Jokes aside, as a Brazilian, former cast member and theme park connoisseur, I have to admit some of what the video was based on is absolutely true. Most of you has had your share of interesting stories involving tourists from the country in Orlando. After all, Brazil became the number one overseas-visitor in the city in 2013, surpassing longtime winner UK for the first time. Which means that, in 2013, almost 777,000 Brazilians came to Central Florida, a number that has exploded 900 percent since 2004.
As a Brazilian, living in the outskirts of our biggest city, Sao Paulo, I’m the first to say that this is NOT an article to defend ourselves, because we allegedly act in the wrong way when travelling. It is simply an article to talk about the cultural differences between Brazil and the US, and I’ll try my best to explain what those are. Of course it is an impossible task to put an entire population of 204 million people into one “box,” so I’ll make it clear that this is a general guide to understanding the Brazilian tourists in Orlando, divided into five topics.
The language barrier
Robert Niles and other writers from Theme Park Insider have experienced this when visiting Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disney, Universal Studios Japan and other theme parks from around the world. Yes, we are currently living in an era in which English is perceived as the number one language. That still doesn’t mean that a person wakes up and says, "Hey! I can speak fluent English!" -- especially to Brazilians, since our language (Portuguese) is SO much different from English. We don’t have anything similar to Present Perfect and don’t get me started on those damn phrasal verbs - quotes taken directly from my English classes (I worked as an English teacher for 10 years in Brazil). Another aggravating issue is that English is not taught in our public schools here and even most private (and usually expensive) schools don’t have particular great teachers for it. The solution is to enroll your kid in specialized English schools or private classes for an expensive extra amount every month. (That is also very common among adults.) In the end, that still doesn’t mean that one will become fluent. My students were all upper-middle class, teenagers and adults, most of whom were still having problems after years of classes with the verb “to be” and the pronunciation of the sound “th” in “thing.” (Yes, that is very tough and unusual for a Brazilian!)
Combine that with the fact that Orlando is sold in Brazil as an easy place to travel, and that you can go there if you don’t speak English! If you think about Orlando’s signaled freeways and friendly maps and cast members in all theme parks, ready to help at any problem, and compare it to a place such as New York City, it is true. It is an easy, breezy city to visit... but of course doubts and problems can arise in any vacation, and that is when you see lost, non-fluent Brazilians in theme parks, trying desperately to communicate in a foreign language.
The Brazilian way of doing things
This is a tricky point, because I really don’t want you to see it as something negative. It can be good or bad, depending on the situation. In Brazil we have something called “jeitinho Brasileiro” (which literally means “little Brazilian way”). We have an unique way of handling things, very different from Americans, trying to take advantage of any loopholes we see. For example, we know that we can only travel with one overhead luggage inside the plane. But what if no one sees me taking three? Let’s try it then. The same principle can be applied to most rules. Fastpasses are only allowed at a certain, scheduled, time of day? But what if I talk to that cast member, explain my unique situation, and try to get in the attraction now?
That is why you can often see Brazilians trying to get something out of a situation which has a clear, stated rule. That can also lead, in an overuse of the “jeitinho Brasileiro,” to cutting line in front of other people, for example.
This didn’t come out of nowhere in Brazil. Since colonial times, things DO NOT run smoothly here, even in legal institutions. Sometimes we have to be creative to get things done, such as getting city hall to fix a huge hole on the street you live in. That is why we are perceived in business as creative people, always thinking outside the box. We have to be creative in Brazil just to get by and live our lives.
Disney has known this for a long time. Heck, the character Jose Carioca is the animated representation of the “jeitinho Brasileiro!"
The shopping-spree necessity
This is not necessary something you see in theme parks, but more in the Orlando outlets. I still thought it was important to explain.
Things are expensive in Brazil. Very expensive. I’ll get a little economical here, but I promise I’ll be brief. Our current average wage is of R$1943 per month (having worked 320 hours that month). For us to go to the mall and buy a pair of Gap jeans, we would have to expend around R$139, or 7% of the average wage. In the US, that would represent only 1.5% of the average wage. It gets worse when we talk about electronics. An unlocked iPhone 6 Plus or Galaxy S6 will cost almost TWICE our average wage, whereas in the US it is roughly a third of it. Add to it the fact that we don’t have a lot of outlets stores or malls in Brazil and voilà! You get the gist of the shopping necessity that gets to Brazilians when they arrive in the US and see things like “Buy One, Get One Free.” It is our chance to stock up on clothes, tennis shoes, electronics and whatever we feel like we need, for a REASONABLE price.
Cheerfulness is our middle name
Brazilians are cheerful. Not only that, we greet each other with kisses on the cheek; hug people we hardly know; and are loud, loud people. It is in our nature. And that can disturb others when, in the middle of the park or in a line, we start talking loudly or decide to sing some song to pass the time! Don’t take it personally! We are friendly, optimistic and informal people and not afraid to show it, even when it isn’t necessarily the best place or time…
Living the “once in a lifetime” dream
If you think that the theme parks tickets are expensive right now, imagine for us, having to pay it in dollars, a currency at its strongest (current exchange rate: US$1 – R$3.10!). Plus airfare tickets (at around US$800), hotels, car rental, you know the drill. All of it in dollars!
A cheap solution to that is embarking on a pre-fixed tour with a guide, accompanied by other fellow Brazilians, a.k.a. those groups you see in Orlando, wearing T-shirts with the same color. That can be cheaper and also solves the problem with the first topic regarding the language.
Even so, for a lot of Brazilians, it is their longtime dream to go to “The Happiest Place on Earth,” and it will probably be a dream they will get to live only once because of how expensive it is. So it is important to live such dream at its fullest, by visiting everywhere and, why not, using the “jeitinho Brasileiro” to do everything!
