Gender Roles and the Construction of Brazilian Nationalism

Patrick Campbell                                                                                                     James Clark

Gender Roles and the Construction of Brazilian Nationalism

Introduction

           Today, it is hard to identify a “pure” cultural identity as an industrialized mass culture that relies on globalization, this identity tends to be fragmented from various influences. Yet no one can dissociate the image of samba from Brazil. In fact, samba and bossa nova are immediately associated with symbols of Brazil and their cultural identity. It follows then, that no matter how much the world has changed through massively overlapping cultural borders, that this music has a purpose as a trace and a view into nationalism in Brazil. At its core, music provides an unusual lens into cultural identity. Its ethnologic elements provide a context for lived experiences and relationships, while reflecting the dynamics of political and economic issues at the time. Noel Rosa, Carmen Miranda, and Mario Andrade are very notable names in the contribution to the realm of Samba and the nationalistic image of Brazil. Noel Rosa is considered to be the father of samba and used it to show the Brazilian voice and way of life. Carmen Miranda helped bring this image to the United States so that the Brazilian image could be presented on a stage for the world to see. While Noel and Carmen both played significant roles in Brazilian identity and meshing it with that of Samba, Mario Andrade largely influence these writers to create music that was truly Brazilian so that they could share it with the western world. While both Rosa and Miranda sought to define a Brazilian identity through their music, their views regarding gender roles and audience were somewhat conflicting.

Gender Roles or Musical Impacts in Defining Brazilianness

    Noel Rosa dedicated his time to seeking out the national essence with which he would define Brazilianness. Rosa found this in samba, its musicians, and the poor areas of the lower middle class Rio de Janeiro. Noel Rosa was a particularly complicated individual in terms of gender equity. Rose thoroughly believed that women were purely distractions from that of the male dominated musical world. it would appear as though, Noel Rosa’s greatest quality is that

he has no interest in women: "When he writes a samba / it is an innovation...the brown

women of that place / live in lamentation / knowing that he does not want / to fall in love...

with a woman." (McCann, 2001: 9), this blatant, closed minded perspective completely shuns the idea that women are capable of anything other than fulfilling the role of a housewife, the Virgin Mary, or, as we know her, Amelia. Rosa’s view is so radical that it actually sets back a large amount of progress made by Chiquinha Gonzaga, whom of which we might be able to say give precedence to the achievements of Carmen Miranda.

           Carmen Miranda was a major recording star in her adopted homeland of Brazil long before most Americans had ever heard of her. Miranda, born in Portugal, clawed her way out of childhood poverty and not only was able to break into a heavily male dominated music business, but then embodied a Hollywood celebrity in the US on her way to become the highest paid women in the US in 1944 (Solberg, 1995). Miranda created a whole new image of women at the time and shattered the gender roles that Rosa had made known. “The Brazilian women who opened the twentieth century were delicate, susceptible, squeamish, always well dressed, and always feeling from men” (Gilman, 1998[1]). Miranda, on the other hand, embodied a seductive image for Brazilian women who meet men joyously while showing off her legs and cleavage.

    We see a vision of Carmen Miranda’s life in Helena Solberg’s “Bananas is my Business”, and within the film we observe the challenging of said gender roles in Samba. Solberg makes an argument about the gender roles in Brazil at the time of Carmen Miranda in many ways. In the biopic type of film, we also see a bias from the director, not that this bias makes her views incorrect or even skewed, this simply means that her depiction of Carmen Miranda cannot be absolutely certain of who she was or how she exactly lived. Solberg wanted to bring to fruition an idea that Carmen Miranda, though an angel to the American populace and the greatest “raw material” resource that Brazil had during her time, crossed many different concepts seeing as though she was the Virgin Mary, the Amelia but Carmen was also the Malandro and quite masculine. The explosion of Carmen Miranda’s popularity provided the American civilisation

She broke through the boundaries of what a woman was expected to do, as she was a samba icon, she “talked like a man”, and was not the typical housewife type. We observed in the film, “Bananas is my Business” that when Carmen was a child, she was depicted as the Virgin Mary, which is a common connection that Brazilians make with Amelia, or our housewife that does exactly what she is told and is always there to support the man, never to distract him. This depiction creates the conflict between who Carmen Miranda is in terms of how she is depicted, and how society should depict her. Chiquinha had tried to break into the music business earlier and faced numerous critics and hardships due to the fact that she was a female. Her family disowned her and she was considered a monster by others (Neder, 1988[2]). Gonzaga was recognized later on, but was not appreciated in her own time.

