January River
Posted at 10:38 am | Filed Under brazil
Once having been the capital of Brazil, in 1959 Rio lost this status but is still one of the centers of the country - with the offices of the large corporations, the first airport in Latin America and, of course, its carnival!
The city is separated into two parts - the north and the south. The southern part is inhabited by the rich white people. White, beautiful building rise above the golden beaches It’s separated from the north by the hills Tijuca and Pedra-Branka. The north is populated, as you probably guess, by poor black people. There are no Chinatown, no little Italy in the city.
The event, Rio-de-Janeiro is famous for is its annual Carnival, the most renowned Carnival in Brazil and, may be, in the whole world. The origin of the carnival lies in the ancient African and Portuguese traditions. The incomparable fusion of these two traditions led to the birth of the Brazilian Carnival. In the beginning of the XX century the first samba schools appeared and in 1916 the first samba was created especially for the carnival.
Nowadays Rio Carnival is the most impressive and the best-organized carnival in Brazil. The 100-thousand enchanted crowd watch the parade of the samba schools. Each school devotes its performance to one theme - politics, nature, sport, art, music - all the themes should be Brazilian. The school creates its own song, costumes and choreography. The rehearsals began several months before the carnival. Rio Carnival - beautiful carts, a lot of musicians, bright costumes and the harmony of music and dance.
Beside samba schools the groups united by the district or theme, or something else take part in the Carnival.
The Carnival begins with the performance of 10 best schools, then come different groups. Some of the groups perform in suburbs. The category of the school can be decreased depending of the performance results. The procession begins on Sunday at 19.00 with the performance of the first-category schools. At first you see the name of the school, then come the members of the schools and the celebrities in the carnival costumes, after that - the thousands of dancers and the hundreds of the museums.
Carts are decorated with plumes; in carts there are VIP-persons and 8 allegories statues or big puppets. The height must be less then 10 meters. Nearby dance the so-called passistas, elite dancers almost without clothes. The procession stretches up to half a kilometer. The last school finishes its performance by 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning.
Rio is very famous for its beaches too. They are very different from each other.
Flamengo is situated in the Guanabara gulf and isn’t very clean.
Botafogo is dirty too and is not often visited.
Urca - nice, pleasant beach, especially in the morning.
Leme, Copacabana - notorious names, three kilometers of paradise. The only disadvantage is strong stream.
Arpoador - the utmost point of Copacabana. Swimming here is a risk. Big waves, a challenge for the surfers.
Ipanema, Leblon look like Copacabana. Popular place among well-to-do people.
Pepino Sao Conrado - big, picturesque beach. Good for surfing.
Barra da Tijuca - located near favelas (ghettos). Nothing to add.
Recreo dos Bandeirantes - surfer’s beach separated from the city by the rock.
Grumari - one of the most beautiful beaches.
For booking a hotel, please, go to Rio De Janeiro hotels page.
Tags: brazil, history of brazil, hotels, pedra branka, rio de janeiro, rio janeiro, tijucaOverview of Brazil for Travelers
Posted at 7:45 am | Filed Under brazil
The Federative Republic of Brazil is the largest country in South America. Following is an overview of fun loving Brazil for travelers.
Overview of Brazil for Travelers
Indigenous peoples have populated for a long, but undetermined, period. European influence began with Pedro Alvares Cabral when he claimed Brazil as a Portuguese colony in 1500. In a little known development, Brazil actually became the location of the Portuguese government in 1808 when Napoleon chased the royal family out of Portugal. While in Brazil, the family ruled from Rio de Janeiro until 1821 when it returned to Europe. This move was motivated by a declaration of independence by Brazil, led by Dom Pedro.
As with many South American countries, Brazil has seen its ups and downs from a political perspective. In 1989, it finally completed a transition to a popularly elected government when Collor de Mello won the popular vote. Less than three years later, he was forced to resign under the cloud of corruption charges.
In 2002, Luiz Inacio da Silva rose to the position of president. Lula, as he is known, represents a major change in Brazilian politics. He is the first leader from the working class.
Brazil covers just under 3.3 million square miles of South America. The climate in Brazil is mostly tropical, particularly in light of the Amazon River basin.
With a population exceeding 186 million, Brazil is the fifth most populous country in the world and largest in South America. Despite covering a vast area, most of the population lives in urban cities such as Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte. If you think traffic is bad in your location, keep in mind over 18 million people live in greater Sao Paulo!
