This circle, expressed in thought, story, and cultural practice, offers one Brazilian — and particularly afro-Brazilian — way to think outside of the logic of opposition and polarization. This strength of identity can come from the center of gravity in a spinning dancer, a cultural circle, the connection to an umbilical cord, the steps of a samba, or the curly hair of an old quilombo philosopher.

In the United States and Europe, identity construction based on opposition is often called “tribal,” with little self consciousness of the racist implication of the word. In Brazil, one is more likely to hear a phrase like, “the eternal Fla-Flu of politics,” referring to Flamengo and Fluminense, two classical football teams from Rio de Janeiro, whose 1963 contest attracted the largest crowd in world football history: 194,603 spectators in Maracanã.

Join Learning from Brazil as we look at how football can help us understand political polarization.

Art, ritual, and play are the most common motivations to come together in Brazil, and the drive to make beauty gives both meaning and purpose to estar juntos — being together. Think, for instance, of the immense investment of time, money, and energy required to prepare the performance of a samba school, a maracatu rural, or a Bumba-meu-boi: each one of these afro-Brazilian carnaval rituals demands huge groups of people who imagine and sew costumes, compose and rehearse new and relevant songs, and rehearse complex and difficult dances. Back rooms in homes in the favelas are filled with the cloth, feathers, and beads that dozens of women — and sometimes men — will transform into elaborate and beautiful fantasias. Sheds and barns in the sertão (backlands) become workshops where families — who may not have land or even a job — make extraordinary works of art.