Learn Moor About Bahia Brasil | Salvador Bahia | Afro Brazilian

Good Question | Is Brazil A Lost Cause

2013-04-16T19:55:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to share these two articles (with links for full story) from an American woman who has been living in Rio for more than 30 years.

They were written in light of the recent negative media Brazil has received from the reports of an American woman being raped in Rio and a bus that ran over the overpass recently.

She makes very valid points and believes that Brazil is changing for the better overall.

Below is a summary with the two links:

Van rapes reveal social division

[UPDATE: minutes after this post was completed, Rio suffered yet another tragedy: a bus fell off an overpass on Avenida Brasil, killing at least seven and severely injuring fifteen passengers. According to a passenger who got off the bus before it fell, the driver was arguing with a man who had jumped the turnstile.]

March 23, a Brazilian woman reported to the police that she’d been raped in Copacabana after getting into a mini-van. Not much came of it– until the same happened to an American student, late Saturday night. As a result of the earlier negligence, two police administrators have been removed from their positions.

Who rides in vans? Not the upper classes. And in Brazil, there are a lot of things the upper classes don’t do.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

Is Rio a lost cause?

After the devastating events of the last few weeks in Rio de Janeiro, many Cariocas and foreign observers have fallen into a perfidious mind-trap: the city’s transformation is either real, or false. And, if you believe it’s real, you’re either a sucker or an exploiter.

This interview in the O Estado de São Paulo newspaper, widely circulated, expresses the thoughts of a growing number of cynics. “There’s a generalized feeling that everything being done in Brazil today is just a facade. It’s very discouraging,” says André Martins Vilar de Carvalho, a psychologist and philosopher living in Rio.

Much of what Vilar de Carvalho says goes beyond his initial observation, is true, and needs to be said– over and over again:

Brazilian developmental capitalism is savage, ultimately has no interest in spending on social needs and is solely interested in profit at any cost.
What needs to be questioned is the “pacifying dream”, the local policy of transforming a successful initiative into a huge ad campaign of a pacified Rio de Janeiro …the thing is presented as if Rio had no more problems, it’s now an organized city, with more value… then we run the risk of a stadium built five years ago falling on our heads. We find that it was poorly constructed, obviously due to some kind of over-invoicing.

We have no social pact, no one is talking about truly building a country for everyone. What we do have, sadly, and quite widely accepted, are individual or narrow small-group interests, but no chance to think about the greater good. The idea of “everyone looking out for himself” is socially legitimated in Brazil.
The legacy of slavery is particularly perverse, creating a sense of unquestioned social inequality in Brazil. There is also perversity in relation to power, the idea that an elite must inevitably exist, that this abyss of income distribution is just how things are. This is a very bad feeling, very harmful for the collective approach that we need.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

2013-04-16T19:25:00.000-04:00

Making Super Smoothies With Acai for Optimum HealthBy Joe Naab
August 1st, 2012

Growing in both the Amazon Rainforest, as well as the subtropical South Atlantic Rainforest, is a palm tree called "Juçara" (joo-SAH-rah), that produces the widely popular fruit, "Açai" (ah-sigh-EE). Açai is consider if notthe, then one of the most very nutritious foods found on the planet. Sparing you the details, Açai is loaded with about every great vitamin and mineral your body needs, and it has great proteins, quality fats and is loaded with anti-oxidants.

Açai Must be Made into a Pulp
The açai berry has a very thick, inedible outer skin. At it's center is a woody seed. In between the seed and the outer skin is the rich and edible pulp. Note that even this pulp does not taste all that well. It is sour, not sweet, and almost always mixed with one or more other foods to improve the taste.

The pulp is extracted either with industrial-sized machines, artisan-sized machines, or by hand. In either case the process is about the same. The berries are soaked in warm water for a half hour. They are then put into a bowl (giant, large or small), and agitated in some way so as to break the outer skin of all the berries. A filter screen is put in place and water is passed through the berries repeatedly, flushing out the pulp. Hence, the pulp of açai always contains added water. Extra profit can be made by excessive diluting with water, and the typical supermarket frozen açai pulp is thin and weak. I buy mine at organic fairs or natural food markets.

The Quality Rating of Açai Pulp
Due to the above, açai pulp is rated, "fine" (thin), "medium" and "gross" (thick). Fine will have 5% to 9% açai and the rest is water. Medium will have 9% to 14% pulp and the rest is water. Thick will have more than 14% pulp content. It is hard to make açai pulp with a pulp content above 40%. You simply need lots of water to flush out the pulp. Thick açai is not available anywhere. Buyers here aren't that savvy and the price would be shocking relative to the prices for fine and medium.

Açai Spoils Very, Very Fast
Due to it's high oil and anti-oxidant content, both the açai berry itself and the pulp made from the berry, spoil very, very fast (though this doesn't keep people from selling it and consuming spoiled açai). Once harvested, the berries must be de-pulped ideally within 24 hours and no longer than 48 hours. Once made, the pulp should be consumed within 24 hours or frozen immediately, or frozen with 24 hours of having been made.

Two Basic Ways to Eat Açai
Most everyone in south Brazil as well as all over the world thinks of açai as a dessert, or smoothie, or juice. Yet in the Amazon and the northeast, where it was first popularized, it is very rarely eaten sweet. In fact, it's most common to be eaten on the day it was made fresh, without having ever been frozen.

In Brazil, all types of food fall into two basic categories- "Doçe" and "Salgado". "Doçe" means "sweet", and is anything from desserts to juices, to smoothies and more. "Salgado" translates to "salty", but in this usage of the word it might be best to think of it as "not sweet". This can cover bland, salty, sour, bitter and simply regular food. It's a catch-all phrase in this context.

Açai Super Smoothies
For the purpose of this article we'll focus on using açai to make smoothies. The two most common additional ingredients for açai smoothies are banana and guarana syrup. Guarana is a seed with an extremely sweet syrup that can be extracted. Also, the smoothie can be made extremely thick and served in a bowl with a spoon. This is actually more common than a smootie, and you'll see it on menus as "tigela de açai". Often, you'll see the option to substitute strawberries for bananas.

What I'm talking about here are smoothies that you make yourself in your own home in a blender where you are free to experiment all you want. Because you are working with frozen pulp, and likely frozen bananas, the better the blender the better the experience. For example, I brought in a Blendtec blender from the U.S., the best blender on the market. I bought a 110v to 220v transformer so I can use it down here.

Extended List of Possible Açai Smoothie Ingredients
I'm going to end the article here with a great list of potential ingredients for your smoothies. It's so very fun to experiment that I won't try to give you measurements and ratios and such. Have fun experimenting. Know that the more of these ingredients you use in one smoothie, and I've done this, the heavier and denser the taste. If you want your smoothie to be light and fresh, try fewer ingredients.

Frozen açai pulp - One pack of 100gms, or 100ml, will due for one tall smoothie. Double it for twice the fun.

Frozen bananas - I use 2-4 small bananas. They don't have to be frozen. I peel them first and then freeze them because I want them frozen.

Bee Pollen - This is my primary secret ingredient. Bee pollen is the single most nutritious and complete food source on the planet. The bee pollen I use comes from the rainforest and is extra nutritious. I use one tablespoon.

Honey - My preferred sweetener here is honey, because the honey here is amazing and honey is a superfood.

Guarana syrup - I've actually never used this at home, though for no particular reason.

Agave Nectar - Only this year did this sweetener become available where I live. Note also that you only need one of these three sweeteners.

Coconut water - You will need to add either water or coconut water, or both. This is how you'll control thickness. Coconut water has a fairly neutral flavor and is very nutritious. It can be expensive, too.

Coconut Milk - This can make the smoothie extra creamy and will definitely add coconut flavor.

Raw coconut oil - Also very, very nutritious and has a strong flavor. One teaspoon is enough. It tends to solidify when combined with frozen ingredients, but the strong blenders will still mix it in completely.

Tahini - This is my other secret ingredient. I've come to love Tahini, which is a creamy spread made entirely from lightly roasted sesame seeds. It contributes a great flavor and lots of thickness. I use 1-3 tablespoons, though I don't measure, I just pour it in.

Nuts and seeds - Raw nuts and seeds are very healthy and contain excellent fats and proteins. My favorites to add to this smoothie are cashew, almond and sunflower seeds. They are also great for thickening.

Cinnamon - Cinnamon adds a great flavor. I buy it whole and ground it in a coffee grinder.

Nutmeg - Much like cinnamon. A little goes a long way.

Ground Seaweed - Seaweed is one of the most complete nutritious superfoods. I buy it dried and either ground it first in a coffee grinder or if it's fairly ground already I put it straight into the Blendtec, which is very powerful. A teaspoon of powder is very nutritious and doesn't alter the taste of the smoothie.

Fresh Arugula - Sounds crazy, I know, but fresh arugula leaves are extremely healthy and if you don't go crazy with them, they don't affect the taste. When you get used to them as I have, you'll enjoy their subtle presence.

Whey protein powder - This is optional for those who are working out and taking whey protein as a supplement.

Raw eggs - This is another optional ingredient for those wanting added protein. Be careful to use only organic eggs from a known source. I get them from my own chickens.

The Taste is AMAZING!, and the Rush Even Better
My açai smoothies are the best tasting smoothies in the world (biased opinion). I've experimented with any and all combinations of the above, also altering quantities of each ingredient. Do what works best for you!

Ref: Gringoes.com

Salvador International Airport

2013-04-16T19:23:00.001-04:00

Here is a link to a very helpful site about the Salvador International Airport.

http://www.aeroportosalvador.net/en/salvador-airport-guide

There is a mall in the airport as well as two cambios (foreign exchange stores). Banco do Brasil, the central bank in Brazil also has a branch in the mall. The Federal Police have a station located near the airport entrance.

There are plenty of restaurants, travel agencies, and pretty much anything else you may need upon arriving or passing thru the Salvador airport.

As long as you aren't trying to smuggle in anything illegal you should have a pretty pleasant and relatively easy trip. The airport is fairly modern and convenient. ALL of the Policia Federal detectives speak fluent English. Don't let them fool you, LOL.

They want you to at least try to speak Portuguese and many times will not let it be known that they speak English however they do or else they would not be working at the airport station. Just wanted to share that because anyone who stays longer than 90 days will have to visit the Policia Federal at the airport to get show them their visa.

These bamboo trees form a tunnel at the entrance to Salvador's airport.

The REAL Scoop On Brazil | No Punches Pulled

2013-03-24T02:25:00.001-04:00

Read This Only If You Want The REAL Scoop On Brazil That You WON’T Find Anywhere Else!

Now that I've gotten your attention...

Below is advice from one dude to another.

I haven’t made any posts on this site for a while. I’ve been pretty busy lately, traveling and living offline. I needed to write this post though as I receive a ton of mail from different people asking a lot of similar questions.

(if you want to hear this from a female's perspective check out my wife's post on her blog here)

First off, I just want to thank all the people who follow this blog as well as the new readers and even the folks who just found this site while looking for pictures of Brazilian women or some other Brazil-related topic.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, the reason I wrote this post is to answer questions for anyone looking to move to Brazil (or any other 3^rd world country overseas).

Every week I receive emails from people who are intrigued by the possibility of living overseas, in particular in Brazil. I’m cool with that as I can relate and understand where everyone is coming from.

To be honest after so many years of receiving these types of emails I am no longer motivated to answer this type of question over and over again so I am writing this post. From now on I can refer people who are asking about moving to Brazil here and also to help people looking up this type of info online.

One of the MAJOR traits shared by 90% of the people who contact me about moving to Brazil is that the person has NEVER visited the country before. Some of the people have traveled outside of their country of birth but many have not done so before.

Here’s my advice.

If you are considering moving to a country such as Brazil you need to do a couple of things if you are serious. You absolutely need to physically visit the country. I cannot tell you if you will like living here and neither can anyone else. Brazil is very different from countries like the USA in multiple different aspects.

The first thing you absolutely need to do is get a passport and more than likely, a visa as well. You will need to find the Brazilian Consulate closest to you if you are required to get a visa. Once you do that, you have taken the biggest steps towards visiting the country.

nice Jamaica

Even visiting can be misleading if you only stay for 4 days to a week because more than likely you will be in a hotel or resort-type setting. There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s just that this can skew your viewpoint of permanently living in Brazil. I’ll use an example of what I mean to better illustrate. Say you visit Jamaica and stay at a nice resort. Everything is clean, high quality, and fairly modern. You might be staying right next to the beach, with a wonderful view and sparkling clean water.

not so nice Jamaica

This visit to Jamaica may have you wanting to leave behind everything you know and high tail it to Jamaica. Reality Check. Unless you are making a lot of money you cannot afford to live full-time in a resort like your vacation spot. You will find that most of the island is not as high quality and up-to-date as the resort either. Crime and pollution are clear and present realities in the everyday life of the island residents in place of the calm and pristine state of the vacation resort.

In addition to this, even if you could afford to live in an area similar to the vacation resort there are certain inconveniences that you cannot escape. Groceries, electronics, and quality products such as clothing are very expensive compared to a place such as the United States. You may come to have an issue with how slowly things move compared to what you are used to.

