Diaspora of the Week - Afro-Brazilians

Okay, y'all. If many of you did not know, I have a soft spot for Brazilians. They are seriously some of the most beautiful people, inside and out, that I have ever been around. I don't know if this is because my host family during my short-term study in Brazil back in 2007 was just amazingly sweet and kind, or if it was because the Brazilians I encountered here in the US were always happy and nice, but so far, I generally have had a very good impression of Brazilians.

While I was in Brazil, I was studying the Afro-Brazilian culture, mostly comparing it to the African-American culture. There are many similarities, but there are some striking differences other than the obvious (like Afro-Brazilians speak Portuguese and African-Americans speak English). I'll try to break it down to the three main ones:

1. The term "Afro-Brazilian" is typically used in the circles of academia in Brazil. It's not in day-to-day use by an average Brazilian.
2. Someone who is Afro-Brazilian typically sees themselves as Brazilian, but still identifying with their African ancestry (unlike African-Americans, who see themselves as African-American and do not necessarily identify with their African heritage). This is because many people of African descent in Brazil can somewhat trace their ancestry to specific countries; many of them are from Angola, Nigeria (specifically the Yoruba peoples), and Mozambique.
3. There's not a necessarily strong subcultural distinction from Afro-Brazilians and other Brazilians, since de jure segregation did not exist in Brazil. Instead, they are just many of the groups of people that contributed to several regional cultures in Brazil, most notably in the state of Bahia (where I stayed).

This may be difficult for many who are American to wrap their heads around, and an excursion to Brazil may be out of your budget. However, below are the sources in which I received most of my information.

http://www.nd.edu/~kellogg/publications/workingpapers/WPS/173.pdf

http://bit.ly/ajcQ3r

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6284806.stm