How long will you be staying? Last time I was in Brazil was 05 or 06. I stayed a couple months in Rio, a little in Sao Paulo, and about 3 months in Curitiba. I loved Rio because of the acai juice bars, the girls, the sun, the beaches, everything. At that time I was very conversational as I had taken 4 semesters of college level portuguese. Curitiba back then was more european in nature. They had a pretty good public transport system, and girls were a little more conservative.
I was training jiu jitsu and partying mostly. Being black in Brazil? My dad has a friend who lives in a posh neighborhood in Sao Paolo (Jardins) who sent his kids to elite english speaking high schools in Sao Paolo. So we had a night out it was 2 korean brazilian girls, me, and one italian-brazilian. All three had traveled and were upper-crust society. We passed a black homeless guy and the italian-brazilian said something to the effect of "he's black just ignore him".
In Brazil, poverty is linked to race. These kinds of ignorant statements are said all the time and nobody is called out. At least 6 years ago they weren't. It's more part of the fabric of their culture. People who are considered black here would consider themselves morena, "cor de mel", mulatta, etc. Very rarely would you ever come across someone who identifies as "negra" unless she was wesley snipes black.
I think Brazil has a deep deep issue with class, though and that ties in with race. I was asking one dude his name, and with his last name he had to tell me the origins of his mothers last name and his fathers last name like it was something special to be half italian and half spanish. Just came off as weird to me. Race is a complicated issue in Brazil.
They never had a full on civil rights movement in Brazil like we had in the US. That said, being American and having money trumps race over there. There are respected black people in the media, but I believe the vast majority of politicians are what Brazilians would consider white. But any racial comments you would come across in Brazil is very light hearted and they don't expect any offense to be taken.
For example, almost every jiu jitsu gym I trained at, I was nicknamed "japa" as in japanese. I would set them straight and say "nao sou japones, sou coreano". Then they would be like "AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY COREANO" and we'd all laugh.
Anyways, I hope you have a great time there. There is nothing to worry about if you are an American. You won't be looked down upon. There were Brazilian blacks who were in the upscale clubs I went to that are probably closed down now, but I'll throw the two hottest clubs when I was there. In Rio, = Nute(not sure of the spelling but it was pronounced Nooitch) in Barra da Tijuca and Baronetti in Ipanema. Hottest girls but also hardest to pull. But you'll be more likely to find people who speak english at those two clubs because they are expensive to get into. If they're still open I would love you to come back so I can read how those places are now. The drive from Copacabana/Ipanema to Barra da Tijuca is a long ass cab ride so be prepared to pay a hefty fee. Also try the PUC-Rio campus. Just call it "pookie" to the cab driver and he'll know. It is also pretty far from Copa/Ipanema and you'd have to fabricate a reason to be there. Try their website they give Portugese Language courses.
http://www.puc-rio.br/ensinopesq/ccci/estconv.html
In Sao Paolo, Vila Olimpica or Olimpia I forget the exact name of the neighborhood is nothing but clubs. It was awesome but lines are long.
Curitiba I was training hardcore so I went out maybe once or twice. I couldn't give you exact names but I do remember an area filled with restaurants and bars. Went to Belnearo Camboriu or however you spell it in Santa Catarena for New Years and that was off the fuckin chain. It's like a mini-ibiza party island type of vibe. It has super clubs that bring in big name dj's. I remember Morillo and Fatboy Slim were down there and girls are hot and down to fuck because they're on vacation. Pulled the hottest girl I ever did in Brazil out of Space down there. It's very hard to get around without a car, though.
Hope this helps
I was training jiu jitsu and partying mostly. Being black in Brazil? My dad has a friend who lives in a posh neighborhood in Sao Paolo (Jardins) who sent his kids to elite english speaking high schools in Sao Paolo. So we had a night out it was 2 korean brazilian girls, me, and one italian-brazilian. All three had traveled and were upper-crust society. We passed a black homeless guy and the italian-brazilian said something to the effect of "he's black just ignore him".
In Brazil, poverty is linked to race. These kinds of ignorant statements are said all the time and nobody is called out. At least 6 years ago they weren't. It's more part of the fabric of their culture. People who are considered black here would consider themselves morena, "cor de mel", mulatta, etc. Very rarely would you ever come across someone who identifies as "negra" unless she was wesley snipes black.
I think Brazil has a deep deep issue with class, though and that ties in with race. I was asking one dude his name, and with his last name he had to tell me the origins of his mothers last name and his fathers last name like it was something special to be half italian and half spanish. Just came off as weird to me. Race is a complicated issue in Brazil.
They never had a full on civil rights movement in Brazil like we had in the US. That said, being American and having money trumps race over there. There are respected black people in the media, but I believe the vast majority of politicians are what Brazilians would consider white. But any racial comments you would come across in Brazil is very light hearted and they don't expect any offense to be taken.
For example, almost every jiu jitsu gym I trained at, I was nicknamed "japa" as in japanese. I would set them straight and say "nao sou japones, sou coreano". Then they would be like "AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY COREANO" and we'd all laugh.
Anyways, I hope you have a great time there. There is nothing to worry about if you are an American. You won't be looked down upon. There were Brazilian blacks who were in the upscale clubs I went to that are probably closed down now, but I'll throw the two hottest clubs when I was there. In Rio, = Nute(not sure of the spelling but it was pronounced Nooitch) in Barra da Tijuca and Baronetti in Ipanema. Hottest girls but also hardest to pull. But you'll be more likely to find people who speak english at those two clubs because they are expensive to get into. If they're still open I would love you to come back so I can read how those places are now. The drive from Copacabana/Ipanema to Barra da Tijuca is a long ass cab ride so be prepared to pay a hefty fee. Also try the PUC-Rio campus. Just call it "pookie" to the cab driver and he'll know. It is also pretty far from Copa/Ipanema and you'd have to fabricate a reason to be there. Try their website they give Portugese Language courses.
http://www.puc-rio.br/ensinopesq/ccci/estconv.html
In Sao Paolo, Vila Olimpica or Olimpia I forget the exact name of the neighborhood is nothing but clubs. It was awesome but lines are long.
Curitiba I was training hardcore so I went out maybe once or twice. I couldn't give you exact names but I do remember an area filled with restaurants and bars. Went to Belnearo Camboriu or however you spell it in Santa Catarena for New Years and that was off the fuckin chain. It's like a mini-ibiza party island type of vibe. It has super clubs that bring in big name dj's. I remember Morillo and Fatboy Slim were down there and girls are hot and down to fuck because they're on vacation. Pulled the hottest girl I ever did in Brazil out of Space down there. It's very hard to get around without a car, though.
Hope this helps