Pop Culture: Protesting

After two dictatorships (the most recent and violent of the two lasting from 1964-1989) Brazilians take their right to complain and be heard very seriously. 

As such, protesting is a huge part of pop culture. Anything about the way things are run can be grounds for a protest.

Anything.

Don’t believe me?

When my mother was in university the students were sick and tired of always being fed boiled eggs (ovo cozido). In true Brazilian style, they took the famous chant of

o povo                               the people

unido                                 united

jamais será vencido          will never [ever] be beaten

and tweaked it a bit.

Then, they took to their campus’ cafeteria chanting

o ovo                                 the boiled egg

cozido                               

jamais será comido!           will never [ever] be eaten!

until the cafeteria staff agreed to fry the eggs once in a while. 

While my mother has no picture of the protest, here’s a similar situation:

The Technology Federal University of Paraná (UTFPR) has the most expensive university cafeteria in the country. In 2013 the students felt that the the price was ridiculous for the quality of food they recieved.

Lo and behold, this happened: 

Bottom right:

beterraba de novo? - radishes again?

Top left:

comida ruím eu msm faço - if I wanted food that tastes bad I would cook it myself

Literally, “food that tastes bad I can make [by] myself”

au au au pelo menos bota sal! - at least put [some] salt [in the food]!

Note: While “au au” can mean “woof woof” in this case it is meant as a sound that that rhymes with sal (salt).

Top right:

temos o RU mais caro do país - we have the most expensive university caff in the country

RU stands for “restaurante universitário” (university restaurant), the Brazilian term for an university cafeteria

Side note: Brazil does not distinguish between university and college. Almost all post secondary education takes place in universities. The other version is called a faculdade (faculty), and the only thing that distinguishes it from an university how many courses it offers. Also, federal universities have the reputation for being the best universities in the country (as opposed private ones), and (like with all public universities) are tuition-free if you manage to pass the tough and extensive entrance exam (vestibular).