Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

Zaknafein Eilservs · Joined: 10 Apr 2006 Posts: 2

Well, I wanted to know everyone else's opinion about Brazil and it's culture. I don't think that what it has can be considered culture, but different people may have different opinions.

Lucas Hansen · Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 4

Brazil absolutely has no culture.I would say culture in Brazil is nothing more than pieces of other cultures put almost randomly together.

jelouko · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 2

What do you know about Brazil is the image that tourism in here pass to you... you know just samba, capoera, beach and carnival... it is the worst part of the Brazilian culture I think, Brazil doesn't have a solid culture like in Europe because there are many different races here, the truth Brazilian culture is the Indian culture, but Indians are only 0,1% of Brazilian population because the Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish�etc colonizing kill them all. Brazil is a rich country with lots of different cultures you had to come to Brazil to know or speak with a Brazilian, and don't trust what the American culture says about Brazil because they don�t have any idea what is Brazil.

ClarissaMach · Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 12:58 pm Post subject:

Why do you say Brazil has no culture? Because we have no "pure" culture?

And what is a "pure" culture? Something that never changes as time goes by or that is never mixed with other cultures?

Come on! If you want to live in some sort of pure-crystalized culture, you'd better try to live among the monkeys... there's no such a thing as a "pure" culture, without interfaces with other cultures....

You should think better about your conception of culture and tradition. Tradition is not something immutable, a piece of information with no meaning or usage that you simply carry on because someone told you to. The subject is more important than the object. Tradition has to have a meaning; it has to bring something that is still capable of changing people's lives.
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Stormy Weather.

pugachevV · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 2295

Some friends of mine were robbed at gunpoint outside the main cop shop in Rio de Janeiro.
The cops just shrugged when they reported it.
So, law and order is a little shaky.

ClarissaMach · Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:55 pm Post subject:

I'm sorry for your friends. Rio de Janeiro can be a really dangerous city, especially for those who look like foreign tourists. The combination pasty legs + carrying a camera + seeming absent minded and absolutelly charmed (blame it on Rio. . . ) makes a perfect victm. Once I was told that there existed some kind of police especially prepared to help tourists, but I don't know anything else about it.

In general, our cops are a bunch of bastards. I'll try to translate some jokes concerning Brazilian police, and everybody will get what I mean. . . No person of sense would trust the police in Brazil. The mentality of our cops is a heritage from colonial times, a time of slavery, torture, and impunity.

By the way, impunity has become a kind of adjective to life in Rio de Janeiro. . . once and again when I'm watching american TV shows, and there is a bad guy (a thieve, murder etc) trying to run away, he makes plans to live in Rio de Janeiro -- a fine place where he can stay without worrying about being caught.

Blame it on our damn politicians. . .
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Stormy Weather.

Manuel · Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 139 Location: Argentina

That�s typical in movies. But it is also a part of a stereotype of all Latin America. I don�t know if you remember a character of Disney comics called Z� Carioca ( a green parrot ) who was very poor and didn�t work. All what he did was dancing and getting into trouble.
We cannot deny that South America has great social contrasts and hard times. We cannot say that all of our politicians are honest. But as regards culture, we happen to have one of the most interesting cultures of the world, especially Brazil. The few times I have been to Brazil were enough to make me want to return, not only for the landscapes, but for the people, the language, the music and many other values that you can�t find in any other place of Earth. And you can trust in my opinion, the opinion of a foreigner who felt just like in home.
Pretending that culture is only culture whenever it is "pure" is pretending no development of History, Sciences, Arts and Society. Cristalyzed culture is not worthed. Culture must always be in action. If the culture of Brazil is an addition of foreign cultures, then it is a WONDERFUL addition, because it has been able to take elements of each culture and make a singular and unique personality.

flying_pig319 · Joined: 01 Jul 2006 Posts: 369

EVERY place has a culture.
It's by definition, almost.

That's really disrespectful (and FALSE) to say otherwise.

ClarissaMach · Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 1:29 pm Post subject:

ClarissaMach · Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 1:30 pm Post subject:

Anuradha Chepur · Joined: 20 May 2006 Posts: 933

I have observed, Flying_pig319 is one of the politest posters around, and I also find her posts reasonable and objective, given she is quite young. Good, keep it up!

Manuel · Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 139 Location: Argentina

I also used to read Z� Carioca comics. But here in Argentina his name is Jos� Carioca. I liked those comics (and they are much older than me Very Happy

), but I can�t avoid thinking in the image that foreigners have from Latin America.
I see that we agree.
Flying Pig is very objective and very determined to her principles, and she has the abbility to see reality even when it goes against her arguments. And that�s something admirable, as you can see in the Israel-Lebanon discusions.
As for you Clarissa, I always think that I should use your texts as a model to learn how to write correctly in English. Changing the subject, do you know something about a Brazilian writer called Monteiro Lobato?

ClarissaMach · Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 6:44 am Post subject:

Manuel · Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 139 Location: Argentina

Thanks for your words.
I really consider listening to other people�s opinion very important, although it isn�t always easy, mainly when you feel that you are not being respected. That doesn�t happen in this board, but it does happen when you touch deeper political issues.

About Monteiro Lobato, I think that I had already read some data related to him from O Globo�s site. I knew some of his books (like Pica-pau amarelo, the whole collection) when I was a kid and found the books in a musty attic in my grandmother�s house. I really liked them, but I have always have the doubt if they are still familiar to Brazilians, if they have been printed again, etc. I don�t know why, but I want to know that Smile

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As you see, we are talking about the culture of Brazil.