I have put together some basic information about Brazil. 
Brazil is the largest nation in South America and the world's fourth largest (8.514.215,3 km2). It occupies 47.3% of the South American continent and is smaller only than Canada, China and the United States of America. It borders every country in South America except for Chile and Ecuador. The Tropic of Capricorn runs through the south, near São Paulo, and the equator cuts through the north of the country near the city of Macapá, in Amapá. Brazil is a nation of continental proportions: bathed from North to South by the Atlantic Ocean, its immense coastline runs for 7,367 km.
Brazil: Culture & Society
Brazilian culture is an extremely diverse Latin American culture. Its main early influence - aside from the original indigenous cultures - came from Portugal, due to strong colonial ties with the Portuguese empire which spread the Portuguese language, legal system, Catholic religion, and other cultural traditions. Brazilian culture also derives from other European influences, the beliefs and customs of the native South American peoples, as well as from African and Asian cultures.
Although some nations pride themselves on fostering the peaceful coexistence of multiple cultures (multiculturalism), the Brazilian concept of culture is one of 'mixed unity', meaning that it is not exactly very open .
People
The Brazilian population, spread out over a continental-sized nation, reflects a wide ethnic and cultural mix.
In general, Brazilians have a human warmth probably unsurpassed anywhere in the world. They are a remarkably happy people, with a spontaneous, enthusiastic and high-spirited nature - which they eagerly demonstrate at every oppportunity for a celebration, especially during the annual Carnival parades.
Brazil's economy
(R$1,00 1 Real ; R$2,00 2 Reais)
Characterized by large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. From 2001-03 real wages fell and Brazil's economy grew, on average only 2.2% per year, as the country absorbed a series of domestic and international economic shocks. That Brazil absorbed these shocks without financial collapse is a tribute to the resiliency of the Brazilian economy and the economic program put in place by former President Cardoso and strengthened by President Lula da Silva. In 2004, Brazil enjoyed more robust growth that yielded increases in employment and real wages. The three pillars of the economic program are a floating exchange rate, an inflation-targeting regime, and tight fiscal policy, all reinforced by a series of IMF programs. The currency depreciated sharply in 2001 and 2002, which contributed to a dramatic current account adjustment; in 2003 to 2005, Brazil ran record trade surpluses and recorded its first current account surpluses since 1992.
Religion
Catholicism
Catholicism is the official religion of the nation. However, there is an increase in the number of individuals who are devotees of Pentecostal faiths.
Brazil is said to be the largest Roman Catholic country in the world, but the truth is that there are all varieties of religious beliefs and practices to be found in the country. Brazil was officially Catholic for four centuries, from the 1500's until the fall of the Portuguse Empire, in 1889.
The Brazilian Constitution of 1889 guaranteed religious freedom and a wide range of religions have since been practiced freely. Nevertheless, according to the CNBB (National Conference of Brazilian Bishops), in 1996 about 80% of the population declared themselves Roman Catholics. Many Brazilians are baptized and married in the Catholic Church, however, they don't attend Sunday Mass very often.
Candomblé
The Afro-Brazilian religious practices such as Candomblé, Umbanda and Spiritism are very popular in the country.
Candomblé is a religion that was brought to Brazil by the slaves from Nigeria and Benin. According to the slave-owners and Catholic officials, African slaves had to be converted to Christianity and were therefore prohibited from performing their Candomblé rituals. In order to continue their traditional practices while still contenting their owners, the slaves coupled their deities with corresponding personalities in Catholicism. For instance, Oxalá, a male god of procreation and harvest, was identified with Jesus; and Iemanjá, goddess of the sea, was associated with "Our Lady of Conception". The Catholic Church was content to let matters lie, hoping that over the years, African traditions would eventually die out and that Christian beliefs would be strengthened. However, this has not been the case. Today, especially in the North-East, many Brazilians of all socio-economic classes practice both Catholicism and Candomblé. Umbanda, a religion derived from candomblé coupled with the Christian and spiritist beliefs found in Kardecism, is also practiced widely.
Protestantism
In recent decades, Protestantism has grown rapidly in Brazil. According to the 2000 Census, approximately 15 percent of the population identify themselves as Protestants, an estimated 85 percent of which are Pentecostal/Evangelical. These Evangelical churches have different denominations which include the Assembly of God and the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Lutherans and Baptists make up the bulk of the remaining Protestants and are centered in the southern part of the country, where the majority of German and northern European immigrants concentrated during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Literature
Brazil's most renowned writer is undoubtedly Jorge Amado (1912- 2002). Born in Salvador, Amado's writing captured the spirit and personality of Bahias. His novels, particularly successful in the United States, include Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon (1958); The Violent Land (1944); Shepherds of the Night (1964); and Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1966).
