Janete Santos by Sara Fagan and Emma Everly

Janete Santos                                                                                              Background

Janete Santos is a Brazilian professor and writer from Macapa, Amapa State. She holds a major in Modern Languages by UFPA and also holds a MA  in Applied Linguistic by UNICAMP. She states that “I am a university professor, I work in the Undergraduate Course and Graduate Courses (Master and Doctorate) at a public institution” (Email). Along with this, she is a member in many associations, including ACALANTO, APES, and REBRA. She has published five books so far; in 2000 she published “Boa Esperanca-cronicas-e-contos”, in 2002 she published “Tecendo Imagens-poemas”, in 2003 she published “Rota Macapa/Belem-cronicas e contos”, in 2007 “Inquietacoes-poemas” and lastly in 2011 “Mosaicos”(REBRA).

            Santos implies that she had a childhood filled with sorrows, not because she grew up in a dysfunctional household, but issues had arisen that were out of her control. She was very ill as a child and suffered from severe asthma, which perhaps caused her to become introspective. Along with this, she lost her mother at a very young age affecting her deeply until this day. Due to all of this, she found herself reading and writing rather than going out to play with children of her own age. She would also write in order to come up with a parallel world that would fulfill the loss she felt as a child growing up. Needing to create a parallel world connects to other female writers and characters discussed throughout our class.

In our class discussion, we stated that women would use the Gothic to escape the real world and try to renounce the world and the male society. Telles who writes the short stories “Ants”, “Rats” and “Tigrela” uses this same idea as she tries to separate the male and female world. Instead of writing about the problems the world contains and finding solutions to these problems, Santos wrote to get away from her own life and to be able to imagine her life as a  fairy tale, which most women writers desire. These writers sought a world that was different than what society was, therefore they created their own version of their fairy tale.

Views on Marriage

            Throughout the whole class, marriage has been a major topic and we discussed the importance of it in the Brazilian culture. It seemed that marriage and Christianity were very closely linked. Santos states that she was raised in a Christian household and because of this she held marriage in high regards. “I was raised by Christian principles and that’s why, in my mind, I always kept that marriage is something for a lifetime;”(Email). She goes on to state that this relationship is between two people and that both of them must work through this commitment of marriage to keep it together, which are formed based off Christian ideals that are held in Brazil. In our class discussion from February 7, the class discussed the idea of Virgin Mary vs. Eve. It is quite obvious that it is better for women to be seen as the Virgin Mary. To achieve this, they would not have sex until marriage and once married they would not get a divorce because it counters the Christian ideals. Females did not want to look like Eve because she was the female of the original sin plus it would bring back the idea of extreme sexuality attributed to the native people of Brazil. I think this is deeply rooted in what Santos is saying, that because she is Christian, marriage is a commitment to God and it should not be broken because it would go against the Christian faith.

            Throughout history it can be seen how deeply rooted Christian beliefs, like those of Santos, are rooted into a woman's mind. “By such generosity the white female not only recognized her obligations to society, but was also moved by a profound feeling of Christian charity” (Women 8). Though this ideas was from the colonial times in Brazil, it’s still currently very prominent in women’s lives. We conversed as a class how a woman would rather deal with a horrible living situation than leave since it would shame their family because it was not the “right thing to do”. I think Carmen Miranda can be used as an example for this as well. She had a husband that would beat her as she lived in America, but because she was so deeply rooted in the Brazil heritage and culture, she didn’t want to leave him. She talked about how it would not be the “Christian thing to do” and how her mother would be upset if she divorced him. These only prove the point that religion and marriage are closely linked for women in Brazil.

            Our last statement might be somewhat contradictory to some of the other writers discussed in class since there were many varying opinions about religion in these writers’ answers. Betty Silberstein stated that “religion has no influence whatsoever”. She has been married with children, so it seems that even if Betty believes religion has no influence, she herself is somewhat influenced since she was a married woman.  

Views on Discrimination

            Santos states that discrimination is hidden a lot more in Brazil than it is in America. She goes on to state that this is even bigger now because of the minority groups being able to explain themselves better and reaching a vast population because of social media. Another major issue is the discrimination with prostitution in lower income areas. Though she states that “What I know about prostitution is what I see in the news…. like most Brazilians, see prostitution, which is a universal practice, as a difficult social problem to solve, because it exists either because of economic problems that weaken some people in society making them vulnerable to the appeals of pimps” (Email). Most of these problems are hidden by the government which blindfold Brazilians themselves from these struggles.

