From the buzzing backdrop of samba and the bustling crowd that fill the vibrant beaches of Rio de Janeiro to the silently cascading white streams and the slippery rocks of the waterfalls in the Amazon Rainforest, Brazil is home to more than six million people and five thousand municipalities that share a common yet complex identity. The two distinctions and perceptions of identity, national and regional and positive and negative, are crafted through culture and tradition as they are extremely prevalent in the everyday of lives of Brazilians. Not only are Brazilians distinguished by their geographical and political identity grounded in nationalism and humanitarian distinctions, they also exhibit a complex regional identity that is rooted in
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As noted in the Brazilian Jeitinho: An Exercise in National Identity, the jeitinho is a “homogenizing category that defines millions of people” and “brings together numerous distinctions under a single rubric that locates Brazilians on a broader international scene” (Barbosa). The jeitinho, a way of accomplishing something by circumventing rules or social convention, distinguish Brazilians because of its strong emphasis on human emotions rather than institutional ones. Unlike Americans who tend to be “cold, inflexible, and unemotional”, Brazilians express “the cordial, warm, and human spirit of a country that is young and full of possibilities” (Barbosa). While the jeitinho unites millions of Brazilians based on their common ideology that places a strong emphasis on the “natural aspects of social reality”, there is also a strong presence of regional identity in Brazil that is shaped by social disciplines like race and tangible distinctions like food (Barbosa). Not only does the type of food Brazilians consume signify their geographic and cultural connections but also their socioeconomic status. Along with that, eating is a “social act so what you eat and with whom you eat can mark the kind of person you are” (Fajans). The difference in the food between varies regions and
As noted in the Brazilian Jeitinho: An Exercise in National Identity, the jeitinho is a “homogenizing category that defines millions of people” and “brings together numerous distinctions under a single rubric that locates Brazilians on a broader international scene” (Barbosa). The jeitinho, a way of accomplishing something by circumventing rules or social convention, distinguish Brazilians because of its strong emphasis on human emotions rather than institutional ones. Unlike Americans who tend to be “cold, inflexible, and unemotional”, Brazilians express “the cordial, warm, and human spirit of a country that is young and full of possibilities” (Barbosa). While the jeitinho unites millions of Brazilians based on their common ideology that places a strong emphasis on the “natural aspects of social reality”, there is also a strong presence of regional identity in Brazil that is shaped by social disciplines like race and tangible distinctions like food (Barbosa). Not only does the type of food Brazilians consume signify their geographic and cultural connections but also their socioeconomic status. Along with that, eating is a “social act so what you eat and with whom you eat can mark the kind of person you are” (Fajans). The difference in the food between varies regions and