Archive for the year 2008
Giraffes are “married” at Rio’s Zoo Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 17, 2008
This week, the two girafas (giraffes) that live in Rio de Janeiro’s city zoo were “married” when zookeepers put them in the same enclosure. The two animals, named Zagallo and Beija-Céu, have been “dating” for a few weeks after Zagallo was moved from São Paulo to the Rio Zoo. They’ve been in separate enclosures, but…
Naturalidades: Part I Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 16, 2008
“Naturalidade” means where someone is from in Brazil, either referring to the state or city of origin. Just as we would refer to people from New York City as “New Yorkers” and people from Texas as “Texans,” Brazilians define people by exactly where they’re from. Note that naturalidades are written in lower case letters. Let’s…
Brazilian City Spotlight: Tupandi, Rio Grande do Sul Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 15, 2008
With only 59 square kilometers and 3,600 residents, the tiny town of Tupandi would at first glance appear to be like any other town in Brazil’s southernmost state. But thanks to a plan to diversify agriculture instead of relying on the traditional textile industry, the town now has one of the highest GDPs per capita…
Opa! Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 15, 2008
Today we’re going to look at some interjections. 1.Oba [oh-bah] — Wow! Woah! Example: Oba! Você está linda. Wow! You look beauitful. Oba! A casa está muito limpa. Woah! The house is really clean. Also, in the countryside and rural parts of Brazil, you’ll hear people use “oba” as a greeting, instead of “oi” or…
Brazilian Profile: Zuzu Angel, in Memoriam Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 14, 2008
Zuzu Angel was a famous Brazilian fashion designer in the 1970s. Born in Minas Gerais in 1921, she lived in Bahia during her childhood and then moved to Rio de Janeiro, where she began her career. Her clothes were influenced by Bahian culture, with vivid colors and splashy designs, and they eventually became so successful…
Let’s go shopping! Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 10, 2008
This week, the São Paulo Jockey Club was the host of a major bazaar and auction — the sale of the worldly goods of one of the world’s most infamous drug traffickers, a Colombian by the name of Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia. He was arrested in Brazil last year, and is currently convicted to thirty…
Rio de Janeiro to open largest aquarium in Latin America Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 10, 2008
Globo reported that plans are underway to build AquaRio, the largest aquarium in Latin America, one year from now. The construction will take about 20 months. The aquarium will contain 5.4 million liters of water, which is 0.4 million more liters of water than the current largest aquarium in the region, in Mexico. The institution…