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Total population
14 517 961
According to the 2010 Census
7.61% of Brazil's population[1]
63.20% Roman Catholicism, 23.45% Protestantism,
0.31% Afro-Brazilian religions
9.18% No religion (including 0.27% Atheism and 0.04% Agnosticism), 3.55% Other.[2]
Related ethnic groups
Brazilian, White Brazilian, Pardo,
African, Angolan, Mozambicans, Yoruba, Igbo, Fon, Ewe, Afro-Argentine,
Afro-Chilean, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Colombian, Afro-Ecuadorian, Afro-Latin American, Afro-Mexican, Afro-Peruvian, Afro-Haitian, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Jamaicans, Afro-Costa Rican, Afro-Uruguayan, African-American

Afro-Brazilian or African Brazilian refers to a Brazilian national with African ancestry. The term does not have widespread usage in Brazil, where people with noticeable African ancestry are generally referred to as preto ("black") or pardo (multiracial or "brown").[3][4] These two categories are among five color categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with branco ("white"), amarelo ("yellow", East Asian) and indígena (Amerindian).[5] In 2010, 7.6% of the Brazilian population, some 15 million people, self-identified themselves as "preto" while 43% (86 million) identified as "pardo". Pretos tend to be predominantly Sub-Saharan African in ancestry, while Pardos tend to have African ancestry to a lesser degree than pretos. On average pardos are predominantly European, although all three ancestries (European, African and Native American) are often present.[6]

In recent years,[when?] Brazilian government agencies such as the SEPPIR and the IPEA, in their analysis of socioeconomic indicators, have been considering the categories "preto" and "pardo" together, as a single category called "negro" (Black, capital initial), since the indicators of living conditions of "pardos" and "pretos" are similar and the word "negro" can be used in other contexts, and not only when addressing pretos. However, this decision has caused much controversy, because there is no consensus about it in Brazilian society.[7][8]

Brazilians rarely use the American-style phrase "African Brazilian" to categorize themselves,[3] and never in informal discourse: the IBGE's July 1998 PME shows that, of Black Brazilians, only about 10% consider themselves of "African origin"; most of them identify as having a "Brazilian origin".[9] In the July 1998 PME, the categories "Afro-Brasileiro" (Afro-Brazilian) and "Africano Brasileiro" (African Brazilian) weren't used even once; the category "Africano" (African) was used by 0.004% of the respondents.[10] In the 1976 PNAD, none of these were used even once.[11]

Brazilian geneticist Sérgio Pena has criticised American scholar Edward Telles for lumping "pretos" and "pardos" in the same category. According to him, "the autosomal genetic analysis that we have performed in non-related individuals from Rio de Janeiro shows that it does not make any sense to put "pretos" and "pardos" in the same category".[12] In support of Sérgio Pena, for example, another autosomal genetic study on a school in the poor periphery of Rio de Janeiro found that the "pardos" there were found to be on average over 80% European, even though they (the tested students) thought of themselves as 1/3 European, 1/3 African and 1/3 Amerindian before the tests.[13][14]

According to Edward Telles,[15] in Brazil there are three different systems related to "racial classification" along the White-Black continuum.[16] The first is the Census System, which distinguishes three categories: "branco" (White), "pardo", and "preto".[17] The second is the popular system that uses many different categories, including the ambiguous term "moreno"[18] (literally, "tanned", "brunette", or "with an olive complexion").[19] The third is the Black movement system that distinguishes only two categories, summing up "pardos" and "pretos" (blacks, lowercase) as "negros" (Blacks, with capital initial).[20] More recently, the term "afrodescendente" has been brought into use,[21] but it is restricted to very formal discourse, such as governmental or academic discussions, being viewed by some as a cultural imposition from the "politically correct speech" common in the United States.

Brazilian race/colour categories[edit]

Main article: Race in Brazil

The first system referred by Telles is that of the IBGE. In the Census, respondents choose their race or color in five categories: branca (white), parda (brown), preta (black), amarela (yellow) or indígena (indigenous). The term "parda" needs further explanation; it has been systematically used since the Census of 1940. In that census, people were asked for their "colour or race"; if the answer was not "White", "preta" (black), or "Yellow", interviewers were instructed to fill the "colour or race" box with a slash. These slashes were later summed up in the category "pardo". In practice this means answers such as "pardo", "moreno", "mulato", "caboclo", etc. In the following censuses, "pardo" became a category on its own, and included Amerindians,[22] which became a separate category only in 1991. So it is a term for people who have a skin darker than whites and lighter than blacks, but not necessarily implies a white-black mixture.

