Brazilian social movements by providing deep insights regarding cultural politics in Salvador da Bahia by exploring the following: various and different of forms of Black consciousness and cultural expressions; different levels of political action and social mobilization by Afro-Brazilian groups; the role of Afro–civil society in relation to the state; and to critically analyze current debates on racial and gender discrimination as well as social inequality. Conceptually, this research seeks to break new ground by examining how Black politics both cultural and formal are articulated and the ways in which the state is responding to various Black demands in Brazil, particularly in Salvador da Bahia.
John Burdick
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814709221
- eISBN:
- 9780814723135
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814709221.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Latin American Cultural Anthropology
Throughout Brazil, Afro-Brazilians face widespread racial prejudice. Many turn to religion, with Afro-Brazilians disproportionately represented among Protestants, the fastest-growing religious group ...
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Throughout Brazil, Afro-Brazilians face widespread racial prejudice. Many turn to religion, with Afro-Brazilians disproportionately represented among Protestants, the fastest-growing religious group in the country. Officially, Brazilian Protestants do not involve themselves in racial politics. Behind the scenes, however, the community is deeply involved in the formation of different kinds of blackness—and its engagement in racial politics is rooted in the major new cultural movement of black music. This book explores the complex ideas about race, racism, and racial identity that have grown up among Afro-Brazilians in the black music scene. It pushes our understanding of racial identity and the social effects of music in new directions. Delving into the everyday music-making practices of these scenes, the book shows how the creative process itself shapes how Afro-Brazilian artists experience and understand their racial identities. This book challenges much of what we thought we knew about Brazil's Protestants, provoking us to think in new ways about their role in their country's struggle to combat racism.Less
Throughout Brazil, Afro-Brazilians face widespread racial prejudice. Many turn to religion, with Afro-Brazilians disproportionately represented among Protestants, the fastest-growing religious group in the country. Officially, Brazilian Protestants do not involve themselves in racial politics. Behind the scenes, however, the community is deeply involved in the formation of different kinds of blackness—and its engagement in racial politics is rooted in the major new cultural movement of black music. This book explores the complex ideas about race, racism, and racial identity that have grown up among Afro-Brazilians in the black music scene. It pushes our understanding of racial identity and the social effects of music in new directions. Delving into the everyday music-making practices of these scenes, the book shows how the creative process itself shapes how Afro-Brazilian artists experience and understand their racial identities. This book challenges much of what we thought we knew about Brazil's Protestants, provoking us to think in new ways about their role in their country's struggle to combat racism.
Christen A. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039935
- eISBN:
- 9780252098093
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039935.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
Tourists exult in Bahia, Brazil, as a tropical paradise infused with the black population's one-of-a-kind vitality. But the alluring images of smiling black faces and dancing black bodies masks an ...
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Tourists exult in Bahia, Brazil, as a tropical paradise infused with the black population's one-of-a-kind vitality. But the alluring images of smiling black faces and dancing black bodies masks an ugly reality of anti-black authoritarian violence. This book argues that the dialectic of glorified representations of black bodies and subsequent state repression reinforces Brazil's racially hierarchal society. Interpreting the violence as both institutional and performative, the book follows a grassroots movement and social protest theater troupe in their campaigns against racial violence. As the book reveals, economies of black pain and suffering form the backdrop for the staged, scripted, and choreographed afro-paradise that dazzles visitors. The work of grassroots organizers exposes this relationship, exploding illusions and asking unwelcome questions about the impact of state violence performed against the still-marginalized mass of Afro-Brazilians.Less
Tourists exult in Bahia, Brazil, as a tropical paradise infused with the black population's one-of-a-kind vitality. But the alluring images of smiling black faces and dancing black bodies masks an ugly reality of anti-black authoritarian violence. This book argues that the dialectic of glorified representations of black bodies and subsequent state repression reinforces Brazil's racially hierarchal society. Interpreting the violence as both institutional and performative, the book follows a grassroots movement and social protest theater troupe in their campaigns against racial violence. As the book reveals, economies of black pain and suffering form the backdrop for the staged, scripted, and choreographed afro-paradise that dazzles visitors. The work of grassroots organizers exposes this relationship, exploding illusions and asking unwelcome questions about the impact of state violence performed against the still-marginalized mass of Afro-Brazilians.
