Culture of Brazil
Encyclopedia
The culture of Brazil presents a very diverse nature reflecting an ethnic and cultural mixing occurred in the colonial period involving mostly Native Americans
, Portuguese and Africans
. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Italian, German
, Spanish
, Arab
and Japanese immigrants settled in Brazil
and played an important role in its culture, creating a multicultural
and multiethnic society
.
As consequence of three centuries of colonization by the Portuguese empire
, many aspects of Brazilian culture are derived from the culture of Portugal
. The numerous Portuguese inheritances include the language
, the predominant religion and the colonial architectural styles
. These aspects, however, were strongly influenced by African and Native American traditions, as well as those from other Western European countries. Some aspects of Brazilian culture are contributions of Italian
, German
and other European immigrants
. Amerindian peoples and Africans played a large role in the formation of Brazilian language, cuisine, music, dance and religion.
This diverse cultural background has helped boast many celebrations and festivals that have become known around the world, such as the Brazilian Carnival
and the Bumba Meu Boi
. The colorful culture creates an environment that makes Brazil a popular destination for many tourists each year.
The official language of Brazil is Portuguese. It is spoken by about 99% of the population, making it one of the strongest elements of national identity. There are only some Amerindian groups and small pockets of immigrants who do not speak Portuguese.
Reflecting the mixed ethnic background of the country, Brazilian Portuguese
is a variation of the Portuguese language
that includes a large number of words of Native American
and African
origin.
Minority languages are spoken throughout the nation. One hundred and eighty Amerindian language
s are spoken in remote areas and a number of other languages are spoken by immigrants and their descendants. There are significant communities of German
(mostly the Hunsrückisch
, a High German language
dialect) and Italian
(mostly the Talian dialect, of Venetian
origin) speakers in the south of the country, both of which are influenced by the Portuguese language.
Three in every four Brazilians are Roman Catholics. Catholicism was introduced and spread largely by the Portuguese Jesuits
, who arrived in Brazil in 1549 during the colonization with the mission of converting the Indigenous people. The Society of Jesus played a large role in the formation of Brazilian religious identity until their expulsion of the country by the Marquis of Pombal in the 18th century.
In recent decades Brazilian society has witnessed a rise in Protestantism
. Between 1940 and 2000, the percentage of Roman Catholics fell from 95% to 73,6%, while the various Protestant denominations rose from 2,6% to 15,4%. There are also significant minorities of Spiritists
, Jews
, Muslims
, followers of Afro-Brazilian
religions (such as Umbanda
and Candomblé
) and Buddhists
.
for over three centuries. About a million Portuguese settlers arrived during this period and brought their culture to the colony. The native inhabitants of Brazil
had much contact with the colonists. Many were exterminated, others mixed with the Portuguese. For that reason, Brazil also holds Amerindian influences in its culture, mainly in its food and language. Brazilian Portuguese has hundreds of words of Native American origin, mainly from the Old Tupi language
.
Black Africans
, who were brought as slaves to Brazil, also participated actively in the formation of Brazilian culture. Although the Portuguese colonists forced their slaves to convert to Catholicism
and speak Portuguese their cultural influences were absorbed by the inhabitants of Brazil of all races
and origins. Some regions of Brazil, especially Bahia
, have particularly notable African inheritances in music, cuisine, dance and language.
Immigrants
from Italy
, Germany
, Spain
, Japan
and the Middle East
played an important role in the areas they settled (mostly Southern and Southeastern Brazil). They organized communities that became important cities such as Joinville
and Caxias do Sul
and brought important contributions to the culture of Brazil.
The Brazilian Carnival
is an annual festival
held forty-six days before Easter
. Carnival celebrations are believed to have roots in the pagan
festival of Saturnalia
, which, adapted to Christianity, became a farewell to bad things in a season of religious discipline to practice repentance and prepare for Christ's death and resurrection.
Carnival
is the most famous holiday
in Brazil and has become an event of huge proportions. The country stops completely for almost a week and festivities are intense, day and night, mainly in coastal cities.
The typical genres of music of Brazilian carnival are: samba-enredo
and marchinha
(in Rio de Janeiro
and Southeast Region
), frevo
, maracatu
and Axé music
(in Pernambuco
, Bahia
and Northeast Region
)
Brazilian cuisine varies greatly by region. This diversity reflects the country's mix of native and immigrants. This has created a national cooking style marked by the preservation of regional differences. Since the colonial period, the Feijoada
, directly linked to the presence of blacks in Brazilian land, has been the country's national dish. Luís da Câmara Cascudo
wrote that, having been revised and adapted in each region of the country, it is no longer just a dish but has become a complete food. Rice and beans
, also present in the feijoada, and considered basic at Brazilians table, is highly regarded as healthy because it contains almost all amino acid
s, fiber
and starches needed for our body.
Brazil has a variety of candies that are traditionally used for birthdays, like brigadeiro
s ("brigadiers") and beijinho
s ("kissies"). Other foods typically consumed in Brazilian parties are Coxinha
s, Churrasco
, Sfiha
s, Empanada
s, Pine nut
(in Festa Junina
). Specially in the state of Minas Gerais
, are produced and consumed the famous cheese bun
. The typical northern food is pato no tucupi
tacacá
, caruru
, vatapá
and maniçoba
; the Northeast is known for moqueca
(having seafood and palm oil), and acarajé
(the salted muffin made with white bean
s, onion
and fried in oil palm
(dendê) which is filled with dried shrimp, red pepper), manioc, diz
, hominy
, dumpling
and Quibebe
. In the Southeast, it is common to eat Minas cheese
, pizza
, tutu, sushi
, stew
, polenta
, and masses as macaroni
, lasagna
, gnocchi
. In the South, these foods are also popular, but the churrasco is the typical meal of Rio Grande do Sul
. Cachaça
is the Brazil's native liquor, distilled from sugar cane, and it is the main ingredient in the national drink, the Caipirinha
. Brazil is the world leader in production of green coffee
(café); because the Brazilian fertile soil, the country could produce and expand its market maker and often establish its economy with coffee since the Brazilian slavery
, which created a whole culture around this national drink, which became known as the "fever of coffee" – and satirized in the novelty song
"The Coffee Song
" sung by Frank Sinatra
and with lyrics by Bob Hilliard
, interpreted as an analysis of the coffee industry, and of the Brazilian economy and culture.
in the state of Piauí
, dating back to c. 13,000 BC. In Minas Gerais
and Goiás
have been found more recent examples showing geometric patterns and animal forms. One of the most sophisticated kinds of Pre-Columbian
artifact found in Brazil is the sophisticated Marajoara
pottery (c. 800–1400 AD), from cultures flourishing on Marajó Island and around the region of Santarém, and statuettes and cult objects, such as the small carved-stone amulets called muiraquitã
s, also belong to these cultures. Many of the Jesuits worked in Brazil under the influence of the Baroque
, the dominant style in Brazil until the early 19th century. The Baroque in Brazil
flourished in Bahia
and Pernambuco
and Minas Gerais
, generating valuable artists like Manuel da Costa Ataíde
and especially the sculptor-architect Aleijadinho
.
In 1816, the French Artistic Mission in Brazil
created the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts and imposed a new concept of artistic education and was the basis for a revolution in Brazilian painting, sculpture, architecture, graphic arts, and crafts. A few decades later, under the personal patronage of Emperor Dom Pedro II
, who was engaged in an ambitious national project of modernization, the Academy reached its golden age, fostering the emergence of the first generation of Romantic painters, whence Victor Meirelles
and Pedro Américo
, that, among others, produced lasting visual symbols of national identity. It must be said that in Brazil Romanticism in painting took a peculiar shape, not showing the overwhelming dramaticism, fantasy
, violence
, or interest in death and the bizarre commonly seen in the European version, and because of its academic and palatial nature all excesses were eschewed.
The beginning of the 20th century saw a struggle between old schools and modernist trends. Important modern artists Anita Malfatti
and Tarsila do Amaral
were both early pioneers in Brazilian art
. Both participated of The Week of Modern Art
festival, held in São Paulo
in 1922, that renewed the artistic and cultural environment of the city and also presented artists such as Emiliano Di Cavalcanti
, Vicente do Rego Monteiro
, and Victor Brecheret
. Based on Brazilian folklore, many artists have committed themselves to mix it with the proposals of the European Expressionism
, Cubism
, and Surrealism
. From Surrealism, arises Ismael Nery
, concerned with metaphysical subjects where their pictures appear on imaginary scenarios and averse to any recognizable reference. In the next generation, the modernist ideas of the Week of Modern Art have affected a moderate modernism that could enjoy the freedom of the strict academic agenda, with more features conventional method, best exemplified by the artist Candido Portinari
, which was the official artist of the government in mid-century. In recent years, names such as Oscar Araripe, Beatriz Milhazes
and Romero Britto
have been well acclaimed.
in the colonial period was heavily influenced by the Portuguese Manueline
style, albeit adapted for the tropical climate
. A UNESCO World Heritage Site
, the city of Ouro Preto
in the state of Minas Gerais
contains numerous well-preserved examples of this style by artists such as Aleijadinho
.
In later centuries, Brazilian architects were increasingly influenced by schools from other countries such as France
and the United States
, eventually developing a style of their own that has become known around the world. Artists such as Oscar Niemeyer
have received much acclaim, with the Brazilian capital Brasília
being the most notable example of modern Brazilian architecture.
In recent decades, Brazilian landscape architecture
has also attracted some attention, particularly in the person of Roberto Burle Marx
. Some of this notable works are the Copacabana
promenade in Rio de Janeiro
and the Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo
.
, filled with descriptions of fauna
, flora
and native
s that amazed Europeans that arrived in Brazil. When Brazil became a colony of Portugal, there was the "Jesuit Literature", whose main name was father António Vieira
, a Portuguese Jesuit who became one of the most celebrated Baroque writers of the Portuguese language. A few more explicitly literary examples survive from this period, José Basílio da Gama's epic poem celebrating the conquest of the Missions by the Portuguese, and the work of Gregório de Matos Guerra, who produced a sizable amount of satirical, religious, and secular poetry. Neoclassicism
was widespread in Brazil during the mid-18th century, following the Italian
style.
Brazil produced significant works in Romanticism
– novelists like Joaquim Manuel de Macedo
and José de Alencar
wrote novels about love and pain. Alencar, in his long career, also treated Indigenous people as heroes in the Indigenist novels O Guarany
, Iracema
, Ubirajara
. The French Mal du siècle
was also introduced in Brazil by the likes of Alvares de Azevedo
, whose Lira dos Vinte Anos
and Noite na Taverna
are national symbols of the Ultra-romanticism
. Gonçalves Dias, considered one of the national poets, sang the Brazilian people and the Brazilian land on the famous Song of the Exile
(1843), known to every Brazilian schoolchild. Also dates from this period, although his work has hatched in Realism
, Machado de Assis, whose works include Helena
, Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas, O alienista
, Dom Casmurro
, and who is widely regarded as the most important writer of Brazilian literature. Assis is also highly respected around the world.
Monteiro Lobato
, of the Pré-Modernism (literary moviment essentially Brazilian), wrote mainly for children, often bringing Greek mythology
and didacticism
with Brazilian folklore, as we see in his short stories about Saci Pererê
. Some authors of this time, like Lima Barreto
and Simões Lopes Neto and Olavo Bilac
, already show a distinctly modern character; Augusto dos Anjos
, whose works combine Symbolistic
, Parnasian and even pre-modernist
elements has a "paralytic language". Mário de Andrade
and Oswald de Andrade
, from Modernism
, combined nationalist tendencies with an interest in European modernism and created the Modern Art Week of 1922. João Cabral de Melo Neto
and Carlos Drummond de Andrade
are placed among the greatest Brazilian poets; the first, post-modernist, concerned with the aesthetics and created a concise and elliptical and lean poetic, against sentimentality; Drummond, in turn, was a supporter of "anti-poetic" where the language was born with the poem. In Post-Modernism, João Guimarães Rosa
wrote the novel Grande Sertão: Veredas, about Sertão
, with a highly original style and almost a grammar of his own, while Clarice Lispector
wrote with an introspective and psychological probing of her characters. Nowadays, Nelson Rodrigues
, Rubem Fonseca
and Sérgio Sant'Anna
, next to Nélida Piñon
and Lygia Fagundes Telles
, both members of Academia Brasileira de Letras
, are important authors who write about contemporary issues sometimes with erotic or political tones. Ferreira Gullar
and Manoel de Barros
are two highly admired poets and the former has also been nominated for the Nobel Prize
.
The Cinema
has a long tradition in Brazil, reaching back to the birth of the medium in the late 19th century, and gained a new level of international acclaim in recent years. Bus 174
(2002), by José Padilha
, about a bus hijacking, is the highest rated foreign film at Rotten Tomatoes
. O Pagador de Promessas (1962), directed by Anselmo Duarte, won the Palme d'Or
at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival
, the only Brazilian film to date to win the award. Fernando Meirelles
' City of God (2002), is the highest rated Brazilian film on the IMDb Top 250 list and was selected by Time magazine as one of the 100 best films of all-time in 2005. The highest-grossing film in Brazilian cinema, taking 12 million viewers to cinemas, is Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
(1976), directed by Bruno Barreto
and basead on the novel of the same name
by Jorge Amado
. Acclaimed Brazilian filmmakers include Glauber Rocha, Fernando Meirelles, José Padilha, Anselmo Duarte, Walter Salles
, Eduardo Coutinho
and Alberto Cavalcanti
.
was introduced by the Jesuits during the colonization, particularly by Father José de Anchieta, but did not attract much interest until the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil
in 1808. Over the course of the 18th century, theatre evolved alongside the blossoming literature traditions with names such as Martins Pena
and Gonçalves Dias. Pena introduced the comedy of manners
, which would become a distinct mark of Brazilian theatre over the next decades.
Theatre was not included in the 1922 Modern Art Week of São Paulo, which marked the beginning of Brazilian Modernism
. Instead, in the following decade, Oswald de Andrade wrote O Rei da Vela, which would become the manifesto of the Tropicalismo
movement in the 1960s, a time where many playwrights used theatre as a means of opposing the Brazilian military government such as Gianfrancesco Guarnieri
, Augusto Boal
, Dias Gomes
, Oduvaldo Vianna Filho
and Plínio Marcos. With the return of democracy
and the end of censorship
in the 1980s, theatre would again grow in themes and styles. Contemporary names include Gerald Thomas
, Ulysses Cruz, Aderbal Freire-Filho, Eduardo Tolentinho de Araújo, Cacá Rosset, Gabriel Villela, Márcio Vianna, Moacyr Góes and Antônio Araújo.
Music
is one of the most instantly recognizable elements of Brazilian culture. Many different genres and styles have emerged in Brazil, such as samba
, choro
, bossa nova
, MPB
, frevo
, forró
, maracatu
, sertanejo, brega
and axé
.
. In the early 20th century, modern samba emerged and was popularized in Rio de Janeiro
behind composers such as Noel Rosa
, Cartola
and Nelson Cavaquinho
among others. The movement later spead and gained notoriety in other regions, particularly in Bahia and São Paulo
. Contemporary artists include Martinho da Vila
, Zeca Pagodinho
and Paulinho da Viola
.
Samba makes use of a distinct set of instruments, among the most notable are the cuíca
, a friction drum
that creates a high-pitched squeaky sound, the cavaquinho
, a small instrument of the guitar
family, and the pandeiro, a hand frame drum
. Other instruments are the surdos
, agogôs
, chocalhos
and tamborins
.
originated in the 19th century through interpretations of European genres such as polka
and schottische
by Brazilian artists who had already been influenced by African rhythms such as the batuque
. It is a largely instrumental genre that shares a number of characteristics with samba. Choro gained popularity around the turn of the century (1880-1920) and was the genre of many of the first Brazilian records in the first decades of the 20th century. Notable Choro musicians of that era include Chiquinha Gonzaga
, Pixinguinha
and Joaquim Callado
. The popularity of choro steadily waned after the popularization of samba but saw a revival in recent decades and remains appreciated by a large number of Brazilians. There are a number of acclaimed Choro artists nowadays such as Altamiro Carrilho
, Yamandu Costa
and Paulo Bellinati
.
is a style of Brazilian music that originated in the late 1950s. It has its roots on samba but features less percussion, employing instead a distinctive and percussive guitar pattern. Bossa nova gained mainstream popularity in Brazil in 1958 with the song Chega de Saudade, written by Antônio Carlos Jobim
and Vinícius de Moraes
. Together with João Gilberto
, Jobim and Moraes would become the driving force of the genre, which gained worldwide popularity with the song Garota de Ipanema as interpreted by Gilberto, his wife Astrud
and Stan Getz
on the album Getz/Gilberto
. The bossa nova genre remains popular in Brazil, particularly among the upper classes and in the Southeast.
