Portuguese Blog

Today we’re going to do the last part of our lesson on naturalidades, which determine exactly where a person is from in Brazil: either the city or the state. These are written in lower case, as opposed to in English, in which we use upper case, as in Hawaiian or Alaskan.

Let’s look at the Central and Western regions.

A person from Mato Grosso do Sul is called mato-grossense-do-sul or guaicuru, and a person from the capital of Campo Grande is called campo-grandense. The Guaicurus were a Native American tribe that lived in the region of Mato Grosso do Sul, and were famous for their skills as warriors and equestrians.

A person from the state of Mato Grosso is called mato-grossense, and a person from the capital of Cuiabá is called a cuiabano. This is not to be confused with cubano, a person from Cuba.

A person from the state of Rondônia is called rondoniense, and a person
from the capital of Porto Velho is called porto-velhense.

A person from the state of Goiás is called goiano, and a person from the capital of Goiânia is called goianiense.

A person from the state of Distrito Federal is called brasiliense, and a person from the capital of Brasília is called brasiliense or candango. The Brazilian capital, like the U.S. capital, is quite small, so if you’re from the “state” you are also from the city.

Candango was the name given to the workers who migrated to Brasília during its construction in the 1950s. It is a word of African descent, from modern-day Angola, and means “ordinary” or “bad.” During the 1700s and 1800s, the Angolan slaves called the slave owners “candangos.” It’s not clear why the construction workers of Brasília were given this name, but to this day the term “candango” is often the preferred name for a person born in Brazil’s capital.

Examples:

O goiano na foto acima não está sorrindo. The man from Goiás in the photo above isn’t smiling.
Os candangos têm orgulho da sua cidade moderna. The people of Brasilia are proud of their modern city.

Note: naturalidades can also refer to something from that region that’s not a person:

O futebol mato-grossense tem menos torcedores do que o futebol goiano. Soccer in Mato Grosso has less fans than soccer in Goiás.

O governo rondoniense tem muitos problemas. The government of Rondonia has many problems.

To continue with our lesson on naturalidades, where a person is from in Brazil, let’s look at the Southern region.

A person from the state of Paraná is called paranaense, and a person from the capital of Curitiba is called curitibano. 

A person from the state of Santa Catarina is called catarinense or barriga-verde, and a person from the capital of Florianópolis is called florianopolitano. During the early 1800s, Brazil fought in a war against Uruguay, and the state of Santa Catarina sent forces who did particularly well in battle. These brave soldiers were known as the barriga-verdes, (green bellies), since they wore a green sash as a belt with their uniforms. Today, the term is a source of pride for people from Santa Catarina, and many buildings, organizations, and businesses use the term, including the state congress building, called O Palácio Barriga Verde.

A person from the state of Rio Grande do Sul is called gaúcho, and a person from the capital of Porto Alegre is called porto-alegrense. A gaúcho [gah-oo-shoo] is a person who is from the southernmost area of Brazil, which has a strong cowboy culture based on a mixture of Spanish, Portuguese, indigenous, and African ancestors who settled the area. In Argentina and Uruguay, these people are known as gauchos [gow-chohs].

The origin of the word is debated. It may be from the indigenous language Guarani, where the word would mean “man that sings sadly.” It also could come from the Arabic word “chaucho” which is a type of whip used to control cattle. Others believe it comes from the indigenous Quechua word “huagchu” which means orphan, and referred to the children of Indian women with Portuguese and Spanish immigrant men. In any event, the word was first used to describe the tough pioneers who settled the vast plains of southern Brazil and northern Argentina.

Examples:

A Gisele é modelo gaúcha, aqui na foto acima. Gisele is a model from Rio Grande do Sul in the photo above.
Os curitibanos gostam da sua cidade limpa e bonita. The people of Curitiba like their clean and pretty city.

“Naturalidade” means where someone is from in Brazil, either referring to the state or city of origin. Just as we would refer to people from New York City as “New Yorkers” and people from Texas as “Texans,” Brazilians define people by exactly where they’re from. Note that naturalidades are written in lower case letters.

Let’s look at the Northeast region today.

A person from the state of Bahia is called baiano, and a person from the capital of Salvador is called salvadorense.

A person from the state of Sergipe is called sergipano, and a person from the capital of Aracajú is called aracajuano.

A person from the state of Alagoas is called alagoano, and a person from the capital of Maceió is called maceionense.

A person from the state of Pernambuco is called pernambucano, and a person from the capital of Recife is called recifense.

A person from the state of Paraíba is called paraibano, and a person from the capital of João Pessoa is called pessoense. 

A person from the state of Ceará is called cearense, and a person from the capital of Fortaleza is called fortalezense.

A person from the state of Piauí is called piauiense, and a person from the capital of Teresina is called teresinense.

A person from the state of Maranhão is called maranhense, and a person from the capital of São Luis is called são-luisense.

A person from the state of Rio Grande do Norte is called portiguar or norte-rio-grandense, and a person from the capital of Natal is called natalense or papa-jerimum. Portiguar means shrimp in the indigenous Tupi language, and papa-jerimum comes from a traditional fish dish from Natal called pirão de jerimum, which is Tupi as well.

Here’s how you use the naturalidades:

Um paraibano está na foto encima. A man from Paraíba is in the picture above.
O baiano casou com a maranhense. The man from Bahia married the woman from Maranhão.