RAFAEL GONCALVES

COLORING SKINCopyright ©2012 by Rafael Goncalves

All rights reserved. No part of the material herein may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief

quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

For further information, please write:Rafael Goncalves

12148 Garden Grove Circle #204Fairfax, Virginia, USA 22030

To the Captain, who steered me away safely from the storms and thaught me to choose the path of my journey.

To the Mermaids, who led me away from shallow waters and carried my anchor when it seemed inevitable to stop and give up.

To the precious Ruby I found beneath the rocks, where I had crashed because of the sirens.

To the Wind, who showed me that no one can sail alone.

TAB

LE OF

CONTENTS

THE ARRIVA

L OF THE

COLO

NIZERS

BrancaCor Branca

GalegaCabocla

2THE FORCED

IMM

IGRATION

NegraPretaCaboverde

CriouloM

armeluco

3

FIRST INHABITA

NTS OF

A VIRGIN LA

ND

Indígena

Vermelha

Bugre

1

SCARS FRO

M

THE PAST 4

EscuraChocolate

Morena Escura

Marrom

Cafusa

WHITENING THEO

RY

SURVEYING

SKIN COLO

R

COLO

RING THE COUNTRY –

NEW IM

MIGRA

NTS 6

GIANT M

ELT POT BRA

ZIL7

THE WHITE W

ORK-

FORCE A

RRIVAL

5

WHITENING THEO

RY8SURVEYING

SKIN COLO

R 10

CanelaM

ulataJam

boM

orena

Am

arela

Castanha

Morena Clara

PardaSararáM

estiça

LoiraClaraBrasileira

PREFACE

Do human races exist? According to Pena et al (2003), there is a wide agreement among anthropologists and human geneticists that, from a biological standpoint, human races do not exist. Yet, races do exist as social constructs that are mutable over time and across social contexts and are sustained by a racial ideology. The physical traits of an individual, especially skin pigmentation, hair color, hair texture, and the shape of the lips and nose, are constantly used for racial categorization and thus play an extremely influential role in human social relationships. However, these traits are believed to have emerged as adaptations to geographical selective factors such as solar radiation and heat and their utilization as markers of “race” is erroneous. Still, regardless of its biological meaning, the same authors (Pena et al, 2003) affirm that skin color matters a great deal. It is appalling to realize the capacity of skin color differences to produce some of the most barbarous pages of human history such as the apatheid regime and several others atrocities against human beings. In a 2001 essay, then President William J. Clinton initially agreed with W. E. B. Dubois in that “the problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line”. He then went on to condemn racial profiling and to hope that in the 21st century color differences could be transformed from a problem into a promise for America. Of course, the social importance of skin color is not by any means an exclusively American phenomenon; racial discrimination and conflict occur worldwide.

Pena et al (2003) also assure that in Brazil, not withstanding relatively large levels of genetic admixture and a myth of “racial democracy,” there exists a widespread social prejudice that seems to be particularly connected to the physical appearance of the individual. Color (in Portuguese, cor) denotes the Brazilian equivalent of the English term race (raça) and is based on a complex evaluation that takes into account, besides skin pigmentation, also hair type, nose shape, and lip shape. The reason the word Color (capitalized by the authors [Pena et al, 2003] to call attention to this particular meaning) is preferred to race in Brazil is probably because it captures the continuous aspects of phenotypes.

Several studies on race and ethnicity bring interesting pieces of information about Brazilian population and its main characteristics. Surprising as that may seem, a survey conducted by Pertucelli (2007), which was the source of inspiration to this work, shows that Brazilians from different parts of the country reported over twenty different skin colors to describe themselves. The main objective of my work is to translate into images Brazilian people’s vision of their own skin color. The intention is to go beyond complexion colors descriptions, showing the meanings and cultural implications of skin color in people’s lives. This work also aims at presenting the miscegenation in Brazil from a historical point of view, emphasizing and illustrating the racial differences and presenting facts and data without the intention of issuing biased opinion on the subject. Throughout the pages of this book the reader will find not only beauty and enchantment, but also history, culture and a way of looking at “Skin Coloring” as a way of building up one’s identity. What is your skin color?

