Posted by Rachel
At a press conference in Sao Paulo this week, Citibank CEO Vikram Pandit announced that the bank is putting its hopes on developing economies like Brazil to boost the company after billion dollar losses. After the credit crisis in the United States, Citibank hopes economies like Brazil’s will provide much needed growth. 
Brazil has the largest economy in Latin America, and has enjoyed a period of unprescedented growth despite the global financial crisis. In Brazil, Citibank plans to invest in consumer finance, as well as small and medium-sized businesses. The company is looking to the average Brazilian consumer, who is now spending more than in previous years, and to businesses looking to expand.
In addition, Citibank hopes to become a major lender in Brazil and has recently begun a campaign to improve their image in this role.
Posted by Rachel
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 dance off between each pair. Traditionally, one dancer challenges the other with difficult steps, and the other dancer responds by repeating those steps and adding his own on, so that the person who forgets the steps first “loses” the dance off.
Though the dance is now mostly confined to competitions and special events, the chula is a fascinating dance form that is somewhere between flamenco, Irish step dancing, and breakdance-style battles.
Have a look in the two videos below!
Posted by Rachel
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, in which wives (and sometimes husbands) switch families for a week to gain some perspective on their own family. It is a great glimpse into Brazilian culture and the vast socioeconomic and regional divides that exist in Brazil.
What about you?
Posted by Rachel
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, which means holiday. Can you translate this paragraph about holidays into English?
Brasil tem onze feriados nacionais, além de feriados regionais e estaduais. Alguns feriados são religiosos, como a Paixão de Cristo, Corpus Christi, Nossa Senhora Aparecida, Finados, e Natal. Outros são feriados patrióticos, como a Proclamação da República, a Independência do Brasil, e Tiradentes. Outros feriados são uma mistura de religião, cultura e tradição, como Carnaval e a Confraternização Universal (o primeiro de Janeiro). Finalmente, tem feriados internacionais, como o Dia do Trabalho. O próximo feriado nacional será o sete de Setembro, que comemora a independência do Brasil. Quando um feriado é muito longo porque acontece antes ou depois do final de semana, chama-se feriadão.
Posted by Rachel
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 ways to change the world financial system, the role of the dollar, and the global financial crisis. The issue of the dollar as the world’s central currency is of particular importance, since some BRIC members would like it to be replaced, especially given the current economic climate and U.S. debt.
Despite the fact that it is a landmark meeting, experts believe few concrete measures will come out of the summit.
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