With a country such as Jamaica for example you have to be completely real and honest about WHY you want to leave a country that most Jamaicans would pay to be able to live in permanently. It wouldn’t make since for you to leave the US for Jamaica considering there are more Jamaicans living in the US than on the island! The same goes for Puerto Rico as well. If the homeland was so wonderful why are the residents leaving in droves and not returning?

Jamaica is actually trying to figure out what it can do to keep from losing so many of its citizens to the US and Britain (check the article). Right now the island has nothing to entice its people to come back home. Mexico may not have more Mexicans living abroad in the US versus within its borders but there are so many Mexicans who would risk life and limb to come to the US that it would make no sense at all for a US citizen to seriously consider moving there.

You have to pay attention to the trends. The people leaving their homelands for the US in droves are not stupid. They are heading to the US for a higher quality of living. Even though Brazil is on the rise it still has far more in common with these countries than it does with the US. From an infrastructure standpoint Brazil is possibly a century or more behind the US.

If you permanently moved overseas you will find that things also are nowhere near as convenient as they were back home. All types of things that you used to take for granted will now be seen as commodities that are harder to come by. One prime example of this that you will encounter in Brazil is that the houses are not built as sturdy. If you thought contractors cut corners when building houses in the US you haven’t seen anything yet! You have to be careful with things such as plugging in your high end devices to the electric sockets because the wiring is more than likely not very good and could blow out your device. You also have to keep in mind that the extreme poverty of the majority of the local population will cause many to see you as a walking ATM machine.

That was just an example but it can be applied to many destinations that people want to expatriate to in Central and South America. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

This is why it is very important to visit Brazil and be honest with yourself about what you are and are not willing to compromise on.

Everyone does not always agree or see eye to eye in the United States but the government is for the most part stable. Brazil just got over a 20 year military dictatorship in the late 80s. Brazilians who opposed the leadership in any way were murdered, tortured (including current president Dilma Rousseff), and deported.

The aftermath of this era has created a large percentage of the population that is still not inclined to speak out against corruption on a local and national level. Brazil is a democracy now, but the switch over is still recent enough to be in the memory of current citizens.

You have to keep in mind that if you actually live in Brazil, versus just visiting there are many factors that lesson the quality of life. I do not want it to come off as if I am bashing Brazil. I actually like Brazil, know many people who live there, and have lived there myself. It’s a great country with its own positives and drawbacks just like everywhere else.

There are multiple reasons why the United States always has millions of people attempting to gain residency. Brazil does not have a list of millions of people waiting to immigrate there. The quality of life in the USA is way higher than in Brazil. For every person who is serious about leaving the USA there are literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people coming from nations such as Brazil who would give anything to be able to live in the USA permanently.

There is a huge amount of the population of Brazil living in abject poverty unlike anything experienced in the United States. When you visit a large city such as Salvador or Rio in Brazil you will see lots of high rise condominiums as well as slums (called favelas). This shows the stark contrast between the rich and poor. What most people do not realize is that the vast majority of the population lives in poverty. There are literally seas of favelas on the outskirts of Salvador such as Cajazeiras that most visitors have never seen. These slums are so large that they encompass everything as far as the eye can see. This is where the majority of the population lives.

In many ways traveling to Brazil from the USA is kind of like going back in time to what I imagine the 1920s - 1950s would have been like. I mean this in good ways and also in not so great ways. On the bright side, family is still important in Brazil. Relationships, whether friendly or platonic, are highly valued. The older population is very well-respected and relevant, unlike the USA when many elders are pushed to the background and sent to nursing homes. People still use donkeys and horses in the middle of the city to haul all types of things. I have seen men on horseback in the middle of the street while people drove by during traffic.

One more thing I love about Brazil.
If you trip and fall or drop something and some teenagers are around...

In Brazil they will more than likely help you.
In the USA more than likely they will laugh at you.

Don't get me wrong. They aren't innocent. They are still teenagers but it's not common for people to be cold and mean-spirited in Brazil.

People are for the most part kinder. Not everyone but enough people on average that its officially part of the culture. In the same way that Brazilians are more family oriented and children are cherished.

The culture of the state of Bahia is so dynamic and vibrant. People all over the world are amazed at the rich Afro Brazilian art, music, and cuisine that is similar to various aspects of African culture but at the same time unlike anything else in the world. Salvador is the mecca for Capoeira and Candomble. This site is filled with information showing you these wonderful aspects of Bahian culture.

Brazilian society overall still hasn’t fallen as far as the USA. People still care about their neighbor to an extent and have morals. They do not have a problem with school shootings. Obesity, however, is a new phenomenon there (we can thank capitalism for that). Genetically modified foods haven’t completely taken over the supermarkets although I have noticed more modified foods creeping in every year.

Life in general is simpler in Brazil.

However on the not-so-bright side racial relations remind me of pre-Civil Rights Movement USA. In some ways traveling to Brazil from the US is like the scene in the movie Men In Black 3 where Will Smith’s Agent J character is about to go back in time to the 60s. The guy helping him time jump warns him that as a black man traveling in that time period, “It wasn’t the best time for your people.”

Where do I begin? In the state of Bahia, the region with the highest percentage of Brazilians of African heritage it is very rare to find a black person with a significant position of power or prestige. Take the banks for example. There are virtually no black people working any positions besides the armed guards and the clean-up crews. You may find a few light-skinned bank tellers but even that is rare (like a teller is a prestigious position, lol).

You can forget about any black mayors, governors, or senators. Not in Brazil. There are some black business owners and a few others who have managed to obtain high positions however they are the exception. Brazil definitely has a lot of work to do in this regard.

With that said as an African American, I never experienced any racism aimed at myself in particular. There are two things that skew my perspective though. I am light-skinned. While that doesn’t make any difference in the USA, it does make a huge difference in how one is perceived in Brazil.

I didn't experience any racism directly however check this out. One day two of my friends from America came to visit me. I was living in a condominium with security at the front door. The guards never let anyone in without calling my condo first. So basically my friends were downstairs telling the doorman in Portuguese that they were there to visit me. He didn't believe them. One of them had to call me on his cell phone to let me know they were downstairs.

The doorman didn't even call me to tell me that someone was downstairs so that I could at least come and see who it was. Oh yeah they were both darker complexioned than me and had dreadlocks. I guess he took one look at them and just knew they were up to something, lol. They knew my name, spoke English, and everything but he didn't even let me know they were downstairs because they were too black. (Shout out Joe and Amar!) Another funny thing is, the doorman was black!

So the complexion of my skin did have an impact on my experience in Brazil. My being American also had a huge impact on how people viewed and treated me in Brazil. Americans are perceived of as being rich. Race does not matter as much if you are American, or from another rich country like the UK.

I empathize with the plight facing black Brazilians. It would be nice to see more parity in administrative positions, especially in places like Bahia that are overwhelmingly black. The TV shows in my opinion do not accurately reflect the population either. The majority of the TV stars, especially the novellas are white, with the only black actors in servant roles. The only TV shows and movies I saw that featured black actors who weren’t servants or famous singers were American shows dubbed in Portuguese. If it wasn’t for TV shows like Everybody Hates Chris or My Wife and Kids there would not be any shows in Brazil featuring a black family in a positive light.

There is a huge underclass in Brazil as well. Brazil started out as a monarchy when the prince of Portugal decided to split from Portugal set up his own kingdom. It is in many ways still similar to a medieval monarchy with the vast majority of the people living in peasant-like conditions.

In the major cities such as Rio de Janeiro these conditions are like a pressure cooker about to explode. The police and military are regularly at war with the drug lords who control the favelas. The crazy part is that in many cases the favelas are right next to million dollar condo buildings.

Do not take the crime factor for granted! Seriously, I had three neighbors get robbed at gunpoint leaving the condominium. It's ridiculous. There was a poor neighborhood called Inferninho, "Little Inferno" or "Little Hell" right next to the nice buildings. It's not a joke. You have to watch yourself.

Hopefully for Brazil’s future the money being spent to clean up the country in advance of the Olympics and World Cup actually goes towards improving the lives of the majority of its citizens.

I do not think the governing officials have grasped the concept of how big an impact maintaining a huge underclass does to hold back the progress of the entire nation. You cannot keep the vast majority of people living in abject poverty and lacking in education and expect to lead the world into the future.

With all the things stated, Brazil still has an allure that causes some people to forgo the luxuries of living in countries such as the US and embrace the laid back, tropical culture of this exciting nation.

Personally my experienced was really soured by the public relations disaster that occurred last year when a fraction of the police force in Salvador decided to go on strike during Carnival. I’ll share a rundown on what happened from the experience of someone who was at ground zero – me.

In a nutshell this is what went down…

A few weeks before Carnival in 2012 there was talk that the military police in Brazil would go on strike. Strikes occur every year in Brazil pretty much across the board. Everyone from the banks, public transportation, to the school teachers go on strike on a yearly basis. This is basically how the workers get their wages increased. For everyone else it can be annoying as the busses may be down or on limited service for a few days or even a week. The schools close down and banks are not open so anything that you can’t accomplish at the ATM will not get done. There is basically nothing you can do about it when they occur.

Now, back to the police strike. Brazil has three main police forces that make up a hierarchy. The military police patrol the streets and deal with the riff raff on a daily basis. They are the lowest paid and make up the bottom of the pyramid. The civil police investigate crimes. Basically they are the detectives and form the 2^nd tier of the power structure. The federal police handle national crimes such as trafficking and smuggling and are the top paid division on average.

The military police are paid so low on average that many of them live in poor neighborhoods. Seriously, I don’t understand why the government doesn’t pay them better. A faction of the military police wanted to go on strike for better wages. Their commanding officers informed them that they were not in a good position to go on strike.

I believe the reasoning behind their leaders decision was that a strike would be illegal or maybe they were wise enough to know that going on strike during Carnival would make Brazil look bad to the world. Either way, this faction did not take heed to their commanding officers and organized one of the dumbest strikes in history.

They did this a few days before Carnival was set to start. Maybe the masterminds behind the strike thought this would panic Bahia’s governor but it did not work. Basically nothing happened. The state government ignored their demands and business carried on as usual. The strike in essence was not a well-thought out idea. The strikers only comprised 20 percent of Bahia’s 31,000 state police force.

While thousands of striking officers decided to stay off the street there were still well over 20,000 active police officers in Bahia who were not on strike. There was no increase in crime. This is when things started to get really stupid and scary. The leaders behind the strike began to cross the line into criminal territory.

The striking police officers started committing crimes to strike fear into the hearts of the people. They literally robbed and killed people. They donned masks and organized the local stick-up kids to carry out their dirty work. Officers with hoods on their heads roamed the streets armed and pulled over buses to threaten the people inside. The entire state of Bahia was on lock down as it became very dangerous to leave the house.

It got so bad that the governor called in the military to help restore order and also to arrest the striking police. The military presence did make things safer because more people were able to leave the house and carry out their daily duties without a fear of being robbed or killed. The presence of soldiers armed to the teeth with assault rifles on the street and patrolling the beach was also very intimidating. It made Brazil look like an unstable war zone.

maybe it's just me but armed soldiers makes me want to stay away from the beach

Basically it sucked.

The leaders behind the strike had barricaded themselves in a public building for days. They held out during Carnival and had to be apprehended by the military for the strike to officially end. The situation was very tense and messy for Brazil as officers in other states were considering carrying out similar strikes. Brazil could have easily been in a state of turmoil.

This event put a black eye on the image of Brazil right on the heels of the government sending troops and tanks into the favelas of Rio to exterminate the drug lords and crime rings in the previous year. Most tourists decided to stay home or party elsewhere for Carnival 2012. I can only imagine how much money Salvador lost because of that event.

This police strike was messed up on so many levels. The strikers killed and robbed people, but worst of all they extorted the people of the state of Bahia. They played off of the ignorance of the general public and created a state of fear in order to get what they wanted. The bad part is that this is very easy to do in Brazil.

I don’t know about Britain but in the US people have the right to own as many guns as they want. Brazilians have no constitutional right to bear arms. The police would not be able to extort the people like that in the US (not that they would be stupid enough to try). Americans don’t like being pushed around either.

Don't just take my word for it...Click the jump.

So why did I share this story?

Because Brazil is more than just beautiful people, beaches, Carnival, samba, and booty (threw that in to see if you were paying attention, lol). Brazil is a very complex nation, just like everywhere else, with its own advantages and drawbacks. It is very easy to fall in love with the place, especially if you are just visiting.

Most people that move to Brazil find themselves constantly setting back the threshold of what they are willing to tolerate in order to keep up the idea that they can live and thrive in this perplexing nation. People who move to Brazil say things like “I can go without hot water coming out of the faucet” or “the dog shit and trash everywhere doesn’t even phase me”. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, "I don't mind not being able to drink the water".

One can only pretend for so long though. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to live somewhere where life is more convenient and the quality of living is higher. The water thing is serious though. I mean just because you are drinking bottled water doesn't negate the fact that you are still cooking and bathing in the unclean water coming out of the faucets. It's still soaking into your skin pores.

Most people I know talk like that while they are in Brazil and then as soon as they get back home they realize how much they took everything for granted. On the other hand, some people just complain about everything while they are in Brazil (which makes no sense, why don’t they just leave?)

