Posts under "Brazilian Profile"

Clarice Lispector – Brazilian Author’s Memory Celebrated

Posted by polyana No Comments
Dec 10 2011

Had she lived to this day, Clarice Lispector (1920-1977), Brazilian literary genius, would have turned 91. There were celebrations all over the country in honor of her work. Born in the Ukraine, her family moved to Brazil at a young age, where they eventually settled in Pergnambuco, and years later, she became a Brazilian citizen. She wrote mostly novels and short stories. What’s most interesting is her influence in psycho-analysis.

An article from a newspaper in Pernambuco today stated this through interviews with pyscho-analysts where they state that she has a great way of showing human anguish through her narrative.

Some of her quotes are timeless and worth using and repeating over and over! So in honor of Clarice, I encourage you to learn the following quotes :-)

Liberdade é pouco. O que eu desejo ainda não tem nome

E o que o ser humano mais aspira é tornar-se ser humano

Eu não: quero é uma realidade inventada.

Suponho que me entender não é uma questão de inteligência e sim de sentir, de entrar em contato… Ou toca, ou não toca.

Ela acreditava em anjo e, porque acreditava, eles existiam.

(more here)

Zumbi dos Palmares

Posted by Rachel 1 Comment
Nov 22 2011

In Brazil, this past Sunday was Dia Nacional da Consciência Negra, or Black Awareness Day, when the country celebrates its African heritage. The holiday is celebrated on November 20th each year to honor one of Brazil’s heroes, Zumbi dos Palmares, who died on November 20, 1695. He led one of the largest quilombos (fugitive settlements) in the country, which was a settlement of escaped slaves that had up to 30,000 inhabitants at its peak. Zumbi dos Palmares died fighting the Portuguese while defending the community, and is seen as a symbol of the struggle against slavery.

Learn more about Zumbi dos Palmares in this short documentary.

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Read more here (in Portuguese).

Oscar Niemeyer & Building Brasília

Posted by polyana 1 Comment
Sep 1 2011

I went to Brasília this past weekend, for the first time, to visit a friend, and was blown away by the architecture and the overall city planning. My friend and her husband took us everywhere in Brasília and gave us a good background on how the city was built and what Niemeyer, the architect, was thinking when he built it.

Here is a picture of a mock up of the city, as Niemeyer had it built:

Brasília mock up

I don’t know if you can tell by the picture, but it’s shaped like an airplane, and the wings are all sets of blocks with identical building and commercial streets within the blocks. Anyway, I’ll stop talking now and let you watch an interview with the man himself who is 103 and still works!! This is a great interview I would on The World’s Best Ever in Portuguese, with English subtitles.

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Brazilian Profile: Carlos Drummond de Andrade

Posted by Rachel 5 Comments
Oct 14 2010

Carlos Drummond de Andrade is one of Brazil’s most beloved poets, and is considered one of Brazil’s most important writers. Born in Minas Gerais, the son of farmers, he grew up in a rural area of Brazil and then attended college in Belo Horizonte to study pharmacology. He would never become a pharmacist, though; he went on to work for a newspaper and then worked as a public servant for many years.  He moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1934, when he began working for the Ministry of Education and Public Health. He later worked for the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Service. He passed away in 1987, at age 84.  

Known best for his poetry, Drummond also published short stories and children’s books. He is considered one of the key figures in Brazilian Modernism, in part because of his use of colloquial language. Besides his writing, one of his lasting legacies is a bronze statue in Rio de Janeiro, which has been a favorite for pranksters and thieves who constantly steal his glasses.

Here is an excerpt from one of Drummond’s most popular poems, called José:

Portuguese

E agora, José?
A festa acabou,
a luz apagou,
o povo sumiu,
a noite esfriou,
e agora, José?
e agora, você?
você que é sem nome,
que zomba dos outros,
você que faz versos,
que ama, protesta?
e agora, José?

Read the full poem here

English

What about now, José?
The party’s over,
the lights are off,
the crowd’s gone,
the night’s gone cold,
what about now, José?
You, what about now?
You, who are nameless,
who mocks the others,
you who writes verses
who loves, protests
What about now, José?

Read the full translation here

Luan Santana: A Sertanejo Sensation

Posted by Rachel 5 Comments
Aug 16 2010

If you’re not familiar with popular music in Brazil, you’re probably not familiar with Luan Santana. But this pop sensation has become one of the top-selling artists in the country, something of a male version of Taylor Swift.

Luan Santana was born in the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul in 1991. Early on, his family recognized his musical talents, and his father gave him a guitar when he was little. His career took off in 2008, when he performed at a huge county fair  in front of 30,000 people. He released his second album in 2009, and has become a massive hit with songs like “Tô de Cara,” “Meteoro,” “Você Não Sabe O Que É Amor,” and “Sinais.”

Santana sings what we might consider country music or Taylor Swift-style pop, a mixture of country and pop. In Brazil, it’s known as sertanejo universitário, a type of sertanejo sung by young singers who focus less on rural themes and more on modern love.

Check out one of Luan Santana’s songs, Sinais.

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Lyrics – Sinais

Vi seu sorriso em meu sonho
Segui seu rastro na areia do deserto
Eu escutei sua voz ao vento
Senti seu cheiro cada vez de mim mais perto

Virei um louco , meio obcecado
Pra te encontrar em algum lugar do mundo
E mesmo sem nunca ter te tocado
Me pertencia, bem lá no fundo

Sinais, me mostraram o caminho até você
Vaga-lumes guiam-me sem perceber
Que no fim da estrada uma luz parece ser você

Sinais, me ajudaram a perceber o meu caminho é você
E ninguém no mundo vai fazer eu me sentir de novo assim

Sinais, vindos de um lugar tão longe as vezes se encondem
No farol em uma ilha, numa noite tão vazia eu beijei você
Até o amanhecer.

Vi seu sorriso em meu sonho
Segui seu rastro na areia do deserto
Eu escutei sua voz ao vento
Senti seu cheiro cada vez de mim mais perto

E meio louco, meio obcecado
Pra te encontrar em algum lugar do mundo
E mesmo sem nunca ter te tocado
Me pertencia, bem lá no fundo

Sinais, me mostraram o caminho até você
Vaga-lumes guiam-me sem perceber
Que no fim da estrada uma luz parece ser você

Sinais, me ajudaram a perceber o meu caminho é você
E ninguém no mundo vai fazer eu me sentir de novo assim

Sinais, vindos de um lugar tão longe as vezes se encondem
No farol em uma ilha, numa noite tão vazia eu beijei você,
Até o amanhecer.

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