Synopsis:
This documentary presents the story of Fabio Ramos de Andrade, who lives in Eugene with his wife and their 12-years old twin sons. Fabio misses the way life was in Brazil, specifically in his hometown Salvador, capital of Bahia, an old city known for its afrodiasporic traditions, religions, and celebrations. Fabio immigrated to Eugene, Oregon, nine years ago in order to study a doctorate in education. Today he manages the office of human rights of the City of Eugene. This movie addresses Fabio’s memories of Salvador and his experiences as a Latino man inhabiting a predominantly white American town. Reflecting on the parallels between the states of Bahia and Oregon, Fabio discusses how racism has historically been affecting both places. Fabio’s testimony shows his strategies of resilience in Eugene and how racism creates violent situations, unwelcoming spaces, and ongoing diasporas.
Producer’s Bio:
Kaito Campos de Novais is a PhD student in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oregon. He was raised in Goiânia, a city in the middle of the Brazilian savannah, where he got a bachelor’s degree in Social Communication/Journalism and a master’s in Social Anthropology from the Universidade Federal de Goiás. Before starting his doctorate, he worked as a teacher, illustrator, and journalist. His works focus on LGBTQ+ activism, decoloniality, visual anthropology, gender, sexuality, and race. Since 2015, he investigates social movements of mothers of LGBTQ+ people who denounce human rights violations in Brazil. The Latino Roots course has helped Kaito to learn new audiovisual skills, which he will use further as a visual ethnographer, and to reflect on the history of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people living in Oregon.