The people of Brazil are called “Brazilians.” The population is 186 million people and growing at a rate of .1 percent a year. 74 percent of Brazilians consider themselves Roman Catholics. The official language is Portuguese and the literacy rate is 86 percent. Average life expectancy is 71.3 years.
Brazil is one of the world’s leading producers of hydroelectric power. Over 75 percent of its electrical power is generated via dam projects.
If you are considering visiting Brazil, you should keep in mind that crime can be a problem in certain areas. Use common sense and you will have no problem. Brazil is a blast, very cheap and gets a big thumbs up as a travel destination.
Richard Monk is with FactsMonk.com - a site with facts about everything. Visit us to read more about country facts and more facts of Brazil.
Tags: brazil, Brazilians, hydropower, lula, rio, rio de janeiro, sao Paulo, South AmericaA Trip to Brazil
Posted at 2:14 am | Filed Under brazil
The culture of Brazil is rooted in the culture of Portugal. The Portuguese settlers & immigrants brought the Catholic faith, the Portuguese language and several traditions & customs that however determine the modern-day Brazilian culture.
As a multiracial country, its culture likewise absorbed extra determines. The Amerindian peoples shaped Brazil’s language & cuisine and the Africans, brought as slaves, largely acted upon Brazil’s music, dance, cuisine and language. Italian and German immigrants came in prominent numbers and their influences are felt closer to the South of Brazil.
The Brazilian Carnival is an annual celebration in Brazil took hold forty days prior to Easter & marking the start of Lent. During Lent, Roman Catholics, which one constitute the majority in Brazil, are to abstain caused by bodily pleasures. Carnival, which is celebrated as a profane festival, can thus be compared to a farewelling of the pleasures of the flesh.
In Brazil, Carnival as a all exhibits some disputes with its counterparts in Europe and other parts of the world, & within the country itself it is manifested in distinguishable ways in the diverse areas.
Rio de Janeiro
The contemporary Brazilian Carnival finds its roots in Rio de Janeiro in the 1830s, when the city’s bourgeoisie imported the done of holding balls & masquerade parties derived from Paris. It originally mimicked the European form of the festival, over time acquiring elements derived from African & Amerindian cultures.
In the last 19th century, the cordoes (literally laces in Portuguese) were presented in Rio de Janeiro. These were groups of people who would process through the streets playing music and dancing. In todays world they are have a go at it as blocos (blocks), consisting of a group of people who dress in costumes according to certain topics or to celebrate the Carnival in particular ways. Blocos are generally associated with particular neighbourhoods or suburbs and include both a percussion or music group & an entourage of revellers.
In the period of the Carnival, a fat man is elected to represent the role of Rei Momo, the “king” of Carnival.
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is have a go at it worldwide for the elaborate parades presented by the city’s major samba schools in the Sambadrome & is one of the world’s huge tourist attractions.
Samba schools are very heavy, well-financed organizations that work through and through the year in preparation for Carnival. Parading in the Sambadrome runs over four total nights & is part of an functionary contest, split up into seven divisions, in which one a single samba school will be declared that year’s winner. Blocos deriving given by the samba schools also hold street parties in their various suburbs, through and through which they process along by owning their followers.
Religion
* 73.6% of the people is Catholic, causing Brazil the country sustaining the biggest Catholic population in the world.
* 7.4% of the population reckon themselves agnostics or atheists.
* Spiritism constitutes 1.3% of the population (about 2.3 million).
* 1.8% are members of other faiths. Some of These are Latter-day Saints Followers), Jehovah’s Witnesses Followers) Buddhism Seicho-No-Ie, Judaism , & Islam
* 0.3% are Following of African traditional religions such as Candomble, Macumba, and Umbanda.
* Some practice a intermixture of different faiths, such as Catholicism, Candomble, & indigenous American religion combined.
Sports
The most popular sport in Brazil is football (soccer), and the country is renowned for the character of its players, including Ronaldo, Pele, Ronaldinho, Jairzinho, Rivelino, Zico, Romario, Carlos Alberto, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos, Garrincha, & most recently, Kaka and one of the globe’s most acknowledged players and the current holder of the title of best football player in the world, Ronaldinho.
The Brazilian national football team has been victorious in the globe Cup tournament a record five times and after the 3rd time, Brazil kept the world Cup trophy permanently.
Brazil has likewise accomplished success in more international sports, mainly volleyball, basketball, tennis, gymnastics & auto racing.
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