Telles' second system is that of popular classification. Two IBGE surveys (the 1976 PNAD and the July 1998 PME) have sought to understand the way Brazilians think of themselves in "racial" terms, with the explicit aim of adjusting the census classification (neither, however, resulted in actual changes in the Census). Besides that, Data Folha has also conducted research on this subject. The results of these surveys are somewhat varied, but seem to coincide in some fundamental aspects. First, there is an enormous variety of "racial" terms in use in Brazil; the 1976 PNAD found 136 different answers to the question about race;[11] the July 1998 PME found 143.[23] However, most of these terms are used by very small minorities. Telles remarks that 95% of the population chose only 6 different terms (branco, moreno, pardo, moreno-claro, preto and negro); Petrucelli shows that the 7 most common responses (the above plus amarela) sum up 97%, and the 10 most common (the previous plus mulata, clara, and morena-escura) make 99%.[24] Petrucelli, analysing the July 98 PME, finds that 77 denominations were mentioned by only one person in the sample. Other 12 are misunderstandings, referring to national or regional origin (francesa, italiana, baiana, cearense). Many of the "racial" terms are (or could be) remarks about the relation between skin colour and exposition to sun (amorenada, bem morena, branca-morena, branca-queimada, corada, bronzeada, meio morena, morena-bronzeada, morena-trigueira, morenada, morenão, moreninha, pouco morena, queimada, queimada de sol, tostada, rosa queimada, tostada). Others are clearly variations of the same idea (preto, negro, escuro, crioulo, retinto, for black, alva, clara, cor-de-leite, galega, rosa, rosada, pálida, for White, parda, mulata, mestiça, mista, for "parda"), or precisions of the same concept (branca morena, branca clara), and can actually grouped together with one of the main racial terms without falsifying the interpretation.[24] Some seem to express an outright refusal of classification: azul-marinho (navy blue), azul (blue), verde (green), cor-de-burro-quando-foge. In the July 1998 PME, the categories "Afro-Brasileiro" (Afro-Brazilian) and "Africano Brasileiro" (African Brazilian) weren't used even once; the category "Africano" (African) was used by 0.004% of the respondents.[10] In the 1976 PNAD, none of these were used even once.[11]

The remarkable difference of the popular system is the use of the term "moreno". This is actually difficult to translate into English, and carries a few different meanings. Derived from Latin maurus, meaning inhabitant of Mauritania,[25] traditionally it is used as a term to distinguish White people with dark hair, as opposed to "ruivo" (redhead) and "loiro" (blonde).[26] It is also commonly used as a term for people with an olive complexion, a characteristic that is often found in connection with dark hair.[27] In connection to this, it is used as a term for suntanned people, and is commonly opposed to "pálido" (pale) and "amarelo" (yellow), which in this case refer to people who aren't frequently exposed to sun. Finally, it is also often used as a euphemism for "pardo" and "preto".[28]

Finally, the Black movement has synthesized groups "pardos" and "pretos" in a single category, "negro" (and not "Afro-brasileiro" or any other hyphenated form)[29] This looks more similar to the American racial perception,[30] but there are some subtle differences. First, as other Brazilians, the Black movement understands that not everybody with some African descent is Black,[31] and that many White Brazilians indeed have African (or Amerindian, or both) ancestrals – so a "one drop rule" isn't what the Black movement envisages,[32] as it would make affirmative actions impossible; second, the main issue for the Black movement isn't "cultural", but rather economic: it is not a supposed cultural identification with Africa, but rather a situation of disadvantage, common to those who are non-White (with the exception of those of East Asian ancestry) that groups them into a "negro" category.[citation needed]

However, this binary division of Brazilians between "brancos" and "negros" is nevertheless seen as influenced by American one-drop rule, and attracts much criticism. For instance, sociologist Demétrio Magnoli considers the sum of pretos and pardos as Blacks an "assault" on the racial vision of Brazilians. He believes that scholars and activists of the Black movement misinterpret the ample variety of intermediate categories, characteristic of the popular system, as a result of Brazilian racism, that would cause Blacks to refuse their identity, and hide themselves in euphemisms.[33] According to the same author, a survey about race, conducted in the town of Rio de Contas, Bahia (total population about 14,000, 58% of whom White), replaced the word "pardo" by "moreno". Not only "pardos" choose the "moreno" category, but also almost half of the people who previously reported to be White and half of the people who previously reported to be pretos also choose the moreno category.[34]

