Posts under Geography

UCLA Launches Brazil Center

Posted by Rachel
Feb
20
2009

This month, the University of California, Los Angeles opened a center devoted to Brazil studies as a part of a larger center focusing on the Southern Cone. The center’s opening also featured an exhibit “Rio de Janeiro: Two Centuries of Urban Change, 1808-2008,” which will be on display at the Charles E. Young Research Library until June. The exhibit features photos, films, documents, and art to show the modernization of one of Brazil’s largest cities.

The exhibit and the new center are run by José Luiz Passos, a professor of Portuguese literature. The center will serve as an academic focus with Brazil-centered courses, lectures, films and TV series, working groups, and working papers.

For more information about the Brazil center, see the official website.

 
Posted under Economy, Geography, History
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Winter in Rio

Posted by admin
Jul
30
2008

Winter in Rio de Janeiro is usually associated with fewer tourists, cooler, drier temperatures, bundled up residents and the exodus of the wealthy en route for skiing resorts abroad. This year, however, has been a bit different.  

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This July, the temperatures have been higher than usual, reaching 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) on some days. As a result, people are flocking to the beaches more than they usually do in the winter, and the hotter climate is attracting more Brazilian tourists. Hotel occupancy is around 75%, though during this time of year, the low season, it usually ranges from 50-60%.

Also, last Saturday, tourists and Cariocas alike got a pleasant surprise when a large school of dolphins appeared off the coast of Ipanema. Colder water currents send dolphins closer to land in search of food in the winter. To see the “dolphin ballet” on Globo, click here.

 
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Brazilian City Spotlight: Campos do Jordão

Posted by admin
Jul
2
2008

Much like Aspen, Campos de Jordão is the winter vacation spot of the elite, though unlike Colorado, there’s no snow in Campos. It’s located 167 from the city of São Paulo, located in the state of the same name. The city was founded in 1874 in the Serra da Mantiqueira, one of the tallest mountain ranges in Brazil. The city of 44,000 primarily gains revenue from tourism, boasting luxurious hotels and resorts frequented by the movers and shakers of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

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Campos de Jordão in many ways imitates European cities in the Alps. It was designed to look like a European village, with much of the architecture appearing Swiss or German. In addition, one of the city’s attractions is are the chocolate shops, which produce locally-made delicacies. Each year, the city hosts the Winter Festival, an international event featuring classical music performances and classes.

Two of the main attractions of the city include the old-fashioned railway and the Pedra do Baú. Built in 1914 by a British company, the railway still has operating trains that tourists can ride. The Pedra do Baú is a huge plateau that encompasses the mountain range of the area, where visitors can hike for views of the valley.
 

 
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Brazilian City Spotlight: Manaus, Amazonas

Posted by admin
May
26
2008

Manaus is the capital city of Amazonas state and has a fascinating history. 

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The city was settled in 1669, and was named Manaus in 1832, which means “mother of the gods” in the indigenous language of the Manaos tribe. It became a major urban center during the rubber boom in the 1900s. Today, it has a population of 1.6 million and is a major industrial center, including cell phone and electronics manufacturing plants.

The diverse population of Manaus is an interesting representation of Brazil’s multiple ethnicities: indigenous tribes, people of European and African descent, and mestiços (people of mixed descent). It is also the home of settlers from Japan, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.

Despite being in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, Manaus became a modern and cosmopolitan city during the rubber era, which began in 1879 and ended after World War II. The Opera House was built in 1896, and still hosts operas today. The Federal University of Manaus was established in 1906, and the Mercado Adolpho Lisboa, modeled after the Les Halles Paris market, was built in 1882.

Today, Manaus is home to one of the most modern airports in Brazil, the main jumping off point for exploring for the Amazon rainforest. It’s also home to several important cultural events, like the Musa de Verão Fashion Show, the Amazon Opera Festival, the Amazon Folklore Festival, and the Amazon Carnival.

Manaus is also host to the largest amateur soccer tournament in the world. Known as the “Peladão,” it involves over 1,000 teams from all over the Amazon. It also includes a beauty pageant, and each team is represented by a queen. The queen’s success in the pageant determines if the team moves ahead in the tournament.

Finally, Manaus is located in the heart of the Amazon, and is close to the main tourist attractions of unique wildlife, waterfalls, and national parks.

 
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Naturalidades: Part V

Posted by admin
May
11
2008

Today we’re going to do the last part of our lesson on naturalidades, which determine exactly where a person is from in Brazil: either the city or the state. These are written in lower case, as opposed to in English, in which we use upper case, as in Hawaiian or Alaskan.

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Let’s look at the Central and Western regions.

A person from Mato Grosso do Sul is called mato-grossense-do-sul or guaicuru, and a person from the capital of Campo Grande is called campo-grandense. The Guaicurus were a Native American tribe that lived in the region of Mato Grosso do Sul, and were famous for their skills as warriors and equestrians.

A person from the state of Mato Grosso is called mato-grossense, and a person from the capital of Cuiabá is called a cuiabano. This is not to be confused with cubano, a person from Cuba.

A person from the state of Rondônia is called rondoniense, and a person
from the capital of Porto Velho is called porto-velhense.

A person from the state of Goiás is called goiano, and a person from the capital of Goiânia is called goianiense.

A person from the state of Distrito Federal is called brasiliense, and a person from the capital of Brasília is called brasiliense or candango. The Brazilian capital, like the U.S. capital, is quite small, so if you’re from the “state” you are also from the city.

Candango was the name given to the workers who migrated to Brasília during its construction in the 1950s. It is a word of African descent, from modern-day Angola, and means “ordinary” or “bad.” During the 1700s and 1800s, the Angolan slaves called the slave owners “candangos.” It’s not clear why the construction workers of Brasília were given this name, but to this day the term “candango” is often the preferred name for a person born in Brazil’s capital.

Examples:

O goiano na foto acima não está sorrindo. The man from Goiás in the photo above isn’t smiling.
Os candangos têm orgulho da sua cidade moderna. The people of Brasilia are proud of their modern city.

Note: naturalidades can also refer to something from that region that’s not a person:

O futebol mato-grossense tem menos torcedores do que o futebol goiano. Soccer in Mato Grosso has less fans than soccer in Goiás.

O governo rondoniense tem muitos problemas. The government of Rondonia has many problems.

 
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