“GUARAJUBA, Brazil – Brazil’s coffee industry is engaged in a tireless battle against rogue roasters who cut corners and costs by bulking up their products with corn, soy or even wood, the ABIC industry association says. The tainted products have not been known to cause health problems in the consumers who drink them, usually unknowingly, but the industry takes a hard line against the fraudulent practice to protect the beverage’s image.

The joint initiative known as the Seal of Purity is run by the Brazilian Coffee Industry Association (ABIC) and involves laboratory testing of coffee picked at random from supermarket shelves. The seal was launched 20 years ago. “The most common thing is to find wood from the (coffee) tree and shells from the beans but you can also find corn or caramel, which is much cheaper than coffee,” said Almir Jose da Silva, ABIC’s chairman.” – Source (more here)

“A cup of Brazilian mint tea has pain relieving qualities to match those of commercially available analgesics, a study suggests. Hyptis crenata has been prescribed by Brazilian healers for millennia to treat ailments from headaches and stomach pain to fever and flu. Working on mice, a Newcastle University team has proved scientifically that the ancient medicine men were right.

The study is published in the journal Acta Horticulturae. In order to mimic the traditional treatment as closely as possible, the Newcastle team carried out a survey in Brazil to find out how the medicine is typically prepared and how much should be consumed. The most common method was to produce a decoction. This involves boiling the dried leaves in water for 30 minutes and allowing the liquid to cool before drinking it as a tea.” – BBC (more here)

“Paulo Roberto Vieira stumbled into the Brazilian consulate on L Street NW, bedraggled, nearly broke and at the end of his rope. Dressed in a battered black leather jacket and scuffed black jeans, he told consular officials an almost unbelievable story: He had ridden his motorcycle from his home town in southern Brazil to Washington, an 18,000-mile quest for official recognition of his life’s proudest work, an automobile accessory he said he invented.

Vieira’s arrival last month ended an odyssey that wound through 11 countries, and it illustrates Washington’s enduring power as a magnet for ordinary people who think the answer to their prayers can be found in what’s seen as the capital of the free world. Standing next to his Honda CG150 Titan on L Street several days later, Vieira, gaunt and looking weary, recounted in his native Portuguese the improbable tale of his four-month journey.

He described how he rode for more than 1,900 miles on mostly unpaved roads through the Amazon, narrowly avoiding becoming lunch for a jaguar, one of the rain forest’s most feared carnivores. How a delay in obtaining a U.S. visa forced him to traverse Mexico three times before crossing into Texas. How he hoped for sweet justice in the U.S. capital, perhaps even from the president himself.” - Source (more here)

“Is there a point in discussing the digital inclusion when you don’t have a high-speed connection? Governments and everyone else are talking about how to universalize high-speed access, while Brazil is still moving slowly.

There’s a Brazil that can’t manage to watch Youtube, that doesn’t have a Facebook profile, that can’t follow the happenings of Twitter and wouldn’t even dream of signing up for Google Wave. It signs-on to MSN, but first it needs 9 hours to download the program – if the connection doesn’t fail first. It’s the disconnected Brazil – or 94.2% of our country.” – Source (translation by me)

My Take

Ok, I get it. Everyone in the world needs to be on the same globalized page, with the same opportunities…to receive their bread and circuses. I mean, what’s the point in giving us a shiny toy racecar if what’s under the hood is the equivalent of a Jalopy? Playing aside, what we have been given is a world in which it is increasingly unthinkable to exist without a computer at your side or in your pocket. The former of which I could be charged, tried and convicted. Convicted but not anywhere near convinced that such a world will lead to anything good. Pick your poison then, either be given your opinions through traditional media or experience a loss of privacy through new media (media, which just means ‘medium’ or middle, meaning we’re all kept on the same page).

Well, after um…how many years? Orkut gets a face(book)lift with some ‘new funcionality’ (although I’m not sure what that is yet). The look? Best if you just see for yourself…

As you may find, it looks more like Facebook now. They’ll be rolling out the invites slowly so be on the lookout for any friends who say they have the new orkut, as I believe they are the ones getting the invites.