            The “Happy Prostitution” campaign promoted by the media showed how prostitution shouldn’t be viewed as bad. The government had brought in prostitutes and had them speak about how they were happy that they were prostitutes. This may not be completely accurate and our class discussed, “That these women feel an obligation to appear happy because they are being filmed on the television” (Class discussion 4/9/2014). The government is trying to clear discrimination for both racial and social issues in Brazil and Santos is seeing this through watching the television.

            Santos wrote a novel called “TRIPS”. The novel discusses how there are too many people in the world, and because of this, the government sends people to the moon, mostly being the misfits of the world. I believe this relates back to the government of Brazil since it tries to cover up the “misfits” of their culture by either hiding them or showing them in a better light. This is contradictory to the rich culture where they have more of an attitude of don’t ask don’t tell. “I do not know which video clips of "happy" you're talking about, but the Brazilian government has been fighting prostitution, but unfortunately it is not an easy problem” (Email), she goes on to state that if they are talking solely about adult prostitution, then it’s the woman's decision to do this so it’s not the government’s fault. If it’s child’s prostitution being discussed, then it needs to cease, as it is prohibited by law. I think this shows the misunderstanding of a section of society that believes it’s the woman’s decision. Since the government is trying to cover it up, it becomes the prostitutes’ problem and not the government’s. The sad reality is that a lot of the women do not have the ability to support themselves or their children without prostitution.

In “TRIPS”, Santos states “stop the ever-increasing proliferation of crime in every field of activity and human relationship” (Santos). I believe that this shows her opinion of the government trying to conceal racial discrimination as displayed when the misfits are sent away since the world is overcrowded.  The reality of Brazil resembles “TRIPS” since the government is trying to hide crime to make Brazil look like a better country to the rich eyes for the Olympics and World Cup. I think it also shows the idea that most people in Brazil are learning things from the television or internet, and the government is trying to hide these issues by cleaning them up with better or “happier” ads.

Difference between Rural and City People

            Santos states clearly that the difference between rural and city people is, “an aspect that sets them apart is that individuals from rural areas are more conservative while city dwellers are more liberal”(Email). I think this makes a lot of sense after all the class discussions we have had over this idea.

            In class we read an interview from Daphne Patai that read “how the rich have money while the poor have love.” We discussed how this meant that socially money can cause more problems and more stress. Poor people may find this idea reassuring: “Politically, the government is not imposing the desire to be poor, but rather the Catholic church” (Class Disscussion 4/4/2014). This shows how religion not only plays an important moral role in people’s lives, but also an economic role as well.

Sara Fagan

            Macabea, from “The Hour of the Star” is a perfect example of how ignorance is bliss and it proves Santos’s idea on the differences between rural and city people. Throughout most of the movie, Macabea is unaware of her living situation because she doesn’t know anything more than what she had learned in her rural area where she lived. One of the REBRA writers presented in class describes the rural areas as, “rural life here is very nice, wonderful, but only to those who love silence and have no need to develop their professional or student abilities, there are no high schools in those areas, only elementary school” (Email). Macabea was content in knowing that she was a virgin, she liked coke-a-cola, and she wanted to resemble Marilyn Monroe. Again, the Catholic church’s conservative ideas fit well with the ideas of the rural folks. In the movies, Macabea is a virgin from a small rural area while her friend, being from the city, is more promiscuous and isn’t judged for it. This displays the liberal ideas of the city people.

Emma Everly

            By analyzing Janete Santos’s life and works, we were capable of connecting her pieces to the work we have analyzed throughout class. We found many similarities in the views of Professor Santos to the works concerning the importance of Catholicism, the views on sexuality, and racial discrimination. We would like to thank Ms. Santos for all of her help in making this analyzation possible. We greatly appreciate all of the time and effort you have given us.

Bibliography

1."Emma And Sara." Message to Janete Santos. Apr. 2014. E-mail.

2."REBRA - Rede De Escritoras Brasileiras." REBRA - Rede De Escritoras Brasileiras. Trans. Cecília Nascimento. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.

3.Santos, Janete. "TRIPS." Trans. Cecília Nascimento. TIRPS. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. REBRA. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://rebra.org/escritora/escritora_eng.php?assunto=texto&id=1343>.

4.Women and Society in Colonial Brazil A. J. R. Russell-Wood

Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1 (May, 1977), pp. 1-34

Published by: Cambridge University Press

Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/156605

Selene De Lima Maria and Her Encapsulation of the Independent Brazilian Woman, by Alexis Burney and Elle McGill

Alexis Burney and Elle McGill

Paula Gandara

WGS 383

May 10, 2014

Selene De Lima Maria and Her Encapsulation of the Independent Brazilian Woman

“I mean that we should always seek our dreams, they are difficult, but not impossible. For example, I will make my dream come true one day and publish my book of poems and more. But while I wait I will doing what I like, like fundraiser events for schools and churches. I was born to serve and love my neighbor; this is the biggest and best rewards in the life of any human being, pity that many still do not know this.”

                                                                        Selene De Lima Maria - “The Lost Youth”

Our REBRA writer, Selene De Lima Maria, was born in 1945 in Barra Do Cuiete, Minas Gerais. Selene loves the rural area and she refers to it as “ very nice, wonderful, but only to those who love silence and have no need to develop their professional or student abilities” (Maria). She grew up in the rural areas and came from a poor background. Her father died from shock after being crushed by logs, leaving her mother with lost memory and as a lonely widow. Much of their property was possessed by other people, which her mother had to recover. During her youth in Minas Gerais, she had experienced times where the deities of the spiritual world would visit her or those who she had known. They would leave her messages that gave her a sense of purpose to succeed. Those particular experiences remained in silence until she moved to Rio De Janeiro. There, she began writing what she had experienced to spread the truth.

She speaks the truth in four stories that convey her message clearly, the message that pride is possible even in the most terrible of situations. The message begins with her story ‘Youth Lost’, where she discusses the time she and her sister had to abide to the traditions of the Brazilian culture. In contrast, her stories “Legend or Truth” and “Seeing Is Believing” describe the spiritual world making contact with her and her desires for the life she wanted to obtain. Lastly, the story “The Chosen” discusses the common theme of the patriarchal society waiting for the fall of women uprising. All in all, in many of Selene stories she expresses the troubles that have happened and that are currently happening in Brazil. Most importantly all of Selene’s stories, her background and her stances on political and religious issues encase the type of strong, independent Brazilian women we have been learning about all semester. Interestingly enough, Selene’s most prominent message, which we understood through her emails, is to give back and help the community while she continually progresses towards her dreams.   

Many writers have a message encoded into their stories, but what makes Selene’s significant would be the fact that she has experienced a rough transition. That transition, similar to many other Brazilian women, would be coming out of the rural area to the city. Because of this, she has experienced more and has more of a voice than someone who is born into the city. For many authors, it is up to their audience to understand and interpret the messages within their stories. As readers, it is obvious that Selene is very vulnerable within her writing, especially in her story “Youth Lost”. She places the audience into her mind and stories, inviting us to experience what she has. Selene came from the rural area as an open minded woman and maintained her beliefs which were embedded into her writing. Her spirituality and encounters with the unknown, play a huge part in relaying her message to the reader’s. They tell the struggle of women in Brazil along with the fight that they are still engaged in. Although, in her stories, she depicts them as a journey that serves as a way to defy the “natural order” of the Society made by men.  In her email, she said “I write about [the struggle] to see if the law will help us one day” (Maria). Her writing about the struggle made us think about elements of Candomble, with can be used into a decision for her and women who share the same beliefs.

In a couple of our classes, we have discussed the Afro-Brazilian spirituality which influences many Brazilian writers work. For example, in Poncia, we talked about the Serpent Ouroboros being a representation of a shaman of the peoples pain and struggle. This is because Ouroboros represents self reflection and a recreation of the self. This spirituality is represented in Candomble through the Orixá Oxumaré. This religion is derived from the African culture which has a mixture of  “Yoruba, Fon, Bantu, and Ewe Beliefs” (BBC). Some aspects of the Candomble are combined with the religion Catholicism.  This can be an explanation as to why it is significantly shown in two of Selene stories. To have a better understanding of these stories it is important to note Selene’s thoughts on religion which we spoke about through our emails. She claimed that if people were more respectable to others faith “we could all work to try and live in peace and union among all people” and that her religion is extremely important to her (Maria).

