Yes. Guess what. This thread is about Brazil. So lets talk about samba, carnaval, and... WAIT.
No seriously, did you really think that's the only thing Brazil has to offer? Well, I am sorry to disappoint you, but that's not really true. Actually that's the purpose of this thread. If you want to talk about the most recent news involving the country feel free. Want to know where to go/ what to visit as you are planning your trip/vacation? Ask us, BrazilGAF is bigger than you think, and I am pretty sure everyone here is willing to help you.
No seriously, did you really think that's the only thing Brazil has to offer? Well, I am sorry to disappoint you, but that's not really true. Actually that's the purpose of this thread. If you want to talk about the most recent news involving the country feel free. Want to know where to go/ what to visit as you are planning your trip/vacation? Ask us, BrazilGAF is bigger than you think, and I am pretty sure everyone here is willing to help you.
Here I am only going to mention the most visited places. If you want to add a place just post and I will add it. If you want to know more about anything here, as I said before, just ask.
Before we go through all these awesome locals, I would like to say something. People seem to think that Brazil is an homogenic country. Be prepared because it's totaly the opposite. I would "divide the country" in five, this way it would be better for you all to understand. It is better divided as: 1) Southeast; 2) South; 3)Center; 4) Northeast; and 5) North; (random order) It is clearly more complicated than that, but basically each of these areas has its own climate (yes there are places in Brazil that are cold, it even snows here, yeah), nature, etc... And it applies to the people that live there too but that will be discussed later in this thread.
That been mentioned, it is now easier for you to follow as where each of these places are, since you can just look at the our map (just google it) and you can at least have an idea of its position.
Before we go through all these awesome locals, I would like to say something. People seem to think that Brazil is an homogenic country. Be prepared because it's totaly the opposite. I would "divide the country" in five, this way it would be better for you all to understand. It is better divided as: 1) Southeast; 2) South; 3)Center; 4) Northeast; and 5) North; (random order) It is clearly more complicated than that, but basically each of these areas has its own climate (yes there are places in Brazil that are cold, it even snows here, yeah), nature, etc... And it applies to the people that live there too but that will be discussed later in this thread.
That been mentioned, it is now easier for you to follow as where each of these places are, since you can just look at the our map (just google it) and you can at least have an idea of its position.
1) SOUTHEAST
A) Rio de Janeiro: Well, we better start with our most famous city, right? Rio really is one of the most beautiful places in the world, I can tell you that without any bias. Any vista there makes you drool (even the slums have their charm - but yeah its a terrible and dangerous place to live, even if it is more controlled nowadays). I don't live in Rio, and I only visited it twice, so I can't really point out every single aspect of it. But the most visited places clearly are the Cristo Redentor, the Pao de Açúcar, the Maracanã Stadium and the Copacabana Beach.
Before we move on to the next main city, I would like to talk specificaly about the Caranaval, since it takes place on Rio. First of all, yeah, it IS like an weekend for us, but be aware that NOT ALL people like it, some even hate it. Second, samba is our main dance, but NOT ALL people here know how to "sambar". Still on Rio it really is a competition since each Carnaval School is based on one "district" of the city, so it has a grate rivalry involved. As to how it works, basically each School is divided into parts and there are judges that judge different parts. After two days, the scores are announced live on TV and there is a champion and two schools go to a "second division" (not sure if that's the word). At the same time two schools from the second division are promoted to the main division. Carnaval actually is composed by a lot of celebrities. The most important ones are the girls that lead the drums (again, sorry if thats not the correct word), they are called the Drums' Queens (Rainhas de Bateria). Each school has one, and they are not there forever, they can be changed whenever the school wants. They are basicaly there to cheer the crowd and make us... yeah. I am a nice man and left this part only for them, so enjoy.
Before we move on to the next main city, I would like to talk specificaly about the Caranaval, since it takes place on Rio. First of all, yeah, it IS like an weekend for us, but be aware that NOT ALL people like it, some even hate it. Second, samba is our main dance, but NOT ALL people here know how to "sambar". Still on Rio it really is a competition since each Carnaval School is based on one "district" of the city, so it has a grate rivalry involved. As to how it works, basically each School is divided into parts and there are judges that judge different parts. After two days, the scores are announced live on TV and there is a champion and two schools go to a "second division" (not sure if that's the word). At the same time two schools from the second division are promoted to the main division. Carnaval actually is composed by a lot of celebrities. The most important ones are the girls that lead the drums (again, sorry if thats not the correct word), they are called the Drums' Queens (Rainhas de Bateria). Each school has one, and they are not there forever, they can be changed whenever the school wants. They are basicaly there to cheer the crowd and make us... yeah. I am a nice man and left this part only for them, so enjoy.
