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Monthly Archives: February 2012

Carnival in Brazil

26 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by Rosaliene Bacchus in Brazil, Festivals

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Aracati, Ash Wednesday, Axé, Debauchery, Forró, Fortaleza, Lenten Season, Maracatu, Rio Carnival, Samba, Trio elétrico

Carnival in Fortaleza – Ceará – Brazil (wwwcarnaval2012.org)

Almost everything stops during Brazil’s four-day carnival extravaganza and festivities. The most celebrated festival in Brazil takes place yearly before Ash Wednesday. For some revelers, four days are not enough. They continue partying and binging throughout Ash Wednesday and the rest of the week.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Christian forty-day Lenten Season. It is a period of fasting and penance in remembrance of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, and culminates in Jesus’ resurrection (Easter Sunday). Carnival can therefore be considered as a kind of last indulgence in worldly pleasures before cloaking oneself in self-denial during Lent.

In the early years in Brazil, I watched the Rio Carnival broadcast live on the TV. The vibrant colors and sparkle mesmerized me. I fell in love with the samba. With lessons from my girlfriends, I learned to dance the samba… somewhat.

During carnival in Fortaleza, capital of the State of Ceará, thousands of people leave the city for the beaches and the interior, as well as for other cities across Brazil. The exodus starts on Thursday night and escalates on Friday night. To avoid the bumper-to-bumper drive along the coastal and other highways, we left the city early on Saturday morning.

For those who stay in Fortaleza and the tourists who visit the sunshine, coastal city for carnival, there is Maracatu – an Afro-Brazilian street parade in which the participants dress up like the Portuguese royal court of the Baroque period. Since most Cearense are moreno (brown-skinned), they paint their skin black. (I found this weird the first time I watched the parade.)

Aracati, 87 miles distant from Fortaleza, is one of the popular carnival destinations in Ceará. People dance through the streets behind trios elétricos – large trucks specially equipped with high-power sound systems and platforms for musical bands and singers to perform for the crowds. The favorite rhythms are forró and axé.

The year my sons and I spent carnival in Aracati, the sun was merciless. Jet streams of water sprayed the crowd, keeping body temperatures in check. Conservative and a teetotaler – a spoiler for ‘playing’ carnival – I observed the revelry from the sidelines of the crowd. Exhausted at the end of the day, I stayed with my sons at the pousada (inn) while my friends danced through the night. With the sound of the trio elétrico reverberating throughout the small town, sleep did not come easy.

After a few years, the Rio Carnival lost its allure. For me, it became a tourist attraction that thrived on debauchery. Across the nation, carnival appeared to be a pressure cooker valve for the working class: a release from the year-long pressure of living on minimum wage. People do whatever it takes to raise money to ‘play’ carnival.

 

Working in a Family-owned Firm in Brazil

19 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by Rosaliene Bacchus in Brazil, Relationships, Working Life

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Calor humano brasileiro, Family-owned firm, Friendship in the workplace, Harmonious workplace, Laid-back way of doing business, Northeast Brazil, People who care, Staff party

 

Castro Brothers: Laying the foundation for my career in international trade Fortaleza – Ceará – Brazil

This weekend is Carnival in Brazil, but I will share my experiences during Brazil’s four-day extravaganza next Sunday. Today, I salute the calor humano brasileiro I enjoyed while working in a small family-owned firm in Fortaleza, Northeast Brazil.

At first, it felt strange to address my two bosses by their first names only. The formal manner of address is Senhor or Senhora followed by the first name and not the surname as is the British and American custom. Thank goodness surnames are not generally used! Brazilians have two or more family names. The first one is usually their mother’s family name, followed by their father’s family name. A married woman receives her husband’s last surname, giving her three surnames.

When some of the firm’s male business associates addressed me as querida (darling), I assumed that they were flirting with me. I learned that this was simply the Brazilian’s laid-back, friendly way of doing business.

Women over fifty are addressed as Dona instead of Senhora. In later years as an import/export manager, I felt old when the staff began calling me Dona Rosely.

People held in high regard – due to wealth, social status or profession, government officials – gained the title of Doutor or Doutora, even though they were not medical doctors or held a PhD. So if you wanted to establish a good rapport with the customs officer at the seaport, addressing him as Doutor would be a good start.

Two brothers managed the small import/export consultancy firm. The considerate and respectful manner in which they treated their employees impressed me. In this way, they set the tone for a harmonious workplace. Absent were the political and other intrigues and back-stabbing common in my former workplaces.

