Brazilian Dance: Chula Posted by Rachel on Jun 22, 2009
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state and one of the states most heavily populated by European descendants, has a number of traditional dances that come from several European traditions. One of these dances is called chula. Of Portuguese origin, this dance is done in male pairs by stomping and tapping in a sort of…
Favorite Brazilian TV Show Posted by Rachel on Jun 19, 2009
For today’s interactive feature, the question is: what is your favorite Brazilian TV show? Though Brazil is best known for its novelas, it also has produced some interesting reality shows, often local adaptations of foreign reality shows. I happen to be a big fan of “Troca de Familia,” a Brazilian adaptation of the American show…
Word of the Day: feriado Posted by Rachel on Jun 18, 2009
As you know, Transparent offers a word of the day feature on Portuguese Blog (check the right side), as well as a word of the day in 12 other languages. You can listen to the pronunciation of the word and see how it is used in a sentence. Today’s word of the day is feriado…
BRIC Countries Meet in Russia Posted by Rachel on Jun 17, 2009
This week, the countries that make up the BRIC group–Brazil, Russia, India, and China–are meeting in Russia for the first formal BRIC gathering. These four countries include 15% of the world’s economy and 40% of the world’s currency reserves, and are becoming increasingly more important in the international scene. The BRIC countries’ leaders will discuss…
New Music: Café Funquê Posted by Rachel on Jun 16, 2009
Café Funquê is a Rio de Janeiro-based that describes itself as a “vigorous mixture of funk, rock, bossa nova, samba and jazz” featuring lead singer Cacau and four instrumentalists. They have a very unique sound (in the first clip, it sounds a lot like American ska) and have a really cool blend of a variety…
Brazilian Retailers Punish Deforesting Ranchers Posted by Rachel on Jun 15, 2009
This week, Brazil’s three biggest retailers announced that they will not purchase beef from blacklisted ranchers in the Amazon. According to a recently released report from Greenpeace, certain ranchers in the state of Pará are responsible for deforesting the Amazon and are causing destruction at a rapid rate. In fact, the report shows that ranching…
Jewelry Vocabulary Posted by Rachel on Jun 12, 2009
Today we’re going to look at some vocabulary related to jewelry, which is helpful for travelers planning on shopping in Brazil. anel – ring colar – necklace pulseira – bracelet brincos – earrings argolas – hoop earrings fita – cloth bracelet, like the famous Senhor do Bomfim bracelets amuleto/talismã – charm pulseira de tornozelo –…