São Paulo’s Virada Cultural, a 24-hour mega-party featuring more than 900 acts, put the best and the worst of São Paulo on display last weekend. Despite headlines dominated by crime, Claire Rigby had a great time, alongside millions of others, and argues that these kinds of events should be a source of pride for the(…)
Cuban doctors? Any doctors?
There has been lots of noise about how to fix Brazil’s giant health deficit recently, but little clarity as to what, if anything, will be done. Above, the Cuban and Brazilian foreign ministers setting off the heated debate. For the past week, Brazil has been having a somewhat puzzling discussion about its medical system. There(…)
Mother’s day frenzy
Shops, restaurants, and even the Air Force have been preparing for the huge ‘Dia das mães’ rush in Brazil, a country where people love their mothers very much. Above, shopping for flowers this week in preparation. By Dom Phillips Foreigners living in Brazil can forget about meeting their Brazilian friends Sunday. It is Mother’s Day and that means the(…)
A 7,100 reais bill – My Vivo saga
A lack of consumer protections means big profits for companies. A Vivo employee, for example, admitted to me they make it as hard as possible to contest mistakes on a bill. But those really suffering as a result aren’t people like me (despite the 6,800 reais mistake in my phone bill yesterday, above) but poor(…)
Get Folha news – in English – By email
You may have noticed that Folha’s English-language news site has vastly improved recently. Take a look – they’ve done a great job of picking the stories most relevant for foreigners and translating them. Now, they (we) are starting a new service to send out a daily newsletter, via email. Here is the more complete info on(…)
Against Feliciano, an extraordinary human rights commission
Marco Feliciano, a man accused of homophobia and racism, has bizarrely managed to take over as Brazil’s human rights commissioner. So the progressive movements coalescing on the streets of downtown São Paulo set up their own commission, above. By Claire Rigby ‘Life’s too short to live in São Paulo’. So says a piece of graffiti currently(…)
Congress vs. the Supreme Court
After months of conflict, some in Congress (above) proposed a surprising bill to limit Supreme Court powers. It was quickly laughed aside, but we do still have an interesting fight over Brazil’s messy democracy on our hands. A battle has been heating up between two branches of Brazil’s government. So far, it’s culminated in legislative(…)
Brazil and Portugal – trading places
Brazil’s relationship to its former imperial power has changed dramatically in recent years, reports Dom Phillips from Lisbon. Above, a bookshop there By Dom Phillips “I went to Brazil about seven years ago,” Sandra Meleiro told me, sipping a beer in the weak Lisbon Spring sunshine. “I have relatives there. I love it. And it(…)
Concrete and jungle: São Paulo’s Glass House
Claire Rigby visits the stunning Casa de Vidro, one of many modernist masterpieces hidden in our tropical concrete jungle. If you’re lucky enough to be in São Paulo, get there. Photo above © Claire Rigby By Claire Rigby There’s no vista quite like São Paulo’s, with its long swathes of grey-and-white apartment blocks, punctuated by a few,(…)
Brazilian Funk goes bling – ‘ostentação’
Brash Funk Carioca emerged in the 1990s from the illegal underworld of Rio’s favelas. Now, in a nod to North American rap traditions and Brazil’s new economic moment, a group of kids in São Paulo has hit it big using the music to celebrate conspicuous consumption. By Dom Phillips Wearing gold chains and baseball caps,(…)
