Cinderelas Negras
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This dissertation explores representations of race and gender embodied by Clementina de Jesus (1901-1987), samba singer, and Carolina de Jesus (1915-1977), author of the autobiographical memoir Quarto de Despejo (1960). Both women were “discovered” by middle class intellectual men from outside of their communities. Once they achieved renown, they were promoted as symbols of Brazil’s social reality by cultural mediators of a different class and race, representing the commonly gendered and racialized archetypes of the mãe preta and the discriminated favelada. Through analysis of literary, musical, journalistic, and photographic portrayals of both women, I explore the role of cultural mediation in the construction of Brazilian identity in the 1960s and 70s, a time of intense social debate over race, poverty, and national identity. Both women achieved recognition shortly before the military coup d’etat and subsequent dictatorship (1964-1985), a time when the Brazilian middle class was engaged in a constant search for the “roots” of national identity within popular cultural forms. The cultural mediators examined in this project formed bridges between creators and audiences from radically different backgrounds, smoothing the transition between groups and framing the cultural production of others in specific ways. By eventually acting as cultural mediators themselves, Carolina and Clementina prove that the process of cultural mediation is dynamic instead of static, shifting over time and relationships of power. This study demonstrates that both the process of cultural mediation and the quest for authenticity were inherently linked to relations of class, race, and gender, affirming instead of transcending the social divisions between groups in twentieth century Brazil. ©Copyright by Elise Margaret Olson Dietrich, 2014 All Rights Reserved For “Lady Pickles” Dietrich Howarth, who provided the ultimate deadline. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project is the result of many years of study and effort, and would not have come to fruition without the help of many individuals. I would like to thank my adviser Christopher Dunn, who was an inspiration in the fields of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies from my first semester at Tulane onward. I greatly appreciate Edie Wolfe’s responses and suggestions on the mechanics of writing as well as my scholarly ideas over the years. Daniel Sharp encouraged me to critically rethink my amateur approach to Brazilian popular music and cultural studies. Rebecca Atencio provided invaluable advice on producing interdisciplinary texts that can stand on their own, as well as invaluable support throughout my first round on the academic job market. Jimmy Huck and others at the Stone Center for Latin American Studies were particularly helpful and inspiring in my early years at Tulane, and without the Latin American Library I would surely still be searching for source material. Special thanks go to my fellow graduate students who provided much inspiration and support throughout this process, particularly Derek Burdette, Lisa Crossman, Everton Barbosa, Kurt Hofer, Camilo Malagón, Annie Gibson, Xelaju Korda, Alex Castro, and Cynthia Garza. Emma Marschall kept me company in the library and helped with many sources. Thanks to Kate Lowe for the motivation and for providing an excellent example of how to be a ii successful young academic. I never would have made it to graduate school without help and inspiration from Bard College professor Melanie Nicholson, and thanks to Diana Brown for my first assigned reading of Child of the Dark during my freshman year. My initial inspiration for researching Clementina de Jesus came out of experiences as a DJ of the Latin music show at WTUL, Tulane’s student-run radio station, where I am grateful to have volunteered for over five years. The connections I have made over many research and personal trips to Brazil are too numerous to count, but extra special thanks go to Moema and Leo Dias Rocha, and Luciana Costa Dias in Rio de Janeiro, whose friendship over the years has made many of the complications of international research worthwhile. I am particularly grateful for Marina Espírito Santo’s company and assistance in forging connections in the world of samba—without her help and personal networking, I never would have been able to connect with Elton Medeiros, who was in turn exceedingly generous with his time, memories, and affection, and Haroldo Costa. Thanks to Márcia and Tainah Longras who shared their home with me during my last extended visit in Rio. Jerry Dávila pointed me in the right direction for archival research at the Itamaraty Archives in Brasília. Júlio César Valladão Diniz at PUC Rio shared his knowledge of Clementina and directed me towards other potential leads, while Ricardo Cravo Albin permitted an early inspirational interview. Finally, at I would like to thank the staff at both the Biblioteca Nacional and the Museu da Imagem e do Som in Rio de Janeiro for their assistance in obtaining materials. I would like to thank the many people at the United States Military Academy at West Point who provided much needed support and encouragement through the very end iii of the writing and revising process. My supervisor Rebecca Jones-Kellogg encouraged me through the interminable final stages of the project during a challenging year that involved balancing my first teaching position, my first pregnancy, and my first Northern winter in six years. Many thanks go to colleagues Anita DeMelo, Sarah Martin, Josh Enslen, LTC Diógenes Gomes, LTC Shane Baker, LTC Michael Regan, and COL Greg Ebner, amongst many others, for providing advice and reassurance throughout this challenging year. I would also like to acknowledge the West Point cadets in my Portuguese classes who pushed me to carefully consider my ideas about scholarship and teaching. I’d like to recognize the sources of financial support that allowed me to complete both the research and writing phases of this project: the Tulane University School of Liberal Arts Summer Merit Fellowship for Dissertation Research, the Newcomb College Center for Research on Women Summer Research Fellowship, and the FLAS Summer Fellowship for Graduate Language Study. I could not have made it this far without the loving support of my family, especially my parents Ardis and Allen, and my siblings Karl and Tina. Thank you for encouraging me throughout this process, cheering me down the complicated path of intellectual life, and never doubting my ability to make a life out of many eclectic passions and interests. A final and very special debt of gratitude goes out to Gary, who read countless drafts, never let me give up, and supported me with loving kindness throughout the entire process. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements..............................................................................................................ii Introduction……………………………………………………………………..................1 Chapter 1. Mediadores Culturais: Cultural Discovery, Influence, and Acts of Mediation…………………………………………………………………....17 “New Cultural Intermediaries”, Cultural Mediators, Gatekeepers, and Go-Betweens……………………………………………...20 Clementina de Jesus: A Taberna Da Glória as a Site of Cultural Discovery……………………………………………....31 Zicartola: Cultural Mediation Between Morro and Asfalto……………………......37 Music And Politics On Stage: Opinião And Rosa De Ouro....................................48 Carolina Maria de Jesus: Encounter on a Favela Playground……………………..57 “O Mundo Sórdido” de Carolina, Revelado por Audálio ......................................60 Conclusion................................................................................................................68 Chapter 2. Constructing Legitimacy in Print: Media Texts and the Authentic...............70 Star Texts: Simultaneously Ordinary and Extraordinary ........................................73 Consistency and Change in the Production of Authenticity ....................................79 Portraying Clementina: the Private Becomes Public ...............................................85 Portraying Carolina: Personality and Poverty .........................................................92 Personal Myths and Star Texts: How Nuclear Episodes Inform Celebrity..............98 Clementina: uma Galeria de Figuras Notáveis.....................................................113 v Carolina: “Nem Tudo Está Nos Livros” ..........................................................................116 Conclusion..............................................................................................................123 Chapter 3. Embaixadoras de Negritude Brasileira: the Mediated Become Intermediaries ...................................................................................................126 Embaixadora Clementina De Jesus........................................................................128 La Marseillaise Em Português: Clementina Goes to Cannes.................................145 Carolina, Official Representative of the Urban Poor.............................................150 Carolina and the São Paulo Literary Black Elite ...................................................155 Representing the Marginal in the Southern Cone ..................................................165 Conclusion .............................................................................................................169 Chapter 4. Building a Legacy: Emulating and Confirming the Authenticities of Race and Poverty .......................................................................170