Throughout the semester we had frequently spoken of the significance of religion/spirituality and religious symbols throughout the various texts and movies. Interestingly enough Selene also has a serpent/snake in her story “Seeing Is Believing” even though it does not stand for the totality that Oxumaré represents. Since it is widely known that within Catholicism snakes often represent the devil and/or evil, one could argue that her use of snakes stands for the evil she encountered while living in a rural area. The story of “Seeing Is Believing” tells Selene’s experiences of being on her uncle's farm as horse hair turns into snakes. Selene is extremely adamant about the fact that the horse hairs actually turned into snakes, it was not an illusion or a dream. Selene does not talk about the snakes with ill will. In fact she speaks of them with admiration and amazement. Even though she does not speak of them badly the snakes can still represent the repression she felt from living in a rural area. Another interesting aspect of Catholicism is the idea that when the wine is blessed and turned into Jesus’ blood, Catholics believe it is actually Jesus’ blood and no longer wine. It’s possible that Selene wanted this story to be interpreted under a religious and spiritual lens, or, perhaps, she was solely wanted to tell her story. It is also likely that because Selene is such a religious person, as she told us, that her religion makes its way into her stories, regardless.

Selene, though expressing her concerns from a rural perspective, uses this same factor to talk about both the social class discrimination and women’s limited rights. In our opinion, Selene uses Afro-Brazilian spirituality to say that a message was given to her in order to have the power to fight. This is shown in the story “Seeing is Believing”, where she uses the uncanny to describe the disrupt order that exists in Brazil. She describes it metaphorically when she says “Despite of being fragile the little dog bravely faced a real brute with her soft barks till the day the wild animal entered the porch and all of a sudden swallowed her whole and alive” (Maria 1). This description is a representation of what she has experienced to what she has come to see in the city. It gives a voice which says that women may have rights but they are still small, compared to that of a man. As soon as a woman begins to make movements, she is still drowned out by the presences of masculinity. Thus the Independent woman is being silenced and thus recedes back into their “respective manner”.

Another common theme and genre among Brazilian writers and one we referred to frequently throughout the semester, is the fantastic. Though Selene stories are based on actual events that happen to her, one could perceive it as being under this particular category. The fantastic is defined by Cristina Ferreira-Pinto in her article “The Fantastic, The Gothic and The Grotesque in Contemporary Brazilian Novels” as “serving to highlight the ambiguous position of women in a male-centered order, to underline their marginality” (Ferreira-Pinto 72). Another important aspect of the fantastic is the focus on the contemporary, middle-class where Selena can be placed. Ferreira-Pinto also mentions the conflict, or split, that is present in many ‘fantastic’ stories. This conflict is most common among the women characters and women authors like Selene. “It is the conflict between the characters’ desires and aspirations, on one hand, and the demands and obstacles still imposed by the social order, on the other hand, that originates ambiguity and absurdity highlighted by the use of the fantastic and the gothic” (Ferreira-Pinto, 73). This is prominent and relevant in the story “The Chosen”. Selene questions the small recognition that women have made, “Always expect improvements. / Achievements are few and far and there are almost no victories. / Progress at a snail’s pace,” (Chosen 1). She questions whether the progress can be called achievements if there are no victories. Due to the lack of victories, Selene states without hesitation that the men are waiting for the fall of the uprising of women and watching their every move. “Search definition 
/ Of men who go there 
/ Commanding our days 
/ To prevent further slippage 
/ Hurting the populace 
/ Who knows if in the future” (The Chosen, 1). Here we see that similar and overarching conflict and split of the women wanting equality but still falling short to the men and the implied social and economic injustices they so frequently face.

The fantastic can also be seen in Selene’s story “Seeing is Believing.” We all know that it is physically impossible for horse hairs to turn into snakes. The story goes: “My grandparents, my mother and my uncles used to tell me a story that horsehair changed into a snake in rainy days, but only in some of them by the puddles” (Seeing Is Believing, 1). Even at the end of the story Selene reiterates the idea that she actually saw the horse hairs turn into snakes. As it was mentioned previously, perhaps Selene and her family saw the snakes as a symbol of holding her back. This is where the shift, or split, of the fantastic would come into play. Selene feels held back by the life of being a rural woman, like many Brazilian women, but sees little to no opportunity in leaving her secure life for the uncertainty of the city. The snakes, even though it is subtle, have brought this idea to light. 

