More Brazilians
Brazilians are, for the most part, descendants of the Portuguese who colonized the country, of Africans enslaved here, of different groups of post-colonial immigrants and also of native indigenous peoples. Yes, Brazil is a multi-ethnic society, a great mixture, but being Brazilian is also and mainly a cultural or even emotional phenomenon, rather than properly ethnic or civic.
No anthropological study is needed to confirm that we are a sensual people. One of the meanings for sensuality in Portuguese language dictionaries is "propensity to the pleasures of the senses." This meaning of the word interests me more than the others, linked to lust and voluptuousness.
My interest has always been the struggles in adversity, overcoming hardships without self-pity and, if possible, even with some joy and creativity. In this search I witnessed scenes that seemed more like the 19th century had taken the 21st century by storm, but I also met many people who taught me the true meaning of the word resilience. People like Francisca Chagas dos Santos - a woman from the Amazon - in the photo taking a quick cigarette break while helping her son wash the walls of the house flooded by the putrid waters of the Acre River.