Pop Culture: Protesting

A gif protesting the rise in public transportation fare



I wanted to go to the protest, but I was short 20 cents.

Literally, I wanted to go to the protest, but I was missing 20 cents for the [bus] ticket.

Pop Culture: Protesting

Only kisses will silence us

Literally, Only kisses will shut our mouths

Even more literally, Only kisses will cover our mouths

Pop Culture: Protesting

Protest against the rise in public transportation fare



Ash stole my bike, I need public transportation of good quality

Pop Culture: Protesting

In a protest against public transport price rise



It’s a disgrace to have bus tickets that are more expensive than pot

Pop Culture: Protesting
Protest against the government prioritizing spending for the FIFA World Cup 2014 instead of much-needed hospitals



We want FIFA-standard hospitals

Pop Culture: Protesting

Peaceful yes! Passive never!

Pop Culture: Protesting



leave Candy Crush and come to the street

Note: “come to the street” is understood to mean “join us out here in demanding change”

Pop Culture: Protesting

Protest against police violence

I hate rubber bullets
Throw tic tac [instead]

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).

Colloquialisms, sayings, Slang

Quem tem boca vai à Roma – Anyone with a mouth [can] go to Rome

The Brazilian equivalent of “he who asks shall receive” - NOT “all roads lead to Rome”. The idea is that anyone whith a mouth can ask for directions.

O que não mata engorda – That which doesn't kill you makes you fatter

The Brazilian version of “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger”.

Nós quem, cara-pálida? – Who's “we”, paleface?

A way of saying “Don't put me in the middle of this!”

Calma que o Brasil é nosso! - Calm [down], Brazil is ours [already]!

Somewhat equivalent to “Hold your horses!” and “Where's the fire?”. Used when anyone is rushing for no reason.

Educate Yourself!

Preschool is optional, and is referred to as "Educação Infantil" ([Early] Childhood Education).

Elementary or Primary is known as "Educação Fundamental" (Basic Education).

Middle School or Secondary School lasts 3 years, and is known as "Educação Secundária". 

A grade or year used to be called a "série" (which is also our word for "series", by the way). The education system was recently changed and they are now officially referred to as "anos" (years). This change was rather new, so you'll likely hear a number of people refer to grades as séries. 

I'm a 90's kid, and grew up going to segunda série (Grade 2), etc. As far as I know it was still called a série when I moved to Canada in 2001. That's how recent the change is.

Homeschooling is not an option in Brazil, to ensure no kids are being kept home to work.

Better Safe Than Sorry

If ever in Brazil (or any tropical place for that matter) there are some safety tips northerners - and by that I mean anyone who lives in the northern hemisphere in general – don't seem to be aware of.

Dealing with potentially poisonous creatures (mainly insects and arachnids).

To anyone in the tropics this will seem like a stupid thing to point out, but you must never ever put your hand into a dark place (eg mail box) without looking first. The tropics are rife with insect and arachnid life, and nice dark spots are their favourite hiding places. That isn't to say you will always find a bug (let alone a poisonous one) poised to pounce on unwary victims, but it is a very real possibility. And that doesn't mean you should wear gloves every time you get the mail, but rather remember to take a quick peek first just to be safe.

You also should never rummage around woodpiles/rubble/etc without being very careful for the same reason. A nice woodpile is a spider's and scorpion's best friend. Which again isn't to say that there will be anything to worry about hiding in there, but it's better to be careful than have to make a panicked mad dash to a hospital.

- Note: a good rule of thumb to guess how poisonous a scorpion is is “the bigger the scorpion the less poisonous they tend to be”. That's because they will generally gely on their pincers for hunting and defence. If you ever do get stung it's best to hurry over to a hospital just to be safe. The scorpion being big just means you probably don't need to panic about dying within the next five minutes, not that you should just shrug and go back to business as usual.

With that being said, even after it's dead a scorpion's sting is still poisonous. 

If you're in the country (as in “not in a city”, not as in “the country of Brazil”) it's always a good idea to shake out closed shoes (eg sneakers) before putting them on, just in case someone came across it when you weren't looking and thought it looked like a neat place to spend the night in.

Remember, when you run into these creatures their point of view is that they are in their home and you are the intruder. Always show them due respect, no matter whether that might truly be the case.

Educate Yourself!