One of the most important topics we talked about with Selene was her views on feminism and women in Brazil. Like many of the REBRA writers we discovered that Selene was a feminist and worried about the futures of women in Brazil. She said “women aren’t equal to men in Brazil, we’ve been fighting for a long time but women make less money even if more qualified for the same job” (Maria). She then expressed her concern for the many women in men who act as “Amelia” type for “macho” men who just want maids and no companions. She enlightened us on the fact that there are women, at least two or three a day, in Brazil that are being murdered by their masochistic husbands. Not only did Selene express concern, she also provided a solution: “If only the government gave equal rights. The justice system in Brazil is too slow and too sexist.” But she is hopeful because of the fight women have been putting up against men. Selene’s feminism and women strength is made apparent in her story “Youth Lost” as she recollects the experiences her sister and herself went through with her sisters husband. Selene recalls many moments when her sisters husband, who was older by thirty years, beat and abused both her and her sister. But she also tells of her heroic acts of standing up to him, “I looked at him and said, because I can cut I will not take and also because I'm not afraid of you, just because you're big, if anything me or my sister you will die because God is seeing everything” (Maria). Not only does this story show the strong sense of Selene’s feminism but her trust and strength in knowing God and her religion.

Overall, Selene’s feminism, her background and her stances on political and religious issues encase the type of strong, independent Brazilian women we have been learning about all semester. We were also able to see and understand Selene’s most prominent message, to give back and help the community while she continually progresses towards her dreams. Selene was such a wonderful and interesting person to speak with throughout the semester. It’s inspiring to see her belief in the Church and her religion as well as equal rights for women in Brazil. Through examining her stories such as “Youth Lost” and “The Chosen” it is easy to see that Selene’s progression toward becoming a writer stemmed from her childhood experiences and her transition from her rural life to life in the city of Rio de Janeiro.  

Thank you Mrs. Selene, for allowing us to read you work. We gratefully appreciate the openness to our questions. You have been a great help with our project and allowed us to express a piece of your life the class through your writing. My partner and I hope that all goes well. Please keep writing and continue to have hope that the government listens to the words that you carry within your soul. You are a brave woman and we commend you for all you are contributing to the Brazilian Society. Continue to progress with the faith that has been bestowed upon you. The time of the Brazilian Woman Right’s is on its way.

                                                            Bibliography

Selene De Lima Maria. “Questions about the struggles of Brazil.” Alexis Burney and Ellie

McGill. 24 April 2014 (Email) 

"Religions - Candomblé: Candomblé at glance". BBC. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 7

January 2014.

Ferreira-Pinto, Cristina.  The Fantastic, the Gothic, and the Grotesque in Contemporary   Brazilian Women's Novels http://www.jstor.org/stable/29741285 Chasqui: revista de literatura

latinoamericana Vol. 25, No. 2 (Nov., 1996) , pp. 71-80

Veronika Esaki, by Taylor Tomlinson and Kirstie Gallimore

Veronica Esaki

Veronica Esaki was born in Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil on September 26, 1959. She moved to Sao Paulo when she was three years old, and lived there till 1980, when she came to the United States. She was educated in Sao Paulo, and received a degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Spanish and Portuguese languages, where she worked as a professor for several years. She now lives in Plano, Texas with her husband Edson and two children.Veronica is a writer who isn’t inspired to write, but “was obliged to write by the immense flow of conversations in her mind.” As a writer, she has a unique and refreshing way of speaking her mind and ideas which are made up of mixture of feminism and religious sentiments.

Her poem,  December/11/1992, written by Esaki in Sao Paulo, has a deep and sensual theme of love, a love sometimes people today can’t seem to understand or grasp. This poem could be summarized as the boy she loved then and now. As Esaki puts it, the poem captures the essence of “A boy that lived inside of the man who he does not recognize.” In the poem, she invites him to live in the THEN, verses the man who lives in the NOW. An example of this boy she loved then and misses now is expressed through the following verse: “You were the best of my dreams. You are still the best of my dreams. Not even the graying of my hair or the scars on body, or the wrinkles of my face, today, inhibit in me the right I feel I have of loving and of being loved by you.” The idea of a past love, and a current love she struggles with, through this boy and man is brought to life.

