brazzilrace.com

[opesllc]

I'm an african american male, and I must say that I have been really entertained by this forum. I was really interested in the idea of brazilian women dating and marrying african american men, because i want to marry a nice brazilian girl. I'm not really into the whole look thing, as much as I am into personality. I'm only 23 years old, and I think that I can sum the whole thing up into a few simple statements. First, there has been many people to say that brazilians have nothing to do with african american men. That maybe true, but it could also mean that the women aren't interested in those TYPES of men. You see, brazilians are multicultural, and color represents many things. It's true that most dark brazilians are poor. Just as most african americans. Eevery woman wants a man that can take care of her in all ways. They want to have equal opportunities in life. When a white american man visits Bahia, his nation of origin is obvious. Brazilians view americans as intelligent people. A white american is obviously an american, therefore there's a good chance that he is intelligent. That's why it is so easy for white american men to find beautiful brown brazilians. The question is how are african americans conducting ourselves in brazil? Are we walking around horny like we're in a snoop dog video? This could be why they don't date black american men. White men, who conduct themselves with class, are finding good women.

Secondly, women are women. Each woman is different and has differant likes and dislikes. Learn to speak the language and you can find what each woman likes and dislikes. Yes, there is racism in brazil, but I live in Mobile Alabama, and if I can attract blonde hair, blue eyed white girls here, I'm sure I can attract a brazilian. The problem is that we try to categorize the 180million people in brazil into two categories. This is just obsurd! They may look differant than our women, but they're still women. You have to date them, to know them. In brazil, it doesn't matter what type of car you drive, or how many diamonds you own, or how BLACK you are, what type of person you are matters the most. A woman who is looking for a good man, is looking for that...A GOOD MAN! In Brazil, your intelligence is the most valuable. The fact is that as far as looks go, american men have nothing on brazilian men. Brazilian women can find a light skinned man anywhere in brazil, but what they can't find is "american intelligence". Brazilian women want nice and faithful men. If you smile and take time to know them, more african american men can find brazilians to marry.

Lastly, THE WOMAN HAS TO BE LOOKING FOR A MAN!!! Singles sites and corospondance agencies are good for meeting women who are LOOKING for men. Racism exist, but you can't make anyone stop being racists. People have to grow and learn on their own. So my advice to black men is this; brazilains don't go for what african american women go for. They don't see themselves as black, so the "my sista" line doesn't work. Yes, they see color, but you have to have something inside of you that has value. This is what Brazilian women want. I've meet a really sweet brazilian woman online, and I have to say that she doesn't care one bit of my color! But, she IS LOOKING FOR A MAN!!!

[Macunaima]

Well, Brazilian/American singles sites are notorious for the number of prostitutes that can be found on them working the boyfriend market.

So be very careful.

Otherwise an interesting post.

I think prospects, attitude and assimilation are much more important in finding a Brazilian GF who's worth anything as marriage material. If you have good prospects (not necessarily a lot of cash), are a reasonably nice guy, speak Portuguese and have taken the time to learn abit about Brazilian histories and cultures, you should have no big problem, whatever your color.
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Brazil is the country of the future and always will be!

[opesllc]

Thanks.
I agree with you. I try to express the importance of learning to speak the language of the locals. If you can speak the language, then you can take the time to talk to the women and get to know them. It's easier to spot a prostitute if you are able to verbally communicate with her. I've come across lots of american women who are out to use men, and I've found that it's easier to spot if you take your time in entering into a relationship. It's also a must to learn the culture of the brazilian people. Being an african american, most of my freinds are african american, and the have the idea that you can just go to brazil with your pants down, and watch the ladies flock to you. It jus kinda makes me upset to see that type of ignorance from anyone! But at least the are MORE white americans going to brazil with good intentions. I just feel that we as young african americans need to understand the culture more. One of my buddies even thought that brazil was a muslim country!

[AllBahianGirl]

I'm a 45 year old African American woman living in California who has been studying Brazil and Afro-Brazilian culture especially since 1977 after reading an article in Essence magazine. Unfortunately a lot of African Americans do NOT read and refuse to get out of their little box. That is great that you are looking for a Brazilian soulmate. A good book to read by a young African American man who visited Brazil and found his Brazilian soulmate is "Therezinha" by Kevin Allen. You can order it on Amazon books. My good sistah friend who took me to Bahia in 2003 and whose Dad is retiring to Bahia next month is trying to get African Americans to invest in property in Bahia and finally we are catching on that Bahia is a good place to be. I'd like to meet myself one of those fine,sexy Bahianos that I saw while in Bahia but I am sorely lacking in Portuguese. I have a Brazilian boyfriend here in the States but he's kind of flaky so I'm looking to move on. Continue in your study of Brazil it's culture and people and Oludumare bless you in your search for your Brazilian wife. Ache!!!

