Piranha - Deadly and Delicious
Posted at 2:27 am | Filed Under brazil
They had it even before we knew what was happening. My rod bowed in prayer to something below the tea-colored water’s surface. The six-pound test line danced like a cat on a hot pavement. All hell had broken loose. Beads of sweat rolled down Doris’ back. Her clothes were now a second skin, clinging to her every move. We panted for breath. We had fish on. The silvery oval-shaped body and red belly of a Piranha broke the surface. I reached for it. “Don’t let a finger get near their mouths or you’ll lose it”, our native guide barked.
Minutes earlier, I shuddered from a breeze escaping from somewhere up ahead despite 85 degree-plus heat. The double-digit humidity didn’t help either. A maddening buzz filled my ears, but thanks my coating of Vick’s Vapor Rub, the blood-suckers wouldn’t feast on me. My eyes burned. My nose dripped. A coffee-table-sized leaf or hanging branch slapped into me every few steps. Curses burst from my lips even with my best efforts to become as one with the rainforest, as the indian had.
Our fishing rods extended from 18″ to five and a half feet. I’d hoped the light mono would suffice, although I’d squirreled away spools of twelve and twenty pound test as an afterthought. If we tagged into a 50-plus pound Tambaqui even that wouldn’t be enough. Vines as thick as my wrist dipped into light coffee-colored waters making little ripples as it slid past roots and fallen branches. Tangled growth matted the gentle slope of the bank into tea-with-milk colored wetness. I’d flicked a thumbnail-sized chunk of bloody chicken liver on a barb-less hook with a split shot into a dinner plate-sized swirl just beside a snarl of mangrove roots jutting upwards through the surface.
Minutes later, his tanned skin gleaming with moisture, our guide demonstrated the efficiency of the scissor-like teeth. A green leaf held near the gaping mouth instantly sported a neat, crescent-shaped bite. Three heavy blows to the head prepared the killer for cleaning. After cleaning, the Embera made a series of diagonal cuts along each side of the fish. Into these he carefully rubbed a mixture of salt, garlic, and ground roots from a small gourd he carried. A simple shaved branch frame held the fish over a smoky fire of glowing coals. The firm toasted flesh tasted smooth and a bit earthy, like a seasoned and mellowed catfish. With a wink and a sly nod towards Doris he said. “Make these heads into soup and you will need many wives”. She glanced at me with a puzzled look. I smiled.
The Perfect Killing Machine
The Amazon is filled with danger. Soldier ants march by the millions devouring all life in their path. Submerged up to the eyes, Crocodiles lie in wait for the unwary - whatever or whoever that may be. Undulating its 20-foot length beneath the surface, the Anaconda, one of the world’s largest snakes, uses heat-seeking guidance to find its next meal. The barbed stinger in the tail of platter-sized stingrays can inflict a wound that takes months to heal. But none of these carry the fearsome mystique of the voracious Piranha. Ranging through South America from Brazil to the lowlands of Peru, they also inhabit waters in Venezuela, Guyana, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia. In the Amazon and Rio Negro rivers of Brazil and the Orinoco River in Venezuela, no creature is safe from the Piranha’s razor-sharp teeth and powerful jaws. The serrated teeth fit together like scissors, enabling Piranha to cut the flesh from their prey. Like a shark, a Piranha’s teeth are replaceable, when one breaks off a new one grows in its place.
The Yagua Indians of Peru often use the sharp edges between the teeth of a Piranha jawbone to sharpen the point of their blowgun darts. A fish that is dying or swimming erratically will be quickly attacked by a large school. Piranha will also attack without warning to defend their eggs and territory. A wounded animal that strays into the water will be stripped to the bone so quickly it seems almost to “dance” on the surface as it’s ravaged from beneath. A bird that falls into the water will be gone, feathers and all, in three minutes or less. A trapped fish struggling in a net will be chewed clean to the head in a matter of seconds. Attacks on large animals and humans are often dramatically portrayed, but are rare. In some regions Piranha are known as “donkey castrators”.
“They will rend and devour alive any wounded man or beast.” U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt said, adding, “Piranha are the most ferocious fish in the world.” Piranha, also called Caribe or Piraya only furthered their fearsome mystique when Roosevelt encountered them during his exploits in 1914. There are about 35 known species of Piranha but only five species represent a danger to man. Species range from the Red-Belly Piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) with its characteristic red belly to the largest of the carnivorous species, the Black Piranha with its demon-red eyes and a 17 and a half inch long dark body weighing up to ten pounds. It could remove a man’s hand in two or three bites.