MPB
(acronym for Música Popular Brasileira, or Brazilian Popular Music) was a trend in Brazilian music that emerged after the bossa nova boom. It presents many variations and includes elements of styles that range from Samba to Rock music
. In the 1960s some MPB artists founded the short-lived but highly influential tropicália movement, which attracted international attention. Among those were Caetano Veloso
, Gilberto Gil
, Tom Zé
, Nara Leão
and Os Mutantes
.
, although it presents nowadays a heavy influence from American
country music
. Beginning in the 1980s, Brazil saw an intense massification of the sertanejo genre in mainstream media
and an increased interest by the phonographic industry. As a result, sertanejo is today the most popular music genre in Brazil in terms of radio play. Common instruments in contemporary sertanejo are the acoustic guitar
, which often replaces the viola, the accordion
and the harmonica
, as well as electric guitar
, bass and drums. Notable acts include Chitãozinho & Xororó
, Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano
, Leonardo and Daniel
.
and Frevo
are two music and dance
forms originated in the Brazilian Northeast. Forró, like Choro, originated from European folk genres such as the schottische in between the 19th and early 20th centuries. It remains a very popular music style, particularly in the Northeast region, and is danced in forrobodós (parties and balls) throughout the country.
Frevo originated in Recife
, Pernambuco
during the Carnival, the period it is most often associated with. While the music presents elements of procession
and martial marches
, the frevo dance (known as "passo") has been notably influenced by capoeira
. Frevo parades are a key tradition of the Pernambuco Carnival.
.
Telenovelas
are a marking feature in Brazilian television, usually being broadcasted in prime time on most major television networks. Telenovelas are similar in concept to soap operas in English-speaking countries but differ from them in duration, telenovelas being significantly shorter (usually about 100 to 200 episodes). They are widely watched throughout the country, to the point that they have been described as a significant element in national identity and unity, and have been exported to over 120 countries.
and the Bumba Meu Boi
, which has spawned the famous June festival in Northern and Northeastern Brazil.
ssociation soccer|Soccer is the most popular sport in Brazil. Many Brazilian players such as Pelé
, Ronaldo
, Kaká
, and Ronaldinho
are among the most well known players in the sport. The Brazilian national football team
(Seleção) is currently among the best in the world according to the FIFA World Rankings
. They have been victorious in the FIFA World Cup
a record 5 times, in 1958
, 1962
, 1970
, 1994
and 2002
. Basketball
, Volleyball
, Auto racing
, and Martial arts
also attract large audiences. Though not as regularly followed or practiced as the previously mentioned Sports, Tennis
, Team Handball
, Swimming
, and Gymnastics
have found a growing sporting number of enthusiasts over the last decades. Some sport variations have their origins in Brazil. Beach Football
, Futsal
(official version of Indoor Football
), and Footvolley
emerged in the country as variations of Football. In Martial arts
, Brazilians have developed Capoeira
, Vale Tudo
, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
. In Auto racing
, Brazilian drivers have won the Formula One
World Championship 9 times: Emerson Fittipaldi
in 1972
and 1974
; Nelson Piquet
in 1981
, 1983
and 1987
; and Ayrton Senna
in 1988
, 1990
and 1991
.
Brazil
has undertaken the organization of large-scale sporting events: the country organized and hosted the 1950 FIFA World Cup
, and is chosen to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup
event. The circuit located in São Paulo
, Autódromo José Carlos Pace
, hosts the annual Grand Prix of Brazil
. São Paulo organized the IV Pan American Games
in 1963, and Rio de Janeiro hosted the XV Pan American Games
in 2007. Brazil also tried for the 4th time to host the Summer Olympics with Rio de Janeiro candidature in 2016
. On October 2, 2009, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was selected to host the 2016 Olympic Games
, which will be the first to be held in South America
.
and women are more independent, although gender disparity is still evident in wage
difference.
Brazil inherited a highly traditional and stratified class
structure from its colonial period with deep inequality. In recent decades, the emergence of a large middle class
has contributed to increase social mobility and alleviate income disparity, but the situation remains grave. Brazil ranks 54th among world countries by Gini index.
Indigenous peoples in Brazil
The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500...
, Portuguese and Africans
Afro-Brazilian
In Brazil, the term "preto" is one of the five categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with "branco" , "pardo" , "amarelo" and "indígena"...
. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Italian, German
German-Brazilian
A German Brazilian is a Brazilian person of ethnic German ancestry or origin...
, Spanish
Spanish Brazilian
Brazilians of Spanish descent are Brazilian people of full or partial Spanish ancestry. Brazilians of Spanish descent can be estimated as being 15 million people or 20 million according the Spanish government. -Figures:...
, Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
and Japanese immigrants settled in Brazil
Immigration to Brazil
Immigration to Brazil is the movement to Brazil of foreign persons to reside permanently. It should not be confused with the colonisation of the country by the Portuguese, or with the forcible bringing of people from Africa as slaves....
and played an important role in its culture, creating a multicultural
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
and multiethnic society
Multiethnic society
A multiethnic society is one with members belonging to more than one ethnic group, in contrast to societies which are ethnically homogenous. In practice, virtually all contemporary national societies are multiethnic...
.
As consequence of three centuries of colonization by the Portuguese empire
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
, many aspects of Brazilian culture are derived from the culture of Portugal
Culture of Portugal
The culture of Portugal is the result of a complex flow of different civilizations during the past Millennia. From prehistoric cultures, to its Pre-Roman civilizations , passing through its contacts with the Phoenician-Carthaginian world, the Roman period , the...
. The numerous Portuguese inheritances include the language
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, the predominant religion and the colonial architectural styles
Manueline
The Manueline, or Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century, incorporating maritime elements and representations of the discoveries brought from the voyages of Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral...
. These aspects, however, were strongly influenced by African and Native American traditions, as well as those from other Western European countries. Some aspects of Brazilian culture are contributions of Italian
Italian Brazilian
-Italian immigration to Brazil:The Italian government claims there are 25 million Brazilians of Italian descent, which would be the largest population of Italian background outside of Italy itself. There are no actual surveys, or even verifiable calculations supporting such claims. According to...
, German
German Brazilian
A German Brazilian is a Brazilian person of ethnic German ancestry or origin...
and other European immigrants
White Brazilian
White Brazilians make up 48.4% of Brazil's population, or around 92 million people, according to the IBGE's 2008 PNAD . Whites are present in the entire territory of Brazil, although the main concentrations are found in the South and Southeastern parts of the country...
. Amerindian peoples and Africans played a large role in the formation of Brazilian language, cuisine, music, dance and religion.
This diverse cultural background has helped boast many celebrations and festivals that have become known around the world, such as the Brazilian Carnival
Brazilian Carnival
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Carnival celebrations...
and the Bumba Meu Boi
Bumba Meu Boi
Bumba Meu Boi is a Brazilian folk theatrical tradition - the tale told through the music, the costumes and drumming involves a Bull, which dies and is brought back to life...
. The colorful culture creates an environment that makes Brazil a popular destination for many tourists each year.
Language
Reflecting the mixed ethnic background of the country, Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
is a variation of the Portuguese language
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
that includes a large number of words of Native American
Indigenous languages of the Americas
Indigenous languages of the Americas are spoken by indigenous peoples from Alaska and Greenland to the southern tip of South America, encompassing the land masses which constitute the Americas. These indigenous languages consist of dozens of distinct language families as well as many language...
and African
Languages of Africa
There are over 2100 and by some counts over 3000 languages spoken natively in Africa in several major language families:*Afro-Asiatic spread throughout the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahel...
origin.