[Macunaima]

I also suggest you read Eugene Robinson's "From Coal to Cream". Robinson is a black American journalist and the book chronicles his ambivalent engagement with Brazil. Thought provoking for black readers is what this white boy would say.
_________________
Brazil is the country of the future and always will be!

[opesllc]

Thank you guys for giving me some books to read, because I'm really into reading and writing. I've actually written and self published my own book.

I did a little reading up on Coal to Cream, and I must say that is has sparked my interest. I plan to give it a read today.

I know that racism and poverty exist throughout the entire world, and that there is a large majority of people of color dancing on the poverty line.
I was born into a "lower" class family. I've experienced the pains of lacking money can bring. I grew up in a neighborhood made up of about 99.8% african americans, and our living conditions were not the best but we could've been in an even worse situation. So I thank God for that.
I went to an elementary and middle school that was about 90% black, but my high school years were completely different. The kids in my neighborhood were forced to go to a high school that was far from our area, and the school was about 95% white. Many of the people that I grew up with couldn't adjust the drastic change in look. It WAS kinda hard being the only black in your classes. By my sophmore year, I'd learned that not all whites were racist...as a matter of fact, MOST weren't. I'd learned that many whites just don't know how to take black people. It's like it was strange for them to be around blacks because they'd never had to before. (This is in Alabama) I adjusted very well. My mom was strict on our grades and she wanted to make sure that we did well in school, and we did. I read a lot and studied hard, then I realized something...racism is based on lies and preconceived notions about people because of their color. You see, racism isn't something that you're born with, it's something that we learn. When my white classmates realized that I was making better grades than most people in my classes, they respected me. They knew that they couldn't out smart me or out think me. I quickly made friends with lots of white kids. Don't get me wrong, I knew that there was still LOTS of racist people in our school, but I was smart enough to know that racism is a battle of the mind.
When a person can make you think about how much they hate you, and not about how smart you are, they've won the battle. I've seen many of my black classmates get kicked out of school for fighting someone that may have said an out-of-the way comment to them. I wasn't going down that road.
When I first started my publishing company, I found that many whites were willing to help me get off of the ground. Some weren't, but I chose to focus on those that would. To them it wasn't a problem that I dressed very neatly and used correct grammer. (This is something that my parents instilled in me) These people saw that I wasn't the what they thought young black men to be. I was professional.
This leads me to my theory about black brazilians. I know that the majority of black brazilians are poor, but we have to adress them as poor BRAZILIANS not poor black brazilians. Their society is different than ours and we have to respect that. One thing that I learned growing up was to look at people that had what I didn't, and figure out how they got it. With that mind frame, I've learned that the only thing that seperates the rich from the poor in america, is the lack of knowledge. When you KNOW something, you KNOW that it is true. I knew that I could make it, and I've found that I can. If we as black americans want to teach black brazilians anything, we should show them that they can make it, but it just might take leaving brazil. We have to show them that we understand where they are comming from, but we have to realize that we can't talk to them as "blacks" but as people. When they see that we are compassionate but not trying to exploit them or make them see themselves as something else, we gain their trust. I try to help all people, not just blacks. When I'm giving advice to a white person, I don't change it for them...I just tell them the truth. That's one of the reasons that I'm not happy with rap artist going to brazil. When they go, they should go with a positive attitude that is willing to create opportunities for these poor brazilians, not exploit their women and their culture. I want to go to brazil as a positive person that understands brazilians as people. We need more positive black americans going to brazil, not people who are going to make porn and money. Let's be examples of what they could be as successful people. If we understand the culture, we can give back to the culture. Let's not change them as people. Poor brazilians have more unity than poor african americans, so we shouldn't contaminate that with music of hatred, violence and doing anything to get a dollar. Brazil has many possibilities, and lets help them make these possibilities a reality by loving them for who they are. Not what we can take from them.
I want a nice brazilian girl becasue I'm a person with lots of love and knowledge to give, and there are a large number of nice humble brazilian girls searching for a real relationship.

[AllBahianGirl]

What I and 11 other African Americans observed while staying in Bahia was that the Afro-Brazilians are NOT poor in spirit. The love and sense of community that they displayed amongst each other was like nothing I've seen amongst African Americans here in the states. The Bahians have a true love of self and a love of Divinity that is the reason why Bahians living abroad long to return to Bahia and it makes visitors want to stay. I,myself grew up in a middle class home,the product of two parents who were both college educated. My generation was the first generation to actually benefit from the Civil rights struggles of the 50's and 60's and my Mom having a master's degree in education encouraged both my sister and I to read. I especially liked reading Essence magazine while in my teens. A lot of African Americans would do well to read more and to expand themselves and not disparage other Blacks who choose not to indulge in negative,self-destructive behaviors.

