Traverso speaks
Carmen Miranda
Latin America
by Anne Rajotte
managing editor
Did Carmen Miranda really exist'?
Dr. Soledad Traverso, in Wednesday's
brown bag lunch, discussed Carmen
Miranda, a Brazilian immigrant who
became a movie star in the United
States in the 1940'5, and her involve
ment in United States- Latin Ameri
can relations.
Dr. Traverso has a Ph.D. in Latin
American literature and is Assistant
Professor of Spanish at Behrend. She
told the audience a little bit about the
conditions in Brazil at the time of
Miranda's rise. Brazil had a new presi
dent, Getulio Vargas, after the Revo
lution of 1930. The government was
a dictatorship, complete with press
censorship and death for dissidents.
Miranda started to become famous
after a manager from Victor Records
saw her sing when she was just twenty
years old.
Students express gripes
about Behrend social life
by Jen MacKinnon
staff writer
While many Behrend students
claim they transfer to University Park
due to the superior social opportuni
ties there, other students say they can
find plenty to do in Erie. Playing
sports, being in a fraternity or soror
ity, or just participating in activities
on campus are just some of the extra
curricular activities to become in
volved in at Behrend. Some of the
activities on campus are: educational
speakers, movies, dances, and come
dians at Bruno's.
Many students had mixed views on
the social life at Behrend. Chris
Kuhns, 01 Engineering, states, "A lot
of the social life depends on what you
make of it." "I did not think that there
was a social life," said, Brian Smith,
07 Psychology. Even though the stu
dents had mixed views, many agreed
on how to improve the social life.
The social file can be improved in
a variety of ways. Many felt that more
activities on campus would create big
ger social lives. This is mostly be
cause one is very limited if he or she
does not have a car. Angela Hudak,
05 Accounting, stated, "On campus
there is nothing. If you want to have
some kind of social aspect, you have
to go off campus." Many students
commented that there should be an
increase of bands. Students also felt
that the backroom facilities should be
free. If the facilities were free then it
would draw more students to use
them. Brian Smith commented,
"They should have a billiards league
or a Ping-Pong league." Also, more
students would be able to participate
Miranda came to America in 1939
and was meant to be a sort of politi
cal symbol between the U.S. and Latin
America. Brazil was trying to pro
mote a good image of Latin America,
and in this, Miranda became a piece
of propaganda. She was a symbol of
the "Good Neighbor Policy," and
some of the movies she was in de
picted relations between the U.S. and
Latin America.
Miranda's height of popularity was
during World War 11, when Holly
wood produced numerous musicals to
take citizens' minds off the war. The
image of Miranda played off this by
depicting Latin America as a relax
ing and fun place, far different from
Europe and the realities of war. By
1945, Miranda was the highest paid
female in the United States. She wore
a trademark fruit hat, which was taken
from a Latin American group's female
traditional dress.
While Miranda was popular in the
U.S., people in her native South
in activities on campus because trans
portation would not be required. An
gela Hudak replied, "The social life
can be improved by putting a bar on
campus." This would solve the prob
lem of transportation. Not only would
the bar be in walking distance, but no ,
one would have to worry dbourThid
ing a designated driver.
Many students felt that Bruno's
should be used for more social events
rather than just comedians. Misty
Holt, 06, Psychology, states, "Now
that Bruno's has been remodeled they
should have more dances. They
should also get the Greek organiza
tions more involved in having activi
ties there rather than just comedians."
Nadine Cross, 04 History, stated, "The
social life would be improved if more
students were willing to be involved
in various trips and programs that are
offered. I think that the large com
muter base damages student partici
pation because many students go to
classes and then go home."
A lot of students feel that people
transfer to University Park to improve
their social lives. Kelly Onink, 05
Accounting, states, "There are so
many people there and not everyone
knows everyone. There are a lot more
activities like football games, bands,
and organizations to become involved
in. Everything is within walking dis
tance." Angela Hudak, comments, "I
think that they move because of their
major and there are more opportuni
ties to have fun, but some people get
caught up in it." Chris Kuhns stated,
"There is always something going on
no matter what time of the day it is."
Students also had various views on
social life during the week as opposed
on
and
America were angry at the image that
Miranda was portraying to Ameri
cans. When a Miranda movie, "Down
Argentine Way", was shown is
Buenos Aires, moviegoers set fire to
the theater and accused Miranda of
being an impostor. After her time in
the United States, Miranda became
very unpopular in Brazil. Feminists
and the Black African population be
lieved that she made a mockery of
their lives and their traditions. The
upper class had never really accepted
her, as she was a middle class immi
grant.
She returned to the United States
and was in a few more movies, but
her novelty had faded. After endur
ing an abusive marriage, she died in
1955 of a heart attack.
Carmen Miranda, Traverso ex
plained to the audience, was much
more than a Latin American per
former. She was meant to represent
Latin America and to give the world
a positive image of her homeland. In
to the weekends. Some people
thought that there was more to do on
the weekends and others thought that
there was more to do during the week.
During the week, students are busy
doing their own thing. Shane
.4iostetler, 05 Plastics, said"! do not
really think thattllere really is a so
cial life during the week due to such
strenuous classes."
Misty Holt, 06, Psychology, com
mented, "I think that during the week
the biggest social life is fraternities
having parties or people drinking in
their rooms." She added, "A lot of
people go to State College on the
weekends. The only thing there is to
do on the weekettds in Erie is to go to
the movies, go bowling, or bars if you
are twenty one." Jermaine Keenard,
05, Management, felt the exact oppo
site, "The social life during the week
is alright. There is more to do on the
weekends like go to parties, the mall,
or a movie." Also, there are not as
many people around on the weekend
because many people go home.
Despite the various views of social
life, a social life is what one makes of
it. If you are unhappy with your so
cial life, may students advise that you
try to become more involved in ac
tivities. The more people that you
know the better it is. Chris Kuhns
states, "Money and your willingness
to have a social life go hand in hand."
ROLLA
photo by Jessica Trzeciakowski
Dr. Soledad Traverso discusses the stereotypes associated with Latin American women.
doing this she often upset the people
from her country, and many times
ended up ridiculing her culture. She
would often make fun of her own ac
cent, exaggerating the rolled r's. She
created a stereotype of Latin Ameri
can women that still exists today.
One of the main points of
Traverso's lecture was that Carmen
Miranda immersed herself so totally
n the false presentation of Latin Dr. Traverso described an aspect of
- gi M
Thursday, November 13, 1997 The Behrend College Collegian - Page 9
American women that she became
that stereotype. In that sense, it is hard
to say if Carmen Miranda ever ex
isted. Her stage personality, built out
of different aspects of Latin Ameri
can culture, many of which were not
her own, became her own personal
ity. Traverso described this as a
"mask" that encompassed her and
took over her life.
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Latin American culture and history
that was new to much of the audience.
With the use of old film clips from
Miranda's movies and her extensive
knowledge of Latin American history
and literature, Traverso introduced the
audience to a subject that increased
the overall understanding of the rela
tionship between the United States
and Latin America.
Elie The Behrend
College
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