Between the USA and Brazil there is absolutely no comparison between the quality of life. Right now at this very moment there are millions of people in the world who would marry you (if you are a US citizen) in a heartbeat so they can obtain the right to stay in the US legally.

If you have plans on investing in Brazil, just want to travel and explore, or even if you are after the beautiful women don’t let this article deter you. Definitely go for it but do it with your eyes wide open. I’m not on the payroll for the department of tourism so you can rest assured I’m just keeping it real.

If you are seriously considering purchasing property or any other business venture in Brazil get some consulting beforehand whether its someone you can trust or someone you hire (contact me). You don’t want to get taken advantage of. Unfortunately, no matter what some people in Brazil will always see the gringo (YOU) as an ATM with deep pockets. You definitely need someone looking out for you if you plan on circulating any serious money in Brazil.

Keep this in mind, right now real estate prices are rising in Brazil, in some cases like Rio and Sao Paulo the rates are ridiculous. Financially well-off Brazilians are buying up real estate in the US, especially in Florida because they feel it is more stable than the rising condominiums and homes in their country. Prices are rising at an outrageous pace because of greed fueled by the anticipation of foreign investment in lieu of the coming Olympics and the World Cup.

You don’t want any piece of this housing bubble when it bursts.

If you come to Brazil in search of beautiful women do your thing but here is a piece of advice. How do I say this? If you choose to wife one up, DO NOT BRING HER TO THE UNITED STATES! It’s not a good idea. Chances are that she will become Americanized which would completely ruin the point of marrying a Brazilian women in the first place. Trust me, you don't want her to copy American women. Brazilian men pretty much have it made. Once she gets a taste of how American women are living you will have to replace her.

There is also the possibility that she is secretly plotting on marrying you so that she can attain the highly valued green card. LISTEN! If you are planning on returning back to the States together she may be planning her escape from your ass once y'all touch down.

don't do it!

Seriously, don’t delude yourself in any way.

Keep your eyes wide open when you are dealing with Brazil and you can have a great experience!

Brazil is a great place to visit but overall it is a work in progress. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. It is going to take a while and some serious commitment to cleaning things up. Of course there is also the argument that nothing in Brazil needs to change.

That is a valid point as Brazil is already perfect as it is in its own little way.

Peace out,

Feel free to comment below

(if you want to hear this from a female's perspective check out my wife's post on her blog here)

Prostitutes in Brazil are Offered Free English Classes Before the World Cup

2013-01-10T13:04:00.002-05:00

You gotta admit this story is kinda funny. Then again maybe its not.

Well, English is the international language of business and they say prostitution is the oldest profession on Earth.

English is more than likely to be the connector language for visitors to Brazil regardless of what country they are coming from.

I wonder who came up with this proposal? That's pretty funny.
Out of all the different professions available someone felt the most important ones that need to be able to communicate with international tourists was the hookers. AND other people agreed with him!

I don't think the communication factor really mattered too much for most guys coming to Brazil to hook up with women.
Who knows some guy somewhere is probably jumping up and down after hearing this news because he wants a Brazilian hooker that will listen to and understand him.

All jokes aside prostitution is legal in Brazil (apparently though pimping is not legal). Business is business.

Prostitutes in one of Brazil's biggest cities are signing up for free English classes ahead of this year's Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup.

Cida Vieira, president of the Association of Prostitutes in the city of Belo Horizonte, has said 20 women have already signed up for the courses. Vieira expects that up to 300 of the 4,000 members will attend the classes by the end of the year.

Pollyana Temponi, 27, who has been a "sex professional for three years," says the English will be useful to negotiate prices and agree on what kind of services they will perform.
"All jobs require English nowadays," she says.

Here is the more wholesome, family-friendly marketing material for the World Cup in Brazil featuring a cartoon armadillo character.

This is the Brazil for grown ups version. The real reason everyone wants to visit Brazil.

I don't want to hear anything about Brazil not wanting to be associated wit sex tourism though!

Hey don't hate on Brazil's for being soo sexy.
Sex sells...something tells me Brazil knows this!

Source:
http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/dailylife/1212230-belo-horizonte-prostitutes-have-free-english-classes-to-prepare-for-the-world-cup.shtml

http://m.peacefmonline.com/pages/foreign/sports/201301/152596.php

http://deadspin.com/5974288/brazilian-prostitutes-learning-english-for-the-world-cup

US Consulate In Brazil | Salvador Consular Agency

2012-10-01T10:08:00.000-04:00

Complete and thorough information on the US Consulate in Brazil located in Salvador, Bahia Brasil

US Consulate in Brazil located in Salvador, Bahia Brasil

The US Consulate in Brazil located in Salvador da Bahia operates by appointment only, except for emergency services. Emergencies include - death, arrest, stolen or lost passports. You can schedule your appointment by sending an email to the email address below. By scheduling your appointment through email, we can provide more efficient service to the public and you have more flexibility in scheduling your appointment time. Appointment requests via phone are not accepted. Please note that there is no fee to schedule an appointment.

Please arrive in the section 15 minutes prior to your appointment time.

Services requiring email appointments:

U.S. Passport Services
U.S. Citizenship & Report of Birth Abroad
Notary and Other Services

To schedule an appointment, please email: amcon99@terra.com.br, Heather Marques U.S. Consular
OR

American Citizen’s Services e-mail: acs1salvador@gmail.com which the Consular Assistant opens every day.

US Consulate in Brazil | Bahia Brasil Consular Office

The U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro maintains a Consular Agency in Salvador to provide the services above described to all American Citizens located in the area of Bahia state.

The US Consulate office in Salvador is located in the Salvador Trade Center.

Important! U.S. citizen services for the consular agency must be scheduled through email. Check the Salvador page for instructions on how to schedule your appointment.

Address:
Salvador Trade Center, room 1401, Torre Sul,
Avenida Tancredo Neves, 1632,
Caminho das Árvores
41820-020 Salvador, Bahia

Phones:
Tel.: (71) 3113-2090 / 3113-2091
Fax: (71) 3113-2092
Working Hours: 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Mondays thru Fridays), except on Brazilian and U.S. holidays.

The US Consulate in Brazil offers many services for American citizens. In addition it is a good idea to keep the Consulate updated with your current address if you live in Brazil. This way the US Consulate can keep you updated in case of any emergencies. They also keep a list of physicians, lawyers and other professionals.

The US Consulate in Salvador does not process visas for Brazilian citizens. Brazilians will need to contact the US Embassy in Brazil in order to apply for a visa or the US Consulate in Rio de Janeiro. The nearest Consulate that will process visas is located in Recife.

Fees - U.S. Citizen Services

Service	Fee (US$)
Notary Services:
Authentication of Public Sworn Translators signatures	50.00
Certify True Copy	50.00
Inscription Letter	50.00
Authentication of Individual signatures	50.00
Passport Services:
Passport Book - Adult (over 16 years old) First-time or replacement of Lost/Stolen Passport	135.00
Passport Book - Minor (under 16 years old)	105.00
Passport Book Renewal - Adult (over 16 years old)	110.00
Passport Card - Adult	55.00
Passport Card - Child	40.00
Renewal of Passport Card - Adult (applying with DS-82)	30.00
Additional Passport Book pages*	82.00
Name change (passport was issued less than a year ago) and other data correction	No fee
Name Change (passport was issued more than one year and you can legally document the change)	110.00
Name Change (passport was issued at anytime and you cannot legally document the change)	135.00
Other Passport Amendments (name change, etc)	No fee
Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship	450.00
Report of Birth Abroad of a child of a U.S. Citizen	100.00

CHECK STATUS
Check the Status of Your Passport Application Online

When Monkeys Attack | Info on Brazil Wildlife | Monkeys in Brazil

2012-08-02T22:06:00.000-04:00

You know how sometimes you are walking down the street and you see a pack of micos everywhere? Especially when someone has bananas or some other fruit that is about to go bad and they sit it out for the monkeys instead of throwing it away.

It happens like this:
1st Someone leaves some fruit out and a few monkeys come down from the trees to devour it.

just in case don't know what a mico is...here they are

2nd A couple more show up...

3rd Before you know it like 20 of these little guys show up to join the feast!

they started to realize they were being filmed

We have had some fruit bandits before in the past. I set out a mango that wasn't even ripe and they gobbled it up. Micos are gangster! The seed was still spinning in the air.

Here's a little background info on the micos:

According to Wikipedia, "Brazil has the largest mammal diversity in the world, with more than 600 described species and, probably, many yet to be discovered... Mico is a genus of New World monkeys of the family Callitrichidae, the family containing marmosets and tamarins."

I was looking up Brazil wildlife online to see what the experts at Wikipedia had to say about monkeys in Brazil, particular these little guys that we see all the time. They didn't list any mico species as having their habitat in the state of Bahia but obviously noone has informed these monkeys.

They can be found all over the place, pretty much anywhere you find trees, you will find monkeys. I remember the 1st time we visited the zoo there were more monkeys out rooming freely in the area around the zoo than there were inside the zoo exhibit.

So back to the micos...
These guys run the airwaves too. You can pretty much assume that they are overhead watching you if there are any trees nearby. They use the telephone wires and electric wires to travel throughout the city.

I realized this one day when I looked up and saw one monkey in a tree. I took a closer look and realized there was at least 7 in that tree. After that I noticed them everywhere. They were in all the trees and walking along the wires overhead. It was crazy. I never noticed them like that before. Sometimes I might see one or two but they were and always are all over the place.

Hope you enjoy that short video of the urban wildlife here is Bahia.

Micos are one of several types of macocos (monkeys) found in Brazil. You can even buy them (ahem, illegally) on the street in some feiras (markets).

Orishá Statues at Dique Do Tororo | Orixás Candomble in Bahia Brasil

2012-07-16T18:11:00.001-04:00

The orishá live in Bahia, Brasil. They are alive and well. This is especially evident in Salvador, the state capital of Bahia. Depictions of the orishá (orixás alt. spelling), are found in the various ruas (streets) and plazas of Salvador, Bahia, Brasil. They are literally visible throughout the city. The Orishá are the deities of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomble.

One example is the painted mermaid statue in the neighborhood of Rio Vermelho associated with Yemanja, mother goddess figure, which overlooks the sea. Another example is the statue of Exu, the orishá who manages all types of communication and guardian of the crossroads, which is located, fittingly, in front of Salvador’s central correiro (post office).

One of the most impressive depictions of the orishá, however, is located on a big lake and recreation park in the middle of the city called Dique do Tororo, which contains a group of orishá statues dancing in a circle on the surface of the water. Dique do Tororo looks just as impressive as it sounds.

Throughout this article you will see photos taken by my wife while visiting Dique do Tororo with a friend. She took a boat tour that is available daily for only $20 reais. We definitely recommend the boat tour for anyone visiting Bahia, Brasil. Be sure to check out our Bahia Tour site to schedule any tours in Bahia.

First let’s talk a little about "The Most African City of Brazil", Salvador, Bahia.

The African presence is clear and unmistakable in Salvador, where a large portion of the population is of Afro-Brazilian descent. Bahian cuisine, centered around ingredients like palm oil, okra, and black-eyed peas, fit right in with West African culture. The dominant popular music has African rhythms as well. Candomble is often held up as a representation of the synchronization of Africa in Bahia because of its strong influences from West African traditions.

In 2001 there was a State Board of Culture and Tourism sponsored billboard campaign that referred to Salvador as "Black City: The Most African City of Brazil". This campaign addresses the reality that Bahia, Brasil’s distinctive "African" identity does a great job at selling Bahia to tourists from other parts of Brazil and out of the country. Another principal method to attract national and international tourists to Bahia was the merging of a universalized form of Candomble into the rotation of festivals endorsed by the state and local governments.

This helped to provide Candomble with prominence and perceived authenticity in mainstream society (Crowley 1984, Crowley and Ross 1981, Dantas 1988, Graden 2006, Lopes 2004:856, Pinho 2006, Santos 1998, 2000, Selka 2005, 2007, Shukla 1998, Van der Port 2005, 2007). It should be mentioned that the acceptance of Candomble, the Afro-Brazilian martial art Capoeira, and other cultural traditions classified by mainstream culture as "African" is fairly recent in the history of Bahia.

Many Baianos/Baianas take pride in Salvador's African-Brazilian identity. Several Baianos describe their city as more "exotic" and "African" than the cosmopolitan areas to the south, in particular the metropolises of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Sacred lake of the Orishá

For followers of Candomble Dique do Tororo (Dike of Tororo) is one of the residences of Oxum (Oshun), orishá of fresh water, lakes, and fountains. In one tradition, during the month of December several female practitioners of Candomble visit the holy lake at Dique do Tororo to deposit baskets of gifts and flowers in honor of the Orishá (Orixás). Practiotioners of Candomble who are the children of the Orishá Ogum visit Dique do Tororo on Tuesdays to make their prayers and offerings. To pay homage to this sacred site the city commissioned the plastic sculptor Tati Moreno to create sculptures of the major deities of Candomble.