Veronica’s poem could be interpreted as the love for a boy who is now a man, but there is also an underlying tone, beneath this sentiment she has mentioned, stating: “ He loved the poet in me, and feared the woman.” Why does her fear the woman? Is it because of her success as a talented woman artist? This question give us a glimpse into Veronica Esaki’s ideals. Due to the fact that she is a successful writer who has a keen mind for deep thought and analysis, my partner and I had the opportunity to converse with her about her views on women in Brazilian society. Her responses were brilliant, and opened both of our eyes to new insights and, not only did she identify the root of many problems, but also backed up her ideas surrounding these problems with a relevant solutions.

Women in Brazil have been a topic we have discussed throughout the year in our Afro-Brazilian Literature class under the guidance of our dear professor, Paula Gandara. After gaining insights through our analysis of famous works of Brazilian Literature, exploring women’s place in Brazilian society, and their struggle, we knew we needed to get insight from a current Brazilian author, and we were delighted to have the opportunity to discuss with Esaki her views and opinion on the topic.

We began by discussing with her how she felt about women’s rights in Brazil. She explained to us that women have came along way, but still are not equal. She told us “I look forward to a world where people are not as captive by sexuality as we still are. I feel that women's rights and freedom are intrinsically connected with dense sexuality.” We agree with Veronica’s statement, as she believes that women’s general freedom and women’s sexual freedom are intimately intertwined, and in order for women to truly escape oppression and gain equality, it is essential that they gain sexual equality to men. This idea is especially pertinent in Brazil, as dense sexuality is very much tied with Brazilian culture. In the article, Is Gisele Bundchen A Self-Made Multimillionaire Sexist? Brazil's President Apparently Thinks So by Anderson Antunes, it is explained that women such as Gisele Bundchen, who is a self-made millionaire, capatilizing on her “Brazilian heritige” through sex appeal, are bringing a sexiest, seductive attitude to their personal branding, which Bundchen specifically does through her Hope Lingerie online ads. In the ads, Gisele presents herself in her Hope Lingerie and insists for ladies to use their “Brazilian charm.” This marketing plot has become an outrage to some people, as the article summarizes the ad by stating, “The campaign promotes the misguided stereotype of a woman as a sexual object of her husband and ignores the major advances we have achieved in deconstructing sexist practices and thinking.(Antunes,Is Gisele Bundchen A Self-Made Multimillionaire Sexist? Brazil's President Apparently Thinks So) ” This article can connect with Veronica’s feelings towards the way women are perceived in society, as Veronica also feels that “When, as a species, we begin to understand and comprehend the magnificence of sexuality as a lifeline tool, as a transcendental modality for our humanityness, when we are capable to perceive that being a man and being woman is nothing but two faces of the same hand of nature.”

Under Veronica’s vision, men and women would be equal and appreciated for their natural biological differences, and these differences would be cherished, as opportunities to transcend our human experiences and connect not only each other, but with something far greater, and more spiritual than ourselves. Women’s sexual appeal would not be objectified, but rarely recognized as natural and respected as beautiful, and through this recognition, both men and women would realize that biologically, they are “both are fully equipped to provide pathways to heaven on earth; and that sexuality is simply the way we have to glimpse at the possibility of magnificent pleasures” and through this recognition, equality will be achieved as we will “no longer will have to distinguish one another as this or that rather we'll know each other as you and me, one and one.” Veronica’s vision for attaining equality by revolutionizing the way men and women view sex and their sexulaity, is pure and refreshing, and captures what we believe to be not only an educated and insightful identification of the problem, but also creates a relevant and uplifting solution to said problem.

