important here than colour. And, despite the nation’s goal of being a multiracial democracy, there is a clear link between skin tone and inequality. In Brazilian cities, white workers earn roughly twice as much as those of African descent. Up until 2011, black or mixed-race students also spent two years less at school on average. The government says the gap is closing thanks to quota systems for university places and other forms of affirmative action. But the gulf remains glaringly apparent. The vast majority of business and government executives are white, while most menial jobs are done by black and mixed-race workers. Walk through Ipanema, Gávea or other upmarket districts and you are far more likely to see black nannies pushing strollers with white toddlers than a white nanny pushing a black child. Defining colour is complex. People who define themselves as white were in the minority for the first time in the most recent census in 2010. Among the 197 million population, 82 million said they were “pardu” (mixed race), 15 million black, two million Asian and 0.5% indigenous. Sylvio Ferreira, a psychology lecturer at the Federal University of Pernambuco, believes Anitta has won the hearts of the middle class by taking a rebellious sound and making it tamer and more palatable to everyone. “Was this achieved by racial whitening? No,” he said. “What happened