Essential Afro-Latino/ Caribbean Current Events
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Touching on the topic of police violence, award-winning film set in the nation’s capital deals with the topic of racial prejudice
Dj Jamaika (left), Marquim da Tropa and Dino Black, appeared in the cast of the film “Branco sai, preto fica”
Note from BW of Brazil: Really hoping that this film becomes available on DVD. Because as many examples of racism that have been presented on this blog (and this is a small fraction when we consider how many reports are made as well as people who never make reports) insults, attacks and discrimination based on the social idea of race is still a topic that people have difficulty admitting much less discussing in Brazil.When people do at least admit that it is a serious problem in Brazil, these same people also want to make it clear that they personally are not racist. It’s always the other person. In reality, stories like these that are often so associated with countries outside of Brazil should be be presented in classrooms, on TV and in film so that people understand that they cannot continue to ignore the issue as if this will make it magically disappear. Much respect to the director who decided to take on the story and make a film about it. Clearly there are probably stories similar to this that happened and continue to happen today all over Brazil that we’ve never heard of. At least with this film, one untold story can be deleted from that list.
Touching on police violence, film set in Brasília debates racial prejudice
By Mariane Zendron
Scene from “Branco sai. Preto fica”
The film tells the story of two friends from Ceilândia, one with an amputated leg, and the other, paraplegic, after the truculent police assault at a party in the periphery of the city. In the week that a military policeman has been arrested for the murder of a street vendor in São Paulo and Aranha, the Santos goalkeeper, was booed by a crowd that had already discriminated against him, the new Adirley Queirós film, Branco Sai. Preto Fica, meaning whites out, black stay, aired on Saturday (September 20) at the Festival de Brasília, could not bring a more current discussion.
The starting point of the film, which mixes documentary and science fiction, is an episode that is still in the memory of most residents of Ceilândia, on the periphery of Brasília. On March 5, 1986, police raided the baile black (black dance) Black do Quarentão, a cultural center in the local community, and ordered: “Quem é branco sai. Preto fica!” meaning, “Whoever is white, leave. Blacks stay!”
A scene from “Branco sai, preto fica”
Rapper Marquim do Tropa and youth Shockito were among those who had to stay. The first took a shot and, still today, has to get around in a wheelchair. The second was trampled by police cavalry and lost a leg.
In the film, which takes place today in a fictional world created by Adirley, the two play the roles of themselves, living isolated in a besieged periphery, where blacks are forbidden to go to the downtown of Brasília. So they have to falsify passports to gain access to capital of the country, which is governed by white Christians.
The director commented on how his film, from the perspective of a case that happened in ‘86, tackles these questions that remain current. “The film seeks precisely this debate of the racial issue. The Aranha issue is very representative of what this racial prejudice is in Brazil. A front would have to exist to support Aranha, because when the case cools down, he will be repulsed and stereotyped,” says Adirley.
Branco sai. Preto fica, well received by the Festival de Brasília audience.
The full-length film, well applauded by the Cine Brasília audience, opens a range of questions about the reality of the peripheries in Brazil; among them, the distancing of those who live in the slums of Brasília in relation to the capital’s downtown. “The idea of the passport is half of what already happened, because there is no link between Brasília and the periphery. We don’t enjoy the city, we pass through her sightseeing,” said the director, who also grew up in Ceilândia (1)
Marquim, that improvises raps to tell the tragedy, says it was difficult to speak of the story itself. “Everyone likes to talk about others, but no one likes to expose themselves.” In the end, he said he could get into that character, that has a lot of reality, but the fictional story of the film, has a violent plan.
To the extent that the film develops, it becomes more evident the importance of the fiction, which also serves to exorcise the pain and anguish of the past. The final saves a surprise for viewers, worthy of a director who grew up watching violent movies and action. “We also wanted it to be an action film, with shooting, with bombs and I that I could speak badly of others.” Queirós thought about finishing the film in a musical way, with the forró (2) song “Dança do Jumento”, which is a hit in Ceilândia, but opted for a more overwhelming conclusion.
Branco Sai. Preto Fica trailer
Film Branco Sai. Preto Fica wins 11 awards at 47th Festival de Brasília
By Marcelo Brandão
“Branco Sai. Preto Fica” on 11 awards at the 47th Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro
No one went to the stage of award of the 47th Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro (Festival of Brasília of Brazilian Cinema) more than Adirley Queirós, director of Branco Sai. Preto Sai. There were 11 awards in total, including best actor, for Marquim do Tropa; art direction, besides winning the TV Brasil Award and the most important award of the night, best film by the official jury.
A resident of Ceilândia, Queirós always portrays the city in the movies he does. “I have six films made in Ceilândia in spaces where I live. What motivates me to do film is working with the space where I’m living with friends, people there.” For him, it is important to address social issues in a country that has routinely lived them for decades. “We cannot deny that Brazil is a racist, homophobic and territorialist country. The film deals with this, as I think these questions will always be dealt with. A change in the country doesn’t exist in relation to this. It’s a very serious problem that we have to put in the movies.”
Actor Marquim do Tropa actor looked surprised with the reception of the public. “Generally it’s very difficult for a subject of social criticism to conquer the mind of the crowd.” He celebrated very much his Troféu Candango for best actor, which he won after several obstacles. “Getting here and snagging a bunch of awards is a surprise, because with so many good actors, I managed to stand out being a rookie protagonist. And making the film was a bit difficult for me. I had to put on weight 16 pounds, learn to smoke and let my hair grow in estilo black (afro), when in fact, I was bald.”
Source: UOL Cinema, Agência Brasil
Note
1. Ceilândia is an administrative region in the Federal District, Brazil. The region was created by the government in the 1970s to keep people from moving into Brasília and setting up shanty towns (favelas). The root of the name Ceilândia is ‘CEI’ (Centro de Erradicação de Invasões: Squatters Eradication Center). Source
2. Forró is a genre of Brazilian music that originated in Northeastern Brazil. It encompasses various dance styles as well as a number of different musical beats. This music genre has gained widespread popularity in all regions of Brazil. Forró is closely associated with Brazilian June Festivals, which celebrate a number of Christian saints. The most celebrated is Saint John’s (São João) day. Source
Dj Jamaika (left), Marquim da Tropa and Dino Black, appeared in the cast of the film “Branco sai, preto fica”
Note from BW of Brazil: Really hoping that this film becomes available on DVD. Because as many examples of racism that have been presented on this blog (and this is a small fraction when we consider how many reports are made as well as people who never make reports) insults, attacks and discrimination based on the social idea of race is still a topic that people have difficulty admitting much less discussing in Brazil.When people do at least admit that it is a serious problem in Brazil, these same people also want to make it clear that they personally are not racist. It’s always the other person. In reality, stories like these that are often so associated with countries outside of Brazil should be be presented in classrooms, on TV and in film so that people understand that they cannot continue to ignore the issue as if this will make it magically disappear. Much respect to the director who decided to take on the story and make a film about it. Clearly there are probably stories similar to this that happened and continue to happen today all over Brazil that we’ve never heard of. At least with this film, one untold story can be deleted from that list.
Touching on police violence, film set in Brasília debates racial prejudice
By Mariane Zendron
Scene from “Branco sai. Preto fica”
The film tells the story of two friends from Ceilândia, one with an amputated leg, and the other, paraplegic, after the truculent police assault at a party in the periphery of the city. In the week that a military policeman has been arrested for the murder of a street vendor in São Paulo and Aranha, the Santos goalkeeper, was booed by a crowd that had already discriminated against him, the new Adirley Queirós film, Branco Sai. Preto Fica, meaning whites out, black stay, aired on Saturday (September 20) at the Festival de Brasília, could not bring a more current discussion.
The starting point of the film, which mixes documentary and science fiction, is an episode that is still in the memory of most residents of Ceilândia, on the periphery of Brasília. On March 5, 1986, police raided the baile black (black dance) Black do Quarentão, a cultural center in the local community, and ordered: “Quem é branco sai. Preto fica!” meaning, “Whoever is white, leave. Blacks stay!”
A scene from “Branco sai, preto fica”
Rapper Marquim do Tropa and youth Shockito were among those who had to stay. The first took a shot and, still today, has to get around in a wheelchair. The second was trampled by police cavalry and lost a leg.
In the film, which takes place today in a fictional world created by Adirley, the two play the roles of themselves, living isolated in a besieged periphery, where blacks are forbidden to go to the downtown of Brasília. So they have to falsify passports to gain access to capital of the country, which is governed by white Christians.
The director commented on how his film, from the perspective of a case that happened in ‘86, tackles these questions that remain current. “The film seeks precisely this debate of the racial issue. The Aranha issue is very representative of what this racial prejudice is in Brazil. A front would have to exist to support Aranha, because when the case cools down, he will be repulsed and stereotyped,” says Adirley.
Branco sai. Preto fica, well received by the Festival de Brasília audience.
The full-length film, well applauded by the Cine Brasília audience, opens a range of questions about the reality of the peripheries in Brazil; among them, the distancing of those who live in the slums of Brasília in relation to the capital’s downtown. “The idea of the passport is half of what already happened, because there is no link between Brasília and the periphery. We don’t enjoy the city, we pass through her sightseeing,” said the director, who also grew up in Ceilândia (1)
Marquim, that improvises raps to tell the tragedy, says it was difficult to speak of the story itself. “Everyone likes to talk about others, but no one likes to expose themselves.” In the end, he said he could get into that character, that has a lot of reality, but the fictional story of the film, has a violent plan.
To the extent that the film develops, it becomes more evident the importance of the fiction, which also serves to exorcise the pain and anguish of the past. The final saves a surprise for viewers, worthy of a director who grew up watching violent movies and action. “We also wanted it to be an action film, with shooting, with bombs and I that I could speak badly of others.” Queirós thought about finishing the film in a musical way, with the forró (2) song “Dança do Jumento”, which is a hit in Ceilândia, but opted for a more overwhelming conclusion.
Branco Sai. Preto Fica trailer
Film Branco Sai. Preto Fica wins 11 awards at 47th Festival de Brasília
By Marcelo Brandão
“Branco Sai. Preto Fica” on 11 awards at the 47th Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro
No one went to the stage of award of the 47th Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro (Festival of Brasília of Brazilian Cinema) more than Adirley Queirós, director of Branco Sai. Preto Sai. There were 11 awards in total, including best actor, for Marquim do Tropa; art direction, besides winning the TV Brasil Award and the most important award of the night, best film by the official jury.
A resident of Ceilândia, Queirós always portrays the city in the movies he does. “I have six films made in Ceilândia in spaces where I live. What motivates me to do film is working with the space where I’m living with friends, people there.” For him, it is important to address social issues in a country that has routinely lived them for decades. “We cannot deny that Brazil is a racist, homophobic and territorialist country. The film deals with this, as I think these questions will always be dealt with. A change in the country doesn’t exist in relation to this. It’s a very serious problem that we have to put in the movies.”
Actor Marquim do Tropa actor looked surprised with the reception of the public. “Generally it’s very difficult for a subject of social criticism to conquer the mind of the crowd.” He celebrated very much his Troféu Candango for best actor, which he won after several obstacles. “Getting here and snagging a bunch of awards is a surprise, because with so many good actors, I managed to stand out being a rookie protagonist. And making the film was a bit difficult for me. I had to put on weight 16 pounds, learn to smoke and let my hair grow in estilo black (afro), when in fact, I was bald.”