R.O.G.Fairfax VA 2012

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INDÍGENAThe term indígena (indigenous) has more ethnic meanings than racial ones, and a “Westerner” in Brazil can be an acculturated amerindio but not an indígena, which officially means indigenous in the narrow sense (Telles, 2004). In Brazil, the “brown people” are the pardos, one of the skin color categories (branco, pardo, preto, amarelo, and indígena being Portuguese for “white”, “(grey) brown”, “black”, “yellow”, and “indigenous”, respectively) that have been used by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics since 1940.

THE FIRSTIMMIGRANTS

Questions about the original settlement the Americas have produced a number of hypotheses and models. The origins of these indigenous peoples are still a matter of dispute among  archaeologists. The traditional view, which traces them to Siberian migration to America at the end of the last ice age, has been increasingly challenged by South American archaeologists (Gomes, 2000). According to this author, in Brazil, particularly, most native tribes who were living in the land by 1500 are thought to be descended from the fi rst Siberian wave of migrants, who are believed to have crossed the Bering Land Bridge at the end of the last Ice Age.

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VERMELHAThe term Vermelho came from the reddish skin color of some Native Americans, as in the terms red Indian and red man. Multiple theories

fight for prominence as to the true historical origin of the word red to designate a skin color. One theory is that the term was meant

as merely a physical indicator for indigenous people, similar to the words “white” and “black” for Caucasians and Africans, respectively.

Another theory holds that it was first used by Native Americans during the 1800s as a way of distinguishing themselves from the ever-

growing white population.

A second migrant wave would have taken some time after initial entry to reach present-day Brazil, probably entering the  Amazon River basin from the Northwest.

This traditional view has recently been challenged by findings of human remains in South America, which are claimed to be too old to fit the scenario described above - perhaps even 20,000 years old. Some recent finds of human skeletons in Brazil are claimed to be morphologically distinct from the Asian phenotype and are more similar to Australian Aborigines populations. Neves and Hubbe (2005) conclude that the earliest South Americans tend to be more similar to present Australians, Melanesians, and Sub-Saharan Africans.

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BUGREThe buggy race designates an indigenous people. They are known for being very tough, courageous and brave. They are indigenous who are recognized by their beliefs and achievements. Others peoples searched their help looking for cure of diseases and other blessings. They are a very suspicious and do not relate to other peoples, which may have contributed to its near or total extinction.

Sou bugre mesmome explica mesmo

me ensina modos de genteme ensina a acompanhar um enterro de cabeça baixa

me explica por que que um olhar de piedadecravado na condição humana

não brilha mais que anúncio luminoso?Qual, sou bugre mesmo

Sou bugre mesmome explica mesmo

me ensina modos de genteme ensina a acompanhar um enterro de cabeça baixa

me explica por que que um olhar de piedadecravado na condição humana

não brilha mais que anúncio luminoso?Qual, sou bugre mesmo

“”

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BRANCOWhite people (also the Caucasian race) is a term usually referring to human beings characterized by the light pigmentation of their

skin. Rather than being a straightforward description of skin color, the term white denotes a specific set of ethnic groups and functions as a color metaphor for race. The most commonly-used definition of white person is a person with a visible degree of European ancestry.

THE FIRSTCOLONIZERS

When the Portuguese reached what is now called Brazil in 1500, its native population was probably composed of about 2.5 million Amerindians. Up to 1532, the Portuguese made no real effort to colonize the land, limiting to the establishment of feitorias (Portuguese trade posts) to organize the trade of brazilwood (tree of bright red wood). When it became clear that this policy would result in the land being taken by other European powers – namely the French and the Dutch – the Portuguese Crown decided to effectively occupy the territory by fostering agricultural activities – especially sugarcane crops – in Brazil. This resulted not only in the growth of the population of Portuguese origin, but also in the introduction of African slavery in Brazil (Levy, 2003).

