Do mixed Brazilians acknowledge their African ancestry (life, country, people)
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Most people are aware than Dominicans rarely if ever profess their African heritage. However, what about Brazilians? Cubans aren't uneasy about their African heritage.
All Brazilians are taught in the schoolbooks, since when we are kids, that Brazil is a country made of African heritage, Amerindian heritage, and European heritage, and that we should be proud of our triple heritage.
So, yes, every Brazilian is proud to be a descendant of the African people, and to have the influences of the rich African culture in our national culture.
We learn it in the school, when we are kids. The same way that we learn to be proud of our Amerindian heritage, and our Iberian/Portuguese heritage.
And also, we learn on school about all the influences of other cultures of other immigrants on our national culture, like the Japanese, the Arabs, the Italians, and the Germans. The Japanese brought us the soy sauce and the judo that inspired our jiu-jitsu, the Arabs brought us the kibbes and the sfihas, the Italians taught us how to make excellent pizza, and the Germans taught us how to make first class beer.
We are proud to be a country where all the cultures mix and produce an original synthesis, instead of being separated one from another.
All Brazilians are taught in the schoolbooks, since when we are kids, that Brazil is a country made of African heritage, Amerindian heritage, and European heritage, and that we should be proud of our triple heritage.
So, yes, every Brazilian is proud to be a descendant of the African people, and to have the influences of the rich African culture in our national culture.
We learn it in the school, when we are kids. The same way that we learn to be proud of our Amerindian heritage, and our Iberian/Portuguese heritage.
And also, we learn on school about all the influences of other cultures of other immigrants on our national culture, like the Japanese, the Arabs, the Italians, and the Germans. The Japanese brought us the soy sauce and the judo that inspired our jiu-jitsu, the Arabs brought us the kibbes and the sfihas, the Italians taught us how to make excellent pizza, and the Germans taught us how to make first class beer.
We are proud to be a country where all the cultures mix and produce an original synthesis, instead of being separated one from another.
Because for years everything that had to do with "African heritage" was abhorred and thus pushed away. Both countries can thank the 1930s for being the formative years of each nation's perception on racial identity today. While Brazilians during this time period were embracing sociologist Gilberto Freyre's theory of Brazil being a "Racial Democracy", Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo was developing Dominican Republic's discriminatory policies of "antihaitianismo" which targeted black Dominicans, mostly of Haitian descent and resulted in a ethnic genocide of black Haitian migrants in 1937.
Because for years everything that had to do with "African heritage" was abhorred and thus pushed away. Both countries can thank the 1930s for being the formative years of each nation's perception on racial identity today. While Brazilians during this time period were embracing sociologist Gilberto Freyre's theory of Brazil being a "Racial Democracy", Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo was developing Dominican Republic's discriminatory policies of "antihaitianismo" which targeted black Dominicans, mostly of Haitian descent and resulted in a ethnic genocide of black Haitian migrants in 1937.
Our yesterday explains our today
Gilberto Freyre was a genius.
Some people here in Brazil like to criticize the ideas of Gilberto Freyre, for ideological reasons.
I really think most of those critics are baseless. Gilberto Freyre, in my opinion, was right for the most part. He truly knew the spirit of the SILENT MAJORITY of the Brazilian people. The "silent majority" that is not too worried about ideological debates, but is much more focused on finding pragmatic ways to enjoy life. And most Brazilians are VERY pragmatic. Sometimes even too much.
And also, we learn on school about all the influences of other cultures of other immigrants on our national culture, like the Japanese, the Arabs, the Italians, and the Germans. The Japanese brought us the soy sauce and the judo that inspired our jiu-jitsu
What a incredible coincidence!
When I posted the above, yesterday, October 1st, I wasn't aware that yesterday it was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Helio Grace, who was born on October 1, 1913 and died on January 29, 2009.
Helio Grace was the creator of the martial art known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Helio learnt judo from his older brother, Carlos, who learnt it from Mitsuyo Maeda, a Japanese immigrant who was known in Brazil by the nickname "Conde Koma".
I really wasn't aware that the 100th anniversary of Helio Grace was yesterday, when I posted the above! Only today I heard about it! Amazing coincidence!
Most people are aware than Dominicans rarely if ever profess their African heritage. However, what about Brazilians? Cubans aren't uneasy about their African heritage.
Hmm, do you know ALL Dominicans to make say such a bold generalized statement or thing like that or know everyone to know what they know of or about Dominicans. Each person has had different experience with Dominicans and each Dominican is different.
I'm not sure one can make a blanket statement that Dominicans in general don't claim their African roots or heritage. Not all Dominicanos even have African roots at all. The thing I find funny though is that most ppl who make this claim of Dominicans being in denial of their African roots often times are making generalizations of people that they meet in the USA, who don't reflect the group of people of their respective home nation. It's almost as if people think they can meet one or a few Dominicans, and suddenly they think they know ALL Dominicans and everything they think there is to know about Dominicans when really they don't know diddly squat. Many people making the claim of Dominicans being in denial of African roots often times have not even been to or travelled to the Dominican Republic to get a real true feel for and of DR's people and it's culture and heritage and it's complexities and uniqueness. Also people seem to think that rejection of black identity or identification with or as the label of black means or makes one in denial of their African heritage. A person can be proud of and identify with their African heritage without claiming to be black. A person that is Brazilian, Dominican etc may not readily identify as black because they identify with their nationality, or culture etc before race. And racially many of them are mixed etc. Afrodescendant and black do NOT mean the same thing.
Also something to think about when it comes to USA census the largest and majority of Latinos that marked black were/are DOMINICANS. Interest and rise in awareness of Afro Latinidad in the USA has increased because of DOMINICANS.
Also even in the Dominican Republic, the percentage of people that self identify as black has always been in the DOUBLE digits, so there are people that identify as black in the DR and are proud of it and know that they are black. Dominicans get such a bad wrap in my opinion.
Dominicans do acknowledge their African ancestry.*( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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). What Mala said is right.