BrazilinMind

Amazing moment Brazilian TV crew film live shooting… but victim incredibly survives

admin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:57:20 +0000

Source: Daily Mail

A Brazilian news crew covering an attempted murder found themselves in the middle of an even bigger story – after a gunman shot a man in the head in front of the camera.

Plumber Rodrigo da Silva was lying on the floor in the crime-ridden Brazilian city of Joao Pessoa when a TV crew arrived to report the drama unfolding.

BBC News: ‘Batman’ helping Brazilian police

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:27:29 +0000

Police in one of Brazil’s most crime-ridden areas have called in “Batman” to help in the fight against drug trafficking.

A retired policeman has been dressing as the Caped Crusader in an effort to raise awareness of crime amongst young people.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17419311

V&A Friday Late: Hot Brazil

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:05:13 +0000

Ahead of carnival season comes V&A’s Friday Late: Hot Brazil on 27th January, celebrating the energy and ingenuity of Brazil through art, music, dance and plenty more from the likes of Paraíso School of Samba, Braziliality and João Brasil.
Each visitor can take home a specially-commissioned artwork by Brazilian artist Bruno 9Li (whose work is pictured above) and take part in a samba flash mob in the Grand Entrance, with dancers from the Paraíso School of Samba. London-based collective Braziliality will produce a telenovela soap opera entitled The Adventures of Vitoria & Alberto in Brasil which will star visitors as its cast and will be transmitted live in the Museum.

Brazilian design studio Flour will create a giant table football game where visitors can compete for prizes and Rio de Janerio-based practice Super Uber will be at the Museum with their digital installation game which takes inspiration from Pelé. Curitiba-born, London-based illustrator Clayton Junior will host a workshop in which visitors can stencil their own ‘Brazilian Modernist’ designs on to canvas bags to take home. Further highlights include screenings of Jared Levy’s Grafitti Fine Art a film exploring the street art of Sao Paulo and Waste Land, an award-winning documentary about communities living at the world’s largest land-fill in Rio de Janeiro, by Lucy Walker.

Stuart Baker, author and founder of London record label Soul Jazz, will present a selection of Brazilian album covers, discussing the stories behind them. There will also be specially-commissioned installations around the Museum, panel discussions, caipirinhas, food and music from DJ, musician, and producer João Brasil.

27th January 18.30 – 22.00, Admission Free
V&A Friday Late: Hot Brazil
Victoria & Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL
Tel. +44 (0)20 7942 2000
vam.ac.uk/fridaylate

According to the Daily Mail: Watch out, Rio! Prince Harry is arriving

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:10:01 +0000

Party-loving Prince Harry is to visit Rio as part of his first solo royal tour in March.

The 27-year-old is also planning to stay on in Brazil for a three day holiday afterwards, giving him plenty of time admire the sights on Ipanema Beach.

The third-in-line-to-the-throne is undertaking the 10-day trip on behalf of the Queen as part of his grandmother’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2089025/Party-loving-Prince-Harry-land-Brazil-solo-royal-tour.html#ixzz1k1176Zqj

Miami Has a Hearty Oi (Hello) for Free-Spending Brazilians – Says NY times

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:26:54 +0000

ven in a city that has embraced so many waves of Latinos that it is jokingly referred to as the only South American capital in North America, no one group has been as courted and pampered as the Brazilians.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/us/miami-courts-free-spending-brazilians.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&ref=todayspaper&adxnnlx=1325150657-4obsHqcj3gUuuWETwwtVag

According to forbes magazine the ‘Next Oprah’ Could Be Brazilian

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:43:42 +0000

Brazil, with its booming economy, a strong currency and a fast-growing middle class, also has the world’s most carefree population in regards to the global financial crisis that hit us all in 2008, but, for some reason, seems to have gone unnoticed in the South American nation. Despite International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde‘s warning that “Latin America isn’t immune to the European debt crisis and should prepare to confront possible turbulence,” Brazilians are not worried. At all.

The proof of that is that while Europe struggles with its sovereign debt crisis and recovery falters in the United States, not to mention the always bizarre behaviour of the politicians in Brasilia, the top news this week in Brazil has been the musical chairs on the country’s most popular (and highly watched) nightly news show, Jornal Nacional (JN). Fátima Bernardes, 49, who worked as a co-anchor and reporter for JN since 1987, along with her husband and colleague, William Bonner, announced on Thursday that she is leaving her job as the co-anchor of JN in order to pursue a daytime career, possibly as a talk-show host.

