Oi (hi)!
It’s always weird having to write about myself but much better than having to say all of what you are about to read in front of the class.
Let’s start with the basics. My full name is Mirella Reichenbach Livoti and I was born in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, where I lived my whole life prior to university. I’m in my 3rd year at UBC and currently living on campus. I’m a Sociology Major and Latin American Studies Minor. It wasn’t until recently, last term, that I figured out what I wanted to study so if you are only beginning your university journey and are lost, you will be fine. The honest reason why I’m taking this course is because it’s the only required course for my minor. In spite of that Professor Jon’s behind the scenes video made me excited to meet people who are not necessarily from Latin America and want to learn about the region. I know I’m biased but Latin America is amazing!!! Even though I’m from the region, I have so much more to learn.
If you are curious about my blog’s title, I will try to explain my thought process to you. I wanted to include Latina in the title because a lot of Brazilians don’t consider themselves Latino/Latina/Latinx. For some of you this might be surprising and the reasons why are quite complex. Personally though, I’m proud to be Latina. After settling on that part of title, I tried to think of an adjective that would describe me. When I thought of passionate I knew it would sound stereotypical after all Latin Americans are known to be passionate when it comes to soccer (futebol) or when people think of Carnaval. The word passionate when referring to Latin American women tends to be negative, a form of othering and exoticizing us. My interpretation of what it means to be passionate is someone who feels strongly. Adding that to the context of being Latina it means that I’m both proud of our culture, our language and our people, however, I’m also angry at people in power, at the systemic racism of our societies and how we have been treating Mother Earth. I believe that anger can be used as tool for change when dissatisfied with the decisions made and seeking better ones.
Anyway, I will share some other quick facts about me and maybe a song or two that I really like. If you have read this far, I appreciate it and hope you found my story interesting?!
- I’ve been vegetarian for about two years now and I’m transitioning to veganism
- I don’t know how to play soccer/ futebol
- I speak Portuguese
- I love dogs and animals in general
- I’m more of an introvert
- I really like watching cooking shows
- My favorite artist is a duo called Anavitoria
Feel free to ask me more questions if you are interested! These are the songs I recommend you listening to:
