Discovery of African Heritage

To begin, while watching the PBS program in class last school-week more than one aspect caught my eye. The issue of race and racial identity is a matter that is dealt with in many different ways depending on the area in which the issue is occurring; for one thing, in Mexico it was shown that the native people did not want to admit that they are descendants of African slaves that were brought over during the slave trade by European settlers. On the other hand, in Brazil, I have learned that the classification of a persons African heritage is determined by the pigmentation of their skin. For instance, in one scene in particular there was a group of Brazilian men all of different skin tones. The men claimed that they were all black but different titles were given to the different skin tones. To follow this theme, when the Brazilian people were asked wether or not the interviewer in the film was black, some said he was and some said he was not. I found this phenomenon to be very interesting because of the different ways that race is identified, or covered up, in different countries.

Another aspect that I found interesting is how a portion of the Brazilian population is actually celebrating the history of African enslavement in their land; instead of ignoring their African roots like in Mexico or trying to cover up the existence of slavery-as many Americans do- the Brazilian people carry out their traditions of song and dance. The way that this celebration is shown in the film is through "candomble, a religion that blends Roman Catholicism with tribal African lore"(Prada, 1). The history of African people is clearly evident through this religion because we see the European influence of Roman Catholicism being mixed with African tribal lore to create a unique religion that cannot be found any where else in the world. In addition to the blending of religions, the film illustrates an ancient exercise that allows the Brazilian people to be in touch with their African roots and history of enslavement by the European settlers begging by the Atlantic Slave Trade around 1550. This exercise, or fighting dance technique, is called "capoeira, a martial art that evolved when slaves disguised fight training as a dance"(Prada, 1); its popularity is booming on one specific area of Brazil and it truly shows how African heritage is not covered up. The film talked about how when the slaves would practice the martial arts in order to protect themselves against their owners but when the men would ride on horseback to investigate they would have to integrate a dance aspect in order to cover up their true intentions.

After watching this film in class, I am now able to understand that Latin American culture is not only made up of indigenous people but also the descendants of African slaves as well as European settlers. This film has caused me to become aware of the presence of black heritage and presence in Latin American and that the term "hispanics/latinos" may become incorrect due to the large portion of the population that have descended from African ancestors. The conclusion of this PBS film sparked me to research black heritage in Brazil and I came across an article that depicts how American tourists are not becoming aware of the prevalent black history and culture that exists in Brazil. This article, http://articles.boston.com/2004-10-17/travel/29205069_1_african-culture-african-legacy-african-influence, truly shows the reader that Black/African history exists in Brazil and unlike other nations, the people of this nation are not afraid to demonstrate their heritage. Black heritage is something that should not be covered up and I am glad that this discovery can be found/experienced by many like Simone Manigo Truell, who states: '"I've never felt more African than here"'(Prada, 2).