One week ago, I boarded a flight from Boston to São Paulo. While on the plane, I thought about how I wanted to write about the nine weeks I was about to spend in South America. Between watching Dune and listening to the music on the plane's media player, I decided that I would do the following: come up with a question at the beginning of the week (at the latest), and then write my answer as a blog entry at the end of the week. I will thus start the series' inaugural blog entry by answering the question in its title, and then sharing more about my first week in Brazil.
Some time ago, I decided that I wanted my main souvenir from Brazil to be a pair of Havaianas slippers. I knew the brand as a kid growing up in the Philippines and even owned a pair. To me, back then, they were fancy and came from some faraway country on the other side of the world. Since I always like to have a pair of flip flops to wear around the house or the beach, I knew I had to get myself a pair from Brazil. Last Wednesday, after looking up the closest stores to our apartment-hotel near Avenida Paulista, we found one at Cidade São Paulo shopping center. I made a beeline to the store and found a pair that spoke to me right away.
I checked the rest of the store just in case, but none appealed to me as much as that first one. Once I made my decision, the saleslady brought me to a display case and asked me to select pins to customize my pair. I was delighted to see a pug, which I obviously picked. I also pointed to the anchor, not knowing how to say it in Portuguese, to which the saleslady told me "ancora." While she poked holes in the slippers to attach the two pins, I noticed the Brazilian flag pin. Making sure on Google Translate that the word "bandeira" was correct and my Spanish-speaking brain was not forcing a cognate on me, I told her I wanted to add it. The saleslady said, "aww!" and added the flag next to the pug.
Anyone who knows me can probably see why the colors and illustration on the slippers drew me in. What's more, though, I learned that the slippers were part of a collection called "Quebrada Cria," through which Havaianas commissioned three artists from favelas to create art for the brand. 7% of the profits would go to an organization called Gerando Falcões, an NGO that helps people living in favelas through network-building, economic development, education, and access to jobs and technology. The artist who created the design on my slippers is Suellen Rodrigues, who stated that through her art, she wanted to show that favelas are more than the "violent" and "precarious" neighborhoods that they are often perceived to be; they are communities with talent, heart, abundance, knowledge, and humanity (translation from the article my own). I loved knowing who created the art in my new pair of slippers and immediately gave her a follow on Instagram.
While it's great that the initiative uplifts artists and gives them an opportunity to work with an international brand, I can't help but reflect a little. Considering that I wrote an anthropology thesis on life in so-called "informal" settlements in Bolivia, I have a lot of thoughts on segregation and inequality in cities. As a result of the field work I conducted for this thesis and other things I've experienced while traveling, I am a little wary of NGOs and humanitarian initiatives. I wholeheartedly support the artist in her endeavors and in her sense of pride in where she is from–I think being proud of one's heritage and community is so important. But at what point does that lead into more privileged outsiders romanticizing a community that does not have access to the services that wealthier Brazilians enjoy? Is there anything that such outsiders can do, other than be aware that favelas are full of humanity and heart, like any other community? What is raising awareness without action? What role can art play in fostering a solidarity that results in positive change for all?
I do acknowledge the privilege that I have, especially growing up in a wealthier social class in the Philippines and being solidly middle class in the United States. As always, I hope to use this privilege in service of creating a more equitable world for all, whatever that may take. In the meantime, I will enjoy my slippers and continue to search for opportunities to support artists.
With that food for thought, let's rewind to my first few days in Brazil!
Once James and I arrived in São Paulo, we took an Uber around an hour north to a town called Bragança Paulista. There, we met up with my friend Vivi, whom I first met in 2012 when we were both exchange students in France. We hadn't seen each other in ten years, but it was like nothing had changed.
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| Babies!! - Vivi and me the last time we saw each other at St-Hilaire-de-Riez, France, in June 2013 |
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| Vivi and me in Bragança Paulista, June 2023! |
While in Bragança, James and I spent time with Vivi and her partner Gabriel. We had an amazing time accompanying them on their activities and getting to know the countryside towns they called home. We listened to music and heard a variety of songs translated into Portuguese from English, and one that was probably originally Brazilian Portuguese, but which I had heard in Spanish before. This delighted me, considering I have a whole playlist on YouTube dedicated to songs that exist in different languages. The latest additions from this past week are up now!
Now that you have an idea of what we heard, check out the pictures below for what we saw.
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| James, me, Vivi, and Gabriel at the lake in Bragança Paulista, where a lot of people like to spend the time to get some fresh air, exercise, or sit at a bar or restaurant |
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| Driving through the hilly countryside |
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| Vivi's parents' house, decorated for a typical Brazilian party called a festa junina and Bobby the dog |
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| Bobby and Fred checking out something outside 🤔 |
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| Fred and me |
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| Cali, the cat who adopted Vivi and Gabriel, claiming their car |
James and I learned a lot from Vivi and Gabriel, from amusing cultural references to bigger picture insights. One such cultural reference is the video below:
Apparently, this video about a fruit salad-carrying motorcyclist named James made the rounds recently. Vivi and Gabriel told us that every so often, a new name will become "viral" because of a meme or funny video, and people will make references to it in everyday conversation. Lucky for James, his name was big in Brazil when we arrived thanks to this hilarious video! Needless to say, I will be yelling "OI JAMES EU QUERO UMA SALADA DE FRUTA" around the house now.
Since Vivi works in HR as an international recruiter for her company, she had a lot to share about how American labor laws compare to Brazilian ones. When we last met at the age of 17 we obviously did not share an interest in people's working conditions, but I was so happy to see that our political ideologies have evolved in the same direction. From the little that she has been exposed to American laws and regulations, Vivi expressed how appalled she was at how terrible things are for American workers. This was especially so when it came to paid vacation and parental leave, which Brazil does guarantee its workers. She explained that unions in Brazil are powerful and have real bargaining leverage, whereas I explained to her how difficult it was to form unions in the first place in the US, and how much employers are allowed to sabotage the process. She said that salaries are required to rise with inflation, and companies have to disclose to unions what their profits are, so as to share them with workers. Vivi told me that whenever she tries to explain that to Americans, they have a hard time understanding or believing it. At one point, when I told Vivi's sister I wanted to be a labor lawyer, she remarked, "You have labor laws?" which just about sums up this ongoing conversation.
James and I left Bragança Paulista by taking a bus from another town called Atibaia to go to São Paulo. Even after only three days with Vivi and Gabriel, we missed them a lot when we left! I feel so grateful to have spent my first few days in Brazil with people who call it home, while at the same time seeing an old friend from such a formative part of both our lives, our year in France. Knowing the distances in space and time we have traveled since then, this quote on a mug in Vivi's house felt fitting.
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| "Friendship knows no bounds, surpasses all barriers, and navigates all oceans." Especially meaningful because Rotary was the organization that connected Vivi and me in the first place through its Youth Exchange Program. |
Today, the 1st of July, James finished up his week in Brazil and traveled to Argentina. Meanwhile, I will remain in magnificent São Paulo for one more week, which I will certainly write about in the next blog entry. If anyone wants to schedule a video chat with me to catch up while I'm on my own, I would love that! For now, I will end this first entry with a video of Gabriel playing the Spongebob theme on the electric guitar to accompany you as you finish reading, assuming you made it this far. If that's the case, then thank you. As a token of my gratitude, watch till the end for a surprise!
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