Looks like Natal’s planned int’l airport will place the northeastern city on the international map in just a few years time. That’s right, no more having to fly all the way to São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro if your destination is roughly anywhere North or East of Brasilia.

The Greater Natal International Airport or São Gonçalo do Amarante International Airport, is a new airport complex being built in Natal, the capital city of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. When fully completed, it will be the largest hub in Latin America and the 7th largest airport in the world. The opening date is scheduled for 2012.

Upon opening, the airport will be able to take A380s which are the biggest and most modern passenger aircrafts to date. Upon all plans being 100% complete, the Greater Natal airport will be able to hold approximately 156 of those A380s.

Greater Natal is designed to be an intermodal airport, focusing on both passenger transport and cargo. The complex is expected to have the highest aircraft traffic in the Northeast, with a capacity to handle 40 million passengers per year. The aim is to create another so-called ‘airport-city’ such as the Schiphol Int’l Airport in Amsterdam which was voted the best airport in Europe by magazine Business Traveller in 2007.

it must be global warming, right? and I (or my habits) must be causing it. I’m so “glad” (yes, that’s sarcasm) to know Brazil is falling for the carbon credit taxation scam (yes, folks, that’s where we’re headed and that’s why you’ve been primed). But if you think that’s bad, wait until UN Agenda 21 is in full effect!

“Brazil said Friday it would offer a “voluntary” cut of at least 36 percent in greenhouse gas emissions at the UN conference on climate change in Copenhagen next month.

The goal could see carbon reductions of up to 39 percent and is set against Brazil’s forecast level of emissions in 2020.

The target was presented by Environment Minister Carlos Minc and government chief minister Dilma Rousseff at a news conference in Sao Paulo following talks with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Brazil is the fourth-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, largely because of carbon released through deforestation of its vast Amazon forest by ranchers and farmers.” – Source (more here, but no need to read)

The Economist came out with a 14-page report on Brazil and here’s the cover with Christ as a rocket.

“WHEN, back in 2003, economists at Goldman Sachs bracketed Brazil with Russia, India and China as the economies that would come to dominate the world, there was much sniping about the B in the BRIC acronym. Brazil? A country with a growth rate as skimpy as its swimsuits, prey to any financial crisis that was around, a place of chronic political instability, whose infinite capacity to squander its obvious potential was as legendary as its talent for football and carnivals, did not seem to belong with those emerging titans.

Now that scepticism looks misplaced. China may be leading the world economy out of recession but Brazil is also on a roll. It did not avoid the downturn, but was among the last in and the first out. Its economy is growing again at an annualised rate of 5%. It should pick up more speed over the next few years as big new deep-sea oilfields come on stream, and as Asian countries still hunger for food and minerals from Brazil’s vast and bountiful land. Forecasts vary, but sometime in the decade after 2014—rather sooner than Goldman Sachs envisaged—Brazil is likely to become the world’s fifth-largest economy, overtaking Britain and France. By 2025 São Paulo will be its fifth-wealthiest city, according to PwC, a consultancy.” – Economist (a little more here)

“Brazil emerged Wednesday from a widespread power outage that plunged as many as 60 million people into darkness for hours, prompting security fears and concern from residents about another black eye for a country hosting the 2016 Olympic Games.

Power went out for more than two hours in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and several other major cities after transmission problems knocked one of the world’s biggest hydroelectric dams offline. Airport operations were hindered and subways ground to a halt.” – Source (more here)

The other day, I was introduced to a site that like mine, covers just about anything and everything that’s cool about Brazil. When seeing both perspectives, it just goes to show that one person can’t possibly cover everything so it’s nice to see someone indirectly saying “hey, you missed a whole bunch of stuff”. It is run by a Brazilian woman named Eloise and she currently lives in Canada. I recommend checking out her site/blog, The Good Blood, as you’ll be sure to find interesting content.

