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Is activeness the defining characteristic of Brazilians?

Most Brazilians in the UAE work as airline pilots, flight attendants, and Jiu Jitsu coaches.

"We don't like to sit around and drink tea," says Brazilian skydiver Marat Leiras, 44, father of two. Leiras, sporting a yellow bandana and dreadlocks (he hasn't cut his hair in 16 years), is waiting for his son, Max, to complete an hour of Jiu Jitsu training. When Max finishes his training, he will drink a glass of - not orange juice - but, the very Brazilian concoction, an Acai berry smoothie. Marat talks about how he, like other Brazilians, thinks of nothing else other than packing his day with a game of beach volleyball in the morning and cycling in the evening. If possible, he'll like to squeeze in skydiving in the middle. Leiras has been in Dubai for seven years. Home for him is Rio.
So, what are Brazilians like, as people? Is activeness their most defining characteristic? Most seem to agree. Nina Stone, a Capoeira 'professora' (different from a teacher) hates it when people refer to her as a dancer. "I trained in martial arts for 20 years, I'm not a dancer!" she laughs. "We're friendly, love BBQ, like to dance, and are passionate about our music and drumming." What's less loved is - "The corruption in our country and how unsafe it is." Is Nina a 'typical' Brazilian? She doesn't want to define herself as one, but it doesn't help the stereotype that her pals are Samba dancers at Fogueira, Ramada Plaza Hotel, JBR.
A Jiu Jitsu coach in Abu Dhabi, Bernardo Chaves has been teaching the art for 15 years (he's been in Abu Dhabi for four years) now. Chaves is just one of the several Brazilians in the UAE, who are Jiu Jitsu coaches. In fact, as Khaleej Times learns from the Brazilian embassy - most Brazilians in the UAE work as airline pilots, flight attendants, and Jiu Jitsu coaches. Brazilians also work in the hospitality and oil industry. Leila MS Pacheco, vice consul and head of the consular section, estimates 9,000 Brazilian citizens live in the UAE. "Part of the community has a double nationality and is registered in the UAE under another nationality."
Since Brazilians love spending time outdoors, they naturally love various sports. There isn't a Brazilian, young or old, as the other stereotype goes, who doesn't love football or Capoeria or Jiu Jitsu or dance. Fitness also has something to do with the man-woman ratio in their land. There's a reputation that precedes Brazilian men: their inability to be faithful to one woman. "Let me put it this way," Leiras explains, "The competition is stiff. Women in Brazil jog on the beach, they look after themselves. There is the fear that the man will leave her for another woman."
And then, pointing to a web page open on his phone, he says, "Look at the population in our country. On countrymeters.info/en/Brazil one can see that of the 210,797,024 folks in Brazil, 49.2 percent are men, and the women make up just over 50 percent of the population." A little decimal, naturally translates into thousands of people. As it happens, the men are statistically spoilt for choice.
nivriti@khaleejtimes.com