Patricia de Santana Pinho
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469645322
- eISBN:
- 9781469645346
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469645322.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
Brazil, like some countries in Africa, has become a major destination for African American tourists seeking the cultural roots of the black Atlantic diaspora. Drawing on over a decade of ethnographic ...
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Brazil, like some countries in Africa, has become a major destination for African American tourists seeking the cultural roots of the black Atlantic diaspora. Drawing on over a decade of ethnographic research as well as textual, visual, and archival sources, Patricia de Santana Pinho investigates African American roots tourism, a complex, poignant kind of travel that provides profound personal and collective meaning for those searching for black identity and heritage. It also provides, as Pinho’s interviews with Brazilian tour guides, state officials, and Afro-Brazilian activists reveal, economic and political rewards that support a structured industry.
Pinho traces the origins of roots tourism to the late 1970s, when groups of black intellectuals, artists, and activists found themselves drawn especially to Bahia, the state that in previous centuries had absorbed the largest number of enslaved Africans. African Americans have become frequent travelers across what Pinho calls the "map of Africanness" that connects diasporic communities and stimulates transnational solidarities while simultaneously exposing the unevenness of the black diaspora. Roots tourism, Pinho finds, is a fertile site to examine the tensions between racial and national identities as well as the gendered dimensions of travel, particularly when women are the major roots-seekers.Less
Brazil, like some countries in Africa, has become a major destination for African American tourists seeking the cultural roots of the black Atlantic diaspora. Drawing on over a decade of ethnographic research as well as textual, visual, and archival sources, Patricia de Santana Pinho investigates African American roots tourism, a complex, poignant kind of travel that provides profound personal and collective meaning for those searching for black identity and heritage. It also provides, as Pinho’s interviews with Brazilian tour guides, state officials, and Afro-Brazilian activists reveal, economic and political rewards that support a structured industry.
Pinho traces the origins of roots tourism to the late 1970s, when groups of black intellectuals, artists, and activists found themselves drawn especially to Bahia, the state that in previous centuries had absorbed the largest number of enslaved Africans. African Americans have become frequent travelers across what Pinho calls the "map of Africanness" that connects diasporic communities and stimulates transnational solidarities while simultaneously exposing the unevenness of the black diaspora. Roots tourism, Pinho finds, is a fertile site to examine the tensions between racial and national identities as well as the gendered dimensions of travel, particularly when women are the major roots-seekers.
David William Foster
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813036656
- eISBN:
- 9780813038445
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036656.003.0008
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
Madalena Schwartz was another important foreign photographer of São Paulo. She was also a Jewish refugee (from Hungary, via Buenos Aires), and although she did not begin working in photography until ...
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Madalena Schwartz was another important foreign photographer of São Paulo. She was also a Jewish refugee (from Hungary, via Buenos Aires), and although she did not begin working in photography until late in her middle age, she went on to become Brazil's most important portrait photographer, working extensively in publicity and producing images of some of the country's most prominent citizens. However, Schwartz also developed a personal artistic line to her photography. Working exclusively in black and white and venturing into the outback, she might be said to be Brazil's first eco-photographer. Of interest to this study, however, is her perspective on marginal urban groups; she is famous for her images of often marginalized Afro-Brazilians, such as the singer Clementina de Jesús and the spiritual leader Mãe Menininha do Gantois, as well as the transvestite performance group, Dzi Croquettes, whose creative resistance to the censorship of the 1964 military coup won them an international audience. Despite being an intimate portraitist, Schwartz was able to capture the enormous complexity of urban life.Less
Madalena Schwartz was another important foreign photographer of São Paulo. She was also a Jewish refugee (from Hungary, via Buenos Aires), and although she did not begin working in photography until late in her middle age, she went on to become Brazil's most important portrait photographer, working extensively in publicity and producing images of some of the country's most prominent citizens. However, Schwartz also developed a personal artistic line to her photography. Working exclusively in black and white and venturing into the outback, she might be said to be Brazil's first eco-photographer. Of interest to this study, however, is her perspective on marginal urban groups; she is famous for her images of often marginalized Afro-Brazilians, such as the singer Clementina de Jesús and the spiritual leader Mãe Menininha do Gantois, as well as the transvestite performance group, Dzi Croquettes, whose creative resistance to the censorship of the 1964 military coup won them an international audience. Despite being an intimate portraitist, Schwartz was able to capture the enormous complexity of urban life.
