Concienca Negra

November 20th is the Day of Black Consciousness here in Brazil. The date falls on the death day of Zumbi--the last leader of the famous Quilombo Palmares. Quilombos were self-sufficient communities made up of run away slaves,hidden in the forests of Brazil. They are a very important symbol of resistance to slavery in Brazil. Palmares was the largest and most famous Quilombo that lasted for 100 years and was home to hundreds of afro-Brazilians.

So of course, today, in order to celebrate there was a huge parade and music. There were actually two parades one starting in Campo Grande (right near my house) and the other starting in Liberdade (a neighborhood with the largest population of blacks). Those two parades both headed over to convene in Pelourinho (the old city).

We wanted to go to the Liberdade parade (which is larger and more renown) so we tried to hop on a bus, but the bus got stuck behind the Campo Grande Parade. After moving a half block in a half hour we go off the bus and began walking with the parade. They were playing this crazy Brazilian funk music that if you stood too near the float would beat your heart for you. Different black organizations were holding banners, but overall the parade was pretty small. On its other side we got on another bus to Liberdade, but at the suggestion of a Brazilian got off the bus super early to avoid the bottlenecking. It was still early but already dark (5 or 6pm) and we walked up and down hills through many neighborhoods in the city. Finally as we peaked our last hill we looked down to see a mass of people. There were thousands squeezed in the street. We waited for the parade to swallow us up and soon we were sardined next to strangers all stepping to the same beat the was blaring from the big rig driving along side us. There were a few moments where the crowd swelled and the street narrowed and the bodies squished me so tight that I couldn't control my own movement, but other than that it was a pretty festive atmosphere. Everyone was singing along to the music with their hands raised or clapping.

I got my necklace yanked off me from behind. It was a little unnerving because it felt like I was being strangled for a second...(you can imagine the force required to break a chain off someone's neck). But I held on to it so I still have the pieces. A friend of mine got her money stolen (50 reais...less than 25 dollars), and another got her phone taken. But even though this reflects badly on Brazil, and it does suck, its really not anything malicious...there is just a lot of poverty (and racism) that forces people to be thieves. The Brazilians we were with felt so guilty, like it was their fault.

Tired of the crowds, after about an hour or two we got in front of the parade and walked to Pelourinho.