Source: UOL Cinema, Agência Brasil
Note
1. Ceilândia is an administrative region in the Federal District, Brazil. The region was created by the government in the 1970s to keep people from moving into Brasília and setting up shanty towns (favelas). The root of the name Ceilândia is ‘CEI’ (Centro de Erradicação de Invasões: Squatters Eradication Center). Source
2. Forró is a genre of Brazilian music that originated in Northeastern Brazil. It encompasses various dance styles as well as a number of different musical beats. This music genre has gained widespread popularity in all regions of Brazil. Forró is closely associated with Brazilian June Festivals, which celebrate a number of Christian saints. The most celebrated is Saint John’s (São João) day. Source
Business loans for single mums in Guyana
By Neil MarksBusiness reporter, Geogetown, Guyana
A small loan has turned around Bhimwattie Sahid's fortunes
In the smouldering midday sun Bhimwattie Sahid uses a machete to prepare a patch of land where she will grow 700 sweet pepper plants.
The crop will be ready in time for Guyana's Christmas holiday season, when the peppers - which are used in a number of the South American nation's popular dishes - sell for high prices.
Mrs Sahid owns and runs a successful small farm near the border with neighbouring Suriname.
A 63-year-old single mother who struggled to bring up two girls following the death of her husband in 2003, has seen her fortunes transformed over the past four years, thanks to the introduction of a small loan scheme aimed at women like herself.
The Women of Worth (Wow) initiative, a 2010 tie-up between the Guyanese government and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), a local commercial lender, offers microfinance to single mums to start small businesses. The women are not required to put forward any collateral as a guarantee.
It has enabled Mrs Sahid to move beyond subsistence or "hand-to-mouth" farming, and instead buy more land and run it as a commercial venture.
To date she has taken out and repaid two loans, each of 260,500 Guyanese dollars ($1,250; £777), the highest amount available.
Not only has Mrs Sahid been able to extend her land and the variety of crops she grows, but the profits she has made have enabled her to build a more comfortable house, and to help her daughters financially .
"I feel proud," she says. "I don't know what would have happened to me without the Wow loan. It would have been hard."
Mrs Sahid says she is now considering taking out an additional loan to further expand her business.
We are not daunted by those seeming pitfalls”
Shaleeza ShawHead of credit, GBTI
So far 1,400 women have accessed the Wow loans, which are open to those aged between 18 and 60. They currently have an interest rate of 6%, are are repaid over a two-year period.
Participants range from unmarried teenage mums, to divorcees, widows and women who have escaped domestic abuse.
Jennifer Webster, Guyana's minister of human services and social security, says the scheme is helping the women to make an increased contribution to their local communities.
Stephane Rutherford, 40, has used loans from Wow to extend her small fruit juice cafe, based in the town of Mahaicony, on Guyana's eastern coast.
Petrina Chandra now has 50 children in her care each weekday
Thanks to an initial loan of 104,000 Guyanese dollars she was able to buy in more fruit from local producers and increase production.
A second, larger loan enabled her to start selling soup and milkshakes as well.
Ms Rutherford's increased earnings have helped her pay for her two sons' educations. Her youngest is in high school, where you have to pay exam fees, and her oldest has just completed two years of a degree in business management.
She adds that the loan has also enabled her to secure enough supplies to open her business on a daily basis.
"[Before] I wasn't even selling every day, now I am more consistent with my business," she says.
Petrina Chandra, 39, used a Wow loan to rent an apartment in the capital Georgetown and convert it into a children's day care centre for two and three-year-olds.
She now has two employees and 50 children under her care.
As the business continues to grow, Ms Chandra has more money for herself and her family.
Ms Chandra describes securing the Wow funding as "God's set up for me".
She adds that she now plans to expand and move into a larger premises.
"We're looking for the right place," she says. "I am looking in my community to see where I can get a place that's available that we can probably extend."
Growing defaults
Yet despite the successes of the Wow loans, there have been some problems, admits Shaleeza Shaw, head of credit at GBTI.
Stephane Rutherford has expanded her food business with the help of a Wow loan
In the first year of the scheme there was a repayment rate of 95%, but that dipped to 70% in the second year, and it continues to go down.
Ms Shaw says there were a number of reasons for the fall, such as women having to compete for business in the same small marketplace as others who have taken out Wow loans.
In other cases, some single mothers have to divert Wow loans for other uses, such as paying medical bills if a child becomes sick.
But that has not brought the scheme to its knees.
"We are not daunted by those seeming pitfalls," says Ms Shaw.
Although the women are already trained in the basics of financial management before they get the loans, the aim is for this training to become more extensive.
Ms Shaw also wants the single mothers to be given more support after they have set up their businesses.
Meanwhile, some commentators say that for the scheme to really work, there must be other support mechanisms in place for the women, such as free school uniforms for their children, and free transport to and from school, so that they can focus more on running their businesses.
But for successful participants like farmer Bhimwattie Sahid, it has enabled her to turn her life around.
By Neil MarksBusiness reporter, Geogetown, Guyana
In the smouldering midday sun Bhimwattie Sahid uses a machete to prepare a patch of land where she will grow 700 sweet pepper plants.
The crop will be ready in time for Guyana's Christmas holiday season, when the peppers - which are used in a number of the South American nation's popular dishes - sell for high prices.
Mrs Sahid owns and runs a successful small farm near the border with neighbouring Suriname.
A 63-year-old single mother who struggled to bring up two girls following the death of her husband in 2003, has seen her fortunes transformed over the past four years, thanks to the introduction of a small loan scheme aimed at women like herself.
The Women of Worth (Wow) initiative, a 2010 tie-up between the Guyanese government and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), a local commercial lender, offers microfinance to single mums to start small businesses. The women are not required to put forward any collateral as a guarantee.
It has enabled Mrs Sahid to move beyond subsistence or "hand-to-mouth" farming, and instead buy more land and run it as a commercial venture.
To date she has taken out and repaid two loans, each of 260,500 Guyanese dollars ($1,250; £777), the highest amount available.
Not only has Mrs Sahid been able to extend her land and the variety of crops she grows, but the profits she has made have enabled her to build a more comfortable house, and to help her daughters financially .
"I feel proud," she says. "I don't know what would have happened to me without the Wow loan. It would have been hard."
Mrs Sahid says she is now considering taking out an additional loan to further expand her business.
We are not daunted by those seeming pitfalls”
Shaleeza ShawHead of credit, GBTI
So far 1,400 women have accessed the Wow loans, which are open to those aged between 18 and 60. They currently have an interest rate of 6%, are are repaid over a two-year period.
Participants range from unmarried teenage mums, to divorcees, widows and women who have escaped domestic abuse.
Jennifer Webster, Guyana's minister of human services and social security, says the scheme is helping the women to make an increased contribution to their local communities.
Stephane Rutherford, 40, has used loans from Wow to extend her small fruit juice cafe, based in the town of Mahaicony, on Guyana's eastern coast.
Petrina Chandra now has 50 children in her care each weekday
Thanks to an initial loan of 104,000 Guyanese dollars she was able to buy in more fruit from local producers and increase production.
A second, larger loan enabled her to start selling soup and milkshakes as well.
Ms Rutherford's increased earnings have helped her pay for her two sons' educations. Her youngest is in high school, where you have to pay exam fees, and her oldest has just completed two years of a degree in business management.
She adds that the loan has also enabled her to secure enough supplies to open her business on a daily basis.
"[Before] I wasn't even selling every day, now I am more consistent with my business," she says.
Petrina Chandra, 39, used a Wow loan to rent an apartment in the capital Georgetown and convert it into a children's day care centre for two and three-year-olds.
She now has two employees and 50 children under her care.
As the business continues to grow, Ms Chandra has more money for herself and her family.
Ms Chandra describes securing the Wow funding as "God's set up for me".
She adds that she now plans to expand and move into a larger premises.
"We're looking for the right place," she says. "I am looking in my community to see where I can get a place that's available that we can probably extend."
Growing defaults
Yet despite the successes of the Wow loans, there have been some problems, admits Shaleeza Shaw, head of credit at GBTI.
In the first year of the scheme there was a repayment rate of 95%, but that dipped to 70% in the second year, and it continues to go down.
Ms Shaw says there were a number of reasons for the fall, such as women having to compete for business in the same small marketplace as others who have taken out Wow loans.
In other cases, some single mothers have to divert Wow loans for other uses, such as paying medical bills if a child becomes sick.
But that has not brought the scheme to its knees.
"We are not daunted by those seeming pitfalls," says Ms Shaw.
Although the women are already trained in the basics of financial management before they get the loans, the aim is for this training to become more extensive.
Ms Shaw also wants the single mothers to be given more support after they have set up their businesses.
Meanwhile, some commentators say that for the scheme to really work, there must be other support mechanisms in place for the women, such as free school uniforms for their children, and free transport to and from school, so that they can focus more on running their businesses.
But for successful participants like farmer Bhimwattie Sahid, it has enabled her to turn her life around.
Brazilian group "Olodum"
Lyrics -
God of Gods Olodum
Moves the world
africaniza And the gift that makes up the nature's grandeur black reveals
His world does not sadness reigns
Infinite Beauty
The seventh sense of such a legion
Pelourinho is my blackboard of black root Retroto
The simple, divine singing
Brings symbolizing this reason black
Black, black
Black, black
race black
wept in Pelô
Race black
Bahia, Salvador
Blacks
Lyrics -
God of Gods Olodum
Moves the world
africaniza And the gift that makes up the nature's grandeur black reveals
His world does not sadness reigns
Infinite Beauty
The seventh sense of such a legion
Pelourinho is my blackboard of black root Retroto
The simple, divine singing
Brings symbolizing this reason black
Black, black
Black, black
race black
wept in Pelô
Race black
Bahia, Salvador
Blacks
In the tradition of Bessie Smith, Clementina de Jesus was one of Brazil’s greatest symbols of black cultural history
Note from BW of Brazil: Needless to say, today’s post is an homage and an article that has been long overdue. The sound of Samba is as important to the cultural history of Brazil as Blues or Jazz are to the United States, Son is to Cuba or Merengue is to the Dominican Republic. One could argue that it is simply not possible to fully understand Brazilian popular culture with studying the Samba and Clementina de Jesus embodied in her style and sound an important link of Brazil to Mother Africa, the nation’s slave past and the historical influence of African descendants. It’s a shame that “Mother” Clementina only began to record professionally so late in her life (her first solo LP was recorded in 1966) but as many of today’s singers will affirm, the few recordings she left behind are a treasure chest representing a rare legacy in Brazilian History. Her very voice and presence represented the struggle of black Brazilian women. There is so much that could be said about the woman that many compare to the great American Blues singer Bessie Smith, but for now, enjoy this introduction and a few videos featuring the woman who was known as Quelé or simply Tina.
Call her Quelé or Tina, Clementina de Jesus was one of black Brazil’s greatest voices
Courtesy of Portal do Arruda
Clementina de Jesus was born in the Carambita community, of Valencia, Rio de Janeiro, on February 7, 1902 (1). While still a young girl, she accompanied her mother, with the task of lighting her pipe, washing clothes, smoked. While washing, mother Amélia sanglundus, jongos, corimas, modas, incelenças, pontos, chulas and cantos de trabalho(work songs), that her daughter kept in her memory and would record 50 years later.
She moved with her family to the capital city at eight years of age to the neighborhood of Oswaldo Cruz. There she has closely followed the emergence and development of the Portela Samba School.