This topic of sexuality and how we perceive ourselves as sexual beings, generally speaks on how Veronica views sexuality in Brazil, and also how women are very much connected with sexuality. At one point in our interview with Esaki, she talked about how women in Brazil are perceived on television, in the movies, and in other Brazilian media outlets. She explained that through these mediums, women are strictly sexual objects, and are rarely depicted as having intelligence or desires that are not sexually centered or sexually driven. Esaki made a very intelligent point when she posed the question: “why is it that in the media outlets listed above are women only the ones to show their private parts, versus men, who seem to always be covered?” Esaki went on to explain that in Brazil, people learn life lessons due to their soap operas, and even on the soaps, she observed, women are carrying a very sexual dialogue. In the article Media cited for showing girls as sex objects by Sharon Jayson, an analysis of 300 studies over an 18 month period including women in movies, television, magazines, and even girl’s barbie dolls, found that media images make girls think and treat their own bodies as sexual objects(Jayson, USATODAY). This epidemic of how women are perceived as sexual objects, speaks to Esaki’s previous sentiments on how sexuality and equality are intimately connected, and the portrayal of women in the media drastically contributes to their status in society in terms of equality.

Overall, Esaki’s unique insights on sexual inequality in Brazilian society eloquently identified a key problem: overexualization of women, in the media. However, Esaki’s character and intellect shone through when she not only identified the problem, but also proposed a relevant solution, that called for both women and men to approach sexulaity through a new mindset, which focuses on self respect and true appreciation for the beauty of both the female and male bodies. This sentiment is echoed through her works, as in her poem, December/11/1992, she glorifies the beauty and purity of a sexual attraction rooted in appreciation, not objectification. Esaki’s fascinating insights as a Brazilian, female writer, enriched our understanding of women’s experiences in Brazil, and we genuinely look forward to reading her next work, which, a she explains encompasses “the live I live among people.” In our interview, Esaki’s intelligence for observing those around her was very clear, and this novel promises to include invaluable observations about the world around us, depicted in  Esaki’s vivid and romantic voice.

We would like to thank Veronica Esaki very much for her willingness to be interviewed by us, and for the thoughtful and thorough responses she provided us with. We very much so enjoyed conversing with her, and we would like to wish her the very best in her professional writing endeavors and beyond!

             

          Taylor Tomlinson                                                             Kirstie Gallimore

          English Education Major                                                  Art Studio Major

          Miami University Class of 2014                                       Miami University Class of 2014

Work Cited

Antunes, Anderson. "Is Gisele Bundchen A Self-Made Multimillionaire Sexist? Brazil's President Apparently Thinks So." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 30 Sept. 2011. Web. 12 May 2014.

Jayson, Sharon. "Media Cited for Showing Girls as Sex Objects." Media Cited for Showing Girls as Sex Objects - USATODAY.com. USA Today, 20 Feb. 2007. Web. 12 May 2014.

Music Functions and Racial Prejudices of African-Brazilians and Nordestinos of São Paulo

Kelsey Cook

Kelli Peterman

LAS 204

February 28, 2014

Music Functions and Racial Prejudices of African-Brazilians and Nordestinos of São Paulo

The film Saudade do Futuro and chapter one of Rhythms of Resistance, which focuses on the music of African-derived religions in Brazil, have many connections regarding functions of music and racial prejudices. The film is centered on the Nordestinos of São Paulo, Brazil, who migrated from the northeast due to the drought in hopes of finding work and creating a better future. The title of the film juxtaposes a yearning for the past, "saudade," with "futuro," the future: the Nordestinos continually hope that the prejudice and unemployment they face will improve as time goes on, though they still yearn for their homelands. The first chapter in Rhythms of Resistance focuses on the candomblé, its origins, its regional variants, and their functions. Candomblé is considered “the classical African-Brazilian religion,” (Fryer 14). We build a case for the music in both the film and chapter to have resistance functions, particularly against the racial prejudices and situations of the African-Brazilians and the Nordestinos of São Paulo.

