Understanding Brazilian Culture

Sérgio Buarque de Holanda’s “Roots of Brazil” focuses on helping readers understand the national and regional identities that were common in Latin America during the 21^st century. The text also looks at the multiple cultural influences, like those of Europeans colonists, Africans, etc., that have shaped Brazil. The book seeks to make readers comprehend the complexity of Brazilian society and use it as manual in order to distinguish Brazilians from other nations. The text also explains how Brazil became more peaceful, successful and stable after independence, and that political agreements are games, and their rules are subject to change.

The “cordial man”, a Brazilian character in the text, is heavily influenced by Portuguese traditions. He represents the idea overcoming restraints and of compromise. Through him, readers are able to understand major characteristics of Brazilians, such as being ruled by the heart and emotion when making decisions. The concept of “personalismo” is very important when analyzing Brazilian society. The author suggests that Brazilians consider relationships and the values that come with them very powerful and important. The text states that Brazilians hold this cultural trait, where they value personal relationships over institutional relationships, status and material gain.

The “cordial man” explains how Brazilians are very people oriented, and where family ties are more important than institutional links. The concept of “personalismo” explained by the “cordial man“ also highlights the importance of collectivism in the Brazilian society. One is able to observe the importance of teamwork in Brazil’s national sport, soccer. Brazilian soccer players are said to play with “ginga”. I have been watching soccer games for my entire life since it is a popular sport all throughout South America, and Brazilian soccer players do have something no other athletes have. “Ginga” refers to a rhythm, form of movement and fluidity that comes naturally to them. It is said to be a combination of samba and capoeira, two other important cultural elements in Brazilian culture. “Ginga” is not like mechanical soccer, but is the flow of the ball where players coordinate naturally with their teammates as if they were dancing with the ball. Concepts like materialism and egoism all have something to do with individualism, and sports like basketball is the best manifestation of it. On the other hand, Brazilians enjoy playing soccer and are aware that soccer teams cannot rely on one player, and that the teams performance depends on all of the players involved.

I decided to do some research in order to support the argument stated in the text where Brazil is said to be a collectivist society rather than an individualistic one. According to Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions framework, Brazilian society, since birth, are integrated into strong, cohesive groups. Also, Brazil’s score for individualism is 38, a very low number compared to that of the United States being 91. This being said, Brazil has a high degree of interdependence between the members of society.In my opinion, the elements and concepts found in this text still remain alive and will continue to educate generations in the future about Brazilian society.