So Willians and Aime were chosen to portray the Bibical characters of Adam and Eve in a Carnaval parade. OK. But the question here would be, if you are a person who believes in the Biblical story and if scientists continue to insist that humanity started in Africa, why is it is necessary to refer to them as the “black Adam and Eve”? I think we all know the answer: he who holds the pen writes the history. And as Biblical characters are often portrayed by persons who look European, we see why they must be labeled this way. Anyway, on with the article…
by Marinatto Luã
“It’s a pleasure, we gave birth to humanity.” Willians José da Silva Marins, 34, and Aime do Carmos Rodrigues Lopes, 23, could present themselves in this way. After all, it was given to these two residents of Niterói, in the Metropolitan Region of Rio, the task of embodying, in the parade of the Caprichosos de Pilars Samba school for Series A, the black Adam and Eve idealized by Carnaval producer Amauri Santos.
“The joy is huge, not only because of coming out in a prominent position, but also because it is not common to see blacks occupy a space like this”, comments Willians, who is an accounts clerk and humble, says that his package doesn’t do the extra large vine used to cover him justice. “More or less, right … But it’s all in fun, and we take it well!”
If Adam is a true veteran in Rio’s Carnival, parading since 1998, the same can’t be said of Eve. Until October of 2012, Aime had never even set foot on a court of a Samba school.
Upon learning that she will debut in a position so important, the girl, very much single, tried to prepare: 305ml of silicone were added to each breast, and an intensification of her workout. The worst thing is that the morena, although she will step onto the Avenida as she came into the world, swears that she’s extremely shy…“But when entering in Sapucaí (1), I’ll be calm! My biggest fear is only the teasing at work and college”, she says.
And of course, the writer of this article, as is common in the Brazilian media, had to refer to Aime as a “morena”. Since Aime didn’t mention if she self-identifies herself as a negra or not, we won’t make an issue of this although one would assume she does as she is being asked to portray the “black Eve.” To understand this issue a little more, please see our article “The Brazilian mulata: black woman or something entirely different?”, actress Camila Pitanga on people questioning her blackness or this piece on racial classification.
Please do share your thoughts on this presentation. Do you see this as simply the display of the human body in its natural state and thus shouldn’t be a big deal? Or do you see this display as the continuation of the eroticization of the black body? Before responding to this question, please see our piece on the sexual connotations associated with black Brazilian men and “mulata” women.
Notes
1. The Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí (Passarela Professor Darcy Ribeiro or Sambódromo in Portuguese) or simply Sambadrome is a purpose-built parade area in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where samba schools parade competitively each year during the Rio Carnival.
Source: Globo Extra, Wikipedia
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