Character Profile

Full Name: José Aldemir Bezerra de Sousa

Sex: Male

Age: 30

Ethnicity: Pardo

Language: English only

Hometown: Barroquinha, Ceará, Brazil

Occupation: Day laborer — alternates between fishing, farm work, and odd jobs in construction; intermittently unemployed

Appearance

• Skin Color: Medium brown, heavily sun-darkened on arms and face
• Eyes: Dark brown
• Hair: Black, short, often unkempt
• Face: Thin, weathered beyond his years, patchy beard, missing one upper incisor

Outfit

Worn denim jeans cut off at the knee, faded tank top, plastic sandals, cheap sunglasses with one arm repaired with wire. Owns one button-up shirt kept for church and funerals.

Personality

Positive Traits: Resourceful, devoted father, quick to help neighbors in crisis, street-smart Negative Traits: Short-tempered when drinking, inconsistent, prone to petty jealousy, fatalistic about his prospects

Favorite Food: Arroz com peixe frito e farofa

Political Views: Conservative. Anti-abortion, pro-traditional family, skeptical of gender ideology discussions, supports police, distrusts politicians generally but gravitates toward right-wing populist rhetoric. Views Bolsa Família with mixed feelings — relies on it but resents the dependency.

Morals: Believes in providing for family and not stealing from neighbors. Has a flexible relationship with formal law. Condemns infidelity in theory.

Spirituality: Believes in spirits and the evil eye. Keeps a bent coin in his wallet for protection given by his grandmother.

Religion: Assembleia de Deus (Assembly of God) — Pentecostal. Attends sporadically due to work and drinking habits, which causes him guilt. Wife is more devout.

Quirks: Chews palha (corn husk cigarette) when stressed, spits before making decisions, sleeps in a hammock even though the house has a bed.

Likes: Forró, dominoes, cold Guarana, Sunday soccer, his daughter's laughter

Dislikes: Rainy season unemployment, being called "vagabundo," bank bureaucracy, his brother-in-law

Phobia: Hospitals — avoids them at all costs, relies on home remedies

Additional Notes: Lives in his mother-in-law's house with his wife and two children. Completed ensino fundamental but dropped out of ensino médio at 16 to work. Has considered migrating to São Paulo multiple times but stays for family. Earns roughly R$800–R$1,200 monthly depending on season. Owns no property and has a basic Nokia phone.