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CORBRANCALight complexion, not necessarily with fine feature or fair and straight hair.

O amor me acalma como a cor branca da paz

Quando o sinto toda vez me trazuma imensa sede de viver

para meu bem querer

como a cor branca da paz“”

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GALEGOThe Galicians are an ethnic group and nationality, whose historical homeland is Galicia in north-western Spain. People describing themselves as galegos are white, most with light hair and “foreign features” for Brazilian standards.

Pai Nosso GalegoJunto ao mar eu hoje ouvi,

Senhor, Tua voz que me chamoue me pediu que me entregasse a meus irmãos.

Essa voz me transformou,a minha vida ela mudou

Pai Nosso GalegoJunto ao mar eu hoje ouvi,

Senhor, Tua voz que me chamoue me pediu que me entregasse a meus irmãos.

Essa voz me transformou,a minha vida ela mudou

Junto ao mar eu hoje ouvi,“”

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CABLOCAIndividuals that fit the specific case of having Portuguese and Native American parents are commonly known as caboclo Individuals that fit the specific case of having Portuguese and Native American parents are commonly known as caboclo or, more commonly in the past, mameluco. Individuals of European and African ancestry are described as mulato. Cafuzos (known as zambo in the English language) are the production of Native American and African ancestors.

Caboclo guerreiroO meu rosto foi pintado com terra,

estou em guerra...A morte não me assusta,

e o prelúdio de sua chegada,só me dá mais força para lutar,

guerrear pela minha gente,pela minha prole,

e pelo que acho justo.

Caboclo guerreiroO meu rosto foi pintado com terra,

estou em guerra...A morte não me assusta,

e o prelúdio de sua chegada,só me dá mais força para lutar,

guerrear pela minha gente,pela minha prole,

e pelo que acho justo.

“

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NEGROA person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose ancestors came from Africa). Relating to or characteristic of or being a member of the traditional racial division of mankind having brown to black pigmentation and tightly curled hair.

THE FORCEDIMMIGRATION

Brazil had the largest slave population in the world, substantially larger than the United

States. The Portuguese who settled Brazil needed labor to work in the large estates and mines in

their new Brazilian colony. They turned to slavery which became central to the colonial economy. It

was particularly important in the mining and sugar cane sectors. Estimates suggest that more than 3

million Africans reached Brazil. The country began to turn to slavery in the

16th century as explorers began moving along the coast of Africa. With the discovery of the

Americas, the Portuguese attempted to enslave the Native American population as well, but many

died because of mistreatment, and the lack of resistance to European diseases. The Portuguese

began transporting Africans to their new colony. The “importation” of such a large number of

Africans into a colony with such a small number of Portuguese, profoundly affected the ethnical balance and had a significant

impact on Braz i l ian cu l tu re ( food, mus ic , dance and religious practices).  

The population, however, only boosted in the 18th century, as a result of the discovery of gold and

diamonds in the region known as Minas Gerais, which prompted massive populational movements

from Portugal – as well as increased slave trafficking to Brazil. During the colonial period,

discriminatory laws were commonplace. Non-Whites were banned from the goldsmith craft

(1621). In São Paulo, a state in Brazil, non-Whites were forbidden, under the penalty of prison, from using guns (1713). Descendants of Jews, Moors,

Blacks, as well as those married to women of such extractions, were banned from public

offices. Blacks and mulattos were forbidden from “dressing as Whites” (1745). The arrival of the Royal family didn’t change this: when a provincial militia was formed in Rio Grande do

Sul, another Brazilian estate, it was established that the members should be “White”, this being

defined as “those whose grand-grandparents were not Black, and whose parents were free-born”

(1809). Nor did this change with independence: a complementary law to the 1824 Constitution

forbade “Blacks and lepers” from being instructed in schools. Brazilian troops were segregated

until the fall of the Empire.

PRETAThe term black people is used in some socially-based systems of racial classification for humans of a dark-skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups represented in a particular social context. Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as “black”, and often social variables such as class and socio-economic status also play a role, so that relatively dark-skinned people can be classified as white if they fulfill other social criteria of “whiteness.”

Preta, Preta, Pretinha!Enquanto eu corria

Assim eu íaLhe chamar!

Enquanto corria a barcaLhe chamar!

Por minha cabeça não passavaSó! Somente Só!

Assim vou lhe chamarAssim você vai ser

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CABOVERDECape Verde is as island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa. It is a mestizo society. Seventy-eight percent of the population is Creole, people of mixed African and European blood. Of the remainder, 28 percent is black African, and 1 percent is white.

QueroUm canto diferente

Para cabo verde já não somos

Os flagelados do vento leste Dominamos os ventos

Já não somos contratadosComo animais de carga para o sul

Conquistamos a dignidade de ser gente

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CRIOULOPerson of African slave ancestry born in the South American countries. In popular speech it refers to a person of dark skin.

A história de amor que não tem mais fim

É a história do crioulo viva paixãoUm sonho pela rédea o cavalo enfim

Do peão e do patrão!

A história de amor que não tem mais fim

É a história do crioulo viva paixãoUm sonho pela rédea o cavalo enfim

Do peão e do patrão!

“”

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MARMELUCOThe word Mameluco is believed to be of Arabic origin. The word in Arabic is Mamluk (masculine) or Mamluka (feminine). The word Mameluco is a term of Portuguese origin describing the first generation offspring of a European and an Amerindian.

Eu sou Marmeluco,sou de Casa Forte. Sou de Pernambuco eu sou o leão do Norte.

Salve ó terra dos altos coqueiros,de beleza soberba estrendal.Nova Roma de bravos guereiros.

Eu sou Marmeluco,sou de Casa Forte. Sou de Pernambuco eu sou o leão do Norte.

Salve ó terra dos altos coqueiros,de beleza soberba estrendal.Nova Roma de bravos guereiros.

Sou de Pernambuco eu sou o leão do Norte.“”

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ESCURAA black person who describes himself as dark.

Eu hoje tive um pesadeloE levantei atento, a tempo

Eu acordei com medoE procurei no escuro

Alguém com o seu carinhoE lembrei de um tempo

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SCARS FROMTHE PAST

The pervasiveness of slavery, the lateness of its abolition, and the fact that nothing

was done to turn former slaves into citizens all combined to have a profound impact on Brazilian

society. They are reasons for the extreme socioeconomic inequality that still scars the country today.

In the 2010 census some 51% of Brazilians defi ned themselves as black or brown. On

average, the income of whites is slightly more than double that of black or brown Brazilians,

according to IPEA, a government-linked think-tank. It fi nds that blacks are relatively disadvantaged in their level of education and in their access to

health and other services. For example, more than half the people in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas (slums)

are black. The comparable fi gure in the city’s richer districts is just 7%. Brazilians have long argued that blacks are poor only because they

are at the bottom of the social pyramid - in other words, that society is stratifi ed by class, not race. But a growing number disagree. These

“clamorous” differences can only be explained by racism, according to the federal government’s

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CHOCOLATEThe color chocolate is a tone of dark brown that resembles milk chocolate, the most common type of chocolate. Some Brazilians use chocolate to describe their skin color.

secretariat for racial equality. In a passionate and sometimes angry debate, black Brazilian activists

insist that slavery’s legacy of injustice and inequality can only be reversed by affirmative-action policies, of the kind found in the United States. Their opponents

argue that the history of race relations in Brazil is very different, and that such policies risk creating new racial problems. Unlike in the United States, slavery in Brazil never meant segregation. Mixing

was the norm, and Brazil had many more free blacks. The result is a spectrum of skin colour rather than a dichotomy. Few these days still call Brazil a “racial democracy”. As Antonio Riserio, a sociologist from