A diamond in the rough. This is how one could define this singer that began her professional career at 48 years of age, having worked for over twenty years as a maid in the house of the same family who liked to listen to her as she washed, ironed or prepared food, with the exception of the lady of the house who said her voice irritated her like a cat meowing.
Her hoarse, almost spoken song was outside of any aesthetic standard and to this day without any parallel among Brazilian singers. Soulmates, not for the repertoire but by the wild manner and the way of integrating voice and body, which freed themselves with all kinds of dance, she can be compared to African-American singers like Bessie Smith.
In this way African ancestry allowed her to establish a bridge of the rich folklore of theterreiros (2)with urban and contemporary language. Clementina was the portrait of Brazilian syncretism. From the prayers in gêge e nagô and songs in Yoruba that she heard from her mother and Catholic hymns that she sang in the church choir; from the points of (Afro-Brazilian religion) Candomblé and sambas de roda (3) of the parties in which she participated.
In 1963 he was invited by Hermínio Bello de Carvalho, who had heard her earlier at a party, and took the stage at Teatro Jovem in Botafogo, opening the Menestrel movement, that united scholars with regular people.
The scholar who accompanied Clementina was the guitarist Turíbio Santos.
The impact was enormous, and inspired Carvalho to follow up. The musical Rosas de Ouro was created. In it, Clementina performed opposite to the Teatro de Revista singer Araci Cortes and had as accompaniment young talents such as as Paulinho da Viola, Elton Medeiros and Nelson Sargento, among others.
Clementina de Jesus didn’t go to school to learn vocal technique, but learned to sing, or rather, developed his song during day to day work. Tina or Quelé or as she was called by her friends, recorded throughout her career 9 LPs and 3 mini albums and participated in albums of other artists such as Milton Nascimento.
This wonderful Afro-Brazilian also performed in Africa and Europe. She even sang the Marseillaise, the French national anthem in France itself. She didn’t sell a lot of albums and as music critic Carlos Calado said, “Ironic and sad, but in some countries the imitation jewelry is worth more than the rough diamonds.”
Considered the queen of partido alto style, with the unmistakable timbre of her voice, she was honored by Elton Medeiros with the partido “Clementina, Cadê Você?” (Clementina, Where Are You?) and by Clara Nunes with “PCJ, Partido Clementina de Jesus” in 1977 by the Portela composer Candeia.
Rainha Ginga, Quelé, Tina, ways to of referring to Clementina de Jesus, with the imposing title of royalty and with the affectionate corruption of her name.
The tenderness of an old smiling black woman. Everyone who was involved with her had the urge to call her Mãe (Mother), as the musicians of the musical Rosa de Ouro called her. A special sparkle in her eyes that captivated the humblest to Emperor Haile Selassie.
Tina or Quelé, died in July 1987 at age 85, leaving an emptiness but the memory of a race recorded for future generations.
Documentary about Clementina de Jesus shown free in Bahia
“Rainha Quelé” documentary
Film tells the story of one of the most important black voices of Brazil.
by Ingrid Maria Machado
Testimonials of Martinho da Vila, Leci Brandão, Paulinho da Viola, João Bosco, Carlinhos Vergueiro, Mônica Salmaso and Cristina Buarque, all greats of Brazilian music, punctuate the documentary Clementina de Jesus – Rainha Quelé, which received a free special showing on Tuesday (March 6, 2012), in Cineteatro Solar Boa Vista, in the Brotas neighborhood of Salvador, Bahia. The showing celebrated the commemorations of women’s day. Also involved in the event were various members of the Movimento Negro (black movement) of Bahia.
“Clementina de Jesus is an example of a woman who needs to be appreciated, disseminated. Black, poor, a maid, a mother, and who achieved visibility, national and international respect singing, making art in her way, with her striking, throaty voice, with its simplicity. Nothing more fair than a cultural space, such as the Solar, located in a neighborhood with peripheral features, reminiscent of the senzalas (slave quarters), renders homage to Rainha Quelé, to Ms. Clementina de Jesus and hence the black women who construct the everyday of this place,” Boa Vista coordinator, Chico Assis.
Note from BW of Brazil: Needless to say, today’s post is an homage and an article that has been long overdue. The sound of Samba is as important to the cultural history of Brazil as Blues or Jazz are to the United States, Son is to Cuba or Merengue is to the Dominican Republic. One could argue that it is simply not possible to fully understand Brazilian popular culture with studying the Samba and Clementina de Jesus embodied in her style and sound an important link of Brazil to Mother Africa, the nation’s slave past and the historical influence of African descendants. It’s a shame that “Mother” Clementina only began to record professionally so late in her life (her first solo LP was recorded in 1966) but as many of today’s singers will affirm, the few recordings she left behind are a treasure chest representing a rare legacy in Brazilian History. Her very voice and presence represented the struggle of black Brazilian women. There is so much that could be said about the woman that many compare to the great American Blues singer Bessie Smith, but for now, enjoy this introduction and a few videos featuring the woman who was known as Quelé or simply Tina.
Call her Quelé or Tina, Clementina de Jesus was one of black Brazil’s greatest voices
Courtesy of Portal do Arruda
Clementina de Jesus was born in the Carambita community, of Valencia, Rio de Janeiro, on February 7, 1902 (1). While still a young girl, she accompanied her mother, with the task of lighting her pipe, washing clothes, smoked. While washing, mother Amélia sanglundus, jongos, corimas, modas, incelenças, pontos, chulas and cantos de trabalho(work songs), that her daughter kept in her memory and would record 50 years later.
She moved with her family to the capital city at eight years of age to the neighborhood of Oswaldo Cruz. There she has closely followed the emergence and development of the Portela Samba School.
A diamond in the rough. This is how one could define this singer that began her professional career at 48 years of age, having worked for over twenty years as a maid in the house of the same family who liked to listen to her as she washed, ironed or prepared food, with the exception of the lady of the house who said her voice irritated her like a cat meowing.
Her hoarse, almost spoken song was outside of any aesthetic standard and to this day without any parallel among Brazilian singers. Soulmates, not for the repertoire but by the wild manner and the way of integrating voice and body, which freed themselves with all kinds of dance, she can be compared to African-American singers like Bessie Smith.
In this way African ancestry allowed her to establish a bridge of the rich folklore of theterreiros (2)with urban and contemporary language. Clementina was the portrait of Brazilian syncretism. From the prayers in gêge e nagô and songs in Yoruba that she heard from her mother and Catholic hymns that she sang in the church choir; from the points of (Afro-Brazilian religion) Candomblé and sambas de roda (3) of the parties in which she participated.
In 1963 he was invited by Hermínio Bello de Carvalho, who had heard her earlier at a party, and took the stage at Teatro Jovem in Botafogo, opening the Menestrel movement, that united scholars with regular people.
The scholar who accompanied Clementina was the guitarist Turíbio Santos.
The impact was enormous, and inspired Carvalho to follow up. The musical Rosas de Ouro was created. In it, Clementina performed opposite to the Teatro de Revista singer Araci Cortes and had as accompaniment young talents such as as Paulinho da Viola, Elton Medeiros and Nelson Sargento, among others.
Clementina de Jesus didn’t go to school to learn vocal technique, but learned to sing, or rather, developed his song during day to day work. Tina or Quelé or as she was called by her friends, recorded throughout her career 9 LPs and 3 mini albums and participated in albums of other artists such as Milton Nascimento.
This wonderful Afro-Brazilian also performed in Africa and Europe. She even sang the Marseillaise, the French national anthem in France itself. She didn’t sell a lot of albums and as music critic Carlos Calado said, “Ironic and sad, but in some countries the imitation jewelry is worth more than the rough diamonds.”
Considered the queen of partido alto style, with the unmistakable timbre of her voice, she was honored by Elton Medeiros with the partido “Clementina, Cadê Você?” (Clementina, Where Are You?) and by Clara Nunes with “PCJ, Partido Clementina de Jesus” in 1977 by the Portela composer Candeia.
Rainha Ginga, Quelé, Tina, ways to of referring to Clementina de Jesus, with the imposing title of royalty and with the affectionate corruption of her name.
The tenderness of an old smiling black woman. Everyone who was involved with her had the urge to call her Mãe (Mother), as the musicians of the musical Rosa de Ouro called her. A special sparkle in her eyes that captivated the humblest to Emperor Haile Selassie.
Tina or Quelé, died in July 1987 at age 85, leaving an emptiness but the memory of a race recorded for future generations.
Documentary about Clementina de Jesus shown free in Bahia
“Rainha Quelé” documentary
Film tells the story of one of the most important black voices of Brazil.
by Ingrid Maria Machado
Testimonials of Martinho da Vila, Leci Brandão, Paulinho da Viola, João Bosco, Carlinhos Vergueiro, Mônica Salmaso and Cristina Buarque, all greats of Brazilian music, punctuate the documentary Clementina de Jesus – Rainha Quelé, which received a free special showing on Tuesday (March 6, 2012), in Cineteatro Solar Boa Vista, in the Brotas neighborhood of Salvador, Bahia. The showing celebrated the commemorations of women’s day. Also involved in the event were various members of the Movimento Negro (black movement) of Bahia.
“Clementina de Jesus is an example of a woman who needs to be appreciated, disseminated. Black, poor, a maid, a mother, and who achieved visibility, national and international respect singing, making art in her way, with her striking, throaty voice, with its simplicity. Nothing more fair than a cultural space, such as the Solar, located in a neighborhood with peripheral features, reminiscent of the senzalas (slave quarters), renders homage to Rainha Quelé, to Ms. Clementina de Jesus and hence the black women who construct the everyday of this place,” Boa Vista coordinator, Chico Assis.
“The documentary is beautiful, I was very emotional me when I saw it. I had to do it so that more people saw the story of Clementina” – Chico Assis
Clementina de Jesus
Black, poor, housewife, maid and one of the most exuberant figures in Brazilian popular music. As such was Clementina de Jesus, born in 1901 in the city of Rio de Janeiro. It was in the capital of Rio that the black woman with the striking voice was discovered musically in 1963 by poet, songwriter and cultural producer Hermínio Bello de Carvalho.
With him, she visited several places in Brazil, raising her voice on the show ‘Rosa de Ouro’. The artist made a question of respecting her ancestry and took to concerts and television programs, a bit of reference she had in Africa and Afro-Brazilian culture. She recorded five solo LPs, and participated in several others, such as Fala Mangueira, recorded in 1968, which had Cartola as another of the special participants.
Clementina de Jesus participated in the album “Fala Mangueira” with other Samba greats
Names such as João Bosco, Milton Nascimento, Alceu Valença and Clara Nunes, among so many other great personalities of Brazilian popular music always respected, recording or singing Clementina.
Directed by Werinton Kermes and screenplay by Miriam Cris Carlos the film was awarded for Best Feature Film at the Festival Internacional de Cinema de Arquivo REcine. 2011 made 25 years of her death, which was caused by a stroke.
Clementina de Jesus documentary — Rare Scenes
Source: Portal do Arruda, G1
Notes
1. Some sources list her year of birth as 1900 or 1901.
2. Temples or houses of worship for followers of Afro-Brazilian religions.
3. The roda de samba (samba circle) is a very common manifestation in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil. Rodas de samba are like Jazz jam sessions. Rodas de samba do not require large financial contributions and often bring together a lot of people singing and dancing around a table, where the musicians play instruments and sing. The roda de samba has its own characteristics: a real samba does not require microphones and not even a certain number of people to play it, it’s free from any liability to do it right. Everyone within or outside of the roda or can give their opinions on the songs to be played. Source
The two videos below feature the participation of Clementina de Jesus in rodas de samba, along with several other greats of Samba.
