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Brazil

Culture & Identity

Way of Life

In many ways Brazil is the odd country in South America, but in so many other ways the culture seems perfectly in line with neighboring countries. With roots in Portugal, Brazil has a relaxed southern European attitude as people and friendships are more important than business and money, food is eaten with friends and the people tend to have a culture centered on Catholicism. However, the country also has incredible economic potential and there are always people willing to exploit this as the large cities are centers of trade and finance. The country's diversity also contributes to its uniqueness, especially due to its heavy African influence, which dates back to its days of slavery.

Despite its massive size, most people in Brazil live in the cities, of which there are many huge cities, most commonly on or near the coast. These cities have grown very quickly as nearly everyone moves here, with or without a job. This has created a division between rich and poor more striking than just about anywhere in the world. Despite the poverty in the streets, cities are also home to most of the jobs in the country so the cities continue to grow.

For those with jobs, most people begin the day at about 9:00 am and work until about 6:00 pm. Some people take an extended lunch, which is popular in many South American countries, but today other people go without. Children tend to get done with school early so they can eat lunch at home and school in Brazil ends at about 14 or 15 years of age unless a person seeks out higher education.

Most nights are spent with family and weekends generally revolve around sports, music, and/or barbeque (or churrasco). When the weather is nice churrasco is essential and during important sporting events, especially soccer (football), the schedule is shifted so everyone can watch. It is times like the "World Cup" and Carnaval that bring the Brazilians together, but for most of the year the people are very independent and seem to have smaller social circles than most Latin American countries. Despite this, free time, and social occasions are highly valued and people tend to place great importance on this time over work or business as many people view work as a necessary evil, but little else.

Ethnicity

Just over half of Brazil's population claims to be entirely of European descent. Among these people most have at least some Portuguese in them, but Spanish, Germany, and Italian are other common ethnicities found in Brazil today. Another 40% claims to be a combination of European and African. The last 10% is made up of people who are entirely of African descent or belong to smaller ethnic groups, including the many indigenous groups in Brazil.

Language

The only official language in Brazil is Portuguese and this is overwhelmingly the most widely spoken language in the country. In some border areas Spanish is spoken and among many ethnic minorities various other languages are also spoken, including Italian, Japanese, German, and some indigenous languages. Portuguese is a Romance language that is very similar to Spanish and more distantly related French, Italian, Romanian, and others.

Religion

Nearly three quarters of Brazil's population is nominally Roman Catholic, although few people are regularly practicing. Another 15% of the population is Protestant and nearly 10% claim no religion at all.

Catholicism is a Christian religion that is one of the first Christian religions and was the most dominant religious force in the Christian world for years. Catholicism believes that there is a single God who created everything, a savior, the son of God, Jesus Christ who is the forgiver of sins, and there is the Holy Spirit, which makes up the last part of the Holy Trinity.

Relationships, Marriage, & Family Life

Weddings in Brazil take place in numerous venues, including in the church as well as in other spaces. No matter the setting, there are a few traditions that nearly all couples abide by. The bride and groom are not allowed to see each other on the day of the wedding prior to the ceremony and the bride will often arrive about 10-15 minutes late to ensure this. The groom will also pick his groomsmen on the wedding day itself. Whose last name the couple takes, in what order, etc. is up to the couple as many women will add the man's last name to theirs, which could already include both their father's and mother's surname. The average age that Brazilians marry is 28 for men and 26 for women. After the ceremony and the signing of the marriage license there is usually a large reception, which involves drinking, food, and dancing above all else.

Once married the family life in Brazil is somewhat different from region to region and from couple to couple. However, for nearly all Brazilians family is extremely important and is the central hinge on which society relies. Family dynamics are vastly different because of different values, cultures, and economic states. Today working adults are changing the family dynamic as work is undertaken for longer hours each day and in many cases both parents work; for others, work is difficult to find and parents spend most of their time at home with their families. No matter the circumstances, few Brazilian families have a large number of kids as one or two children is normal.

Dress

The dress in Brazil varies from region to region and even from neighborhood to neighborhood both now as well as in the past. In the way of traditional clothing in Brazil there is no consistent as the people are quite diverse and there was clothing from Africa, the Far East, and Europe among others. Due to this the traditional clothing was more dependent on ethnicity and geography than on anything else. Today this diversity in dress continues.

On some beaches skimpy outfits are the norm, while on other beaches, especially in the south, the dress and swimwuits tend to be more conservative so try to stick with shorts or short-sleeved shirts that aren't too revealing. Moving away from the beaches and further inland the dress generally becomes more conservative. In most places shorts are uncommon as the people tend to wear simple shirts, slacks, and perhaps even a sweater for colder weather.

As a visitor to Brazil you can wear just about anything without offending the locals, but do cover up when not on the beaches, especially if visiting churches. Also be ready for rain as much of the country is covered with rainforests and the rains can arrive any time of year throughout the country. If going out or doing business in the country, the Brazilians tend to dress quite formally and you should follow suite as how a person dresses tends to indicate status and the respect you will receive as a result. Women should also take care to have their nails done as this will be notice, or at least not having them done will be noticed.

Although dressing nicely for business and meals out is important, also try to avoid dressing in a way that indicates wealth or attracts excessive attention. Wearing shirts that indicate you are foreign or wearing a flashy watch are great indications that you are from out of town and in many places this is an invitation to potential criminals. Also try to avoid wearing the colors of the Brazilian flag, which are green and yellow, particularly in business settings.

Behavior

The international image of the Brazilians is of a people who are very liberal and this can be seen in their political representatives as well as their enjoyment of partying at their huge Carnaval celebration. However, most of the time the Brazilians are much more conservative, especially after getting off the country's most popular beaches. This is primarily based on the tenants of the Catholic Church.

As a visitor to Brazil try to follow the lead of the locals by dressing conservatively when not on the beach (see above for details), dining in the local etiquette (see our Brazil Dining & Food Page), and avoid sensitive conversation topics, such as politics, finances, and business unless initiated by your local counterpart. Also try to avoid being loud, rude, showing off wealth, or getting noticeably drunk in public (except during Carnaval of course).

Identity

The people of Brazil tend to identify as being "Brazilian," but some of the indigenous people cling to an identity that is defined by their ethnicity and language while many recent immigrant groups are viewing themselves as both Brazilian as well as by their ethnicity, for example Japanese-Brazilians or Middle Eastern-Brazilians.

Most of the people in Brazil identify as being "Brazilian," which is both a culturally- and politically-defined term. To some people, anyone who is a citizen of Brazil is included as being "Brazilian," while for others "Brazilian" is linked to a culture (but not an ethnicity). However, the two definitions seem to merge in the sense that the Brazilians are quick to adopt new introductions to their culture; for example Middle Eastern and Japanese Food are now considered a part of the Brazilian diet and culture. So even immigrants who call Brazil home are often times included as being "Brazilian" in the cultural context because many aspects of foreign cultures are a part of Brazilian culture so it's easy to include nearly everyone in this definition. From a political sense, every citizen is included in this definition.

For the people who identify in more than one way, for example the Japanese-Brazilians and the Middle Eastern-Brazilians, the definition of their identities is a bit different from that of being wholly "Brazilian." While many Brazilians may include these groups of people as a part of Brazil, some people cling to their past, their native language, their ancestry, or their historic culture so maintain "Japanese," etc. as a part of their identity. The Brazilian part of their identity seems to be more politically-defined for these people, giving them a political identity in Brazil and an ethnic or cultural identity in Japanese, etc.

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This page was last updated: November, 2013