Whose a gringo?

soie5 wrote:

someone who doesnt know portugese or someone who has blue eyes and blond hair.
What if u dont know portugese but look like a local?
Or if u look different than normal brazilians but know portugese?

Well the term 'gringo' is common here and in most of Latin America to refer to anyone from a foreign culture, most commonly English speakers. It isn't always used in a derrogatory way here. Quite to the contrary, it is more often used in a familiar or even affectionate way by people who really like you.

It has nothing to do with the Portuguese language or even how long you've been here in Brazil as much as it does to the fact that you're different. Curiously, and I guess because of my fluency most people ask me if I'm from Portugal.

I've been here 11 years, read, write and speak Portuguese better than many Brazilians (albeit not with a Latin accent) and I still get called a gringo from time to time. Don't worry about it. They tell me all the time that I may be a gringo, but I have a Brazilian heart. I guess that's what really matters. I'm treated like a born Brazilian by everyone I know.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Yes, a Gringo here is anyone who is not Brazilian, it seems, and is not derogatory.  Who is a gringo?  Some even consider Brazilians that have spent years overseas, and changed their culture as a result.

Cheers, Douglas Trent, Gringo in Belo Horizonte