J. Amado M. de Assis Veríssimo Drummond J.L. Rêgo
Another important figure in Brazilian Literature is Machado de Assis (1839 - 1908). The son of a freed slave, Assis was a novelist with a deep understanding of human relations, receiving acclaim for his five books and other literary works, among which his greatest success was Dom Casmurro (1899).
C. Meireles L. Teles G. Rosa G. Ramos C. Lispector
Numerous other notable Brazilian writers emerged in the 20th century, including: Erico Veríssimo, Guimarães Rosa, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Clarice Lispector, José Lins do Rêgo, Graciliano Ramos, Cecilia Meireles, Lygia Fagundes Teles, and others.
The Music of Brazil
Brazilian music has always been characterized by great diversity and shaped by musical influences from Africa and Portugal and is still developing new and original forms.
Axé - Music (pronounce: AH-SH-EH) e.g. means "Good Luck". A contemporary and relatively new Afro-Bahian pop style influenced by samba, rock, reggae and others. It is a non-stop dancing music on the carnivals throughout the country. Some of the well-known performers are: Carlinhos Brown, Banda Olodum and Ivete Sangalo.
Chôro (cry) is an improvisational instrumental style from the late 19th century. At the beginning Chôro was closely connected with the development of samba, and is typically played by a small ensemble. Early stars of the genre include flautist Pixinguinha and the mandolin player Jacob do Bandolim. Chorinho represents to Brazilian black people what blues represents to American black people.
Bossa Nova - Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music created by Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto and first introduced in 1958 by the recording of "Chega de Saudade". Its most popular song is 'The Girl from Ipanema'. Bossa Nova was strongly influenced by North American jazz, but its' grounded - no doubt about it - in Samba.
MPB - Música Popular Brasileira (Brazilian Popular Music) is a post-Bossa Nova popular music from big cities like Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte. It combines original songwriting and updated versions of music styles like samba and samba-canção, from folk to rock and pop. Signifying much more than the sum of the three words would indicate, "MPB" brought to the Brazilian society in the 60s criticism of social injustice and governmental repression, progressive opposition to the political scene characterized by military dictatorship and the concentration of land ownership. Few of the well known composers, like Chico Buarque, Caetano and Gilberto Gil, had to leave the country for many years. "Transforming from a left-wing musical movement, MPB became the core of Brazil's urban middle-class music, and the term still indicates a certain aesthetic quality in modern Brazilian music." (Wikipedia) Other popular names from MPB: Milton Nascimento, Adriana Calcanhoto, Marisa Monte, Djavan, Luis Gonzaga, Joao Bosco.
Samba - Created by former slaves and free black people, Samba had its high time in Rio de Janeiro in the 1930s. Until today it is like an icon of Brazil worldwide. Its most famous exponent was probably Carmen Miranda, internationally known for diffusing Brazilian music abroad. Some of the well-known performers are: Paulinho da Viola, Alcione, Zeca Pagodinho e Martinho da Vila.
Nowadays there is a well know form of Samba, that atracts lots of people to bars on weekends: Pagode. This relatively new music style is harmonicaly easier than Samba and its texts are normaly short, romantic or sensual, and people learn them by heart quickly. This makes it even more popular than Samba or other styles.
Popular regional music includes the forró ( "for all"), frevo , both from the Northeast , Música Sertaneja (Brazilian country)from the Centralwest and the state of São Paulo.
FREVO
Tropicalismo - Tropicalismo is a mix of musical influences that arrived in Brazil in the 1960s and led to a more blended style of international and national rythms. Some of the well-known performers are: Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Tom Zé.
Brazilian Food
The Brazilian cuisine has been strongly influenced by Portuguese colonization and Italian, German, Syrian and Lebanese immigrants, who came at the end of the nineteenth century. Brazilian culinary build into a rich variety of flavors and colors adapted to local ingredients which is unique and delicious.
Because the country is so vast, each region has its specialties. In the Northeast, especially in Bahia, African influence is prominent with the spiciest food such as: Acarajé (a mashed bean small cake stuffed with peppers, dried shrimp, onions and ginger), Vatapá (a puree of fish or shrimp), Moqueca (seafood broth eaten with rice) and Dende Oil (orange palm oil). The Amazon is better known for the Indian influence and has a diet rich of fish (Pirarucu), root vegetables, yams and peanuts or tropical fruits. In São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the two most cosmopolitan cities of Brazil, there is a great concentration of national and international restaurants with contemporary food. Minas Gerais regional dishes are short ribs, beans and local soft ripened cheese. Churrasco or beef barbecue is a contribution from the South, it is among Brazilian favorites and widely found in the steakhouses all over the country. In this " All you can Eat" steakhouses, pieces of beef are skewered into a metal sword and roasted over hot coals.
