The Cordial Man

Brazilian culture is multifaceted; from the socioeconomic differences to the fundamental principles, we see the culture of Brazil rooted deep in time. One of the most prominent fundamental principles of Brazilian culture is the concept of the Cordial Man. The cordial man is the principle of valuing the simple pleasures in life. It is the principle that puts value in spending time with family rather than rushing from task to task in order to obtain some sort of accomplishment as would be the case in American culture. The concept of the cordial man also leans on following your heart and living your life passionately.

The cordial man is heavily reflected in the character of Dr. Carlos. Although old, Dr. Carlos portrays a well off man who does not look towards merits to fulfill himself. Dr. Carlos lived for the simple pleasures in life as he worked away at his paintings. He did not seek fulfillment from the same things that most people with a rather individualistic mindset would have sought fulfillment from. As a cordial man, Dr. Carlos looked to live his life with passion however he was unable to do so with his wife. His wife held an individualistic mindset which clashed with his principles. She looked towards things like her work and social status to give her life value, leaving her husband behind in the shadows, not giving him any attention. However, once Val's younger daughter entered the picture we see the sparks begin to fly. Val's daughter, Jessica holds a fire within her. She is passionate about completing her education and this passion is visible to Dr. Carlos. He finds her curiosity about the world around her enticing and he finds himself entranced by her. In an attempt to bring back passion into his own life he asks her to marry him even though he already has responsibilities and commitments in his life to account for. 

The cordial man highly contradicts the individualistic mindset that I have vaguely seen dominate Sao Paulo today. Today we see the business men and women crowd the streets during rush hours and lunch hours. We see people all keeping to themselves and not interacting much with one-another. Although this individualistic mindset could be attributed to the fact that Sao Paulo is considered the second largest city in the world after New York City. Learning about the concept of the cordial man juxtaposed with the city life we encounter every day is a rather interesting juxtaposition of culture in the past and the culture of today. Although occasionally we can see this concept of the cordial man prevail in today's Brazilian society as we saw in Dr. Carlos, for the most part it can be questioned whether this cultural principle is still relevant to the culture that the people have shaped in Sao Paulo.