Jan Hoffman French
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807832929
- eISBN:
- 9781469605777
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807889886_french.13
- Subject:
- Anthropology, American and Canadian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter summarizes the book's main themes and presents some final thoughts. It presents a comparison of the case of Xocó recognition with that of American Indians. It also discusses the rights ...
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This chapter summarizes the book's main themes and presents some final thoughts. It presents a comparison of the case of Xocó recognition with that of American Indians. It also discusses the rights for Afro-Brazilians and Indians during the first decade of the twenty-first century and social justice and state recognition of new ethnoracial identities.Less
This chapter summarizes the book's main themes and presents some final thoughts. It presents a comparison of the case of Xocó recognition with that of American Indians. It also discusses the rights for Afro-Brazilians and Indians during the first decade of the twenty-first century and social justice and state recognition of new ethnoracial identities.
Scott Ickes
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813044781
- eISBN:
- 9780813046433
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044781.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
A close study of six major public religious festivals, including carnival, African-Brazilian Culture and Regional Identity in Bahia, Brazil, explores the cultural politics of regional identity in the ...
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A close study of six major public religious festivals, including carnival, African-Brazilian Culture and Regional Identity in Bahia, Brazil, explores the cultural politics of regional identity in the state of Bahia in northeast Brazil. The author shows how, after 1930, the festivals provided a platform for African-Bahians and their allies to re-formulate Bahian regional identity to allow for a greater degree of cultural inclusion for Bahians of African descent. The book emphasizes the agency of African-Bahians as samba, capoeira, and Candomblé ritual were performed during the festivals and describes how politicians, journalists, song writers, and public intellectuals came to celebrate African-Bahian culture as a defining feature of what it meant to be Bahian. The nature of this cultural inclusion, however, was such that, although it was an improvement on the prejudice and persecution of the 1920s, it led to very little, if any, improvement in the political and economic position of working-class people of African descent. As such, the book explores the possibilities and limitations of cross-class alliances based around cultural inclusion in a specific historical setting and the potential of cultural politics for the social inclusion of people of African descent in multi-racial, multi-cultural communities within Brazil and the African diaspora.Less
A close study of six major public religious festivals, including carnival, African-Brazilian Culture and Regional Identity in Bahia, Brazil, explores the cultural politics of regional identity in the state of Bahia in northeast Brazil. The author shows how, after 1930, the festivals provided a platform for African-Bahians and their allies to re-formulate Bahian regional identity to allow for a greater degree of cultural inclusion for Bahians of African descent. The book emphasizes the agency of African-Bahians as samba, capoeira, and Candomblé ritual were performed during the festivals and describes how politicians, journalists, song writers, and public intellectuals came to celebrate African-Bahian culture as a defining feature of what it meant to be Bahian. The nature of this cultural inclusion, however, was such that, although it was an improvement on the prejudice and persecution of the 1920s, it led to very little, if any, improvement in the political and economic position of working-class people of African descent. As such, the book explores the possibilities and limitations of cross-class alliances based around cultural inclusion in a specific historical setting and the potential of cultural politics for the social inclusion of people of African descent in multi-racial, multi-cultural communities within Brazil and the African diaspora.
Kia Lilly Caldwell
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780252040986
- eISBN:
- 9780252099533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040986.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
Brazil has been long considered a global leader in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; however, little is known about the effectiveness of these prevention and treatment efforts for the Afro-Brazilian ...
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Brazil has been long considered a global leader in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; however, little is known about the effectiveness of these prevention and treatment efforts for the Afro-Brazilian population. This chapter examines the shift toward greater government action focused on HIV prevention for Afro-Brazilians. The chapter also explores HIV prevention initiatives developed by black women’s organizations and how the dynamics of gender, race, and class shape HIV vulnerability for Afro-Brazilian women. Finally, this chapter examines critiques of racially specific HIV prevention initiatives and the tensions between universalism and race consciousness that have characterized the shift toward focusing on the black population in HIV prevention efforts.Less
Brazil has been long considered a global leader in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; however, little is known about the effectiveness of these prevention and treatment efforts for the Afro-Brazilian population. This chapter examines the shift toward greater government action focused on HIV prevention for Afro-Brazilians. The chapter also explores HIV prevention initiatives developed by black women’s organizations and how the dynamics of gender, race, and class shape HIV vulnerability for Afro-Brazilian women. Finally, this chapter examines critiques of racially specific HIV prevention initiatives and the tensions between universalism and race consciousness that have characterized the shift toward focusing on the black population in HIV prevention efforts.