Bahia, put it in a recent book: “It’s clear that racism

exists in the US. It’s clear that racism exists in Brazil. But they are different kinds of racism.” In

Brazil, he argues, racism is veiled and shamefaced, not open or institutional. Brazil has never had anything like the Ku Klux Klan, or the ban on

interracial marriage imposed in 17 American states until 1967. Importing American-style affirmative

action risks forcing Brazilians to place themselves in strict racial categories rather than somewhere along a spectrum, says Peter Fry, a British-born,

naturalised-Brazilian anthropologist. Having worked in southern Africa, he says that Brazil’s avoidance

of “the crystallising of race as a marker of identity” is a big advantage in creating a democratic society.

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MORENOESCUROLiterally meaning dark ‘swarthy’, from mouro, a moreno is a person with a “Moorish” phenotype. The addition of the adjective escuro (“dark”) means that the skin color is of a dark brown color.

Em verdadade temos medoNascemos no escuro

Meu companheiro moreno. De nos, de vós, e de tudo.

Estou com medo da honra. Assim nos criam burgueses.

Nosso caminho: traçado. Por que morrer em conjunto?

E se todos nós vivêssemos?

Em verdadade temos medoNascemos no escuro

Meu companheiro moreno. De nos, de vós, e de tudo.

Estou com medo da honra. Assim nos criam burgueses.

Nosso caminho: traçado. Por que morrer em conjunto?

E se todos nós vivêssemos?

“

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MARROMBrown is a color that varies between red and yellow, similar to the color of wood or soil. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color. Brown people or brown race is a political, racial, ethnic, social, and cultural classification, similar to black people and white people. Like these, it is a metaphor for race based on human skin color, reflecting the fact that there are shades of skin color intermediate between “Caucasian and “equatorial”. Consequently, the term includes groups that have no connection other than their intermediate skin tone, especially but not limited to mixed race individuals.

Na areia nosso amorNo rádio o nosso somTem magia nossa cor

Nossa cor marromMarrom bombom...

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CAFUSOCafusos, known as zambo, are the children of Native American and African ancestors.

Tambor CafusoTambor tocou pelos aresQue nem se fosse Vudu.

Não sei se foi de Palmares,Não sei se foi do Xingu.Bateu pelos sete mares

Dobrando em seu couro cru.Tocou por tantos lugares

Sons de Tupã e de Exu.

Tambor CafusoTambor tocou pelos aresQue nem se fosse Vudu.

Não sei se foi de Palmares,Não sei se foi do Xingu.Bateu pelos sete mares

Dobrando em seu couro cru.Tocou por tantos lugares

Sons de Tupã e de Exu.

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CANELACinnamon-brown or flame colored people (the American or red

race) and brown people (the Malay or brown race).

THE WHITE WORK-FORCE ARRIVAL

The crisis of the slave-based production in Brazil prompted the Brazilian elites to fi nd new solutions for the work force needed for the expansion of Brazilian agriculture – especially the growing sector of coffee culture in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. That’s when European immigration took place in larger scale.

Brazilian demographics were strongly modifi ed, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, by the European immigration.  Brazilian immigration policy was closely connected to the so-called “workforce issue”, and farmers’

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MULATOMulato denotes a person with one white parent and

one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly,

and the broader meaning of the word makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black ancestry

identify themselves as mulatto. Some reject the term because of its association with slavery and colonial and racial oppression,

preferring terms such as “mixed” and “biracial.”

concerns about how to replace the slave workforce; the reasons why the slaves were not simply transformed into free workers were a point of contention and as a result, the Brazilian government sought to attract European immigrants.

