Adventures of a Gringa

Brazil-U.S. Exchange: Empowering Underserved Youth through Social Media

This month, the U.S. consulate in Rio launched a brand new pilot program that brought two young New York journalists to Rio and will later send two young Carioca journalists to New York. The program, called Empowering Underserved Youth through Social Media: A Community Journalism Exchange, was inspired by a visit from young Brazilian journalist Rene Silva and his colleagues to the U.S. consulate in Rio last year. In an email, Press Attaché Sara Mercado explained how she created the program, appealing to an innovation fund from the State Department and also winning funding from the U.S. embassy's public diplomacy resources. 

Mercado said that the United States is looking to expand people-to-people diplomacy in Brazil, and the program was a perfect opportunity. "Our ambassador, Thomas Shannon, has said that diplomacy in the 21st century is increasingly done people-to-people, and less between national governments," she explained. "The goal for the program is to support those critically important exchanges of people between the U.S. and Brazil that lead to real mutual understanding among our people and institutional linkages between groups." For the partner city, the consulate decided to pick New York. "We looked for big, urban cities which had grappled with some of the same challenges currently being confronted in Rio," Mercado said.

The consulate chose to partner with Harlem organization Brotherhood-SisterSol, and later picked two young people from New York, Nicholas Peart and Marsha Jean-Charles, to participate in the one-week program in Rio in early January. "In speaking to the Harlem-based team, we discovered that the communities shared many of the same challenges, and had each found different solutions to some of those issues," explained Mercado. The consulate also partnered with Bridge Language School, which offered free Portuguese and English classes to the participants. Two youth from Rio were also chosen--Silva and Daiene Mendes--to travel to New York in the coming months.

In the Rio exchange, the consulate designed a program to expose participants to underserved communities in Rio, as well as non-profits, government, the arts, public security, and other key issues. The two Brazilians who will travel to New York accompanied the Americans throughout the visit; Mercado says the consular staff was happy to see they formed a "cohesive bond." The program even garnered media attention, including Globo's Bom Dia Brasil. The two New York participants chronicled the visit in blog posts, which were also shared on Facebook and Twitter; highlights from the trip were also featured on the U.S. embassy's social media pages.

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I met Peart in New York after he returned from the exchange. A mentor at Brotherhood-SisterSol who graduated from Borough of Manhattan Community College in liberal arts last year, Peart is easygoing and well-spoken. He described the exchange as "life-changing" and "magical," and already wants to go back to Brazil.

In 2011, Peart wrote a powerful opinion piece for The New York Times on stop-and-frisk and police brutality in New York, and continues to speak out about this civil rights issue to the press. So for Peart, seeing police engagement in favelas to improve the relationship between communities and the government made an impression. In visiting the UPP in Complexo do Alemão, he saw a lot of potential in improving police-resident ties, even though problems persist. Meanwhile, he said, New York has a long way to go. "The relationship between the police and the [Harlem] community is so hostile," he told me. "It would take an entire generation for it to change." He was also unfazed by the violence in Rio. "Violence happens here, too," he said.

That said, Peart was struck by the poverty and divisions between rich and poor in Rio. "What about the people on the hills?" he wondered out loud. "These are the forgotten people left to govern themselves." But he was also impressed by the resilience of communities. "There's hope," he noted. Though he really liked Ipanema, he noticed the high gates that dominate the neighborhood.

It was Peart's first visit outside the U.S. other than Jamaica (he is of Jamaican descent). He loved Rio culture, from the music to the beach to the food. He was happy to discover the gastronomical similarities between Brazil and the West Indies, especially rice and beans. Peart's favorite stop during the trip was Afroreggae, where he said they "use art as their weapon for change." He's still learning Portuguese, and hopes more high school students from New York have a chance to participate in exchanges so they're inspired to learn a language. Peart studied Spanish in high school and college, but wasn't too interested. "You have to give things meaning," he said.

Peart and his American colleague spent a lot of time with their Brazilian counterparts, even spending time with them after the official activities had ended. Meeting Silva and Mendes, Peart was struck by their maturity and self-awareness. But he also found they had a lot in common, even as they communicated through a translator. "We're not so different," he said. "It's just where the boat left us at."

First photo: Peart, Mendes, Jean-Charles, and Silva, by Rene Silva.
Second photo: Nicholas Peart in Rio, by Bruna Basilio.

Brazil's English Language Challenge

You've probably read about how different cities in Brazil are preparing for the World Cup by offering English courses to certain groups, from taxi drivers in Rio to prostitutes in Belo Horizonte. With a year and a half left before the mega-event, some are scrambling to teach foreign languages--especially English--in preparation for the expected flood of foreigners in the next few years. There's also growing consciousness about the fact that the lack of English speakers in Brazil means the country is losing money, not only in tourism but business, too.

