Bahia Blues

In preparation for the Brazil field seminar in the month of May, I have been assigned several readings. I responded to one of the readings with concerned emotion and sadness. The reading was sprinkled with beautiful language and mournful scenes; tragedy is the only word that comes to mind when I think of Yasmina Traboulsi's realistic novel, Bahia Blues. It is an emotional and gripping read about the lives of people who move from Bahia, Salvador to bigger cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The characters are so in depth and believable that I believe, in some way, they actually exist--by this I mean that these characters probably represent real people who have taken the journey from a poor rural area in order to find a 'better life' only to discover a slum.

The tale follows many characters as they leave their familiar neighborhood square in Salvador and venture to the favelas of Rio de Janiero and Sao Paulo. The favela environment forces some characters to become drug dealers, killers, and hustlers. Even though some critics may claim that it is a stereotypical story about favelas because it includes violence, melodrama, and extreme poverty, the narrative voice is genuine. The story can read as "too sensational" during horrific scenes, however who is to say that such a reality does not exist? The book is set up like a novela, a soap-opera. The novela and the televsion screen is even apart of the tale itself, so the author seems well aware that this tale could seem sensational, such as the television novelas; however, the internal dialogue and poetic language proves that these characters have depth and lives. It's as if the author just took a moment to show us what could or has happened to families who have moved into favelas.

As I prepare for my trip to Brazil, I often inquire about the social status of Brazilians in my Brazilian literature class. The professor is very helpful and mostly accurate with her comments since she is a Brazilian sociologist; she explains that favelas have a bad reputation, but not all the people who live in the favelas are criminals. She informed me that she had students from the favelas and every day they had to prove against this negative stereotype. People think they are criminals and therefore people treat them like criminals. My professor also added that even Brazilians forget that people who live in the favelas are apart of the Brazilian economy; they have an economic status and contribute to Brazil's growing economy (whether through drug dealing or daily purchases at the store). There are convenience stores, post offices, banks, etc., in favelas. So, this reputation of the favela harvesting criminals is still, unfortunately, believed and because of this their lives seem less significant. However, in Bahia Blues Traboulsi does not present a sensational, violent, and melodramatic favela, instead she presents a complex tale with characters who have real voices; real complex lives; characters who change to assimilate with their environment and its lifestyle.

I am both eager and frightened of the idea of visiting a favela; eager because I know I will meet real people with normal (nonviolent and noncriminal) lives, however I am frightened because I know that I will witness blatant poverty and I will be reminded of my own poverty-stricken past; I will remember that I am not doing enough (or nothing at all) to help the people...no... not doing enough to help the person who I once was.

The only way to deal with poverty is to do something about it and in Margeret Willson's Dance Lest we all Fall Down, she tells a story of her experience of being an activist in the favelas of Bahia. Even though, the situation seemed overwhelming, she still takes the journey to achieve what is needed; she becomes the change that is needed.

Bahia Blues is a fictional account that resonates with so much truth, it really made me think in depth about my trip to Brazil; the bitter-sweet introduction of this country still piques my interest and seduces my emotions.