Ancestry brancos pardos pretos
European only 48% 6% -
African only  – 12% 25%
Amerindian only  – 2% -
African and European 23% 34% 31%
Amerindian and European 14% 6% -
African and Amerindian  – 4% 9%
African, Amerindian and European 15% 36% 35%
Total 100% 100% 100%
Any African 38% 86% 100%


Racial classifications in Brazil are based on skin color and on other physical characteristics such as facial features, hair texture, etc.[35] This is a poor indication of ancestry, because only a few genes are responsible for someone's skin color: a person who is considered White may have more African ancestry than a person who is considered Black, and vice-versa.[36]

Conception of Black and prejudice[edit]

In Brazil, a person's "race" is based primarily on physical appearance. In Brazil it is possible for two siblings of different colors to be classified as people of different races. Children who were born to a black mother and a European father would be classified as black if their features read as African, and classified as white if their features appeared more European.[37] With no strict criteria for racial classifications, lighter-skinned mulattoes were easily integrated into the white population, introducing a large proportion of African blood in the white Brazilian population, as well as a large proportion of European blood in the black population. This system is very different from that found in the United States, which had defined concepts of race due to the one drop rule so that people with any known African ancestry were automatically classified as Black, regardless of their skin color. Thus, many Black Americans have some degree of European ancestry, while few white Americans have African ancestry.[37]


Sociologist Simon Schwartzman points out that to "substitute 'negro' for 'preto', suppressing the 'pardo' alternative would mean to impose unto Brazil a vision of the racial issue as a dichotomy, similar to that of the United States, which wouldn't be true."[38]


Self-reported race in Brazil in 1872, 1940, 2000 and 2008[40][41]
Year brancos pardos pretos
1872 38.1% 42.2% 19.7%
1940 64% 21% 14%
2000 53.7% 38.5% 6.2%
2008 48.8% 43.8% 6.5%

Gilberto Freyre has described how few wealthy Brazilians admit to having African ancestry,[42] with people of darker complexion from the dominant classes usually associating their skin color with an Amerindian rather than African ancestry.

The revaluation of Black identity[edit]

In the last years, Brazil has been undergoing a process of redemption of its Black identity. This process was also reflected in national censuses. Each year the percentage of Brazilians who self-report to be non-Whites (pretos or pardos) is growing,[dubious ] while there is a decrease of the population that self-reports to be White. According to IBGE this is because of the "revaluation of the identity of historically discriminated ethnic groups".[43][not in citation given] In the social context of Brazil, where Blacks are seen as being in an undesirable situation of pauperism, disease, crime and violence, to claim Black identity was an unusual attitude.[citation needed] This trend is being changed for many reasons. First of all, it was because of the direct influence of African Americans,[citation needed] who are seen by Brazilians as the "race victory".[citation needed] It was also because of the social mobility of many Black Brazilians, through education and expansion of employment opportunities.[citation needed] If before only the very dark Blacks would be considered pretos by Brazilian standards of race,[citation needed] this ethnic revaluation is now also affecting many Mulattos.[dubious ] Brazilians in general may be willing to affirm their European ancestry, and any person with a significant amount of European ancestry was systematically classified as White.[15][not in citation given] Thus, it was extremely difficult for the Mulattoes jump to the Black side of their dual nature,[dubious ] because they rarely wanted to be confused with the mass of poor Blacks that makes up the racial imaginary of Brazilians.[dubious ] . The Brazilian racism is peculiar, because the widespread miscegenation has not formed a racial democracy, due to the strong anti-Black oppression, prejudice and discrimination that it has.[44][clarification needed] According to Darcy Ribeiro, the Brazilian racist assimilationism is perverse because it gives the impression that there is a greater sociability, when it actually divides the Black population in vast ranges of skin colors, which breaks the solidarity and reduces toughness.[clarification needed] It largely contrasts with the Apartheid found in the United States, which united all the population of African descent, regardless of skin color, providing a deep internal solidarity of the discriminated group, which enables it to fight for its rights[clarification needed] (even though Ribeiro considered the Apartheid model to be worse than the Brazilian assimilationism model when other aspects are considered).[44]