Education in Brazil is a Federal domain.

In Brazil kids in elementary usually only go to school for half the day. You're either part of the morning class or the afternoon class.


Teachers in Brazil are known by their first name, never their surname. Calling someone Mr./Ms. Surname is considered extremely formal. This goes for all levels of teaching, including university. The closest we come to that is adding Mr./Ms. before an elderly person's name, and even then it's not an absolute you-will-be-shunned-for-not-doing-it must (eg I called the co-principals of my school in Kindergarten/Grade 1 Dona Otília and Senhor Daniel, but that was because they were both well in their seventies/eighties).


A class (especially Primary) is often referred to as a "turma" (usually translated as "gang" but with the modern connotations of gang turma is actually closer to "team"). You would use it to say something like "Eu sou da turma da tarde, a turma da Marlene" (I'm in the afternoon class, the class [taught by] Marlene).

When not using the teacher's first name students often call their teachers “professor/professora” (teacher). The word is often also shortened to “Fessor/Fessora”.


Recess is called "recreio". 


There are three interchangeable words for homework: 
- Dever de casa (literally, home duty)
- Lição de casa" (literally, home lesson)
- Para casa (literally, for home)


Graduation from High School is not considered a big deal. The graduation that gets all the praise and cool gifts is graduating university. 


Colégio does not mean college. It is another word for escola (school). (Eg. Colégio Santo Agostinho merely means "Saint Augustine School").


There is no distinction between college and university in Brazil. They are both known as universidade (university). 

Oh, What's In a Name?

I've heard people get confused over why Latinos have two last names. Here's the thing. We don't have two last names. We have two sobrenomes, or surnames. You get one of your mom's and one of your dad's in any combination they prefer.

This is how it works:

Let's say Bob and Sally had a baby. They name that baby Fred. That's his nome (name). I guess they decided not to give Fred a segundo nome (second name), which in English is known as a middle name.

Now, Sally's full.name is Sally Smith Anderson, and Bob's is Bob Williams Jones. 


This means that baby Fred could be named any of the following combinations Bob and Sally like best:


Fred Jones Smith
Fred Smith Jones
Fred Anderson Jones
Fred Jones Anderson
Fred Smith Williams
Fred Williams Smith
Fred Williams Anderson
Fred Anderson Williams

This means that whatever two sobrenomes his parents choose are both legally his surname, and he can use either one by itself or the two together.

Here's a real life example with Latino names:

My father's surnames are "de Oliveira" and "Flecha". My mom's is "Braga" and "Espeschit".

They then decided that the combination they liked was "Espeschit Flecha". This means that in Brazil I can say my sobrenome is "Espeschit", "Flecha", or "Espeschit Flecha", and they are all legally true.

Culturally Cultured

                                     The Personal Bubble

Anglo-Saxons (and perhaps other cultures I am unaware of) have this thing called "The Personal Bubble". If you've ever lived in the UK and/or North America you have probably heard of this. You might even be rolling your eyes and thinking "Duh! Who hasn't?". 

Brazilians, that's who. 

Well, I think it's safe to say that to Latinos in general this is about one of the strangest, most alien concepts ever. We're a very touchy, grabby kind of people. We hug, kiss, lean on each other, and unceremoniously sit on friend's laps if there's a lack of space in an almost subconscious level, because to us this is no big deal. 

Eleven years after moving to Canada and my mom still has to constantly remind herself not to touch someone's shoulder when apologizing for running into them.

We most certainly never say "excuse my reach". Why would you, if there's no "personal bubble" to infringe the boundary of?

If you see someone leaning on a person of the opposite sex it doesn't necessarily have a sexual connotation. If you're tired and there's a friend handy to rest your head on their shoulder then why not? (Of course, this has a bit of a double standard - girls leaning on boys is normal, girls leaning on girls is normal, and a guy leaning on a guy can get you weird looks. Sorry, boys). Don't get surprised if people brush by you without instantly apologizing or stick out their arm right in front of your face to grab something without so much as a "by your leave".

Brazilians have no qualms about standing within what would be considered a "personal bubble", especially in more crowded situations. Which isn't to say you shouldn't tell off a stranger for feeling you up or standing too close. Just be aware that the more acquainted you are with someone the less they will think of staying out of what you might consider to be "personal space".