Most species dine on fruit or seeds that fall into the water from overhanging trees. The fish are not always aggressive. Women wash clothes in knee-deep water where men spearfish while children bathe or swim in these same Piranha-infested waters without harm. Further adding to the Piranha’s mystique, Indian men with half a dozen wives and up to a score of children attribute their potency to Piranha-head soup, although no scientific justification for the soup’s potency yet exists.
Fishing for Piranha
Piranhas are usually part of indigenous peoples diet in the areas where the fish are found. All you need to go Piranha fishing are lines with a metal leader next to the hook so the fish doesn’t bite through the line, a supply of red, raw meat (worms or cut-up fish will do too) and a bit of luck. Piranha swim in large schools and are attracted by movement and blood. In May of 1999, hundreds of anglers armed with rods, reels, and raw steak flocked to the Brazilian town of Aracatuba near Sao Paolo for a one-Sunday piranha fishing tournament. The townspeople had declared open season on the flesh-eating fish, which had decimated other species in the local river. The prize for the tournament was an outboard motor. But “most fishermen were content to go home with plenty of the reputedly aphrodisiac piranha”, claimed then town spokesman Nelson Custidio.
Piranha, earning their notorious reputation by reportedly killing 1,200 head of cattle every year in Brazil, is some of the best eating in South America. Whatever name you call them and no matter where you try them, when cooked in a variety of ways, their firm light flesh with its smooth, slightly nutty flavor, is a taste you’re sure to enjoy.
Larry M. Lynch is a writer and photographer specializing in business, travel, food and education-related writing in South America. His work has appeared in Transitions Abroad, South American Explorer, Escape From America, Mexico News and Brazil magazines in print and online. He travels researching articles throughout Latin America and teaches at a university in Cali, Colombia. To get original, exclusive articles and content for your newsletter, blog or website, contact him at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com
Tags: brazil, Colombia, delicious, fish, piranha, South AmericaTen Interesting Things About Brazil
Posted at 10:38 am | Filed Under brazil
If ever there were a fun loving people, it is the Brazilians. Here are ten interesting things about Brazil for you to dance around with.
1. Brasilia is the capital of the country. The country’s total area is 8,511,965 sq km, and the land area counts 8,456,510 sq km. Brazil territory includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo.
2. Brazil is a highly populated country. The population of the country is 186,112,794 at the last count.
3. AIDS is expected to slow the population growth in the country. It is believed to be widespread, but not mentioned much do to bias and stereotypes.
4. The estimated population of Brazil in 2050 is expected to be over 206 million.
5. The languages spoken in Brazil are Portuguese, Spanish, English and French. Portuguese is the official language.
6. The people of Brazil are highly religious. The claim the following religions as their own: Roman Catholic 73.6 percent, Protestant 15.4 percent, Spiritualist 1.3 percent, Bantu/voodoo 0.3 percent, no religion 7.4 percent.
7. Literacy of the people in the country is as follows. From the point of the total population and the gender factor it reaches 86.4% for the total population, 86.1% for males and 86.6% for females (2003 estimation).
8. Life expectancy is 71.69 years in total. Males live for 67.74 years where as females live 75.85 years as of 2005.
9. Brazil is a federative republic. Its currency is the “real” (BRL).
10. Brazil is considered a leader in alternative energy. A vast amount of its electricity is produced through hydropower and much of the vehicle transportation has been converted to ethanol fuel, a biomass product produced from sugar cane. With the transformation, Brazil is now an exporter of oil instead of an importer despite the fact it has nominal oil reserves.
Brazil is a diverse, crowded country with a lot of unique issues. These ten interesting things regarding Brazil represent a primer on the country. To experience the brilliance of the country, you just have to go visit.
Richard Monk is with http://www.factsmonk.com - a site with facts about everything.
Tags: aids, Brasil, brazil, Brazilian, hydropower, portuguese, South AmericaBrazil’s PCC True Power Behind the Violence
Posted at 7:48 am | Filed Under brazil
The violence that paralyzed Sao Paulo from May 12 until May 19 revealed the raw power of the First Capital Command (P.C.C.), considered one of the most powerful organized criminal factions in Brazil. Prison riots that erupted in nearly 100 prisons led to over 150 murders, destroyed city buses, and terrorized millions of citizens, propelling Brazil onto the world stage. Yet a more deeply-rooted system run by the P.C.C. reveals how powerful this gang has become.
On May 10, just two days before the riots began, two members of the Sao Paulo Department of Investigation of Organized Crime, Godofredo Bittencourt Filho and Ruy Ferraz Fontes, testified before the Brazilian Government Inquiry Commission on the Traffic of Illegal Weapons about their understanding of the true power of the P.C.C.