Roda de Samba featuring Candeia, Dona Ivone Lara and Clementina de Jesus
“We saw 3, 4 generations working in the same family as maids. Now we don’t have this anymore; my daughters are in college”
Note from BW of Brazil: With the first round of elections for president of Brazil now being narrowed down to just two, the incumbent Dilma Rousseff of the PT (Workers’ Party) and Aécio Neves of the PSDB, Brazilians will have a choice between maintaining the current path of the country in 12 years of the Workers Party, 8 with Lula da Silva and 4 with Rousseff, or choosing a new direction with Neves. With Neves currently polling ahead of Rousseff, we can expect that the PT will surely step up their commercials reminding those who have benefited most from their time in power exactly what has been accomplished. This will apply particularly to poor and Afro-Brazilians who, due to PT policies, gained greater access to middle class status and college educations. Even with the possibility of electing the country’s first black president in the candidacy of the PSB’s Marina Silva, black Brazilians threw their support behind the party that granted them access to better lifestyles than previous administrations. This is clearly an easy choice in Rousseff in comparison to Neves, who many see as a representation of a return to previous conditions.
When we consider that Neves has already stated that he would support implementing an increasing militarization of neighborhoods throughout Brazil, similar to the special Military Police UPP units who have a reputation for killing Afro-Brazilians in Rio de Janeiro where these types of units maintain a presence in full military gear. Representatives from Neves’s camp have also voiced support for the privatization of Brazil’s universities, another move which would directly affect Afro-Brazilians. Needless to say, privatization of the nation’s universities would make success stories, such as the one featured below, more difficult to attain. As such, for those who want to keep the door open to more social advances, the choice won’t be difficult.
“We saw three, four generations working in the same family as maids. Now we don’t have this anymore. My daughters are in college”
Courtesy of the Instituto Lula
“Ten years ago, a maid, a bricklayer or a carpenter that came to a place and said that he had a son in college he was a laughingstock. Everyone laughed at them.” The statement is from Analice Oliveira Souza reflecting on the reality experienced by thousands of Brazilians in the not-so-distant past. Today, with the support of access to education and economic empowerment programs, the 46-year old maid, who didn’t finish elementary school can boast of having two of her daughters in college and a son working in one of the largest companies in the world, Petrobras.
Born in the Bahian municipality of Ipirá, Analice had a difficult childhood along with her parents and three siblings. The drought in the inland and the lack of employment forced the couple to move to Santos, on the coast of São Paulo, where she began working as a maid for 18 years. “Whoever speaks badly of the Bolsa Família program today it’s because you think that we have short memories and don’t remember the basic basket that they sent to us during the dry season. It was that rice with the husks and old beans that I didn’t even cook in the pan. It helps, the people who live in drought have this today,” she recalls.
With some stability in employment and some savings, she managed to buy a simple house in São Vicente (also in São Paulo state) and already married, three children came. Ricardo, the eldest, now 22, took technical courses in Senai and got a job in the boiler platform of Petrobras (1) in Porto Alegre (capital city of Rio Grande do Sul). “He is happy with his chosen profession and in a big, good company. Once a month he can come here to see the family. And he comes by plane because his conditions are much better today,” she says.
Vanessa, 20, is in the third year of law school at UNIP (2) in Santos with funding from Fies (3). “Imagine the joy of a mother to know that in two years she will have a lawyer daughter!”, she is keen to stress. Even Analice’s youngest daughter, Vitória, 17, finished high school in 2013 and her score from Enem (4), she won a place in the physiotherapy course at the Federal University of Santos through Sisu (5). “We saw three, four generations working in the same family as maids. Now we don’t have this anymore. My daughters are in college. Their friends earned scholarships from Prouni (6), my nieces were able to enter Pronatec (7).” She added: “I came from extreme poverty, but in two years I’ll have a lawyer daughter, and in four more, I’ll have a physiotherapist daughter. There is no government that has done more for people than Lula and Dilma. And now with two in college, even I am thinking of going back to school.”
Source: Instituto Lula
Notes
Note from BW of Brazil: With the first round of elections for president of Brazil now being narrowed down to just two, the incumbent Dilma Rousseff of the PT (Workers’ Party) and Aécio Neves of the PSDB, Brazilians will have a choice between maintaining the current path of the country in 12 years of the Workers Party, 8 with Lula da Silva and 4 with Rousseff, or choosing a new direction with Neves. With Neves currently polling ahead of Rousseff, we can expect that the PT will surely step up their commercials reminding those who have benefited most from their time in power exactly what has been accomplished. This will apply particularly to poor and Afro-Brazilians who, due to PT policies, gained greater access to middle class status and college educations. Even with the possibility of electing the country’s first black president in the candidacy of the PSB’s Marina Silva, black Brazilians threw their support behind the party that granted them access to better lifestyles than previous administrations. This is clearly an easy choice in Rousseff in comparison to Neves, who many see as a representation of a return to previous conditions.
When we consider that Neves has already stated that he would support implementing an increasing militarization of neighborhoods throughout Brazil, similar to the special Military Police UPP units who have a reputation for killing Afro-Brazilians in Rio de Janeiro where these types of units maintain a presence in full military gear. Representatives from Neves’s camp have also voiced support for the privatization of Brazil’s universities, another move which would directly affect Afro-Brazilians. Needless to say, privatization of the nation’s universities would make success stories, such as the one featured below, more difficult to attain. As such, for those who want to keep the door open to more social advances, the choice won’t be difficult.
“We saw three, four generations working in the same family as maids. Now we don’t have this anymore. My daughters are in college”
Courtesy of the Instituto Lula
“Ten years ago, a maid, a bricklayer or a carpenter that came to a place and said that he had a son in college he was a laughingstock. Everyone laughed at them.” The statement is from Analice Oliveira Souza reflecting on the reality experienced by thousands of Brazilians in the not-so-distant past. Today, with the support of access to education and economic empowerment programs, the 46-year old maid, who didn’t finish elementary school can boast of having two of her daughters in college and a son working in one of the largest companies in the world, Petrobras.
Born in the Bahian municipality of Ipirá, Analice had a difficult childhood along with her parents and three siblings. The drought in the inland and the lack of employment forced the couple to move to Santos, on the coast of São Paulo, where she began working as a maid for 18 years. “Whoever speaks badly of the Bolsa Família program today it’s because you think that we have short memories and don’t remember the basic basket that they sent to us during the dry season. It was that rice with the husks and old beans that I didn’t even cook in the pan. It helps, the people who live in drought have this today,” she recalls.
With some stability in employment and some savings, she managed to buy a simple house in São Vicente (also in São Paulo state) and already married, three children came. Ricardo, the eldest, now 22, took technical courses in Senai and got a job in the boiler platform of Petrobras (1) in Porto Alegre (capital city of Rio Grande do Sul). “He is happy with his chosen profession and in a big, good company. Once a month he can come here to see the family. And he comes by plane because his conditions are much better today,” she says.
Vanessa, 20, is in the third year of law school at UNIP (2) in Santos with funding from Fies (3). “Imagine the joy of a mother to know that in two years she will have a lawyer daughter!”, she is keen to stress. Even Analice’s youngest daughter, Vitória, 17, finished high school in 2013 and her score from Enem (4), she won a place in the physiotherapy course at the Federal University of Santos through Sisu (5). “We saw three, four generations working in the same family as maids. Now we don’t have this anymore. My daughters are in college. Their friends earned scholarships from Prouni (6), my nieces were able to enter Pronatec (7).” She added: “I came from extreme poverty, but in two years I’ll have a lawyer daughter, and in four more, I’ll have a physiotherapist daughter. There is no government that has done more for people than Lula and Dilma. And now with two in college, even I am thinking of going back to school.”
Source: Instituto Lula
Notes
- Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˌpɛtɾoˈbɾas]) is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in the Southern Hemisphere by market capitalization and the largest in Latin America measured by 2011 revenues. Source
- Universidade Paulista (UNIP) is a private Brazilian university, headquartered in São Paulo, with units throughout the state and even in the states of Goiás, Amazon and also in Brasilia. It has more than 240,000 students. Altogether, the institution has 27 campuses, including 65 units. Source
- Fundo de Financiamento ao Estudante do Ensino Superior (Fies or Student Financial Fund of Higher Education) is a program of the Ministry of Education to finance the higher education of the undergraduate students enrolled in institutions that are not free. It can resort to financing students enrolled in higher education courses that have positive evaluation in proceedings conducted by the Ministry of Education. Source
- Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (Enem) (English: High School National Exam) is a non-mandatory, standardized Brazilian national exam, which evaluates high school students in Brazil. The ENEM is the most important exam of its kind in Brazil, with more than 7.1 million registered candidates in 2013. Source
- The Sistema de Seleção Unificada (SiSU or Unified Selection System) is an online platform developed in 2009 by the Brazilian Ministry of Education used by students who took the Enem exam to enroll in higher education institutions that adhere fully or partially, with a certain percentage of their vacancies, to the Enem score as a form of entry, replacing the vestibular (entrance exam). Source
- The Programa Universidade para Todos (Prouni or University for All Program) is a program of the Federal Government of Brazil created with the objective of granting full and partial scholarships in undergraduate and sequential of specific training in private institutions of higher learning. It was created by Law No. 11.096, of January 13, 2005, when Tarso Genro was Minister of Education. Source
- The Programa Nacional de Acesso ao Ensino Técnico e Emprego (Pronatec or National Program of Access to Technical and Job Education) was created by the Federal Government of Brazil on October 26, 2011, with the enactment of Law No. 12.513/2011 by President Dilma Rousseff. The program aims to expand, internalize and democratize the offering of vocational and technological education for Brazilian students. Source
End the U.S. Embargo on Cuba
Leer en Español (Read in Spanish) »
By THE EDITORIAL BOARDOCT. 11, 2014
Photo
Havana in June 2011. CreditDesmond Boylan/Reuters
In recent years, a devastated economy has forced Cuba to make reforms — a process that has gained urgency with the economic crisis in Venezuela, which gives Cuba heavily subsidized oil. Officials in Havana, fearing that Venezuela could cut its aid, have taken significant steps to liberalize and diversify the island’s tightly controlled economy.
They have begun allowing citizens to take private-sector jobs and own property. This spring, Cuba’s National Assembly passed a law to encourage foreign investment in the country. With Brazilian capital, Cuba is building a seaport, a major project that will be economically viable only if American sanctions are lifted. And in April, Cuban diplomats began negotiating a cooperation agreement with the European Union. They have shown up at the initial meetings prepared, eager and mindful that the Europeans will insist on greater reforms and freedoms.
The authoritarian government still harasses and detains dissidents. It has yet to explain the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the political activist Oswaldo Payá. But in recent years officials have released political prisoners who had been held for years. Travel restrictions were relaxed last year, enabling prominent dissidents to travel abroad. There isslightly more tolerance for criticism of the leadership, though many fear speaking openly and demanding greater rights.
The pace of reforms has been slow and there has been backsliding. Still, these changes show Cuba is positioning itself for a post-embargo era. The government has said it would welcome renewed diplomatic relations with the United States and would not set preconditions.
As a first step, the Obama administration should remove Cuba from theState Department’s list of nations that sponsor terrorist organizations, which includes Iran, Sudan and Syria. Cuba was put on the list in 1982 for backing terrorist groups in Latin America, which it no longer does. American officials recognize that Havana is playing a constructive role in the conflict in Colombia by hosting peace talks between the government and guerrilla leaders.
