Archive for 'Brazilian Profile'
The New Petrobras CEO Posted by Rachel on Feb 14, 2012
One of Brazil’s largest companies, the oil conglomerate Petrobras, got a new CEO this week. Maria das Graças Foster will take the helm of one of the biggest companies in the world, the latest in a number of women taking positions of power in Brazil. She is the first ever female CEO at Petrobras. Foster…
Clarice Lispector – Brazilian Author’s Memory Celebrated Posted by polyana on Dec 10, 2011
Had she lived to this day, Clarice Lispector (1920-1977), Brazilian literary genius, would have turned 91. There were celebrations all over the country in honor of her work. Born in the Ukraine, her family moved to Brazil at a young age, where they eventually settled in Pergnambuco, and years later, she became a Brazilian citizen…
Zumbi dos Palmares Posted by Rachel on Nov 22, 2011
In Brazil, this past Sunday was Dia Nacional da Consciência Negra, or Black Awareness Day, when the country celebrates its African heritage. The holiday is celebrated on November 20th each year to honor one of Brazil’s heroes, Zumbi dos Palmares, who died on November 20, 1695. He led one of the largest quilombos (fugitive settlements)…
Oscar Niemeyer & Building Brasília Posted by polyana on Sep 1, 2011
I went to Brasília this past weekend, for the first time, to visit a friend, and was blown away by the architecture and the overall city planning. My friend and her husband took us everywhere in Brasília and gave us a good background on how the city was built and what Niemeyer, the architect, was thinking…
Brazilian Profile: Carlos Drummond de Andrade Posted by Rachel on Oct 14, 2010
Carlos Drummond de Andrade is one of Brazil’s most beloved poets, and is considered one of Brazil’s most important writers. Born in Minas Gerais, the son of farmers, he grew up in a rural area of Brazil and then attended college in Belo Horizonte to study pharmacology. He would never become a pharmacist, though; he…
Luan Santana: A Sertanejo Sensation Posted by Rachel on Aug 16, 2010
If you’re not familiar with popular music in Brazil, you’re probably not familiar with Luan Santana. But this pop sensation has become one of the top-selling artists in the country, something of a male version of Taylor Swift. Luan Santana was born in the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul in 1991. Early on, his…
Brazilian Profile: Clarice Lispector Posted by Rachel on Aug 13, 2009
Clarice Lispector is one of Brazil’s most famous and accomplished female writers, who is finally making headlines in the United States after becoming an icon in Brazil. Clarice was born Chaya Pinkhasovna Lispector, the daughter of Jewish Ukrainian parents, in 1920. When she was a baby, her family emigrated to Brazil, fleeing religious persecution, and…