Minority languages are spoken throughout the nation. One hundred and eighty Amerindian language
Indigenous languages of the Americas
Indigenous languages of the Americas are spoken by indigenous peoples from Alaska and Greenland to the southern tip of South America, encompassing the land masses which constitute the Americas. These indigenous languages consist of dozens of distinct language families as well as many language...
s are spoken in remote areas and a number of other languages are spoken by immigrants and their descendants. There are significant communities of German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(mostly the Hunsrückisch
Hunsrückisch
Hunsrückisch is a German dialect spoken in the Hunsrück region of Germany . This mountainous region of Germany has long been an exporter of immigrants to the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia and other parts of the world....
, a High German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
dialect) and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
(mostly the Talian dialect, of Venetian
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...
origin) speakers in the south of the country, both of which are influenced by the Portuguese language.
Religion
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, who arrived in Brazil in 1549 during the colonization with the mission of converting the Indigenous people. The Society of Jesus played a large role in the formation of Brazilian religious identity until their expulsion of the country by the Marquis of Pombal in the 18th century.
In recent decades Brazilian society has witnessed a rise in Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
. Between 1940 and 2000, the percentage of Roman Catholics fell from 95% to 73,6%, while the various Protestant denominations rose from 2,6% to 15,4%. There are also significant minorities of Spiritists
Spiritism
Spiritism is a loose corpus of religious faiths having in common the general belief in the survival of a spirit after death. In a stricter sense, it is the religion, beliefs and practices of the people affiliated to the International Spiritist Union, based on the works of Allan Kardec and others...
, Jews
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, Muslims
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, followers of Afro-Brazilian
Afro-Brazilian
In Brazil, the term "preto" is one of the five categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with "branco" , "pardo" , "amarelo" and "indígena"...
religions (such as Umbanda
Umbanda
Umbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion that blends African religions with Catholicism, Spiritism and Kardecism, and considerable indigenous lore....
and Candomblé
Candomblé
Candomblé is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion, practised chiefly in Brazil by the "povo de santo" . It originated in the cities of Salvador, the capital of Bahia and Cachoeira, at the time one of the main commercial crossroads for the distribution of products and slave trade to...
) and Buddhists
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
.
Race and ancestry
Brazil was a colony of PortugalPortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
for over three centuries. About a million Portuguese settlers arrived during this period and brought their culture to the colony. The native inhabitants of Brazil
Indigenous peoples in Brazil
The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500...
had much contact with the colonists. Many were exterminated, others mixed with the Portuguese. For that reason, Brazil also holds Amerindian influences in its culture, mainly in its food and language. Brazilian Portuguese has hundreds of words of Native American origin, mainly from the Old Tupi language
Old Tupi language
Old Tupi or Classical Tupi is an extinct Tupian language which was spoken by the native Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who lived close to the sea. It belongs to the Tupi–Guarani language family, and which has a written history spanning the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries...
.
Black Africans
African people
African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...
, who were brought as slaves to Brazil, also participated actively in the formation of Brazilian culture. Although the Portuguese colonists forced their slaves to convert to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and speak Portuguese their cultural influences were absorbed by the inhabitants of Brazil of all races
Human Race
Human Race refers to the Human species.Human race may also refer to:*The Human Race, 79th episode of YuYu Hakusho* Human Race Theatre Company of Dayton Ohio* Human Race Machine, a computer graphics device...
and origins. Some regions of Brazil, especially Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
, have particularly notable African inheritances in music, cuisine, dance and language.
Immigrants
Immigration to Brazil
Immigration to Brazil is the movement to Brazil of foreign persons to reside permanently. It should not be confused with the colonisation of the country by the Portuguese, or with the forcible bringing of people from Africa as slaves....
from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
played an important role in the areas they settled (mostly Southern and Southeastern Brazil). They organized communities that became important cities such as Joinville
Joinville
Joinville is a city in Santa Catarina State, in the Southern Region of Brazil. Joinville is Santa Catarina's largest city. In 2010, its population has reached approximately 520,000, many of whom are of German descent....
and Caxias do Sul
Caxias do Sul
Caxias do Sul is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, situated in the state's mountainous Serra Gaúcha region. Coordinates: 29°10′0″ S, 51°11′0″ W....
and brought important contributions to the culture of Brazil.
Carnival
Brazilian Carnival
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Carnival celebrations...
is an annual festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
held forty-six days before Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
. Carnival celebrations are believed to have roots in the pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
festival of Saturnalia
Saturnalia
Saturnalia is an Ancient Roman festival/ celebration held in honour of Saturn , the youngest of the Titans, father of the major gods of the Greeks and Romans, and son of Uranus and Gaia...
, which, adapted to Christianity, became a farewell to bad things in a season of religious discipline to practice repentance and prepare for Christ's death and resurrection.
Carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
is the most famous holiday
Holiday
A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
in Brazil and has become an event of huge proportions. The country stops completely for almost a week and festivities are intense, day and night, mainly in coastal cities.
The typical genres of music of Brazilian carnival are: samba-enredo
Samba-enredo
Samba-enredo is a sub-genre of Samba in which songs are performed by a samba school for the festivities of Carnaval. "Samba-enredo" is the Portuguese equivalent of "samba in song", or "song samba"....
and marchinha
Marchinha
Marchinha, marchinha de carnaval, marchinha carnavalesca or marcha carnavalesca is one of several genres of music typical of Brazilian Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and Southeast Region of Brazil...
(in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and Southeast Region
Southeast Region, Brazil
The Southeast Region of Brazil is composed by the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 60% of the Brazilian GDP. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais are three richest states of Brazil,...
), frevo
Frevo
Frevo is a wide range of musical styles originating from Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, all of which are traditionally associated with Brazilian Carnival. The word frevo is said to come from frever, a misspeaking of the Portuguese word ferver . It is said that the sound of the frevo will make...
, maracatu
Maracatu
Maracatu is a term common to two distinct performance genres found in Pernambuco state in northeastern Brazil: maracatu de nação and maracatu rural . A third style, maracatu cearense , is found in Fortaleza, in the northeastern state of Ceará...
and Axé music
Axé music
Axé is a popular music genre originating in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil approximately in 1986, fusing different Afro-Caribbean genres, such as Marcha, Reggae, and Calypso. It also includes influences of Afro-Brazilian music such as Frevo, Forró and Carixada. The most important creator of this music...
(in Pernambuco
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
, Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
and Northeast Region
Northeast Region, Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....
)
Cuisine
Feijoada
Feijoada is a stew of beans with beef and pork, which is a typical from Brazilian Cuisine, is also typical in Angola, Mozambique, Goa, India and other former Portuguese colonies. In Brazil, feijoada is considered by many as the national dish...
, directly linked to the presence of blacks in Brazilian land, has been the country's national dish. Luís da Câmara Cascudo
Luís da Câmara Cascudo
Luís da Câmara Cascudo was a Brazilian anthropologist, folklorist, journalist, historian, lawyer, and lexicographer....
wrote that, having been revised and adapted in each region of the country, it is no longer just a dish but has become a complete food. Rice and beans
Rice and beans
Rice and beans is a very popular dish in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in communities of Latino, Caribbean or Sephardic...
, also present in the feijoada, and considered basic at Brazilians table, is highly regarded as healthy because it contains almost all amino acid
Amino acid
Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group, a carboxylic acid group and a side-chain that varies between different amino acids. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen...
s, fiber
Fiber
Fiber is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread.They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissues together....
and starches needed for our body.
Brigadeiro
Brigadeiro is a simple Brazilian chocolate bonbon, created in the 1940s and named after Brigadier Eduardo Gomes, whose shape is reminiscent of that of some varieties of chocolate truffles...
s ("brigadiers") and beijinho
Beijinho
Beijinho , also known as branquinho , is a typical Brazilian birthday party candy. It is prepared and served just like brigadeiro, but instead of cocoa powder it uses grated coconut. When rolled it can be covered with granulated sugar or grated coconut. Traditionally a single clove is stuck in the...
s ("kissies"). Other foods typically consumed in Brazilian parties are Coxinha
Coxinha
The Coxinha is a popular Brazilian snack, also popular in Portugal. It is made from shredded chicken and spices , enclosed in wheat flour—variants made from potato or manioc are also common--batter, and deep fried...
s, Churrasco
Churrasco
Churrasco is a Portuguese and Spanish term referring to beef or grilled meat more generally, differing across Latin America and Europe, but a prominent feature in the cuisines of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and other Latin American countries...