Starting in 1961, Washington has imposed sanctions in an effort to oust the Castro regime. Over the decades, it became clear to many American policy makers that the embargo was an utter failure. But any proposal to end the embargo angered Cuban-American voters, a constituency that has had an outsize role in national elections.
The generation that adamantly supports the embargo is dying off. Younger Cuban-Americans hold starkly different views, having come to see the sanctions as more damaging than helpful. A recent poll found that a slight majority of Cuban-Americans in Miami now oppose the embargo. A significant majority of them favor restoring diplomatic ties, mirroring the views of other Americans.
The Obama administration in 2009 took important steps to ease the embargo, a patchwork of laws and policies, making it easier for Cubans in the United States to send remittances to relatives in Cuba and authorizing more Cuban-Americans to travel there. And it has paved the way for initiatives to expand Internet access and cellphone coverage on the island.
Cuba and the United States already have diplomatic missions, calledinterests sections, that operate much like embassies. However, under the current arrangement, American diplomats have few opportunities to travel outside the capital to engage with ordinary Cubans, and their access to the Cuban government is very limited.
Restoring diplomatic ties, which the White House can do without congressional approval, would allow the United States to expand and deepen cooperation in areas where the two nations already manage to work collaboratively — like managing migration flows, maritime patrolling and oil rig safety. It would better position Washington to press the Cubans on democratic reforms, and could stem a new wave of migration to the United States driven by hopelessness.
Closer ties could also bring a breakthrough on the case of an American development contractor, Alan Gross, who has been unjustly imprisoned by Cuba for nearly five years. More broadly, it would create opportunities to empower ordinary Cubans, gradually eroding the government’s ability to control their lives.
In April, Western Hemisphere heads of state will meet in Panama City for the seventh Summit of the Americas. Latin American governments insisted that Cuba, the Caribbean’s most populous island and one of the most educated societies in the hemisphere, be invited, breaking with its traditional exclusion at the insistence of Washington.
Given the many crises around the world, the White House may want to avoid a major shift in Cuba policy. Yet engaging with Cuba and starting to unlock the potential of its citizens could end up being among the administration’s most consequential foreign-policy legacies.
Normalizing relations with Havana would improve Washington’s relationships with governments in Latin America, and resolve an irritant that has stymied initiatives in the hemisphere. The Obama administration is leery of Cuba’s presence at the meeting and Mr. Obama has not committed to attending. He must — and he should see it as an opportunity to make history.
Leer en Español (Read in Spanish) »
By THE EDITORIAL BOARDOCT. 11, 2014
Photo
Havana in June 2011. CreditDesmond Boylan/Reuters
In recent years, a devastated economy has forced Cuba to make reforms — a process that has gained urgency with the economic crisis in Venezuela, which gives Cuba heavily subsidized oil. Officials in Havana, fearing that Venezuela could cut its aid, have taken significant steps to liberalize and diversify the island’s tightly controlled economy.
They have begun allowing citizens to take private-sector jobs and own property. This spring, Cuba’s National Assembly passed a law to encourage foreign investment in the country. With Brazilian capital, Cuba is building a seaport, a major project that will be economically viable only if American sanctions are lifted. And in April, Cuban diplomats began negotiating a cooperation agreement with the European Union. They have shown up at the initial meetings prepared, eager and mindful that the Europeans will insist on greater reforms and freedoms.
The authoritarian government still harasses and detains dissidents. It has yet to explain the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the political activist Oswaldo Payá. But in recent years officials have released political prisoners who had been held for years. Travel restrictions were relaxed last year, enabling prominent dissidents to travel abroad. There isslightly more tolerance for criticism of the leadership, though many fear speaking openly and demanding greater rights.
The pace of reforms has been slow and there has been backsliding. Still, these changes show Cuba is positioning itself for a post-embargo era. The government has said it would welcome renewed diplomatic relations with the United States and would not set preconditions.
As a first step, the Obama administration should remove Cuba from theState Department’s list of nations that sponsor terrorist organizations, which includes Iran, Sudan and Syria. Cuba was put on the list in 1982 for backing terrorist groups in Latin America, which it no longer does. American officials recognize that Havana is playing a constructive role in the conflict in Colombia by hosting peace talks between the government and guerrilla leaders.
Starting in 1961, Washington has imposed sanctions in an effort to oust the Castro regime. Over the decades, it became clear to many American policy makers that the embargo was an utter failure. But any proposal to end the embargo angered Cuban-American voters, a constituency that has had an outsize role in national elections.
The generation that adamantly supports the embargo is dying off. Younger Cuban-Americans hold starkly different views, having come to see the sanctions as more damaging than helpful. A recent poll found that a slight majority of Cuban-Americans in Miami now oppose the embargo. A significant majority of them favor restoring diplomatic ties, mirroring the views of other Americans.
The Obama administration in 2009 took important steps to ease the embargo, a patchwork of laws and policies, making it easier for Cubans in the United States to send remittances to relatives in Cuba and authorizing more Cuban-Americans to travel there. And it has paved the way for initiatives to expand Internet access and cellphone coverage on the island.
Cuba and the United States already have diplomatic missions, calledinterests sections, that operate much like embassies. However, under the current arrangement, American diplomats have few opportunities to travel outside the capital to engage with ordinary Cubans, and their access to the Cuban government is very limited.
Restoring diplomatic ties, which the White House can do without congressional approval, would allow the United States to expand and deepen cooperation in areas where the two nations already manage to work collaboratively — like managing migration flows, maritime patrolling and oil rig safety. It would better position Washington to press the Cubans on democratic reforms, and could stem a new wave of migration to the United States driven by hopelessness.
Closer ties could also bring a breakthrough on the case of an American development contractor, Alan Gross, who has been unjustly imprisoned by Cuba for nearly five years. More broadly, it would create opportunities to empower ordinary Cubans, gradually eroding the government’s ability to control their lives.
In April, Western Hemisphere heads of state will meet in Panama City for the seventh Summit of the Americas. Latin American governments insisted that Cuba, the Caribbean’s most populous island and one of the most educated societies in the hemisphere, be invited, breaking with its traditional exclusion at the insistence of Washington.
Given the many crises around the world, the White House may want to avoid a major shift in Cuba policy. Yet engaging with Cuba and starting to unlock the potential of its citizens could end up being among the administration’s most consequential foreign-policy legacies.
Normalizing relations with Havana would improve Washington’s relationships with governments in Latin America, and resolve an irritant that has stymied initiatives in the hemisphere. The Obama administration is leery of Cuba’s presence at the meeting and Mr. Obama has not committed to attending. He must — and he should see it as an opportunity to make history.
Cuban migration surges over land and by sea
BY MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN AND CHRISTINE ARMARIO
HAVANA — The number of Cubans heading to the United States has soared since the island lifted travel restrictions last year, and instead of making the risky journey by raft across the Florida Straits, most are now passing through Mexico or flying straight to the U.S.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol figures show that more than 22,000 Cubans arrived at the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada in the fiscal year that ended last month. That was nearly double the number in 2012, the year before restrictions were lifted.
The changes in Cuban law eliminate a costly exit visa and make it easier for Cubans to both leave and return to the island legally. Reform of property laws now allows Cubans to sell homes and vehicles, helping would-be emigrants pull together the cash needed to buy airline tickets. With greater access to cash and legal travel documents, the historic pattern of Cuban migration is shifting from daring dangerous voyages at sea to making the journey by air and then land.
The Cuban government is struggling to bolster a dysfunctional centrally planned economy after decades of inefficiency and underinvestment. Recent changes intended to encourage entrepreneurism have borne little fruit and many people are seeking opportunities elsewhere.
While the number of Cubans trying to reach the United States by sea also grew to nearly 4,000 people this past year, the biggest jump by far came from people entering the U.S. by land. And the Cubans flying to Latin America or straight to the United States generally belong to the more prosperous and well-connected strata of society, accelerating the drain of the island's highly educated.
U.S. officials say that before the recent surge, more than 20,000 Cubans formally migrated to the U.S. every year using visas issued by the U.S. government, while several thousand more entered on tourist visas and stayed. Adding in migrants who entered informally, U.S. officials believe more than 50,000 Cubans were moving to the U.S. every year, leaving behind their homeland of 11 million people.
Many Cubans are using an opportunity offered by Spain in 2008 when it allowed descendants of those exiled during the Spanish Civil War to reclaim Spanish citizenship. A Spanish passport allows visa-free travel to the U.S., Europe and Latin America.
The number of Cubans holding a Spanish passport tripled between 2009 and 2011, when it hit 108,000. Many of those Cubans fly to Mexico or the U.S. on their Spanish passports, then present their Cuban passports to U.S. officials.
Thousands of other travelers make their first stop in Ecuador, which dropped a visa requirement for all tourists in 2008. The number of Cubans heading to Ecuador hit 18,078 a year by 2012, the latest year for which statistics are available. From there, many hopscotch north by plane, train, boat or bus through Colombia, Central America and Mexico.
The government last year extended the length of time Cubans can be gone without losing residency rights from one year to two. That means migrants now can obtain U.S. residency and still return to Cuba for extended periods, receive government benefits and even invest money earned in the U.S.
Particularly notable is the departure of young and educated people. In the capital, Havana, it seems most every 20- or 30-something has a plan to go sooner rather than later, mostly to the United States. Nearly everyone has a close friend or relative who already has left for the U.S. in the last few years.
Dozens of Cuban migrants show up every week at the Church World Service office in Miami seeking help. Those without relatives in the U.S. are resettled in other parts of the country, where they are connected with jobs, housing and English classes.
Raimel Rosel, 31, said he left his job at a Havana center for pig genetics and breeding when state security agents began questioning him about extra income he earned from private consulting. He flew to Ecuador in August and then traveled north for 30 days to the Mexican border.
"It was really tense," he said, describing the trip as "utterly exhausting."
Another man at the church office said "going by boat is madness."
He and his wife and daughter all had Spanish passports, he said. After selling their home in Matanzas province, outside the capital, for $8,000, they flew to Mexico City and then Tijuana, where they crossed into the U.S. He declined to provide his name in order to protect relatives in Cuba from repercussions.
Cubans arriving at a U.S. border or airport automatically receive permission to stay in the United States under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which allows them to apply for permanent residency after a year, almost always successfully.
While the number of Florida-bound rafters jumped this year, the 2014 figure is generally in line with the average for the last decade. The U.S. Coast Guard says it stopped 2,059 Cuban rafters on the high seas as of Sept. 22, a few hundred more than the average of 1,750 interdicted each year since 2005. Roughly 2,000 more rafters made it to dry land this year. The figure of those stopped was higher from 2005 to 2008, dipped dramatically for three years, then starting climbing again in 2012. Statistics for all Coast Guard contacts with Cuban rafters were not available for years earlier than 2010.
Good weather may have prompted more rafters to attempt the journey this year, said Cmdr. Timothy Cronin, deputy chief of law enforcement for the U.S. Coast Guard district responsible for most interactions with Cuban rafters.
"There haven't been any major storms that have come through the area, no hurricanes," he said. "We've been blessed and in a way cursed by every day being a good day for a mariner to take to the sea, whether for good or for bad."
Those who reach Florida call home to Cuba, perhaps inspiring others to attempt the trip despite the risks.
Yennier Martinez Diaz arrived in Florida on a raft with eight other people after 10 days at sea in August. The group of friends and neighbors from Camaguey, on Cuba's northern coast, built the raft with pieces of metal, wood and a motor from an old Russian tractor.
