Conclusions - Back in the U.S.

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This would be more interesting if I were still in Rio, but our time
there was jam-packed with lectures, visiting cultural and artistic
sites, and finding time to do things with the new friends I/we
made on our trip. So, as un-glamorous as it sounds, I am in my
office at the university typing the last installment of this journal.
Actually, it will probably be so long for now, not for ever. I have
been infected, not with malaria or denge fever but with what the
Brazilians call saudade, a sense of yearning or longing. This
ten-day trip to Brazil whetted my appetite to experience much
much more and though I will continue to read about the culture
and study the language, what I caught can only be satisfied by
another trip and then another and another ...

Anyway, to wrap up these installments I am going to provide you with two lists that I call the "best" and "worst"
of Brazil, based on an admittedly superficial 10-day experience
with a group of American university professors. In some cases,
the "worst" is mixed with the "best" so although I may be a bit
confusing, at least I'll be finished sooner.

Best
1. The sheer physical beauty of the people. The high
degree of racial mixing of various Europeans, Africans,
Indians and others has resulted in a population of people
that are among the most naturally beautiful on earth.
This is a good thing and in some ways Brazil is an interesting
example of the race problem that seems to be inherent
in the human condition. What you see before you are
beautiful people, but because it is so hard in humans not
to overvalue lighter skin and undervalue darker skin, the
full potential of humanity is underutilized because darker-
skinned peoples are, lets face it, devalued worldwide.
Brazil just happens to be a more glaring example of this
at the moment. Brazil's inequality of wealth distribution is
rooted in its racial problem. Of that I have no doubts although
it is still hard for most Brazilians to admit this.

2. The physical beauty of the country. I will post my photos
later assuming I can figure out this whole digital camera stuff.

3. A pop-music culture that unites all races and ages of people.
I am a strange kind of college professor - my ideal life would
be to teach and practice all day and dance all night (except when I have concerts to perform). A group of about six of us spent most nights of the tour listening to live music, usually in bars.The first thing I noticed is that people smoke less in Brazil, which I had not expected. It was nice to be able to enjoy
live music and dancing and not come home reeking of smoke!
The second thing I noticed was that the music and the dancing
are enjoyed by people of all ages, 18 to 80. Everybody in a
club sings along with the musicians whether the songs are sambas, forros, or the sad and melancholy love songs that
people seem to love. And the dancing - I was in heaven. Everybody dances among all age groups and I'm not talking
about American free-stylin' but Latin-style couple dances, very
alluring. In the states, salsa dancers have this kind of culture
but they are more involved in the dancing and less in the music.
I can't explain it but the Brazilians seem to be equally enveloped
in both, and it is widespread.

4. The food. Brazilian food is delicious and again a synthesis of elements from the various cultures. I found that
I was eating more, but also able to eat healthy because Brazilians eat a lot of fresh fruits and fruit juices that you can't
even find over here. And coconut water, who knew? Delicious,
refreshing, and nutritious too. Of course, I probably should have
had a fewer caipirinhas (the national cocktail made with their
local rum which is called cachaca).

5. The language. Portugese is a soft and flowing language and
to my musician's ear very, very beautiful. My klutzy attempts to
speak it were greeted with smiles of encouragement and responses that, alas, were too complicated and fast for me to
understand. I'll keep studying though.

6. Small cars. Although I am proud to be an American, I am not
proud of our current hunger to be the baddest, biggest, most
gas-guzzling thing on the road. The large Portugese cities are
really large with greater Sao Paulo coming in at a whopping
14 million and greater Rio at 11 million. Many of the streets,
especially in the older areas of the central cities, are very narrow. Portugese cars are primarily small sedans made by
Ford, Chevy (ones you don't see over in the states), VW
(which has huge plants in Brazil), and also European makers
like Fiat and Citroen. Eventually, Americans will have to
downsize. It's just a matter of time.

7. Modern architecture and historical preservation
In Salvador, Bahia, for instance the center of the city Pelourinho,
is a renovated colonial area which dates back to the 1500's
when the slaves were first brought to Brazil. Elsewhere in
the city are these modern, high-rise apartment buildings whose
starkness and functionality are relieved by wonderful uses of
color. Very cool

8. The people. Since this was a tour sponsored by the
CIEE in conjunction with universities in Sao Paulo, Rio, and Salvador, I didn't get to meet a cross-section of Brazilian
society. Our hosts were other academics and the support
staff were university students. But everyone was genuinely
kind and eager to exchange ideas with us. Middle-class
Brazilians, at least those that we met within the academic
community are deeply concerned with the economic and
social direction of their country. Occasionally they seem at
a loss as to what to do - Brazil's history, evolution, and its
entrenched class/race system coupled with is political and economic corruption often stymie efforts to move the country
forward in a positive direction. I saw the sadness and frustration of people who are using their knowledge and
talents to work towards a better Brazil. They openly spoke
of Brazil's very complicated issues but also showed a fierce
love of country and obviously wanted me as an American to
leave with a good impression.


Now for the bad news - the worst of Brazil in my opinion

1. Inequality of wealth that has resulted from some Brazil's
economic history, somewhat from its political history, and most
of all from its racial history. Brazilians for years created a
myth of a "racial paradise", a romantic land of mixed people
who existed in mutual understanding. They created the myth
and they used the myth to feel superior to the United States.
Believe me, it is a myth and now they know it to and they
are tripping all over themselves trying to figure out how
to go forward. I'm hoping that this is not completely true
but what I saw and heard was that most poverty, lack of
education, and crime was rooted in the Afro-Brazilian population
which is huge. This historical legacy cannot be turned around
overnight and it is hard for people to come to some consensus
about how to change things. Our group broke down socially
and intellectually in Bahia over the race question. That's
how powerful it was.

2. Lack of Education. I find it somehow indicative that Brazil's
first university of any kind was founded in 1922 when Brazil
was first settled by Europeans in the 1500's! One expert told
me that illiteracy was actually somewhere closer to 50% of
the population and another expert said that if you take the
country as a whole, people are spending only an average of
6.5 years in school! It's going to be hard to change no. 1 without
fixing no. 2

3. Lack of Employment Opportunities. Many, many people still
survive by domestic work (maids, etc.) or in the informal
economy (selling stuff on the street). Do we still have such
in the U.S. Yes. Are most people of color doing this kind of
work - no. In Brazil we are talking about millions and millions
of people.

4. Crime (See 1, 2, and 3). There were no further incidents
in Rio while I was there. And though I was cautious in all
three cities, I don't think I was paranoid. But crime, with
the underclass preying on the tourists and the rich and each
other is a huge problem. It keeps the upper-middle class
away from the rest of humanity and reinforces their negative
attitudes. It scares foreigners who would otherwise visit
Brazil (although tourism is not an industry that can bring
a country from poverty to prosperity).

I realize that this has been very long-winded so I'll stop.
Will I go back to Brazil, absolutely! I was already in love
with it before I got there and my feelings have only deepened.
Should you go there? Yes, absolutely, see my (best of).
I especially encourage African-Americans to go there. Brazil
has the highest population of people of African descent outside
of Africa and in many ways Brazil is both the past and the
future of humanity. We African-Americans know too little
about Brazil and what the Brazilians know about us
has been gleaned mostly from the media and pop culture.
Only by meeting and talking face to face can we learn the
truth. So I encourage every traveling American to put Brazil
on your itinerary soon. Tchau! (Goodbye)

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