Cultural exchange and intercultural communications brings the world closer together. See how Sao Paulo native Alex de Miranda lives that in his personal and professional life, as President of the Illinois-Sao Paulo Partners of the Americas and as a Cultural Strategist with the intercultural marketing practice, Drumm.
Have you ever been asked to speak on behalf of your entire race, religion, or nationality? Alex talks about how he has learned so much more about Brazil since he immigrated to the us. “Of course I can’t speak on behalf of all 224M Brazilians. But I do have a sense of pride. When people ask questions I like to answer.”
And, it’s nice to be knowledgeable to explain away stereotypes and prejudices. What is your cultural identity? Have you ever been asked to speak on behalf of it? How did it make you feel? So many of us take our own cultures for granted and don’t know a lot of the details. Were you ready for the task, or did you have to study?
(See the replay, embedded at the bottom of this page)
Alex is a Cultural Strategist with Drumm, an intercultural marketing practice within Knock, Inc.. Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, Alex is passionate about culture. He has several years of experience in marketing communications, working for small and large clients in multiple fields developing messaging strategies for multiple channels. Alex has been a volunteer with the Illinois-Sao Paulo Chapter of Partners of the Americans since 2012 and is currently the Chapter President.
Key Takeaways: Passionate about Culture with Alex de Miranda
- Alex got involved in volunteering within a month of immigrating to Chicago, to immerse himself in learning English.
- People love Brazil. I learned more about Brazil living in Chicago than I knew at home in Sao Paulo. I wanted to be a good “ambassador.”
Mostra Brazilian Film Festival Starts November 4
- MOSTRA Film Festival brings films to shy away from Brazilian stereotypes (Soccer, Samba, Caipirinhas). We talk about so many more social issues and have so much depth.
- mostrafilmfestival.org Launches November 4,through November 14. Visit the website to watch these Brazilian Films with Social Conscience (including conversations with artists and directors)
Intercultural Communications and Marketing with Drumm
- “How can we fully engage with diverse populations?” Questions like this from clients drove Knock, Inc. to create their intercultural agency arm, Drumm.
- Alex was a copywriter in Brazil and in the US. What’s the difference? Engaging around competition–e.g. having the best car, in the US. In Brazil it’s more on the fun side.
- Brazil is leader in aesthetics in marketing worldwide. “Perhaps we had to be ‘scrappy’ and creative with small budgets.
- Brazilians are not afraid of exposed sexuality, but that is changing. One beer company, Skol, invited women artists to recreate older ads that exploited women in a way to empower them.
Culture, Identity and Labels
- Hispanic (no). Latino or Latina, or the gender neutral Latinx? “I prefer LatinX as it’s a more inclusive way to use language. I struggle with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) as a term, even though I identify as BIPOC. Who came up with the term?”
- How do we identify ourselves? Race is a social construct.
- Intersectionality–how many identities do we have, and how do they intersect? “I did my ancestry DNA and had 14 countries, including indigenous, Africa, Europe, even European Jewish.” Then there’s all the relationship identities–son, brother, immigrant, etc.
What Drives Alex’s Spark?
“I’m persistent, which helps guide me to whatever I want to do.”