, Sfiha
Sfiha
Sfihah or lahm bi`ajin , also known as Arab or Chaldean Pizza, is a pizza-like dish originating from the Levant , and introduced in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina by Levantine immigrants ....
s, Empanada
Empanada
An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries in Latin America, Southern Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. The name comes from the verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Empanada is made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing...
s, Pine nut
Pine nut
Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines . About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of great value as a human food....
(in Festa Junina
Festa Junina
Festa Junina , also known as festa de São João for their part in celebrating the nativity of St. John the Baptist, are the annual Brazilian celebrations historically related to European Midsummer that take place in the beginning of the Brazilian winter...
). Specially in the state of Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, are produced and consumed the famous cheese bun
Cheese bun
Cheese buns, or cheese breads are a variety of small, baked, cheese-flavored rolls, a popular typical snack and breakfast food in Brazil, and also in nearby regions of Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina...
. The typical northern food is pato no tucupi
Pato no tucupi
Pato no tucupi [in English Duck in Tucupi Stew] is a traditional Brazilian dish; it is mostly found in the area around the city of Belém in the state of Pará state....
tacacá
Tacacá
Tacacá is a soup common to North Brazil, particularly the states of Acre, Amazonas and Pará, and is well loved and widely consumed. It is made with jambú , and tucupi , as well as dried shrimps and small yellow peppers. It must be served extremely hot in a cuia.-External links:* - in Portuguese...
, caruru
Caruru
Caruru is a Brazilian food made from okra, onion, shrimp, palm oil and toasted nuts . It is a typical condiment in the northeastern state of Bahia where it is commonly eaten with acarajé, an Afro-Brazilian street food made from mashed black-eyed peas formed into a ball and then deep-fried in palm...
, vatapá
Vatapá
Vatapá is a Brazilian dish made from bread, shrimp, coconut milk, finely ground peanuts and palm oil mashed into a creamy paste. This food is very popular in the North and Northeast, but it is more typical in the northeastern state of Bahia where it is commonly eaten with acarajé, although Vatapá...
and maniçoba
Maniçoba
Maniçoba is a festive dish in Brazilian cuisine, especially from the Amazonian region. It is of indigenous origin, and is made with leaves of the Manioc plant that have been finely ground and boiled for a week...
; the Northeast is known for moqueca
Moqueca
Moqueca is a traditional Brazilian seafood stew. Brazilians have been making Moquecas for 300 years.It basically consists of fish, onions, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, and additional ingredients...
(having seafood and palm oil), and acarajé
Acarajé
Acarajé is a dish made from peeled black-eyed peas formed into a ball and then deep-fried in dendê . It is found in Nigerian and Brazilian cuisine...
(the salted muffin made with white bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
s, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
and fried in oil palm
Oil palm
The oil palms comprise two species of the Arecaceae, or palm family. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African Oil Palm Elaeis guineensis is native to West Africa, occurring between Angola and Gambia, while the American Oil Palm Elaeis oleifera is native to...
(dendê) which is filled with dried shrimp, red pepper), manioc, diz
Diz
-References:*...
, hominy
Hominy
Hominy or nixtamal is dried maize kernels which have been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization.The English term hominy is derived from the Powhatan language word for maize. Many other Native American cultures also made hominy and integrated it into their diet...
, dumpling
Dumpling
Dumplings are cooked balls of dough. They are based on flour, potatoes or bread, and may include meat, fish, vegetables, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. They may have a filling, or there may be other ingredients mixed into the dough. Dumplings may...
and Quibebe
Quibebe
Quibebe is a dish from Northeastern Brazil. It is a kind of winter squash soup....
. In the Southeast, it is common to eat Minas cheese
Minas cheese
Minas cheese is a type of cheese that has been traditionally produced in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It comes in three varieties, named Frescal , Meia-cura and Curado...
, pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
, tutu, sushi
Sushi
is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...
, stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
, polenta
Polenta
Polenta is a dish made from boiled cornmeal. The word "polenta" is borrowed from Italian.-Description:Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal , which can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired.As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier...
, and masses as macaroni
Macaroni
Macaroni is a variety of moderately extended, machine-made, dry pasta made with durum wheat. Macaroni noodles do not contain eggs, and are normally cut in short, hollow shapes; however, the term refers not to the shape of the pasta, but to the kind of dough from which the noodle is made...
, lasagna
Lasagna
Lasagna is a wide and flat type of pasta and possibly one of the oldest shapes. As with most other pasta shapes, the word is generally used in its plural form lasagne in Italy and the U.K. Traditionally, the dough was prepared in Southern Italy with semolina and water and in the northern regions,...
, gnocchi
Gnocchi
Gnocchi are various thick, soft dumplings. They may be made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, flour and egg, flour, egg, and cheese, potato, bread crumbs, or similar ingredients. The smaller forms are called gnocchetti....
. In the South, these foods are also popular, but the churrasco is the typical meal of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
. Cachaça
Cachaça
Cachaça is a liquor made from fermented sugarcane.It is the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage in Brazil. It is also known as aguardente, pinga, caninha and many other names...
is the Brazil's native liquor, distilled from sugar cane, and it is the main ingredient in the national drink, the Caipirinha
Caipirinha
Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça , sugar and lime. Cachaça is Brazil's most common distilled alcoholic beverage . Both rum and cachaça are made from sugarcane-derived products...
. Brazil is the world leader in production of green coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
(café); because the Brazilian fertile soil, the country could produce and expand its market maker and often establish its economy with coffee since the Brazilian slavery
Slavery in Brazil
Slavery in Brazil shaped the country's social structure and ethnic landscape. During the colonial epoch and for over six decades after the 1822 independence, slavery was a mainstay of the Brazilian economy, especially in mining, cotton, and sugar cane production.Brazil obtained an estimated 35% of...
, which created a whole culture around this national drink, which became known as the "fever of coffee" – and satirized in the novelty song
Novelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
"The Coffee Song
The Coffee Song
"The Coffee Song" is a novelty song written by Bob Hilliard and Dick Miles, first recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1946....
" sung by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and with lyrics by Bob Hilliard
Bob Hilliard
Bob Hilliard was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs; "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Any Day Now", "Dear Hearts and Gentle People", "Our Day Will Come", "My Little Corner of the World", and "Seven Little Girls ".-Career:Born in New York City, New York, and after...
, interpreted as an analysis of the coffee industry, and of the Brazilian economy and culture.
Visual arts
Painting and sculpture
The oldest known examples of Brazilian art are cave paintings in Serra da Capivara National ParkSerra da Capivara National Park
Serra da Capivara National Park is a national park in the north east of Brazil. It has many prehistoric paintings. The park was created to protect the prehistoric artifacts and paintings found there. It became a World Heritage Site in 1991. Its head archaeologist is Niède Guidon...
in the state of Piauí
Piauí
Piauí is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country.Piauí has the shortest coastline of any of the non-landlocked Brazilian states at 66 km , and the capital, Teresina, is the only state capital in the north east to be located inland...
