Note from BW of Brazil: The beautiful young woman in the photos above is Priscila Cidreira Santiago of Salvador, Bahia. If you don’t remember her face, she won the right to represent the state of Bahia in last year’s Miss Brasil competition. But this didn’t happen without some controversy that was the talk of the internet last May. You see, Priscila is from Salvador, Bahia, the city and state that is known throughout Brazil as the African center of Brazil, not only because of its vast black majority (80% and 76% respectively) but also due to its strong connections with African culture that is a legacy of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
With such a large percentage of African descendants, there was absolutely NO excuse for the vast presence of women who looked as if they carried little if any African ancestry. Although it is up for debate as to how many of the women in the Bahia contest should be considered black, it was indisputable that Priscila was one of the few darker-skinned women in the contest.
This lack of recognition of black beauty continues to be one of Brazil’s most blatant contradictions. For decades, the country’s elites proclaimed the country a “racial democracy” even in the face of the blatant invisibility of Afro-Brazilians in so many important areas of society, everyday racism and only one Miss Brasil of visible African ancestry in the 60 years of the contest. A policy of which can also be noted on the country’s modeling runways.
But Priscila has kept it moving. After securing the right to represent her state in the Miss Brasil competition, she claimed third place in the 2013 Miss Brasil competition, has made a number of special appearances, met with the governor of Bahia and is currently featured on the cover of the country’s only black magazine, Raça Brasil.
The beauty also found the time for a photo session modeling some very expensive jewels. This is how the session was covered by Afro Bahia magazine last October:
Priscilla Cidreira, Miss Bahia 2013, was featured in a photo shoot by the photographer Sérgio Muricy on rocking 14 jewels that were to be auctioned to raise funds for Telethon. Having come in third place in the Miss Brasil contest of 2013, the native of Bahia was photographed wearing pieces made by renowned jewelry designer Denis Moraes for the companies Ama Joias and Nossa Prata. Among the pieces are a set of ring and earrings for zirconium and emeralds, plus a set of Indian rubies. The pieces were to be auctioned on Friday, October 25. The photo shoot took place in the Lifelines studio in the Pituba neighborhood of Salvador, Bahia. Miss Bahia’s makeup was done by Zezinho Santos and her hair by César Silva.
Congrats Priscila and keep on movin’ don’t stop, no!
Source: Revista Afro Bahia
Despite the racial discrimination we also have to overcome the region barrier.
The south and southeast are consider better than the north and northeast and you can imagine why. So therefore, we have so many issues to over come. Only with self respect, strength, determination and God knows what else we have been fighting all those issue and still come back as human being.
It has not being easy…
Obama’s election has definitely slap the so called ” Racial democracy” Brazilian hypocrisy on the self called “Elite” people. While Pres.B. Obama remain president African descent will have some visibility in Brasil. After that, I do not know.
Obama as President of the United States only curtailed a certain stereotype. Thereafter, I think we are going to continue improving as a people (Black people) all over the world. However, I strongly believe that, in the same manner that Jews reinforced their connection to Israel and made a stand on it, Black people all over the world and in the Diaspora need to make a connection to Africa. That connection can be in the form of business, social, religious etc etc. until which we will begin to warrant the respect as a race. The system that tore us apart and raped our resources in Africa was a deep and well crafted system. It continues to dominate us, but technology is slowly unraveling the truths about that system and it is only a matter of time that respect is ushered onto the darker skinned color race of this globe. Every living black person on this earth has a rightful inheritance in Africa, so claim it by getting reconnected to the motherland!!!