Cultural Identity of a Brazilian Class

In Brazil, Miranda was never considered to be part of the elite. She may have been a popular singer, who was backed by Gertulio Vargas at the time, but she interacted and drew attention from the lower Brazilian classes. The rich class did not care for her Brazilian images that concerned Africannness, as they felt she was encompassing those, “who did not matter”. Carmen was an idol to those people who the world saw as “real” Brazilians, the samba singers, the bahianos, and the black people of the northeast, all which demonstrate true Brazilian culture. She was then able to translate the black samba for a white audience. This is why Americans loved her while, the elite and wealthy of Brazil felt betrayed by her. This indicates a clash of cultures not between North and South America, but instead between classes in Brazil. However, Miranda’s image changed slightly when she moved. When Miranda went to the US, she became an oversexed, thickly-accented, living cartoon caricature. She became typecast for roles as such. With that said, she tried to resist the Americanization by speaking some Portuguese in her films and making fun of the way she spoke English. Although, successful in America (and earlier in Brazil), Miranda was scrutinized for becoming an “American” as depicted in her song, “They said that I came back Americanized”. The culture of Brazil is bathed in the idea, the image, that Carmen Miranda represents. Carmen’s tutti frutti hat, the way she performs Samba, and especially her demeanor in public, creates an interpretive function of Brazilian nationality which is quite reminiscent to the themes that Mario Andrade has been trying to portray ever since the Week of Modern Art in February of 1922 (Suarez and Tomlins).

Mario shows very similar characteristics to that of Carmen Miranda in the idea that the Brazilian culture expands beyond brackets, beyond classes, beyond the elite or the poor, the Africans, the Natives, and all other discrepancies that get in the way of the people of Brazil that unify under one nationality which is Brazilian. The media that Mario and Carmen share is writing and their works can be shared among the poor and the elite. Mario has public exhibitions of his poetry and inspires musicians to play and represent their culture in a public fashion, just as Carmen Miranda represents Brazilian culture that is easily heard by any and all who will accept her. Some might think that, in order to be exposed to Brazilian culture, one must pay nothing but this is not the case. To experience Brazilian culture, one must allocate the cost of what it truly means to be put out of a comfort zone and understand life between brackets, which is a price the entire country seems to be willing to pay. The cost of being Brazilian is a large dedication to the ideals of the local arena. In between brackets lies a culture so dependent on itself, that people would rather be oppressed by their government, starve, live in poverty, and die instead of sacrificing. Their faith in God, honor, and community is so strong that their faith in the system is truly diminished, something that American and European systems hold entirely absent.

Conclusion

    Brazil has seen a combination of many cultures throughout the years. Yet, it has always sought an image that was uniquely Brazilian. Miranda, Gonzaga, Andrade, and Rosa have all contributed to that image immensely. The influence of these Brazilians is so intense, that even today’s directors like Helena Solberg have dedicated much of their lives to constructing their vision. The music created by some of these individuals colored the narrative of Brazilians and their lives both at the individual and collective levels. It’s almost as if one can see the progression of Brazil occurring right in front of their eyes through their musical style and lyrical depiction. Music is a universal language, and is the driving force for these prominent Brazilians. However conflicting the views of their masters may have been, this has allowed gender roles to be redefined, class structures to be analyzed, and Brazil has placed its new image on the world’s stage for all to see.  

Work Cited Page

Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business. Dir. Helena Solberg.  Perf. Helena Solberg, Eric Barreto, Cynthia Adler. (1995). Film.

Gilman, Bruce. “Viva Carmen!”. (1998). Web.

http://www.brazzil.com/musjun96.htm

McCann, Bryan. "Noel Rosa's Nationalist Logic." The University of Wisconsin Press Journals Division 38.1 (2001): 1-16. Print.

Neder, Alexander. “Chiquinha Gonzaga: Artist Biography”. (1988). Web.

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/chiquinha-gonzaga-mn0001918566/biography

Suarez, Jose, and Jack Tomlins. Mario de Andrade: The Creative Works. London: Associated University Presses, INC, 2000. Print.

