Posts tagged with "Santa Catarina"

Oktoberfest em Blumenau!

Posted by polyana No Comments
Oct 26 2010

Now before you start to think this post belongs in the German Blog, don’t go too far because you’re in the right place.

Oktoberfest in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, is an annual event that was originally created in the 1980′s to generate funds for the city after a severe flood took over most of the city.  Why Oktoberfest?  Well, Blumenau was founded by German immigrants in the 19th century, and this cultural enclave continues so much that many in the city still stick to German traditions and speak the language.  After the first festival’s success, the city has hosted a little under 3 weeks of festivities every year for tourists from all over Brazil and the world and today is the second largest cultural festival in the country!

I had the privilege to attend this past weekend and my friends and I had a blast!

I even learned a fun song Oktoberfest Blumenau song:

Em Outubro eu também sou alemão! (In October, I’m also German)

Um ano de espera pra gente pular e se divertir
Que legal, vamos pra Blumenau
No Vale do Itajaí

Ainda aguardo na memória histórias que a gente viveu
Um ano se passou, quanta saudade ficou
Dezessete dias no Vale Europeu

Em outubro eu também sou alemão
Bem vestido, divertido como manda a tradição
Oktoberfest em Blumenau vou me divertir

O chope é bom demais, e a gente sabe o que faz
Se beber demais pra casa a gente vai de taxi

E se sobrar uma grana a gente leva de recordação
Chapéu e camiseta e guarda com carinho no coração.

It’s really just a drunken rendition of some sort of German fight song, but I had fun singing it nonetheless and had a great time being Alemã!

Can you guys think of any other fun cultural festivals in Brazil?  How is this sort of festival different from cultural festivals in the US?

Better Know Santa Catarina

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Sep 24 2010

In a segment akin to Jon Stewart’s Better Know a District, except a bit more serious, Brazil’s big nighttime news show is featuring different states and cities leading up to the elections. Here’s one of the recent episodes, where they discuss the state of Santa Catarina and one of its cities, Joinville.

Watch the video and see what facts you pick up about one of Brazil’s southernmost states!

YouTube Preview Image

Questions

1. Which country heavily influenced traditional culture in Santa Catarina?

2. How large is the economy compared to the rest of the country?

3. Which positive social indicators does Santa Catarina have?

4. What is one of Santa Catarina’s most important industries?

5. What school does the reporter visit?

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Brazil Under Water

Posted by Rachel 1 Comment
Nov 25 2008

Over the past two weeks, southern Brazil has been hit with serious rainstorms, causing the most damage in Santa Catarina state. Last week, rainstorms in Rio de Janeiro caused flooding and chaos on the roadways. But the most serious problem is in the interior of Santa Catarina, where around 60 people have died in floods and landslides. Over 43,000 were forced to leave their homes, and are now living with relatives and in public shelters. About 160,000 people throughout the state are without electricity.

The worst hit city is Blumenau, a low-lying town founded by German immigrants that has suffered from floods in the past. The death toll was highest there, after thirteen people died in landslides. The city’s mayor João Paulo Kleinübing declared a state of emergency and has requested medicine and food for the area’s public shelters. Roads and highways crumbled, and gas pipelines from Bolivia were temporarily shut off.

For more images of the flood from Globo, click here.

Brazilian Oktoberfest

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Oct 14 2008

Believe it or not, Brazil has a huge Oktoberfest celebration every year in October, modeled after the German version. It takes place in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, which was originally settled by German immigrants. Brazilian Oktoberfest is the largest German festival outside of Germany, as well as the second largest Oktoberfest celebration in the world. 

Brazilian Oktoberfest began in 1984, after the city of Blumenau suffered a terrible flood. The festival was used as a fundraiser to help victims and rebuild the city, and was a huge success. It was so successful, in fact, that the German government began to help sponsor the event.

This year, Oktoberfest began on October 9th and runs through October 26th. Organizers are expecting 750,000 people this year. Aside from beer consumption, the festival also features the “queens of Oktoberfest,” local women elected to reign over the celebration, contests, parades, German food, and traditional German music and dance. In fact, traditional bands from Germany fly to Blumenau just for the festival.

The celebration is held in the Parque Vila Germanica, which looks like a real German village. Tickets this year are R$5 Sunday through Thursday and R$10 Friday and Saturday. You can get in for free if you show up wearing a traditional German outfit! A beer of 400mL will cost R$3.75. Since the dry law went into effect throughout Brazil, this year the festival organizers are offering free van transportation from the event.

For more information, see the official site and the Globo coverage.

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