Julio Andrade is studying electrical engineering at a private college in Brazil's state of Alagoas.  He did not attend the Congress.  He lives in União dos Palmares, Alagoas home of  Serra da Barriga, the mountain where Black Brazil's most famous freedom-fighter,  Zumbi dos Palmares,  made his last stand against the Portuguese more than 300 years ago.  Julio's opinions show some of the divide, between black and white views on race in Brazil:

"I'm not a racist, but I believe that the mentality of some of these black groups, afro groups  is what racist.  For example, if I were to call you a nigga(Negao) and I was playing and you're going to distort that and say I'm a racist?  Really, the ones who are causing this racism are people who take it the wrong way, these african groups we have here in Brazil.  Many Brazilians, the same way I call them nigga, call me honkey(galego).  The fact that they call me honkey is not going to make me upset.  But to call them nigga makes them mad.  So I think the racism is on their part.  They insist on feeling inferior to everybody else."
 

"No I'm not black.  But here, all of us have African heritage, if not in the blood, the in the spirit, in the soul.  And particularly in the region where I was born which was the home of Zumbi of the Palmares.  So I believe that my ancestors were black.  I like black culture a lot and in my hometown which is Uniao dos Palmares with Serra da Barriga(Zumbi's mountain) there's a big festival almost every year and whenever I can attend it, I do."
 
 

IS BRAZIL A RACIAL DEMOCRACY?

"Yes, I belive it is.  Who makes a democracy?  All of us.  But in this democracy, blacks in Brasil are always wanting to stay inferior to whites.  Like the blacks here recently started a magazine  (Raca) only for blacks.  Why only for blacks?  Why not for whites, too?  Why do the black people want to launch a magazine only for blacks?

THE CONCERT:

Then there's the other incident of the musical group from Bahia that wanted to charge black people 50% less to attend a concert than white people.  And the blacks get angry if you tell them that you think that's racist.  It's nothing more than somebody trying to get in good with the blacks by telling them they can pay 50% less.  The government there told them that they are going to pay the same price as white people .  On this question of  racial democracy in Brasil, I think if there's a defect it is not in the democracy, but in the black people."