I’ve had a few lists of cultural phrases in my head for many many months and the day came when I decided to do something with them. The result? Eyes On Brazil t-shirts are now available for purchase!

You might be thinking these are going to be t-shirts with just the name of my site but they aren’t. In general, they combine cultural phrases with designs and give you a way to say “I’m in the know” when it comes to all things Brazilian.

Check it out for yourself here at the Eyes On Brazil store.

As a side note, any and all phrases you see are also available to be placed on any product Printfection offers. Colors can also be altered, just let me know. Currently, there are 10 shirts (for Brazil in general) to choose from although there are more shirts in the other two sub-stores. Stay tuned because more are on their way!

The clip below deals with the image of the Brazilian woman and in this case, the carioca and how that image is presented in a sexual manner to foreigners. It reached the point where postcards and other images which were of a sexual nature were prohibited from being sold in Rio. I remember being in Rio and watching a debate on the matter on a news show and while I’m supportive of the right to express yourself how you want, there are limits, of course. To promote the women in Rio as sex fiends or anything of the sort is not right. I personally know many Brazilian women and none of them are hypersexual in the way they are portrayed to the rest of the world.

As for the tourist book they refer to in the news piece, I’ve seen it and took a look through it. There were corrections I would have made to the content and I do remember taking note of the page on Brazilian women. Secondly, I wouldn’t write a short colorful book explaining Brazilian culture to a foreigner as it is a complex subject to being with. When writing about where to go or what to do, that’s fine…as long as you aren’t saying “the women in this club are easier” (well, I suppose if you are talking about Help Discoteca, then it would be factual).

To sum it up, I think if you fall for some surface article or book that says certain women are easier than others, you are probably lacking more than a few brain cells. And if you are going to say “but look at what they wear (on the beach, on the street, etc)”, I will tell you that Brazil is a hot and humid country and if you lived in Alaska, I’m sure you’d do the opposite and wear sweaters and jackets.

That being said, I absolutely love the Brazilian woman, only my love is a reflection of the culture they grow up within, and not some false notion that I pulled out of thin air.

“A successful forró party in Laranjal, Minas Gerais, keeps bringing in clients aside from its strict rules. Among them, the organizers prohibit kissing on the mouth. Those who disrespect the rule are advised and if the “infraction” happens again, they can even be invited to leave.

- When the person gives the first kiss, we advise them. On the second kiss, we remind them they were already advised. On the third, we are obliged to kick them out – says the organizer of the forró party, Sebastião de Mello.

“It’s also prohibited here to dance while smoking or drinking.”

According to him, only kisses on the face are allowed.

The dance party even has more rules. For example, those under 25 can’t enter. Men can’t come in if they are dressed in a t-shirt, shorts or wearing a hat. For the women, it’s prohibited to wear a small blouse, a miniskirt or short shorts. Even with all these restrictions, the forró party is always crowded and has been that way going on 6 years.” – O Globo (translated by me)

There may be no kissing, but I bet dancing rala-coxa (with the woman’s thigh in between the man’s legs, and no room in between) isn’t prohibited…

Even with the site and all, I had no real clue as to what I’d find once I arrived in Belém. To my surprise though, it’s really a beautiful city and after a week, I can’t really tell how it differs from any other Brazilian city but the people tell me the differences are in the smells, tastes and colors specifically. If we’re talking about Ver-o-peso then I agree! but colorwise so far, it’s as beautiful as other cities I’ve visited in Brazil and taste-wise, I still can’t comment on that yet. All I know is jambu pizza is quite good!

With all of that being said, I can also say that it’s a very green city, from the mango trees that create makeshift tunnels down many of the streets, to the plazas and parks, Belém has its share of nice scenery (or shall I say greenery?). Architecture-wise, there’s a lot of mixing of the old with the new although I get the feeling that many of the high-rises have cropped up very recently and I wonder how many more will come in the years ahead.

Aside from the green, I’ve taken note of the darkness here, from the skin color of the people, to the açaí (which is fantastic, if you can find it), to the waters of the rivers and bays, and even the grouping of so many trees in and around town, it adds its own hint of darkness and blends very well with the bright colors that pop out at you while driving around.

