Berkley Center

And on those same beaches exists what must be original sin itself, or else something very similar: thousands upon thousands of sculpted men wearing hip-hugging sungas and throngs of women wearing dental floss, as some of the bikinis are called here, all slothfully indulging themselves beneath the sun's rays, which just happens to be only thing that seems to really call the shots in this country. And no, we cannot forget Carnaval either, with all of its beautiful mulatas that seem to fly as they samba down the wide avenues and into the hearts of mesmerized spectators, the biggest and best party in the whole world. But even in something as deviant as Carnaval, there does exist some religious undertones. It's because, well, in reality, religion is everywhere to be found here in Brazil. At the corner of your street, on various channels on your TV, in the theme songs of almost any samba school...and if you pay close enough attention, it can even be found at the tip of your tongue.

Fica com Deus! Deus me livre! Que Deus te abençõe! Pelo amor de Deus... 

Religious undertones dominate everyday conversations. There is probably a 5 percent chance that someone could somehow manage to speak to a native Brazilian without ever hearing at least one expression that has to do with Deus, or God. And most of the time it is not because the interlocutor is especially religious; simply, it is just the right thing to say, if you want to sound Brazilian, that is. Religion is just so ingrained into the culture that even if Brazil continues to be the largest Catholic country in South America, although the Masses remain dreadfully empty on most days, and the sole interaction that many Brazilians have with Catholicism is when they cross themselves upon passing the thresholds of any of the hundreds of churches that were built here by the Portuguese centuries ago, people will continue to utter these expressions whether they truly believe in God or not. It is just the way things are.

And that's just with Catholicism! Many other religions coexist together more or less harmoniously in this very interesting country. Have you ever heard of the famous reveillon, or New Year's Eve celebration on Copacabana beach where everyone is all decked out in white? Nossa! Oxalá that you know that when you cast those lovely flowers into the sea that afternoon before you put on your finest white getup, you were doing it all for the blessings of Iemanjá, the Queen of the Sea in many of the religions that use African entities, or orixás, that are practiced here in Brazil. And maybe you thought that it was just a fashion trend.

Being in Brazil has made me take a step back and really reflect upon what I am seeing here. With religion's influence on so many things, so many mainstream things, then it's almost natural to assume that Brazil must be the most religious country in the world...or at least, in the Western world. But if religion is something that is part of almost everything that one does, without one actually doing it, the religion itself, then can Brazil really be considered worthy of such a title? I'm not sure, but se Deus quiser, I'm definitely going to keep my eyes open during my remaining months in this paradoxical country to see what I can find.