Essential Afro-Latino/ Caribbean Current Events

[Poitier]

After having her second child, Tais Araujo shows her sexy side; actress set to return to TV alongside her actor husband with Whom she is celebrating a 10 year union


Actress Tais Araujo with husband, actor Lázaro Ramos

Note from BW of Brazil : Actress Tais Araujo Has Been a frequent feature over the years here on the blog. And for good reason. The woman remains stunning, has a long list of firsts under her belt, is one of the most prominent African-Brazilians in the medium and is married to another top black actor Lázaro Ramos, with Whom she is celebrating 10 years of union. This union has recently produced the couple's second child and to top all of que off, the couple will Appear together again onscreen in another television series! Needless to say, things are set to take off for Thais once again! Now 36, the actress stunned many When She returned to her pre-pregancy shape only months after giving birth for the second time. Perhaps in celebration of this, the actress posed for Also a number of sexy photos que que shows she is the alluring she was the first When She Appeared onscreen!

Lucky in life

By Antonio Trigo

Tais Araujo is back. At 36, the mother of two, snaps: "Without this poor thing(victimism) I am black, I am aware of the country where I was born "

Not Long Ago, Tais Araujo avoided looking sexy. But que was changing, and has changed. The actress, who had Overcome prejudice since she was catapulted to fame at age 17 on the defunct Headline TV, embodying Xica da Silva (1996), she has become a strong, confident woman. And she agreed to do the first shoot of her sexy career.Although believing que the focus on sexuality can be cruel. "I love to look like amulherão (bombshell) but only being que is unfair, "she says.



When she went to TV Globo, she embodied minor roles to emerge the star in The color of sin (Of The color of sin) (2004) and later would play a villain in snakes and lizards (lizards and snakes) (2006). Despite the success and buzz around her, she was not used to being on the cover of magazines. "I was winning my space with diplomacy; and without this thing of poor thing (victimism). I am black, I had consciousness of the country where I was born, "she says.

It was only que Then she did the favorite (the favorite) (2008) que she started to have a permanent place on the covers of magazines and newspaper supplements, overcoming the myth que dark-skinned artists lower circulation figures. Still, for a long time, being on the cover was not enough to be Thais, it was Necessary to have at her side phrases linked to social inclusion, overcoming. There was a magazine que even thinned her nose - "pathetic," she recalls.

Black Helena

When, in 2009, she was called to play one of author Manoel Carlos' Helenas in Living Life , she won the medium once again. It was an event: it would be the first character of her life That Could Also be Performed by a white actress. But the negative criticism she faced During her debut threw her self-esteem on the ground.

Taís Suffered, cried and interviews canceled, but today she assimilates que Helena was not a fiasco - and is still one of her most memorable characters. "I had a critical limitation at the team. I was the fragile an actress, I had never been machine-gunned. I thought my career would end. "With que episode, she learned que not every protagonist is a good choice. She Decided to rebuild who she would like to be - and to Began, Among other things, produce theater.


Lázaro Ramos and Tais Araujo will Appear in the upcoming series'Mr. Brau '

In September, she returns to TV in the comedy series Mr. Brau , where she performs with her husband, Lázaro Ramos. She plays the popular singer; she, a mix of wife, dancer and entrepreneur. In October, the two debut in São Paulo to play in the top of the mountain (The top of the mountain), Which recreates the last day of Martin Luther King's life. In film, she has just completed pitcher of Thieves , directed by Caito Ortiz, about the theft of Jules Rimet's cup , and prepares to shoot Empreguetes , the consequence of the success of the novel (soap opera) Charming Flood (2012).


Lázaro Ramos and wife Tais Araujo in the coming series "Mister Brau '

Lazarus cam into her life 11 years in August She says she trembled on the day he sent her flowers, while still engaged to another man. "I returned the flowers and ended my engagement. I did everything right for us to start. And Lazarus Believed que I was the right woman, "she laughs. The two went through the separation of eight months in 2008. Gata (a hot woman), thin and young, she says she enjoyed acting crazy. Meaning, she tried. For this period, an amateur, she managed to snag a fleeting courtship of three months. "It was a childhood friend and I regret having lost this friendship," she laments.The gap was important for her and Lazarus to Recognize the love They felt for each other. The two went back and since then They have had what she defines the normal marriage, Those in which "no one is happy all the team."