These are only four of them, there are a lot more. In case you are interested in their names, from left to right: Ana Hickmann, Grazi Massafera, Sabrina Sato and Paola Oliveira. Also, those are SFW, if you want more just google their names with carnaval at the end and have fun.
B) São Paulo: This is our NYC. It is enourmous and has a bad (and I mean bad) traffic. It is our economic center, it receives all the big concerts, presentations, and has the biggest museums. I am really sorry, but I have no specific recommendations to do here since I only went there once. Paulistas, help me!
C) Minas Gerais: It has an amazing quantity of cultural and historical places to visit. Recommendations needed.
C) Minas Gerais: It has an amazing quantity of cultural and historical places to visit. Recommendations needed.
2) SOUTH
A) Curitiba: Known for its public transport system copied by other countries and its european colonization. The coldest brazilian capital. It is also the closest capital to the Iguaçu Falls (Cataratas do Iguaçu). Do a favor to yourself and visit it. It also has the station that will take you to Morretes, a very nice place.
B) Florianópolis: Island known for its beautiful beaches and awesome food. Probably one of the most beautiful places to go during your vacation. It is not so cold here.
C) Gramado/Porto Alegre: The former is not the capital (the later is), but I feel like Gramado is a nicer place to visit if you are a tourist even if Porto Alegre is a nice city. It is cold here too.
B) Florianópolis: Island known for its beautiful beaches and awesome food. Probably one of the most beautiful places to go during your vacation. It is not so cold here.
C) Gramado/Porto Alegre: The former is not the capital (the later is), but I feel like Gramado is a nicer place to visit if you are a tourist even if Porto Alegre is a nice city. It is cold here too.
3) CENTER
A) Brasília: The national capital. Our political center. The city was built to be one, so there is not much to see here I think, besides some monuments and the political buildings.
B) Bonito: This place is localized in the Mato Grosso do Sul state, and is one of the most beautiful places in here. It has awesome caves. It is natural tourism, yeah.
B) Bonito: This place is localized in the Mato Grosso do Sul state, and is one of the most beautiful places in here. It has awesome caves. It is natural tourism, yeah.
4) NORTHEAST
The northeast has the most amazing beaches in the country, it is hot as hell and I don't feel like discribing them all, as there are thousands of awesome little beaches lost there. If you want to know specific information just ask. Some famous places though, are Salvador, Olinda and Natal.
5) NORTH
A) Amazônia: basically that's the most interesting place to visit when going there. Never went, so I can't really tell, but I guess everyone know what to expect when going to the region. As a side note, it's needed to add that this (and all the places mentioned in this section of the thread) have all kinds of touristic structure, so don't be afraid. It would be nice to look into it some time before going to them though, as always.
I actually created this section with the brazilian population in mind. I mean, people here are from the most different places and have mixed ancestry. The behavior of people around here varies a lot, as a clear consequence.
People from the Northeast and Southeast are more open and expansive. As the ones from the South are more introspective and quiet. Those were little details I found it was interesting to share in case you ever visit the country. Those are not the only interesting ones though. People from the south hate the heat in general and don't know how to dance samba, and almost everyone hates caranval. The opposite of that is probably the common to the rest of the country. The northeast actually has its own Carnaval, thats totally diferent than the Rio and Sao Paulo ones (yes, São Paulo has one too), as it takes place in the streets and not on the Sambodromo.
I also wanted to take some time to talk about our most famous personalities. Our most recent president is the first female president of Brazil, Dilma Rouseff. Note that it's my own opinion now, but I think it's interesting to share that Dilma is like an Lula ally, as they are from the same entourage (?), and for me they will keep on changing the president role as long as they keep on having this huge support they have. I personally don't like her or Lula, but oh well... they seem to be doing a good work as of now, so I can't really complain.
Pelé is better than Maradona, deal with it Argentinians
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One of the most famous architects of the world still alive is Oscar Niemayer. He lives in Rio iirc. He designed buildings for Brasilia (our capital) and a lot of buildings all over Brazil.
Faustão is like our Oprah, but he is annoying as fuck and everyone hates him. (lol felt like adding him here as he is one of the most famous TV celebrities here). Xuxa is like the most terrible TV present ever, but still kids love her (even I used to love her lol), she is fading away now though.
