Real Brazilian Portuguese & Culture
Maculelê Maculelê (Pronounced: mah-koo-leh-LEH) is an Afro Brazilian dance where a number of people gather in a circle called a roda with one or more atabaques positioned at the entrance of the circle. Each person brandishes a pair of long sticks, traditionally made from biriba wood from Brazil. The sticks, called grimas, traditionally measure 24 inches long by 1 and 1/8 inch thick. As the Maculelê rhythm plays [...]
Capoeira Capoeira is a unique martial art, African in its origin and Brazilian in its evolution. This fascinating discipline fuses flexibility, agility, strength, balance, self-defense, self-confidence, coordination and rhythm: creating a workout like no other. Historically Capoeira is the art of freedom, liberating Brasil’s African and indigenous slaves and empowering their sense of self. Created [...]
Mixed Martial Arts in Brazil MMA (Mixed Marshal Arts) is an extremely popular sport in Brazil, and it’s not only the men who are watching it. Incorporating elements of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (shortened to “BJJ”), Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Taekwondo, Karate and Judo among other styles, MMA is an art form as much as it is a sport. This full [...]
HOW TO LEARN PORTUGUESE The best way to learn Brazilian Portuguese (or any language) is to expand your vocabulary by gradually memorizing lists of related words. This technique will help orient your mind to making connections between words in a certain category or taxonomy, which will facilitate your retrieval of the newly learned words later [...]
BAR GAMES IN BRAZIL What are some of the bar / pub games that are commonly played in Brazil? Pool (billiards), foosball and darts are among some of the most popular games played in Brazil…here is some vocabulary. PORTUGUESE POOL / BILLIARDS VOCABULARY - Portuguese Vocabulary List for Playing Pool sinuca - pool bilhar – billiards mesa de sinuca - pool [...]
BIKE RIDING IN BRAZIL Bicycle movements are popping up all over the world, and Brazil is no exception. Biking in Brazil has been on the rise for awhile, especially in São Paulo state and in Rio de Janeiro. Here’s an interesting video about the largest bicycle parking facility in the Americas, which is located in [...]
WHO IS NEYMAR? If you follow Brazilian soccer, you’ve definitely heard of Neymar, one of Brazil’s rising stars. Like most Brazilian soccer stars, he is known only by his first name, but Neymar’s actual full name is Neymar da Silva Santos Junior. He’s only twenty years old, but he’s already been approached by several European teams, [...]
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 [...]
WORLD CUP BRAZIL DATES AND TICKETS A few weeks ago FIFA announced the soccer schedule for the World Cup 2014. The world cup will commence June 12th 2014 in Sao Paulo, and will host the final on July 13th 2014 in Rio de Janeiro. Tickets are already on sale as of November 2011, so make sure to plan ahead to get the best deals. Click [...]
GUSTAVO KUERTEN Being an avid tennis-player (and tennis watcher) I am a huge fan of Gustavo Kuertin, possibly the best known Brazilian tennis player. I also have always liked Kuertin because he is from Florianopolis, a city where I lived for many years. In Brazil, Kuertin’s nickname is Guga, a name that Gustavos in Brazil are [...]
“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 [...]
Portuguese Surfing Vocabulary: A Guide To “Surfistês Brasileiro” Basic Surfing Vocab o surfista – surfer a prancha de surfe (or just prancha) – surfboard pranchão – long board cera para a prancha, parafina – board wax leash (pronounced “lésh” in “surfistês brasileiro” – brazilian surfer language), or cordinha - board leash roupa de neoprene (known more commonly [...]
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 [...]
How Brazilian Soccer Has Evolved From A Game To A Business Via Football Shirt… Football has evolved from ‘only a game’ to big business in Brazil. Companies, such as Media Sports Investment and the aptly named Traffic, have now begun to trade in football talent. These companies use their own, or borrowed, capital to [...]
LEARN BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE FOOTBALL / SOCCER VOCABULARY Brazilian’s passion for “futebol” is inexplicable, and every Brazilian, even the most indifferent, know the team they support (although many prefer not to reveal this information as to not be publicaly embarassed). Since this is a blog dedicated to Brazilian language and culture, I can’t let the opportunity [...]
Brazilian Beach Sports – Red Bull Roda De Bola – Altinha Competition Here’s a great video for: a) seeing the gorgeous views on the beach of Rio de Janeiro, b) practicing your portuguese and c) learning about a sport played on the beach in Brazil called “altinha” where basically you stand in a circle and [...]
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 [...]
BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE SOCCER / FOOTBALL VOCABULARY LIST This vocab list could be a great tool for soccer fans visiting Brazil, print this out and bring it to the 2014 World Cup games with you to understand what those around you are saying and to participate yourself in the heated discussion and cheering! PORTUGUESE SOCCER VOCABULARY [...]
PLAYING CARDS IN BRAZIL Playing cards is an extremely popular pastime among friends in Brazil. So how do you talk about playing cards in Portuguese? Below is a list of words to help improve you brazilian portuguese card game vocabulary. Feel free to add to the comments section if I’ve left any words out. Also, [...]
