Real Brazilian Portuguese & Culture
The Reggae Scene in São Luís do Maranhão When the reggae movement was first taking roots in Brazil during the 1970′s, it’s influence was seen to be the strongest in Brazil’s Northern region. Reggae completely took over the music scene in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, especially in the capital city São Luís. So much, in fact that [...]
Carnaval in Olinda Along with Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, Olinda has one of three most attended carnivals in Brazil. The carnival of Olinda, however, is certainly the most popular in Brazil, in the sense that the party is protagonized by the people. In Rio, the main attraction is the parade of samba schools, which [...]
A lot of ex-pat blogs tell the stories of either avid travelers who have volunteered to get lost in a new culture or people who have relocated to another city for love. More often than not, Brazilian expat bloggers live in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo or a city that can be spotted on a [...]
“Você já imaginou todas as coisas bizarras que faria do meu lado?” “Did you ever imagine all of the bizarre things you would do by my side?” Renato asked me with that sly, yet timid grin pasted on his face. We sat stuffed together in the backseat of a weathered, 2001 Fiat. The subwoofers of [...]
Arroz Vermelho Some foods are so particular to a small, micro-region, that they remain unmentioned when speaking about the food of a larger, geographical region. Arroz Vermelho (red rice) is one of these foods. Arroz Vermelho is a dish that is neither representative of typical Northeastern cuisine, nor is it part of quintessential Bahian fare. [...]
Festa Nacional do Moranguinho In the Sothern Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul, there is an annual strawberry party in which around 70 strawberry farms from the region show off the crème de la crème of the season. Of course, they don’t exactly do it out of the goodness of their hearts as they hope the tastiness [...]
Jorge Amado - Son of Bahia Jorge Amado de Faria (August 10, 1912 – August 6, 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the Modernist school. He was the best-known of modern Brazilian writers, his work having been translated into some 30 languages and popularized in film, notably Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos) in 1978. His work dealt largely with the poor [...]
Brazilian Landmarks in the South I’ve already covered famous landmarks in Brazil’s Northeast, North and Southeast regions. So this post will feature Brazilian Landmarks of the Southern region. Brazil is divided into 5 regions, and the South region (called “O Sul” in Portuguese) is composed of only 3 states: Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. The [...]
AFRO-BRAZILIAN CULTURE Afro-Brazilian elements are fundamental to the history of Brazilian culture. Brazil has the largest population of African origin outside of Africa, and because of this, the culture of Africa has had a huge influence on Brazil, principally in the Northeast region. Today, Afro-Brazilian culture manifests in Brazilian music, religion, martial arts, language and [...]
Famous Brazilian Landmarks: The Northeast O Nordeste. I previously covered the famous Brazilian landmarks of the northern region, Brazilian Landmarks in the south and Brazilian landmarks in the southeast. In this post, I will feature Brazilian landmarks from the 9 states that make up Brazil’s Northeastern Region (a Região Nordeste do Brasil). The states of the [...]
Brazilian Landmarks in the North O Norte. Here I’ve put together a list of the most visited and most famous Brazilian landmarks in Brazil by state. Since there are inumerous Brazilian landmarks and tourist points to choose from, I have simplified this list by featuring only one famous landmark from each state in Brazil. Choosing [...]
Popular Music in Brazil A Brazilian study recently surveyed top Brazilian radio stations and revealed what types of music that Brazilians listen to the most. The Brazilian radio stations that were surveyed were the following: Jovem Pan FM (São Paulo), Transamérica (São Paulo), FM O Dia (Rio de Janeiro), Beat 98 (Rio de Janeiro), Cidade [...]
What is a Gaúcho? Next on my Brazilian dialect series, is probably one of the most different of Brazilian states, “Gauchês,” spoken by those who live in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (and parts of Mato Grosso do Sul), the southernmost state in Brazil. Those who live in Rio Grande do Sul are [...]
Pernambuquês: The Portuguese of Pernambuco Pernambuco is a state in the northeast region of Brazil and Pernambucanos have great accents that are as phonetic as you’ll get with Brazilian portuguese. Pernambucanos, like other states in Brazil, also have their own vocabulary that is distinct to the region. For example, the word escroto to me means something sketchy or someone who’s [...]
How Do People Speak in Rio de Janeiro? The biggest tourist hot spot in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, has its own slang and almost overall dialect. Living in São Paulo and being around the Paulistanês “language” all the time, to me it’s quite refreshing to go to Rio and listening to Carioquês and its malandro nature. Cariocas (the Portuguese word for [...]
Paulistanês: Speaking Like You’re From São Paulo City The funny thing about people who live in the city of São Paulo is that they think everyone else has an accent except for them. And travelling to other parts of Brazil, I’ve learned most other people around the country realize they have a regional accent, except paulistanos who [...]
Luiza in Canada This story is so hilariously Brazilian, it needs to be shared. The story begins with a random TV commercial that ran in Brazil about a construction project for a luxury apartment building in Paraíba. In the commercial, the man advertising the building uses his family in the commercial, but makes a point of [...]
THE SAND DUNES OF BRAZIL Among its diverse terrains, one not-so-well-known fact is that Brazil has several great spots to enjoy sand dunes, called dunas in Portuguese. Tourist companies have taken advantage of this delightful anomaly and made it possible for visitors to have the opportunity to do some dune surfing. Here is a list that [...]
JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE IN SAO PAULO As home to the largest Japanese diaspora in the world, Brazil, and particularly São Paulo – both city and state – have been tremendously influenced by Japanese culture and architecture. The most recognizable may be the now famed Japanese neighborhood of Liberdade, and separately, the esteemed work of Japanese-Brazilian architect [...]
TRAVELING TO BELEM Belém (in the state of Pará) is at the mouth of the Amazon and is a major reference in a visit to the northern Brazilian Amazon. Belém helps you get a feel of what to expect in the Amazon basin. Belém, like Manaus (capital city of the Amazonas state) is a jumping-off point for [...]