Soap Operas are the most loved TV programs in here. Those SO are sold to be televisioned in coutries like Portugal and Mexico, but I have no idea if they are as sucessful there. The most famous one is called Caminho das Índias and won a Grammy Award.
Carlos Saldanha is basically the creator of the Ice Age films, he was born in Rio.
José Padilha is one of the most promising directors of the last decade (?), as he directed Tropa de Elite 1 and 2, and is now directing the Robocop Reboot.
Talking about sports now, if I would rank the three most famous ones, it will probably be: Soccer > Volleyball > MMA, but MMA is having a huge boost lately with Anderson Silva and Cigano, so it will probably surpass volleyball really soon. Brazilians still love soccer (and always will) but the love for the team sure reached a new low with the latest results, sadly, because we are just about to receive the next World Cup (2014). :/ Talking about 2014, the country is on RUSH mode, because everything is late. lol
Some more: Ayrton Senna, Anderson Silva, Santos Dumont, César Lattes, Machado de Assis, Tarsila do Amaral, Eike Batista, Princess Isabel, Paulo Coelho.
People from the Northeast and Southeast are more open and expansive. As the ones from the South are more introspective and quiet. Those were little details I found it was interesting to share in case you ever visit the country. Those are not the only interesting ones though. People from the south hate the heat in general and don't know how to dance samba, and almost everyone hates caranval. The opposite of that is probably the common to the rest of the country. The northeast actually has its own Carnaval, thats totally diferent than the Rio and Sao Paulo ones (yes, São Paulo has one too), as it takes place in the streets and not on the Sambodromo.
I also wanted to take some time to talk about our most famous personalities. Our most recent president is the first female president of Brazil, Dilma Rouseff. Note that it's my own opinion now, but I think it's interesting to share that Dilma is like an Lula ally, as they are from the same entourage (?), and for me they will keep on changing the president role as long as they keep on having this huge support they have. I personally don't like her or Lula, but oh well... they seem to be doing a good work as of now, so I can't really complain.
Pelé is better than Maradona, deal with it Argentinians
One of the most famous architects of the world still alive is Oscar Niemayer. He lives in Rio iirc. He designed buildings for Brasilia (our capital) and a lot of buildings all over Brazil.
Faustão is like our Oprah, but he is annoying as fuck and everyone hates him. (lol felt like adding him here as he is one of the most famous TV celebrities here). Xuxa is like the most terrible TV present ever, but still kids love her (even I used to love her
lol), she is fading away now though.Soap Operas are the most loved TV programs in here. Those SO are sold to be televisioned in coutries like Portugal and Mexico, but I have no idea if they are as sucessful there. The most famous one is called Caminho das Índias and won a Grammy Award.
Carlos Saldanha is basically the creator of the Ice Age films, he was born in Rio.
José Padilha is one of the most promising directors of the last decade (?), as he directed Tropa de Elite 1 and 2, and is now directing the Robocop Reboot.
Talking about sports now, if I would rank the three most famous ones, it will probably be: Soccer > Volleyball > MMA, but MMA is having a huge boost lately with Anderson Silva and Cigano, so it will probably surpass volleyball really soon. Brazilians still love soccer (and always will) but the love for the team sure reached a new low with the latest results, sadly, because we are just about to receive the next World Cup (2014). :/ Talking about 2014, the country is on RUSH mode, because everything is late. lol
Some more: Ayrton Senna, Anderson Silva, Santos Dumont, César Lattes, Machado de Assis, Tarsila do Amaral, Eike Batista, Princess Isabel, Paulo Coelho.
Sooooo, I wasn't going to create this section at first, but actually I though it was an interesting point to add, as there are some awesome dishes here. I will just list them, as I don't have the recipes (yet). Also, you guys feel free to add more of them. Just say.
Guaraná Antártica is actually one of the most famous sodas/refrigerants here. It is really good! They are Coca-Cola's rival. It is made from an exotic fruit that I believe can only be found here.
- Pastel
- Coxinha
- Empadão
- Guaraná
- Vatapá
- Barreado
- Pão-de-Queijo
- Requeijão
- Tapioca
- Brigadeiro
- Açaí
Guaraná Antártica is actually one of the most famous sodas/refrigerants here. It is really good! They are Coca-Cola's rival. It is made from an exotic fruit that I believe can only be found here.
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This section is for future news worth discussing in the thread. A summary will be done here.
BEM VINDO! ~
~Special thanks to Mumei, Ezalc and Face it Tiger.. for the help! Thanks guys!
OP will be updated really soon with more images and info. Sorry for that.
OP will be updated really soon with more images and info. Sorry for that.