The Government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva created the "Ministry for racial equality" seeking the inclusion of racial issues in their policies. Among the measures taken, there are quotas in universities to Black students. These measures have been advocated by a part of Brazilian society, which believes that Blacks are socially disadvantaged and that this portion of the population needs government incentives, and the creation of a Black identity is a way to promote the necessary union of this population against poverty and discrimination. Another portion is against them. According to sociologist Demétrio Magnoli, to encourage the division of the Brazilian population in races and to privilege a certain segment of the society is very dangerous because they would encourage the creation of racial identities, which would promote violence and segregation.[45]

Affirmative action issue[edit]

In recent years, the Brazilian government has encouraged affirmative action programs for segments of the population considered to be "African-descendant"[citation needed] and also for the Amerindians. This is happening, in part, through the created systems of preferred admissions (quotas) for "racial minorities". Other measures include priority in land reform for areas populated by remnants of quilombos. To support these attitudes, it is argued that these groups have historically been discriminated because of their race, and they often appear in the poorest segments of Brazilian society, while the White population often appears in the upper classes. The affirmative actions have been criticized because of inaccuracy in the racial classification in Brazil. A scandalous case happened in 2007, involving the twin brothers Alex and Alan Teixeira. Both have applied for a place in the University of Brasília through quotas reserved for "Black students". In the university, there was a team of specialists and teachers who, through photos of the candidates, chose who was Black and who was not. The Teixeira brothers were identical twins, however only Alan was considered to be Black, while his identical brother Alex was not. Since that case, the affirmative action has been widely criticized, supported by the idea of the high degree of miscegenation of the Brazilian people, which makes the definition of who is Black and who is not very subjective. According to many scholars,[who?] the Brazilian society is not divided between races, but between the poor and the rich, even though it is widely agreed that the people of darker skin complexions suffer an "additional discrimination".[45]


Main article: Slavery in Brazil


Iberian conquerors and early slavery in the New World[edit]

The first Spaniards and Portuguese conquerors in the New World initially enslaved American Amerindian populations.[46] Sometimes this labor was available through existing Native American states that fell under the control of invading Europeans; in other cases, Native American states provided the labor force.[47] In the case of the Portuguese, the weakness of the political systems of the Tupi-Guarani Amerindian groups they conquered on the Brazilian coastline, and the inexperience of these Amerindians with systemic peasant labor, made them easy to exploit through non-coercive labor arrangements.[46] However, several factors prevented the system of American Amerindian slavery from being sustained. For example, Native American populations were not numerous or accessible enough to meet all demands of the settlers for slaves.[48] Furthermore, in many cases, exposure to Old World diseases caused the Amerindian population to diminish in number.[48] For example, historians estimate that about 30,000 Amerindians under the rule of the Portuguese died in a smallpox epidemic in the 1560s.[49] Due to such constraints on the use of indigenous population as a labor force, Iberian conquerors in the New World began relying increasingly on importing slaves from Africa as a primary labor force after 1570.[48][50]

African slavery in the New World[edit]


Slave life, Creole populations, and abolition[edit]

Afro-Brazilians dancing a jongo, c. 1822


Estimated disembarkment of Africans in Brazil from 1781 to 1855[56]
Period Place of arrival
Total in Brazil South of
Bahia North of
Total period 2.113.900 1.314.900 409.000 390.000
1781–1785 63.100 34.800 ... 28.300
1786–1790 97.800 44.800 20.300 32.700
1791–1795 125.000 47.600 34.300 43.100
1796–1800 108.700 45.100 36.200 27.400
1801–1805 117.900 50.100 36.300 31.500
1806–1810 123.500 58.300 39.100 26.100
1811–1815 139.400 78.700 36.400 24.300
1816–1820 188.300 95.700 34.300 58.300
1821–1825 181.200 120.100 23.700 37.400
1826–1830 250.200 176.100 47.900 26.200
1831–1835 93.700 57.800 16.700 19.200
1836–1840 240.600 202.800 15.800 22.000
1841–1845 120.900 90.800 21.100 9.000
1846–1850 257.500 208.900 45.000 3.600
1851–1855 6.100 3.300 1.900 900
African disembarkments in Brazil, from 1500 to 1855[57]
Numbers 510,000 958,000 1,720,000 618,000



Violence and resistance[edit]


Although there is a myth that the slavery in Brazil was more lenient, the reports of colonial chroniclers show the opposite.[citation needed] The African slaves in Brazil were known to have suffered various types of physical violence. Lashes on the back was the most common repressive measure. About 40 lashes per day were common and they prevented the mutilation of slaves.[44] After the violence, the wounds were washed with salt, pepper or vinegar to prevent infection. This washing was also painful. "Preventive punishments" were also common, as they served to keep slaves under systematic, permanent fear. Foremen monitored the slaves during all day, forcing them to comply with their tasks and physically repressing them as deemed necessary. In 1741, the Portuguese Crown decreed that all slaves who fled to quilombos should be branded in their backs with the letter F (from fugido, fugitive in Portuguese). Reincidents should have one ear cut off and should be sentenced to death.[citation needed] The colonial chroniclers[who?] recorded the extreme violence and sadism of White women against female slaves, usually due to jealousy or to prevent a relationship between their husbands and the slaves.[42]

Slaves resisted against slavery during all the centuries it lasted. The most frequent form of resistance was flight, which often led to death.[citation needed] Fled slaves tried to reunite, forming quilombos, communities composed of fugitive slaves. The biggest quilombo, Palmares, had a population of about 30,000 people[citation needed] and resisted for about 100 years, until it was finally destroyed by bandeirantes. Other forms of resistance were working slowly or hurting animals or destroying tools in order to hinder the production. The most notorious[dubious ] slave rebellion occurred in 1835, when Muslim slaves tried to kill whites and mulattoes considered traitors in Salvador, Bahia and free all slaves[not in citation given] in Bahia.[60] As with all other rebellions, the insurgents would have been repressed, killed or sold as slaves to the Caribbean.[not in citation given]


The Africans brought to Brazil belonged to two major groups: the West African and the Bantu people. The West Africans mostly belong to the Yoruba people, Fon people and other neighboring ethnic groups.[61]


Typical dress of women from Bahia



Abolition of Slavery[edit]

According to Petrônio Domingues, by 1887 the slave struggles pointed to a real possibility of widespread insurrection. On October 23, in São Paulo, for instance, there were violent confrontations between the police and rioting Blacks, who chanted "long life freedom" and "death to the slaveowners".[63] The president of the province, Rodrigues Alves, reported the situation as following:



It was as a response to such situation that, on May 13, 1888, slavery was abolished, as a means to restore order and the control of the ruling class,[65] in a situation in which the slave system was almost completely disorganised.


Had the slaves not fled en masse from the plantations, rebelling against their masters (...) Had they not, more than 20,000 of them, gone to the famous quilombo of Jabaquara (out of Santos, itself a center of abolitionist agitation), then maybe they would still be slaves today (...) Slavery ended because slaves no longer wanted to be slaves, because slaves rebelled against their masters and against the law that enslaved them (...) The law of May 13th was nothing more than the legal recognition – so as not to discredit public authority – of an act that had already been accomplished by the mass revolt of slaves.[66]

Evolution of the Black population in Brazil[edit]

Evolution of the Brazilian population
according skin color: 1872–1991
Population growth
Caucasians in white color
Mixed and indigenous in black
Negro in yellow
Asians are very few[67]
Percentual in overall population
Caucasians in white
Mixed and indigenous in yellow
Negro in black
Asians are very few[67]


According to Darcy Ribeiro the process of miscegenation between whites and blacks in Brazil, in contrast to an idealized racial democracy and a peaceful integration, was a process of sexual domination, in which the white man imposed an unequal relationship using violence because of his prime condition in society.[44] As an official wife or as a concubine or subjected to a condition of sexual slave, the black woman was the responsible for the growth of the "parda" population.[68] The non-White population has grown mainly through sexual intercourse between the black female slave and the Portuguese master, which, together with assortative mating, explains the high degree of European ancestry in the black Brazilian population and the high degree of African ancestry in the white population.[69]


The Brazilian population of more evident black physiognomy is more strongly present along the coast, due to the high concentration of slaves working on sugar cane plantations. Another region that had a strong presence of Africans was the mining areas in the center of Brazil. Gilberto Freyre wrote that the states with strongest African presence were Bahia and Minas Gerais. Freyre wrote, however, that there's no region in Brazil where the black people have not penetrated.[42] Many blacks fled to the hinterland of Brazil, including the Northern region, and met Amerindian and Mameluco populations. Many of these acculturated blacks were accepted in these communities and taught them the Portuguese language and the European culture. In these areas the blacks were "agents for transmitting European culture" to those isolated communities in Brazil. Many blacks mixed with the Amerindian and caboclo women.[42]

Geographic distribution of Black Brazilians[edit]

Brazilian states according to percentage in 2009.


Genetic studies[edit]

Genetic origin of Brazilian population (Perc.% rounded values)
Line Origin Negros
(White)[73][not in citation given]
Sub-Saharan Africa 85% 28%
Europe 2.5% 39%
Native Brazilian 12.5% 33%
(Y chromosome)
Sub-Saharan Africa 48% 2%
Europe 50% 98%
Native Brazilian 1.6% 0%

A recent genetic study of Black Brazilians made for BBC Brasil analysed the DNA of self-reported Blacks from São Paulo.[74]


Analyzing the Y chromosome, which comes from male ancestors through paternal line, it was concluded that half (50%) of Brazilian "negros" Y chromosomes come from Europe, 48% come from Africa and 1.6% come from Native Americans. Analyzing their mitochondrial DNA, that comes from female ancestors though maternal line, 85% of them come from Africa, 12.5% come from Native Americans and 2.5% come from Europe.[72]


The high level of European ancestry in black Brazilians through paternal line exists because, for much of Brazil's History, there were more Caucasian males than Caucasian females. So inter-racial relationships between Caucasian males and Sub-Saharan African or Native American females were widespread.[76]




Genomic ancestry of individuals in Porto Alegre Sérgio Pena et al. 2011 .[77]
colour Amerindian African European
white 9.3% 5.3% 85.5%
pardo 11.4% 44.4% 44.2%
black 11% 45.9% 43.1%
total 9.6% 12.7% 77.7%
Genomic ancestry of individuals in Fortaleza Sérgio Pena et al. 2011 .[77]
colour Amerindian African European
white 10.9% 13.3% 75.8%
pardo 12.8% 14.4% 72.8%
black N.S. N.S. N.S
Cor Number of individuals Amerindian African European
White 107 6.7% 6.9% 86.4%
"parda" 119 8.3% 23.6% 68.1%
"preta" 109 7.3% 50.9% 41.8%




Region[82] European African Native American
North Region 71,10% 18,20% 10,70%
Northeast Region 77,40% 13,60% 8,90%
Central-West Region 65,90% 18,70% 11,80%
Southeast Region 79,90% 14,10% 6,10%
South Region 87,70% 7,70% 5,20%



Region[84] European African Native American
North Region 51% 17% 32%
Northeast Region 56% 28% 16%
Central-West Region 58% 26% 16%
Southeast Region 61% 27% 12%
South Region 74% 15% 11%


Region[86] European African Native American
North Region 60,6% 21,3% 18,1%
Northeast Region 66,7% 23,3% 10,0%
Central-West Region 66,3% 21,7% 12,0%
Southeast Region 60,7% 32,0% 7,3%
South Region 81,5% 9,3% 9,2%

An autosomal study from 2011 (with nearly almost 1000 samples from all over the country, "whites", "pardos" and "blacks" included, according to their respective proportions) has also concluded that European ancestry is the predominant ancestry in Brazil, accounting for nearly 70% of the ancestry of the population: "In all regions studied, the European ancestry was predominant, with proportions ranging from 60.6% in the Northeast to 77.7% in the South".[77] The 2011 autosomal study samples came from blood donors (the lowest classes constitute the great majority of blood donors in Brazil[87]), and also public health institutions personnel and health students. In all Brazilian regions European, African and Amerindian genetic markers are found in the local populations, even though the proportion of each varies from region to region and from individual to individual.[88][89] However most regions showed basically the same structure, a greater European contribution to the population, followed by African and Native American contributions: “Some people had the vision Brazil was a heterogeneous mosaic [...] Our study proves Brazil is a lot more integrated than some expected".[90] Brazilian homogeneity is, therefore, greater within regions than between them:

Region[77] European African Native American
Northern Brazil 68,80% 10,50% 18,50%
Northeast of Brazil 60,10% 29,30% 8,90%
Southeast Brazil 74,20% 17,30% 7,30%
Southern Brazil 79,50% 10,30% 9,40%






Of the 9 people analyzed, 3 of them had more European ancestry than African one, while the other 6 people had more African ancestry, with varying degrees of European and Amerindian admixture. The African admixture varied from 19.5% in actress Ildi Silva to 99.3% in singer Milton Nascimento. The European admixture varied from 0.4% in Nascimento to 70% in Silva. The Amerindian admixture from 0.3% in Nascimento to 25.4% in soccer player Obina.


Taís Araújo was the first Black actress to be a protagonist of a Brazilian telenovela (soap opera).[99]




Black girls during a Candomblé ceremony.

