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‘Brazilippines’: Brazil-Philippines ‘alliance’ at Olympics takes social media by storm 

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Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines – Happening every four years, the Olympics is the most-awaited international sporting event. The best of the best athletes are sent by their home countries to vie for a spot on the podium. 

While not all fans can attend and watch the 2024 Paris Olympics live, sports enthusiasts are able to keep up with the latest developments online. As athletes race to make their respective countries proud, another level of sportsmanship buds in the midst of the high-pressure event: an unofficial alliance between Brazilians and Filipinos. 

Whenever a contender from the two countries wins, the other is on the sidelines (or the X space) cheering them on, celebrating the victory as if it were their own. When the Philippines wins, Brazil does, too, and vice versa.

The fun is so widely acknowledged by both countries that netizens from each country crafted nicknames for each other: Filiprimos (Filipino-primos) and Brazinsans (brazil-pinsans) – both of which play on the word “cousin” in Portuguese and Filipino, respectively. Together, they’re Brazilippines. 

It all started when Carlos Yulo won his first gold medal in artistic gymnastics. A Brazilian X user posted, “a Filipino won a gold medal and it’s gold for Brazil too because we are cousins.” The X post quickly gained traction, prompting other Filipinos and Brazilian social media users to partake in the joint celebration. 

“When someone with Filipino blood wins, Filipinos are proud. It doesn’t matter if [they’re] only half Filipino. When a Filipino wins, Brazilians are proud because they consider us relatives despite the fact that there is no blood relation. Brazilian patriotism is on another level,” another X user quipped. 

When Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade also took home a gold medal in the floor exercise event in women’s artistic gymnastics, online “Brazilipinos” cheered – making both athletes’ top podium finishes even more memorable for the two countries. 

And when Yulo made history by snagging his second-straight gold medal, the celebration continued. “Another gold for our friend Carlos Yulo. Brazilippines supremacy,” a Brazilian user wrote.

To add to the list of why Brazilians and Filipinos seem to be true cousins, one user pointed this fact out:

A Brazilian artist also made a chibi version of the “cousins” raising their hands and medals.

A 2021 X thread even resurfaced and unveiled the probable reason why these countries are sisters from different geographical locations. The thread pointed out the two countries’ shared love for eating avocado as a sweet dessert, Brazilians’ and Filipinos’ similar humor, and their practice of lining the walls outside of their houses with broken glass to prevent theft, among many other things. 

We are not exaggerating this union as the “cousins” – or the “Brazinsans” and “Filiprimos” – have already made a flag.

When the Brazilian women’s football team were gearing up to go against Spain, which colonized the Philippines, Brazilian netizens quickly dedicated the match to Filipinos.

And when Brazil eventually won the match against the world champions, Filipinos cherished the victory along with them.

Brazil and the Philippines’ relationship – whether sisters or cousins – is a testament to the Olympic Oath of doing it all in the true spirit of sportsmanship. Despite the obvious pressure to bring home the bacon, it’s a beautiful thing to witness two countries cheering for each other. – with reports from Fore Esperanza/Rappler.com

Fore Esperanza is a Rappler intern. She is taking up English language studies at the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology.