One of the major aspirations of Brazilian modernist and regionalistic writers during the 1920s was to affirm Brazilian identity through focusing on the Brazilian northeast and its culture and history. Jorge de Lima was one of the main exponents of the regionalist poets who focused on Afrocentric themes in Brazilian poetry, although he did not consider himself of African descent.

Essa Negra Fulô (That Black Girl Fulô, 1928) is de Lima’s signature poem on the African presence in Brazilian history. It describes vividly the situation of a young female who arrives “(a long time ago)” at the speaker’s grandfather’s hacienda and there works as a house slave. She is subjected to the harsh realities of slavery. Fulô is required to attend to her masters’ personal needs, despite the humiliating nature of the tasks. She must demonstrate subservience and fidelity to survive the ordeal, as observed in the second stanza:

“Hey Fulô! Come, Fulô
(the voice of the Mistress)
—come make up my bed,
come brush my hair,
come help me lay out
my wardrobe, Oh Fulô!”

Described by the poet as “uma negra bonitinha / chamada negra Fulô” (a pretty little black girl / by the name of Fulô), the central character symbolizes, on the one hand, admiration for the physical beauty and endurance of the female slave; on the other hand, she embodies the horrendous experience of the transatlantic slave trade.

De Lima recounts a historical fact in Brazil’s trajectory to independence. The poet’s consistent repetition of the refrain “That Black Girl Fulô” after each stanza reveals his increasing emphasis on the depravity of the slave trade in Brazil. Additionally, de Lima displays the psychological and emotional impact of the slavery system on Brazilians of African descent.

The poem of 25 stanzas underscores the hostile treatment by slave masters/mistresses of their slaves, who were relegated to performing dehumanizing tasks. The poet takes care to give examples of this treatment. One example is the description of a beating that Fulô endures after being accused of stealing:

“The Master goes to see
the black girl whipped.
The black girl stripped.
The Master said: Fulô!
(His vision had turned
as dark as Fulô.)”

The striking simile in the last line conjures up the animalistic and inhuman treatment meted out to slaves by masters.

Skillfully employing dialogue, de Lima authentically portrays the transatlantic slave trade. Through captivating imagery the poet reveals the life of the black female in Brazil. This poem might have been dedicated to the black population who suffered the traumas of the most destabilizing effort ever inflicted on the continent. Afro-Brazilians were later to perceive the poem as a negative reminder of their past.

Bibliography
de Lima, Jorge. “That Black Girl Fulô.” In Twentieth-Century Latin American Poetry: A Bilingual Anthology, edited by Stephen Tapscott, 128–130. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996.

Categories: Latin American Literature, Literature, World Literature

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