At the same period Brazil needed to reinforce its labor force, Europe was in crisis. This resulted in the immigration of about 5 million people, mostly European peasants, in the last quarter of the 19th century and first half of the 20th. The majority of these immigrants were either Portuguese or Italian, though significant numbers of Spaniards, Germans and Eastern Europeans (mostly Poles and Ukrainians arriving on Russian passports) immigrated to Brazil.

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JAMBOLiterally jambo is a red-brown fruit, which came from India and some islands of Malaysia to Brazil. The jambeiros are beautiful trees. Although not originating in America, they adapted so well to the climate conditions of the American tropics that they seem native fruit of the land. In general, people consider it as a compliment being called moreno jambo since this seems to be as beautiful as the color of the fruit.

Moreninha cor de jamboDa cintura fina

Fases cor de rosaEncosta seu rosto no meu

Quero um beijo do seuNão seja vergonhosa

Venha matar meu desejoMeu bem só um beijo

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MORENO In Latin, the word maurus means coming from Mauretania, a Roman province on the northwestern fringe of Africa, a region now corresponding to northern Algeria and Morocco. The word may also derivate from the ancient Greek mauros, meaning “dark”. Moreno, from the Latin root, can mean “tanned” in Spain and Portugal, as well as in Brazil. In Cuba and other Spanish-speaking countries, it can mean “black person” or “mulatto”. The name Maurus in the Middle Ages was a synonym for “Negro;” later used indiscriminately for Muslims (Persians, Arabs, etc.) but especially those in India.

Mulher morena, morena,

manjar delicado, sorrisoda água,

teu peito não sabede mágoas,

teus olhos não sabemde lágrimas.

“”

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AMARELOAmarelo refers to people of Asian ancestry, mostly from Japan. A Japanese Brazilian is a Brazilian citizen, national or natural of Japanese descent, or a Japanese immigrant living in Brazil. The first Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil in 1908. Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.

COLORING THE COUNTRY

The degree of  miscegenation in Brazil has been very high, as Brazil was colonized by

male Portuguese adventurers who tended to procreate with Amerindian and African women

(Denison et al, 2004). This made possible a myth of “racial democracy” that, according to Telles (2009), tends to obscure a widespread

discrimination connected to certain aspects of physical appearance: aspects related to the

concept of cor (literally “color”), used in a way that is roughly equivalent to the English term “race”

but based on a combination of skin color, hair type, and shape of nose and lips. It is possible for

siblings to belong to different “color” categories. So a “White” Brazilian is a person perceived

and socially accepted as “White”, regardless of ancestry or sometimes even immediate family

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CASTANHAChestnut, also known as Indian red, is a medium brownish shade of red, and is named after the nut of the chestnut tree. People who described themselves as castanha have most likely indigenous ancestry.

Researchers (Pena et al, 2003) affirm that while miscegenation has been one factor leading to a Brazilian population with features ranging from the stereotypically African to the stereotypically

European, a second factor has been “assortative mating”. The genome of the first generation offspring

of European fathers and African mothers was 50% European and 50% African, but the distribution of the genes that affect relevant features (skin color,

hair type, lip shape, nose shape) was random. Those of the second generation with features considered closer to a “White” stereotype would have tended

to procreate with others like themselves, while those considered closer to “Black” would also have

tended to procreate among themselves; in the

long term producing “White” and “Black” groups with surprisingly similar proportions of European

and African ancestry. Miscegenation has also been intense between immigrants and their descendants

and the previous inhabitants of the country. Besides European immigrants, also many

Japanese, Middle Easterns (mostly people from what are now Syria and Lebanon arriving on Turkish

passports), also went to Brazil, establishing the huge melting pot it became. The expression melting pot used here as a metaphor for a heterogeneous society which

becomes more and more homogeneous, as the various elements of the different peoples “melt together” into

a harmonious whole with a common culture.

