Brazilian and African sources for the study
of cultural transferences from Brazil to Africa317holdings obviously of a different value. The Rio centre is in contact with
Itamarati but remains very far from being an official spokesman for Itama-
rati African policy, it is independent in thought and pronouncement.
Apart from the Rio centre, the city seems to be experiencing a mushroom-
ing number of institutes, centres organizations devoted to the study of Afro-
Brazilian culture. Some are con.nected with universities and institutions of
higherj learning (Candido^Mendes Federal University of Fluminense), others
more administratively independent located both in the more fashionable Zona
Sul (Copacabana, Ipanema) and in the at times mythologized Zona Norte
(Bangu). Newspapers, news-sheets and pamphlets are beginning to trickle forth
from all of these fledgling institutes ; unfortunately many of the organizations
seem to be engaged in fractious internecine skirmishes one aga nst another.
They are and at the same time are not members and a result of the cultural
'Black Rio' movement, however their at present fragile nature should not
serve as a denial of their potential future importance and usefulness for the
researcher attempting to understand the reality of the Afro-Brazilian experi-
ence. It is important to remember also that the 'Black Rio' movement is
not confined solely to the carioca city, but can be encountered in Salvador,
Säo Paulo and Brasilia; in fact in any urban area where there is a significant
concentration of Afro-Brazilians. It is evident that this contemporary pheno-
menon or cultural movement among Afro-Brazilians will become the subject
of many interpretations and intellectual analyses, as its meaning and signifi-
cance become more defined in social, economic and quasi-political terms.^19
The Rio African studies centre is aware of the movement and plans in the
future to involve itself more directly with the community's programme inter-
ests as expressed through 'Black Rio'.
In terms of institutional support and interest, the number and varied
types of publications, diversity of groups and interests and research possibil-
ities, it is the author's conviction that Rio de Janeiro provides the most fertile
area for research on contemporary Afro-Brazilian culture and mores, serving
as a kind of national centre and testing ground,^20 and also as a mirror for the
rest of the national society. Säo Paulo while also providing a strong commu-
nity has or exhibits another kind of insularity which does not permit its com-
munity to serve as a kind of mirror as that of Rio.
The third major African studies centre is located at the University of
Sao Paulo (USP), more directly integrated into its university than either CEAO
in Salvador or CEAA in Rio. The USP centre is the only African studies pro-
gramme in Brazil which offers advanced degrees (masters and doctorate) to
its students through direct entrance to the post-graduate departments of USP.
While the centre itself is less well defined than the other two, exhibits less of a
specific personality, its contacts with Itamarati, with the African diplomatic
corps in Brasilia and with various African universities through the medium of