Eight of the Orishá statues at Dique do Tororo are inside of water in a circle. They are as follows: Oxala (the father of all deities), Iemanjá (goddess the sea and mother of deities), Oxum (goddess of rivers, lakes and fountains), Ogum (god of iron and war), Oxóssi (god of forests and hunting), Shango (god of thunder and lightning), Nana (the oldest of the deities) and Iansã (the goddess of war and storms). The Orishá (Orixás) Candomble statues are in a wheel position similar to the one of the Filhos-de-santo (sons of the saint) in terraces (houses) of Candomble. At the center of the wheel is a water fountain with a blast of 40 meters in height.

Orixás Candomble History in Bahia Brasil

Only a century ago, the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomble was a veiled secret in Bahia, Brasil and its capital city, Salvador. How time has changed things. Nowadays, the secret religion shrouded in mystery is accepted as a relevant part of local history, cultural pride, and now it has its own monument and park (Dique do Tororo). Eight giant statues of orixás, the deities of Candomble, were dedicated in the Dique do Tororo, a lake in the center of downtown Salvador.

The Orishá statues, by the sculptor Tatti Moreno, weigh 2 tons each and are more than 22 feet tall. The Orishá sculptures are constructed of fiberglass over iron frameworks. In the evening the Orishá statues are illuminated and look as if they are hovering above the water in a circle dancing around a lighted fountain. These monuments were made to honor Brazil's African heritage, which is strongest felt in the state of Bahia.

Candomble is the Brazilian relative of Santeria in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and Voodoo in Haiti. Candomble is a New World tradition and rebirth of the Yoruba religion that arrived in the Americas with African slaves. Brazil was the main importer of slaves in the Americas when Salvador, with its superior natural port, was Brazil's capital and foremost trading center under the Portuguese empire. The descendants of those African slaves make Bahia the state with Brazil's greatest percentage of Afro-Brazilians.

The orixás do Candomblé (orishás of Candomble) are worshiped as mighty, impulsive beings, all with their own aspects. The Orishá are linked with specific colors, specific occupations, several natural phenomena, and certain days of the week. In the course of Candomble ceremonies, drumming and incantation help transport devotees into a trance where they are possessed by the spirit of an Orishá. These same rhythms and traditional drumming have trickled into Brazilian popular music.

Colonial overseers unsuccessfully tried to eradicate Candomble, which survived, by continuing to worship the African deities in the guise of Christian saints in a similar manner to the way Santeria and Voodoo were carried on throughout the Caribbean. An example is the veneration of the Virgin Mary, for instance, who is equated with Iemanja (Yemaya), the goddess of the sea, who also wears white. Another example is the aged Omolu who is matched to Lazarus.

In the early 20^th century, the Candomble ceremonies were still subjected to police raids. It was not until 1976 that Candomble practitioners were able to carry on without 1^st obtaining permits from the police vice squad. In Salvador a city that has churches all over the place, it is estimated to have at least double the amount of Candomble houses as it does churches. Brasil is 90 percent Roman Catholic. In Bahia, Brasil many of the faithful attend both Catholic Mass and Candomble ceremonies.

The Orishá Statues at Dique Do Tororo

A long time ago Candomble followers chose the lake at Dique do Tororo as a sacred site for Oxum (Oshun), the goddess who rules lakes. On a worldly level, the lake has lately been salvaged by the city from years of pollution and negligence. The orishá statues are part of a rehabilitation that includes landscaping and playgrounds around the lake's perimeter.

From the shore, the orishás (orixás) appear to be females wearing long dresses. They are actually male and female deities wearing African robes. It's well worth taking a short boat trip or bringing along binoculars for a closer look.

The Orishá Statues at Dique Do Tororo have intricately designed robes and crowns decorated in their traditional colors. Each Orishá carries the symbols of their godhood. For example Ogum (Ogun), the patron of people who work with their hands, carries a saw, hammer, and drill while Xango (Shango), the deity of fire, thunder, and drums, holds a two-bladed axe. The orishás (orixás) faces are black, brown and tan, and their features are African, Indian and European, reflecting the mixture of worshipers that the sculptor, Mr. Moreno sees at Candomble services.

As a mixture of public and religious art, the Orishá statues at Dique do Tororo involved a certain amount of diplomacy. A Protestant evangelical church, which had planned to purchase a building on the lake shore, protested the possibility of having African deities on its doorstep. Ultimately, the Orishas (orixás)won out as the church agreed to move to another location.

Eight orishás command the lake at Dique do Tororo. This is an incredible site to behold, a monument to African gods in Bahia, Brasil. Four remaining deities in the pantheon, whose attributes inhibit them from living on the water, have been created to stand in other sites around Salvador.

Here is some more info on the Major Orishá

Major Orishás

Exu/Elegba (Eshu)
The divine messenger. Also known as the trickster. Dominion: Rules the beneficial and detrimental forces of the universe.

Oxala
Father of the orishás. The great orishá. Dominion: Procreation, creative force of nature, death, peace. Colors: White, marble, gold. Symbols: Shepherd's staff, shells, gold, lead Dance: Unclear.

Iemanja (Yemanja)
Mother of the Fish. Dominion: Water, mothers, wives, families. Colors: Light milky blue, light pink, white. Symbols: Silver cutlass, star, a round silver fan with an etched figure of a mermaid. Dance: Soft movements of the hands, as if parting the waters.

Ogun
God of War, god of demands. Dominion: War, vengeance, sculpture. defender of law, agriculture and surgery. Colors: Dark blue, red and white. Symbols: Crossed swords, scalpel, sickle, breadfruit tree. Dance: Stabbing the air with a sword.

Oxum (Oshun)
Named for an African river. Dominion: femininity, charity, the womb, middle depths of the sea. Colors: Gold, yellow, blue. Symbols: Mirror, dagger. Dance: Like a woman taking a bath in the river, Or sensually combing her hair.

Xango (Shango)
God of Lightening and Justice. Dominion: Law, justice, tempests, knowledge. Colors: Red, brown, white and purple. Symbols: Double-bladed ax, thunder and lightening bolts, javelin. Dance: Clenched fists boxing each other.

Iansa (Oya)
The thunder mother, goddess of the storm and vengeance. Wife of Shango. Dominion: Wind, tempests, vengeance and spirits of the dead. Colors: Coral, yellow, red, brown and white. Symbols: A horse tail whip, cutlass, copper chalice and thunder bolts. Dance: one hand on the waist, the other trembling in the wind.

Nana
Mother of the Orishás. Dominion: The portal of death, the deep sea, ruins and deep wells. Colors: White, dark blue, purple. Symbols: Broom, cowrie shells and ribbons. Dance: Curved over a cane and moving like an old woman.

Omulu
octor of the Poor. Dominion: illness, cemeteries, sickbeds. Colors: Scarlet, yellow, black, gray. Symbols: A miniature iron lance, two thick wooden clubs. Dance: Curved over a cane like an old man.

Oxossi (Ochossi)
God of the Forest and the Hunt. Dominion: Hunting, forest, cultivation, the law of Christ. Colors: Green and yellow, green and white, light blue. Symbols: Wooden bow and arrow, miniature rifle, fig tree, leather hat or crown with feathers.

Source:

Heather Shirey's article, "Transforming the Orixás. Candomblé in Sacred and Secular Spaces in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil," was published in the winter 2009 issue of African Arts (volume 42.4, 62-79). For information, go to http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/afar/42/4.

FOOD FROM BRAZIL: MOORISH INFLUENCE

2012-06-21T21:49:00.001-04:00

The food from Brazil is just as interesting and diverse as the people and landscape of this thriving melting pot. There has been heavy influence from the various immigrants to the country as well as the indigenous population.

This post will focus on the heavy Moorish influence on Brazilian cuisine coming from an interesting mix of Portugal, African slaves, and Arab immigrants. Portugal at the time of the colonization of Brazil was a nation recovering from a lengthy period of Moorish occupation. Many of the colonist were Christianized Moors, or moriscos. Also, a little known fact is that Brazil has the largest Arab population outside of the Middle East.

The Moorish Influence on Food From Brazil

The Moorish influenced remained in Portuguese culture as evident in the cuisine and language. Many Portuguese words have Arabic roots such as orange (laranja in Portuguese; from the Arabic naranj نارنج) and rice (arroz in Portuguese; from the Arabic al-ruzz). Both rice and oranges were brought to Spain and Portugal by the Moors.

The Arab influence is so deeply embedded in to Brazilian culture that most do not realize how prevalent it is. It has just been integrated as Brazilian. In the main Brazilian cities it is easy to find restaurants that cook Arabic food such as sfihas (Portuguese esfirra), tabbouleh (Portuguese tabule), kibbeh (Portuguese quibe), hummus, tahina and halwa are very well known among Brazilians.

Brazilian mainstays such as cuscuz arrived via African slaves. Cuscuz is a popular dish in Bahia, Brasil.
Couscous is actually the national dish of Morocco. The term Cuscuz, also spelled cuscus and cuzcuz in Portuguese, refers to several preparations in different regions of the country. The origin of the plate is certainly the Middle Eastern couscous, but once it was introduced to the new tropical culture, several versions using local ingredients began to develop.

In Bahia, Brasil Cuscuz can be a plain, steamed, cake-like cereal made with flocos de milho pré-cozidos (yellow, precooked corn meal - “Milharina”, by Quaker, is a very well known brand). Usually served for breakfast, it’s made in the cuscuzeira, or cuscuzeiro (see picture), a steaming pan that has a perforated metal disc with a handle that seats on top of simmering water where you place the corn meal, previously moistened with salt water.

Then, there’s cuscuz de tapioca, a sweet, flan-like version of the dish made with manioc/yucca tapioca pearls, coconut and condensed milk. Source

Kibe/Quibe: extremely popular, it corresponds to the Lebanese dish kibbeh and was brought to mainstream Brazilian culture by Syrian and Lebanese immigrants. It can be served baked, fried, or raw. It is stuffed with meat or hummus.

Esfiha (Arabic: sfiha): another Middle Eastern dish, despite being a more recent addition to Brazilian cuisine they are nowadays easily found everywhere, specially in Northeastern, Southern and Southeastern regions. They are pie/cakes with fillings like beef, mutton, cheese curd, or seasoned vegetables.

Tabouli is another fixture at salad bars.

West African Flavor of Food From Brazil

The African hand in the Brazilian cooking pot completes the triptych, most noticeably in the northeastern states, where the plantation system held greatest sway. There, from virtually the inception of colonization, Africans were in control of the kitchens of the Big Houses. In Bahia, Brasil they were from the Bight of Benin and the Sudanese regions of West Africa. In Rio and Pernambuco, they were mainly Bantu. All brought their own tastes in food.

This baiana in Bahia, Brasil is preparing acaraje and has cuscuz as well as cuscuz de tapioca

Acaraje, the Brazilian falafel

The religious traditions of the African continent crossed the Atlantic as well, and in the hands of the Big House cooks, many ritual dishes were secularized and joined the culinary repertoire. The akara, a bean fritter fried in palm oil by the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria, was transformed into the Brazilian black-eyed pea fritter, or acaraje; fon akassa changed only its spelling to become the acaca, and the Angolan cornmeal porridge known as funji kept its name and its spelling as the dishes of the African continent were turned into Brazilian standbys.

African cooks embellished dishes with ginger, chilies, and pulverized cashew nuts and maintained the tastes of coastal Africa in the continued use of dried smoked shrimp and palm oil. They adapted recipes and adopted the ingredients of the new land to create a cooking so unique that the food of the state of Bahia is considered by many the linchpin that connects the cooking of Africa with that of the Western Hemisphere.
Source

Check out the article below from Islamictourism.com:

Food From Brazilian with an Arab touch

Islamic Tourism – Issue 34 – March-April / 2008

By Habeeb Salloum

In the world of culinary art, Brazil is to Portugal what Mexico is to Spain. These two colonies
in the New World were the crown jewels of their respective motherland. However, in their
cuisines, both carrying deep Arab influences, there is a difference.

Even though many of the original colonists in both countries were Moors newly converted to Christianity, in Brazil, a huge number of African slaves were imported to work on the plantations. A good number were Muslims and their food was saturated with North African influences. The 20th century Arab immigrants to the country added another dimension to Brazilian food. Hence, the Moorish heritage of the Portuguese
kitchen was further re-enforced by the dishes of West Africa and the Middle East.

This ethnic mixture and the diversified climate of Brazil have been responsible for the creation of one of the most varied kitchens in South America. Peppering this cuisine were many other influences. Aboriginal Indian, German, Italian, Japanese and others dishes have become a part of the food from Brazil. For centuries
Brazilian cooks have been borrowing from the foods of other people, then combining them with their own to produce an interesting and fascinating wide-ranging culinary world.

Above all, it was the Portuguese influence, itself greatly influenced by the Arabs, which was the main influence in the creation of Brazilian cooking. When the Arabs conquered Portugal, they brought with them numerous new dishes: they needed ingredients to create these foods, and introduced a considerable number of vegetables, fruits and spices, unheard of in the Iberian Peninsula at that time. Many have still retained their Arab names in Portugal.

Orchards, first planted by the descendants of the Arab soldiers, cover the land. The perfume defusing flowers of the apricot Portuguese albricoguo from the Arabic al-barquq; carob (alfarroba: al-kharubah); orange (laranja; naranj); and pomegranate (romá: rumman) were Moorish gifts to the future Portuguese.