Both the African-Brazilians and Nordestinos have faced similar forms of oppression, as demonstrated by the enslavement of the Africans and the social inequality of the Nordestinos.  When the Portuguese brought the Africans to Brazil, they began the practice of enslaving them, not only through their bodies in the fields, but also through religion. The Portuguese forced the African slaves to assimilate into the Catholic religion because the religion of the slaves was considered to be a form of resistance and was therefore forbidden.  If the slaves resisted, they could face persecution by Roman Catholic priests and the police, or be punished through “excommunication, refusal of communion, [and] arrest and imprisonment” (Fryer 13).  In the case of the Nordestinos, their lives in São Paulo demonstrate another form of oppression. The Nordestinos left their homeland to escape a drought and then migrated to São Paulo, hoping to find employment. However, the Nordestinos living in São Paulo are generally unemployed or are not making enough money to earn a living, according to the film. For example, the Nordestinos helped to build the villas, mansions, and other expensive buildings in Brazil. Once this work was done, as shown by Saudade do Futuro, the São Paulo natives “slam the door in our face,” forcing the majority of Nordestinos to live in favelas, or the slums, of São Paulo. However, the Nordestinos feel as though they cannot leave São Paulo because they see it as a land of opportunity. Through the eyes of the Nordestinos, the city is a place of possibility, of unexpected intimacy, and especially of music and poetry.

Racial prejudice is another form of oppression experienced by the African-Brazilians and Nordestinos. In chapter one of Rhythms of Resistance, Fryer states “I refuse belittle them [African-derived Brazilian religions] with the disparaging term ‘cults’” (Fryer 13). Due to Fryer refusing to call the religion a cult, his statement implies that the African-Brazilian religion has, in fact, been considered as a cult by some. This religion has been regarded as “mere witchcraft,” and has such been prohibited by the Roman Catholic priests (Fryer 13). The natives of São Paulo greet the Nordestinos with prejudice as well. The natives consider them to be “a lesser, inferior race,” as stated in the film. Additionally, Nordestinos are called “Paraibas” or “Baianos” by the São Paulo natives. Their accent and their status as recent arrivals make the Nordestinos feel like outsiders. One Nordestino says, “I felt I was in a foreign milieu, as if I were an invader, and I was treated as such.” In the film, the mayor of São Paulo, a Nordestino herself, states that “you are also rejected for that, because of your accent, and the way you drag out your words.” Thus, these preconceived notions about the religion of African-Brazilians and the Nordestinos themselves are based on judgment and not reason, and therefore can be perceived as forms of prejudice.

In the face of oppression, both the Nordestinos and the African-Brazilians use their own musical styles to resist and withstand their situations. The major style of music sung by Nordestinos is called repente, and is entirely based on a singer’s ability to improvise. It is mostly sung in the streets, and many of its singers use it as a form of employment. In the film, one repente singer sings, “I’m gonna sing to kill this suffering and earn my living,” while another singer states, “That’s how we make our living, singing is our way of life.” The themes sung about in repente include defending Nordestino culture, longing for the homeland, unemployment, poverty, and politics. By using repente as a form of social commentary, the Nordestino singers demonstrate their resistance to their current situations and their desire for change.  In regards to the music of the African-Brazilians, they were forced to camouflage their form of worship, the candomblé, behind Roman Catholicism. As Roger Bastide states, “Originally the saints were merely white masks placed over the black faces of the ancestral deities… The whites had to be given the impression that the members of the ‘nations’ were good Catholics” (Freyer 13). In other words, the African deities, or orixás, were each camouflaged behind a Catholic saint so that the African-Brazilians could avoid persecution by Catholic priests.  By still practicing their religion in the form of candomblé, the African-Brazilians could more easily withstand with their enslavement. In summary, both candomblé and repente serve as forms of resistance.

In conclusion, the bottom line of our investigation is to show that although the Nordestinos and African-Brazilians are different in terms of their history, musical styles, and lifestyle, both groups have used music to resist oppression and racial prejudice. However, one issue with analyzing Saudade do Futuro is that we, the audience, are only able to view what the director, Cesar Paes, is choosing to film of the lives of the Nordestinos. Thus, our opinions written here could have potentially been swayed or biased without us even realizing it. Nevertheless, from what we have been shown, the Nordestinos use the repente to make social commentary that allows them to withstand economic oppression and racial prejudice. Similarly, the African-Brazilians used the candomblé as a way to protect their religion and to deal with their resentment of enslavement in the face of the Catholic Portuguese. As a result of this investigation, we find that prejudice can prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances and can also prevent us from appreciating Brazilian music.

Bibliography:

Fryer, Peter. "The Heritage of Nigeria and Benin: Music for Worship." Rhythms of Resistance:    

           African Musical Heritage in Brazil. Hanover: UP of New England, 2000. 13-23. Print.

Paes, Cesar, dir. Saudade do Futuro. Laterit Productions, 2001. Film.