Clarence Bernard Henry
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781604730821
- eISBN:
- 9781604733341
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604730821.003.0007
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
This chapter examines the many facets of Bahian Carnival and how various artists, Carnival organizations, and young Afro-Brazilians celebrate their “re-Africanization” with performances of popular ...
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This chapter examines the many facets of Bahian Carnival and how various artists, Carnival organizations, and young Afro-Brazilians celebrate their “re-Africanization” with performances of popular music and appropriation of sacred themes, imagery, symbols, and iconography from Candomblé in public celebration. It describes how axé music, sacred themes, and imagery and symbols from the Candomblé religion are embodied, secularized, altered, and negotiated in Bahian Carnival. The chapter also explains how sacred rituals observed in the private sanctum of Candomblé are appropriated by many young Afro-Brazilians in the secular celebrations of Bahian Carnival.Less
This chapter examines the many facets of Bahian Carnival and how various artists, Carnival organizations, and young Afro-Brazilians celebrate their “re-Africanization” with performances of popular music and appropriation of sacred themes, imagery, symbols, and iconography from Candomblé in public celebration. It describes how axé music, sacred themes, and imagery and symbols from the Candomblé religion are embodied, secularized, altered, and negotiated in Bahian Carnival. The chapter also explains how sacred rituals observed in the private sanctum of Candomblé are appropriated by many young Afro-Brazilians in the secular celebrations of Bahian Carnival.
John Burdick
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814709221
- eISBN:
- 9780814723135
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814709221.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Latin American Cultural Anthropology
This introductory chapter reflects on the political complexities surrounding Afro-Brazilians and the evangelical music scene. The issue of race is an important one in Brazil, hence the pressing need ...
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This introductory chapter reflects on the political complexities surrounding Afro-Brazilians and the evangelical music scene. The issue of race is an important one in Brazil, hence the pressing need to understand what evangélicos (Protestants) think about it. In Brazil, the word has been used since the late 1980s as a generic term to cover all Protestant denominations. Of particular note is their reluctance to engage in ethnocentric activism, as for several reasons the Church has kept itself from participating in politics. Yet at the heart of these evangélicos' lives is music—particularly gospel music—which has since become a vehicle for problack sentiment.Less
This introductory chapter reflects on the political complexities surrounding Afro-Brazilians and the evangelical music scene. The issue of race is an important one in Brazil, hence the pressing need to understand what evangélicos (Protestants) think about it. In Brazil, the word has been used since the late 1980s as a generic term to cover all Protestant denominations. Of particular note is their reluctance to engage in ethnocentric activism, as for several reasons the Church has kept itself from participating in politics. Yet at the heart of these evangélicos' lives is music—particularly gospel music—which has since become a vehicle for problack sentiment.
Bruno Carvalho
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781846319754
- eISBN:
- 9781781381007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781846319754.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter focuses on the construction of President Vargas Avenue in Rio de Janeiro in the context of changes taking place in other parts of the world, with emphasis on the opposition of local ...
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This chapter focuses on the construction of President Vargas Avenue in Rio de Janeiro in the context of changes taking place in other parts of the world, with emphasis on the opposition of local musicians to the project. It looks at Orson Welles’s experience in the city in 1942 in connection with the consequences of urban reform, particularly his fascination with samba and his relationship with popular musicians. It also considers the importance of the Praça Onze — razed as part of the construction of President Vargas Avenue — to Rio’s cultural landscape. The chapter argues that the Praça Onze would be a central element of Welles’s aborted film, It’s All True, including a performance of the song ‘Praça Onze’ by Herivelto Martins and Grande Otelo. Finally, it discusses unpublished studies on Rio commissioned by Welles, along with his portrayal of Afro-Brazilians and his innovative use of musical forms to structure It’s All True.Less
This chapter focuses on the construction of President Vargas Avenue in Rio de Janeiro in the context of changes taking place in other parts of the world, with emphasis on the opposition of local musicians to the project. It looks at Orson Welles’s experience in the city in 1942 in connection with the consequences of urban reform, particularly his fascination with samba and his relationship with popular musicians. It also considers the importance of the Praça Onze — razed as part of the construction of President Vargas Avenue — to Rio’s cultural landscape. The chapter argues that the Praça Onze would be a central element of Welles’s aborted film, It’s All True, including a performance of the song ‘Praça Onze’ by Herivelto Martins and Grande Otelo. Finally, it discusses unpublished studies on Rio commissioned by Welles, along with his portrayal of Afro-Brazilians and his innovative use of musical forms to structure It’s All True.