Unfortunately, a lot of the focus on expanding the pool of foreign-language speakers has to do with Brazil's upcoming mega-events. A very amusing report from Correio Braziliense, for example, found few English and Spanish speakers in Brasilia, where a McDonald's employee pointed a Spaniard to a bathroom after he asked for a vaso (cup, in Spanish), and a host at a fancy restaurant simply hung up after discovering he was unable to understand the foreign caller. Meanwhile, the Belo Horizonte sex workers story made instant headlines around the world. But tourists aren't going to just be lost during the World Cup or Olympics; this is a problem now, and will be after 2016. And even more importantly, the shortage of English speakers adds to the so-called "Brazil cost," a combination of factors that makes Brazil less competitive, across the spectrum of industries.

Luckily, President Dilma Rousseff and some in her administration understand this: Brazil's language gap is a bigger, long-term problem. In late December, Brazil's Education Minister Aloizio Mercadante announced that the government will launch "English Without Borders" in March. The program--which echoes the government's STEM initiative to send students abroad to study science and technology--aims to benefit half a million students over the next year. Initially, 100,000 students with high marks on the country's college entrance exam will receive access to an online English course ("the best in the world," Mercadante says). Students will take the TOEFL exam to see which level they qualify for, and 10,000 students with high scores on this test will receive preferential access to English courses at federal universities. Later, the government hopes to expand the program to Spanish, German, and Chinese. According to a brief report on the plan this week, it's the most ambitious English-language program ever launched by the government.

Still, key questions remain. Will distance learning really be effective? Will the classroom courses have qualified teachers? Will the program be extended past 2014? One certainly hopes so.

But like with many of Brazil's education challenges, an even better approach would be starting much earlier--on the elementary level, as well as the secondary and university levels. It's the difference between CEOs who cannot communicate with foreign colleagues and five-year-olds who have never been to an English-speaking country but speak like California natives. They both exist now. If a government initiative was created for elementary students, particularly in public schools, imagine what the difference would be in 20 years. Hopefully, English Without Borders is the start of more expansive foreign language programs to come.

Image: Acariquara. Shirt captured at a Walmart in Bahia. The first dialogue bubble reads: "It's coll."

A Tale of Two Rios

Even a few years ago as Rio's resurgence was beginning, there were two Rios as far as outsiders were concerned. There was the postcard Rio: the beaches in Ipanema and Copacabana, the Christ statue and Sugarloaf, Maracanã and the Sambodrome. Then there was another Rio, incredibly rich in history and full of cultural gems: Santa Teresa, Escadaria Selarón, the old city center, excellent museums, the Portuguese Library, the Teatro Municipal, Praça XV..the list goes on. Sometimes tourists would experience both Rios, but the allure of the city for outsiders--considered for years to be a city in decline--lay in the attraction of its natural beauty, Carnival, and soccer. In other words, Rio has always been an interesting destination in terms of culture and history, but it was never quite taken seriously because of a combination of lack of security, investment, PR, and a reputation as a "real" cultural center. And despite being the headquarters for Petrobras, BNDES, and other large Brazilian corporations, it was never really taken seriously as a business city, either.

But as the city's renaissance began, the two Rios began to move closer together. This became abundantly clear this week when The New York Times named Rio as the number one place to visit in 2013 "because the whole world will be there in 2014." Appearing on CNN, Times travel editor Dan Saltzstein explained why Rio was the paper's top pick--and not just because of the World Cup and Olympics. "It's not exactly a new destination," he said, "but there are new reasons to go." Echoing the article, Salzstein listed mostly cultural destinations, and said "the arts are booming." In addition to "formly decrepit areas being revived," namely the port area, he named literary festivals, the partially inaugurated City of Arts cultural center in Barra, the forthcoming Rio Museum of Art, and the planned Museum of Tomorrow as reasons to go. Now, with the mega-events and growing investments, Rio is being taken more seriously as a "high culture" destination.

Rio, too, for expats was traditionally a place for researchers, English teachers, oil company executives, and the occasional multinational employee. Now, there's been a small explosion of foreign correspondents and a growing tide of foreign professionals. When I moved to Rio in 2007, there was almost no English news coverage of Rio--just a few major international outlets which would publish mostly about major events. Now, there are dozens of sources, some reporting daily. "For many years, São Paulo has been the place for multinationals to open a Brazil office," an August 2011 Economist article explains. But, it goes on, "it is no longer foolish to let prospective expats fly down to Rio to take a look." More and more young American professionals are heading to Rio for short-term stints to get "Brazil experience," opting to work in growing number of companies in the Cidade Maravilhosa rather than São Paulo.

