Portuguese Language Blog

Have you guys heard of the Red Hot Organization‘s newest album, Red Hot + Rio 2? First off, the organization is a non-profit which helps AIDS and HIV organizations all over the world through music. The newest album is a collection of Brazilian songs from the Tropicália movement, with some improvisation and international artists to boot.

The album features a myriad of artists and great songs, so I’ll just post my favorite here for you guys, then you can go off and buy it on iTunes for your listening pleasure + Portuguese learning + Brazilian culturisms.

One of my favorite songs ever, is Leãozinho, by Caetano Veloso. And in the album, the band Beirut , one of my favorite bands, performs it in Portuguese!

Here’s a video on how the lead singer learned to sing the song, and hopefully to inspire you with learning more Portuguese

Even if you can’t travel to Brazil, there are plenty of opportunities to experience Brazilian culture abroad, thanks in part to Brazilian expats and gringos dedicated to celebrating Brazil’s heritage. Forró in the Dark is one such example. The musical group, made up of Brazilians living in New York, started a band in 2002 by playing a jam session at a Manhattan club. They soon become a hit, and have recorded two albums since then, including guest artists like Bebel Gilberto and David Byrne.

Forró in the Dark combines traditional forró with American musical influences like rock and jazz, and mix Portuguese and English in their songs. Like Chris mentioned back in 2007, they took a classic forró song, Asa Branca, and made it into something entirely different, but still incredibly fun:

Here’s another song, called Forrowest, that uses the traditional sounds of the Northeast:

And one of their newer songs, ‪Saudades de Manezinho Araujo‬:

And finally, a funny homage to Brazil’s most famous cocktail:

PS: If you are in the New York area, Forró in the Dark will be giving a free performance at City Winery next week.

Today is Valentine’s Day in Brazil, known as Dia dos Namorados. In celebration of the holiday, we’re going to take a look at a commercial that has gone viral online and that uses a classic love story from one of Brazil’s most famous bands, Legião Urbana.

The song, called Eduardo e Mônica, tells the story of a couple, how they met, and about their lives together.

Vivo, the telecommunications company, took the song and made it into a very creative video, using the lyrics written 25 years ago to adapt a more technologically modern take on the song:

Here’s the making of video, where some of the people involved talk about making the commercial:

Listening Comprehension:

1. What does it actually mean to “trocar telefone?”

2. What is Monica studying?

3. What did Eduardo think was weird about Monica on their second date?

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