Besides the fruit trees, other plants brought to the Iberian Peninsula are, perhaps, more important. Rice (Portuguese arroz: from the Arabic al-ruzz), forming the basic part of the Portuguese diet, and sugar cane (açúcar: sukkar), now cultivated in Algarve, the last province wrestled from the Moors, were introduced and grown extensively by the Arabs.

Over and above the new plants they introduced into Spain and Portugal, the Arabs expanded the almond, olive and fig orchards that they found in these countries. The blossoming almond trees initially planted by the Arabs on a large scale, transform Algarve's springtime countryside which looks like a snow-covered field.

However, even more than the introduction of plants, the water mill (Portuguese azenha: from the Arabic al-saniyah) and its extensive use in irrigation was the greatest gift the Arabs bestowed on Portugal and the other countries of Western Europe. The rich fields of fruits and vegetables found in the Iberian Peninsula since the 9th century bears witness to the Moorish introduced plants and farming techniques. This is attested to by the 12th century Arab writer Abu ‘Abdallah al-Idrisi who described Algarve as a land of beautiful cities surrounded by irrigated orchards and gardens.

The Arab introduced plants made possible a series of new culinary delights, expanding greatly the kitchen of the Iberian Peninsula. In Portuguese, Arabic derived names for foods are an undeniable testimony to the influence the Moors had on the cuisine in this part of Europe. Acepipe (hors d'oeuvres: from the Arabic al-Zebib); aletria (vermicelli: itriyah); almôndega (meat balls: al-bunduqah) ; escabeche (pickles: al-skabaj); azeite (olive oil: al-zayt); sorvete (sherbet: sharbat); and xarope (syrup: sharab) are a number of these foods.

More than all their dishes, the Moors had a fondness for sweets and passed on this sweet tooth to the Portuguese. Candied fruits and pastries employing almonds, egg yolks, honey and rosewater, found today in all parts of Portugal, are all of pure Moorish origin. Perhaps the credit for their preservation should go to the nuns in the many religious institutions, found in every town and city. No one knows the reason why the nuns, in the numerous medieval convents, kept the Arab recipes for sweets alive.

In the days of the Arabs, lamb and goat, along with some beef, were the basic meats on the everyday menu. However, when the Muslims were defeated, pork became the main meat. To escape persecution and prove they had left their former religion behind, the Christianized Moors substituted pork for other meats, especially in the public eating-places.

All these culinary contributions the Arabs gave Portugal were later to be brought to Brazil. This historical base of Brazilian cuisine with its Arab connection was further buttressed in the last hundred years by the large immigration from the area of Greater Syria to all parts of that land of the Amazon. Today, in every large Brazilian town, the eastern Arab delights of sfeehah (open meat pies), taboulah (parsley salad) and, above all, kubbah (burghul and meat patties known in Brazil as kibe), are offered in many homes and public eating-places.

The first time I entered a restaurant in Recife, Brazil's major north-eastern resort, I was astonished to see featured on the menu kibe - a delicious dish whose original home is the Middle East. In the ensuing days I discovered that this famous Middle Eastern dish had become a Brazilian food. Served in a great number eating places throughout the country, it was prepared in a much tastier fashion than its land of origin.

The Arab inherited portion of the Brazilian cuisine is considerable. Both through the Moors, by way of the Iberian Peninsula, and the Arab immigrants of the 20th century, the kitchen of Brazil has been greatly enriched.

Travellers from the Arab world need not pine for their foods. In this land of the Amazon, they will find a kindred cuisine.

Carnival Salvador Dates From 2013 To 2030

2012-06-07T10:10:00.000-04:00

When are the official Carnival dates? This was created to provide a schedule for anyone planning on visiting Bahia, Brasil now or in the future. Carnival dates change every year.
Be sure to bookmark this page.

Usually Carnival starts a day before the "official" start. Also festivities leading up to Carnival Salvador start in late December. Be sure to click the link below to schedule your Carnival trip.

Check the Dates Out For Info About Carnival Salvador, Rio, and the Rest of Brazil

Carnival Salvador 2013 dates: February 8th until February 12th

Carnival Salvador 2014 dates: February 28th until March 4th

Carnival Salvador 2015 dates: February 13th until February 17th

Carnival Salvador 2016 dates: February 5th until February 9th

Carnival Salvador 2017 dates: February 24th until February 28th

Carnival Salvador 2018 dates: February 9th until February 13th

Carnival Salvador 2019 dates: March 1rd until March 5th

Carnival Salvador 2020 dates: February 21st until February 25th

Carnival Salvador 2021 dates: February 12th until February 16th

Carnival Salvador 2022 dates: February 25th until March 1st

Carnival Salvador 2023 dates: February 17th until February 21st

Carnival Salvador 2024 dates: February 9th until February 13th

Carnival Salvador 2025 dates: February 28th until March 4th

Carnival Salvador 2026 dates: February 13th until February 17th

Carnival Salvador 2027 dates: February 5th until February 9th

Carnival Salvador 2028 dates: February 25th until February 29th

Carnival Salvador 2029 dates: February 9th until February 13th

Carnival Salvador 2030 dates: March 1st until March 5th

Now that you have all the dates, you are able to start arranging your bookings for the next must-see Carnival!

Click Here to Book Your Carnival Tour

HOW TO CASH AN INTERNATIONAL CHECK: TRAVEL IN BRAZIL EXPAT INFORMATION

2012-05-22T21:15:00.000-04:00

Great info on how to cash an international check for a Brazil expat, people planning to travel to Brazil, or just looking for Brazil information in general. Here’s what to do if you get paid in a foreign currency and you live or travel in Brazil.

How to Cash an International Check the Hard Way

As for me, I learned the hard way but I use my blog here to share my experience with all you great readers out there so that you don’t have to make the same mistakes I did. I didn’t think cashing an international check would be a big deal since I have more than one Brazilian bank account. I even have a corporate account with the central bank here (Banco do Brasil) so I figured this would be an easy thing to do.

Boy was I wrong!

I make money online and one of my payment methods is through ClickBank (yes ClickBank really pays out!). With a US bank account you can just get direct deposit, no worries. However if you receive physical checks in the mail in Brazil, like I did then cashing the check becomes a little more tricky. I first attempted to cash the international check at one of my personal Brazilian bank accounts with Banco Itau. That did not work. I couldn’t even deposit the check! Noone seemed to have any idea what to do. One of the employees had a senior bank manager come to help me.

I was told to try the mesa do cambio (foreign exchange desk) at the main bank for Itau in the commercial district. I went all the way to the other side of town to no avail. They were not able to cash my international check or deposit it into my checking account. I left feeling disappointed but not before getting the runaround from bank employees. They told me that Banco do Brasil down the street would be able to do it com certeza (with certainty).

I then went to Banco do Brasil thinking they could handle the transaction but was told by an employee that I would need to go to the branch located on the other side of town (closer to my house). Before I went to the other bank location I tried at least 8 different foreign exchange shops. None of them could cash my check.

I finally went to the other Banco do Brasil closer to my house and was again told that they could not cash my international check. However I was told that they could deposit the check. The wait for the check to clear could take a month or more though because they have to mail the check to the US and wait for it to clear and be returned (or something along those lines). The bank employee who I spoke with was very helpful though because he actually sent me to the place that was able to cash my international check!

Take notes, because this type of banking Brazil information could prove invaluable to any Brazil expat or people looking to travel in Brazil. How to cash an international check in Brazil was like the million dollar question that day for me. I asked nearly a hundred people and only one knew the answer. These weren’t just random people off the street either, I was talking to bank employees and people who exchange foreign currencies every day (cambios) and nobody knew the answer.

How to Cash an International Check the Easy Way

So the place I went to cash my Clickbank check (drumroll please) was a loja (store) called Confidence Câmbio. That’s it! That is how you cash an international check in Brazil. As far as I know of Confidence is the only place that will do this. You can also go there to exchange cash as well.

The one I went to was in Salvador, Bahia – Brasil. It was in a small shopping center at the bottom of a skyscraper called "ondonto" something… I think it was filled with dentists’ offices. The neighborhood it was in is called Itagaira.

How lucky was I to finally talk to the banker at the last branch I visited who pointed me in the right direction? I don’t really believe in luck or chance. In actuality my first thought was to go to that bank before I spent a whole day and a half searching around the city for a place to cash my check.

If I would have listened to my inner voice I would have saved myself a lot of hassle but eventually I came around and the answer to my predicament found me.

I think things have changed recently with Confidence though. I was able to take my checks to them and get them cashed right there on the spot. It usually took about 30 minutes or so for the check to clear and then they would cash it for me. Things went a little differently the last time I went though. Instead of cashing my checks they took my checking account info so they could deposit the money straight into my account. They said that they stopped giving cash on the spot for the checks.

It took a while almost two weeks for the transaction to go through. Also, you may be required to have a Brazilian bank account now. I’m not sure because I used my Brazilian checking account.

That’s my experience if anyone knows any differently or has any questions feel free to comment below.

Sharif

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

2012-05-17T13:07:00.001-04:00

Be Sure To "Like" Us On Facebook!
www.facebook.com/MoorAboutBahia

Guide of Salvador, Bahia - Brasil. Info on Carnival Salvador, doing business in Brasil, travel in Brazil, the economy of Brazil as well as being black in Brazil. Bahia is seen as the "Soul of Brazil" and heart of Afro Brazilian culture.

YOUR BUSINESS GUIDE TO BRAZIL: TRADE MISSION

2012-05-17T12:42:00.000-04:00

"Your Business Guide to Brazil"

Trade Mission

Thursday, Thursday 1, 2012 to Monday, November 12, 2012
Going Rio Janeiro and Salvador, Bahia Brazil

The trade mission is for American investors, business owners, and government officials looking to do business in Brazil, currently the 6th largest economy in the world!

Connect with local, state and federal government officials in Rio Janeiro and Salvador, Bahia

Secure contracts with potential business partners in the private-sector within your industry

Invest in workforce training and education, and visit local universities

Participate in business matchmaking seminars and special events with other business colleagues

Position your business for the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016

Take advantage of membership with the Partners of the Americas and other international organizations.

Your membership, customized trip itinerary, airfare cost, airport transfers and taxes, hotel accommodations, breakfast and lunch, transportation to/from meetings, and language translation are all provided.

Hosted by Partners of the Americas, Ebony Suns Enterprises, LLC, EOSS Consulting, and Ethnic Media Institute

For More Info
Contact Russell Hicks at (267)872-6636 or via e-mail at ebonysuns@gmail.com for more information. Register with half deposits by July 1, 2012. The remaining balance is due by September 15, 2012

HOW TO CALL IN BRAZIL (LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL)

2012-05-17T12:32:00.000-04:00

Dialing Instructions

Brazil City Codes for Customers Dialing From Brazil

Local Calls While in Brazil (Vivo's network) to a Landline or Cellular Number:
Dial the local subscriber's number (7 or 8-digit length).

To Call US while in Brazil: 00 + Long Distance Provider Code (15) + 1 + 123-456-7890.

National Calls While in Brazil (Vivo's network):
0 + long distance code + area code + telephone number (e.g. 0 + LD + 2-digit area code + 7 or 8-digit telephone number).

International Call While in Brazil (Vivo's network) to Another International Destination:
00 + long distance code + country code + national destination code +telephone number (e.g. 00 + LD + variable length CC + variable lengthNDC + variable length telephone number).

Emergency Number While in Brazil:
190 (Police) and 193 (Fire station).

AFRO BRAZILIAN HERITAGE TOURISM IN BAHIA FREE PUBLICATION

2012-05-03T05:17:00.000-04:00

I recommend this online book to anyone with interest in Brazil, in particular the state of Bahia. This is a great publication in English with beautiful pictures and descriptions of Bahia. It is a great read, whether you make the trip to Bahia, Brasil or not you will have a thorough understanding of the beautiful culture of this mystical place. Filled with great info and pictures on Salvador, Bahia and this Mecca of Afro Brazilian culture.

Open publication - Free publishing

This is a publication from the Secretary of Tourism for the State of Bahia in Brasil.

Visit us at Bahia Brasil Tours

Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bahiabraziltours

BUSINESS IN BRASIL: IT TOOK 3 MINUTES TO SELL TRUMP ON BRAZIL

2012-03-18T21:23:00.001-04:00

This piece contains two stories. One is obviously about the potential investing in South America, in particular in Brasil. The other shows how persaverance and believing in yourself can pay off big time. Business in Brasil is booming and everyone wants a piece of the action.

Much like Brazilian girls, Brazilian property is steaming hot and has been for some time now. Brasil has definitely become the hottest emerging property market in Latin America, having just received what during the boom came to be known as the emerging market seal-of-approval, investment by Donald Trump and the well known Trump Organization.

An example of this seal of approval is Panama, during the boom Panama’s construction boom was the hottest in Latin America, and the world, at which point Trump graced it with a Trump Tower, a massive multi-purpose (commercial, luxury-residential, hotel, condos, casino(s)) sky-scraper in Panama City, which we have all no-doubt heard about.

At the time resorts around the world saw construction start under the Trump Organization halo of ultimate luxury, real-prime property, but the latest investment in Brasil (the first, we believe since the bust) is different and even more of a testament to Trump’s belief in Brazil’s potential.