feijoada acarajé churrasco moqueca
Feijoada is considered the national dish, a heritage from African slaves during Brazil's colonization. They used pork leftovers that their Portuguese masters wouldn't eat, such as ears and tail cooked with black beans. Nowadays it is elaborated with many different smoked and sun-dried meats, smoked sausage and served with a number of side dishes, including sliced oranges, cold cuts, farofa (stir-fried manioc flour), couve mineira (thinly sliced kale) and white rice. Feijoada is commonly served on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Delicious tropical fruits are found all year round. Some rare examples are açaí, cajú, cupuaçú, graviola, mangostim, carambola, pitanga, romã, cajá, umbú, tamarindo, saputi, jaboticaba, acerola, mangaba, among others.
açaí cajú graviola carambola
pitanga romã cajá jaboticaba
Savory snacks served as appetizers called salgadinhos are not to miss: codfish croquettes, rice cake, manioc cake stuffed with melted catupiry cheese or shrimp and pão de queijo (small hot cheese rolls).
Among the popular drinks are chopp (draft beer), cachaça (alcoholic beverage distilled from sugar can) and caipirinha, Brazilian's favorite. Caipirinha' s ingredients consist of crushed lime slices, ice, sugar and extra juice, served over rum or cachaça.
caipirinha chopp guaraná "cafezinho"
Guaraná is a soft drink which competes with Coke, derived from the fruit with the same name. Brazilians are also proud of national coffee, ranking as one the largest producers in the world. At breakfast, coffee is served with hot milk and after meals in tiny cups, really strong (cafezinho). Because of the tropical fruit variety, juices are divine.
If travelling is your passion, Brazil is your destiny
Brazilians often say they live in a continent rather than a country, and that's an excusable exaggeration. The landmass is bigger than the United States if you exclude Alaska; the journey from Recife in the east to the western border with Peru is longer than that from London to Moscow, and the distance between the northern and southern borders is about the same as that between New York and Los Angeles. Brazil has no mountains to compare with its Andean neighbours, but in every other respect it has all the scenic - and cultural - variety you would expect from so vast a country.
It's fair to say that nowhere in the world do people know how to enjoy themselves more - most famously in the annual orgiastic celebrations of Carnaval, but reflected, too, in the lively year-round nightlife that you'll find in any decent-sized town. This national hedonism also manifests itself in Brazil's highly developed beach culture; the country's superb music and dancing; rich regional cuisines ; and in the most relaxed and tolerant attitude to sexuality - gay and straight - that you'll find anywhere in South America. And if you needed more reason to visit, there's a strength and variety of popular culture, and a genuine friendliness and humour in the people that is tremendously welcoming and infectious.
Climate & Time Zones
Although 90 percent of the country is within the tropical zone, more than 60 percent of the population live in areas where altitude, sea winds or cold polar fronts moderate the temperature. There are five climatic regions in Brazil: equatorial, tropical, semi arid, highland tropical and subtropical. Plateau cities such as São Paulo, Brasília and Belo Horizonte have very mild climate with average temperature around 19º (66F). Rio de Janeiro, Recife, and Salvador on the coast have warm climate balanced by cool winds. In the Southern Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba, the subtropical climate is similar to parts of United States and Europe with occasional frosting. In this region, temperatures can fall below zero during winter.
Brazil: 5 regions, 26 states and Federal Distric (and capitals):
Click on the states bellow and learn more about them:
Despite the popular image of the Amazon as a region of blistering heat, temperatures of more than 32º C degrees ( 90ºF) are rarely experienced there. In fact, the annual average temperature is in the range of 22-26º C ( 72-76ºF), with only a very small seasonal variation between the warmest and the coldest months. The hottest part of Brazil is the Northeast where during the dry season, between May and November, temperatures of more than 38ºdegrees (100ºF) are recorded frequently. The Northeast has greater seasonal variation in temperatures than does the Amazon region. Along the Atlantic coast from Recife to Rio de Janeiro, temperatures range from 23º to 27º C ( 73º F - 81ºF). Inland, on higher ground temperatures are lower, ranging from 18º - 21ºC (64º F - 71º F) .
Brazil has 4 time zones. Brasilia time is the nation's official standard, three hours behind Greenwich Mean Time, London.
Attention: During October to February daylight savings time (Summer time) is in effect. Clocks are set forward one hour. The starting and ending dates vary each year and are announced with very short prior warning.
Eventually changes could occur, principally in the Northeast.
Visa Regulations
A visa is not required for holders of passports from Europe or South America. As a matter of reciprocity, visas are required for visitors from North America. Passports must be valid for at least six months and a return ticket and proof of sufficient funds may be requested on arrival. Tourists will be admitted for a stay of up to 90 days which is extendable, at the discretion of the Federal Police, for a further 90 days. Tourists are not permitted to work.