Still, expats and frequent Brazil travelers often argue that tourists should avoid Rio and see what the rest of the continent-sized country has to offer. (I find that the argument is more common among expats based in São Paulo, but anyway). Rio, some say, isn't the "real" Brazil and that tourists should experience other places. And while it's true that you could spend a lifetime exploring Brazil, I can't see any reason why a first-time visitor would skip Rio. There was no good reason before, and there still isn't now.

Photo: Rio's historic downtown, Ariane Mittidieri

Q&A with Quenia Ribeiro

There are plenty of places in New York where you'll find gringos swapping stories of trips to Brazil and their latest Portuguese class, but one place you may not expect is in the halls of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, one of the top dance schools in the country. Through the Ailey Extension, which offers open classes to absolute beginners and seasoned dancers alike, students can learn samba from the indefatigable carioca Quenia Ribeiro. To the beat of five excellent percussionists (which is quite a thrill for an open dance class), students learn samba no pé and Bahian-style samba to the rhythms of samba carioca and samba-reggae as well as maculelê, afoxé, maracatu, xaxado, and frevo.

Not only is Quenia's class incredibly fun and suitable for a variety of levels, but like other classes at the Ailey Extension, it's really judgement-free, unlike other big dance schools that offer open classes in New York. Quenia's something of a samba ambassador; she runs her own samba group in New York, and has performed in Brazil, China, Greece, and throughout the United States.

I spoke to Quenia about her experience teaching samba in New York and her perspectives on Americans' interest in Brazilian culture.

Where did you study ballet, and why is it important for learning samba?

I studied classical ballet for 18 years in Rio de Janeiro. I started dancing when I was six. Some of the schools I attended were Teresinha Goulart Escola De Ballet in Tijuca and later at the Escola Estadual de Danca Maria Olenewa. I also received a scholarship at Dalal Achcar.

In response to your question, you don't need to have a ballet background to dance samba. For me it helped and I feel a firm background in ballet is helpful for dancers in general. I always tell students of all ages that they need to keep their minds open to all forms of dance; just because you dance one thing it does'nt mean you shouldn't try and learn from other genres of dance as well.

When did you move to New York? Why did you decide to move?

I moved from Rio de Janeiro to New York City in 1995. My mother and brother were already living here and I was always very close with them. I think I inherited my mother's adventurous spirit and I wanted to be in a new place that had a lot different cultures and people of different interests and backgrounds.

When did you begin giving classes at Ailey, and why did they decide to start offering samba?

I have been teaching at the Ailey Extension for about seven years. At the time, the Ailey Extension was interested in expanding to include more ethnic dance forms and I had been teaching at various studios in New York since 1997. I was approached by the director of the extension to teach samba and Afro-Brazilian and I have been there ever since.

What brings students to your class: interest in dance, in Brazil, or both? After taking your class, do students consider going to Brazil?

My students attend classes for a variety of reasons. Some of them have a great passion for various forms of dance and a solid dance background, whereas others are looking for a fun upbeat way to exercise that has some history and substance attached to it. As a student, you don't necessarily have to have direct roots to the culture to appreciate, learn, and participate; just a real interest. 

Some of my students are getting ready to take a trip or have just returned and are intrigued by Brazil's culture, music, and dance. Others are interested through their own cultures; maybe they have some roots in Africa, or through the diaspora in the Caribbean or South America. Brazil also has a real appeal to people the world over. I think movies and media has shaped many people's ideas about Brazil in both negative and positive ways and the truth is that Brazil is not one thing: it is really diverse culturally and geographically, and has many faces.

During your time living in the United States, have you noticed any changes in Americans' perspectives on Brazil?

In my environment in the United States, people were always really interested in Brazil. When I moved here, I started taking capoeira classes, so there were a lot of people from the U.S. and from Europe, Japan, etc. who were already very interested in the culture of Brazil. Now, I think in general people are really more clued in to Brazil as an economic and global player through the media and that has expanded people's ideas and consciousness as well.

Many foreigners tend to think of samba and soccer when they think of Brazil. What's your take on that?

Brazil is really famous for samba and soccer so they're always going to be associated with Brazil in many people's minds. That is not say that Brazil does not have a lot of other things to offer as well. I think in general people don't really understand the cultural power or significance of samba to many Brazilians. It's a social phenomenon: it's something that came from simple people that transcended color and monetary and social barriers. The thing is that samba and soccer are a combination of a lot of different elements and that is why they are so recognizeable to non-Brazilians. They are both living art with many colors and variations, highly developed and evolving, but firmly connected to the roots and history of Brazil.

Visit Quenia's website and see her teaching schedule at the Ailey Extension.

Photo: Antoine Tempe, courtesy of Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.