Most — if not all — of his previous investments have involved a franchise, whereby other parties buy the benefits of the Trump brand, while Trump’s part in the organization of building work, management of construction etc is minimal. But the investment in Brazil is the 50/50 (well, 50/25/25); a joint venture between the newly formed Trump Realty Brazil S/A which owns 50%, and Brazilian businessman Ricardo Bellino, who owns the other 50% along with his EGO Empreendimentos e Participação ™ partners, and he will be heading Trump Brazil organization.

“We have a promising future in taking our brand to Brazil”, said Donald Trump Jr., emphasizing that it could not be a better date and suitable moment to announce the new partnership (the partnership was announced on September 7th, Brazilian Independence Day).

“The Brazilian market excellence is well known worldwide. The development, the construction and the architecture are among the most advanced in the planet. Brazil is evoking international investors’ attention that intends to act in all Brazilian real estate areas. In the globalization era the long term foreign capital is really welcome, especially with Brazilian companies’ partnerships”, Yazbek declares.

The fastest Multi Million deal world record was set by Donald Trump and Ricardo Bellino who, after a 3 minutes presentation, became business partners.

Donald J. Trump: "I mentioned in my book Think Like a Billionaire that Ricardo Bellino had exactly three minutes to give me his business presentation.
I was extremely busy that day and not particularly in the mood for a presentation, so I thought he might decline, which would free up my day a bit.

Not only did he not decline, he gave me such a great presentation within those three minutes that we became partners. It’s surprising what people can do with a deadline."

The 'Original' Apprentice Story The story of an unknown businessman from a faraway country who sells his idea to Donald Trump in just three minutes and becomes a partner of the legendary American billionaire is a business fairy tale come true.

The young Brazilian entrepreneur Ricardo Bellino is the personification of this dream, which still captivates the imagination of millions in America and all over the world.

"No matter if you are in the Olympics or in the business field you have to believe the unbelievable", Ricardo Bellino says. Belino has now sold his shares in Trump Realty Brazil and moved to Miami to pursue his next project.

It also shows that the "Brazilian Dream," or the hope of building your own path towards success despite economic, social, cultural and historical obstacles that may seem impassable, is not just a dream. It can be a real possibility if you are willing to believe and try.

Ricardo Bellino wrote recently: "Throughout my entire professional life, there have always been those I consider mentors. Donald Trump was one of those people. When I looked him up to sell him my idea about building a real estate venture in Brazil, I was given a true lesson in how to negotiate."

   Ricardo Bellino is an international entrepreneur who brought Elite Models and The Look of the Year, the most famous modeling contest in the world, to Brazil.

    Now Bellino is the founder and dealmaker behind Trump Realty Brazil, an enterprise born from the creation of the largest golf complex in Latin America, Villa Trump.

   The author of three business books focusing on the power of ideas and sales techniques, Bellino is the first commercial partner of the Trump Organization outside the United States.

Edited by Sharif Ali

Sources
Worlds Record Academy
Overseas Property Mall

BAIA DE CAMAMU: PARADISE IN SOUTHERN BAHIA

2012-01-31T16:09:00.001-05:00

Gorgeous and peaceful, Baía de Camamu, on the coast of the state of Bahia, Brasil is a place in which to bathe in the sea, relax and taste some lobster or shrimp. A refuge that fortunately remains protected.

André Silva, special for ANBA*

source: www.1000dias.com

Camamu – A narrow strip of sand that seems like it may be submersed any second, marks the meeting between Baía de Camamu’s (Camamu Bay) peaceful waters and the stronger waves of the Atlantic Ocean. A framework of wood and straw beams is the only sign of human occupation at Coroa Vermelha (Portuguese for Red Crown), as the bay’s locals dubbed this sand strip. This desolate small island, a good spot to take a swim in the sea, bears witness to one of the main attractions of Camamu’s: the resistance of beaches, groves and islands in this Southern Bahia refuge to human occupation.

Coroa Vermelha could look altogether different. The locals explain how the island was purchased years ago by a famous singer in an axé music group (a typical local rhythm) who tried to build a mansion there. The
tides, the wind and the corrosive sea air prevented the construction from coming to fruition – and the small wooden shack, which seems on the verge of collapsing, remains the only building on the island.

The mansion the sea and the wind took away sums up the history of small cities and villages on Baía de Camamu, a stretch of land that begins at the mouth of Rio Maraú (Maraú River) and nearly encloses it entirely, named Península do Maraú (Maraú Peninsula). Camamu, the starting point for a tour of the bay and the peninsula, can be likened to a Salvador (the state capital) that did not grow.

The municipality, which was once Brazil’s foremost cassava flour producer, also features one high and one low portion, and colonial houses, just like the capital of Bahia, Brasil. However, instead of the 365 churches in Salvador, which (singer and songwriter) Dorival Caymmi sang about, Camamu has just one, Matriz de Nossa Senhora de Assunção, the largest in the state’s interior. Flour is still made there and can be purchased as a souvenir, in different colours.

The Tremembé Waterfall: cold water to wrap up a day of sun and tours

Motorboats and schooners leave Camamu and Barra Grande for a tour of the bay that must be started early in the morning, so its most interesting spots can be seen, such as Ilha da Pedra Furada (Holed Stone Island), which got its name because its rocky formations have holes made by molluscs in them (a small admission fee is charged, 2 reals, or US$ 1.12).

There is also Ilha do Goió (Goió Island), named after a local crab. Ilha Grande (Large Island), with its tranquil beaches, also offers lodges in which to stay. The Tremembé Waterfall, hidden in the back of the bay, offers a cold, strong water bath that is the perfect contrast to the salty, lukewarm, tranquil water of the beaches.

Between one island and the other, it is almost inevitable to pass through Cajaíba do Sul and admire the work of its shipyards. In them, many of the schooners we see along other coastal tourist spots in Brazil, such as Paraty and Angra dos Reis. Some are sent abroad, to countries such as Angola. Outside the bay, in addition to Coroa Vermelha, the attraction is ocean fishing: Tuna, Barracuda, Cavalla and Greater Yellowtail are some of the species that may bite the hook.

Source: www.1000dias.com

It is not easy to get there: by car, coming from the South of Brazil, take BR-101 highway up until the crossing with Valença. From there, drive along BA-001 until you reach Camamu. From Northern Brazil, take a ferryboat from Salvador to Itaparica Island – and from there head to Camamu through BA-001 highway. Three different bus companies offer trips from Salvador to Camamu: Santana ((55) (71) -3450-4951), Cidade Sol ((55) (71) -3682-1791) and Águia Branca ((55) (71)-4004-1010).

These are the options for lovers of adventures and backpacks. Those seeking greater comfort may board a plane if they are staying at the Kiaroa Luxury Resort, one of Bahia’s finest, at Península do Maraú, featuring a spa, an infinity edge pool and bedrooms and bungalows featuring large, comfortable beds and insect repellent always handy: the resort’s policy is to preserve the vegetation, therefore insects may attack those roaming the facilities. A fair price to pay for the ocean scent and the plants, and the mesmerizing landscape of Península do Maraú.

Where to stay:

Hotel Rio Icaraí

Praça Dr. Francisco Xavier Borges no number, Centre, Camamu. Tel (55) (73) 3255-2315 and (55) (73) 3255-2335

www.hotelrioicarai.com.br

Pousada Recanto da Natureza

Barra do Serinhaem. Tel (55) (73) 3256-7045 and (55) (73) 9936-8414

pousadarecantodanatureza.com.br

Kiaroa Eco-Luxury Resort

Barra Grande, Península do Maraú. Tel (55) (73) 3258-6213 and (55) (71) 3272-1320

www.kiaora.com.br

Where to eat

Restaurante Sabor do Mar e da Terra

Beef jerky, seafood moqueca and feijoada (black beans) among the specialties. Second street perpendicular to Cerqueira Campos, Camamu. Tel. (55) (73) 9933-8542.

Pastelaria Mistura Perfeita

Pastel (Deep fried pastry wrapping with assorted fillings) made on the spot. Avenida Beira-Mar, Centre, Camamu. Tel (55) (73) 3255-1873 and (55) (73) 8167-3979

Restaurante São Jorge

A stop during the tour of Baía do Camamu. Located by the wharf on Ilha do Sapinho. The specialty is lobster, served grilled or with gravy, and shrimp.

*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum

BRAZILIAN BIKINIS GETTING BIGGER TO FIT GROWING WAISTLINES

2012-01-31T15:44:00.000-05:00

In this photo Elisangela Inez Soares rinses off at a shower in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to Soares "not everyone is built like a model."

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Tall and tan and young and ... chunky?

The Girl From Ipanema has put on a few pounds, and for many sunbathers on Brazil's beaches the country's iconic itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny bikini just doesn't suffice anymore.

A growing number of bikini manufacturers have woken up to Brazil's thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines.

That's nothing short of a revolution in this most body-conscious of nations, where overweight ladies long had little choice but to hit the beach in comely ensembles of oversized T-shirts and biker shorts.

Barbara Monteiro, Miss Brazil Plus Size 2011

"It used to be bikinis were only in tiny sizes that only skinny girls could fit into. But not everyone is built like a model," said Elisangela Inez Soares as she sunbathed on Copacabana beach, her oiled-up curves packed into a black size 12 bikini.

"Finally, it seems like people are beginning to realize that we're not all Gisele," said the 38-year-old mother of four, referring to willowy Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

Clothing designer Clarice Rebelatto said her own swimwear-hunting travails prompted her to found Lehona, an exclusively plus-size beachwear line.

"Honestly, the problem went way beyond just bikinis. In Brazil, it used to be that if you were even a little chunky, finding any kind of clothes in the right size was a real problem," said Rebelatto, herself a size 10.
"And I thought, 'I'm actually not even that big compared to a lot of women out there, so if I have problems, what are they doing?'"

Since its launch in 2010, the line has become a hit.

In brash leopard spots and flower prints not meant for wallflowers, the label's 14 bikini styles aren't what you'd normally associate with plus-size swimsuits. The necklines plunge dramatically. Straps are mere strings. And while the bottoms provide too much coverage to qualify for the famed "fio dental" or "dental floss" category of Brazilian string bikinis, they're significantly more audacious than the standard U.S. cut.

"We're working from the principle that bigger women are just like everyone else: They don't want to look like old ladies, wearing these very modest, very covering swimsuits in just black," said Luiz Rebelatto, Clarice's son and director of Lehona.

He said that recent publicity of the brand and several other new swimwear lines catering to plus sizes has triggered an overwhelming number of calls and e-mails from would-be customers.

"They're all excited and they say, 'I've been looking everywhere for a bikini like that. Where can I get one?'" said Rebelatto.

Lehona is currently sold exclusively at big and tall specialty stores throughout Brazil. Its bikinis retail for about 130 reais or $75 — a relatively high price-point here, but Rebelatto said sales have grown at a galloping pace, though he did not provide any figures.

A competitor takes a picture of herself with a mobile phone backstage before the Miss Brazil Plus-Size beauty contest.

It's the same story at Acqua Rosa, a conventional swimwear label that added a plus-size line in 2008. Now, plus-size purchases account for more than 70 percent of the brand's total sales, said director Joao Macedo.
It makes sense.

For centuries, large swaths of Brazil were beset by malnutrition, and in 1970, nearly 10 percent of the population in the country's poor, rural northeast region was considered underweight, according to Brazil's national statistics institute.

But the phenomenal economic boom that has lifted tens of millions out of poverty and into the burgeoning middle class over the past decade has also changed the nation's once-svelte physique: A 2010 study by the statistics institute showed that 48 percent of adult women and 50 percent of men are now overweight. In 1985 those figures were 29 percent for women and 18 percent for men.

(Still, there's been no rash of plus-size male swimwear lines, as men here wear Speedo-style suits that don't impinge on big guts.)

Analysts attribute Brazil's rapidly widening girth to changes in nutrition, with chips, processed meats and sugary soft drinks replacing staples like rice, beans and vegetables.

And while the country's elite are widely known to be fitness freaks — and also among the world's top consumers of cosmetic surgery — those recently lifted out of poverty and manual labor are becoming increasingly sedentary. A 2008 study showed that barely 10 percent of Brazilian teens and adults exercise regularly.

Still, despite their growing numbers, not everyone is eager to embrace "gordinhas" — or "little fatties," as chunky women are affectionately known here.

Many high-end bikini-makers have turned a seemingly deliberately blind eye to the burgeoning plus-size market. Rio-based upmarket brand Salinas, for example, offers five sizes, from extra-small through extra-large. But their sizing runs notoriously small and it's hard to imagine anyone over a size 6 actually managing to fit into any of the brand's minuscule two-pieces.

Luis Rebelatto of Lehona chalked it partially up to snobbery.

"Some brands, they don't want their image to be associated with chunky women," he said. "Only the thin, the rich and the chic."

While Brazilians' increasing heft is a public policy preoccupation for the government, growth in the ranks of the overweight population has given them increased visibility in Brazilian society. Extra-wide bucket seats for the obese have been installed in Sao Paulo's metro system, and on Sunday the city will host Brazil's first ever Miss Plus Size beauty contest.

"It used to be that people would stare at me," said Soares, the voluptuous sun-worshiper on Copacabana beach. "Now when I come to the beach I see women who are much bigger than me — and lots of them are wearing bikinis — so I'm not self conscious any more.