Most blacks are Christians, mainly Catholics.[107] Afro-Brazilian religions such as Candomblé and Umbanda have many followers, but they are open to people of any race, and, indeed, while the proportions of blacks (in the strict sense, i.e., "pretos") are higher among practitioners of these religions than among the population in general, Whites are a majority in Umbanda, and a significant minority (bigger than blacks in the strict sense) in Candomblé.[108] They are concentrated mainly in large urban centers such as,[109] Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Brasília, São Luís. In addition to Candomblé which is closer to the original West African religions, there is also Umbanda which blends Catholic and Kardecist Spiritism beliefs with African beliefs. Candomblé, Batuque, Xango and Tambor de Mina were originally brought by black slaves shipped from Africa to Brazil.[110]


Since the late 20th Century, a large number of negros became followers of Protestant denominations, mainly Neopentecostal churches. Among Brazil's predominant ethnicities, Blacks make up the largest proportion of Pentecostal Protestants, while Whites make up the largest group of non-Pentecostal Protestants.[107] As mentioned, some black Brazilians are Muslims of Sunni sect whose ancestors were called Malê.


Main article: Cuisine of Brazil


Feijoada is the national dish of Brazil (for over 300 years). It is basically a mixture of black beans, pork and farofa (lightly roasted coarse cassava manioc flour). It started as a Portuguese dish that the African slaves built upon, made out of cheap ingredients: pork ears, feet and tail, beans and manioc flour. It has been adopted by all the other cultural regions, and there are hundreds of ways to make it.




Main article: Capoeira




Soccer was quickly dominated by blacks and "pardos", and it became – and still remains – a mainstream way of social ascension for poor boys, especially blacks and "pardos" who had fewer opportunities in education or conventional labour.

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics Player of the Century[112] list of the 20 best Brazilian players of the 20th Century includes 6 black (Pelé (#1), Arthur Friedenreich (#5), Leônidas da Silva (#8), Luís Pereira (#15), Domingos da Guia (#17), and Jairzinho (#19)) and 9 "pardo" (Garrincha (#2), Zizinho (#4), Didi (#7), Nilton Santos (#9), Ronaldo (#9), Romário (#11), Ademir da Guia (#14), Carlos Alberto Torres (#16) and Ademir (#18)) players, compared to only 5 Whites (Zico, Tostão, Falcão, Rivelino and Bebeto).


Main article: Music of Brazil



Many important names of Brazilian literature are or have been blacks or "pardos". Machado de Assis, generally considered the most important Brazilian fictional writer, was himself "pardo". Other remarkable writers include: João da Cruz e Souza, symbolist poet of refined inspiration; Lima Barreto, novelist, master of satyre and sarcasm, and pioneer of social criticism; João Ubaldo Ribeiro, novelist and short story writer; João do Rio, fine chronicler, José do Patrocínio, journalist; Paulo Leminski, poet.

Important or famous Black Brazilians[edit]

In spite of strong prejudice, many black Brazilians and "pardos" have been prominent in Brazilian society. This is particularly true of fields where neither academic achievement nor material investment is decisive: the arts, particularly music and sports. From the colonial times, "pardos" as Father José Maurício Nunes Garcia[113] (baroque conductor and composer) or Aleijadinho[114] (outstanding sculptor and architect) attained high prestige as artists.

Other remarkable artists include Machado de Assis,[115] arguably Brazil's most important writer, whose novels are the kernel of the Brazilian canon, João da Cruz e Souza,[116] symbolist poet of refined inspiration, Lima Barreto,[117] novelist, master of satire and sarcasm, pioneer of social criticism. It is in popular music, however, that the talents of black Brazilians and "pardos" found the most fertile ground for their development. Masters of samba, Pixinguinha,[118] Cartola,[119] Lupicínio Rodrigues,[120] Geraldo Pereira,[121] Wilson Moreira,[122] and of MPB, Milton Nascimento,[123] Jorge Ben Jor,[124] Gilberto Gil,[125] have built the Brazilian musical identity.

