Brazil Blog

Brazil Talk!

Arpoador Beach in Rio de Janeiro

Filed under: Brazil General - December 31st, 2004

Arpoador beach is a small beach that’s popular with surfers, who, thanks to giant spotlights can surf day or night. It’s located between the larger Copacabana beach and Ipanema beach. From Arpoador you have a fantastic view of both the Copacabana and Ipanema neighborhoods.

Tijuca Park in Rio de Janeiro

Filed under: Brazil General - December 31st, 2004

Tijuca Park is a spectacular tourist attraction. It’s home to Corcovado Mountain and the Statue of Christ, Gavea Rock (Pedra da Gavea), Beautiful Rock (Pedra Bonita), as well as the second highest peak in Rio de Janeiro, Tijuca Peak, at 3350 ft. (1021 meters). From Tijuca Peak you have a view of the entire city of Rio, some of the sites you’ll see include: Sugar Loaf Mountain, Maracana Stadium, Favela of Rocinha, and Rio-Niteroi Bridge. Many of Rio’s beaches can also been seen from Tijuca Peak, such as: Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Botafogo, and Guanabara Bay.

Maracana Stadium

Filed under: Brazil General - December 31st, 2004

Are you a soccer fan? If you really enjoy watching, cheering or playing soccer then Maracana Stadium is the place to go. Maracana is the largest Stadium in the world and it’s located in Rio de Janeiro. The capacity of this Stadium is 140,000 people, and when Brazilian soccer teams are playing, the stadium fills up.

Many Brazilians are very loyal to their favorite soccer teams, so on game day they bring huge flags and paint their faces and bodies to show how fanatic they really are. These flags are very large and make the stadium look amazing - full of color and enthusiasm!

Carnival in the club

Filed under: Brazil General - December 31st, 2004

This picture was taken at one of the clubs in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. The reason for the carnival theme inside the bar was to celebrate the arrival of the king and queen of carnival into their club. The intention of this visit is to create excitement for the carnival and wish everyone a good time during these 4 days.

Sugar Loaf Mountain

Filed under: Brazil General - December 31st, 2004

This is a beautiful picture taken from one of the cable cars on the way to the top of Pao de Acucar (Sugar Loaf Mountain) in Rio de Janeiro. The sensation of seeing the city from above is quite amazing. Every direction you look, you are able to see many of the marvelous sites that Rio has to offer. Some of the sites that you will see clearly are: Rio Niteroi Bridge, Corcovado, Maracana, Botafogo beach, Guanabara bay, Leblon beach as well as the famous Copacabana beach.

King and Queen of Carnival Brazil

Filed under: Brazil General - December 31st, 2004

Here you see the king and queen of Carnival. Every city has their own king and queen who is chosen from many men and women who compete against each other to become the king and queen of carnival. These people try out for the position before the actual carnival parades. The qualities needed for the king and queen are: ability to samba, personality, energetic, outgoing, and the king must be overweight. During carnival, the king and queen must participate in the parade, as well they must attend every club in their city for a brief presentation.

Botafogo Beach in Rio de Janeiro Brazil

Filed under: Brazil General - December 31st, 2004

Botafogo is tucked in behind the mountains of Sugar Loaf, it’s a sheltered beach and certainly not known for its surfing. Instead this beach is popular with sailboats, ski boats, and other type of water craft. Many of the boats you see out on the water dock just north of Botafogo beach, in Guanabara Bay.

Carnaval in Rio 2005

Filed under: Brazil General - December 31st, 2004

Brazil Carnival is a 4 day celebration held throughout all of the cities in Brazil. With the most famous carnival celebrations in Rio and Salvador. The Rio Carnival is a time for parades, dancing, drinking, dressing-up, samba competitions, and a time to celebrate life and rejuvenation. This four day party continues 24 hours of the day! It’s the most exotic exhibitionist spectacle in the world.

For the year of 2005 the Carnival celebration will be held in the first week of February, the 5th through to the 8th.

Capoeira Brazil

Filed under: Brazil General - December 15th, 2004

Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that combines dance, music, gymnastics, acrobatics, and fighting skills into a sport and game that can be played by everyone. Capoeira is an exciting workout and it’s fun to learn.

Here are some facts about Capoeira:

• Capoeirista is the name given to those who practice Capoeira;
• Ginga is the first movement you learn in order to play Capoeira;
• Berimbau is the main instrument used to play the music of Capoeira;
• Atabaque and Pandeiro are also instruments used in Capoeira;
• Abada is the name given to the pants that you wear to play Capoeira;
• You will receive a different color belt until you reach the 16th and highest level of learning;

In this picture you see Capoeiristas right after their presentation in Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil.

Havaianas Brazil

Filed under: Brazil General - December 13th, 2004

These are the most popular Brazilian sandles that are now found all over the world. They range in price from about 15 reals (less that $7 US) to $20 US. If you are planning on going to Brazil don’t forget to get yours.

They are very handy, you can wear them when you go to the pool, to the beach or even to just walk around. They go with many different outfits, especially brazilian bikinis

I personally have 4 pairs of havaianas, all different colors. There are tones of different styles of havaianas; you can buy them as one color with or without the little brazilian flag on the strap, or you can get them with a hawaiian print. As well they have styles for kids with pictures and more.

Buy Havaianas