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[1] http://www.brazzil.com/musjun96.htm

[2] http://www.allmusic.com/artist/chiquinha-gonzaga-mn0001918566/biography

Religious “Cannibalism” in Brazil

Thomas Herrick & Connor Dickey

Religious “Cannibalism” in Brazil

The idea of a kind of figurative cannibalism between cultures, as defined in Oswald de Andrade’s “Cannibalistic Manifesto,” can be seen in Luís Alberto Pereira’s 1999 film Hans Staden. Indeed, the film explicitly contains and almost centralizes around the idea of literal cannibalism, but the idea of figurative cannibalism manifests itself in a number of ways. One of the key ways it does so is through the interactions between the two different religions portrayed in the movie. The “cannibalism” practiced here is more-so on the part of the indigenous. The argument can also be made that Hans adopted certain aspects of the native religious practices while he was being held captive. However, throughout Brazil’s history it seems that other religions, and never Catholicism, were the ones to “cannibalize” and mix with opposing traditions while Catholicism merely spread certain aspects of itself into other religions; staying quite essentially the same in its own European roots.

Concepts, Theories and Assumptions

Let us first discuss the religious practices of the indigenous. In many ways, they were similar to those practiced by North American natives when colonists first arrived there. It is essentially a polytheistic belief, comprised of many gods and spirits with particular emphasis on earth, nature, ancestors, and the stars. Witch doctors play a role in summoning and contacting the spirits, whether it be for religious ceremony or for healing the sick. In Hans Staden, however, we see an interesting interplay between the natives’ religion and Hans’s. Rather than rebuke his beliefs and ignore his God, they instead readily accept the Catholic God as a real deity, especially when they believe their misfortunes are due to Hans’s God’s anger with them. They even go so far as to ask for Hans’s God’s mercy from Hans in various points of the film.

It is apparent from the start that Hans is Catholic. We see him praying to God and, before long, claiming that his God is angry with the natives for holding him captive and harming him. In one instance, Hans remarks that the moon is looking down angrily at the natives, a sign that he is using their belief in natural deities against them. In this case, he may not necessarily have believed it to be true, but the natives did. Another similar case presents itself when the sick family asks Hans to perform one of his religion’s spells which would heal them. Of course, Hans makes up a bit of a silly ritual, presumably on the spot, to appease them and ensure his safety. Again, while he may not necessarily be cannibalising the native beliefs, he is assimilating to their culture through similar practice. On the other hand, a sign of Hans’s “cannibalism” occurs when he kneels down before his cross to pray for the rain to stop. When it does, he stands up and bellows out a primal call similar to one put forth by a native earlier when a tribesman and his wife had “been healed.” In this instance, he has not necessarily taken on the religious beliefs of the indigenous, but his practice of Catholicism has taken on certain elements of the native practice.

Authors

The film Hans Staden is based off the true story of Hans Staden, a Hessian voyager. His memoir gained widespread popularity at the time of its release (1557). Its mere title suggests something of the author’s attitude towards the indigenous and his experience with them; translated as “The True Story of and Description of a Country Populated by a Wild, Naked, and Savage Man-munching People, Situated in the New World, America,” (Staden). Indeed, his outlook was very ethnocentric and the tales he spread of his journey only helped these views to pervade in Europe. The publication is filled with woodblock illustrations depicting the cannibalism of the natives, among other things. This ethnocentric outlook fueled may have fueled the religious conversion efforts by the Portuguese in Brazil.

Perspectives

Hans Stadem portrays an easy relationship between different religions. The natives make no attempt to quell Hans’s beliefs or his practice of them, while Hans respects their deities and shows no intent to convert them. However, as we discussed in class, we know that the Jesuits came to Brazil with the purpose of converting the natives. This is a typical move in colonization efforts throughout history, for once the native population’s fundamental beliefs are in line with the colonizer’s, there is no religious war or strife to deal with. We see in Pero Vaz’s letter to Portugal’s king that conversion, whatever its end-goal, was a major concern for the Portuguese:

“For all that, the best fruit that could be gathered hence would be, it seems to me, the salvation of these people. That should be the chief seed for Your Majesty to scatter here...How much more so will it be if there is a will to accomplish and perform in this land what Your Majesty so greatly desires, which is the spreading of our holy religion.”

So, it seems that there is a history of religious cannibalism on the part of native populations and none on the Catholic colonizers. Instead, the European beliefs tend to “beat out”  the others rather than themselves in any way.