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MORENOCLAROLiterally meaning light ‘swarthy’, from mouro, a moreno is a person with a “Moorish” phenotype, which is extremely ambiguous, as it can mean “dark-haired people”, but is also used as a euphemism for pardo, and even “Black”. The addition of the adjective claro (“light”) means that the skin color is “slightly tanned”. When Brazilians answer to open-ended questions about race, hundreds of different race-color terms are brought. The most common is moreno, a category that refers to a wide spectrum of phenotypes. It can mean “dark-haired”, “tawny”, “suntanned”, but it is also used as a euphemism for pardo and “black”, according to context.

A morena é predileta,mas a clara é do poeta:

assim se pintam arcanjos.Qualquer, encantos encerra,

mas a morena é da terraenquanto a clara é dos anjos!

“”

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PARDAPardo is a color which can be translated from Portuguese as brown (properly called marrom), grayish brown, beige (properly called bege), or the color of the manila (called

in Brazil papel pardo). In Hispanic America, pardo is a racial caste for people with European, Amerindian and Black

African ancestries, possibly added with any others, which cannot be called mestizos, blancos, zambos, mulatos or any

other category because of their unique multiracial phenotype created by generations of miscegenation among these three main groups.

GIANT MELTPOT BRAZIL

The White proportion of the population increased rapidly, mainly because of immigration, but also because the growth rate of the Black and parda population, which was very low during slavery, remained below the national average for some time after abolition, which occorred in 1888.

According to Domingues (2004), there seems to be no easy explanation of why slaves were not employed as wage workers at the abolition of slavery. One possibility is the infl uence of race-based ideas from the second half of the 19th

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SARARÁIn Brazil, a Sarará is a person of mixed race, being a particular kind of Mulatto, with Negroid facial features, light complexion

and fair but extremely curly hair.

century and early 20th century, which were based in the pseudo-scientific belief of the superiority of the “White race”. On the other hand, Brazilian latifundiaries had been using slave manpower for centuries, with no complaints about the quality of this workforce, and there were not important changes in Brazilian economy or work processes that could justify such sudden preoccupation with the “race” of the labourers.

As the Brazilian elites perceived the abolition of slavery as a problem, various alternatives were discussed. While very few remained stuck with the idea of preserving slavery, some political leaders proposed the reintegration of “national

workers” into a “free-labour” system; some other influencial people proposed Chinese immigration. It was against these positions, not against any imaginary African immigration, that racial arguments were made. So, besides a dispute “immigrantists” and “anti-immigrantists”, there was also a debate between pro-Chinese and pro-European immigrantists.

In Brazil, the dominant idea was that national workers were unable to develop the country, and that only foreign workers would be able to work in a regime of “free” labor. The goal was to “whiten” Brazil through new immigrants and through future miscegenation in which former slaves would disappear by becoming “whiter” (Vainfas, 2002:152).

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MESTIÇAMestiço is a term traditionally used in Latin America and Spain for people of mixed heritage or descent. In Brazil, the word mestiço is used to describe individuals born from any mixture of different ethnicities. Mestizo derives from the Latin word mixticius which means mixed.

Mestiço!Quando amo a branca

sou branco…Quando amo a negra

sou negro.Pois é…

Mestiço!Quando amo a branca

sou branco…Quando amo a negra

sou negro.Pois é…

“”

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LOIRAFair hair and usually fair skin and light eyes as an evidence of European ancestry.

WHITENINGTHEORY

Before the time of slavery abolition in Brazil in 1888, a signifi cant part of the Brazilan elite was convinced that Europeans were racially and culturally superior to other races. Although many of the discussions on this topic were situated in a theoretical fi eld, immigrants arrived and colonies were founded from 1850 on, particularly in the “Southeast Region, Brazil” Southeast and Southern Brazil. As a result of those discussions and policies, Brazil experienced immigration mostly from countries such as

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CLARAUsually light brown or blond hair, fair skin and fine features.

Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Poland during the end of the empire and the beginning of the republic period (late 19th and early 20th century). Later immigration, from 1908 on, was not so much influenced by that race discussions and Brazil attracted, besides Europeans, more immigrants from Lebanon, Syria and Japan.The Brazilian government, as was commonplace at that time, endorsed positions expressed by Brazilian intellectuals. An example of that is a text, written by Oliveira Vianna, that was issued as introductory material to 1920 Census results. Many pages of Vianna’s work were dedicated to the discussion of a “pure race” of white Brazilians. According to the text mentioned, the first Portuguese colonists who came to Brazil were part of the blond Germanic nobility

that ruled Portugal, while the dark-haired “poor” Portuguese only came to Brazil later, in the 17th and especially the 18th century (Rodrigues, 2004). Rodrigues (2004) affirms that according to the text written by the sociologist Oliveira Vianna for the Census 1920, the blond Portuguese of Germanic origin were “restless and migratory”, and that’s why they emigrated to Brazil. On the other hand, the Portuguese of darker complexions were of  Celtic or Iberian origin and came when the Portuguese settlement in Brazil was already well established, because, according to him, “The peninsular brachyoids, of  Celtic race, or the dolicoides, of  Iberian race, of sedentary habits and peaceful nature, did not have, of course, that mobility nor that bellicosity nor that spirit of adventure and conquest” which was necessary.

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BRASILEIROA typical example of the mixture of different skin colors and

various biotypes existent in Brazil. People who define themselves as brasileiro are most likely the ones who have the color of their complexion and their physical characteristics inherited from the

interracial relationship between their parents, who might have, at their turn, either black, white or indigenous origin.

SURVEYINGTHE SKIN

Two IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) surveys have sought to understand the way Brazilians think of themselves in “racial” terms, with the explicit aim of adjusting the census classifi cation (neither, however, resulted in actual changes in the census). Besides that, Data Folha, a well-known Brazilian research institute, has also conducted research on this subject. The results of these surveys are somewhat varied, but seem to coincide in some fundamental aspects. First, there is an enormous variety of “racial” terms in use in Brazil; when Brazilians are inquired in an open ended question, from 135 to 500 different race-color terms may be brought.

The 1976 PNAD (Pesquisa Nacional por Amostras de Domicílios - National Sample Survey of Households) found 136 different answers to the question about race; the July 1998 inquiry found 143. However, most of these terms are used by very small minorities. Telles (2004) remarks that 95% of the population chose only six different terms (branco, moreno, pardo moreno-claro, preto and negro). Petrucelli (2000:18) shows that the 7 most common responses (the above plus amarela) sum up 97%, and the 10 more common (the previous plus mulata, clara, and morena-escura) make 99%. Petrucelli (2000) fi nds that 77 denominations were mentioned by only one person in the sample of his inquiry.

Other 12 are misunderstandings, referring to national or regional origin (francesa, italiana, baiana, cearense). Many of the “racial” terms are (or could be) remarks about the relation between skin colour and exposure to sun (amorenada, bem morena, branca-morena, branca-queimada, corada, bronzeada, meio morena, morena-bronzeada, morena-trigueira, morenada, morenão, moreninha, pouco morena, queimada, queimada de sol, tostada, rosa queimada, tostada). Others are clearly variations of the same idea (preto, negro, escuro, crioulo, retinto, for Black, alva, clara, cor-de-leite, galega, rosa, rosada, pálida, for White, parda, mulata, mestiça, mista, for “parda”), or precisions of the same concept (branca morena, branca clara), and can actually grouped together with one of the main racial terms without falsifying the interpretation (Petrucelli, 2000:19). Some seem to express an outright refusal of classifi cation: azul-marinho (navy blue), azul (blue), verde (green), cor-de-burro-quando-foge (literally, “the color of a donkey when it runs away”, a Portuguese humorous term for an undefi ned color).

Petrucelli grouped 136 terms into 28 wider categories, which constitute some of the denominations Brazilians give themselves and are presented whithin the pages of this work.