By Dom Phillips There’s a lot of prejudice about nordestinos – people from the North East of Brazil – down here in Brazil’s South East, particularly in big cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Their region has traditionally been poorer, and a lot made their way down here in the twentieth century looking for jobs,(…)
Arquivo - Tag: Culture
Contemporary Brazilian literature – Granta weighs in
A collection of work from 20 of Brazil’s ‘best’ young writers has set off a mini firestorm of discussion, including as to what Brazilian literature really is these days. By Claire Rigby As the Flip literary festival recedes into the past and the São Paulo Book Bienal approaches, last week’s series of post-Flip events included a(…)
FLIP – Paraty’s Literary Festival
Performers on stilts and gringos on paddleboards were two of the unexpected, but wonderful, experiences over the weekend event which brings Brazil face-to-face with the world’s literary powerhouses. By Dom Phillips Wobbling atop a stand-up paddle board may not be the most conventional way to view a literary festival. But it’s certainly the most scenic.(…)
Street life and the megacity
Public scenes of teeming life are harder to find than you might expect in São Paulo, and some of the best examples are under fire By Claire Rigby The streets of São Paulo, for a city of almost 20 million, are far from teeming. Quite the opposite. Where other Latin American cities are characterized by(…)
Pride and Prejudice – Gay parades and gay rights in Brazil
By Claire Rigby Is São Paulo the gayest city in South America? Does size matter? If so, then probably. At noon on Sunday, São Paulo’s Pride parade, the ‘Parada’ kicks off at the MASP museum on Avenida Paulista, 16 years after the first march gathered about 300 people and ended in uproar when the police(…)
Alex Atala and the feeding of the 5,000
One brave idea proved much too mouth-watering for its own good at São Paulo’s Virada Cultural By Claire Rigby There were sharp elbows, sharp tongues and a few sharpened knives out over the weekend, when an event intended to bring the cream of São Paulo gastronomy to the streets attracted more would-be diners than it(…)
Criolo – from the ghetto to the clouds
Brazil’s reigning musical deity has given his blessing to its newest national poet. Criolo has broken out of the the ghetto, but he has taken the ghetto with him. by Dom Phillips, in Rio de Janeiro The thousands packed into Brazilian rapper Criolo’s show last Saturday at Rio’s cavernous Fundição Progresso were already jubilant when(…)
Lollapalooza Brazil
The latest in a wave of Brazilian mega-festivals brings the eager masses some long-time favourites amidst moments of old-school Brazilian chaos. By Claire Rigby The racetrack at São Paulo’s Jockey Club was a hive of activity under a layer of floodlit mist last week, while inside the bar, a handful of punters placed their bets(…)