Still, we do see some resistance to total “cannibalism” in the time of the Afro-Brazilian slaves. While owners wanted their slaves to adopt Catholicism in its entirety, the slaves instead mixed it their own beliefs and traditions. This manifests itself in Boi Bumba which contains Catholic elements (St. John the Baptist), but which also contains pagan entities such as the witch doctor (Fryer). Boi Bumba and festivals like it remain today and will probably continue to be held, for as Julie pointed out, they are “very Brazilian.” While slavery-era practitioners did “cannibalize” certain elements of their masters’ beliefs, they still held onto part of their heritage. In the same way that Hans assimilated to indigenous religious customs but held onto his core beliefs, many natives and enslaved Africans took on Catholicism, but maintained fundamental elements of their traditional beliefs. In the words of Oswald de Andrade, “We were never catechized. We lived by a somnambulistic law. We made Christ to be born in Bahia. Or in Belém do Pará.” In essence, the “somnambulistic (meaning sleepwalking-state) law” is the “going through the motions” of those who adopted Catholic traditions but never in its entire essence.

Works Cited

De Andrade, Oswald, and Leslie Bary. Cannibalistic Manifesto. Vol. 19. N.p.: Latin

American Literary Review, p.g. 38-47. JSTOR. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/20119601?origin=JSTOR-pdf>.

Fryer, Peter. Rhythms of Resistance: African Musical Heritage in Brazil. [Middletown, Conn.]:

Wesleyan UP, 2000. Print.

Hans Staden. Dir. Luis A. Pereira. Perf. Carlos Evelyn, Ariana Messias, Darci Figueirido. Instituto

Português Da Arte Cinematográfica E Audiovisual (IPACA), 1999. Film.

Staden, Hans, and Neil LHarbsmeier, MichaelWesolowski, John Whitehead. Hans Staden's True

History [Electronic Resource] : An Account Of Cannibal Captivity In Brazil / Hans Staden ; Edited And With An Introduction By Neil L. Whitehead ; Newly Translated By Michael Harbsmeier. n.p.: Durham : Duke University Press, 2008, 2008. MU Library Catalog. Web. 28 Mar. 2013.

Vaz, Pero. "The Letter of Pero Vaz De Caminha." Letter to King Manoel I. 1 May 1500.

Hans Staden Paper

Stephanie Barth and Radiance Whelchel

LAS 204

Dr. Gandara

Due: 3/28/13

The Religious Messages of Hans Staden: The Importance of Nudity and Cannibalism

The film Hans Staden is based off of Hans Staden’s account of his real life adventures in Brazil in the 1550’s. Staden was a German sailor from Hesse who traveled to Brazil with a Spanish crew and ended up shipwrecked on the island of Sao Vicente (Hans-Staden-NYTimes.com, 2000). The movie was created in 2000 using the accounts written by Staten himself, which have been called into question by some scholars over the issue of his description of cannibalistic practices (Hans-Staden-NYTimes.com, 2000). Hans Staden depicts the capture of Staden by the Tupinamba natives and his life as a prisoner for nine months. There are several aspects of the movie which make it stand out from most films, namely the full nudity of the cast and the open discussion and depiction of cannibalism. One of the most interesting aspects of the film is the role of religion as it impacts both of these aspects. Staden is able to use religion to keep himself alive much longer than he expected, lasting nine months until he is able to escape and return to Europe.

Religious Symbolism and Nudity

One part of Hans Staden which is rather shocking to see as an audience is the overwhelming amount of nudity in the film. It is unusual to see that much full body nudity in movies, but Hans Staden has it in the film to accurately depict how the Indigenous would have looked in the 1550’s. While this representation is important for cultural accuracy, it is also important to note that the nudity of the Indigenous majorly affected the first impressions made by the European colonists. In class we discussed what the bare bodies of the natives might have represented for the colonists, and even what they mean for the Brazilian identity today: nakedness can stand for innocence and purity, as well as honesty and having nothing to hide (Lecture by Dr. Gandara, 3-19-2013). This connection between nudity and purity is also made in “The Letter of Pero Vaz de Caminha” as Caminha describes his first opinions of the Indigenous he encounters in the first documented description of Brazil. Caminha describes the Indigenous as having “good well made faces and noses. They go naked, with no sort of covering. They attach no more importance to covering up their private parts or leaving them uncovered than they do to showing their faces. They are very ingenious in that matter” (Caminha, 1947: 22). Caminha then goes on to link this type of appearance to religion as he states, “for truly these people are good and have a fine simplicity. Any stamp we wish may be easily printed on them, for the Lord has given them good bodies and good faces, like good men” (Caminha, 1947: 25). When placed together it is easy to see the early religious and positive opinion the Europeans had from learning of the nudity of the Indigenous. As we have discussed in class, this positive view of the Indigenous was linked to the idea that these were the people of the Promise Land; that God had chosen these innocent, pure, and impressionable people to be taught Catholicism by the European missionaries (Lecture by Dr. Gandara, 1-22-13).