So if you get the chance and wish to get out of the Rio-São Paulo circuit for a bit, you won’t regret giving Belém do Pará a chance (although I can’t reimburse your trip if you in fact do regret it, for some very odd reason, lol).

Seeing as how I’ve written about Italians in Brazil and Germans in Brazil, I figured I should check out other nationalities. Sure, there are many other groups which have a much higher number of immigrants than Greece but I was in the neighborhood, so to speak, and decided to drop by to see what was available.

Ever start something and a few hours later, you can’t remember how you started it? That’s what just happened to me and Greece. In checking my internet history, I see that I just all of a sudden checked Wikipedia’s page on the Greek language. Naturally, I dug a little deeper and then came to wonder about the Greek presence in Brazil. Ok, so I could just rewrite this whole paragraph or simply tell you that I remembered why. I’m watching a movie with a French title (L’Éternité et un jour), although the film is Greek, and thought to myself that Greek is a beautiful language. Ok, back to the post.

Apparently, there are about 50,000 Greco-Brasileiros living in Brazil, mostly in the Southeastern region, especially in Rio or São Paulo (the latter having 20,000). Additionally, in São Paulo there’s a Greek school where people can learn Greek language, dance and mythology, only I don’t know the name of it. A good place to start to learn more is the site Gregos No Brasil (in PT) which has slides, videos, interviews, etc on the Greeks in Brazil.

“California-based Sambazon, a supplier of the Brazilian Amazon açaí juice, has now been certified as Fair Trade in Brazil. The certification by Ecocert, a global control and certification organization, guarantees that Sambazon ensures fair labor conditions and wages for workers, promotes environmentally sustainable farming methods and reinvests money into the community.” – Brazzil (more here)

I’ve gone through *a lot* of açaí drinks in the US in my quest to find something, anything that resembles the good purple stuff I wolf down when in Brazil and I’m almost always disappointed. However, Sambazon, makes a worthy case and while I do enjoy their curvy little bottled drinks (even if they are just a tiny bit too expensive), their açaí sorbet is great! It’s best to wait until it melts a little bit before diggin in so you can pretend its a little more like a smoothie and while I still haven’t quite figured out what “Rio Style” means, I’m sure it probably helps with getting newcomers to give it a try. Good job, Sambazon!

Last week, I got back from a 10 day trip to Medellín and I’d like to share a few observations about my experience. A few weeks ago, I was reminded of a ticket I had purchased last year to Medellín but didn’t end up taking so instead I paid to keep it as credit for a future flight. Well, the time came and I went, without putting much thought into it at all.

Due to such immediacy, upon arrival I didn’t quite have a clear view of why I was there or of what I was doing, but I went with the flow. During the 10 days, I stayed with a friend in the Centro and proceeded to show myself around town in the days to come. Details such as ‘it’s not vacation for anyone else’ were quickly brought to my attention and in the end, colored my experience of Medellín as a whole. Luckily, I did meet a friend of my friend who had a more liberal schedule and so we hung out quite a bit as the days went on and at this point, I’m pretty sure I could even give walking tours of the City of Eternal Spring…minus Santa Elena, which I didn’t have time for unfortunately.

On to the observations, shall we?

Language

You’re going to hear “pues” all the time, before sentences, after them, and in the middle of them. Sentences you didn’t think could have pues in them, do. There’s a distinct rhythym also of people from Medellín and it’s catchy, after a while you want to speak like they do. It’s kind of low-key and stressed if I had to describe it in some fashion. Another phrase you may very well hear is “que charro” which means that something is funny. Also, parce (for parcero) is used quite a bit. Yet another one is the famous Colombian phrase “que hubo?” for what’s up or what happened, although it seems like one word when pronounced.

