Would Obama party at the MAM, Rio?

The colour of clubbers skin is not something I often think about when I go out on a friday evening (i’m usually too wasted for such cerebrally challenging topics!) I once went to an RnB night at the Ministry of Sound in London, where my friend remarked he and I were like 2 grapes in a bowl of plums – a reference to how we were the only people with white skin on the dancefloor. I was moved to remember my friend’s throw-away comment this weekend when we went to a one-off club night/party at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio – only this time because I was a grape in a bowl of, well, grapes of an identical pink freckled variety.

On the face of it, Brazil is a massively diverse society, with perhaps 60% of the population from a black african background. As a result, there is very little racism or discrimination on grounds of colour. For example, no-one is going to make a monkey noise at Flamengo’s Wagner Love when he tackles a Botafogo player! However, discrimination most certainly exists in Brazil, and bizarelly, people seem blissfully unaware of it. I coincidently came across this from the BBC today, which highlights exactly what I’ve been experiencing during my time here.

White government ministers, law makers, doctors, wealthy business owners, and as it would seem, clubbers on a friday night, vastly outnumber mixed race or black minsiters, lawyers and clubbers etc in Brazil. Here, going to a club on a friday night appears to be something for the Brazilian white-elite which is something I found quite sad. I must stress again that I wasn’t at some club for western tourists. We were practically the only tourists – ironically composed of several brown-skinned westerners with the only discernable skin tone in the venue! This was a party at the museum of modern art – sponsored by the Ministry of culture with their Um pais de todos (one country for all) symbol – supposedly open to all. Do Brazilians with black skin not like art? Do Brazilians with brown skin not like dancing to music?

I believe what is most likely the reason for such a disparity in the ethnicity of the attendees of the night vs the ethnicity of the population is that actually colour does matter in Brazil, despite the multicoloured ministry of culture symbol. I’ve seen it in other places too. In the kids at the favela an hour’s bus ride from Copacabana who have never been to the beach because they feel its not their place. A party at an art gallery is either not desirable for Brazilian’s with colour to attend, or it is not desired that (or marketed toward) people with colour by the people running the party.

Whichever the reason, it was a very surreal experience. We had fun and danced til 4am, to the big tunes, lights, copious plasma screen TVs and general cool decor of a club (in an art gallery!) I just couldn’t help feeling like it was all a little fake – not the Brazil I imagined. Back in London, it’s easy to draw parallels with this and say – ‘London’s no different’. Sure, discrimination happens at home too. At the Tate Gallery, one might expect a low attendance by black folk. But, Britain is not minority white!

As the BBC article puts it – Obama with his mixed race heritage would fit in nicely to Brazilian society – but he’d most certainly not be president here. He also wouldn’t be at a party at Rio’s Museum of Modern Art on a friday night!