Beyond the aesthetic question, kinky/curly hair is a symbol of resistance against racism: after straightening for years, woman feels empowered with natural hair

Black Brazil Today

Note from BW of Brazil: The discovery of the beauty in kinky/curly hair is a process that tens of thousands of Afro-Brazilian women are experiencing these days (see here and here). Obviously more than simply an issue of beauty aesthetics, it is a symbol of the struggle against the racist concepts of the beautiful and the ugly that permeate Brazilian society. The fact that the story below is so common among black women reveals how people of visible African ancestry struggle with self-acceptance when everyone is taught to believe that certain features, such as straight hair, are better than others. Below is yet another example of the natural hair revolution that is has slowly taken place in Brazil over the past few decades. 

Beyond the aesthetic question, kinky/curly hair is a symbol of resistance against racism

Stories such as that of the publicist Raísa Azeredo, who started straightening…

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Twin daughters of Nigerian father and Brazilian mother, Tasha & Tracie Okereke represent ‘poor black girls from the ‘hood’; with new fashion movement, they show how to have swag on the cheap

Black Brazil Today

Note from BW of Brazil: There is a common belief that says that people get extremely creative when they lack financial resources. Sometimes this creativity leads to illegal activities and sometimes it leads to so incredible movements, inventions, creations and ideologies. The young ladies we present in today’s piece are certainly showing what one can do when they can delve into their creative sides and express themselves. Brazil is an incredibly unequal country in which extreme poverty and vast wealth can often only be separated by a street or avenue. And although the population generally follows the ideology that affords a certain level of respect or disrespect according to one’s possessions and status, increasingly, Brazil’s poor and middle class black population are pushing for more acceptance and recognition of not only their very existence and humanity, but the fact that they have aspirations to do things and achieve goals…

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In Salvador, Bahia, male and female models participate in selection for Afro Fashion Day parade

Black Brazil Today

Note fro BW of Brazil: Salvador, Bahia, in Brazil’s northeast, is known internationally for the strong African influence on its culture. And this influence can noted in the music, groups such as Ilê Ayê, the vast numbers of terreiros (houses of worship) and of course, the skin tones, hair textures and overall physical features of the majority of the population. As such, what better city to host the Afro Fashion Day parade with a cast of attractive brown-skinned models, both masculine and feminine? The agency promoting the event brings exposure and opportunities to black models who may otherwise have been ignored. Why would that be? Because equal to the rest of the country, even in ‘Black Bahia’ there is a not so subtle desire to shine the spotlight on Bahians with a more European appearance. Remember the controversial beauty contest full of light/white-skinned models? Or the

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Goddesses in Ayê: Model and fashion designer Aline Andrade exalts African culture and black beauty in photo shoot

Black Brazil Today

Note from BW of Brazil: Sometimes photos speak for themselves. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and if that is true, there are no words necessary for today’s post! Simply put, the photos below represent the essence of black beauty in a tastefully done artistic layout. Aline’s look and presence fits in very well with our series called “Faces of Afro Brazil“, other photo essays presented here and represents the representation we seek to share of Black Women of Brazil! Congratulations to Aline Andrade and Lincon Justo in their collaborative effort!

Goddesses in Ayê

Check out a gorgeous fashion editorial inspired by the Goddesses in Ayê Iansã and Oxum, along the river. A work that exalts African culture and black beauty.

by Francine Moura

Recently the photographer Lincon Justo in partnership with model and fashion designer Aline Andrade collaborated in the photo shoot entitled Deusas…

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“I grew up without having a black couple that represented me,” says actress Taís Araújo. Starring with real life husband in new series, pair has become a reference for black couples

Black Brazil Today

Actor Lázaro Ramos and wife actress Taís Araújo star in the Globo TV novela ‘Mister Brau’

Note from BW of Brazil: Actress Taís Araújo has been featured or mentioned in a number of previous posts and for good reason. She is perhaps the most accomplished of black actresses in Brazil and the holder of a number of titles of the type, “the first black woman to”…She is a shining star for black Brazilian women who are starved for role models in Brazil’s ultra Eurocentric media that represents anything but the physical diversity of the Brazilian population. Over the past few years, and particularly of late, since the announcement and debut of a new novela in which she stars with real-life husband Lázaro Ramos, the couple has become a reference for many Afro-Brazilians who recognize the necessity of seeing black couples in real life and in the media. As…

