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Brazucas (Brazilians in New York City)
Beth Myers and Ruchi Mital
There are two main areas of New York where
Brazilians are found. Astoria, Queens is the main residential area for
Brazilians in New York City, however there is a small section in Manhattan
rich in Brazilian commerce, located on West 46th Street, in between Fifth
and Sixth Avenue. "Rua 46" as Brazilians call, it was officially named
"Little Brazil," as the street sign on Fifth Avenue demonstrates. Along
this bock we found Brazilian restaurants, a travel agency, a pharmacy, and
a small department store call "Brasil Way." The sign boasted the colors of
the Brazilian flag, even the carts selling hot dogs were green and yellow.
The community that we studied in-depth was
located in Astoria, Queens, around 36th Avenue and 30th Street. Our
primary focus was the Brazilian community, who are native speakers of
Portuguese. What we found there however, was not simply a community of
Brazilian Portuguese speakers, but an ethnically and linguistically
diverse community that included significant numbers of Bengalis,
Pakistanis, Indians, Mexicans, and Arabs, as well as many Japanese,
Koreans, Greeks, Dominicans, and Italians. This was evidenced by the
variety of business establishments that catered to different ethnic
groups, both in language and in content, in the makeup of the local
elementary school, and the very people whom we observed and spoke to in
the neighborhood.
LOTEs in use in our community
Tony, a Puerto Rican immigrant employed at a
deli told us that LOTEs were used extensively in the neighborhood; in fact
they are more common than English. He said that the predominant languages
he heard spoken were Bengali, Spanish, and Portuguese, in that order. He
emphasized that within these languages there was much mixing, that to
communicate with each other members of different ethnic groups used not
only English, but also combinations of the various LOTEs. So while we were
expecting to find a predominantly Portuguese speaking community (as the
nature of the project predisposed us to think) we found ourselves in a
place where many different LOTEs were in use. Just walking around the
neighborhood for a few hours, we heard Spanish, Bengali, Arabic, and
Portuguese, as well as English being spoken, and this by people of all
ages. However, it seemed to be the older members of the community that
used LOTEs most extensively. The younger people had less foreign accents,
and said that they often spoke English, while their parents
and grandparents mainly utilized LOTEs. A Brazilian born immigrant, Paulo,
who was 30 when he moved to the US and is now 62, said that he does not
feel the need to speak any language other than Portuguese, "that is what
my friends, my family, everyone speaks. Only strangers I speak English
to."
Primary school system
The local elementary school in the
neighborhood is P.S. 166, The Henry
Gradstein School, which includes grades K-5. This school seems to embody
the diverse nature of the community, which it serves. The school's mission
statement, which is posted in the entrance says that it aims to "provide
every student with a quality education, create a learning environment that
builds on the multi-ethnic backgrounds of students...[and] our students
will
thus be able to become contributing literate members of our diverse
society."
When we told the security guard and a group
of parents at the entrance that
we were there to study the incidence of LOTEs at the school, they all
commented that we had "certainly come to the right school." Out of the
total 1400 students, a parent/ volunteer, Ruth, said that about 80% were
in
ESL (English as a second language) classes. These classes are all taught
in
English, with all of the children, regardless of their native language, in
the same classes, with teachers who do not necessarily speak the native
language of the students. They place a heavy emphasis on English language
proficiency, but do not use the native languages at all. There are
bilingual classes as well, but these are offered only in Spanish. The
children that speak Spanish are the largest group, and are least likely to
speak English also, according to Ruth.
When asked if she thought that the ESL
classes were effective, she made an
interesting observation. She said that it seemed that within different
cultures there was a differing degree of the emphasis placed on education.
Some seemed headed for college, while others' parents "only needed them to
be able to read a marriage certificate." We then asked if the children
socialized within their ethnic and language groups or if there was
evidence
of mixing. She said that within school there was some degree of mixing,
but
that as soon as they stepped outside, this changed, and they stayed within
their own ethnic groups. Describing herself as a white American, she said
that her
daughter had invited classmates of different ethnicities to her birthday
party, but none of the children from other ethnic groups, especially the
Bengali, Pakistani, and Mexican children came. This suggested to us that
when left up to children, when they are in a mixed setting, they would
socialize with each other without as much regard to ethnicity. But when
they are back in the sphere of their parents, and the parents' own
reservations and prejudices, they are separated. This was clear as we
watched children stream out of the school when classes were over, a richly
diverse bunch, and then disperse into their individual ethnic groups. This
was a salient moment
and it speaks to the idea that distinctions and separation are social
constructions, and that children who have not had as much time to
construct
worlds and walls, do not see ethnicity as a barrier to friendship.