Tais Araujo and Lázaro Ramos arriving at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro in 2010 to see the concert of American singer Beyoncé

The two complement each other. "I think I expresso a lightness to him, and he expresso me density." Lazarus, she says, has lost his apprehensiveness of television and she plunged deeper into his world. And he proceeded to give more attention to the issue of blackness, with a consciousness que she had not had When She Was younger. On the endless discussion of political correctness, she positions herself favorably to Certain limits. "The joke in Which the only one who laughed is one who Told it and makes other cry, is not funny," she says. "Of course there are things que border on distaste, but if you go to the center of the issue, you'll see it's all prejudice; the same story about the controversy of Monteiro Lobato to being racist or not . "


African-Brazilians continues to be a rarity on Brazilian magazine covers, but Taís is one of the most popular choices

Taís Argues que author of the site Woody Woodpecker Yellow- was a man of his team.She does not think the treatment que the author casette to the Anastasia Tia (Aunt Anastasia) character was normal but Believes que, if it Were today, he would not call her a monkey (monkey). "Because we would not allow it; I am a woman of my time, full of the criticism of his team. "The Thais engaged thinks that" Brazil has started to stop lying That It has no prejudice and is learning to deal with the matter. "


After giving birth to her second child, Taís quickly regained her shape and Decided to pose for a series of photos showing her sexy side

The mother of John Vincent, 4, and Maria Antonia, 6 months, she says que motherhood expresso down many of her cliches. Including the one of Which she is 100% happy with her children. "You feel helpless, afraid of failing to protect Them." Maria Antonia does not even know, but she may perhaps be the main reason for the "corpão" (great body) que moment her mother displays in this pictorial. Prevented from breastfeeding her daughter, because of antibiotics que she had to take as soon as she was born, Taís almost Became depressed. "But I made lemonade out of lemons; I recovered, I was working out, dieting, "she says. "Age made me appreciate having an ass and hate being skinny. But I think that ", for a little while, poses for another picture," it must be really great being hot(hot) at 40, "she laughs.

Photographer shows Tais Araujo and Lázaro Ramos ten years ago

Photo was published in photographer Jorge Bishop's Instagram on Thursday, August 13 .


Tais Araujo and Lázaro Ramos in picture posted by photographer Jorge Bishop

By Lais Gomes

Lázaro Ramos and Tais Araujo Appeared brand new and in a photo published on Thursday, 13, in the photographer Jorge Bishop's Instagram. At the click, one will notice que the couple has hardly changed. The actress appears with the long straight hair and pigtail, embraced by her, until Then boyfriend, Lazaro Ramos.



The couple Has Been together for ten years between comings and goings. They Were married for two and a half years, separated and resumed in 2008. Currently They are parents of João Vicente and Antonia.

Source: Ego , Trip Magazine

 

[BigMan]

oh lawd

 

[Poitier]

Here is her, AA blogger, site about living in Salvador (no title)

 

[newworldafro]

Thats the only time, they are allowed to show themselves.

¿qué coño dices

Was this a real concert with Erykah Badu and Jill Scott?
Hotep Brazilian chicks are

 

[newworldafro]

Brazilian protesters call for President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment - BBC News

Brazilian protesters call for President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment

• 17 August 2015
  
• From the sectionLatin America & Caribbean

Thousands gathered at the famous Copacabana beach in Rio calling for the president to step down
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in protests across Brazil calling for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.

Support for Ms Rousseff has fallen to single-digit figures in recent polls.

Many voters have accused her of failing to stamp out corruption and blame her for the economy's worst slump in 25 years.

Marchers took over Copacabana beach in Rio and also demonstrated outside congress in the capital Brasilia.

Many wore the yellow shirts of the Brazilian football team, and sang the national anthem, carrying banners saying "Dilma Out".

About 350,000 people took part in protests in Sao Paulo, police say.

Another 25,000 people took part in a demonstration in the capital, Brasilia.


The national day of action is the third major protest against Ms Rousseff and her left-wing Workers' Part this year. Hundreds of thousands took part in demonstrations in March and April.