Immediately after the announcement, Bernardes became a trending topic on Twitter and a subject of speculation as of what she’s going to do next. Although little is known about her new show, which is expected to premiere in April on Globo TV (Brazil’s leading channel), it is understood that Bernardes will keep using her journalistic skills, however in a more popular and showbiz-like way. According to blogger and TV expert, Daniel Castro, “Globo’s aim is to transform Bernardes in Brazil’s answer to Oprah Winfrey.”

That is a big challenge. As the co-anchor of JN, Bernardes had already reached the pinnacle of her career as a journalist. Perhaps the most highly watched nightly news show in the world, JN has an audience of over 30 million viewers every night, with 68% market share. It is also one of Globo’s most commercially successful programs, representing a big chunk of the network’s revenue, which is expected to reach R$ 13 billion ($7.2 billion) in 2011.

But Bernardes has something in her favor. Dubbed “the most loved journalist by Brazilians,” she’s not only a respected professional but also a megawatt celebrity in her own right. Her constant change of haircuts is a hot topic among JN viewers, to the point of Bernardes once declaring that her hair is now a “national heritage” item.

Bernardes’ new show will also come in a time when Globo is trying to focus more on its internationalization. Although not as ‘globally’ successful as its main competitor in Latin America, Mexico’s Televisa, Globo’s shows, especially its telenovelas, are also very popular in the region and in other Portuguese-speaking countries like Portugal and Mozambique. Recently, Globo also inaugurated its headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal, in an attempt to be more present in the European TV market.

As for Bernardes, she has the popularity and the admiration that it takes to become the “new queen of daytime,” at least among her countrymen. Besides, Globo is not only in need but also very interested in making Bernardes into its new top star.

If she will ever walk in Oprah’s shoes, well, that’s something else entirely.

Viewpoint: Brazil – steady growth for America’s only BRIC (says the BBC)

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:59:54 +0000

Over the past 10 years, Brazil has been through deep transformations.

Their origins can be traced to the country’s modernization in the 1990s, as a result of a successful privatisation program, of the stabilisation of the economy and the strengthening of the banking system.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15964808

Boys from Brazil stir up a surf war – Says The Independent

admin — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:21:28 +0000

Tensions between Hawaiian surfers and energetic newcomers from South America have reached boiling point on Oahu’s famous beaches.

You only have to watch Edison de Paula carve his way across one of the spectacular waves that wallop Oahu’s north shore each winter to realise that surfing isn’t exactly what you might call a laid-back sport. When the swells hit 20 or 30 feet, one wrong move can send you straight to a watery grave. At Pipeline, a break famous for its perfect “tubes,” there have been 70 deaths since the 1960s. At nearby Sunset Beach, a man went missing, presumed dead, only last week.

From time to time, surfers also encounter serious danger on dry land. Especially if – like de Paula – they were neither born nor raised in Hawaii, but instead grew up roughly 8,000 miles away on the beaches of Brazil.

The curse of “localism”, a universal feature of the surfing world, has reached one of its occasional boiling points on the North Shore, a small but spectacular piece of ocean-front regarded as the sport’s Mecca due to its ability to hold large, beautifully-formed waves.

Friction between territorial locals and outsiders is keenly felt at the best of times. But in recent winters, the arrival of tribes of energetic young surfers from Brazil has sparked something approaching a racial war.

De Paula has seen Brazilians beaten to a pulp by Hawaiians for both relatively minor misdemeanours, such as “disrespecting” the wrong person, and more dangerous breaches of etiquette, such as attempting to catch the wrong wave. In ensuing disputes, their cars have been vandalised, valuable surfboards snapped in two, and noses and teeth broken. “A Brazilian guy might have made a mistake in the water, or been too aggressive. He may not, strictly, have done anything wrong, but it doesn’t matter: he will get punished,” de Paula said. “Some Hawaiians, if they see someone take a wave their friend wanted, they’ll run him on to the beach and beat him down. Then they’ll tell him to leave the North Shore and never come back. They mean it, too.”

The wider surfing community first became aware of the tensions between Hawaiians and their Latin-American counterparts at the 2007 Pipeline Masters, a professional contest held annually, when Brazil’s Neco Padaratz became involved in a fight with North Shore regular Sunny Garcia. Fisticuffs began in the water. When they moved to dry land, scores of locals joined in. Order was restored when the police gave the Brazilians a safe escort from the beach.

No one knows exactly how many fights have broken out since. Police don’t keep a record and the locals have lost count. But, as another big wave season gets underway, dozens of YouTube videos and scores of eye-witness accounts bear witness to a creeping xenophobia invading paradise.