Women

The women in Medellín (called paisas) are said to be the most beautiful in Colombia. Perhaps I need to travel a bit more within the country to confirm or deny that but I will tell you this, they are very beautiful. Part of it comes naturally while the other part is cultural. Colombian women, for the most part, will not leave the house without looking put-together (dressed nicely, stylish, perfumed, etc). Some might say that this would mean they are into the phsyical to an extreme degree but after some thinking, I found another way to see it. Perhaps this is just normal to them and not something like “I need to place phsyical appearance above everything else”. Looking good in Colombia is just part of life, like brushing your teeth.

Men

I’m not sure what to say about the men but I can say that there is definitely a style that almost everyone has. This includes a fitted t-shirt with stripes or a funky design on it or both, a mullet hairstyle (often with the sides buzzed) and jeans. The hairstyle though is the most noticable though and I would guess that about 85% of Colombia’s male youth have it.

Transport

Cars don’t follow any rules except to follow no rules. Confusing? Let’s put it this way, if you go to Colombia and try to follow all the rules of the road, you will end up getting others and yourself in an accident. Go with the flow. Buses pretty much follow suit and if you’re lucky enough to take the Circular (I think it’s number 192) into Laureles, you’ll almost be thrown from the bus…so hold on! Also, the bus drivers leave the doors open while they drive, generally before and after stops. What I meant by buses follow suit is I witnessed about three different accidents with the buses I was riding on, where one bus would clip the other, often times taking their side view mirrors clear off. After a very quick chat between drivers, off we went.  No matter if it’s a bus or a car or a motorcycle, getting the green light to cross the street doesn’t mean you should nonchalantly cross to the other side. Always be aware of where the cars are around you as a pedestrian. In practice, pedestrians don’t exactly have rights…something I actually prefer in most cases solely because it keeps the city moving as no one is waiting for anyone else.

Food & Drink

Do not miss out on the easy stuff! This includes pandebono, arepas (especially arepas de chocolo con mozzarella), and the buñuelos. They are all fantastic! In the morning, don’t forget that there is always a place on the street for mango slices (although you need to know they usually put salt and lime juice on it). As for drinks, don’t miss the jugo de lulo or the jugo de mora.

Homeless

Different from the homeless in the US, who generally sit on the corner of intersections with a sign asking for change, the homeless in Medellín (and I’m guessing most of Colombia) just lie there on the sidewalk doing absolutely nothing (I noticed the same thing in Brazil). There’s a difference between homeless and poor, is what I’m getting at. The poor people on the other hand are hard-workers and will find any one of a million ways to make a little here and there.

Etc

Something I noticed in many areas of Colombian life is when it comes to purchases, single-serving is very popular. Want to make a phone call? No need to have a cell phone plan, just ask an omnipresent minutes vendor on the street to make a call. Ok, that’s just one example, but I’m blanking on the other ones at the moment. Also, things like riding the metro are simplified economically. One can take the metro from one end of the city to the next and even hop onto the metrocable line up the hillside for the US price of about 65 cents. This is very different from the metros here in the States where you pay the lower price for the lower number of stops but with each extra stop, you pay more. What else? Medellín has quite a lot of plazas and parks and things to do in general for families during leisure time. Speaking of such, museums are pretty much all free, which is great.

If I think of other observations, I’ll be sure to add them to the list. All in all though, I enjoyed my trip and I left with a new appreciation for Medellín and Colombian hospitality.

The previous post was a little bit of info and a song about Nilson Chaves, a famous singer from Belém. This post, however, is about something on the opposite ends of the spectrum…Tecnobrega. Now, I’ve already posted a story on this musical phenomenon from Belém but mere words can’t express what extactly tecnobrega is, so here’s a little two-part documentary and a link to a trailer of an up and coming documentary on the subject.

Now that you have a better idea of what this is, I’m guessing you will have seen certain similarities between this and another more southeastern style called Funk Carioca. Take out the rap, insert the techno and violá, there you have it. Some might disagree with me, but it seems to be the same stuff, just (p)repackaged. So if you’re looking for something that’s ready for consumption, this is it.

Here’s the link to the up-and-coming trailer.