Diaz, 32, earned about $10 a week cutting brush and sugarcane. He said he wanted to help a brother with cancer by finding a higher-paying job in the U.S.
After the motor nearly ran out of gas, the rafters drifted for days in the open water. At one point, they hit a powerful storm and nearly drowned.
"I caution everyone not to come by sea," he said, his face still red from the sun.
---
Associated Press writer Michael Weissenstein reported this story in Havana and Christine Armario reported from Miami. AP writers Andrea Rodriguez in Havana, Gonzalo Solano in Quito, Ecuador, and Ciaran Giles in Madrid contributed to this report.
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/10/10/3473074/cuban-migration-surges-over-land.html#storylink=cpy
BY MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN AND CHRISTINE ARMARIO
HAVANA — The number of Cubans heading to the United States has soared since the island lifted travel restrictions last year, and instead of making the risky journey by raft across the Florida Straits, most are now passing through Mexico or flying straight to the U.S.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol figures show that more than 22,000 Cubans arrived at the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada in the fiscal year that ended last month. That was nearly double the number in 2012, the year before restrictions were lifted.
The changes in Cuban law eliminate a costly exit visa and make it easier for Cubans to both leave and return to the island legally. Reform of property laws now allows Cubans to sell homes and vehicles, helping would-be emigrants pull together the cash needed to buy airline tickets. With greater access to cash and legal travel documents, the historic pattern of Cuban migration is shifting from daring dangerous voyages at sea to making the journey by air and then land.
The Cuban government is struggling to bolster a dysfunctional centrally planned economy after decades of inefficiency and underinvestment. Recent changes intended to encourage entrepreneurism have borne little fruit and many people are seeking opportunities elsewhere.
While the number of Cubans trying to reach the United States by sea also grew to nearly 4,000 people this past year, the biggest jump by far came from people entering the U.S. by land. And the Cubans flying to Latin America or straight to the United States generally belong to the more prosperous and well-connected strata of society, accelerating the drain of the island's highly educated.
U.S. officials say that before the recent surge, more than 20,000 Cubans formally migrated to the U.S. every year using visas issued by the U.S. government, while several thousand more entered on tourist visas and stayed. Adding in migrants who entered informally, U.S. officials believe more than 50,000 Cubans were moving to the U.S. every year, leaving behind their homeland of 11 million people.
Many Cubans are using an opportunity offered by Spain in 2008 when it allowed descendants of those exiled during the Spanish Civil War to reclaim Spanish citizenship. A Spanish passport allows visa-free travel to the U.S., Europe and Latin America.
The number of Cubans holding a Spanish passport tripled between 2009 and 2011, when it hit 108,000. Many of those Cubans fly to Mexico or the U.S. on their Spanish passports, then present their Cuban passports to U.S. officials.
Thousands of other travelers make their first stop in Ecuador, which dropped a visa requirement for all tourists in 2008. The number of Cubans heading to Ecuador hit 18,078 a year by 2012, the latest year for which statistics are available. From there, many hopscotch north by plane, train, boat or bus through Colombia, Central America and Mexico.
The government last year extended the length of time Cubans can be gone without losing residency rights from one year to two. That means migrants now can obtain U.S. residency and still return to Cuba for extended periods, receive government benefits and even invest money earned in the U.S.
Particularly notable is the departure of young and educated people. In the capital, Havana, it seems most every 20- or 30-something has a plan to go sooner rather than later, mostly to the United States. Nearly everyone has a close friend or relative who already has left for the U.S. in the last few years.
Dozens of Cuban migrants show up every week at the Church World Service office in Miami seeking help. Those without relatives in the U.S. are resettled in other parts of the country, where they are connected with jobs, housing and English classes.
Raimel Rosel, 31, said he left his job at a Havana center for pig genetics and breeding when state security agents began questioning him about extra income he earned from private consulting. He flew to Ecuador in August and then traveled north for 30 days to the Mexican border.
"It was really tense," he said, describing the trip as "utterly exhausting."
Another man at the church office said "going by boat is madness."
He and his wife and daughter all had Spanish passports, he said. After selling their home in Matanzas province, outside the capital, for $8,000, they flew to Mexico City and then Tijuana, where they crossed into the U.S. He declined to provide his name in order to protect relatives in Cuba from repercussions.
Cubans arriving at a U.S. border or airport automatically receive permission to stay in the United States under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which allows them to apply for permanent residency after a year, almost always successfully.
While the number of Florida-bound rafters jumped this year, the 2014 figure is generally in line with the average for the last decade. The U.S. Coast Guard says it stopped 2,059 Cuban rafters on the high seas as of Sept. 22, a few hundred more than the average of 1,750 interdicted each year since 2005. Roughly 2,000 more rafters made it to dry land this year. The figure of those stopped was higher from 2005 to 2008, dipped dramatically for three years, then starting climbing again in 2012. Statistics for all Coast Guard contacts with Cuban rafters were not available for years earlier than 2010.
Good weather may have prompted more rafters to attempt the journey this year, said Cmdr. Timothy Cronin, deputy chief of law enforcement for the U.S. Coast Guard district responsible for most interactions with Cuban rafters.
"There haven't been any major storms that have come through the area, no hurricanes," he said. "We've been blessed and in a way cursed by every day being a good day for a mariner to take to the sea, whether for good or for bad."
Those who reach Florida call home to Cuba, perhaps inspiring others to attempt the trip despite the risks.
Yennier Martinez Diaz arrived in Florida on a raft with eight other people after 10 days at sea in August. The group of friends and neighbors from Camaguey, on Cuba's northern coast, built the raft with pieces of metal, wood and a motor from an old Russian tractor.
Diaz, 32, earned about $10 a week cutting brush and sugarcane. He said he wanted to help a brother with cancer by finding a higher-paying job in the U.S.
After the motor nearly ran out of gas, the rafters drifted for days in the open water. At one point, they hit a powerful storm and nearly drowned.
"I caution everyone not to come by sea," he said, his face still red from the sun.
---
Associated Press writer Michael Weissenstein reported this story in Havana and Christine Armario reported from Miami. AP writers Andrea Rodriguez in Havana, Gonzalo Solano in Quito, Ecuador, and Ciaran Giles in Madrid contributed to this report.
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/10/10/3473074/cuban-migration-surges-over-land.html#storylink=cpy
GreatestLaker
#FirePelinka
Haiti, Dominican Republic to Lead Caribbean Growth in 2014, 2015
http://www.caribjournal.com/2014/10...public-to-lead-caribbean-growth-in-2014-2015/
What’s the Caribbean island with the strongest economic growth?
It’s Hispaniola, home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which are projected to lead the Caribbean in economic growth over the next two years, according to the latest update of the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook report.
In 2014, the Dominican Republic is projected to lead the region with a 5.3 percent increase in GDP, followed by Haiti at 3.8 percent.
In 2015, the Dominican Republic is once again projected to lead the region with a GDP growth rate of 4.2 percent, with Haiti at 3.7 percent. (Guyana is projected to be second in 2015 with a 3.8 percent rate).
That means a two-year average GDP growth of 4.75 percent for the Dominican Republic and 3.75 percent for Haiti, the largest in the region over that period.
The next strongest economies in the region? Guyana and St Kitts andNevis.
Indeed, St Kitts is projected to lead the English-speaking Caribbean in economic growth in 2014 at 3.5 percent.
For the full data from the latest World Economic Outlook, see below.
http://www.caribjournal.com/2014/10...public-to-lead-caribbean-growth-in-2014-2015/
What’s the Caribbean island with the strongest economic growth?
It’s Hispaniola, home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which are projected to lead the Caribbean in economic growth over the next two years, according to the latest update of the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook report.
In 2014, the Dominican Republic is projected to lead the region with a 5.3 percent increase in GDP, followed by Haiti at 3.8 percent.
In 2015, the Dominican Republic is once again projected to lead the region with a GDP growth rate of 4.2 percent, with Haiti at 3.7 percent. (Guyana is projected to be second in 2015 with a 3.8 percent rate).
That means a two-year average GDP growth of 4.75 percent for the Dominican Republic and 3.75 percent for Haiti, the largest in the region over that period.
The next strongest economies in the region? Guyana and St Kitts andNevis.
Indeed, St Kitts is projected to lead the English-speaking Caribbean in economic growth in 2014 at 3.5 percent.
For the full data from the latest World Economic Outlook, see below.
Jamaicans Split On IMF Deal
Published: Monday October 13, 2014 | 5:24 pm0 Comments
KINGSTON, Jamaica:
Jamaicans are split on how good a job the Government did in negotiating the country’s current agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Twenty-nine per cent of respondents to the latest Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll had a favourable opinion of the deal negotiated by the Government.
However, 38 per cent had an unfavourable view of the four-year extended fund facility signed in 2013.
The Bill Johnson poll conducted from September 5 to 7 and from 13 to 14 shows that 17 per cent of respondents said the Government had done a bad job in negotiating the IMF deal while 21 per cent said it had done a very bad job.
Another 21 per cent said the Government had done a good job and 18 per cent said it had done a very good job.
Fifteen per cent said the Government had done neither a good nor bad job in negotiating the IMF deal and 18 per cent said they did not know.
In the meantime, the greatest effects being felt by Jamaican families as a result of conditions of the IMF deal are a rise in the cost of living and rising taxes.
Sixteen per cent of respondents said their family had been affected by rising taxes, 11 per cent pointed to the rising cost of living and 14 said things are getting too expensive and prices are rising.
Another 9 per cent said they have no money and are struggling to survive and 8 per cent said there is no work available.
The other effects reported by Jamaicans are the wage freeze, higher food prices, slipping dollar, inability to buy basic food items and reduced spending power.
The poll had a sampling size of 1,208 and a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent.
Published: Monday October 13, 2014 | 5:24 pm0 Comments
KINGSTON, Jamaica:
Jamaicans are split on how good a job the Government did in negotiating the country’s current agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Twenty-nine per cent of respondents to the latest Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll had a favourable opinion of the deal negotiated by the Government.
However, 38 per cent had an unfavourable view of the four-year extended fund facility signed in 2013.
The Bill Johnson poll conducted from September 5 to 7 and from 13 to 14 shows that 17 per cent of respondents said the Government had done a bad job in negotiating the IMF deal while 21 per cent said it had done a very bad job.
Another 21 per cent said the Government had done a good job and 18 per cent said it had done a very good job.
Fifteen per cent said the Government had done neither a good nor bad job in negotiating the IMF deal and 18 per cent said they did not know.
In the meantime, the greatest effects being felt by Jamaican families as a result of conditions of the IMF deal are a rise in the cost of living and rising taxes.
Sixteen per cent of respondents said their family had been affected by rising taxes, 11 per cent pointed to the rising cost of living and 14 said things are getting too expensive and prices are rising.
Another 9 per cent said they have no money and are struggling to survive and 8 per cent said there is no work available.
The other effects reported by Jamaicans are the wage freeze, higher food prices, slipping dollar, inability to buy basic food items and reduced spending power.
The poll had a sampling size of 1,208 and a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent.
Black Brazilian celebrities reveal their experiences with prejudice and racism
Black Brazilian celebrities reveal their experiences with prejudice and racism
Note from BW of Brazil: Today’s post features six Afro-Brazilians who have carved out names for themselves in music, acting and journalism. Besides all identifying themselves as black, they also all having in common having experienced something based on this classification: racism. Typically, when the topic is race in Brazil, one will hear a typical myriad of excuses that deny the real institutional existence of racial discrimination. After all, in Brazil, racism is always attributed to “some other person”.
