We have put together some ideas on what to experience either before you leave or while you visit this beautiful and enchanting country. From literature to cuisine, accommodations to historical attractions, or simply souvenirs, you will find it here. Simply click on a tab above to read more about the topic.
The Amazon
Everyone's heard of the Amazon, and you will not be disappointed by the real thing. The Amazon, a unique and fragile ecosystem, contains an estimated 15,000 species of animals, and some of which have yet to be classified. In the late 1970s, the Brazilian government and private companies began extensive development on the mineral and agricultural wealth of the rain forest region. To encourage even further commercial and tourist development, Manaus has also been declared a duty free zone. Care must be taken, however, to find a balance between economic development and ecological preservation.
Everyone's heard of the Amazon, and you will not be disappointed by the real thing. The Amazon, a unique and fragile ecosystem, contains an estimated 15,000 species of animals, and some of which have yet to be classified. In the late 1970s, the Brazilian government and private companies began extensive development on the mineral and agricultural wealth of the rain forest region. To encourage even further commercial and tourist development, Manaus has also been declared a duty free zone. Care must be taken, however, to find a balance between economic development and ecological preservation.
The Copacabana Palace is legendary for its sumptuous style, fine cuisine and impeccable service. Superbly located facing the famous Copacabana Beach, yet only minutes from the centre of Rio and easily reached from both Santos Dumont and Galeao International Airports, it is at the very heart of Rio's exhilarating social life, a rendezvous for the international set and the cream of Rio's society.
For guests' leisure time, the Copacabana Palace built a new tennis court above the terrace at the rear of the main building. In addition, the Copacabana Palace boasts a magnificant semi-Olympic size swimming pool, without doubt the finest in Rio. After a pleasant dive into the pool, guests can relax in the sauna, or take a walk along the beach and perhaps finally take a plunge into the sea.
Always the last word in elegance, this imposing Mediterranean style building has been recently refurbished from top to bottom, re-affirming its reputation as South America's most sought after hotel.
The Copacabana Palace has 225 bedrooms and suites, 145 in the main building and 80 in the Tower Wing, including:
For guests' leisure time, the Copacabana Palace built a new tennis court above the terrace at the rear of the main building. In addition, the Copacabana Palace boasts a magnificant semi-Olympic size swimming pool, without doubt the finest in Rio. After a pleasant dive into the pool, guests can relax in the sauna, or take a walk along the beach and perhaps finally take a plunge into the sea.
Always the last word in elegance, this imposing Mediterranean style building has been recently refurbished from top to bottom, re-affirming its reputation as South America's most sought after hotel.
The Copacabana Palace has 225 bedrooms and suites, 145 in the main building and 80 in the Tower Wing, including:
- Presidential Suites
- Executive Suites
- Suites in the Tower Wing
- King Size beds/Double/Single
Bahian food, like Bahian music, has become a part of Brazilian folk culture. Many popular songs have been devoted to the figure of the baiana, an Afro-Brazilian woman in typical clothing - a white lace hoopskirt and turban, beads and bracelets - bearing her tabuleiro or tray of treats. One of the most famous is acarajé, a kind of spicy dumpling made from beans and dried shrimp, then fried in azeite de dendê, a rich, bright orange oil extracted from the heart of the palm tree.
Salvador is also the place for delicious fresh seafood and fruits, including the coconut, whose milk is sold on beaches throughout Brazil as a refreshing drink. The coconut man simply whacks off the top of a coconut with what looks like a small machete, sticks in a straw, and you stroll down the beach sipping straight from the coconut.
Salvador is also the place for delicious fresh seafood and fruits, including the coconut, whose milk is sold on beaches throughout Brazil as a refreshing drink. The coconut man simply whacks off the top of a coconut with what looks like a small machete, sticks in a straw, and you stroll down the beach sipping straight from the coconut.
In the northeast of Brazil, the most popular sections of the large markets are the displays of potters and vendors of artistic clay objects, many of which are true sculptures. A number of these local artisans are known not only to Brazilian folklorists, but also to artistic circles outside Brazil. Familiar names are Severino, whose characteristic work is in unglazed clay, Mestre Vitalino (Master), the most famous of the folk potters, perhaps because he signed his creations, and Zé Caboclo, from the town of Caruarú, the principal centre of folk sculpture in the State of Pernambuco. The ceramics portray complete scenes of daily activity, induding animals (the horse, the cock, and the Zebu bull), and religious characters (priests and saints).
Beginning in the 20th century, an innovative state of mind imbued Brazilian artists, culminating in the celebration of the Week of Modern Art in São Paulo. This new way of thinking propelled an artistic revolution that appealed to feelings of pride for national folklore, history, and ancestry. Participants in the Week of Modern Art resorted to experiments in writing and in fine arts known elsewhere as Futurism, Cubism, and Dadaism. Poet Menotti del Pichia summarized the aims of the new artistic movement with these words: "We want light, air, ventilators, airplanes, workers' demands, idealism, motors, factory smokestacks, blood, speed, dream in our Art." The most important leader of the literary phase of this movement was Mário de Andrade (1893-1945) who wrote poetry, essays on literature, art, music, and Brazilian folklore, and Macunaíma, which he called "a rhapsody, not a novel." Oswald de Andrade (1890-1953) wrote a collection of poems entitled Pau-Brasil (Brazilwood) which evaluated Brazilian culture, superstitions, and family life in simple language, economically, and, for the first time in Brazilian poetry, with humour.
The transition to a more spontaneous literary approach is represented by poets Carlos Drummond de Andrade (1902-1987), who used irony to dissect the customs of the time, and Manuel Bandeira (1886-1968), who built language associations around proverbs and popular expressions. Bandeira wanted his last poem "to be eternal, saying the simplest and least intentional things." The modern Brazilian novel took on a new shape and social content after José Américo de Almeida (1887-1969) wrote A Bagaceira, a pioneer story about the harsh conditions of life in the backward northeast. He was followed by Jorge Amado (1902-), Graciliano Ramos (1892-1953), José Lins do Rego (1901-1957), and Rachel de Queiroz (1910-), all noted for the power of their images in evoking the problems and hardships of life in the northeast region where they were born.
The transition to a more spontaneous literary approach is represented by poets Carlos Drummond de Andrade (1902-1987), who used irony to dissect the customs of the time, and Manuel Bandeira (1886-1968), who built language associations around proverbs and popular expressions. Bandeira wanted his last poem "to be eternal, saying the simplest and least intentional things." The modern Brazilian novel took on a new shape and social content after José Américo de Almeida (1887-1969) wrote A Bagaceira, a pioneer story about the harsh conditions of life in the backward northeast. He was followed by Jorge Amado (1902-), Graciliano Ramos (1892-1953), José Lins do Rego (1901-1957), and Rachel de Queiroz (1910-), all noted for the power of their images in evoking the problems and hardships of life in the northeast region where they were born.