, dating back to c. 13,000 BC. In Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
and Goiás
Goiás
Goiás is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The name Goiás comes from the name of an indigenous community...
have been found more recent examples showing geometric patterns and animal forms. One of the most sophisticated kinds of Pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
artifact found in Brazil is the sophisticated Marajoara
MaraJoara
Marajoara may refer to:* Marajoara culture, a pre-Columbian society on Marajó island at the mouth of the Amazon river.* MaraJoara , an Australian designer swimwear label....
pottery (c. 800–1400 AD), from cultures flourishing on Marajó Island and around the region of Santarém, and statuettes and cult objects, such as the small carved-stone amulets called muiraquitã
Muiraquitã
Muiraquitã , is the name given to various types of old artefacts of Amazonian Indian origin, carved in stone or wood, and representing animals or people...
s, also belong to these cultures. Many of the Jesuits worked in Brazil under the influence of the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
, the dominant style in Brazil until the early 19th century. The Baroque in Brazil
Baroque in Brazil
The baroque in Brazil was introduced at the beginning of the seventeenth century by Catholic missionaries, especially Jesuits, who brought the new style as an instrument of Christian indoctrination. The epic poem Prosopopéia , by Bento Teixeira, is one of its initial milestones...
flourished in Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
and Pernambuco
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
and Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, generating valuable artists like Manuel da Costa Ataíde
Manuel da Costa Ataíde
Manuel da Costa Ataíde , was a Brazilian painter, decorator, teacher and woodcarver. He is the greatest name of Brazilian Baroque painting...
and especially the sculptor-architect Aleijadinho
Aleijadinho
Aleijadinho was a Colonial Brazil-born sculptor and architect, noted for his works on and in various churches of Brazil....
.
In 1816, the French Artistic Mission in Brazil
Missão Artística Francesa
The French Artistic Mission in Brazil was composed by a group of French artists and architects that came to Rio de Janeiro, then the capital city of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves in March 1816, under the auspices of the royal court of Portugal, which was exiled in Brazil...
created the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts and imposed a new concept of artistic education and was the basis for a revolution in Brazilian painting, sculpture, architecture, graphic arts, and crafts. A few decades later, under the personal patronage of Emperor Dom Pedro II
Pedro II of Brazil
Dom Pedro II , nicknamed "the Magnanimous", was the second and last ruler of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was the seventh child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of...
, who was engaged in an ambitious national project of modernization, the Academy reached its golden age, fostering the emergence of the first generation of Romantic painters, whence Victor Meirelles
Victor Meirelles
Victor Meirelles de Lima was a 19th century painter. He studied art in Paris but painted most of his works in and about his native Brazil. His religious and military paintings helped him become one of the most popular and celebrated Brazilian painters...
and Pedro Américo
Pedro Américo
Pedro Américo de Figueiredo e Melo was one of the most important academic painters of Brazil. He was also a writer and a teacher....
, that, among others, produced lasting visual symbols of national identity. It must be said that in Brazil Romanticism in painting took a peculiar shape, not showing the overwhelming dramaticism, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, or interest in death and the bizarre commonly seen in the European version, and because of its academic and palatial nature all excesses were eschewed.
The beginning of the 20th century saw a struggle between old schools and modernist trends. Important modern artists Anita Malfatti
Anita Malfatti
Anita Catarina Malfatti is heralded as the first Brazilian artist to introduce European and American forms of Modernism to Brazil...
and Tarsila do Amaral
Tarsila do Amaral
Tarsila do Amaral, , known simply as Tarsila, is considered to be one of the leading Latin American modernist artists, described as "the Brazilian painter who best achieved Brazilian aspirations for nationalistic expression in a modern style." She was a member of the Grupo dos Cinco , which...
were both early pioneers in Brazilian art
Brazilian art
Brazil was colonized by Portugal in the middle of the 16th century. In those early times, owing to the primitive state of Portuguese civilization there, not much could be done in regard to art expression. The original inhabitants of the land, pre-Columbian Indian peoples, most likely produced...
. Both participated of The Week of Modern Art
Week of Modern Art
The Modern Art Week was an arts festival in São Paulo, Brazil, that ran from February 11 to February 18, 1922...
festival, held in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
in 1922, that renewed the artistic and cultural environment of the city and also presented artists such as Emiliano Di Cavalcanti
Emiliano Di Cavalcanti
Emiliano Augusto Cavalcanti de Albuquerque Melo , known as Di Cavalcanti, was a Brazilian painter who sought to produce a form of Brazilian art free of any noticeable European influences...
, Vicente do Rego Monteiro
Vicente do Rego Monteiro
Vicente do Rego Monteiro , born in Recife, in a family of artists, was a Brazilian painter.Already in 1911 Vicente do Rego Monteiro was in Paris , attending a course, for little time, at the Académie Julian. Precocious talent, in 1913 he participated of the Hall of the Independent Artists, in the...
, and Victor Brecheret
Victor Brecheret
Victor Brecheret was an Italian-Brazilian sculptor. He lived most of his life in São Paulo, except for his studies in Paris in his early twenties...
. Based on Brazilian folklore, many artists have committed themselves to mix it with the proposals of the European Expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
, Cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
, and Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
. From Surrealism, arises Ismael Nery
Ismael Nery
Ismael Nery was a Brazilian artist.Born in Belém, Pará of Dutch, Native-Brazilian and African ancestry, he studied at the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro and at the Académie Julian in Paris...
, concerned with metaphysical subjects where their pictures appear on imaginary scenarios and averse to any recognizable reference. In the next generation, the modernist ideas of the Week of Modern Art have affected a moderate modernism that could enjoy the freedom of the strict academic agenda, with more features conventional method, best exemplified by the artist Candido Portinari
Cândido Portinari
Candido Portinari was one of the most important Brazilian painters and also a prominent and influential practitioner of the neo-realism style in painting....
, which was the official artist of the government in mid-century. In recent years, names such as Oscar Araripe, Beatriz Milhazes
Beatriz Milhazes
Beatriz Milhazes is a Brazilian artist.Milhazes is known for her work juxtaposing Brazilian cultural imagery and references to western Modernist painting.The daughter of a lawyer and an art historian, Milhazes was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1960...
and Romero Britto
Romero Britto
Romero Britto is a Brazilian Neo-pop artist, painter, serigrapher, and sculptor. He combines elements of cubism, pop art and graffiti painting in his work. He is known for his contemporary work. Britto has lived in Miami, Florida since 1989...
have been well acclaimed.
Architecture
Brazilian architectureArchitecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
in the colonial period was heavily influenced by the Portuguese Manueline
Manueline
The Manueline, or Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century, incorporating maritime elements and representations of the discoveries brought from the voyages of Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral...
style, albeit adapted for the tropical climate
Tropical climate
A tropical climate is a climate of the tropics. In the Köppen climate classification it is a non-arid climate in which all twelve months have mean temperatures above...
. A UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
, the city of Ouro Preto
Ouro Preto
-History:Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto was originally called Vila Rica, or "rich village," the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil's golden age in the 18th century under Portuguese rule....
in the state of Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
contains numerous well-preserved examples of this style by artists such as Aleijadinho
Aleijadinho
Aleijadinho was a Colonial Brazil-born sculptor and architect, noted for his works on and in various churches of Brazil....
.
In later centuries, Brazilian architects were increasingly influenced by schools from other countries such as France
French architecture
The history of French architecture runs in parallel with its neighbouring countries in Europe, with France being home to both some of the earliest pioneers in many architectural styles, and also containing some of the finest architectural creations of the continent.-Roman:The architecture of...
and the United States
Architecture of the United States
The architecture of the United States demonstrates a broad variety of architectural styles and built forms over the country's history of over four centuries....
, eventually developing a style of their own that has become known around the world. Artists such as Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
have received much acclaim, with the Brazilian capital Brasília
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
being the most notable example of modern Brazilian architecture.
In recent decades, Brazilian landscape architecture
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
has also attracted some attention, particularly in the person of Roberto Burle Marx
Roberto Burle Marx
Roberto Burle Marx was a Brazilian landscape architect whose designs of parks and gardens made him world famous. He is accredited with having introduced modernist landscape architecture to Brazil...
. Some of this notable works are the Copacabana
Copacabana
Copacabana is a borough located in the southern zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It's known for its 4 km beach, which is one of the most famous in the world.- History :...
promenade in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and the Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
.
Literature
Literature in Brazil dates back to the 16th century, to the writings of the first Portuguese explorers in Brazil, such as Pêro Vaz de CaminhaPêro Vaz de Caminha
Pêro Vaz de Caminha , was a Portuguese knight that accompanied Pedro Álvares Cabral to India in 1500, as a secretary to the royal factory. Caminha wrote the detailed official report of the April 1500 discovery of Brazil by Cabral's fleet...
