Adding to this year's adventures, I'm now spending several weeks in Sao Paulo! My visit here is very different than my stay in Argentina: it's shorter, I don't speak the language (Portuguese), and my focus is necessarily more on work than it was in my foray further south. In some ways, then, I feel less immersed in the culture here than I was in Buenos Aires. On the other hand, I am fully incorporated into the local team here, and that has given me a richer and more connected experience.
Having these two experiences back to back has attuned me to the differences in Brazilian & Argentinian culture; here are a few:
In Argentina, the political engagement was palpable. Love her or hate her, President Kirchener was in the news constantly, and the press gave detailed coverage even to non-events like her trade delegation visit to Italy. Political protests are daily events in Buenos Aires, and they often close the major arteries, snarling traffic for hours. As the shadow of the dictatorship passes, young Argentinians increasingly feel empowered to work through the political system to shape their national future. When President Humala, a long-term ally of the Kirchener family, was elected in Peru, there was an excited buzz about the growth of a moderate-leftist block in the Southern Cone. The hard reality is that the Argentinian economy continues to go sideways, and many fear that a crisis may be looming. But coexisting with that sense of uncertainty is an earnest excitement among many Argentinians who feel newly empowered to shape their country's future.
The situation in Brazil is quite different. Brazilians have a reputation for being apolitical, and I've found this to be the case. People here don't raise the subject of politics with me, and when it does come up, the conversation doesn't go much deeper than head-shaking over political corruption and inadequate infrastructure. Party affiliation is weak here: ordinary people don't seem to identify with one political group or the other - a striking contrast with Argentina, where the political machines have formed youth groups and neighborhood associations that bring politics into people's daily lives.
If politics is not a dominant theme in Brazil, money is: Brazilians are known to be committed consumers. Public life in Sao Paulo revolves around its shopping malls, which are sprinkled throughout the city. Prime time television routinely airs shopping shows where the hosts walk through a store and talk about what is for sale and how much it costs; other Consumer Reports-type shows put manufacturers' claims to the test. Though superficial in one sense, the focus on spending is understandable and even exciting given the economic boom here and way it is raising scores of people from abject poverty into improved circumstances.
A final point of contrast: I find Brazilians to be forward-looking, less focused on history than on what the future may bring. For Argentinians, on the other hand, the past is still present in so many ways. In the 1930s, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world, and the feeling of lost glory weighs heavy on the national psyche. The legacy of the dictatorship still has Argentinians talking of the need for justice and national reconciliation - even 20 years after its fall. The tango, Argentina's traditional dance, is based in feelings of loss and longing. "Saudade" meaning longing or nostalgia is a Brazilian word, but I feel it better describes the Argentinian world view. I feel a seriousness, an earnestness, and a traditionalism in Argentina that I don't feel in Brazil.
Brazil (or at least Sao Paulo) is all about the future: growth, development, and a new-found role on the world stage. Explosive growth has almost obliterated any trace of traditional architecture and any sense of the past. Brazilians are unconflicted about this: modern architecture is the rage - the newer and cleaner, the better. While Argentinians seem almost French in their traditionalism and their love of complexity, Brazilian Paulistas remind me of LA.
