Real Brazilian Portuguese & Culture
Carandiru Massacre – All But Forgotten The Carandiru Massacre, considered a major human rights violation in the history of Brazil, happened on October 2, 1992 after a riot broke out in the 9th Pavilion of Carandiru Prison Complex in São Paulo. The riot went out of control, which led to the elite force of the Military Police being [...]
Brazilian Action / Adventure Films Besouro Besouro (2009, João Daniel Tikhomiroff) Based on the life of a legendary capoeira fighter from Bahia, “Besouro” spins a tale of a young Brazilian man of African descent in search of his mission. Brazilian Action / Comedy Films O Homem Do Ano (“Man of the Year) O Homem Do Ano (2003, [...]
“Rio Breaks” Documentary The DVD for the fantastic documentary “Rio Breaks” just went on sale in the US. Here is the trailer, and also part of the review of the film by The Economist: The film follows a year in the lives of two best friends, Fabio and Naama. They live in “Vietnam”, a particularly [...]
ELITE SQUAD 2:THE ENEMY WITHIN (TROPA DE ELITE 2: O INIMIGO AGORA E OUTRO) When Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite), José Padilha’s film about Rio de Janeiro’s infamous military-police unit, BOPE, was released in 2007 the director found himself under siege. Many critics found its full-frontal assault on the issue of favela violence – baldly narrated by the [...]
The New Senna Documentary Premiers TODAY In The US! Like most Americans will remember where they were when they first heard about the tragedies of 9-11, any Brazilian will remember where he or she was when they heard the news of Ayrton Senna’s death. This wonderful documentary, based on the amazing life of Brazilian F1 [...]
A Look At BOPE – Rio’s Elite Special Forces Police Unit Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais better known by its acronym BOPE, is an elite special forces unit of the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Due to the nature of crime in favelas (slums), BOPE units have extensive experience in urban warfare [...]
The Brazilian Favela – the media infatuation du jour, reporters just can’t get enough of it…. “Vanguard” is a no-limits documentary series by Current TV whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. This time they’ve gone to the Brazilian favela…. In this [...]
The story of Ayrton Senna is so amazing! I just love this guy, he had such a good heart! I can’t wait to see this! Ayrton Senna: Drive fast, Leave Sparks (Via The Economist) AT THE time of his death at age 34, Ayrton Senna da Silva was already being called one of the greatest Formula [...]
Ariano Suassuna – Brazil’s Best Playwright Ariano Suassuna (born João Pessoa, 1927) is a Brazilian playwright and author. Four of his plays have been filmed and he is considered one of Brazil’s greatest living playwrights. He is also an important regional writer doing various novels set in the Northeast of Brazil. He received an honorary doctorate at a ceremony [...]