Patricia de Santana Pinho
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469645322
- eISBN:
- 9781469645346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469645322.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
The introduction explains the three central issues in light of which African American roots tourism in Brazil is examined: 1) The construction of diasporic identities through tourism, and how ...
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The introduction explains the three central issues in light of which African American roots tourism in Brazil is examined: 1) The construction of diasporic identities through tourism, and how national and racial identities may contradict one another; 2) Roots tourism as a means for transnational black solidarity; 3) The geopolitics of the black diaspora since African Americans interact with Afro-Brazilians simultaneously as co-participants in the African diaspora and as citizens of the United States.
The introduction also discusses the theoretical frameworks adopted in the book and the applicability of cultural studies and post-structuralism to study tourism discourses and practices, as well as the challenges of carrying out ethnographic research on tourists, subjects that are defined as being “on the move.”Less
The introduction explains the three central issues in light of which African American roots tourism in Brazil is examined: 1) The construction of diasporic identities through tourism, and how national and racial identities may contradict one another; 2) Roots tourism as a means for transnational black solidarity; 3) The geopolitics of the black diaspora since African Americans interact with Afro-Brazilians simultaneously as co-participants in the African diaspora and as citizens of the United States.
The introduction also discusses the theoretical frameworks adopted in the book and the applicability of cultural studies and post-structuralism to study tourism discourses and practices, as well as the challenges of carrying out ethnographic research on tourists, subjects that are defined as being “on the move.”
Patricia de Santana Pinho
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469645322
- eISBN:
- 9781469645346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469645322.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter contextualizes African American roots tourism in Brazil both time-wise and space-wise. First, it locates the brief history of African American roots tourism within the longer trajectory ...
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This chapter contextualizes African American roots tourism in Brazil both time-wise and space-wise. First, it locates the brief history of African American roots tourism within the longer trajectory of the meanings of Brazil for African Americans, spanning from the late nineteenth century—when, inspired by fantastical imaginings of Brazil as a “racial paradise,” groups of African Americans attempted to migrate there—to the present-day, when the country has become an important roots tourism destination. Second, the chapter compares representations of Brazil with those of other countries frequently visited by African American roots tourists, placing them within a wider system of meanings that the author defines as the “map of Africanness,” a map that is both spatial and temporal.Less
This chapter contextualizes African American roots tourism in Brazil both time-wise and space-wise. First, it locates the brief history of African American roots tourism within the longer trajectory of the meanings of Brazil for African Americans, spanning from the late nineteenth century—when, inspired by fantastical imaginings of Brazil as a “racial paradise,” groups of African Americans attempted to migrate there—to the present-day, when the country has become an important roots tourism destination. Second, the chapter compares representations of Brazil with those of other countries frequently visited by African American roots tourists, placing them within a wider system of meanings that the author defines as the “map of Africanness,” a map that is both spatial and temporal.
Patricia de Santana Pinho
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469645322
- eISBN:
- 9781469645346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469645322.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter examines the dominant African American roots tourist gaze on Brazil. Contrasting the discourse of the tourists, as expressed in ethnographic interviews, with the representations found in ...
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This chapter examines the dominant African American roots tourist gaze on Brazil. Contrasting the discourse of the tourists, as expressed in ethnographic interviews, with the representations found in various textual and audiovisual sources, such as documentary films, books, newspaper articles, and tourism promotional materials, the chapter examines the three major intersecting tropes that inform and sustain this gaze: the trope of Bahia as a “closer Africa” and a place where African Americans can find their past; the trope of the “happy native,” or the perception that, because Afro-Brazilians supposedly inhabit the African American past, they are imagined to be essentially more culturally fulfilled than African Americans; and the trope of “black evolution,” which defines the “Africanness” of Afro-Brazilians as an earlier stage in the unidirectional path toward a modern form of blackness, one supposedly already reached by African Americans. In this view, Afro-Brazilians enjoy abundant African tradition, but have yet to achieve black modernity, and should therefore look up to African Americans for guidance.Less
This chapter examines the dominant African American roots tourist gaze on Brazil. Contrasting the discourse of the tourists, as expressed in ethnographic interviews, with the representations found in various textual and audiovisual sources, such as documentary films, books, newspaper articles, and tourism promotional materials, the chapter examines the three major intersecting tropes that inform and sustain this gaze: the trope of Bahia as a “closer Africa” and a place where African Americans can find their past; the trope of the “happy native,” or the perception that, because Afro-Brazilians supposedly inhabit the African American past, they are imagined to be essentially more culturally fulfilled than African Americans; and the trope of “black evolution,” which defines the “Africanness” of Afro-Brazilians as an earlier stage in the unidirectional path toward a modern form of blackness, one supposedly already reached by African Americans. In this view, Afro-Brazilians enjoy abundant African tradition, but have yet to achieve black modernity, and should therefore look up to African Americans for guidance.
Patricia de Santana Pinho
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469645322
- eISBN:
- 9781469645346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469645322.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter examines how roots tourism has allowed for the construction of black racial solidarity between African Americans and Afro-Brazilians. Aware of their power as U.S. citizens, African ...
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This chapter examines how roots tourism has allowed for the construction of black racial solidarity between African Americans and Afro-Brazilians. Aware of their power as U.S. citizens, African Americans have actively “made use” of their identity, as both tourists and Americans, to support Afro-Brazilians. In addition to donating cash and goods and providing financial aid to Afro-Brazilian organizations, they have often requested black tourist guides and prioritized patronizing black-owned businesses so that their U.S. dollars are channeled to Afro-Brazilians. Afro-Brazilian actors, in general, have responded very positively to such practices of solidarity, even if they are also critical of, and ready to challenge, what they view as the tourists’ “Americanness.” Most importantly, Afro-Brazilian activists have also set the terms of engagement in these interactions and, rather than being mere beneficiaries, they have become important agents in these projects of transnational black solidarity, acting as co-producers in the processes of diaspora-making.Less
This chapter examines how roots tourism has allowed for the construction of black racial solidarity between African Americans and Afro-Brazilians. Aware of their power as U.S. citizens, African Americans have actively “made use” of their identity, as both tourists and Americans, to support Afro-Brazilians. In addition to donating cash and goods and providing financial aid to Afro-Brazilian organizations, they have often requested black tourist guides and prioritized patronizing black-owned businesses so that their U.S. dollars are channeled to Afro-Brazilians. Afro-Brazilian actors, in general, have responded very positively to such practices of solidarity, even if they are also critical of, and ready to challenge, what they view as the tourists’ “Americanness.” Most importantly, Afro-Brazilian activists have also set the terms of engagement in these interactions and, rather than being mere beneficiaries, they have become important agents in these projects of transnational black solidarity, acting as co-producers in the processes of diaspora-making.
Patricia de Santana Pinho
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469645322
- eISBN:
- 9781469645346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469645322.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter examines the gendered dimensions of travel in order to explain why women make up the majority of roots tourists in Brazil. It builds on the literature that seeks to deconstruct the ...
