Not too long ago, I was asked to checkmark the ethnic background I best identified myself in a governmental agency form. I picked ‘Latin American’ and ‘African descent’ – choosing these over the option of ‘Brazilian’. Any stranger looking at me and seeing a white woman marking these boxes would either believe I made a mistake or question my mental health.

Taking an in-depth view of the African influence on Brazilian culture, one will find a historical journey in the city of Salvador (Brazil), which has the largest population of African descendants in the world outside of the continent of Africa, and in the heart of the region where many known and popular Brazilian dance styles were born. This is where I am originally from and where I lived, and I was immersed in this African-rooted culture for a significant part of my life.

African culture is present in many aspects that make up the cultural identity of many individuals in Brazil, and mine, so a (white or not) Brazilian Canadian considering herself an Afro-descendant makes a lot of sense to me!

Afro-Brazilian Heritage in the Canadian Dance Scene

African roots are considered one of Latin Americans and Brazilians’ most important cultural heritages. These deeply impact our dance, music, traditions, faith, and cuisine. Some dance styles play a key role in preserving and promoting Afro-Brazilian cultural heritage across the globe. In Canada, we can find many dance professionals working with them, such as Samba, Capoeira, Orixás Dance, and Afro-Brazilian Dance. 

The video below got one of these professionals (and a respected one in the Toronto dance scene!) and who is giving us an insight into the powerful and divine world of Orixá Dancing, Candomblé, and the Afro-Brazilian heritage in dance! More than an established Afro-Brazilian dance professional, Newton Moraes is a Candomblé practitioner.

If you are still wondering what I said earlier and asking yourself: “…and why did she choose ‘Latin American’ over ‘Brazilian’?”, this is a conversation for another post! 😊

Goreti Cardoso

September 23 , 2023