In the film, Staden is immediately stripped naked when he is captured by the Tupi (Hans Staden, 2000). Since the Tupi saw Staden as an enemy, this act could symbolize an attempt to make Staden more pure and open by stripping him of his sinful clothes. This Indigenous view of clothing is discussed in the “Cannibalist Manifesto”: “What clashed with the truth was clothing, that raincoat placed between the inner and outer worlds” (Andrade, 1991, 38). As we discussed in class, the view of clothing was negative as it was seen as a way of hiding what one is really after (Lecture by Dr. Gandara, 3-19-13). Although the Tupi were not Catholic, the religious idea of purity and innocence still applied to their actions. The movie does a good job of showing both positive and negative traits of the Tupi people. The use of nudity is a way of drawing out the positive side with this long standing and historical image of innocence and openness to God which is shown once the Tupi start to believe in Staden’s God. This belief comes from fear as disease and bad weather strike the Tupi and Staden is able to use this to his advantage (Hans Staden, 2000). The European view of the Tupi took a turn from the positive to the negative once they learned of the Indigenous cannibalistic practices (Lecture by Dr. Gandara, 1-22-13). Interestingly, in Hans Staden the negative traits of the Tupi seem to be shown through their cannibalistic traditions. The representation of cannibalism is the opposite of the representation of nudity as they show the two sides of the Tupi people.

Religious Symbolism and Cannibalism

Cannibalism is a main theme which runs throughout the entire film. Religion plays into this as it is depicted as the only thing which is able to stop the act of cannibalism in the movie. From the beginning, Staden is told that he will be killed and eaten by the Tupi at a feast ceremony (Hans Staden, 2000). This act is continuously delayed by bad fortune striking the Tupi people; first with disease, then with a never ending rain which is sure to make planting for the year impossible. Staden brilliantly hatches a plan to claim that he is the reason for these misfortunes because his God is unhappy that he is going to be eaten despite the fact he is not Portuguese, and therefore technically not an enemy. Another reason Staden gives for his God’s anger is the decimation of the cross he built (Hans Staden, 2000). Each time Staden makes his threats, the Tupi agree to treat him better and to rebuild his cross until whatever is ailing them slowly fades away. This continuous cycle eventually convinces the Tupi that Staden is a powerful man with a powerful God and that they should treat him more like an equal. This is shown through the relationship built between Staden and his girlfriend as well as his “father-son” type relationship with the tribe leader (Hans Staden, 2000). Interestingly, Staden eventually starts to believe in his own stories as his religion takes a turn from a cunning plan to actual real beliefs that God is protecting him. Staden uses his faith to keep his confidence during his dangerous nine month stay with the Tupi. Because of the delayed cannibalism and the drive which faith gives to Staden, religion is depicted in a positive light throughout the film as the only thing standing between Staden and imminent death.

Conclusions

The depiction of religion, nudity, and cannibalism shows that the film must have been directed at a non-Indigenous audience. The first line of the “Cannibalist Manifesto” states, “Cannibalism alone unites us. Socially. Economically. Philosophically” (Andrade, 1991: 38). In class we discussed the meaning of this line to be that cannibalism is a uniting feature of cultural history and symbolizes the mixing of the Indigenous, the Africans, and the Portuguese to create a Brazilian identity (Lecture by Dr. Gandara, 3-19-13). Hans Staden seems to have pieced together many different aspects of our class into one cohesive view. The religious aspect of the film, as shown through the nudity of the cast and the cannibalistic aspect of the plot, shows both the positive and the negative sides of the Indigenous people. Religion is depicted in a positive light as the savior from cannibalism, but we also see some negative aspects as Staden’s God is said to be punishing the Tupi with disease and bad weather. Overall, the film seems to give a well rounded perspective on culture through a religious lens as it shows both good and bad, though the prominence of Catholicism does seem to be aimed more at a European audience.

Works Cited

 

Andrade, Oswald, and Leslie Bary. "Cannibalist Manifesto." Latin American Literary Review ‘

19.38 (1991): 38-47. Web.

 

Caminha, Pero Vaz. "The Letter of Pero Vaz De Caminha." Portuguese Voyages (1947):

20-29. Web.

Gandara, Paula. "Class Lecture for 1-22-2013." Irvin Hall, Oxford. 14 Feb. 2013. Lecture.