Vaccination
If you are visiting touristic destinations in the south of Brazil such as Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Foz do Iguaçu or the North East such as Fortaleza, Salvador, Recife, Natal, there is no need to worry about vaccination. Only be aware that an international certificate of vaccination against polio is compulsory for children aged between three months and six years.
An international certificate of vaccination against yellow fever is compulsory for travellers who, within the three months prior to their arrival in Brazil, have visited or been in transit through any of the following countries: Angola, Benin, Bolivia, Burkina
Faso, Cameroon, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, French Guyana, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Peru, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Venezuela and Zaire.
yellow fever international certificate
Additionally, vaccination against yellow fever is recommended for all travellers when visiting the following states of Brazil: Acre, Amazonas, Amapá, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins.
Please note that yellow fever vaccinations take approximately 10 days to become effective. If there is any doubt about the need for vaccinations, please contact the Brazilian Consulate General.
The Brazilian Portuguese Language
History:
After the discovery of Brazil in the year 1500, when Portugal first colonized Brazil, Tupi, or more precisely the Tupinambá, one of the languages of the Tupi-Guarani family spoken by indians who lived on the Brazilian coast, was used along with Portuguese as the general language of the colony. This was primarily because the Jesuit priests studied and taught the Tupi language. In 1757, Tupi was banned by royal decree, although the language had already been overwhelmed by Portuguese spoken by the large number of immigrants.
Influences:
When the Jesuits were expelled in 1759, Portuguese became the dominant language of the country. However, Portuguese inherited words associated with flora and fauna from indigenous languages. Among these words were abacaxi (pineapple), caju (cashew), mandioca (manioc flour), and piranha (the fierce fish), tatu (armadillo), as well as proper and geographic names.
The Portuguese language in Brazil received a new source of contributions with the influence of African slaves. The African influence came primarily from the Iorubá spoken by slaves from Nigeria. Some of these words also found their way to Europe. Iorubá contributions derived from words connected with religion and the Afro-Brazilian cuisine. From the Angolan Quimbundo language e.g. came words such as caçula, meaning the youngest child, moleque (a street child), and samba.
Development:
During the 18th century, other differences between the American and European Portuguese developed. At that time Brazilian Portuguese failed to adopt linguistic changes taking place in Portugal produced by French influence. The Brazilian Portuguese remained loyal to the pronunciation used at the time of its discovery. However, when Don João, the Portuguese king, and the royal entourage took refuge in Brazil in 1808 after Napoleon Bonaparte had invaded Portugal, his presence helped to reapproximate the Portuguese spoken in the cities to the Portuguese of Portugal, especially in Rio de Janeiro.
After Brazilian independence in 1822, Brazilian Portuguese became influenced by Europeans, mainly Italians, Spaniards and Germans, who had migrated to the central and southern parts of the country. This is the reason one finds in those areas variations in pronunciation and a few superficial lexical changes. These changes reflect the nationalities settling in each area.
Countries and regions where Portuguese has official status.
In the 20th century, the split between the Portuguese and Brazilian variants of Portuguese heightened as the result of new words for technological innovations. This happened because Portuguese lacked a uniform procedure for adopting such words. Certain words took different forms in different countries. For example: in Portugal one hears comboio, and in Brazil one hears trem, both meaning train. Autocarro in Portugal is the same thing as ônibus in Brazil, both meaning bus. At the beginning of this century, the nationalism and the individualism of the Romantic movement began promoting the creation of a language norm based on the Brazilian version of the Portuguese language. In 1922, the Modernists reintroduced this argument, promoting a need to break with traditional Portuguese models and to adopt the Brazilian speech pattern. This opening by the Modernists led to the successful adoption of the Brazilian norm in literature.
* In the larger cities, or those with good tourism infrastructure, English is spoken in the hotels, currency exchange shops, tourism agencies, airports and large shops and shopping centers;
* The average educated Brazilian has a reasonable notion of the English language and can help the tourist with general information on the streets of the major cities;
* Spanish also is a language that is understood in the large cities and main tourist destinations;
* In the south of the country, because of the influence of colonization, many Brazilians speak German and Italian.
Test your knowledge about Brazil:
True or False???
- There are direct flights from Salvador da Bahia to the South, e.g. Florianópolis or Porto Alegre (all state capitals).
- Brazilians are easy-going. Ties and jackets are no "must" in business.
- Using helicopters to go to work is nothing anusual in São Paulo business world.
- Employees in Brazil normally need an account at the employers bank to receive their salaries.
- Most Brazilians love talking about the Rain Forest and environmental issues.
- In general there is no problem to communicate in English or Spanish in Brazil.
- The majority of Brazilian population is either black or "mulatto".
Sources: Brazilian Embassy in London, Wikipedia, Justbrazil, Google images.
Answers to the quiz: F,F,T,T,F,F,F.
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