[opesllc]

I agree completely, I've noticed that brazilians are NOT poor in spirit. They're just poor financially. What I was saying (before I got all wordy)
is that we can help them financially but we shouldn't try to get them to want american wealth becasue it could destroy the pure joy and love of brazilians. I also understand that there are some brazilians who are so poverty stricken that the want out of brazil, and if that's the case they should be able to pursue that desire. I think that well-off black americans can start buying property and business in brazil, to create opportunity for growth for a people who's forgotten by their government. I don't think that people should try to turn brazil into america, I just think that everyone should at least have a telephone. Those shantytowns are just painful to see.

[Macunaima]

"Not poor in spirit" seems to me to be just a pretty way of saying "Well, they don't have a pot to piss in, but they're nice people."
_________________
Brazil is the country of the future and always will be!

[opesllc]

You can say that if you will, but I live here in mobile alabama and we were hit hard by hurricane katrina. After that hurricane no one had electricity and most people's food spoiled. No grocery store had food and we had to wait in lines for 6,7 and 8 hours for gas, water and ice. If you slept in your home, you would wake up in the middle of the night hotter than a columbian mule. Most people slept in their cars if the had enough gas to run the air conditioner. It was extremely hot, and any inclosed home would easily get to 98 degrees or so, not to mention the humidity. After a few days, some fastfood restaraunts finally got some food and you would have to wait in a drive-through line of about 75 or 80 cars.
Many people couldn't live in their homes because they had 300 year old oak trees lying in the middle of their homes.
I'm saying this because we only had to live this way for a couple of weeks, and people were NOT in a good mood. Lacking luxaries can cause people to easily loose their cool. Those poor people in brazil live in a country that obviously has a few wealthy people, and a larger number of people that are doing okay. They see that there is a better life than what they're living, but they're not killing eachother like poor african americans are. There are some people who rob tourist, but for the most part, if you're not flaunting your wealth, they won't mess with you. Poor people in american ghettos are killing eachother for the heck of it. Trust me, I've seen it first-hand. What we're saying is that poor brazilians don't use poverty as an excuse to hate EACHOTHER. Killing and hating eachother isn't going to solve their problem. I just wish that we'll understand that in urban america. If people will listen to you, it's easier to show and explain things. If you don't believe me, go to the roughest ghetto in new york, los angeles, miami or what was new orleans, and I promise you that you people won't listen to anything you have to say. At least poor brazilians are receptive to gaining friends from other countries. (if you're friendly to them) If you take that friendliness to the ghettos of america, the first look that you'll get is the "what tha hell does this mutha f*cka want" look.

[opesllc]

I had to step out for a second, but let me continue....

Poor in spirit doesn't mean that you're angry and mean, and not poor in spirit doesn't mean they're really nice people. There are many upper-middle class white kids commiting suicide. There are many poor black americans that wouldn't take tourism in their city too well. When we say that brazilians aren't poor in spirit, we're saying that though they're poor, they still laugh and party with eachother without violence. They don't use their poverty as a reason to walk around killing eachother. They're poor but they'll respect you for the person that you are, no matter how much money you have. I was in Beverly Hills, and they're REALLY poor in spirit. My ex-girlfriend and I were eating lunch at the grand lux cafe' in beverly hills, and the people were looking at us all strange and cold. People can be "really nice" as you say, and still hate your guts. People who are not poor in spirit allow you to be you, and they value the PERSON. The spirit is the true person, your body is just the representative of your spirit. You can smile in my face, talk about me behind my back. Though you smile, your spirit is that jerk that whispers about people. When you're rich in your spirit, it allows you to WANT to get to know people. [/b]

[Player 13]

The problem is capitalism and America is perhaps the most capitalist in culture. I think it's easier to be poor in Brazil than in the US. In a dog-eat-dog world there is suffering.

The best favela in Brazil is Rocinha. It's has the largest community and it gets a lot of help too.

http://www.vivafavela.com.br/
http://www.rocinhaproject.com/facts.html
http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/cotidiano/ult95u92894.shtml

[Macunaima]

Opeslc, I really hope you don't take this wrong, because I am not trying to be offensive (and if you'd know my rep here, you'd realize that that's hard for me), but...