A second popular excuse for racism (if its existence is in fact admitted) is that once a black person attains success, they don’t have to worry about this type of discriminationas, in Brazil, prejudice is supposedly, “due to class”. The third idea that is widely believed in Brazil is that pretos and pardos (blacks and browns) should not be joined together as representative of the população negra (black population) because “pardos are not negros.”
Although it is true that there are Brazilians who have more of European-Indian racial mixture in which they may possess little if any African ancestry, the vast majority of Brazil’s pardos DO in fact have African ancestry and this blog’s position has always been, if one’s physical appearance denotes African ancestry, they are also subject to experiencing discrimination based on understandings of race. This is the case whether such a person identifies as black or not. In the cases above, the majority of experiences with actual racism, discriminatory behavior or subjection to race-based stereotypes happened after the persons gained their public fame, which throws the “after attaining success discrimination doesn’t exist” hypothesis out the window (again). In terms of the “pardos are not negros” argument, at least three of the people who recall facing discrimination in the stories below could be defined as “pardas” according to the Brazilian understanding of race or color, but they were all classified as negras when they experienced race-based discriminatory attitudes. Which is what the whole understanding of race is based upon in the first place.
Check their stories below and come to your own conclusions…
Brazilian celebrities who have suffered prejudice
Here are some famous people who have experienced racism.
Courtesy of Celebridades Yahoo
Singer Preta Gil
In March 2011, in an interview on the CQC program, of the Bandeirantes TV network, the deputy (congressman) Jair Bolsonaro responded that he would not discuss “promiscuity” when asked by (singer) Preta Gil on how he would to react if his son dated a black woman. “Lawyer contacted; I’m a black woman, strong woman and I will take it to the end against this racist, homophobic, disgusting, deputy,” the singer wrote on Twitter after the parliamentarian’s response. On the case of the futebol player Daniel Alves (who saw a banana being thrown at him on the field), Preta vented on Facebook: “I was proud of Daniel Alves’s attitude, he gave a banana to prejudice and showed that a monkey has nothing (to do with it). He was very human. I’m seeing the banana movement and respect those who joined because I’m sure that was from the heart. But I’m not a monkey, I have my own opinion, I’m black and proud! Racism is a crime, jail them.”
Singer Thiaguinho
In 2012, singer Thiaguinho was a victim of prejudice in a restaurant. “I went to lunch in a restaurant in shorts, a shirt and flip-flops Restaurant When the valet brought my car and I went to get in, he put his hand in front and didn’t think that could be my car and asked: ‘Are you the owner?’ There’s a veiled prejudice when someone sees a black man with a big car. They soon ask: ‘Is he a player (of futebol) or pagodeiro (pagode musician)?’ In other words, in Brazil a black person can only have money if he has one of these two professions. And they are always asking me if I am player,” he told the Egowebsite.
Actress Taís Araújo
Taís Araújo is now an established actress. But in 2004, when she played Preta in Da Cor do Pecado, the actress, who at the time was dating a white guy vented about prejudice to the site Vírgula: “I suffer a lot. What black doesn’t suffer from prejudice in this country?! My boyfriend is white and he says that it’s not like this, that there is not so much prejudice Only that I say to him: If I ever have a child with you, our son will be black. And there yes you will feel in the skin (first hand) that prejudice. Only feeling it first-hand will you know. It’s hard, but we’re here, struggling, in the struggle,” she said. Araújo also revealed that at age 13, she had auditioned for an ice cream commercial, “but they told me they didn’t want black girls.” The actress thought, “Don’t blacks eat ice cream?”
Journalist Glória Maria
The first black Brazilian TV reporter, Glória Maria, was stopped at the door of a luxury hotel in Rio de Janeiro, early in her career. “I was the first black television reporter. The first to present the 7 o’clock news, the first in command of Fantástico (Globo TV news journal)…But I had to face many barriers and obstacles to achieve things. Everything is harder for a black. You must prove that you are 100 times better. It’s tiring, hard, painful. If you don’t have extraordinary power, you can’t go through it. But I came into the world to fight. I’m a warrior!” the journalist told the Ego website.
Actress Thalma de Freitas
Actress Thalma de Freitas came to be taken to a police station by ‘mistake’ after being approached leaving a friend’s house. “I was stopped in a rude manner, leaving the home of my friend Dani in Vidigal. They searched my purse, found nothing and took me to the police station,” she told the site Quem Online. The police in the case were sued for abuse of authority.
Singer Gaby Amarantos
“When I was a girl, I wanted to do ballet and there was a very traditional ballet school. My mother went there to try to sign me up and ran into a sort of parade of racism. They didn’t allow me to enroll because of being black (1). It was a more elitist school and my mother, in innocence, thought: ‘My daughter wants (this) and I’m going to go there and ask how it is’. I was with her and was a little frustrated with dance because of prejudice. After that, I didn’t want anything else to do with dance. I had that trauma,” singer Gaby Amarantos told Raça Brasil magazine.
Source: Yahoo Celebridades, Ego, Revista Época
Note
1. This experience of being rejected for ballet classes simply due to race was a similar experience as remembered by singer Carona when she thoughts back to one of her first experiences with racism. It seems that in Brazil, ballet/classical dance, like so many other genres is deemed only appropriate for whites.
Black Brazilian celebrities reveal their experiences with prejudice and racism
Note from BW of Brazil: Today’s post features six Afro-Brazilians who have carved out names for themselves in music, acting and journalism. Besides all identifying themselves as black, they also all having in common having experienced something based on this classification: racism. Typically, when the topic is race in Brazil, one will hear a typical myriad of excuses that deny the real institutional existence of racial discrimination. After all, in Brazil, racism is always attributed to “some other person”.
A second popular excuse for racism (if its existence is in fact admitted) is that once a black person attains success, they don’t have to worry about this type of discriminationas, in Brazil, prejudice is supposedly, “due to class”. The third idea that is widely believed in Brazil is that pretos and pardos (blacks and browns) should not be joined together as representative of the população negra (black population) because “pardos are not negros.”
Although it is true that there are Brazilians who have more of European-Indian racial mixture in which they may possess little if any African ancestry, the vast majority of Brazil’s pardos DO in fact have African ancestry and this blog’s position has always been, if one’s physical appearance denotes African ancestry, they are also subject to experiencing discrimination based on understandings of race. This is the case whether such a person identifies as black or not. In the cases above, the majority of experiences with actual racism, discriminatory behavior or subjection to race-based stereotypes happened after the persons gained their public fame, which throws the “after attaining success discrimination doesn’t exist” hypothesis out the window (again). In terms of the “pardos are not negros” argument, at least three of the people who recall facing discrimination in the stories below could be defined as “pardas” according to the Brazilian understanding of race or color, but they were all classified as negras when they experienced race-based discriminatory attitudes. Which is what the whole understanding of race is based upon in the first place.
Check their stories below and come to your own conclusions…
Brazilian celebrities who have suffered prejudice
Here are some famous people who have experienced racism.
Courtesy of Celebridades Yahoo
Singer Preta Gil
In March 2011, in an interview on the CQC program, of the Bandeirantes TV network, the deputy (congressman) Jair Bolsonaro responded that he would not discuss “promiscuity” when asked by (singer) Preta Gil on how he would to react if his son dated a black woman. “Lawyer contacted; I’m a black woman, strong woman and I will take it to the end against this racist, homophobic, disgusting, deputy,” the singer wrote on Twitter after the parliamentarian’s response. On the case of the futebol player Daniel Alves (who saw a banana being thrown at him on the field), Preta vented on Facebook: “I was proud of Daniel Alves’s attitude, he gave a banana to prejudice and showed that a monkey has nothing (to do with it). He was very human. I’m seeing the banana movement and respect those who joined because I’m sure that was from the heart. But I’m not a monkey, I have my own opinion, I’m black and proud! Racism is a crime, jail them.”
Singer Thiaguinho
In 2012, singer Thiaguinho was a victim of prejudice in a restaurant. “I went to lunch in a restaurant in shorts, a shirt and flip-flops Restaurant When the valet brought my car and I went to get in, he put his hand in front and didn’t think that could be my car and asked: ‘Are you the owner?’ There’s a veiled prejudice when someone sees a black man with a big car. They soon ask: ‘Is he a player (of futebol) or pagodeiro (pagode musician)?’ In other words, in Brazil a black person can only have money if he has one of these two professions. And they are always asking me if I am player,” he told the Egowebsite.
Actress Taís Araújo
Taís Araújo is now an established actress. But in 2004, when she played Preta in Da Cor do Pecado, the actress, who at the time was dating a white guy vented about prejudice to the site Vírgula: “I suffer a lot. What black doesn’t suffer from prejudice in this country?! My boyfriend is white and he says that it’s not like this, that there is not so much prejudice Only that I say to him: If I ever have a child with you, our son will be black. And there yes you will feel in the skin (first hand) that prejudice. Only feeling it first-hand will you know. It’s hard, but we’re here, struggling, in the struggle,” she said. Araújo also revealed that at age 13, she had auditioned for an ice cream commercial, “but they told me they didn’t want black girls.” The actress thought, “Don’t blacks eat ice cream?”
Journalist Glória Maria
The first black Brazilian TV reporter, Glória Maria, was stopped at the door of a luxury hotel in Rio de Janeiro, early in her career. “I was the first black television reporter. The first to present the 7 o’clock news, the first in command of Fantástico (Globo TV news journal)…But I had to face many barriers and obstacles to achieve things. Everything is harder for a black. You must prove that you are 100 times better. It’s tiring, hard, painful. If you don’t have extraordinary power, you can’t go through it. But I came into the world to fight. I’m a warrior!” the journalist told the Ego website.
Actress Thalma de Freitas
Actress Thalma de Freitas came to be taken to a police station by ‘mistake’ after being approached leaving a friend’s house. “I was stopped in a rude manner, leaving the home of my friend Dani in Vidigal. They searched my purse, found nothing and took me to the police station,” she told the site Quem Online. The police in the case were sued for abuse of authority.
Singer Gaby Amarantos
“When I was a girl, I wanted to do ballet and there was a very traditional ballet school. My mother went there to try to sign me up and ran into a sort of parade of racism. They didn’t allow me to enroll because of being black (1). It was a more elitist school and my mother, in innocence, thought: ‘My daughter wants (this) and I’m going to go there and ask how it is’. I was with her and was a little frustrated with dance because of prejudice. After that, I didn’t want anything else to do with dance. I had that trauma,” singer Gaby Amarantos told Raça Brasil magazine.
Source: Yahoo Celebridades, Ego, Revista Época
Note
1. This experience of being rejected for ballet classes simply due to race was a similar experience as remembered by singer Carona when she thoughts back to one of her first experiences with racism. It seems that in Brazil, ballet/classical dance, like so many other genres is deemed only appropriate for whites.
Growing Trinidad’s Internet Economy
October 10, 2014 | 9:46 pm |Print
By Gerard Best
CJ Contributor
The recent establishment of an Internet exchange point (IXP) in Trinidad and Tobago is a necessary step in strengthening the country’s local Internet economy. But it is not enough, says Bevil Wooding, Internet Strategist with Packet Clearing House (PCH).
“The launch of the local internet exchange point, TTIX, is definitely a positive step for internet users and in the development of the Trinidad and Tobago internet economy. However, the launch of an IX is not enough to guarantee its success,” Wooding said, speaking with the T&T Guardian after taking part in a panel discussion on IXPs as part of the Internet Society’s (ISOC) INET TT Forum, hosted by the Telecommunications Authority (TATT) on October 8 and 9.