Gandara, Paula. "Class Lecture for 3-19-2013." Irvin Hall, Oxford. 19 Feb. 2013. Lecture.

Hans Staden. Dir. Luiz Alberto Pereira. 2000.

 

"Hans-Staden-NYTimes.com." Hans-Staden - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - NYTimes.com. N.p.,

2000. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.

(http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/206896/Hans-Staden/overview)

Noel Rosa and Carmen Miranda: The Construction of Brazilian Nationalism

Sarah Jane Smith | Kathy Schauer

POR 204

Paula Gandara

28 February 2013

Noel Rosa and Carmen Miranda: The Construction of Brazilian Nationalism

Locate Authors: A Brief Biographical Overview

            Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha was born on February 9, 1909, in a small Portuguese town. She was the second of six children. Her father was a struggling barber who moved his family to Rio not long after her birth. Miranda grew up in a racially mixed and working-class area known as the Lapa district. She attended Catholic school until she was 14, which is about six years of formal schooling. She was forced to drop out of school in order to help contribute to her family’s household income. She worked at an upscale hat store in downtown Rio called La Femme Chic. In 1928, she adopted the public alias “Carmen Miranda,” a combination of her mother’s maiden name and the Hispanic version of the latter part of her name. This represented more than just a stage name, but rather a conscious reinvention of self that reflected a bold, motivated and audacious woman. (Ruis, Vicki: 2005, 199).

            Miranda’s career took off in 1930 with the recording of the hit song “Tai” composed by Joubert de Carvalho. The expansion of the samba, and of Carmen’s popularity, was greatly influenced by the restructuring of Brazilian nationalism during the President Getulio Vargas regime. During the Vargas era, the Brazilian government attempted to redefine the country’s national identity. The government began promote this new African Brazilian culture through the use of the Samba and through the use of Miranda to bridge the racial gap.

            In the late 1930’s Miranda traveled to the U.S. and soon became a political asset between the two countries. Miranda was strategic in promoting Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy and the Pan-American ideals that were emphasized during this era. With a high demand for Latin American artists, her popularity in the U.S. skyrocketed as films began promoting the benefits of Pan-American friendships. Although, she became very successful, she was stuck playing typecast roles that were not authentic to Brazil. She represented a homogenized view of Latin America. People in the United States were not able to differentiate Miranda from the rest of Latin America due to the number of different films she was in that portrayed her as a mix of multiple cultures.

Upon her return to Brazil, Miranda was met with negativity, criticism and claims that she dishonored her country. Her “Tutti-Frutti” number was censored in the country of Carnival mainly due to the misrepresentation that Miranda embodied in the United States. Some Brazilians saw her as “Americanized” and scorned her for it. Because the samba is considered a quintessential form of Brazil, they did not want the “Tutti-Frutti” number to also be misrepresented in Brazil as well. It was an over-exaggerated and excessive number that explicitly promoted the Good Neighbor message, not the Brazilian culture.  It was a mixed of cultures there were not authentic to Brazil, which justifies why the number was censored. Due to the harsh criticism, Miranda refused to return to Brazil until 1940.

            With the end of World War II, Hollywood’s fascination with Latin America ended. In 1948, Miranda entered into an abusive marriage to David Sebastian. Even though she was a driven and successful woman, Miranda never got a divorce. In 1954, she suffered and emotional breakdown. The following year, Miranda suffered a fatal heart attack at age 46.

Differences in Brazilian Nationalism: Rosa Versus Miranda  

            Noel Rosa and Carmen Miranda are both integral parts of Brazilian culture; both helped define the Brazilian identity and nationalism. Rosa was one of the first to use samba to identify the Brazilian national soul, and is considered one of the fathers of samba. His samba often addresses the authorities and dangers they pose. Noel Rosa once stated in an interview, “Samba is the voice of the people. Without grammar, without artifice, without prejudice, without deceit. It is both crafty and ingenious. The people of Rio feel the soul of the samba” (McCann: 2001, 1).

            Carmen Miranda also played a role in Brazilian nationalism, especially how the Brazilian identity is portrayed in the United States and other countries around the globe. Coming from Brazil during the Vargas era, Miranda was viewed as an ambassador from South America. Both Rosa and Carmen Miranda tailored to different audiences. Noel Rosa’s main audience was the poor people of Brazil. The poorer Brazilian populace loved Miranda, and she also captivated audiences in the United States.