"We want things to change and if the people don't go in the street that's impossible," said retired engineer Elino Alves de Moraes, who joined the march in Brasilia.

Ms Rousseff is less than a year into her second term as president.

There have also been demonstrations in recent months showing support for the embattled leader, with many claiming calls for her impeachment amount to a coup attempt.




Analysis: Wyre Davies, BBC News, Sao Paulo
People took to the streets to demand the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, even though the perceived mood across the country in recent days has been one of reconciliation. There's been an acceptance that to remove a democratically elected president might do more harm than good.

Overwhelmingly white and middle class, the protesters in Sao Paulo were having none of that argument. In generally jovial mood, they condemned the ruling Workers Party for its role in the corruption scandal surrounding Petrobras.

Ms Rousseff may have more to worry about further down the line, if Brazil's economy continues to decline after a decade of growth.

If inflation creeps above 10% and the economy goes into recession, that could alienate not only the privileged protesters of Sao Paulo, but her own working class base.

Read more from Wyre


Anti-government protesters say Ms Rouseff must have known about a corruption scandal in the state oil firm, Petrobras, as alleged bribery took place when she was head of the company.

She was exonerated in an investigation by the attorney general and denies involvement. However, several senior members of her government have been implicated.

Government austerity measures are also hugely unpopular with the electorate, correspondents say, as are rising unemployment and inflation rates.

A survey by the Brazilian company Datafolha showed support for Ms Rousseff's impeachment was strongest in the poorest areas, which backed her in the last election.

 

[newworldafro]

Ecuador’s new virtual currency is a source of pride, worry

Ecuador’s new virtual currency is a source of pride, worry

1 of 2
Jaime Rojas shows off his mobile phone, which he uses as wallet for virtual currency in Ecuador. The Andean country recently became the only nation in the world to roll out its own government-backed e-money. JIM WYSS Miami Herald staff
BY JIM WYSS

jwyss@MiamiHerald.com


QUITO, ECUADOR
Jaime Rojas keeps his antiquated cellphone on the dashboard of his taxi. He can’t use it to play games or check Facebook, but his “dumb phone” has recently become a powerful tool: He can use it to buy gas, receive fares and send money to family.

Mobile banking has been around for a decade, but this tiny Andean nation recently became the first country in the world to create its own virtual currency. Unlike Bitcoin, Ripple or Peercoin — crypto-currencies with no central bank backing — Ecuador’s dinero electrónico is legal tender, trading alongside the U.S. dollar, which has been the official currency since 2000.

Authorities say the mobile money scheme is a way to offer financial services to those in remote areas where banks are scarce and to help jump-start small businesses. Skeptics, however, fear the system opens up a backdoor for the cash-strapped administration to shed the restrictions of its dollarized economy and, just perhaps, “print” its own digital currency.

Rojas, 55, is among the 47,456 people who have opened mobile accounts since the system went live in December. He says he primarily uses it to buy gas. And while he rarely encounters customers with e-money, he’s grateful when he does.

“This way you don’t have to struggle to find the exact change,” he said, as he plowed his yellow cab down a busy street. “And it’s safer than carrying cash — because of the risk of getting robbed and all that business.”

The government’s control of the virtual currency market (all others are illegal, including Bitcoin) has its advantages. Within a few minutes, anyone with a cellphone on any carrier can open up a mobile account — and money can be added at any bank or other registered outlet.

Growth in the system, however, has been slow. There’s only $645,669 worth of digital cash in circulation and less than 1 percent of the country’s 17 million cellphones are registered to the service, according to Central Bank figures.

Dual Currency?
But it’s the potential for government abuse that worries many.

While mobile money is commonplace throughout Africa and in countries like Haiti and Paraguay, “this is the first time that [electronic money] has been created as a monopoly by a state,” said Abelardo Pachano, who was the head of Ecuador’s Central Bank on two occasions. “In the event that its use becomes widespread, it could generate profound distortions and call into question the viability of our monetary system.”

On the surface, the innovation seems benign: To receive a digital dollar, a customer has to turn in a physical greenback. But Pachano and others worry that the central bank has too much leeway over the use of those physical dollars, including financing the national debt by buying government bonds.

