Soy loco por tí, América

o lugar da raça na representação da América Latina numa escola de samba do Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

This article analyzes the role of race in the representation of “Latin America” constructed in Brazil. As a case study, we analyzed the storyline “Soy loco por tí América: A Vila Canta a Latinidade” by the G.R.E.S Unidos de Vila Isabel, champion of the 2006 Rio Carnival parade. The parade, which had great repercussions in the region, emphasized Brazil's importance in strengthening Latin American integration. Based on the concept of “amefricanity” (GONZALEZ,1988), we examined the discursive and aesthetic aspects presented by the school in its parade, which represented “Latin America” in an ambiguity between the violence of colonization and the construction of a mestizo continent in which colonial violence disappears. In this narrative, the participation of black populations in the construction of the continent is systematically rendered invisible, even when expressions of Afro-diasporic culture are mentioned, such as the Rumba from Cuba and the Tango from Argentina. This article is based on a content analysis of the storyline, the samba-enredo and the televised parade.