Posts from March 2008

This Easter season, artisans have sold 400,000 specially-made Easter eggs from the northern Brazilian states of eggs.JPGPara and Amazonas. The chocolate eggs, bunnies and carrots are filled with Amazon fruits, like açai, banana,
bacuri, cashew, and cupuaçu. Though most orders will go to major cities in Brazil, a portion of the chocolates will also be exported. To add another Amazonian touch, the Indian tribe of the Baniwa wove baskets and local artisans made clay pots as packaging for the chocolates.

To watch how the delicious tropical chocolates are made, click here.

One of my favorite little expressions in Portuguese is “Eu não!” It literally means “Not me!” but is used as a negative response to a question.

Here are some examples:
Você vai trabalhar no feriado?  Are you going to work on the holiday?
Eu nãoNo!

Você gosta do Big Brother? Do you like Big Brother?
Eu não!  No way!

Você quer comer no restaurante vegetariano?  Do you want to eat at the vegetarian restaurant?
Eu n
ão!  No!

Vai acordar às seis amanhãAre you going to wake up at six tomorrow?
Eu n
ão!  Nope!

Você odeia o Brasil? Do you hate Brazil?
Eu não!  No way!

U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, met with Brazilian president Lula Inácio da Silva and other government officials in Brasilia last week on an official visit. However, after her business was done, she took a detour to Salvador, Bahia, before she had to fly to Chile for more meetings.
ricetime.jpg
According to Reuters, Rice has always wanted to visit Bahia and to experience Afro-Brazilian culture. During her brief visit, Rice went to Pelourinho, the historic district of Salvador, where she toured churches and museums and watched several musical performances. One of the performances featured Afro-Brazilian spirituals that described the experiences of African slaves who were brought to Brazil.

Rice reportedly said, “What an amazing story. It reminds
me of how faith can help people to overcome anything.”

The Secretary of State also watched street musical performances and a capoeira show. At night, she got into the spirit of Salvador and danced with Gilberto Gil, the Brazilian Minister of Culture and famous musician. She also was photographed wearing a red fita, a souvenir bracelet from the Senhor do Bomfim Church in Salvador that is supposed to bring good luck.

Click here to watch the Globo video footage of Rice’s visit (in Portuguese).

Happy Monday! Let’s work on some useful questions.

There are a few ways to ask someone if they want to do something in Portuguese.

We have the main way, which we can use in the present simple and present continuous tenses:

a. querer (to want)

1. Você quer…? [Voh-say kehhr] Do you want to…
Example: Você quer almoçar comigo? Do you want to have lunch with me?

2. Você está querendo… [Voh-say eesh-tah queh-ren-doo]  Do you want/Do you feel like…
Example: Você está querendo pizza?  Do you feel like pizza?

We have the fancier, slangier way:

b. giria (slang/expressions)

3. Está a fim de…? [Eesh-tah ah feem gee] Are you up for/Do you feel like…
Example: Está a fim de sair hoje a noite? Do you feel like going out tonight?

4. Você está com vontade de… [Voh-say eesh-tah kohm vohn-tah-gee gee] Are you in the mood to…
Example: Você está com vontade de ver um filme? Are you in the mood to watch a movie?

And finally, we have the very polite way:

c. gostar (to like)

5. Você gostaria de… [Voh-say goh-shtar-ee-ah gee] Would you like to/a…
Example: Você gostaria de tomar o café de manhã? Would you like to eat some breakfast?
Você gostaria de um café? Would you like some coffee?

Many foreign TV shows are adapted in Brazil, everything from “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” to “Desperate Housewives.” But undoubtedly, the most popular foreign TV show adaptation has to be Big Brother.

Each season, 14 contestants are chosen from across the country to live in a mansion in Rio de Janeiro. They can’t leave the grounds, and cameras follow their every move 24 hours a day. Contestants have to participate in games and competitions in order to gain “protection” for the week, since each week one person is voted off, based on viewer polls. The winner wins R$1 million, plus a whole smattering of offers from various companies to be in ad campaigns or to be a spokesperson.

bbb.gifBBB, as it is known, has become so popular that local TV stations offer a Big Brother package, where you can buy a channel that shows the cameras from the BBB house twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. And people actually buy it.

Currently, the show is in its eighth season, and only four contestants remain: Gyselle, 24, from the state of Piaui, Natália, 22, from Rio Grande do Sul, Marcos, 26, from Espirito Santo, and Thatiana, 21, from Distrito Federal.

You can also keep up with the show on the official website, which tracks each contestant’s daily mood, fans, and activities. In true Brazilian form, each contestant’s reduced profile includes his or her name, age, hometown, profession, marital status, status on the show, and, of course, favorite soccer team.

The newest TV import, coming this fall, is Brazil’s answer to “Miami Ink”: a show about a tattoo shop in Rio de Janeiro, to be called “Rio Ink.”

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