, filled with descriptions of fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
, flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and native
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
s that amazed Europeans that arrived in Brazil. When Brazil became a colony of Portugal, there was the "Jesuit Literature", whose main name was father António Vieira
António Vieira
Father António Vieira was a Portuguese Jesuit and writer, the "prince" of Catholic pulpit-orators of his time.-Life:Vieira was born in Lisbon to Cristóvão Vieira Ravasco, the son of a mulatto woman, and Maria de Azevedo. Accompanying his parents to Brazil in 1614, he received his education at the...
, a Portuguese Jesuit who became one of the most celebrated Baroque writers of the Portuguese language. A few more explicitly literary examples survive from this period, José Basílio da Gama's epic poem celebrating the conquest of the Missions by the Portuguese, and the work of Gregório de Matos Guerra, who produced a sizable amount of satirical, religious, and secular poetry. Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
was widespread in Brazil during the mid-18th century, following the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
style.
Brazil produced significant works in Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
– novelists like Joaquim Manuel de Macedo
Joaquim Manuel de Macedo
Joaquim Manuel de Macedo was a Brazilian novelist, doctor, teacher, poet, playwright and journalist, famous for the romance A Moreninha.He is the patron of the 20th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.-Life:...
and José de Alencar
José de Alencar
José Martiniano de Alencar was a Brazilian lawyer, politician, orator, novelist and dramatist. He is one of the most famous writers of the first generation of Brazilian Romanticism, writing historical, regionalist and Indianist romances — being the most famous The Guarani...
wrote novels about love and pain. Alencar, in his long career, also treated Indigenous people as heroes in the Indigenist novels O Guarany
O Guarany
The Guarani: Brazilian Novel is a 1857 Brazilian novel written by José de Alencar. It first came out as a feuilleton in the newspaper Diário do Rio de Janeiro, but due to its enormous success Alencar decided to compile his writing in a volume...
, Iracema
Iracema
Iracema is one of the three indigenous novels by José de Alencar. It was first published in 1865.-Plot introduction:The story revolves around the relationship between the Tabajara indigenous woman, Iracema; and the Portuguese colonist, Martim, who was allied with the Tabajara nation's enemies, the...
, Ubirajara
Ubirajara
Ubirajara is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 was 4,138 and the area is 284.86 km². The elevation is 499 m....
. The French Mal du siècle
Mal du siècle
Mal du siècle, which can be roughly translated from French as "the malady of the century", is a term used to refer to the ennui, disillusionment, and melancholy experienced by primarily young adults of Europe's early 19th century, when speaking in terms of the rising Romantic movement...
was also introduced in Brazil by the likes of Alvares de Azevedo
Álvares de Azevedo
Manuel Antônio Álvares de Azevedo was a Brazilian Romantic poet, short story writer, playwright and essayist...
, whose Lira dos Vinte Anos
Lira dos Vinte Anos
Lira dos Vinte Anos is a poetry anthology written by Brazilian Romantic author Álvares de Azevedo. Originally part of a project that would be written in partnership with Aureliano Lessa and Bernardo Guimarães called As Três Liras , it was published in 1853...
and Noite na Taverna
Noite na Taverna
Noite na Taverna is a short story book written by Brazilian Ultra-Romantic author Álvares de Azevedo under the pen name Job Stern...
are national symbols of the Ultra-romanticism
Ultra-romanticism
Ultra-Romanticism was a Portuguese and Brazilian literary movement that occurred during the 1840s, 1850s and the early 1860s. Aesthetically similar to the Dark Romanticism, as the name implies it is an overvalue of the Romantic ideals....
. Gonçalves Dias, considered one of the national poets, sang the Brazilian people and the Brazilian land on the famous Song of the Exile
Canção do exílio
"Canção do exílio" is a poem written by Brazilian Romantic writer Gonçalves Dias in 1843, when he was in Portugal, studying Law at the University of Coimbra. The poem is a famous example of the first phase of Brazilian Romanticism, that was marked by a heavy nationalism.The poem was published in...
(1843), known to every Brazilian schoolchild. Also dates from this period, although his work has hatched in Realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
, Machado de Assis, whose works include Helena
Helena (novel)
Helena is a novel written by the Brazilian writer Machado de Assis. It was first published in 1876.-Plot summary:The novel opens with the family of Éstacio, whose father, Conselheiro Vale, has just died. In his will, the Conselheiro has recognized a natural daughter, previously unknown to both...
, Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas, O alienista
O alienista
"O Alienista" is a novella written by Brazilian author Machado de Assis. It was first published in 1882 as part of the Papéis avulsos...
, Dom Casmurro
Dom Casmurro
Dom Casmurro, written by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, was first published in Brazil in 1899. Like The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas and Quincas Borba, both by Machado de Assis, it is a masterpiece of realist literature. It is written as a fictional memoir by a distrusting, jealous husband...
, and who is widely regarded as the most important writer of Brazilian literature. Assis is also highly respected around the world.
Monteiro Lobato
Monteiro Lobato
José Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato was one of Brazil's most influential writers, mostly for his children's books set in the fictional Sítio do Picapau Amarelo but he had been previously a prolific writer of fiction, a translator and an art critic...
, of the Pré-Modernism (literary moviment essentially Brazilian), wrote mainly for children, often bringing Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
and didacticism
Didacticism
Didacticism is an artistic philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature and other types of art. The term has its origin in the Ancient Greek word διδακτικός , "related to education/teaching." Originally, signifying learning in a fascinating and intriguing...
with Brazilian folklore, as we see in his short stories about Saci Pererê
Saci (Brazilian folklore)
The Saci is considered the most popular character in Brazilian folklore. He is a one-legged black or mulatto youngster with holes in the palms of his hands, who smokes a pipe and wears a magical red cap that enables him to disappear and reappear wherever he wishes...
. Some authors of this time, like Lima Barreto
Lima Barreto
Afonso Henriques de Lima Barreto was a Brazilian novelist and journalist. A major figure on the Brazilian Pre-Modernism, he is famous for the novel Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma, a bitter satire of the first years of the República Velha in Brazil.-Life:Lima Barreto was born in Rio de Janeiro in...
and Simões Lopes Neto and Olavo Bilac
Olavo Bilac
Olavo Brás Martins dos Guimarães Bilac was a Brazilian Parnassian poet, journalist and translator. Alongside Alberto de Oliveira and Raimundo Correia, he was a member of the "Parnassian Triad"...
, already show a distinctly modern character; Augusto dos Anjos
Augusto dos Anjos
Augusto de Carvalho Rodrigues dos Anjos was a Brazilian poet and professor. His poems speak mostly of sickness and death, and are considered to forerun the Modernism in Brazil....
, whose works combine Symbolistic
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
, Parnasian and even pre-modernist
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
elements has a "paralytic language". Mário de Andrade
Mário de Andrade
Mário Raul de Morais Andrade was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. One of the founders of Brazilian modernism, he virtually created modern Brazilian poetry with the publication of his Paulicéia Desvairada in 1922...
and Oswald de Andrade
Oswald de Andrade
José Oswald de Andrade Souza was a Brazilian poet and polemicist. He was born and spent most of his life in São Paulo....
, from Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
, combined nationalist tendencies with an interest in European modernism and created the Modern Art Week of 1922. João Cabral de Melo Neto
João Cabral de Melo Neto
João Cabral de Melo Neto was born in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and is considered one of the greatest Brazilian poets of all time.He is often quoted saying "I try not to perfume the flower"...
and Carlos Drummond de Andrade
Carlos Drummond de Andrade
Carlos Drummond de Andrade was perhaps the most influential Brazilian poet of the 20th century. He has become something of a national poet; his poem "Canção Amiga" was printed on the 50 cruzados note...
are placed among the greatest Brazilian poets; the first, post-modernist, concerned with the aesthetics and created a concise and elliptical and lean poetic, against sentimentality; Drummond, in turn, was a supporter of "anti-poetic" where the language was born with the poem. In Post-Modernism, João Guimarães Rosa
João Guimarães Rosa
João Guimarães Rosa was a Brazilian novelist, considered by many to be one of the greatest Brazilian novelists born in the 20th century. His best-known work is the novel Grande Sertão: Veredas...
wrote the novel Grande Sertão: Veredas, about Sertão
Sertão
In Portuguese, the word sertão first referred to the vast hinterlands of Asia that Lusitanian explorers encountered. In Brazil, the geographical term referred to backlands away from the Atlantic coastal regions where the Portuguese first settled in South America in the early sixteenth century...
