We should read - and listen to - Raduan Nassar

Last year, brazilian writer Raduan Nassar was honored with Camões Prize, the biggest premium to authors from Portuguese speaking countries community. Many people consider him the most important brazilian novelist alive. But all these credentials haven't prevented current brazilian federal government to disrespect him.

The prize was received by Nassar last Friday (2. 17. 2017), during a ceremony at Lasar Segall Museum, in São Paulo. In his speech, the writer spoke out on Brazil's present situation ("We've lived in dark times".), as well as denounced the wrongdoings of Michel Temer's administration ("The mentioned facts configure, by extension, a repressive government as a whole: against workers, against judicious retirements, against federal universities of gratuitous education [..]. Government linked, by the way, to neoliberalism, with its scandalous concentration of wealth, which has been worsening the poor people's life of the whole world"). The full speech can be found here (in Portuguese)

Shortly after, the government official, Culture Minister Roberto Freire, discourteous, rather than just pretending that he had nothing to do with those issues, talked shit, having a row with the ceremony guests.

Why are politicians so arrogant, generally so full of their own "importance"?

Raduan Nassar, 81 years-old, is a recluse man who retired from literary life in 1984 and nobody knows why. Since then, he's become a full-time farmer whose public appearances are quite rare. So, when this man is receiving a remarkable literary distinction I think he's entitled to say whatever he wants to! His work is much more important to my country than the current government, which has arisen from a stealthy coup d'etat, backed by media companies and some members of the judiciary.

Being black in Brazil

First of all, shall we read some lines of Adão Ventura?

"Come shine or come storm,

my body is enclosed

by this black skin".

Ventura was a brazilian poet. He lived many years here in Belo Horizonte (my hometown) and passed away in 2004. It's funny that his poetry - brave, simple, straightforward - remains unknown for the most in my country. Unfortunately. 

Let's read the rest of the poem:

"Come shine or come storm,

my body is fenced

by these high walls

- corrals

where is still coagulated

the blood of slaves

Come shine

or come storm,

my body is enclosed

by this black skin".

Several Adão Ventura's poems often remind me that Brazil is not a racial democracy, as many people think (inside and outside the country). Brazilian racial democracy is a myth! Just take a look at our parliament. Although more than 50% of Brazil's population are black there are less than 5% african-brazilians in the Congress. The same "standard" is repeated on entertaiment industry, fashion, advertising. And what about the wage gap between whites and blacks? What about police brutality against black people?

I'm proud to be a black brazilian guy. But I must recognize too: We have serious issues with racism here, even though some people pretend not see them.