Nationalism and Political Influences

            Noel Rosa was extremely concerned with defining his view of national identity in his sambas. According to McCann, Rosa “among the samba musicians and the down-and-out urban margins, and in the neighborhood camaraderie in the lower middle-class Rio” (McCann: 2001, 2). In Rosa’s logic, he did not only look to define the Brazilian national identity, but to achieve it. He desired to protect this identity, as he saw it as an endangered quality. Rosa believed it to be “threatened by the encroachments of foreigners and squandered by bad Brazilians” (McCann: 2001: 3). Rosa was not alone in his quest to define Brazilian national identity. In the art world starting in the 1920s, artists and musicians had become increasingly concerned with locating Brazilian identity and culture. Many turned their attention to the urban culture with racially mixed backgrounds. The quest to define this identity continued with Getúlio Vargas regime that rose to power in the 1930s. However, the Vargas view of national identity and Rosa’s view contradicted one another. Rosa views the identity as a samba culture with an emphasis on the malandro, Vargas’ nationalistic efforts defined Brazilianness as the hard working man. Vargas also worked to use nationalism to further the modernization of Brazil and promote capitalism.

Vargas, very concerned with nationalism, eventually used Carmen Miranda as a coup for Brazilian nationalism. Carmen Miranda became the “Goodwill Ambassador” between Brazil and the United States. Brazilian’s had even referred to her as their “raw material” (Bananas is My Business). Miranda quickly began stealing the hearts of Americans and became popular in films such as Down Argentine Way. Despite Fox’s insistence that Miranda play typecast roles, she seemed to reaffirm her Brazilian identity. Miranda “attempts to reaffirm her own Brazilian identity, often by merely speaking a few words of Portuguese in a film, and by poking fun at her poor English” (Shaw, Dennison: 2005, 187).

Miranda’s career flourished during the time of the Vargas government in Brazil. During the time “racial politics affected the economies of Brazil, and in an effort to improve Brazil’s economics within global society, the government attempted to create a national identity based on the racial identity politics that were previously established” (Ellis: 2008, 24). As we discussed in class, miscegenation and whitening were promoted throughout Brazil. These efforts, historically, were considered racist until Gilberto Freyre’s Casa Grande e Senzala reinterpreted these issues into African women’s sexuality. This reinterpretation paved the way for Carmen Miranda to be the prominent global face of Brazilian national identity. She is an “Europan-Afro Brazilian” and personified Freyre’s ideas. This is shown by Ellis, “Carmen Miranda was the most prominent global icon of Brazilian national identity because she was able to reinforce Brazilian nationhood through her performance of the ideals set by the Vargas regime, thereby personifying Freyre’s ideas” (Ellis: 2008, 24).

The Modern Malandro in Rap Music

Thomas Herrick & Connor Dickey

The Modern Malandro in Rap Music

Male homosociality, or as Dr. Gandara and our class coined it, the “bros before hoes” mentality, is a central theme in Noel Rosa’s idea of “Brazilianness.” According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, to be homosocial is “of, relating to, or involving social relationships between persons of the same sex and especially between men.” This idea that a man’s place in the social sphere lies with other men is not exclusive to Noel Rosa’s sambas. Indeed, even today, Noel Rosa’s malandro lives on in rap music, both that of the U.S. and otherwise. This connection can be made through the pair’s similar standpoints on women and on identity.
“If you’re having girl problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one” is the iconic opening line to Jay-Z’s hugely successful hit “99 Problems.” The blatantly misogynistic line is not alone in its disdain for the “problem” of having a “girl.” Many of today’s top “gangster-rap” artists play to this idea. In this genre, there has been a  movement towards “Money Over Bitches,” coined by 2Pac and adopted by various artists over the years. This phrase is not exclusive to money; it is the conglomeration of financial success, a strong reputation, and a credible identity. This idea is similar to that of Noel Rosa’s, though the values do differ in some ways. While Noel Rosa sees value in the malandro lifestyle of belittling the importance of a mulata in men’s lives because he thinks they are a distraction to his music (McCann), many gangster-rappers see women as valueless almost entirely, other than for materialistic purposes (sex, bragging rights). Noel Rosa does not convey such intense misogyny in his lyrics. He simply doesn’t want to be strayed from his musical path by the fiscal demands of a wife and family. Gangster-rap music often represents women as hypersexualized “gold diggers” who are not to be trusted, while those men within their cliques, or their “homies,” are the only ones they can begin to trust (Oware). In both cases, a mistrusting misogyny reigns supreme.