“That initial liquidity that backs the whole system could be turned into non-liquid assets that could cause economic problems under certain circumstances,” he said. In short, if e-money became widespread, and there was ever a mass rush to redeem the currency, it could collapse the system.

Others imagine a future where the indebted administration begins paying public salaries or servicing domestic debt in virtual currency — essentially pumping new, unsupported money into the market and fueling inflation.

Ecuador’s Central Bank insists that safeguards are in place and that no such moves are in the works.

Sucre death
Even so, there are historical reasons to worry about Ecuador’s money. After seeing soaring inflation and the collapse of the sucrecurrency in the 1990s, then-President Jamil Mahuad took the drastic decision of dollarizing the economy on Jan. 9, 2000. The currency switch was brutal as people saw their life savings evaporate overnight and Mahuad was toppled just weeks later. But it also helped turn the economy around. In 2000, inflation topped 90 percent, but by the following year it had dropped to 22 percent and has been in the single digits ever since.

The stability helped spur investment and led to solid growth. But using a foreign currency means that monetary policy is set in Washington, not in Quito.

President Rafael Correa, a U.S.-trained economist who has embraced Venezuelan-style 21st century socialism, has bristled under the dollar. In his 2009 book, Ecuador: From Banana Republic to No Republic, he wrote a chapter called “Ecuador’s Monetary Suicide,” in which he equated dollarization with “going backward” and adopting the restrictive gold standard, which the United States abandoned in 1933.

“It seems like dollarization is a type of Latin-American machismo applied to monetary policy,” he wrote. “You eliminate the national currency and you’re forced to compete or die.”

Correa blames the recent dollar appreciation and falling oil prices for sapping $2 billion worth of exports during the first quarter. But he’s also admitted that the costs associated with abandoning the buck would be “catastrophic.”

Not everyone believes that the president is unwilling to make the leap. Simon Pachano, a political analyst with the Latin American Faculty for Social Sciences in Quito, worries that the virtual money may be Correa’s stealth route back to a national currency.

“Correa has always wanted to abandon the dollar,” he said. “For him it’s an aberration. It bothers him to be the president of a dollarized country.”

Political backlash?
In a sense, one of the biggest drawbacks of Ecuador’s system is the government backing, said Lindsay Lehr, a mobile money expert and the senior director of Americas Market Intelligence.

In countries where mobile money is offered by the private sector, it’s often seen as a much-needed solution. In Paraguay, 17 percent of all cellphone users also have mobile money accounts, and in Haiti 15 percent are in the system, according to Americas Market Intelligence data.

In Ecuador “since it is the government behind it, it’s receiving a lot of opposition, criticism and cynicism,” she said from her offices in San Francisco. There’s the perception that “the government has ulterior motives or that it’s a political play — which very well may be true.”

Almost nine years into his administration, Correa has been facing demonstrations over his economic policies and his belligerent attitude toward the opposition. In this environment, almost all of his proposals, including e-money, are facing a backlash. On Thursday, labor groups, indigenous organizations and the opposition are planning to begin a national strike asking for reforms.

So even as Ecuador continues to expand the system (users will be able to pay utility bills and bus fares soon) it’s unclear whether people are ready to embrace the initiative.

Rojas, the cab driver, says he’s proud to be an e-money pioneer, but he also recognizes its limits.

“I know old taxi drivers who don’t even have a mobile phone so they’re never going to use this system,” he said. “But I hope it does catch on.”


Read more here: Ecuador’s new virtual currency is a source of pride, worry

 

[Poitier]

Was this a real concert with Erykah Badu and Jill Scott?
Hotep Brazilian chicks are

yeah

 

[newworldafro]

Not sure if these technologies that can 3-D print homes is the right or wrong way to go about this, since that is taking work from people

Latin American governments fail to tackle booming urban slums: report

Latin American governments fail to tackle booming urban slums: report
BY ANASTASIA MOLONEY


BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Latin America's booming urban slums look set to continue their rapid expansion as government housing policies fail to tackle an explosion in informal housing, legal experts said on Monday.

Some 113 million people across the continent -- or nearly one in five people -- live in sprawling slums which are fuelling inequality and social exclusion, they said in a report.

"State policies on housing -- even those enshrined in the region's constitutions -- have not been able to respond to the rise of urban populations...," the study said.

