Aracaju (Brazil)

Community

Social events, entertainment, bars, festivals, cafes, bookstores, etc.

  • Universidade Federal de Sergipe (UFS)

    • Lots of queer visibility on campus and in the community

    • Contact Point: Julia Gibas-Jones (she/her) ETA 2018-2019.

    • There is a LARGE LGBTQ+ community on campus, many of them will be your students. They absolutely love classes and events related to queer topics and queer people so don’t be shy!

    •  The program managers Elaine and Rodrigo are incredibly supportive and they give you a lot of freedom. Rodrigo is part of the community and Elaine is a wonderful ally. 

    • There are not any specific social events or entertainment that I encountered, but you can always create your own! I hosted a self care event every week and I would sit outside of the Centro de Vivenca with nail polish and many queer students would stop by to hang out, practice their English, talk about mental health or identity and paint their nails. Many of them asked for an official LGBTQ+ group, so if you’re in need of a side project….

  • Nightlife

    • Macaw: A terrific night club that tends to have more individuals who identify as non-binary, trans, or who perform as drag queens. There is a large indoor space to dance (typically funk but occasionally they have DJ’s and electronic parties)  and there’s a cool outdoor space to chill.

    • Las Vegas: A smaller club that tends to cater to gay men. Other people from the queer community go there but it is predominately a gay cavern and a great place to get really sweaty and dance funk.

Political/Social Environment

Resources assessing queer- and trans-friendliness in your country

  • Aracaju is a very queer friendly place. As a queer woman I have felt more comfortable here than I have back in the U.S. 

    • Uber is consistently available so after the sun goes down always call one even if you’re relatively close to where you need to be.(As a woman, as a queer person, and as a foreigner, it’s not worth the risk to walk alone at night). 

    • I was lucky and never encountered any problems, even walking through the streets with a group of queer people. 

    • Aracaju hosts a HUGE pride festival in August and it is like a mini Carnaval!!!! It’s so amazing and the city goes all out to celebrate pride.

  • On campus

    • It is best to avoid being there at night. It gets more dangerous once the sun goes down.

    • We typically worked until 17:00 and then went home.

    • Normally, if you are on campus later at night, it is for an event with the other ETA’s and you can leave together.

Legal

Laws that are accepting or discriminatory and legal resources specifically for LGBTQ persons

Housing

  • App called OLX to find housing

    • “When looking at options, some people will put “Ambiente familiar” which means “Family environment” (aka more conservative and/or religious)… it might put you in an uncomfortable position of having to hide parts of your identity.” (Fulbrighter ‘18-’19)

Health

Medical resources for LGBTQ persons in your community (special clinics, testing, treatment, pharmacies, etc.)

Culture

Podcasts, literature, movies, music, etc.

Language

How to include trans/gender-nonbinary people in conversations in your country’s language(s)

  • Always ask for someone’s pronouns and preferred name!!!! 

    • Qual e o seu nome preferido?

    • Quais são seus pronomes preferidos? 

  • Compliment someone’s style 

    • “Gosto muito do seu estilo”

  • “Non- binario” 

  • Use non-gendered words 

    • Gente 

    • Incrivel

    • Arrasou (Slayin’ it)

    • Lacrou  (giving compliments to crushes- killin’ it, lookin’ good)

  • You can add “X” instead of “O” or “A” at the end of gendered words to be more inclusive. Some people will not understand this so be ready to explain

    • Bem vindX (bem vindo/ bem vinda)

    • AlunX (aluno/aluna)

    • Pretx (preto/preta)

    • AmigX (amigo/amiga)

  • Voce e do Vale? (Apparently there’s a hypothetical magical valley where queer people come from/live so if you are curious if someone is LGBTQ+ you can ask this question )

Race & Ethnicity

Religion & Spirituality

Like all our resources, our Brazil resources were recommended by Fulbrighters in the host country. Because of the vast and thorough resource collection the Brazil cohort of 2018-19 provided, we have copied their recommendations nearly verbatim. Please contact us if you have updated information.

Unless indicated otherwise, the above page was written by Sarah Lopez.