"God makes some people thin but he made me like this," she said, rubbing down the well-oiled bulge of her stomach and thighs. "So who am I to think that he was wrong?"

BUSINESS IN BRASIL: NEW INVESTMENT VISA LAW CHANGES

2011-12-01T05:39:00.000-05:00

Important update for anyone looking to conduct business in Brasil.

By Jose Santiago
September 13, 2011

The new Normative Resolution number 95 amends the Investment Visa Rules as follows: Resolution number 95 of 10th of August 2011, changes the rules for concession and renewal of certain investment visa types.

Below are the most important changes:

Kind of visa: Permanent visa for administrators

Minimum investment required: R$600,000
Person or entity that must make the investment: foreign company, shareholder of the Brazilian company
Other requirements: (a) indicated the candidate to be the future general manager of the Brazilian company and (b) the candidate must be paid locally
Restrictions: the foreigner has to remain as administrator of the Brazilian company for at least five years other wise the RNE and permanent visa are not renewed, as well as the investment cannot be repatriated

Kind of visa: Permanent visa for administrators
Minimum investment required: R$150,000
Person or entity that must make the investment: foreign company, shareholder of the Brazilian company
Other requirements: (a) indicated the candidate to be the future general manager of the Brazilian company (b) the candidate must be paid locally (c) present a list of the functions of the 10 Brazilian employees that the company commits itself to hire within two years
Restrictions: (a) the RNE will be valid for two years and before it expires we must apply for its renewal, attesting that the foreigner has remained as a general manager of the Brazilian company and the Brazilian company has more 10 employees than it had when the visa application was lodged and the investment was not repatriated (b) the foreigner has to remain as administrator of the Brazilian company for at least another three years, otherwise the RNE and permanent visa are not renewed for the second time, as well as the investment was not repatriated.

Kind of visa: Permanent visa for individual investors, natural person
Minimum investment required: R$150,000
Person or entity that must make the investment: foreign natural person (individual), shareholder of the Brazilian company
Other requirements: present an investment plan detailing how the investment will be spent
Restrictions: the RNE will have three years validity and before the three years expire you must ask for its renewal attesting that the Brazilian company is still open, the investment was not repatriated, and that the business plan was accomplished

These changes do not apply to applications filed before the publication of this Resolution, 08/10/11.

DISCLOSURE: All information herein given is merely for elucidative purposes. It reflects current Legislation, which can be modified in the future. In case of questions regarding a particular case/issue, always consult with your own attorney.

THE SECRET'S OUT. WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO LIVE HERE?

2011-09-18T08:35:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Doug over at Brazil Beach Living for sharing this article with me.

An absolutely stunning Saturday here, still a bit more breezy than normal but an azure blue sky prevails and the crispy clean air is alive with the sentiments of summer approaching. NE Brazil has the cleanest air on the planet according to NASA. In JP you still need to stay near the beach to avoid pollution but it is still tiny compared to all the other NEast Capitals.

As much as I adored living in Laguna Beach south of Los Angeles, CA the brown haze out over the ocean took it's toll on the benefits.

International Living just sent out this Pathfinder article on JP. We already know why this area is special so this is kind of a warning as much as anything else! This is the last bastion, the last still relatively "undiscovered" sweet spot in Tropical Beach Brazil living.

We couldn't hide for long.

Onward and magic,

Douglas and fam

__________

Who Wouldn't Want to Live Here?

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Dear Reader,

Looks nice, doesn't it? If you're picturing yourself spending time here ...relaxing on the sand, soaking up some rays, enjoying life...you're not alone. This Brazilian city is a retirement and relocation hotspot. And there's a way for you to profit from its popularity.

The city is Joao Pessoa. It's a beach city that acts like a small beach town. Don't get me wrong. It's got big-city conveniences. You can find good medical care. You won't run short of shopping or dining options. But it's got a safe, friendly, small-town atmosphere that's hard to resist. It lacks the crazy bustle...the dirt and the noise...of many other cities I've spent time in.

Instead, it feels fresh, thanks to some great sea breezes. It feels active and healthy, thanks to a beachside boardwalk that fills with joggers, walkers and roller bladers in the mornings and evenings. It feels tranquil. The quality of life is good here. And the beaches around the city are simply stunning.

The beaches around Joao Pessoa are some of the prettiest in Brazil

And that's why it attracts so many younger retirees from across Brazil. They're generally wealthy, retiring in their fifties from the civil service or professional life. It's not uncommon to have a former judge or surgeon as your next-door neighbor in Joao Pessoa. These retirees choose Joao Pessoa over their own home towns. They want a peaceful, low-key lifestyle, in safe surroundings, close to beautiful beaches. They get that in Joao Pessoa. But these retirees aren't downsizing...

They want an enjoyable, relaxed lifestyle. That means nice restaurants and cafes...and nice homes. They buy large condos with large price tags of up to $3 million. And they want services, too, to keep them (and their finances) in shape. They need cardiologists and dentists...accountants and financial planners...

And those professionals need office space to run their business and meet their clients. Office space is already scarce in Joao Pessoa. And it's non-existent in the area that many of these wealthy retirees live in, an exclusive neighborhood called Altiplano. But a new development will change all that.

The Altiplano neighborhood also has a cultural center and a new conference center is under construction

___________

Doug Notes:

They are promoting a new office and residential tower in the Altiplano area. If you like premium property at the high end price range it could be of interest.

I had hoped they wouldn't discover JP I have mentioned before. They have, so may as well just let people know to act sooner than later.

The convention Center mentioned is several kilometers south of this point and is showing some progress these days.

__________

NEW RICH CLASS: BRAZILIAN YACHT MARKET ON THE RISE

2011-08-30T08:01:00.001-04:00

This Aug. 10 photo shows Marcio Christiansen, CEO of Ferretti Group Brazil, at the company's show room in Sao Paulo.

If the rising wealthy class in any indication, business is doing good in Brasil.
By BRADLEY BROOKS

SAO PAULO — Marcio Christiansen reeled off tales of the growing ranks of rich Brazilians who visit his luxury Ferretti yacht showroom, where clients sip espressos on an oversized sable sofa and electronic music bubbles in the air.

One man paid $2 million for a ship, Christiansen said, after succumbing within 30 minutes to his kids' pleas of "Buy it, daddy, buy it!" Another toured the sparkling 53-foot yacht on the showroom floor, then asked to discuss it over lunch.

"The waiter comes over to take our order and the client asks to borrow a piece of paper from his pad," said Christiansen, CEO of Ferretti's Brazil group. "He starts working out a contract on it and we've agreed to it before I've asked for a sandwich."

Brazil has always had its select group of superrich with extravagant tastes. But booming commodity prices fueled by Chinese demand, along with some of the world's biggest offshore oil discoveries, have created an expanding, new class of wealthy Brazilians. They, in turn, are boosting the international yacht market even as it plummets in the U.S. and Europe.

The number of millionaire households in South America's biggest nation is forecast to more than triple by 2020. Their spending, along with that of a newly swollen middle class, has protected Brazil more than any other nation in the region from economic shocks since 2008.

Exporting goods like sugar, gold, coffee and rubber, Brazil has been a boom-and-bust place since the 16th century. Past golden ages created a thin strata of the wealthy and extreme inequality. Since the mid-1990s, however, economic reforms following a return to democracy have slowly spread the wealth, and aggressive government social programs since 2003 have lifted 20 million out of poverty.

A May report on the geography of wealth from the U.S.-based consulting firm Deloitte forecasts that U.S. and European nations will remain the global centers for wealthy households during the next decade. Nonetheless, emerging market economies "are likely to prove to be more dynamic in terms of growth rates, creating significant opportunities for wealth managers seeking to gain a share of these potentially lucrative markets."

The boom in Brazil's yacht market attests to that growth.

People walk through the Oscar Freire street shopping district in Sao Paulo.

Andre Penner / AP

Annual boat sales in Brazil have grown up to 30 percent annually since 2008 depending on the specific segment of the market, industry leaders said. Meanwhile, in the more traditional boating markets in the U.S. and Europe, sales of high-end boats have dropped by 70 percent, analysts said.

For the Italian boat maker Ferretti, one of the world's leading yacht manufacturers, sales in Brazil represented less than 5 percent of global revenue in 2007, according to Christiansen.

This year, sales from Ferretti's Brazil group are expected to reach nearly $290 million, or about 40 percent of the company's global revenue, said Christiansen, who has more than three decades of experience selling upper-end boats in Brazil.

Christiansen opened a massive $31 million Ferretti shipyard on the outskirts of Sao Paulo two months ago to meet the new demand. It's expected to produce 120 yachts per year once it reaches capacity.

In the last two years, more than a dozen high-end foreign boat makers have either built a shipyard in Brazil or are partnering with local dealers to export their wares to the market, despite tariffs that range between 70 to 100 percent on imported vessels.

"I never imagined I would get to this level, nor that the established markets would fall so much," Christiansen said. "English, French and American boat builders are targeting this market. I've been in this business for more than three decades and now I'm seeing an invasion from foreigners. They've discovered Brazil."
Just as the newly rich Brazilians are discovering luxury.

According to a report released late last year by the Association of Executive Search Consultants, executives in Sao Paulo now earn more than their counterparts in New York, London, Hong Kong or Singapore, and their disposable income is flooding Brazil's consumer market.

In response, luxury goods sales in Brazil last year hit $8.9 billion, an increase of 28 percent over 2009, according to a study by GfK Custom Research Brasil and the luxury goods consulting firm MCF Consultoria. Brands such as Chanel, Hermes, Jimmy Choo, Lamborghini and others have opened shops in Brazil in the past two years.

When not spending at exclusive shopping centers, Brazilian executives can be seen cruising the seas near Santos south of Sao Paulo, Brazil's financial hub, and along the lush green coast north to Rio de Janeiro. Christiansen and others say marinas that dot Brazil's 7,400-kilometer (4,600-mile) coast are at capacity and that there are few berths to accommodate ships. As soon as a vacancy opens, it is snatched up by a new boat owner.

"We were always told that Brazil was the 'country of the future' but we didn't know when that would arrive," said Ernani Paciornik, a Brazilian marine industry pioneer who organizes international boat shows in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and southern Brazil. "I think the future has arrived."

The ranks of the new rich, and luxury goods sales, are growing in other developing countries as well, especially the so-called BRIC group of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The number of millionaire households in the nation of 190 million will have increased 230 percent to more than 1 million by 2020, according to the Deloitte report. China's figure will rise 91 percent to 2.5 million, Russia's by 221 percent to 1.2 million, and India's by 143 percent to 694,600.

"There's been a particular focus on the emerging markets. BRIC, BRIC, BRIC, BRIC seems to be what everyone is now saying," said Ellie Brade, the New Zealand-based editor of Superyacht Intelligence magazine, which focuses on boats at least 100 feet in length.

Giovanni Luigi, CEO of Brazil's largest boat vendor, YachtBrasil, backs his rosy market forecast by pointing out that the country is also awash in lakes and rivers, yet the freshwater boating market is virtually untapped. He says his company projects sales growth of 28 percent this year after racking up $840 million in sales over the last four years.

However, Eduardo Colunna, president of the Brazilian Boat Builder Association, which represents domestic makers, isn't quite as gung-ho. Foreign companies may be overestimating the market, Colunna said, and the lack of marinas to service yachts will hinder sales.

Yet even Colunna's more conservative estimates put market growth at 10 percent a year, attractive enough for foreign companies who have seen the U.S. and European markets dwindle.

Christiansen, for one, believes the boom isn't cooling anytime soon despite recent projections of a slowing economy. The talk in his showroom on a recent afternoon centered on the doubling of annual sales over recent years and more growth to come.

"I used to only sell ships to the extremely rich owners of businesses, never a professional CEO or CFO, just the owners," Christiansen said. "That's changed now, there is more meritocracy in Brazil. More people are earning bonuses based upon the success of their work, and they want to spend it."

Source

BRAZIL BOOM DRAWS AMERICANS EAGER TO PROFIT

2011-08-15T09:13:00.000-04:00

Foreigners Follow Money to Booming Brazil, Land of $35 Martini

Daniel Kfouri for The New York Times

Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro. Prices for prime office space in Rio became the highest for any city in the Americas this year.

By SIMON ROMERO

Published: August 12, 2011

RIO DE JANEIRO — Pondering the financial storms lashing Europe and the United States, Seth Zalkin, a casually dressed American banker, sipped a demitasse and seemed content with his decision to move here in March with his wife and son.

Daniel Kfouri for The New York Times

Michelle Noyes in São Paulo. “I could tell this place was booming,” said Ms. Noyes, a New Yorker who has taken a job in Brazil.

“If the rest of the world is cratering, this is a good place to be,” said Mr. Zalkin, 39.

For those with even the dimmest memories of Brazil’s own debt crisis in the 1980s, the global order has been turned on its head. The American economy may be crawling along, but the economy of Brazil grew at its fastest clip in more than two decades last year and unemployment is at historic lows, part of the nation’s transformation from inflationary basket case into one of Washington’s top creditors.