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This chapter examines the gendered dimensions of travel in order to explain why women make up the majority of roots tourists in Brazil. It builds on the literature that seeks to deconstruct the implicitly masculinist abstract tourist subject. Analyzing why and how women travel is important in the project of challenging the supposed neutrality of “the tourist.” At the same time, although focusing on women travelers, the chapter does not confirm men as the norm that goes on unexamined. The chapter thus maps out the differences between women and men without further othering women. Even though the analysis looks more closely at women, it does so in order to examine gender more broadly, including the power relations between women and men, travel and tourism as fundamentally embodied and gendered practices, and the gendering of the diaspora though the gendering of space, place, and time.Less
This chapter examines the gendered dimensions of travel in order to explain why women make up the majority of roots tourists in Brazil. It builds on the literature that seeks to deconstruct the implicitly masculinist abstract tourist subject. Analyzing why and how women travel is important in the project of challenging the supposed neutrality of “the tourist.” At the same time, although focusing on women travelers, the chapter does not confirm men as the norm that goes on unexamined. The chapter thus maps out the differences between women and men without further othering women. Even though the analysis looks more closely at women, it does so in order to examine gender more broadly, including the power relations between women and men, travel and tourism as fundamentally embodied and gendered practices, and the gendering of the diaspora though the gendering of space, place, and time.
Patricia de Santana Pinho
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469645322
- eISBN:
- 9781469645346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469645322.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
The role of local governments in attracting roots tourists is one of most important factors analyzed in the studies of diaspora tourism. Governments of several countries have actively sought to ...
More
The role of local governments in attracting roots tourists is one of most important factors analyzed in the studies of diaspora tourism. Governments of several countries have actively sought to promote varied forms of roots tourism in order to attract members of their respective diasporas. In contrast, African American roots tourism in Brazil is marked by the almost complete inaction of the government, at both the state and federal levels. This type of tourism was initiated and continues to develop largely as the result of tourist demand, and with very little participation on the part of the state. This chapter analyzes the belated response of the state government of Bahia to African American tourism, examining how the inertia that dominated since the late 1970s was later replaced by a more proactive, although still inadequate, position, when the state tourism board, Bahiatursa, founded the Coordination of African Heritage Tourism to cater specifically to the African American roots tourism niche. The chapter also analyzes whether the left-leaning Workers’ Party, then in charge of the state government, challenged the longstanding discourse of baianidade (Bahianness) that has predominantly represented blackness (in tourism and other realms) through domesticated and stereotypical images.Less
The role of local governments in attracting roots tourists is one of most important factors analyzed in the studies of diaspora tourism. Governments of several countries have actively sought to promote varied forms of roots tourism in order to attract members of their respective diasporas. In contrast, African American roots tourism in Brazil is marked by the almost complete inaction of the government, at both the state and federal levels. This type of tourism was initiated and continues to develop largely as the result of tourist demand, and with very little participation on the part of the state. This chapter analyzes the belated response of the state government of Bahia to African American tourism, examining how the inertia that dominated since the late 1970s was later replaced by a more proactive, although still inadequate, position, when the state tourism board, Bahiatursa, founded the Coordination of African Heritage Tourism to cater specifically to the African American roots tourism niche. The chapter also analyzes whether the left-leaning Workers’ Party, then in charge of the state government, challenged the longstanding discourse of baianidade (Bahianness) that has predominantly represented blackness (in tourism and other realms) through domesticated and stereotypical images.
Patricia de Santana Pinho
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469645322
- eISBN:
- 9781469645346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469645322.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
The book concludes by reflecting on Brazil’s current political crisis, following the institutional coup d’état that ousted Dilma Rousseff, the country’s first female president. The epilogue discusses ...
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The book concludes by reflecting on Brazil’s current political crisis, following the institutional coup d’état that ousted Dilma Rousseff, the country’s first female president. The epilogue discusses the deployment of an evolutionist language among the left to define the sudden turn of events as a “reversion” to a less advanced stage of the country’s development, and it argues that evolutionist explanations are unproductive, even when they seem appealing. Alternative ways to explain reality, that move us beyond hierarchical and Eurocentric logics, are more necessary than ever. The epilogue also points to new trends of black diaspora travel where transnational solidarity continues to be crucial, including that carried out by members of the Black Lives Matter movement.Less
The book concludes by reflecting on Brazil’s current political crisis, following the institutional coup d’état that ousted Dilma Rousseff, the country’s first female president. The epilogue discusses the deployment of an evolutionist language among the left to define the sudden turn of events as a “reversion” to a less advanced stage of the country’s development, and it argues that evolutionist explanations are unproductive, even when they seem appealing. Alternative ways to explain reality, that move us beyond hierarchical and Eurocentric logics, are more necessary than ever. The epilogue also points to new trends of black diaspora travel where transnational solidarity continues to be crucial, including that carried out by members of the Black Lives Matter movement.