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Zumbi dos Palmares

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.

Brazil’s Armed Forces

Posted by Rachel No Comments

Nov 13 2011

Brazil has a large military with a growing international role. Today we’re going to learn about the different arms of the Forças Armadas, or Brazilian Armed Forces.

1. Exército Brasileiro (Brazilian Army)

The Brazilian army was created in 1822. It has fought in numerous wars, including the Paraguay War (1864-1870) and the War of Canudos (1893-1897), and also sent a small force to fight in World War I. It sent 25,000 men to support the Allies during World War II, in what was called the Força Expedicionária Brasileira. The army also ran a military dictatorship that controlled the Brazilian government from 1964 to 1985. More recently, the army has participated in UN peacekeeping missions, including East Timor (1995-1997), Angola (1995-1997), and Haiti (2004-present).

Official site

Here’s a video describing some of the army’s vehicles.

2. Aeronáutica / Força Aérea Brasileira (Brazilian Air Force)

The Brazilian air force was created in 1941 by President Getúlio Vargas, and began operating during Brazil’s WWII expedition. It is the largest air force in Latin America. Along with training, missions, and humanitarian assistance, the air force is responsible for controlling Brazilian airspace. The air force is also responsible for air patrol of the borders and Amazon region, as well as search and rescue operations.

Official site

Here’s a video with footage of the Brazilian air force in WWII.

3. Marinha do Brasil (Brazilian Navy)

The Brazilian navy was created in 1822, and is the largest navy in Latin America. It was also one of the first navies in the world to have an aircraft carrier. The navy fought in numerous wars along with the army, including the Cisplatine War, the “Ragamuffins” War (Guerra dos Farrapos), WWI, and WWII.

Official site

Here’s a video featuring some of the navy’s ships and submarines.

The Legend of the Cuca

Posted by Rachel No Comments

Sep 12 2011

While there are a number of Brazilian legends, one of the best known is that of the cuca, a mythical character popularized in Brazilian culture. The cuca, which originally came from the Portuguese coca, a dragon legend, was brought to Brazil in colonial times. The cuca is an ugly old woman who appears in the form of a crocodile and robs disobedient children. The cuca only sleeps once every seven years, and parents sometimes use this element of the legend to scare children who don’t want to go to sleep, telling them that the cuca will get them if they don’t go to bed. Although cuca came from the Portuguese coca, in Tupi (an indigenous language of Brazil), cuca means to swallow something with a single gulp.

The cuca legend was further popularized by a 1921 book by Monteiro Lobato, O Saci, which detailed a number of Brazilian legends, including the cuca. Later, the legend was made into a movie in the 1950s, and was adapted for TV on the Globo show Sítio do Picapau Amarelo beginning in the 1970s. The TV cuca had a blonde wig, lived in a cave, and made magical potions.

The cuca was also popularized in music, including the lullaby “Nana nené”:

The main refrain of the lullaby goes:

Nana nenem                             Sleep, little one
que a cuca vem pegar             The cuca’s going to get you
papai foi pra roça                    Daddy went to the fields
mamãe foi trabalhar               And Mommy went to work
Desce gatinho                          Come down, little cat
De cima do telhado                 From the roof
Pra ver se a criança                 To see if the child
Dorme um sono sossegado    Is sleeping peacefully.

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:

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.

Aleijadinho – Brazilian Baroque Sculptor

Posted by polyana No Comments

Jul 21 2011

I was in Ouro Preto this past weekend, one of the more famous historic towns in Minas Gerais, in the southeast of Brazil. The town has maintained its historic look and feel with stone streets, Portuguese architecture, and gorgeous Baroque Catholic churches. A couple of the churches contain the sculpture of Antonio Francisco Lisboa, more famously and endearingly known as Aleijadinho (loosely translated as a Little Cripple), due to a series of illnesses he had throughout his life… although he kept on working!

I was blown away by some of his work!! We weren’t able to take pictures inside the churches, but here are some outside São Francisco de Assis: