About me: Joana Araci

The whole story —or at least what’s coming to my mind— and the importance of the places and people that made me who I am and perhaps who I will be.

Taken in 2025_ this Text was written a longer time ago. I’ll try to update is soon as possible

Let’s try this again.

My name is Araci, and I am Portuguese. I wish nationality weren’t a factor in determining my identity so straightforwardly. However, part of who we are is shaped by our surroundings, and mine is Portugal.

Portuguese names are long, but we never thought ours were any longer than anyone else’s until we started comparing them with foreigners'. We can have two names: mine is Joana Araci, and we take our mother's surname and our father's last name. Fair enough, don’t you think?

I have always felt weird about why, in other cultures, the mother’s surname would be erased from their children’s names. Well, not in Portugal!

I was born at ten in the morning on 20 August 1990 in a city called Viseu, in the rural area of Portugal. Guess what? There are more places besides Lisbon and Porto. And I know you are having a hard time figuring out how to pronounce this.

I am a 90s kid, but I was conceived most likely on Christmas 1989. It’s not that it’s relevant; I just find it funny since I like the 80s so much.