As a blonde-haired, blue-eyed individual here in Recife, I tend to stand out. When I ask people to describe a "typical" Recifian, 95% of the responses come back as "misturado" (mixed). It's pretty accurate, based on my observations. Recife, unlike São Paulo, Rio and Salvador, is not a tourist attraction, and there is little international business (the soon-to-be-ex-president Lula da Silva, a native of Recife's state, Pernambuco, invested in development of the northeast, predominantly in ports and natural resources, so most business is local to national).
When people guess where I'm from (I've gotten everything from Italian and Mexican to Dutch and French) and discover I'm "American", there is sometimes an awkward pause. I know what they're thinking in this brief silence; Capitalism, imperialism, consumerism, and Fast Food. Here, I am the face that they link to McDonalds, which has been popping up on street corners and in malls. I am from that country which brought "besteira" (junk food, in this translation) to their quaint kiosks, which were once only stocked with homemade coxinhas, empanadas, and agua de coco. I am coca-cola, and Americans are sandwich-loving individuals who are slowly destroying the home-cooked Brazilian food.
At first, I was extremely irritated with the close-mindedness that Brazilians project about their cuisine. They like feijão, tapioca, charque, carne-de-sol, and in Recife, Brazilian food has remained quite intact, due to the lack of international traffic, as mentioned above. But here's the thing, the glitch that I think irritates even Brazilians; people like coca-cola, doritos, and hamburgers! (imagine that!) I work in a kiosk next to a bus stop, so I see what people order. Rarely do I receive requests for juice, coxinha, or the Brazilian staples. The most popular items sold are; Water (logical due to the heat), coke in various sizes (always with a straw), doritos or cheetos, and Halls (which in Brazil is eaten as a candy, not simply as a losange).
The food posts within the university have signs which read "Xburger, R$2,50 com suco ou coca-cola!". The modification of cheese to x (pronounced "sheesh") is not only funny, to me, but it marks something important about cultural shifts in eating habits. When there is a high demand or use of a foreign word, it becomes integrated into the language, modified with a different spelling which facilitates its use. So, cheeseburgers are popular, it's safe to say. Of course, they have been "brazilified" in the range of toppings, as have hot dogs, but the basis is the same (you can also order the standard version which is classified as "American").
Globalization is a process which is inevitable, and the message of this blog is this; yes, the American fast-food has penetrated Brazil, but while Recifians may smack talk, they're the ones who are spending their reais to keep it around. Also, the lifestyle of Brazilians is becoming more "American", or simply more first-world capitalist economy in general. They are growing their economy and their waistbands and slowly turning into a global competitor. I think that what we see here, with the growing popularity of hamburgers, milkshakes, and hot dogs, is a shift towards convenience. People work more, students study all day at the university and can't go home for lunch (the most important meal of the day), so they grab a quick bite. Similar in thought to their neighbors to the north.
I find periods of transition to be the most interesting times to travel. The presidential elections are today, and there is a buzz to see if it will be Dilma Rousseff, the predecessor to Lula, who will keep Brazil ever changing; a concept which Recifians seem to have a love-hate relationship with... well, at least when it comes to their food.
And whatever you do, Americans traveling to Brazil; don't ask where you can find a sandwich.
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