Archive for 'Culture'
Watch Carnival Online Posted by Rachel on Jan 26, 2011
Exciting news! This year, you’ll be able to watch Carnival live on YouTube for free, directly from Salvador, Bahia. The channel is already available here. Here are two of the videos they have up as a little preview for the festivities: From Jornal do Brasil: “Levar a cultura brasileira para diversos países em tempo real…
How to Order Coffee in Brazil Posted by polyana on Jan 17, 2011
Since it’s Monday morning, let’s talk coffee, shall we? For those of you who are big coffee drinkers, the best advice I can give you for when you get to Brazil and walk into a corner padaria is… take what you can get. Depending on where you are, there are very limited choices in what…
Brazilian Nicknames Posted by Rachel on Jan 13, 2011
One of the most important things to know before traveling or moving to Brazil is that nicknames are not only common, but an important part of Brazilian culture. Many people get a nickname, sometimes early in life. It can be a shortening of a person’s name, like Eduardo being called Dudu or José being called…
BBB 11 Posted by Rachel on Jan 6, 2011
Big Brother is by far the most popular reality show in Brazil, when millions of viewers tune in to watch seventeen contestants live together in a house in Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro, and get voted off one by one until there’s one person remaining, who wins R$1.5 million. Cameras watch the contestants’…
Samba de Gafieira Posted by polyana on Jan 3, 2011
Ahhh Janeiro! Time for resolutions, losing weight, quitting smoking and eating well! Well, since I don’t smoke and I’m quite thin and tend to keep healthy, I like to give myself fun resolutions. This year, I want to learn to dance samba de gafieira, also called simply gafieira or gafiera. A lot of people, when they…
Brazilian Reveillon Traditions, Part II Posted by polyana on Dec 30, 2010
Yesterday I wrote a post on Brazilian traditions on what to wear for the New Year. I also mentioned how we have all sorts of superstitions and that I would share that with you all today! For many Brazilians, what you wear, eat, drink and do at midnight or around that time, determine how your…
Brazilian Reveillon Traditions, Part I Posted by polyana on Dec 29, 2010
Reveillon? Oi? Yup, reveillon, or “new year,” is right around the corner already!! And like with many other holidays, but especially for reveillon, Brazilians have all sorts of simpatias, or superstitions. Since there are so many, I’m going to make this a 2 part post!! First, we’re going to talk about colors and their meanings…