Artists from Latin America and the world come together in Porto Alegre for a Bienal still named after Mercosul, the stalled regional integration project. Claire Rigby reports on the transformations on offer there. By Claire Rigby Moving, evocative, mysterious, provocative: not all great art supplies these sensations, but when it does, it has the power(…)
Arquivo - Tag: Culture
What does Brazil look like?
Claire Rigby discusses, with Folha arts writer Silas Martí, the difficulty of cutting through visual stereotypes in Brazil, a country which is often too photogenic for its own good. Above, ‘Descansando na Canoa’ (1984) by Luiz Braga, courtesy Galeria da Gávea. Throughout the post and below, other selections from the SP-Arte/Foto fair. By Claire Rigby What do you(…)
MIMO and Paraty – the Brazilian cultural weekender
Paraty, the colonial coast town near Rio, is becoming known for its festivals which are attracting more and more culturally curious Brazilians. Dom Phillips reports from MIMO, featuring the complex music appreciated here. Above: the Rum Group with Tareq Al Nasser, from Jordan. Photos Gustavo Otero Dom Phillips As the 20 or so white-clad musicians in(…)
Anitta – Funk light
The video behind Brazil’s latest pop sensation, who has scored with her looks, aspirational songs, and a more bubblegum take on Rio’s ghetto sounds. by Dom Phillips She is powerful, she knows how to wobble all the rights bits when she dances, and she will make you drool with desire.(…)
FLIP 2013
Brazil’s annual literary festival is a clever, unfussy and efficient event, interspersed with moments of unpredictable intellectual drama. Dom Phillips shares some stories from FLIP 2013. by Dom Phillips Literary festivals, like soccer matches and movies, need big moments. This one came during a ‘table’ – or mesa, as roundtable debates at the Paraty International Literary Festival,(…)
FLIP literature festival – preview
If you care about literature and/or Brazil , pay attention to FLIP this July – Dom Phillips The Paraty International Literary Party (Festa Literária Internacional de Paraty), or FLIP, as Brazil’s biggest literary festival is known, announced its 2013 lineup in Rio last Thursday. Palestinian poet Tamim Al-Barghouti and French novelist Michel Houellebecq are among the(…)
Virada Cultural – pride of São Paulo
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(…)
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(…)
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,(…)