Mass migration from rural to urban areas from the 1950s onwards means 80 percent of Latin America's population of around 600 million now live in cities -- a higher number than in any other region in the world.

The report examines housing legislation and policy in 11 countries, including Latin America's largest economies -- Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Argentina.

It found most countries had laws and constitutions that recognized the right to adequate housing, but huge gaps remained in ensuring poor families got access to homes, housing credit and secure land tenure rights.

Across Latin America, poor neighborhoods crammed with shacks built using bricks, scrap metal and wood, and often perched precariously on hillsides, are a common feature of the urban landscape.

"The housing market hasn't been able to cover the needs of marginalized populations in informal settlements, which has produced social exclusion and a segregation of the rich and poor," said Luis Bonilla of TECHO, a non-governmental organization tackling poverty in slums, which commissioned the report.

About 50 million new homes are needed to address the region's housing shortage, according to the United Nations.

Insecure land tenure and the lack of formal property deeds mean millions risk eviction from their homes both in slums and elsewhere to make way for development projects, the report said.

"Forced eviction seems to be a daily reality for hundreds of communities in Latin America," it added.



DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The study was produced by lawyers from seven international legal firms, technology company Hewlett-Packard and TECHO, and was facilitated by TrustLaw, the pro bono service of the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The global challenge to provide adequate housing is highlighted in the United Nations new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will replace the Millennium Development Goals this year.

One of the goals is to "upgrade slums" and ensure everyone has access to adequate, safe and affordable housing with basic services, such as water.

TECHO says creating affordable and adequate housing would help reduce the region's high levels of inequality.

Progress has been made in building new homes for low-income families in countries like Chile, Colombia and Venezuela, often by providing government subsidies and low-interest loans, Bonilla said.

But having a home often does not lead to other basic rights. "A house in itself doesn't guarantee living a life with dignity," Bonilla told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview from Santiago.

He said regional governments need to do much more to ensure people living in slum areas play a greater role in decisions about how their cities are planned and built.

"Without this, a lack of a sense of belonging will continue, as will inequality and development that bypasses slum areas," Bonilla said.

"Public policy on housing is too often just seen as something that facilitates the process of getting a home. It needs to go beyond that and develop the idea that people have the right to a city, the right to access education, health services, public transport, surrounding their homes."

 

[Poitier]

 

[Poitier]

Joice Mayara de Oliveira Silva, from the state of Tocantins, and the daughter of rural workers is sworn in as a Public Defender



Note from BW of Brazil: Sometimes it's amazing how team flies. We were made aware of this young lady's accomplishment When the news first broke a few months back. But the this site is dedicated to the race-related news from Brazil and Brazilian black women, other stories pushed her story to the back burner. Every week que went by this writer thought, "it's time to put her story up" but something else Then cam up.Today I definitely Decided to post her story and digging up the article I Realized it happened back in February! Wow! Oh well. In a sense it does not really matter; it may be six months after the fact but it's still a story worth sharing. Anyway, congratulations to Joice Mayara de Oliveira Silva, another black Brazilian woman that's doing her thing and showing que black woman's "place" is wherever she chooses it to be!

Young daughter of rural workers is sworn in as a Public Defender

Courtesy of AF News


Joice Mayara de Oliveira Silva, 25, is the new Public Defender of the state of Tocantins

"Being the Public Defender is the realization of a dream, even more so in my state," said the excited Tocantins native Joice Mayara de Oliveira Silva, 25, from the of Porto Nacional, During the swearing-in ceremony the Substitute Public Defender of Tocantins, held in Friday, January 30 th, in the Superior Council of the Institution room in Palmas.

Accompanied by parents Jose Luis and Maria Dilma, her brothers José Augusto and Deyla Jordana and family, Joice Oliveira Thanked her family for Their support, and the reception of the Public Servants and Defenders of the institution. "I want to Contribute to the growth of Public Defense in the state if Tocantins que Has Been highlighted throughout Brazil, always cited the one of the top five Public Defenders in the country."



