Fight Against Racism in Vai na F

This Wednesday (19), actor Isacque Lopes, who plays Ben in the soap opera ''Vai na Fé'', spoke in detail for an interview with Splash Show, on UOL, about the racism he experienced from a very early age, and which also is addressed in some scenes of the soap opera.

Isacque said that even during his childhood, he was teased by his schoolmates because of his hair – a reality that was repeated among many black children during the same period.

''In my childhood, in elementary school, it was because of my hair. I've always had long, curly, frizzy hair. At school, I was teased a lot for this. They gave nicknames, threw pencils, erasers… “, he declared. However, during his adolescence the attacks only got worse.

_{Isaac Lopes. Reproduction/Instagram}

The actor revealed that he has already been the target of a police approach, in addition to the fact that people on the street feared Isacque just because of his color: “As a teenager, it was because of my color. When I walked on the street, there were police stops, there were cases of people changing sidewalks at night. “

Although the issue of the police approach was not his fault, but rather the racism coming from the police officers themselves, Isacque said that his mother advised him to always dress up better than everyone else, so that these situations could be avoided.

Even though discrimination like this continues to occur, Lopes stated that it has gradually decreased due to the current context in which he finds himself, acting in a soap opera: ''Now, because of fame, things are decreasing, but we never stop being in a black body. Even if it is less, we will always go through some situations''

His talent is not limited to television drama, look what the cat can do:

_{Isaac Lopes singing Michael Jackson. Reproduction/Instagram}

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Furthermore, the artist reported a recent and not pleasant experience, because, when requesting an app car, the driver did not authorize him to enter the vehicle.

Black diversity in the cast of 'Vai na Fé'

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In a recent interview with Splash UOL, when asked by one of the presenters, Dieguinho Schueng, about masculinity in the soap opera, he gave an example of how black masculinity worked:

''The issue of black masculinity is interesting, because we are diverse. I'm thin, Samuel is stronger. I have less dark skin, and Samuel, even though he looks like me, is darker than me'', he said.

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_{Samuel de Assis and Isacque Lopes. Reproduction/Instagram}

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Actor Samuel de Assis plays Ben in his adult phase, while Isacque plays him in his teenage years. Isacque made a point of highlighting the importance of these themes being present in television drama, showing the existence of *colorism in the soap opera.

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*An addendum: colorism is a term that refers to the different tones of black skin, from the lightest to the darkest..

''There is this colorism in the soap opera too. It's an important theme, to show how Brazilians – especially black Brazilians – are diverse, the world is diverse. We are multiple people, we can be whatever we want. Addressing this in the soap opera seems to me to be the right way”, he said to SPLASH. ''

In a publication, he stated that he was living a dream that seemed far from his reality: ''I'm living a dream. A kid's dream, a dream that always seemed very far from my reality, but that was always in my prayers. Living all of this today is proof that having faith is literally what will make you enjoy God's blessings..''

Still in the text, he commented on the character he and Samuel share: ''Ben and Isaac are extremely similar. We are adventurous, intense, free, passionate, dreamers… we even wear the same style of clothing.''

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_{Isacque Lopes celebrates his character Ben, alongside Samuel de Assis Reproduction/Instagram}

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There is a scene in which the character Ben recalls an episode of racism suffered at school, after being called a 'monkey' during a football game, resembling situations that have occurred in real life during sports matches.

In fact, Isacque said he has a lot of fight ahead: ''Making this episode was very powerful, it made me remember these situations I went through, so I was able to transfer all my feelings into the scene.'' Continued: ''But as I read recently, racism isn't getting worse, it's being filmed. Now, at least, everything is being seen, which has always been the case. But our fight still has a long way to go.''

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Finally, it is important that soap opera authors remain aware that these issues need to be debated, not just being a distant reality, taking a step towards ending the reproduction of racist stereotypes on screen.

Featured photo: Isacque Lopes. Reproduction/Instagram