Brazilians in North America
I.Historical
Perspective
A. Country of
origin - Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world and the
sixth most populous. At 3,286,488 square miles (8,511,965 square kilometers),
it is larger than the continental United States and comprises half of South
America.
B. Language(s) - Portuguese is Brazil's official
language. It differs slightly in pronunciation from the Portuguese spoken in
Portugal. English and French are popular second languages. Spanish is becoming
more popular in some circles as Brazil establishes stronger trade ties with its
neighbors.
C. Religious Background - Brazil traditionally is a strong
Roman Catholic country. At one time, nearly 95 percent of the population
claimed membership in the Catholic church. However, membership has dropped to
less than 70 percent, while membership in other Christian churches and
Protestant groups is growing rapidly. Since the founding of the republic in
1889, there has been a separation of church and state, and religious freedom is
guaranteed.
D. Past Immigration Patterns - No one knows for sure how many
Brazilians left their country over the past 15 years to settle abroad in search
of a better life. Some put that figure at 2 million or more, but there's really
no way of knowing.
Brazilians don't like to be confused with Hispanics. Besides the Portuguese
language and different ethnic backgrounds, there is an invisible cultural
barrier that sets them apart. They prize their original, unmistakably Brazilian
culture. They are proud of their roots, and they keep alive their music, their
food, and the Brazilian national sport, soccer. Community life in the areas
that concentrate Brazilian immigrants tends to revolve around soccer games and
church activities. There are no political and cultural organizations that go
beyond the local range. Small local newspapers thrive on community news, but
there is still no medium that can reach and integrate the groups scattered
around the United States. Brazilians in the New York area, settled mainly in
Queens, Danbury, Connecticut, and Newark, New Jersey, know very little about
the lives of their country-folk in Framingham, in the Boston area, or in the
Miami-Orlando axis, the Chicago area, or other parts of the country.
II. Current/Future Challenges
A. Population - During the decade ending in 1975, 100,000
Portuguese immigrated to the United States from Portugal, the Azores in the
mid-Atlantic, and the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa. By 1995
over a million had come.
B. Present Immigration Patterns- More than half of
Portuguese-speaking Americans settled in New England. Fall River,
Massachusetts, which is 50 percent Portuguese, is the heart of New England's
Portuguese-American community of 150,000.
C. Church Planting - Over 30 Portuguese speaking churches and
missions are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. New churches are
needed in all areas, especially in the Northeast, California and Florida. There
is a renewed openness to church planting among established church
pastors.
D. Family Life
- Education - Families traditionally are large and may
include the extended family. However, smaller nuclear families, with one to
three children, are becoming more common. The family is led by the father, but
the mother influences decisions, especially those affecting the home. Women,
even those who work outside the home, are responsible for household duties.
Middle- and higher-income families often hire domestic help. Children rarely
leave home before they marry. Unmarried men may leave early for employment
reasons, but they usually live at home until they are 30.
- Occupation
- Brazil has the largest economy in South America and the ninth largest in the
world. However, income distribution is highly unequal and poverty affects more
than one-third of the total population. Unequal land distribution is a
contributing factor: nearly half of all private lands are owned by only one
percent of the people. Many of the landless live in favelas (shantytowns) on
the outskirts of urban centers.
III. Resources
A.
Materials - Non-published - Individual research done by Mark
Hobafcovich.
B. References – “Brazilian Americans” by Mark Hobafcovich,
Profiles of People Groups in North America.
C. Culturegrams, 2002: www.culturegrams.com