On the other hand, the Amelias described in later sambas share an uncanny similarity to the “bad bitches,” or “bottom “bitches,” described by gangster rap. This is a female who will be there for the man, even in the harshest of conditions, and will be faithful to him alone, almost to the point of unquestioning servitude. These Amelias are expected to go out and make a living while the man stays home, defending the honor of his family and creating sambas. In a way, one might argue that much of Carmen Miranda’s lovability with those in Brazil was through her love of samba and willingness to go out and make a name and fortune for herself while the men created music for her. On the other hand, one might beg the question; would Noel Rosa have agreed with the idea of Amelias, or with Carmen Miranda’s “exporting” of samba? Clearly, she is not inhibiting the men from creating samba. However, many felt that she “sold out” in a sense, especially when she bid her Brazilian audience “good night” in English (Solberg). Still, she rebutted these accusations with a song reassuring the people of her love of samba and all things Brazil.

It is in the pursuit of samba creation, and maintaining of honor and identity that Rosa finds the Brazilian man’s identity. Noel Rosa believed that “if he does not remain close to his roots he will succumb to the absurdity of dancing fox trot, instead of samba, thereby turning his back on true nature,” This goes along with Rosa’s description of what the state of Brazilianness is. He claims that it is an endangered state which is constantly threatened by outsiders and “bad Brazilians,” (McCann). Rosa wanted to use homosociality as a vaccine against the pressures of “good women,” that wanted men to get a job and stop playing music. He believed that to maintain the distinct culture of his country he would have to preserve the samba. He pushed homosociality because he believed that, as we discussed in class, homosociality, and the malandros’ samba, unified Brazilians racially and regionally in a common cause.

Noel Rosa’s ideas of nationalism and gangster-rap’s stress on origins and identity are similar and different in a few ways. Rosa emphasizes his practicing of samba skills and performing petty crimes to sustain his passion for music, while gangster rap is almost completely the opposite. Rappers use their music to brag about how much money they make from these crimes. In Noel Rosa’s view, the petty crimes are justified through the preservation of Brazil’s culture through his music. In gangster rap, the music is justified by the rappers’ “street cred” gained from how ruthless his crimes are. This is a fundamental disconnect in the ideologies of the two genres. For Noel Rosa, the crimes are a means to an end, while for rappers, the crimes are in end in and of themselves.

However, the two share a common ground when it comes to identity. Noel Rosa believes that the malandro and the idea of true Brazilianness is from and of the favelas:

“The favelas and streets of Rio are the source of a culture that is irreducibly Brazilian, and therefore resistant to foreign influence.” (McCann)

Rosa grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, but sought out the poor districts where he found adventure and dealt with taxi-drivers, prostitutes and  petty criminals. He learned to appreciate the slums and saw them as a simple and pure representation of Brazilian culture. However, because he was not from the favelas, he was accused of being hypocritical in his identifying with and portrayals of malandros in his sambas. Gangster-rap also identifies with the slums. If a rapper is not from the “ghetto” or “projects,” he or she is discredited because the identity of the artist does not match that of the music. In this way, the idea of “Brazilianness” lying in the streets and slums is reflected in American gangster-rap.
In class, we discussed the similarity between the malandro and the American “cowboy.” Neither are bound to any person in particular, and neither hold any official job requiring them to work any more than they want to. Yet, somehow, they both get by and hold a “folk hero” status because of it. I would argue that today, gangster-rap’s “heros” have replaced the cowboy. While the values and associations we make between the hero and the space he inhabits have changed, the idea has stayed the same; he is independent, untrusting, and (when necessary) ruthless. The malandro, on the other hand, holds a different set of ideals. His soul lies with the samba. It is because of this that he is wary of women and their ability to draw men away from their “duty” to create samba. Whereas the misogynistic gangster-rap values material goods and “street-cred,” Rosa’s malandro believes that “Samba is pure and noble, money and society are vulgar and corrupt.” So then, one might ask the question; is Rosa a misogynist? Or is he simply passionate about his beloved samba?

Works Cited

Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business. Dir. Helena Solberg. Channel Four Films,

1995.

"Homosocial." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

McCann, Bryann. "Noel Rosa's Nationalistic Logic." University of Wisconsin Press.

Oware, Matthew. "Brotherly Love: Homosociality and Black Masculinity in Gangsta Rap
Music - Springer." Brotherly Love: Homosociality and Black Masculinity in Gangsta Rap Music - Springer. Springer Science + Business Media, 01 Mar. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.