The new Public Defender says que she has fed this dream since she was seven years old, motivated by an uncle who works in the area cool. "Since childhood I Have Been interested in the area. At the time in Which the edict was published, I was in the tenth period of college and this same uncle saw it and I recommended que register. I signed up and Studied a lot because it was my dream and it was my state. My mother cheered me on from the beginning and always Believed it would work out, Mainly because it would be a way to return home. I worked out and now I'm back. "


State of Tocantins (in green)

Joice Oliveira is the daughter of rural workers and moved to Rio de Janeiro to study at the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences of Ibmec through Prouni - University for All Program (University for All Program). "This is a very happy and great moment for our family. We know all the Difficulties we face and we are sure That You will not stop here, the this is the beginning of a very successful career, "said Deyla Jordana, sister of the Public Defender.

The Public Defender of Tocantins state has 112 public defenders working to Ensure access to justice, full and free, with humanized service and quality, to the entire population Tocantins. Starting Monday, February 2, Joice Oliveira will act in the municipality of Goiatins.



"The inauguration of a new member is a moment of reflection and joy. Each worker who enters the Public Defense is an energy que Renews and strengthens us in the mission of bringing the legal assistance to Those in need. Our struggle the Public Defenders is not easy. Being the Public Defender is a vocation. Our institution is distinguished by humane care and, of course, it's this vocational activity of the members que makes us one of the largest Public Defenders of Brazil. Welcome and I hope que the Public Defender is a second home for you, "said the general public advocate, Marlon Amorim.

The president of ADPETO - Association of Public Defenders of Tocantins State, public advocate Fabio Monteiro congratulated Joice Oliveira for her approval in the competition, highlighting the advances of the Public Defender in recent years. "Your Excellency enters in a different institution than I and other members que entered in 2007. We now have a stronger and more active institution, Nationally Recognized and I am sure you will Also Contribute to strengthening the Public Defender's Office," said the president.

Participation

The ceremony was Also Attended by the sub-defender of the general public, Alexander Augustus Elias El Zayek, the superintendent of Finance, Luciene Dantas, of Public Defenders and Servants.

Source: PA News

Joice Mayara de Oliveira Silva, from the state of Tocantins, and the daughter of rural workers is sworn in as a Public Defender

 

[BigMan]

Joyce Oliveira you say

 

[Poitier]

For black women, just taking to streets is already a form of resistance: Black females talk about 'curly', kinky / curly hair


Note from BW of Brazil: Walk around any number of Brazilian cities across the country and something is sure to strike you about the Afro-Brazilian population.Nowadays, black Brazilians can be seen rockin 'a wide variety of hairstyles que many would not have dared to wear just a few decades August We see huge afros from the kinkiest to the curly loosely, to dreadlocks and braids to bald heads and fades, sometimes in a variety of colors. African hair textures just a short Time Ago Were the source of the shame most women automatically straightened Their hair with a variety of methods and many men kept Their hair cropped very close to avoid being targets ofracist jokes hair. We will not attempt to pass off the idea que every Brazilian of African descent is visible wearing natural hair styles loud and proud because the we've repeatedly shown, Brazil's ultra Eurocentric standard of beauty still reigns supreme and millions of African descent (African descendants ) still desire to be accepted According to this standard. But collegues so many men and women are wearing Their natural hair as a sign of resistance or acknowledgment of black beauty shows que black consciousness campaigns throughout the country Have Been more than a little success.

The right to Their bodies: women talk about Their curly (kinky / curly hair)

Paula Lima, Tássia Reis, MC Soffia and Lucia Udemezue, of the Manifesto Crespo, tell stories que represent a large part of black women

By João Vieira

"We Go Out in the street and it's already resistance." The phrase was spoken by singer Tássia Reis, one of the women heard by the report by Earth and Summarizes accuratelywhat it is being black in Brazil. With 53% of more than 200 million Brazilians, fouled being the majority, the black population Suffers daily with the eyes of society as a whole, Especially When deciding Whether to insert Themselves Into Their Own culture.

The biggest symbol of this, Most Likely, being Their hair. Still being Discussed - in a timid and isolated way, it's true - in scenes of soaps (soap operas) such as Babylon, thecrisp visual passe makes the black women in particular an easy target of prejudice. It was like this for decades, and it's like this today. The similarity between the life stories of Tássia and MC Soffia, the rapper who's only 11 years old, Reflects this theory. "I consider the school the worst place for a curly girl (curly / kinky-haired girl). It's very cruel. And on the street too, Among Friends, "says Tássia. "The pressure of the society made me straighten, because at school the girls Were saying que my hair was hard, bad steel wool(hard, bad, brillo pad), These Things. So, in order not to be made fun of by the whole the school, I asked to straighten my hair, because we suffer a lot there, "says Soffia.