It seems to me that you are engaged in a very typical American way of thinking, just a black variant thereof. You are projecting onto Brazil what you feel your current culture lacks the most.

Everytime I hear an American make the comments you're making about Brazil, I think of that old Onion poin/counterpoint: "Nigeria May Be A Developing Nation, But It Is Rich In Culture" (by Zach Spence, University of Vermont junior) vs. "Get Me Out Of This Godforsaken Hellhole" (by Bitek Okoye (Nigeruian). http://www.theonion.com/content/node/34159

I understand what you're trying to say. You're trying to say that in spite of poverty and endless bullshit, most Brazilians keep their cool and try not to kill their fellow man, though sorely tempted to do so many times daily. And you think this is admirable. But without intending to, what you're saying comes off sounding patronizing because, frankly, you don't have to live here and if you did, like most gringos, you'd probably quickly have a less enchanted view of this country.

And forgive me, but here I am, listening to the news about this week's football violence. One man with three fingers ripped off. Across the valley, over in Santo Amaro, grenades have been going off all night. One of my wife's students got beaten to death in a motel last month, probably because he was gay and picked up the wrong guy. When I hear you marveling over the fact that in spite of all this kind of shit, Brazilians are still by God good people who reject violence... Well... Forgive me a third time, but it sounds an awful lot like a white American talking about how the ghetto has so much soul.

I think what you're trying to get at is something best expressed in a song by Wilson Moreira, who's widely known as one of Brazil's best self-consciously black composers. The song is called "Procure ser gente" (which has two meanings "try to be a people" and "try to act like a real person") and it's dedicated to black and poor Brazilians in general. Here's a rough translation...

I hope one day
I'll see you win
But you just don't seem to be able
You don't try to grow
Everything in life depends on us alone
When the starting whistle blows
It's best to come out in the lead

It's raining
Come, bring in the clothes
Get out the canoe
'Cause today it's going to flood
Look out for that puddle there
Pull up your pants
Extend a hand to the young woman
So she can hop over without getting wet

Look out for the mud, people!
Be careful of that hole
Grab onto the canoe '
Cause today it's going to flood

Look at that no-account negro
Lazing about
Not carrying his part
Come work in the quilombo
Show your fiber
Show you're good and competent

Negro, make me happy
Try to be a real person [try to be a people]
The orgy's over
Negro, wake up to life
Quit lazing about
Show that you're clever

(Hard to translate "nêgo", btw. It's a slang term for "negro", but non offensive - whites can use it to. In fact, we use it generally for people of some degree of intimacy with us, no matter their color. It certainly isn't "black man" - perhaps a cross between "dude" and "negro" the way some educated black Americans use the word, ironically, when they say "Negro, pleez!". So I translated it as "negro".)
_________________
Brazil is the country of the future and always will be!

[opesllc]

You didn't offend me in any way, I enjoy insightful information. You did COMPLETELY misunderstand me though. When whites talk about the american ghettos in that way, they're trying to say that help is NOT needed, so it makes them sleep better at night. When people speak that way about the different nations in africa, they're meaning the same thing.
If you tried to understand what I was saying to allbahiagirl, you would've realized that she and I were having a conversation about brazilians who leave brazil, and want to return after a few years becasue they miss their culture, which, is a statement that SHE made. If you read my statements completly, you would've noticed that I made a remark about helping brazilians who want to leave brazil to leave brazil. I know that may sound like a pipe dream, but it's happened a lot in miami. I also made a statement about the people who seem to love brazil, to help the poor people in brazil develope. It just so happen that I was talking to another african american about other african americans that visit brazil. Allbahiagirl mentioned on another forum that she wished that the wealthy black americans, who act as if they care so much about the boor blacks in brazil, to buy property and commercial real estate in brazil. In essence, we know the brazilian government has forgotten the poor in brazil, and we were discussing ways to help. I understand that you've seen the first-hand the violence in brazil, but we weren't saying that that there was NO violence in brazil. That's just retarded! Our conversation was about hiphop artist promoting violence in their music, and how they go to brazil to do videos and make porn, but they come back to the sates and talk about how much they love brazil. We were promoting positive people going to brazil, but respecting it's culture. It's funny how you missed the entire conversation and pulled out one statement to criticize. I'm going to ask you a question...what type of mind should americans have towards poor brazilians? I want to help, but SHOULD I want to help???
This has nothing to do with the fact that I like nice brazilian women, because I also like Dominicans and Hondourians. But this is a brazilian forum, so I respected the subject matter by commenting on my problems with african americans and brazilains because brazil's culture is completely different than those other two countries.

[opesllc]

Read my third post on this page, and tell me what you get from it.