For over 500 years Afro-Brazilians have expressed racial and cultural identity in ways reflective of both local and international realities. In the northeastern city of Salvador da Bahia, predominantly populated by Afro-descendents, capoeira, Candomblé, carnaval and a rich musical tradition testify to this dynamic process of racial and cultural formation. Grupo Cultural Olodum—a musical band, Bloco Afro (carnival club) and grassroots community organization all at once—offers a unique look at contemporary forms of racial and cultural identity in Salvador.
Residents of the Pelourinho-Maciel neighborhood, the historic center of Salvador, created Olodum in 1979 as a carnival club to represent them in the annual parade. It was founded during a time of intense political ferment under the repressive military dictatorship that came to power in the 1960s. A deep divide separated the military government from the rest of society over questions of governance, freedom of expression and equality. It was also a time when previously excluded social sectors, Afro-Brazilians among them, began to voice their demands and express their identities in new and innovative ways.
By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the “economic miracle” professed by the military regime collapsed under the weight of hyperinflation, stagnation and foreign debt. Despite its repressive tactics, the military government was unable to contain the rise of citizen activism. As the government edged towards a political opening, highly organized groups including the student movements, the MST (Landless Rural Workers’ Movement) and the PT (Workers’ Party) became increasingly influential. Still, race-based concerns did not figure prominently on their agendas even though, by most social indicators—employment and wage levels, vulnerability to police brutality, life expectancy—Afro-Brazilians lived in disproportionately precarious conditions.
This neglect of racial issues at home, combined with the increasingly visible political and cultural achievements of Afro-descendents globally, prompted Afro-Brazilians to set up institutions by which to assert themselves culturally and advocate for their sociopolitical improvement. The wars of national liberation in Africa, particularly in Angola, were a source of inspiration and pride for Afro-Brazilians. Reggae, soul and funk musicians like Bob Marley, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and James Brown became very popular among youth in Salvador. Local musicians began incorporating these new sounds and ideas from abroad to enrich traditional samba music. In this context, Olodum coined its own musical style: “samba-reggae.” Olodum also drew symbolism from ancient African civilizations—those of Egypt, Mozambique and elsewhere—as well as local Afro-Brazilian histories, such as those of the quilombos (runaway slave societies), in an effort to inform the public of their heritage. Afro-Brazilians began to adopt more Afrocentric gestures and fashions in their hairstyles, clothing and greetings. They also looked to the leadership of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., and discussed the achievements of the U.S. civil rights movement, which served as a model for the burgeoning black movement in Brazil.
Afro-Brazilians had only begun to involve themselves in the global assertion of black identity in these ways when Blocos Afros such as Ile Aiye and Olodum emerged in Salvador. These groups were initially dismissed as “un-Brazilian” because of their foreign-influenced representations and unconcealed racial pride. They expressed values associated with blackness that went beyond the traditional meanings and boundaries of race in Brazil. For decades, Brazilian racial debates were bound by the myth of racial democracy rooted in miscegenation and its illusory claim that all citizens—regardless of race or color—received equal treatment. With increased activism at home and racial affirmation abroad, Afro-Brazilians sought to debunk this myth and to politicize the deep racial and cultural cleavages in Brazilian society. In 1989, in what proved to be a historic event, Olodum, together with other Blocos Afros and the Movimento Negro Unificado (Unified Black Movement), successfully lobbied the state government to adopt an amendment to the Bahian Constitution condemning racial discrimination. More recently, Olodum has played an indispensable role in a government-sponsored project to renovate Pelourinho, mediating between the state and long-time residents—mostly poor Afro-Brazilians—who face relocation because of the urban renewal project.
As Olodum exemplifies, Afro-Brazilians, especially those in Salvador, have mined local and international spheres to forge their own distinct identities, creatively blending local experiences of racism and black consciousness with contemporary and ancient influences—mostly those associated with racial affirmation—from abroad. This syncretic self-representation has encouraged a re-evaluation of traditional cultural values associated with blackness in Brazil and has bolstered advocacy for an improvement in the condition of blacks in Brazilian society.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marcio Siwi is research associate of the Latin America Studies Program at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York City.
