NÃO SOU BRASILEIRA

At least three times a day here ever since I first stepped off of the plane into Brazil in Rio, I have been asked the question, “Você está Brasileira?” And while I wish I was because I am so in love with this place, the answer to that question is unfortunately, “Não. Não sou Brasileira”.

This series of events has made me, for one really greatful because I believe that Brazilian people are beautiful, and two, think about the genetic indicators that makes one Brazilian. Over the course of this trip, that is exactly what I have been able to learn about and I love it.

The Brasilian people are “made up” of three main genetic influences. The European influence was brought over through the colonization by the Portuguese, the African influence came from the African slaves they brought with them, and the indigenous influence came from the natives of the land that were here when the Portuguese arrived.

A statue that we passed one day while touring really moved me because it is dedicated to the three groups of ancestors that make up the

Brazilian people.

It is a statue of three young robust girls. Each one is facing a different direction; the direction of the homeland of the Brazilian ancestors. The one pictured closest has African features, and faces out towards the country of Africa. The one in the middle with European features is standing out towards Portugal, and the one in the back of the picturing facing inward is looking back at the indigenous people.

This mixture has created the Brazilian people that we see today, and is exactly why the genetic make up of the people here is so unique. The people here are extremely diverse and consist of all different types of skin tones as a result. When the Brazilian people here think that I am Brazilian too, it truly makes me smile because of the honor and compliment that I see in that. And while it surprises me because I have never gotten that from anybody until I began to tell people that I was going to be coming here, it does not surprise me because of how diverse the people of this country actually are. You could be practically any skin tone and perhaps be Brazilian. That is what I admire so dearly about the Brazilian people, and why I politely smile when I say, “Não. Não sou Brasileira.”