The report Gathered testimonies of four women, one of Whom, Lucia Udemezue Represents the collective Manifesto Crespo, of different ages and opinions. Paula Lima, MC Soffia, Tássia Kings, Lucy and the Manifesto tell Their stories, Which reflect the reality of many black women and show que the discussion of curly hair is beyond fashion.

Paula Lima, 44

Have you already straightened your hair?

Yes, I've straightened it. As a child I straightened my hair, I used creams, my mother straightened it with cream. I had a comb, curling iron (flattening iron), the relaxer, everything. I've wore the maria chiquinha (pigtails), the ponytail, shoulder length, Ultimately. I think every woman likes to experiment, right? And They also always have other references, and one moment you paint it, Ultimately. So I straightened, yes, I tried it all.

Why did you straighten it?

I think it was a tradition almost. It was easier to care for, and I think aesthetically it was more common. The mother put a lot of cream in the children's hair, and straightened because Could she make the cut. I think it had a facility for my mother herself to deal with the hair. It was unusual to see natural hair. I do not remember my age kids with natural curly hair, the chemical, the today we see a lot. And it's very cool que today there is freedom and respect because we know que there is this diversity because of the mixture of races.

When did you stop straightening?

Look, in truth, I used the board (hair flattening iron) for a long time. It Was Then que I Began to braid it because I thought it was stylish and I saw the movie with Angela Bassett in Which she had thick braids, and I fell in love with Them. Then I wore braids for years, only que water I liked a lot. So When I Took vacation and went to Bahia, I relaxed my hair and left the it had to be. And that's what happened, because I remember que at the team I did (talent reality show) Idols, And Then Came back from vacation and was about to braid my hair again. But I was adapting myself because people started to compliment me so much que I Began to see myself in the mirror another way as well.

Hair the affirmation?

It's funny. I never thought of my hair in this sense of affirmation, because I was born Knowing I was black, my hair was curly and it had all the rights que any other person [has]. So I never carried the flag because que to me has always Been something natural.

Tássia Kings 25



Have you ever straightened?

When I was a child my mother did not put any chemicals (in my hair) until a Certain Age. After a while, she Began to use the relaxer que loosens the curls, so to speak, so That It was "easier" to comb. And Then I braided it, I always had braids. I never wore the straight texture. Always the curly texture, but for a time it had chemicals, yes.

Did you suffer much prejudice as a child?

I think all black women of this country [Suffered from it], right? And that's why I used chemicals, relaxers, trying to get nearer to the standard que is imposed on everybody, and I was ashamed. I did not want to be made fun of. Then I wore it tied down, I wore braids, and get like the "stylish" and not the ones of neguinha hard hair (hard haired little black girl). I never ran away from the stereotype. This in school because I consider the school the worst place for a curly girl. It's very cruel. And on the street too Among Friends. I remember one time I went out on the street, even my mother had used one of These relaxers, but the hair was still quite thick, And Then I went out on the street feeling wonderful, and Within two minutes They Began to make fun of me and I went home to tie down my hair. I just wanted to be accepted.

What is the importance of the black woman wearing her natural hair?

I think more important than wearing her natural hair, it is she Understands que quecurly hair is not bad. And I'm talking about curly hair like mine, you know? I'm not talking about the curly hair (curly hair) que appears on TV because They handsome que hair the limit of curly hair and acceptable for television and society. It is very important que que she knows that's the root of it, her identity. In Brazil, Especially, the not accept our roots are and all the team we are saying que other things with this myth of social equality, not Respecting our differences. So from the moment I know I'm wonderful, I do not need to straighten my hair, make my nose thinner and stop being who I am to be accepted, because I do not need to be accepted, I have to like me , because it's all right.And if I want to straighten my hair after que, okay, it's my choice. Because the problem is not black women straightening Their hair, the problem is society straightening her hair. The black aesthetic is political. We go out on the street and it's already resistance, for nothing, with a closed mouth, walking down the street.

