In many ways, political culture in South America’s two most-watched countries couldn’t be more different. Brazilian voters, like this one walking over campaign flyers yesterday, are less politicized, and choose between candidates who agree on the big questions. Yesterday, Brazilians and Venezuelans went to the polls. Here, voters broadly voted to maintain the powers that(…)
Municipal elections Sunday – a quick guide
Brazilians go to the polls on Sunday to elect their municipal representatives. These posts are quite important, as mayors have a great deal of power here. For those of us that live in Brazil, these campaigns can often drag on forever, but have turned out to be quite interesting this year. For those living abroad,(…)
Emicida – full interview
Emicida, one of the stars bringing Brazil’s intelligent, poetic, and radical hip hop scene into the spotlight, speaks to us for the Los Angeles Times. On Sunday, I published this article on the rise of rap music in Brazil, featuring quotes from interviews with Criolo and Emicida. Below is the (relatively) complete transcript of the(…)
Brazil under construction
South America’s largest country is finally, hopefully, on its way to patching up its woefully lacking infrastructure. But fixing one problem sometimes means dealing with others. By Dom Phillips Living in Rio can at times feel like living on a construction site. Construction is all around: a new metro line, new highways, the whole decayed(…)
São Paulo’s culinary cutting edge
South America’s largest city is famously a gastronomic melting-pot. It’s the kind of place where the best ‘local’ cuisine is often Japanese, Italian, Lebanese, or from Brazil’s Northeast over a thousand miles away. All of that is well-known. But for the newest additions to the scene, one heads(…)
Watch the skies: São Paulo’s helicopter wars
In São Paulo, the true elite skip the streets, buzzing between the tops of the skyscrapers that dominate the city, and passing over the plebes stuck in traffic below. Restrictions have come up in last few years, but in the ongoing tussle over the skies, the heli-set is now striking back. Photography by Robert Bellamy, all rights reserved.(…)
To understand Brazil, understand novelas
Know who this is and what she stands for? The soap opera is a devastatingly important part of Brazilian culture. And life here imitates art just as often as these shows depict an exaggerated version of reality. By Dom Phillips IF you want to try and understand a country or a culture, you could do(…)
How is life still improving despite economic fallout?
Two weeks ago, we published this piece in the Los Angeles Times in which I point to the surprising fact that, for the vast majority of normal Brazilians, life is still better than ever. This is despite an almost complete halt in growth over the last year. The story is told through a group of(…)
Preparing for September’s São Paulo art bonanza
By Claire Rigby There’s rarely a dull month in São Paulo as far as art is concerned. At any given moment, art lovers lucky enough to be living here or passing through have an immense calendar of world-class exhibitions to choose from. But knocking them all into a cocked hat is is the mighty Bienal,(…)
São Paulo vs Rio – Dom Phillips on the eternal debate
Brazil’s two biggest cities are very, very, different. This is a an argument which never ends here, and one which I couldn’t help but jump into – Vincent By Dom Phillips Clichés abound in Brazil, and it’s not just we foreigners who throw them around. One is that life in Brazil, be that in terms(…)
