O melhor do Brasil é o brasileiro! Corpo, identidade, desejo e poder

this article describes romantic/sexual exchanges between local men known as 'gringa-hunters' and foreign female tourists in praia da pipa's (kite beach), rio grande do norte, brazil. body markers and the systems of differentiation they are referenced upon are analyzed. an account is provided of how the men and women involved in these relationships manipulate power structures and cultural stereotypes. the discursive construction of a mixed-blood sensuous brazilianness is tracked back in classical writings, from caminha's narrative of an eden-on-earth, to gilberto freyre's interpretations about racial democracy and the ideology of hybrid-making (mesti？agem). those master narratives dialogue with field observation and interview data revealing how agents appropriate and provide their own meaning to those constructions.