Oswaldo Sargentelli was quite a character. He started as a TV interviewer, and posed questions in a low husky voice. The questions became embarrassing to the 1970’s dictatorship so he was muted and had to reinvent himself as a “mulattologist”. That’s to say: he would “discover” beautiful mulatto girls (with generous derrieres) and showcase them in a Moulin Rouge-like samba review, mostly attended by tourists. The mulata in Brazil is the very epitome of sexuality (partially because racist politicians in early 20th century expected that by interracial inbreeding the population would eventually “whiten up” and so promoted the myth of the green-eyed mulata). This record must have been sold at his club, “Oba oba”.
Actually, it’s a little tad more complex than this “whitening” proccess. In late 19th, early 20th centuries, there were indeed racial theorists considering Brasil doomed for not being white – as Euclydes da Cunha. But the fact is that, starting in the 20s, we had an entire artistic movement – modernism – and latter a dictatorship in appraisal of mixed race. During Estado Novo, Brazil saw the mullato being transformed in the definitve Brazilian stereotype, a “more brazilian than thou” person. You may find moments of borderline mixed-race supremacism in pro-Vargas scholars as Gilberto Freyre and Darcy Ribeiro.
As for the mulattas, I think it’s a simpler and still sad history of black people being despicted as oversexed animals, just like in American minstrel shows. After all, the easiest part of pretending not to be racist is having a color-blind penis. Mulattas, having more european facial features, were considered more attractive than pure black girls, and so we had the infamous phrase: “black women for work, white women for marriage, mulatta for screw” (“negra pra trabalhar, branca pra casar, mulata pra trepar”).
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January 3rd, 2009 at 1:42 am
Tonight, ABBA tribute trio “Yabba, Dabba & Doo Doo” posing backstage.
After losing his “Elton John” wig, Mr. Dabba will have to perform without it.
“Will somebody give that dancing queen his crown!” 😉
January 3rd, 2009 at 3:28 am
These are funny faces? These are just people smiling.
January 3rd, 2009 at 8:05 am
Oswaldo Sargentelli was quite a character. He started as a TV interviewer, and posed questions in a low husky voice. The questions became embarrassing to the 1970’s dictatorship so he was muted and had to reinvent himself as a “mulattologist”. That’s to say: he would “discover” beautiful mulatto girls (with generous derrieres) and showcase them in a Moulin Rouge-like samba review, mostly attended by tourists. The mulata in Brazil is the very epitome of sexuality (partially because racist politicians in early 20th century expected that by interracial inbreeding the population would eventually “whiten up” and so promoted the myth of the green-eyed mulata). This record must have been sold at his club, “Oba oba”.
May 1st, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Actually, it’s a little tad more complex than this “whitening” proccess. In late 19th, early 20th centuries, there were indeed racial theorists considering Brasil doomed for not being white – as Euclydes da Cunha. But the fact is that, starting in the 20s, we had an entire artistic movement – modernism – and latter a dictatorship in appraisal of mixed race. During Estado Novo, Brazil saw the mullato being transformed in the definitve Brazilian stereotype, a “more brazilian than thou” person. You may find moments of borderline mixed-race supremacism in pro-Vargas scholars as Gilberto Freyre and Darcy Ribeiro.
As for the mulattas, I think it’s a simpler and still sad history of black people being despicted as oversexed animals, just like in American minstrel shows. After all, the easiest part of pretending not to be racist is having a color-blind penis. Mulattas, having more european facial features, were considered more attractive than pure black girls, and so we had the infamous phrase: “black women for work, white women for marriage, mulatta for screw” (“negra pra trabalhar, branca pra casar, mulata pra trepar”).
May 28th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Actually, my old saying was “negra pra trepar, branca pra trepar, mulata pra trepar.”