Rio de Janeiro Presents 2016 Olympic Bid Posted by Rachel on Feb 16, 2009
On Friday, the Brazilian Olympic Committee submitted a US$14.4 billion bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The plan calls for $2.8 billion in operational costs and $11.6 billion in associated costs for construction and services. The plan also states that the city will use infrastructure from the 2007 Pan American…
Coca Cola Expands Brazilian Market Posted by Rachel on Feb 13, 2009
Despite the international economic crisis that has recently begun to affect Brazil, Coca Cola has been doing extraordinarily well. In 2008, it earned R$15 billion in Brazil, a 25 percent increase from the previous year. Also in 2008, Coca Cola Brasil’s sales volume increased by 7 percent, greater than the company’s average percentage worldwide. As…
Slang Phrases Posted by Rachel on Feb 12, 2009
Today we’re going to look at some slangy phrases you can use in everyday conversation with friends. 1. Até parece This means “yeah, right.” Vou na festa da Camila amanhã. O Tom Cruise também vai! I’m going to Camila’s party tomorrow. Tom Cruise is going too! Até parece! Yeah, right! 2. Pois é This literally…
Video Learning Series Posted by Rachel on Feb 11, 2009
Today, we begin a new series using Youtube videos in Portuguese to practice listening skills, as well as a way to learn about Brazilian culture and history. This excellent series, called O Povo Brasileiro, is broken down into thirty videos on Youtube, which describes Brazilian history from its indigenous origins to modernity. After watching the…
Off the Beaten Path: Part IV Posted by Rachel on Feb 10, 2009
Most certainly off the beaten path, the Parque Nacional das Emas is tricky to get to, since it’s nearly 500 kilometers from Goiânia, the capital of Goiás, and almost 400 kilometers from Campo Grande, the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul. Ema National Park encompasses 1,300 square kilometers on a plateau with little forest cover…
The Geography of Poverty Posted by Rachel on Feb 9, 2009
The Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper online has an excellent map showing poverty and development rates throughout Brazil. On the map, you can see level of family development, access to work, income, child development, standard of living conditions, access to information and learning, and vulnerability. You can also search by municipality. Below, the map shows…
Brazilian Profile: Elis Regina Posted by Rachel on Feb 6, 2009
Elis Regina Carvalho Costa is one of Brazil’s most celebrated female singers, and one of its most famous MPB performers. Born in 1945 in the capital of the southernmost state in Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, she began her career early at age eleven, when she performed on a children’s radio show. She recorded her…