Bittencourt and Ferraz testified that the P.C.C. is a very serious problem that is only growing. They blamed Sao Paulo authorities for separating and sending to other Brazilian states various leaders of the P.C.C. by pointing out that because of this separation, the P.C.C. now has a strong presence on a national level in Matto Grosso do Sul, Parana, Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul, and Brasilia.
According to Bittencourt and Ferraz, the P.C.C. controls over 140,000 prisoners in the state of Sao Paulo alone. Another 500,000 individuals support the organization outside the prison system. This group helps enforce some 100 cases of extortion organized by the P.C.C. on a daily basis, representing some 70 percent of kidnapping cases in Brazil’s financial capital of Sao Paulo.
Apart from a proven ability to organize simultaneous, widespread prison riots and destabilize public security, the organization has constructed a network of informants, lawyers, blue collar workers, gun and drug dealers, and bankers to do its bidding. This network is held together by a criminal financial system that finances education, facilitates crime and engages in killings. Bittencourt was quoted as saying, “to be [associated] with the P.C.C. is good business.”
Membership fees are the bread and butter of the P.C.C. For prisoners, a fee of 50 reales (US$25) is charged every month. Individuals on the outside pay a fee of 550 reales ($225). Given these fees and the high membership numbers both inside and outside the prison system, it is possible that the P.C.C. organization earns millions of dollars a month from fees alone.
Criminal finance is another revenue stream. If a group needs $10,000 to mount a bank robbery, they can go to the P.C.C. In this case, the P.C.C. acts as a black market bank to finance and facilitate criminal activities.
To distribute weapons, the P.C.C. uses Sedex, a Brazilian courier system known for reliability and timely delivery. Weapons as large as assault rifles have allegedly been delivered by Sedex to the waiting hands of criminals.
The P.C.C.’s weakest link is its legal team. Currently 18 lawyers serve the P.C.C. leadership, according to Bittencourt. They oversee dozens of legal cases against P.C.C. members and make regular visits to P.C.C. leaders imprisoned around the country. Brazilian law protects the lawyer-client relationship to extremes. Prison authorities are not allowed to search lawyers when they enter the prison to visit their clients. Many believe that the lawyers bring cell phones, two-way radios, laptops, and other critical tools the P.C.C. needs to keep its criminal system running.
Reaching beyond its current legal team, the P.C.C. supports law students, paying full tuition in exchange for services once they have a law degree. The P.C.C.’s educational funding extends to future politicians and other individuals who indicate an interest in entering Brazil’s political world. The group also facilitates the path for students who want to enter public security. These efforts and more act as a well-planned insurance policy to ensure the continued existence of the P.C.C. through the manipulation of Brazil’s judicial, political, and security systems.
It was the manipulation of Brazil’s political system that led to the purchase of the testimony Bittencourt and Ferraz prepared for their audience. For some $100, the PCC purchased the testimony from an employee of a company contracted to record and transcribe congressional hearings. The material was allegedly purchased by a P.C.C. lawyer, who delivered the information to the P.C.C. leadership.
Also documented in this material was Bittencourt’s decision to move on May 12 P.C.C. leaders to more secure prisons to prevent what they had learned would be widespread prison rioting on May 14. The P.C.C. once again proved their superior intelligence networks when they began the riots two days early, leading to a week long struggle to bring peace and rule of law back to Sao Paulo.
As a criminal enterprise, the P.C.C. took life inside a Sao Paulo prison in 1993 when prisoners grouped together to force the improvement of their living conditions. Since then, many prisoners, their family members, and other poor Brazilians idolize the P.C.C. as an armed faction of Brazil’s extreme left political flank, working to improve the rights and lives of impoverished Brazilians. For this reason, the P.C.C. draws many of its young recruits from the shantytowns surrounding Sao Paulo.
Many of the people in these communities believe the P.C.C. speaks for them when it fights against what they perceive as a deeply corrupt political organization, beleaguered by broken judicial and penitentiary systems that support an oppressive security structure.
A great irony is many Brazilians believe the P.C.C. fights for them against a government that they consider the true oppressor. At the same time, the P.C.C. has demonstrated a level of power that can only be achieved by taking advantage of the loopholes and cracks in various democratic institutions that today in Brazil appear to facilitate organized crime more than protect and serve Brazilian citizens. What happened in the second week of May 2006 is a minor showing of the true power the P.C.C. holds. It is a level of sophistication and organization that the international media have not been able to elucidate and that people in Brazil would rather not talk about.
Sam Logan (http://www.samuellogan.com) is an investigative journalist who has reported on security, energy, politics, economics, organized crime, terrorism, and black markets in Latin America since 1999. He is currently completing his work on Nice Guys Die First, a forthcoming non-fiction narrative about organized crime in Brazil.
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