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After having her second child, Taís Araújo shows her sexy side; actress set to return to TV alongside her actor husband with whom she is celebrating a 10 year union

Black Brazil Today

Actress Taís Araújo with husband, actor Lázaro Ramos

Note from BW of Brazil: Actress Taís Araújo has been a frequent feature over the years here on the blog. And for good reason. The woman remains stunning, has a long list of firsts under her belt, is one of the most prominent Afro-Brazilians in the media and is married to another top black actor, Lázaro Ramos, with whom she is celebrating 10 years of union. This union has recently produced the couple’s second child and to top all of that off, the couple will appear together again onscreen in another television series! Needless to say, things are set to take off for Taís once again! Now 36, the actress stunned many when she returned to her pre-pregancy shape only months after giving birth for the second time. Perhaps in celebration of this, the actress also posed for a number of sexy photos that…

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“How do you feel being a black woman in a patriarchal and racist country?” – ‘Black Soul’ exhibition in Rio de Janeiro reflects on empowerment of the black woman

Black Brazil Today

Note from BW of Brazil: Women telling their stories, revealing experiences and revealing with their words what it means to be a black woman in a country like Brazil. In fact, this is one of the objectives that led to the creation of this blog. Considering the comments we receive on this blog and social network pages, the information presented on this blog shatters many long held beliefs about the influence of race in the lives of black Brazilians, particularly black Brazilian women. The exhibit is another in long number of projects from across the country discussing the idea of black identity and experiences of how blackness is experienced in Brazil (and for good reason – see here and here), a number of which have been featured on this blog (see here, here or here, for a few examples). We wish success for this important…

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At Brazil’s top university, black militants invade a class and initiate a debate on quotas and racism

Black Brazil Today

Militants interrupt class at USP to initiate a debate on racism and affirmative action

Note from BW of Brazil: So the debate rages on! Nowadays it’s impossible to get an understanding of how people see race, class and privilege without tackling the issue of affirmative actions quotas for non-whites in Brazil. Initiated in the first few years of this century, the debate has brought to the forefront how divided Brazilians are when it comes to addressing centuries of oppression and exclusion of the black population from so many areas of Brazilian society. As any honest person could tell you, it is virtually impossible to climb the ladder of social status without a college education on one’s resume. And as numerous studies over the past decade have pointed out, those who most likely attain the education are overwhelmingly Brazilians who identify themselves as brancos, or white people. 

Signs demonstrate how…

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African fashion designers show off their works with 25 black Brazilian models during São Paulo Fashion Week

Black Brazil Today

Note from BW of Brazil: I like this idea. Year after year it is blatantly obvious how invisible black models are at Brazil’s top fashion shows São Paulo Fashion Week (SPFW) and Fashion Rio. This invisibility has been a regular complaint of black activists for as long as I’ve even paid attention to the events and that goes back to the first few years of the 21st century. The nation’s fashion industry, like its media, seemed to be saying, “we will present Brazil as a white nation regardless of how you people feel about it.” The industry continues to ignore demands of Afro-Brazilian activists and even with a judgement that levied a quota of 10% black model representation, they’ve managed to keep the shows overwhelmingly white. It’s actually pretty amazing. Even with African themes of past shows, black models remain essentially “blacked-out”!

For this year’s Spring-Summer collections presented at…

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Breaking the legs

Our favourite actress and model Stefanie Durval is the protagonist in the film Breaking the legs. Stefanie is the Queen of The City of God a favela in Rio de Janeiro.

The cast is mainly black with is mainly which is rare for Brazilian films, actor André Ramiro (elite troop) is also in the film.

The story is about a black woman, who is educated and living in the 1980s who ends up getting pregnant in adolescence and is left by the father to raise the child on her own, meaning she has to give up on her dreams of being an actress dropping everything to give a good education to her daughter Heloisa.

All through the film the daughter Heloisa dreams of seeing her parents together again.

‘It’s my first film as the main actress and mother in a film and I am very happy with the opportunity to have done a great job, and to have the gift of acting with André Ramiro because I’m such a fan of his’.

We are looking forward to seeing the film.

Cinematography by Lucas Nascimento, costume Joana Bueno, make Sylvia Victorian and great staff.

Professional page
https://www.facebook.com/stefanie.durvall