The free crossing
Brazil is rich with African heritage — and a new wave of immigrants are spicing up the pot, writes Stephen Timm
The victory over apartheid and how it was resolved, many don’t know about it
BRAZIL is often seen as a racial paradise, with a spectrum of colours mixing freely. Yet despite having the world’s second largest black population after Nigeria, the land of samba has long neglected its African roots.
Descendants of the four million slaves brought to Brazil until the late 19th century make up just over half of the country’s population. African cultural traces are everywhere: in food, dance, music, language and the warmth of the country’s social life.
But despite helping shape the country’s culture, most black Brazilians remain at the bottom of the social ladder. Aside from football stars and musicians, few rise in business or politics. Many Brazilians continue to view Africa as a backward continent of little worth — but things began to change when President Lula da Silva, the country’s second president of African descent, took office in 2003.
Black Brazilians applaud the various measures that Lula implemented — such as obligating schools to teach African history, encouraging student exchanges with Africa and setting aside 20% of places at federal universities for Afro-Brazilians.
And a rising number of Africans are crossing the Atlantic to make Brazil home. In São Paulo it is now common to hear French, or to pass Nigerian restaurants. Between 2000 and 2012 the number of African legal immigrants rose from 1 000 a year to 32 000, with most hailing from Angola and Cabo Verde, followed by Nigeria. About 65% of refugees are African.
Cameroonian Melanito Biyouha first arrived in 2003 as a tourist, to visit her family in Brasilia, but was so taken by Brazil that she decided to stay and open a restaurant. She now runs Biyou’Z restaurant, serving dishes from six different African countries, in central São Paulo.
In the neighbourhood of Liberdade, a number of Africans gather around the parish of Our Lady of Peace where the church runs an organisation to assist refugees. Father Antenor Dalla Vecchia says the view of some Brazilians that Africans will take their jobs is misplaced, as despite the ebbing economy there is strong demand for manual labour.
And the lot of black Brazilians is changing, believes Saddo Ag Almouloud, a Malian academic who has lived for decades in Brazil.
When he first arrived to take up a post as a maths professor in São Paulo, his was the only black face among the university staff, but he says since Lula’s presidency he has gained several Afro-Brazilian colleagues.
But Ag Almouloud says many Brazilians still have an image of Africa as a place of misery. “The victory over apartheid and how it was resolved, many don’t know about it.”
He backs Lula’s university quotas and a plan to reserve 20% of all posts in the federal government for black Brazilians. “I think it’s a pity but it’s the only way to change the perceptions. Even if you are a black person who is more qualified, a white person who has less experience will get the position.”
Even among Brazilians with 12 years or more of schooling, whites still earn 32% more than black Brazilians. Among the richest 1% of Brazilians, blacks number just 16%.
But Eduardo Ramos, an Afro-Brazilian who works with Biyouha on cultural events, remains positive, citing the number of talented Africans that her restaurant has hosted.
“In the time that I have known Melanito it has been enough to see that she is on a one way against this (outlook),” says Ramos. “Today we have a generation of black business owners in São Paulo. It’s a minority, but things are changing.” LS