You Might Also Like:
My cousins are Brazillian and even they don't understand the chants that take place in the middle of the stretching chamber on Haunted Mansion.
Working at Epcot though I figured it out... It's not that the groups are Brazillian, it's that they are full of minimally supervised teens and tweens. You'll experience the same annoying crap behind the cheerleading groups that show up from Ohio.
Although I'm an Asian American who grew up here, I've always been curious with those Brazilian groups going past me. Without sounding racist, they seem so different compared to the Asian cultures I'm more used to. And since I won't be visiting Brazil any time soon it was pretty cool getting a small glimpse of Brazilian culture through this article.
Folks from all over the world come to America to spend their monies here in the USA and you make fun of them... Make them look inept.
I have traveled the world, been to many counties while in the US Military and yes I too have looked a fool not knowing cultures and languages.
@Brian: I disagree completely with the notion that this is an "ignorant article." It seems to me like the author was trying to encourage others to stop and realize some misconceptions we might have against a foreign group.
It's definitely an age/maturity issue. It's never been and never will be a race issue. It's a great article that allows some insight into your culture, but it also missed the true problem. Teenagers being teenagers.
That said, it is more than time for us (Brazilians) get rid of this jeitinho. Development is a state of spirit, not skyscrapers, computers and aircraft factories. We need to spot this jeitinho if we want to move along. And respect the others is crucial to this.
Some friends of mine said that the best reason to go to Disneyland instead of Disney World, is that since there are no Brazilian Tour Groups in Disneyland, you don't need to explain to your children why people that speaks portuguese behave so badly.
About Brazilian acting like grasshoppers in malls can be explained not only by the fact that american economy is more efficient and competitive, but also for a loophole taxation. Brazilians pay much lower income taxes and much higher VAT when compared with Americans. When you pay the lower income taxes in Brazil and do your shopping in USA you get the best of the two worlds.
So one Brazilian in the back of the theater shouted in portuguese " hey idiot, she is asking you to move on!". One third of the theater was filled by Brazilians. Since nothing happens more people start to shout in portuguese "move, move, move". The CM looked astonished, without knowing what to do. The family finally stood up, under a thunder applause, and exited the theater.
I believe that the couple had a hard time to explain to their children why they acted like the bad guys.
We are in the process to get rid of the "jeitinho". Just give us some time!!!
So one Brazilian in the back of the theater shouted in portuguese " hey idiot, she is asking you to move on!". One third of the theater was filled by Brazilians. Since nothing happens more people start to shout in portuguese "move, move, move". The CM looked astonished, without knowing what to do. The family finally stood up, under a thunder applause, and exited the theater.
I believe that the couple had a hard time to explain to their children why they acted like the bad guys.
We are in the process to get rid of the "jeitinho". Just give us some time!!!
So one Brazilian in the back of the theater shouted in portuguese " hey idiot, she is asking you to move on!". One third of the theater was filled by Brazilians. Since nothing happens more people start to shout in portuguese "move, move, move". The CM looked astonished, without knowing what to do. The family finally stood up, under a thunder applause, and exited the theater.
I believe that the couple had a hard time to explain to their children why they acted like the bad guys.
We are in the process to get rid of the "jeitinho". Just give us some time!!!
I ALWAYS think out of the Box and sometimes with sucess: At Busch Tampa and Magic Kingdom I been able to store my Luggage a day without money been involved (beside a Deposite). At Disney it was easy but at Busch Tampa it was a hugh Task to find the right Person to talk to, too make it possible...
I think the biggest problem with these tour groups is that they are full of snot nosed teenagers.Teenagers can be the worst no matter what culture or language you speak. Having that many teens in one place can be a pain!
As for not speaking English, I found that very interesting. I would have thought due to business throughout the hemisphere would need English speakers. It could be argued that Europeans speak English better.....interesting!
I would love to see these tour groups in DLP. If they thought us Americans were nuts.....:)
Em minha opiniao, acredito que uma boa solução de imediato seria diminuir a quantidade de pessoas por grupo, para se ter um pouco mais de controle. Adolescentes (no geral) acabam pensando que por estarem longe de seus pais, tudo é permitido, e acabam agindo de forma rude e incorreta, como pular linhas. Agora, como brasileiro, eu acho bonito nossa forma de mostrar energia, cantando, dançando...
Um exemplo de como essas maneiras podem variar é que na véspera do ano novo, Epcot e Magic Kingdom ficam cheios de barulho, ao contrário de aqui no Brasil, o que seria bem estranho.
É nossa maneira de mostrar felicidade. E acima de tudo, acho bonito isso acontecer em outros países, para o estabelecimento do contato com outras culturas.
Parabens! :)
---
Hi Renata, loved your article! This shows the exactly reality, and as Tourism student, I intend to bring up the context in classes together with my classmates and teachers.
In my personal opinion, I believe that a immediate good solution would be taking a few less people per group to the parks, for a better control. Teenagers (in general) do rude things, like cutting lines, because they are too far away of their parents. But, as a Brazillian, I think it is beautiful the way we show energy, singing and dancing. It's our way to show happiness. An example of how different this ways can be: in NYE, Epcot and Magic Kingdom are full with noise, and here in Brazil, this would be VERY strange.
Above all, it is marvellous these types of things happening in other countries, to bring up the opportunity to make contact with other cultures.
Congratulations!
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
That's what we need to remember when we encounter some of these tour groups -- they're filled with first-timers who haven't had the experience to learn how to do better fitting in to our culture. Unfortunately, due to the expense of visiting Orlando from Brazil, we almost never get to see tour groups of experienced Brazilian visitors to counter the impression left by all the rookies.