Business establishments in the community
There are many stores and restaurants in the
community that are owned and
operated by speakers of LOTEs. On the same street, literally next to each
other, there was a Mexican barbershop, Copacabana Pizza that sells "hot
heroes,
calzones, hamburgers, salgadinhos, brasilieros, calda de cana." We could
converse with the worker only in Spanish, and he said that patrons were
made up of everyone, especially "Americanos, Hispanos, y Brasilenos." Next
on the block was the travel agency Rio Travel, the Espianal Deli, the
Thaatri Bazaar, that sells Halaal meat and groceries, and a Bangladeshi
restaurant. This truly seems to be a community that has a diverse
population, and maintains that diversity thoroughly. The signs were often
written in both English and another language.
Rio Travel is a combination bookstore, video
store, and travel agency. In the bookstore half of the store one can
browse through hundreds of films in Portuguese as well as a variety of
books printed in Portuguese. In the other half of the store one can find
out about travel to South America and Central America. One can also pick
up fliers advertising Brazilian dance parties and other cultural events,
as well as advertisements for English classes. Inside Rio Travel the
employees speak Portuguese and come from Brazil, so a Brazilian living in
the area would feel extremely welcome inside.
At the Michael Tax Service, we talked with
the owner, Liaquat Ali, a Bengali
first generation immigrant. He performs income tax services and
immigration
services. He said that all of the forms he has are in English. His main
clientele is Bengali, like himself, but he has picked up some Spanish so
that he can expand his customer base. He is also going to employ "a
Spanish
girl" to help on that endeavor. This is an interesting example of the ways
in which languages meet and mix with each other. He says that while he
works with mostly Bengalis, he has worked for people of all ethnicities in
the neighborhood. Speaking with him was also interesting, as some
stereotypes came to light. He said that he didn't want to speak ill of
anyone, but he had found that Brazilians were typically "low-minded and
cheap." He said that he found them generally less well educated than other
Asians, and that often times they had not paid for services. Of course, he
said, this was not everyone, but it had been his experience. It was an
interesting insight into how stereotypes develop and become propagated.
Churches
The Brazilian Missionary Church serves the
Brazilian population of Astoria, conducting masses, Sunday school, youth
and couples counseling, as well as Bible study in Portuguese. It is
located on 30th Street. The church is important as a social center and
meeting place. Unfortunately we were unable to speak to a member of the
church, or it's leader, but this church seemed like a very positive
resource for the Brazilians in this neighborhood.
Medical services
To get a sense of the language services
provided by medical institutions, we
contacted three large hospitals in Queens. The first was the New York
Hospital Medical Center of Queens, located at 56-45 Main Street. This
hospital has a staff of interpreters that are always in the hospital.
There
is a heavy emphasis on Korean and Chinese, as the majority of the
non-English speaking population at this hospital tends to be Asian. There
is also a Russian and a Spanish interpreter. To accommodate those that
speak
other languages, there is a telephonic service made up of a pool of
contacts
that can translate, and this pool includes a Portuguese translator.
The New York Flushing Hospital Medical
Center, located at 45th Avenue at
Parsons Blvd. has services that interpret Chinese, Korean, and Spanish,
but
no Portuguese. They said that they have no fixed interpreters on staff,
but
call when they are needed. This may point to the fact that speakers of
Chinese, Korean, and Spanish are less likely to also speak English, or may
simply be a reflection of the patient population. The hospital staff was
unable to pinpoint an exact reasoning.
The case with the Jamaica Hospital Medical
Center, at 8900 Van Wyck
Expressway, was similar. They do not employ permanent interpreters; there
are some doctors who speak Spanish, but other than that they rely on AT&T
language bank. This is another service that they call, and are put in
touch
with an interpreter of the desired language. When our acquaintance, Paulo,
was asked on his opinion of medical services, he said that he though most
Portuguese speakers would be able to manage enough English, and if not
they would take a family member with them who did speak English.
Overall, even though we found businesses,
churches, and other establishments that cater to the Brazilian population
in New York City, it is a very small population. Statistics from 1996 were
the most recent census that is specific enough to give numbers on
Brazilians. According to this research, done by the New York City Dept. of
City Planning, in 1996 there were a total of 2,761 Brazilians living in
the greater New York City area. Of this number, 1,182 live in Queens and
474 in Astoria. This population has undoubtedly increased, however they
are still a very small percentage of New York City's population. We also
discovered that the majority of Brazilian immigrants plan to return to
Brazil after earning enough money, and send money back to their families
while they are here. Because of this, many do not attempt to improve their
English skills, sticking with Portuguese, as they are only temporary
residents in the United States.
Visiting Astoria gave us a sense of how the
Brazilian community stays isolated because of their language, but also
interacts daily with other immigrant groups, making for very interesting
linguistic make-ups in their neighborhoods. Assuming that their language
remains this isolated, they will have to adapt and incorporate English
into their lives, and maybe the other languages around them. In another
ten years the people of Astoria, Queens may have mixed so intensely that
their languages will adopt aspects of each other and maybe even diverge
towards creating a pidgin language.