“The problem Brazilians have is that our culture is very different to American culture,” adds de Paula, who despite having now lived in Hawaii for two decades says he still has no chance of being accepted as a true “local”. “By that, I mean Brazilians are naturally happy people. We express that in the way we behave and talk, and sometimes in the way we are aggressive in the ocean, and often it gets misinterpreted. Because we are naturally loud and expressive, that upsets some people.”

Many Hawaiians, for their part, accuse over-eager Brazilians of habitually “dropping in,” or stealing waves from other surfers who have right of way. People who do that risk causing a collision or a “wipeout” place others in peril, in what is potentially, a life-threatening environment.

Ken Bradshaw, an acclaimed North Shore resident who was for many years believed to have ridden the biggest wave ever surfed, told The Independent that Brazilians are as unpopular in Hawaii now as Australians were in the 1970s. “Our problem with Brazilians is a bit like the issue we had in the 70s with Australians,” he said. “They come here with an attitude. But it’s not their home. They are a guest, coming into our house, but they don’t show respect.”

As the surf documentary, Bustin’ Down the Door recalled, several Antipodean surfers of the era Bradshaw recalls were subjected to death threats.

Today, emotions run equally high. “I hate to sound racist, but the reality is that in any culture, groups who come in affect the security of people who are already there,” added Bradshaw. “The Brazilians here are like Asian immigrants to the mainland: they create little Chinatowns. By that, I mean that they surf together in packs, eight or 10 of them.” Another problem is their “attitude,” he says. “They want to dominate, want to be the most aggressive group in the water. They are self-absorbed, and the way they conduct themselves can seem offensive.”

Behind the big talk and endless fights is a time-honoured fact: surfing is, and always will be, a straightforward struggle for the valuable piece of finite real estate that is a top-class wave.

The mechanics of the sport mean that each wave can usually only hold one person; and there can be 10 or even 15 minutes between a “set” of three or four rideable waves. That makes for a lot of competition when they come along. Meanwhile the exploding popularity of the sport brings ever-increasing numbers of surfers to top breaks, further ratcheting up the pressure.

On a good day at Pipeline, Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay and other top North Shore spots, it’s not uncommon to see a hundred people jostling for position in a “take off zone” no bigger than a football pitch. The atmosphere during a big swell becomes even more competitive thanks to the presence of the world’s top surf photographers. Surfers know that if a shot of them catching a large wave finds its way into print, sponsorship dollars may soon follow.

“Everyone comes here because this is considered a proving ground,” said Rick Williams, a Sunset Beach surfer. “Guys come here from overseas expecting to go head to head with the local guys. The waves are very, very big and it’s extremely macho and competitive.”

Long-term population growth on Oahu has only increased the overcrowding, added Carol Phillips, a local surf instructor and pro bodyboarder, while economic development means that more and more Brazilians can these days afford to visit. “The North Shore is known as the seven-mile miracle because there’s so much fabulous surf in such a short space,” she says. “But more people live on the island than ever, and people who visit tend to come back year after year. So it just keeps on getting more crowded.” Demographic changes have also produced spiralling house prices, clogged roads, and a sense that the island culture is under threat.

Leading the pushback is The Wolfpak, a vigilante group formed roughly a decade ago by angry young locals which has recently been blamed for attacks on Brazilian surfers. Its leader is Kala Alexander, a pro surfer whose notoriety led to cameos in the film Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the television series Hawaii-5-O.

Asked how he might deal with “foreigners” who annoy him in the water, Alexander said recently: “Maybe I’d paddle up to you, tell you to go in, or take off your leash [a cord used to attach a board to a surfer]. Later I’d find you, or a few of the other guys would, and you’d be taught a lesson.”

Insane drunk zoo visitor jumped into a monkey enclosure in Sao Paulo

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:49:37 +0000

An amateur cameraman has captured the insane moment a drunk zoo visitor jumped into a monkey enclosure to ‘play with them’, and ended up with severe bite marks after the animals attacked.

Joao Leite Dos Santos, a mechanic in Sao Paulo, Brazil, admitted that he had been drinking alcohol when he went to the Sorocaba Zoo on Sunday.

Thinking that it would be fun to join the zoo’s colony of spider monkeys, he climbed over a fence and swam across a dividing pool to get closer to the animals, as amused tourists looked on.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2062721/Drunk-zoo-visitor-ends-hospital-climbing-monkey-enclosure-play.html#ixzz1e3pO8SPg

Brazil divided over an emerging middle class says the BBC

admin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:53:18 +0000

As Brazil’s economy keeps growing, a record number of Brazilians are heading to the country’s tropical beaches on package holidays. But not everyone welcomes the invasion of tourists or what that change symbolises: the rising affluence and aspirations of Brazil’s expanding middle class.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15668275