Whenever one of the brothers celebrated his children’s birthdays, he and his wife invited the staff and our families. (The staff reached a maximum of six during my stay.) My two sons have their own tales about these events. On one occasion, my seven-year-old fell into the swimming pool while trying to retrieve his balloon. My boss jumped in to rescue him.

Spouses and children were also invited to the firm’s end-of-year staff party. This also occurred in another family-owned firm where I later worked. Such practices fostered friendships among staff members beyond the workplace.

The sense of being part of a larger family played an important role in helping me to bounce back after my husband returned to Guyana, leaving me and my sons alone in Brazil.

My friendship with the two brothers and the rest of their large family grew over the years; even after I left the firm. Two years before I left Brazil, my sons and I joined the family for their Mother’s Day celebration at their mother’s home. What an honor to have shared such a celebration! That day also reminded me how much I had lost when I lost my own family.

It makes such a difference in our lives when there are people who care.

Guyana: Politics in the Workplace

05 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by Rosaliene Bacchus in Guyana, Working Life

≈ Comments Off on Guyana: Politics in the Workplace

Tags

Dictatorship government, Dr. Walter Rodney, Father Bernard Darke, Human rights violations, Jonestown Massacre, Political victimization of academics, roman catholic church, University of Guyana, Vincent Teekah

University of Guyana Library (Photo posted on http://www.koorneef.net)

After the Jonestown Massacre on 18 November 1978, it became increasingly dangerous to criticize or oppose our dictatorship government. A new opposition party emerged under the co-leadership of Dr. Walter Rodney, a distinguished Afro-Guyanese historian, threatening the Afro-Guyanese government – put in power since 1965.

On another front, the Roman Catholic Church, through its weekly newspaper, continued to expose and attack the government’s human rights violations.

On 14 July 1979, during an orderly public demonstration, three thugs in the crowd attacked the Assistant Editor of the Catholic newspaper. A short distance away, Father Bernard Darke – a British Jesuit, teacher, and photographer for the Catholic newspaper – photographed the beating. On seeing Fr. Darke, the three thugs turned on him. After beating him, one of them stabbed him. Later that day, he died in the hospital from ruptured lungs.

The night of 24 October 1979 marked the end for the Minister of Education, Vincent Teekah. His shooting remains a mystery. Then, the following month, on November 18, the police gunned down a prominent member of Dr. Rodney’s party. Three months later, on 18 February 1980, two other members of the party escaped death at the hands of an unknown gunman. Ten days later, another activist was not so lucky.

During this period, I was working as an Assistant Librarian Trainee (1979-1980) at the University of Guyana Library to gain my certification in Library Studies.

As Dr. Rodney enjoyed great support among the academic staff and students, the University of Guyana became a stage for political activism and dissension. As a government-run institution, the university also had a strong government presence. It soon became evident that I could not trust my work colleagues.

For upholding the library regulations, activists of the two major opposition parties labeled me a government supporter. This attitude mystified me. Caught in a photograph (published in a local newspaper) sitting next to a government minister at a cultural event did not help my precarious position. On the other hand, my criticisms of government policies made me an enemy of our Comrade Leader’s supporters in the Circulation Department under my supervision.

My tolerance limit reached its peak after I took a stand for fairness and justice in the workplace. I joined the strike of academic and other staff and students in protesting the contract termination of one of the university’s top lecturers, a vocal activist of Dr. Rodney’s party. As for other colleagues who participated in the strike, our workplace became treacherous – a political cesspool.

On 13 June 1980 came Dr. Walter Rodney’s turn to meet his maker. A remote controlled car bomb took his life. To this day, his assassination remains unresolved. I joined the procession of an estimated 15,000 Guyanese of all races to pay tribute to a man willing to risk his life to free us from tyranny and chart a new course.

My hope for a better Guyana – where individuals of all races could contribute their talents and skills towards building our nation – died with Dr. Walter Rodney. Four months after his assassination, I dropped out of the Library Training Program and returned to working as a secretary in the private sector. I joined the ranks of university graduates marginalized in our native land.

In January 2012, the University of Guyana Council terminated the contract of its most vocal academic critic of the ruling Indo-Guyanese party – in power since 1992. Academic staff, workers, and students are on strike against the victimization of academics for their political stance or opinions and the government’s infringement on the university’s academic and administrative freedom.

We change our shoes but continue to trample the same beaten paths.

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