“Now that the task of getting the local IX up and running is over, focus must shift immediately to the development of local applications and content to take advantage of the availability of a local exchange point.”
PCH has been involved the development of more than two-thirds of the world’s IXPs, and Wooding has been actively involved in IXP deployments across the region. To be truly successful, he said, exchange points have to have a clear plan for attracting local and international content providers and encouraging local Internet innovation to take advantage of the local exchange.
“Deliberate steps must now be taken to encourage local organizations to build local apps, create local content and deploy local services. A new set of local stakeholders must now be mobilized to steward the process of translating the promise of a local IX into the reality of a local Internet economy.”
The four-member INET TT panel discussion highlighted the urgent need for significant upgrades to critical Internet infrastructure across the region. It included Internet Society (ISOC) representatives Jane Coffin and Christian O’Flaherty, who emphasised the importance of IXPs globally in improving the resilience, efficiency and security of local networks.
Setting up an IXP is not technically difficult and is not necessarily costly, Coffin said, but it does require collaboration and cooperation, at times among parties who are otherwise competing in the same market.
In the audience were dozens of regional and local technology experts gathered at the TATT office in Barataria for the two-day forum, which was also broadcast globally to a live streaming audience online.
Called INET TT, the event brought together private sector representatives, government officials, academic researchers and members of the local and international technical community. Present were delegates from the regional Internet registry for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACNIC), the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and the T&T Network Information Centre (TTNIC).
The fourth speaker on the INET TT panel on IXPs was Kurleigh Prescod, vice president of network services at Columbus Communications Trinidad. Prescod, who is the chairman of T&T’s recently launched IXP, shared perspectives from his personal experience of working with colleagues from competing ISPs to set up the local exchange point.
Called TTIX, the new IXP brought together seven of the country’s Internet service providers (ISPs): Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago, Digicel, Massy Communications, Open Telecom, Greendot, Lisa Communications and Flow.
“TTIX is a limited liability company formed by all existing Internet service providers in Trinidad and Tobago,” said Cris Seecharan, TATT CEO. He described the TTIX launch as “one of TATT’s major contributions to the country’s Internet landscape.”
The next step, he said, was to work with TTIX in seeking to establish a root server for the IXP.
Vashty Maharaj, an official from the ministry of science and technology delivering remarks on behalf of the minister, described IXPs as “a vital part of the Internet ecosystem.”
“TTIX is intended to make the exchange of local traffic more cost effective and contribute to the development of a robust domestic ICT sector,” she said.
The ministry applauded the ISPs for working with TATT to bring better and more affordable broadband Internet connectivity to all local Internet users.
“We want our people to experience all of the social and economic benefits of becoming active participants in the digital society and economy,” she said.
The ministry applauded the ISPs for working with TATT to bring better and more affordable broadband Internet connectivity to all local Internet users.
There are over 350 IXPs around the world, of which nine are in the Caribbean. Among the territories in the region actively engaged in setting up IXPs are Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
October 10, 2014 | 9:46 pm |Print
By Gerard Best
CJ Contributor
The recent establishment of an Internet exchange point (IXP) in Trinidad and Tobago is a necessary step in strengthening the country’s local Internet economy. But it is not enough, says Bevil Wooding, Internet Strategist with Packet Clearing House (PCH).
“The launch of the local internet exchange point, TTIX, is definitely a positive step for internet users and in the development of the Trinidad and Tobago internet economy. However, the launch of an IX is not enough to guarantee its success,” Wooding said, speaking with the T&T Guardian after taking part in a panel discussion on IXPs as part of the Internet Society’s (ISOC) INET TT Forum, hosted by the Telecommunications Authority (TATT) on October 8 and 9.
“Now that the task of getting the local IX up and running is over, focus must shift immediately to the development of local applications and content to take advantage of the availability of a local exchange point.”
PCH has been involved the development of more than two-thirds of the world’s IXPs, and Wooding has been actively involved in IXP deployments across the region. To be truly successful, he said, exchange points have to have a clear plan for attracting local and international content providers and encouraging local Internet innovation to take advantage of the local exchange.
“Deliberate steps must now be taken to encourage local organizations to build local apps, create local content and deploy local services. A new set of local stakeholders must now be mobilized to steward the process of translating the promise of a local IX into the reality of a local Internet economy.”
The four-member INET TT panel discussion highlighted the urgent need for significant upgrades to critical Internet infrastructure across the region. It included Internet Society (ISOC) representatives Jane Coffin and Christian O’Flaherty, who emphasised the importance of IXPs globally in improving the resilience, efficiency and security of local networks.
Setting up an IXP is not technically difficult and is not necessarily costly, Coffin said, but it does require collaboration and cooperation, at times among parties who are otherwise competing in the same market.
In the audience were dozens of regional and local technology experts gathered at the TATT office in Barataria for the two-day forum, which was also broadcast globally to a live streaming audience online.
Called INET TT, the event brought together private sector representatives, government officials, academic researchers and members of the local and international technical community. Present were delegates from the regional Internet registry for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACNIC), the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and the T&T Network Information Centre (TTNIC).
The fourth speaker on the INET TT panel on IXPs was Kurleigh Prescod, vice president of network services at Columbus Communications Trinidad. Prescod, who is the chairman of T&T’s recently launched IXP, shared perspectives from his personal experience of working with colleagues from competing ISPs to set up the local exchange point.
Called TTIX, the new IXP brought together seven of the country’s Internet service providers (ISPs): Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago, Digicel, Massy Communications, Open Telecom, Greendot, Lisa Communications and Flow.
“TTIX is a limited liability company formed by all existing Internet service providers in Trinidad and Tobago,” said Cris Seecharan, TATT CEO. He described the TTIX launch as “one of TATT’s major contributions to the country’s Internet landscape.”
The next step, he said, was to work with TTIX in seeking to establish a root server for the IXP.
Vashty Maharaj, an official from the ministry of science and technology delivering remarks on behalf of the minister, described IXPs as “a vital part of the Internet ecosystem.”
“TTIX is intended to make the exchange of local traffic more cost effective and contribute to the development of a robust domestic ICT sector,” she said.
The ministry applauded the ISPs for working with TATT to bring better and more affordable broadband Internet connectivity to all local Internet users.
“We want our people to experience all of the social and economic benefits of becoming active participants in the digital society and economy,” she said.
The ministry applauded the ISPs for working with TATT to bring better and more affordable broadband Internet connectivity to all local Internet users.
There are over 350 IXPs around the world, of which nine are in the Caribbean. Among the territories in the region actively engaged in setting up IXPs are Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Haitians Are the Most Employed Immigrants in Brazil
10/13/2014 - 09H15
Fabio Braga/Folhapress
Haitians became the foreign nationality with the largest presence in the Brazilian formal labor market
Haitians became the foreign nationality with the largest presence in the Brazilian formal labor market.
Data from the Ministry of Labor obtained exclusively by Folha show that the number of these immigrants grew 17 times between 2011 and 2013.
With groups from other countries, especially those from the African continent, they created a new wave of immigration in Brazil, which came to be seen, in recent years, as the "land of opportunity."
Arrivals in the country intensified after the 2009 financial crisis, which hit major economies, like those in the United States and Europe.
Unaffected then, the Brazilian market has emerged as a solution for foreigners seeking employment. The 2010 earthquake in Haiti helped boost this movement.
In two years, the number of immigrants in Brazil grew 50%, a rapid increase not seen since the beginning of the century, when Europeans arrived to work on plantations and in industries in the country.
The president of the National Immigration Council (of the ministry), Paulo Sérgio de Almeida, says that by 2007, the strongest immigration flux was Brazilians going abroad. There were also regional migrations.
"After the crisis, the movement was characterized by foreigners from countries and continents that were not traditional here - Haitians, Asians, Africans - in search of a better life."
Issues such as high unemployment and political, ethnic and cultural conflicts make Haitians and Africans - the two groups with the highest growth in immigration - leave their origins to begin a new life.
TRAINING AND OCCUPATION
While these groups tend to have less training than Europeans, it is not difficult to find among them people with education in technical courses, undergraduate degrees, and even graduate degrees.
This is because to leave their countries, these immigrants had to pay a considerable amount for visas, tickets or coyotes, which makes it difficult for the lower class to migrate.
"Not everyone has US$ 3,000 just to get here. For us it is extremely expensive," says Cameroonian Nuykang Mirabel Bejacha, 32.
With undergraduate degrees in anthropology and sociology and a graduate degree in marketing, today she works as a kitchen assistant.
As the process to validate diplomas can take years and cost thousands of reais, immigrants like Bejacha end up working low-skill and low-paying jobs.
According to the Ministry of Labor, the sector that hires the most Haitians is the industrial, followed by the service industry. There is no data available about Africans.
Father Paolo Parise, director of the Center for Migration Studies, highlights work in restaurants and buffets, as well as in construction and cleaning, as the most offered to immigrants.
Translated by JILL LANGLOIS
Read the article in the original language
10/13/2014 - 09H15
Fabio Braga/Folhapress
Haitians became the foreign nationality with the largest presence in the Brazilian formal labor market
Haitians became the foreign nationality with the largest presence in the Brazilian formal labor market.
Data from the Ministry of Labor obtained exclusively by Folha show that the number of these immigrants grew 17 times between 2011 and 2013.
With groups from other countries, especially those from the African continent, they created a new wave of immigration in Brazil, which came to be seen, in recent years, as the "land of opportunity."
Arrivals in the country intensified after the 2009 financial crisis, which hit major economies, like those in the United States and Europe.
Unaffected then, the Brazilian market has emerged as a solution for foreigners seeking employment. The 2010 earthquake in Haiti helped boost this movement.
In two years, the number of immigrants in Brazil grew 50%, a rapid increase not seen since the beginning of the century, when Europeans arrived to work on plantations and in industries in the country.
The president of the National Immigration Council (of the ministry), Paulo Sérgio de Almeida, says that by 2007, the strongest immigration flux was Brazilians going abroad. There were also regional migrations.
"After the crisis, the movement was characterized by foreigners from countries and continents that were not traditional here - Haitians, Asians, Africans - in search of a better life."
Issues such as high unemployment and political, ethnic and cultural conflicts make Haitians and Africans - the two groups with the highest growth in immigration - leave their origins to begin a new life.
TRAINING AND OCCUPATION
While these groups tend to have less training than Europeans, it is not difficult to find among them people with education in technical courses, undergraduate degrees, and even graduate degrees.
This is because to leave their countries, these immigrants had to pay a considerable amount for visas, tickets or coyotes, which makes it difficult for the lower class to migrate.
"Not everyone has US$ 3,000 just to get here. For us it is extremely expensive," says Cameroonian Nuykang Mirabel Bejacha, 32.
With undergraduate degrees in anthropology and sociology and a graduate degree in marketing, today she works as a kitchen assistant.
As the process to validate diplomas can take years and cost thousands of reais, immigrants like Bejacha end up working low-skill and low-paying jobs.
According to the Ministry of Labor, the sector that hires the most Haitians is the industrial, followed by the service industry. There is no data available about Africans.
Father Paolo Parise, director of the Center for Migration Studies, highlights work in restaurants and buffets, as well as in construction and cleaning, as the most offered to immigrants.
Translated by JILL LANGLOIS
Read the article in the original language
Fabio Braga/Folhapress