With compensation rivaling that on Wall Street, so many foreign bankers, hedge fund managers, oil executives, lawyers and engineers have moved here that prices for prime office space surpassed those in New York this year, making Rio the costliest city in the Americas to lease it, according to the real estate company Cushman & Wakefield.

A gold rush mind-set is in full swing, with foreign work permits surging 144 percent in the past five years and Americans leading the pack of educated professionals putting down stakes.

Businessmen have long been drawn to Brazil, along with get-rich-quick confidence men, dreamers of Amazonian grandeur and even outlaws like Ronald Biggs, the Briton who absconded here after his 1963 Great Train Robbery.

But now schools catering to American and other English-speaking families have long waiting lists, apartments can cost $10,000 a month in coveted parts of Rio and many of the newcomers hold Ivy League degrees or job experience at the pillars of the global economy.

Once here, they find a country facing a very different challenge than do the United States and Europe: fears that the economy is getting too hot.

One particular shock for newcomers is the strength of Brazil’s currency, the real. That may help Brazilians snapping up apartments in places like South Beach in Miami, where properties cost about a third of their equivalents in Rio’s exclusive districts. But it also hurts the country’s manufacturers and exporters.

So in a bid to prevent it from going even higher, Brazil is now one of the biggest buyers of United States Treasury securities, becoming a larger stakeholder in the ailing American economy. That is a sharp break from the past, when Washington helped cobble together bailout packages for Brazil’s financial crises.

“Brazil is doing great, but honestly, every other week I ask myself, ‘When is this going to end?’ ” said Mark Bures, 42, an American executive who moved here in 1999, just in time to see an abrupt devaluation of the currency and other sharp swings in Brazil’s fortunes.

A few veteran American expatriates even remember Brazil’s last economic “miracle” in the early 1970s, when The Wall Street Journal quoted an ebullient banker at the start of a front-page article who predicted, “In 10 years, Brazil will be one of the five great powers of the world.” Instead, the country ended up with daunting levels of foreign debt.

The recent commodities boom and growth in domestic consumption, the result of an expanding middle class, helped turn Brazil into a rising power that bounced back handily from the 2008 global financial crisis. The economy grew 7.5 percent last year and is expected to register about 4 percent growth this year — slower, but still enviable in the United States.

Yet Brazil offers many challenges to give newcomers pause. Labor legislation favors hiring Brazilians over foreigners, and the lengthy process of obtaining a work visa can surprise those unaccustomed to Brazil’s gargantuan bureaucracy.

Some economists consider the Brazilian real the world’s most overvalued currency against the dollar and inflation has climbed (as evidenced by $6.16 Big Macs and $35 martinis). Interest rates remain stubbornly high and analysts debate whether a credit bubble is forming as consumers continue a multiyear spree on everything from homes to cars.

Brazil is hardly immune to the turbulence in global markets, and its currency has weakened a bit this month. Rio’s real estate has been bustling as soccer’s World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016 approach, but its infrastructure is inadequate. Violent crime, though falling in some areas, plagues big parts of the country and Rio, which suffered through a traumatic bus hijacking this month.

Still, foreigners are arriving, and work authorizations for them jumped more than 30 percent in 2010 alone, according to the Labor Ministry.

“I had very basic Portuguese, but I could tell this place was booming,” said Michelle Noyes, 29, a New Yorker who organized a hedge fund conference in São Paulo. Shortly after, she made the leap to Brazil for a job at a São Paulo asset management firm.

Times Topic: Brazil

“I moved from the periphery of the industry to the center,” said Ms. Noyes, citing five other Americans, two from New York and three from Chicago, who are moving to Brazil this month to try their luck.

Americans form the largest group moving here, followed by contingents of Britons and other Europeans. Some are on temporary assignments. Others are starting ventures big and small.

David Neeleman, the American founder of JetBlue Airways, recently created Azul, a low-cost Brazilian airline. Corrado Varoli, an Italian who oversaw Goldman Sachs’ Latin American operations from New York, now runs his own São Paulo boutique investment bank. New Brazilian dot-coms like Baby.com.br, an online diaper retailer founded this year by two American cousins fresh out of business schools like Wharton and Harvard’s, sometimes give Brazil a bubbly feel not unlike that of the United States in 1999.

Others foreigners take jobs at Brazilian companies thriving from a boom partly created by Brazil’s trade with China.

“Our salaries here in Brazil are at least 50 percent more than salaries in the U.S. for strategic positions,” said Jacques Sarfatti, country manager for Russell Reynolds, a company that recruits business executives.

Foreigners compete with Brazilians returning home from abroad. “It’s really obvious that the labor market is so bad elsewhere,” said Dara Chapman, 45, a Californian who is a partner in a Rio hedge fund, Polo Capital. She said she was receiving so many résumés from would-be transplants from the United States that they were a “dime a dozen.”

Brazil’s huge deep-sea oil discoveries have also drawn investors and foreigners, including thousands of Filipinos working on ships and offshore oil platforms. For its other industries, Brazil needs an estimated 60,000 new engineers, some of whom must come from abroad, given the country’s lagging educational system.

“I moved from Beijing a year ago and find the potential for professional development incredible,” said Cynthia Yuanxiu Zhang, 27, a Chinese manager at a technology company. “I’m already planning to extend my time here well into this decade.”

_____________________

BRAZIL'S STILL SPENDING! NO SLOWDOWN IN SIGHT

2011-08-13T18:43:00.000-04:00

No Major Slowdown As Brazil Consumers Still Happily Spending

As consumer confidence dwindles in the U.S. , farther south in Brazil the local consumers are still happily spending and not even double digit interest rates are enough to truly scare them away. That’s because Brazilians on balance are fast moving into the middle class. More than half of the population is now solidly middle class compared to well less than that five years ago. When looked at month over month, consumer spending rose a meager 0.2% in June as the government’s macroprudential measures to slow inflation by raising interest rates all year showed their strength.

Manequins in a storefront window at Shopping Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil. Retail sales have slowed in June, but are still on the upswing compared to last year.

But when compared to June of 2010, when Brazil’s economy was booming, retail sales rose an impressive 7.1%, according to the Brazilian Institute for Geographical and Statistical Analysis, IBGE.

13 images Gallery: How to Party Like a Rock Star in Rio

Overall, retail sales are up 7.3% in the first half and up nearly 9% in the last 12 months, surpassing the percentage growth in Brazil’s GDP.

Consumer demand remains significant in Brazil even with the headwinds of high borrowing costs and a slowing economy on account of government anti-growth measures. Local demand is one of the reasons why it has been so hard for Brazil’s financial authories to choke inflation, still over 6% annually.

According to IBGE, Brazilians spent less in June on food, but more on clothing and fashion accessories. Brazilians also spent more on computer and technology gear in June after going gangbusters on high tech goods in May, up 20% then and up 9% in June. Brazilian retail sales volume was higher for all retail segments in comparison to June 2010, higher in the first half of 2011 than in the first half of 2010, and also higher in the 12 months ending in June compared to the same rolling 12 month period a year ago.

Second quarter retail sales rose 7.8% from the first quarter, but are down from the fourth quarter of 2010, right around the time interest rates rose and other measures began taking place to slow consumer spending, IBGE said this week. Brazil’s retail sales rose 10.9% in 2010, more than GDP growth.

Also on Friday, the U.S. Census Bureau reported retail sales rising as consumer confidence dipped. All told, despite the market blowout early in the week on account of the U.S. credit downgrade by Standard & Poor’s on Friday, Aug. 5, retail sales rose 0.5% in July and 8.5% above July 2010. July sales data is up from June’s 0.3% increase. Like Brazilians, Americans spent more on nearly everything in July when compared to June and definitely are spending more when compared to July 2010, according to the Census Bureau.

NOW YOU CAN OPEN A BRAZILIAN LLC WITHOUT A LOCAL PARTNER

2011-08-01T19:37:00.000-04:00

At last: Individual limited liability companies in Brazil

The Law is fresh and new. The LEI Nº 12.441, DE 11 DE JULHO DE 2011. has been published today, finally bringing the Individual Limited Liability companies to the Brazilian Civil Code.

What does that mean?

It means that individual foreign investors will not need a local partner in order to start a business in Brazil
anymore.

It will enable foreign investors to make use of tax benefits reserved to corporations, including the reduction of Income Tax.

It will make the acquisition of an individual investor VISA much easier to obtain.

And, enable tax plannings, enable foreign investments in rural land and reduce the overall risks of doing business in Brazil.

NOT PERFECT

The law is good, but not perfect. One should not forget that the piercing of corporate veil occurs way too often in Brazil, specially in tax and labour procedures. Therefore, this kind of company must be used more for planning and Visa purposes than for actual business.

Also, hold your horses. The law will be valid only from January 2012 on.

BYE BYE TOURIST VISA?

2011-07-27T08:57:00.000-04:00

It's about to become very easy to come to Brazil!
This is one reason why the Obama Familia came down here to meet with the Dilma, Brazil's President.
Brazil just doubled the amount of Consulates in the US. They expect to receive a lot more Americans soon. Click here to see the updated Brazil Consulate list.

In as little time as one year, the US may add Brazil to their Visa Waiver Program (VWP), meaning Brazilians wouldn’t need a tourist visa to enter the US. As part of the visa reciprocity rules between the two countries, this would mean that Americans wouldn’t need a tourist visa to enter Brazil.

The applying country’s total nonimmigrant visa refusal rate for becoming eligible is set at 3%, though other criteria exist. Nonmember countries who want to join are required to give biometric passports to their citizens and every individual traveler needs to fill out a travel authorization form prior to travel. A few other
requirements are needed as well but they aren’t much different from the current stipulations.

Thirty-six countries (mostly European) make up most of the current list and 11 more have been in talks with the US on their potential entry. Brazil is one of four among those in South America and news reports in the last 6 months are saying that Brazil is quickly closing in on reaching that 3% point for inclusion.

This past May 25th, the largest event for the tourism industry in the US ended in San Francisco. The main theme? Waiving the visa requirement. Many influential attendees were specifically rooting for Brazilian inclusion and some said they have inside knowledge that the Obama administration is seriously studying such an agreement.

While the current tourist visa process is fairly simple, it does require a non-refundable fee of $140 and that the applicant travel to the nearest Brazilian consulate. If the visa requirement does go away, the travel limit of 90 days will remain the same (though I’m not sure on possible extensions). With big sporting events to occur in Brazil in the coming years and the Brazilian economy going strong, it seems that the visa requirements may disappear by 2012.

Originally written for Street Smart Brazil

Learn Moor About Bahia Brasil | Salvador Bahia | Afro Brazilian

Good Question | Is Brazil A Lost Cause

Van rapes reveal social division

Is Rio a lost cause?

Salvador International Airport

The REAL Scoop On Brazil | No Punches Pulled

Prostitutes in Brazil are Offered Free English Classes Before the World Cup

US Consulate In Brazil | Salvador Consular Agency

US Consulate in Brazil located in Salvador, Bahia Brasil

US Consulate in Brazil | Bahia Brasil Consular Office

Fees - U.S. Citizen Services

When Monkeys Attack | Info on Brazil Wildlife | Monkeys in Brazil

Orishá Statues at Dique Do Tororo | Orixás Candomble in Bahia Brasil

Sacred lake of the Orishá

Orixás Candomble History in Bahia Brasil

The Orishá Statues at Dique Do Tororo

Major Orishás

FOOD FROM BRAZIL: MOORISH INFLUENCE

The Moorish Influence on Food From Brazil

West African Flavor of Food From Brazil

Food From Brazilian with an Arab touch

Carnival Salvador Dates From 2013 To 2030

Check the Dates Out For Info About Carnival Salvador, Rio, and the Rest of Brazil

HOW TO CASH AN INTERNATIONAL CHECK: TRAVEL IN BRAZIL EXPAT INFORMATION

How to Cash an International Check the Hard Way

How to Cash an International Check the Easy Way

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

YOUR BUSINESS GUIDE TO BRAZIL: TRADE MISSION

HOW TO CALL IN BRAZIL (LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL)

Dialing Instructions

AFRO BRAZILIAN HERITAGE TOURISM IN BAHIA FREE PUBLICATION

BUSINESS IN BRASIL: IT TOOK 3 MINUTES TO SELL TRUMP ON BRAZIL

BAIA DE CAMAMU: PARADISE IN SOUTHERN BAHIA

BRAZILIAN BIKINIS GETTING BIGGER TO FIT GROWING WAISTLINES

BUSINESS IN BRASIL: NEW INVESTMENT VISA LAW CHANGES

THE SECRET'S OUT. WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO LIVE HERE?

NEW RICH CLASS: BRAZILIAN YACHT MARKET ON THE RISE

BRAZIL BOOM DRAWS AMERICANS EAGER TO PROFIT

Foreigners Follow Money to Booming Brazil, Land of $35 Martini

By SIMON ROMERO

Published: August 12, 2011

Daniel Kfouri for The New York Times

Related

Times Topic: Brazil

BRAZIL'S STILL SPENDING! NO SLOWDOWN IN SIGHT

No Major Slowdown As Brazil Consumers Still Happily Spending

NOW YOU CAN OPEN A BRAZILIAN LLC WITHOUT A LOCAL PARTNER

At last: Individual limited liability companies in Brazil

BYE BYE TOURIST VISA?