Last Saturday I attended the first staging of a Brazilian Summer festival held in my town. Not that they didn't have festivals before, but usually, they were held in the streets of a town nearby known to be the home of most Brazilians in the area.
For those of you who don't know, Japan and Brazil have a long history of migration. In the early 20th century, many Japanese people emigrated to Brazil to work in agriculture, particularly in coffee plantations. Brazil was one of the few countries that accepted the Japanese after the country's economy tanked after world war 2. As a result, Brazil now has the largest population of people of Japanese descent outside Japan.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Japan experienced a labor shortage due to its rapidly aging population ( still aging by the way) and declining birthrate ( still declining by the way). To address this, Japan relaxed its immigration laws to allow descendants of Japanese emigrants (Nikkeijin) to return to Japan and work. This was part of a broader strategy to attract workers who were culturally and ethnically connected to Japan. Many Brazilians of Japanese descent moved to Japan during this period to take advantage of better economic opportunities.
Events like this Brazilian festival are a testament of the reciprocal relationship the two countries have had throughout history.
Besides the live music, food was one sale, bounce about and go cart tracks for kids, companies and individuals marketing their products and even the "Banco do Brasil" was present showcasing their new app. All in all, an excellent event. Looking forward to next years staging.
And here is a new song I'm digging by Vybz Kartel titled "Party with me" off his new EP of the same title.
Click the banner to learn more about #APART. It is quite a simple challenge. Post an original picture and link to a reggae song. The picture should have some connection to the Reggae song in someway, anyway. The only limit is your imagination.😉