MC Soffia 11



Have you thought of straightening?

I've already straightened my hair when i was little. The pressure of society made me straighten, because at school the girls Were saying que my hair was hard (hard), bad(bad), steel wool (brillo pad), These Things. Then, not to be made fun of all over the school, I asked to straighten my hair, because we suffer a lot there. But now my mother takes me to black women's events with beautiful hair, like mine, And Then I did not want to straighten anymore and if someone insults me, I'm gonna care, right? But I already even have a response to give.

Have you Suffered physical abuse at school?

No. They called me hard hair (hard hair) These things really. But They only insulted me, They did not mess with my hair, or beat me.

What made you affirm yourself with your hair?

My songs because I sing a lot of songs about natural hair. And what I went through I do not want other children to suffer as well. Because most of the times it's not the child who wants straighten, it's the family que wants (this) and the pressure at school, because They insult her. Then I give the music to the kids who have hair black (african) Encourage Them to Their Own and wear hair.

Have you influenced your friends?

I think so, right? Because at school there Were some girls with tied down, straightened hair, that had beautiful curly hair, but They Were straightening, And They started Began wearing it natural When They heard my music and the things I Talked to Them about These meetings I went to with my mother.

Lucia Udemezue, of the Manifesto Crespo



Who is the Manifesto Crespo?

Our work grew out of discussions on the various issues of the Afro-Brazilian universe cultural, its artistic and aesthetic productions, searching to Recognize its value and strengthen the memory and self-esteem of black women in the fight for the redeeming of our origins - since Brazil has the largest population Originating from the African Diaspora. We have as a central focus the discussion on how curly hair can and shouldnt be viewed 'in a creative way, making it so the idea que que there is bad hair (bad hair) demystified.

What are the achievements of the collective?

There's an example que happened at SESC. Nowadays, cultural and educational spaces like SESC strengthen this opportunity to talk about identity, body and curly hair quite a bit through braid and turbans workshops. Even with some resistance to the topic by some education professionals the return of our activities is always very positive to it is a space to demystify this black body, this hair always called bad and difficult. We always receive messages from people who empower and opened Themselves ventures beauty from our workshop and we now have a different view on the "standards of beauty." This issue of braids, of learning to braid hair.

Is there even greater prejudice against que hair is really curly (kinky)?

I think there is but this prejudice with kinkier hair, with this question of relaxing.[Relaxing] is a way of straightening, is not it? So I think there is still an issue to be resolved with this type of hair. There's a very curious story I saw this week, that in the United States They even divided the curly hair into categories. Then mine, Which is kinkier, would like to C4, and yours to C2. So there is, yes, it's a barrier.



Curly Hair: fashion or a political act?

Wow, this is Difficult (laughs). It may be fashionable; it can be a political act. The important thing is the person que, the woman Mainly, has the right to her body, you know? That's what matters. What she'll do next, Whether on the aesthetic side or more linked to the political manifesto, it's an option, the issue is having the right to the body.She has to have the right to use straighten and wear it natural too, and can not have to be "accepted" by the concept of beauty created by society.

In addition to Lucia, the Manifesto has Denna Hill, nenis Vieira, Nina Vieira and Thays Tables.


Manifesto Crespo

Trouble finding a specialized salon

In conversation for this report, Paula feels Reported difficulty finding a salon que knows how to deal with curly hair, Which makes her even opt for home treatment. "I've gone to the salon to moisturize my hair and left (with it) drier than when i went. So I have to turn around, I'm experiencing, I'm changing, and it seems to have worked out by the compliments I get (laughs), "she said.

To clarify this aesthetic side, Terra tried to contact the Institute Natural Beauty, even coming to submit questions to the company, but did not get responses before the publication of this report.

Source: Earth Beauty

For black women, just taking to streets is already a form of resistance: Black females talk about 'cabelo crespo', kinky/curly hair

 

[Malta]

You are beautiful, the color of your skin is beautiful, and your hair is beautiful, understand?

 

[MaxBundles]

Guyana: CIA Meddling, Race Riots and a Phantom Death Squad

You Guyanese breh?

 

[Kitsch]

You Guyanese breh?

No, one of my closest friends is.