Culture as a Weapon?

When I think of Brazil, like others, I think of vibrant music, food, dance and above all, Carnival. I think of the images of Black men, women and children dancing in the streets of Rio, São Paulo and other metropolitan centers. I think of the influence of African cultural expression and the profound mark the people of African descent on Brazilian identity. As a result, I was really excited to see how the Samba Schools Association in Rio would describe this cultural influence when Nikki and I made a visit. Most importantly, I was interested in finding out how and why this cultural influence was marshaled by the Black Movement in Brazil as they engaged in efforts to valorize and politicize Black identity.

From my reading of the Black Movement in Brazil, samba schools and other cultural expressions have occupied a central role in the organizing of the Movement, from providing outlets for expression of Movement politics to forming the base of Movement organizations, which is quite distinct from the marginal role the culture played within Black institutions which led the charge for civil rights in the U.S. The NAACP, for example, did not include the cultural development of the Black community as a central part of its mission. On the other hand, Black samba groups, or afro blocos, such as Ilê Aiyê and Olodum (where we will visit next week) are highlighted as prime examples of the way in which the Blackness is politicized through cultural expression in Brazil. Given these distinct organizing strategies, I was quite intrigued with the centrality of culture in the Brazilian movement in general and samba in particular.

The Background on Samba Schools

Samba schools act as primarily social organizations which choreograph and stage Carnival. Each year, a major theme is selected for Carnival and samba schools evaluate themselves and other samba schools on how well they incorporate such themes into their dance routines and floats which are presented during Carnival. Although Carnival occurs only once a year, samba schools work year round perfecting their performances and engaging the community from which comprises the membership of such schools. The Samba Schools Association is a group of the most prominent Samba Schools in Brazil, which often have memberships of up to 4,000 people and annual budgets of up to $1,000,00.

Getting on the Good Foot at the Samba Schools Association

Although I studied and observed the function of racial democracy in denying the existence of racial difference in Brazil, I expected that Carnival and Samba Schools would provide space for the expression of racial identity and acknowledgement and celebration of Blackness in Brazil. However, when I spoke to a representative at the League of Samba Schools, I was surprised to find the origins of Samba and Carnival were presented as fundamentally European with little acknowledgement of the African presence until the mid 20th century.

During the conversation with the League representative, Nikki and I were shown pictures of samba associations beginning in 1727 in Portugal. We didn’t see any images of Black people until at least 1955. Although our verbal communication between the league representative (who spoke Portuguese) and us was kind of rough, the message that was being sent by the presentation of the pictures was loud and clear: Samba and Carnival are European centered expressions with some contribution from African peoples way way later—and even then this was part of a Brazilian identity, not a fundamentally African one.

Later, when we traveled to a samba school called Grande Rio, Black people seemed to be absent from the management of samba schools (which, as I noted above, not only cultural, but seem to operate as large revenue generating organizations with budgets up to $1 million), even when Black people represent the face of the samba school to the public.

As we observed the color dynamics of the samba school, it became clear to me why this cultural space was targeted by Black activists. The myth of racial democracy operated in the space to both co-opt Black culture as part of a national identity while denying the existence of Black people or their unique contributions. As a result, Black culture is on parade annually, but Black people, as Black people, are not. Thus, it seems to me that the use of culture in the context of samba is used both symbolically and substantively to reclaim a Black identity and to move the message of Black politics to a mass audience.

Later in the week, we will be speaking to a number of prominent Black activists. I’m interested to find out how they use culture, if at all, and their perceptions of the efficacy of such strategies. I’m also still trying to figure out the role that samba and samba schools play in the day to day life of the mass of Black folks in Brazil. Is it similar to the role that church played in the U.S.? Stay tuned…