Another field where black Brazilians and "pardos" have excelled is soccer: Pelé,[126] arguably the most complete soccer player ever, Garrincha,[127] right-forward, exceptional dribbler, Leônidas da Silva,[127] nicknamed "Black Diamond", Arthur Friedenreich,[127] Ademir da Guia,[128] are well known historic names of Brazilian soccer; Ronaldo,[129] Ronaldinho,[130] Romário,[130] Robinho and many others continue this tradition. Important athletes in other sports include Daiane dos Santos[131] (gymnastics), known for the invention of original movements, João Carlos de Oliveira[132] Jadel Gregório, Nelson Prudêncio,[133] Ademar Ferreira da Silva.[134]

Particularly important among sports is capoeira, itself a creation of Black Brazilians; important "Mestres" (masters) include Mestre Amen Santo, Mestre Barba Branca, Mestre Bimba,[135] Mestre Cobra Mansa, Mestre João Grande, Mestre João Pequeno, Mestre Jogo de Dentro, Mestre Moraes, Mestre Pastinha,[136] Mestre Pé de Chumbo.

Since the end of the military dictatorship, the political participation of black Brazilians and "pardos" has increased. The first female senator, Benedita da Silva,[137] is Black; other important politicians include Senator Paulo Paim,[138] former mayor of São Paulo Celso Pitta,[137] former Senator Marina Silva,[137] former governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Alceu Collares,[139] former governor of Espírito Santo, Albuíno Azeredo.[140] One of the justices of the Supremo Tribunal Federal, Joaquim Barbosa,[137] is Black. There is only one Black Justice at the TST (Tribunal Superior do Trabalho) who is Minister Carlos Alberto Reis de Paula.

Despite many obstacles, black Brazilians and "pardos" have also excelled as actors, such as Lázaro Ramos,[141] Ruth de Souza,[142] Zózimo Bulbul,[143] Milton Gonçalves,[144] Mussum, Taís Araújo,[145] Zezé Motta.[146]

See also[edit]


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  2. ^ População residente por cor ou raça e religião
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  4. ^ Loveman, Mara; Muniz, Jeronimo O.; Bailey, Stanley R. (2011). "Brazil in black and white? Race categories, the census, and the study of inequality". Ethnic and Racial Studies 35 (8): 1466–1483. doi:10.1080/01419870.2011.607503. 
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  8. ^ IBGE embaralha números e confunde debate sobre brancos e negros[dead link]
  9. ^ Simon Schwartzman. Fora de foco: diversidade e identidades étnicas no Brasil. Quadro 6, p. 10.
  12. ^ a b c
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  14. ^ a b c "Negros e pardos do Rio têm mais genes europeus do que imaginam, segundo estudo". Retrieved 2012-07-21. 
  16. ^ Edward Telles. Race in Another America: the significance of skin color in Brazil. p. 80-81.
  17. ^ Edward Telles. Race in Another America: the significance of skin color in Brazil. p. 81.
  18. ^ Edward Telles. Race in Another America: the significance of skin color in Brazil. p. 82.
  20. ^ Edward Telles. Race in Another America: the significance of skin color in Brazil. p. 85.
  21. ^ Pena, Sérgio, and Bortolini, Maria Cátira. Pode a genética definir quem deve se beneficiar das cotas universitárias e demais ações afirmativas? Note 1, p. 47
  22. ^ IBGE. Censo Demográfico. p. XVIII
  23. ^ José Luiz Petrucelli. A Cor Denominada. p. 18 (unavailable online)
  24. ^ a b José Luiz Petrucelli. A Cor Denominada. p. 19 (unavailable online)
  25. ^ José Luiz Petrucelli. A Cor Denominada. p. 14 (unavailable online)
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  30. ^ Edward Telles. Race in another America. p. 86: The Brazilian government had sought to dichotomize, or worse, (North) "americanize" racial classification in a society that used and even celebrated intermediate terms.
  31. ^ Kabengele Munanga Uma resposta contra o racismo. In Brasil Autogestinário. Do ponto de vista norteamericano, todos os brasileiros seriam, de acordo com as pesquisas do geneticista Sergio Danilo Pena, considerados negros ou ameríndios, pois todos possuem, em porcentagens variadas, marcadores genéticos africanos e ameríndios, além de europeus, sem dúvida. ("From the American standpoint, all Brazilians would, according to the researches of geneticist Sergio Danilo Pena, be considered Black or Amerindian, for all of them have, in varied proportions, African and Amerindian genetic markers, besides, of course, European ones")
  32. ^ Edward Telles. Race in Another America: the significance of skin color in Brazil. p. 85.: Thus, they claim that Brazil's informal one-drop rule holds that one drop of White blood allows one to avoid being classified as Black, a tradition that they seek to revert.
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Further reading[edit]


External links[edit]