, with a highly original style and almost a grammar of his own, while Clarice Lispector
Clarice Lispector
Clarice Lispector was a Brazilian writer. Acclaimed internationally for her innovative novels and short stories, she was also a journalist...
wrote with an introspective and psychological probing of her characters. Nowadays, Nelson Rodrigues
Nélson Rodrigues
Nelson Falcão Rodrigues was a Brazilian playwright, journalist and novelist. In 1943, he helped usher in a new era in Brazilian theater with his play Vestido de Noiva , considered revolutionary for the complex exploration of its characters' psychology and its use of colloquial dialog...
, Rubem Fonseca
Rubem Fonseca
Rubem Fonseca is a Brazilian writer.He was born in Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais, but he has lived most of his life in Rio de Janeiro. In 1952, he started his career as a low-level cop and, later became a police commissioner, one of the highest ranks in the civil police of Brazil...
and Sérgio Sant'Anna
Sérgio Sant'Anna
Sérgio Sant'Anna is a Brazilian writer, born in 1941 in the city of Rio de Janeiro. He has written poems, plays, short stories, novelas and novels...
, next to Nélida Piñon
Nélida Piñon
Nélida Piñon is a Brazilian writer born May 3, 1937 in Rio de Janeiro of Spanish immigrants. Her first novel was Guia-Mapa de Gabriel Arcanjo , written in 1961, it concerns a protagonist discussing Christian doctrine with her guardian angel...
and Lygia Fagundes Telles
Lygia Fagundes Telles
Lygia Fagundes Telles is a Brazilian novelist and short-story writer. She was born in São Paulo and is one of Brazil's most important living writers....
, both members of Academia Brasileira de Letras
Academia Brasileira de Letras
Academia Brasileira de Letras is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century by a group of 40 writers and poets inspired by the Académie Française. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on December 15, 1896, with the statutes being...
, are important authors who write about contemporary issues sometimes with erotic or political tones. Ferreira Gullar
Ferreira Gullar
Ferreira Gullar is the pen name for José Ribamar Ferreira , Brazilian poet, playwright, essayist, art critic, and television writer...
and Manoel de Barros
Manoel de Barros
Manoel Wenceslau Leite de Barros is a Brazilian poet. He has won many awards for his work, including twice the Prêmio Jabuti , the most important literary award in Brazil...
are two highly admired poets and the former has also been nominated for the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
.
Cinema and theatre
Cinema of Brazil
Brazilian cinema was introduced early in the 20th century but took some time to consolidate itself as a popular form of entertainment. The film industry of Brazil has gone through periods of ups and downs, a reflection of its dependency on State funding and incentives.- Early days :A couple of...
has a long tradition in Brazil, reaching back to the birth of the medium in the late 19th century, and gained a new level of international acclaim in recent years. Bus 174
Bus 174
Bus 174 is a Brazilian documentary film released on October 22, 2002. It is the debut film of director José Padilha and co-director Felipe Lacerda. Sandro do Nascimento, a young man from a poor background, bungled a robbery and ended up holding the passengers on a bus hostage for four hours. The...
(2002), by José Padilha
José Padilha
José Padilha is an award-winning Brazilian film director and producer.Padilha emerged onto the Brazilian movie scene with his first feature film Bus 174. In 2007, Padilha directed The Elite Squad , his first fictional film. The film was a commercial and critical success, seen by more than 11...
, about a bus hijacking, is the highest rated foreign film at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. O Pagador de Promessas (1962), directed by Anselmo Duarte, won the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival
1962 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Tetsuro Furukaki *Henry Deutschmeister *Sophie Desmarets *Jean Dutourd *Mel Ferrer *Romain Gary *Jerzy Kawalerowicz *Ernst Krüger...
, the only Brazilian film to date to win the award. Fernando Meirelles
Fernando Meirelles
Fernando Ferreira Meirelles is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter.He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director in 2004 for his work in the Brazilian film City of God, released in 2002 in Brazil and in 2003 in the U.S. by Miramax Films...
' City of God (2002), is the highest rated Brazilian film on the IMDb Top 250 list and was selected by Time magazine as one of the 100 best films of all-time in 2005. The highest-grossing film in Brazilian cinema, taking 12 million viewers to cinemas, is Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands is a 1976 comedy film directed by Bruno Barreto. Based on the novel of the same name by Jorge Amado, it takes place in 1940s Bahia. It stars Sônia Braga, José Wilker, and Mauro Mendonça in the leading roles...
(1976), directed by Bruno Barreto
Bruno Barreto
Bruno Barreto is a Brazilian film director born in Rio de Janeiro. He has been making feature-length films ever since he was seventeen years old and remains one of Brazil’s most accomplished and popular directors to this day...
and basead on the novel of the same name
Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos
Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos is a Brazilian novel, written by Jorge Amado in 1966.Amado's tale is of a woman's unlikely path to happiness. It is a vast panorama of life in the town of Salvador, Bahia, with dozens of characters.The novel has been adapted into a 1976 film....
by Jorge Amado
Jorge Amado
Jorge Leal Amado de Faria was a Brazilian writer of the Modernist school. He was the best-known of modern Brazilian writers, his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in film, notably Dona Flor and her Two Husbands in 1978...
. Acclaimed Brazilian filmmakers include Glauber Rocha, Fernando Meirelles, José Padilha, Anselmo Duarte, Walter Salles
Walter Salles
Walter Moreira Salles, Jr. is a Brazilian filmmaker and film producer of international prominence.-Life and career:Salles was born in Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of Elizinha Goncalves and Walter Moreira Salles, a Brazilian banker and ambassador, and the brother of João Moreira Salles, also a...
, Eduardo Coutinho
Eduardo Coutinho
Eduardo Coutinho is an Brazilian film director, screen writer, actor and film producer.He directed and wrote the script to the 1967 popular Brazilian film, El ABC del amor near the beginning of his career...
and Alberto Cavalcanti
Alberto Cavalcanti
Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti was a Brazilian-born film director and producer.-Early life:Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a prominent mathematician. He was a precociously intelligent child, and by the age of 15 was studying law at university. Following an argument with a...
.
Theatre
TheatreTheatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
was introduced by the Jesuits during the colonization, particularly by Father José de Anchieta, but did not attract much interest until the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil
Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil
The Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil was an episode in the history of Portugal and the history of Brazil in which the Portuguese royal family and its court escaped from Lisbon on November 29, 1807 to Brazil, just days before Napoleonic forces captured the city on December 1...
in 1808. Over the course of the 18th century, theatre evolved alongside the blossoming literature traditions with names such as Martins Pena
Martins Pena
Luís Carlos Martins Pena was a Brazilian playwright, famous for introducing to Brazil the "comedy of customs", winning the epithet of "the Brazilian Molière"....
and Gonçalves Dias. Pena introduced the comedy of manners
Comedy of manners
The comedy of manners is a genre of play/television/film which satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class, often represented by stock characters, such as the miles gloriosus in ancient times, the fop and the rake during the Restoration, or an old person pretending to be young...
, which would become a distinct mark of Brazilian theatre over the next decades.
Theatre was not included in the 1922 Modern Art Week of São Paulo, which marked the beginning of Brazilian Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
. Instead, in the following decade, Oswald de Andrade wrote O Rei da Vela, which would become the manifesto of the Tropicalismo
Tropicalismo
Tropicália, also known as Tropicalismo, is a Brazilian art movement that arose in the late 1960s and encompassed theatre, poetry, and music, among other forms. Tropicália was influenced by poesia concreta , a genre of Brazilian avant-garde poetry embodied in the works of Augusto de Campos, Haroldo...
movement in the 1960s, a time where many playwrights used theatre as a means of opposing the Brazilian military government such as Gianfrancesco Guarnieri
Gianfrancesco Guarnieri
Gianfrancesco Sigfrido Benedetto Marinenghi de Guarnieri was a Brazilian actor and playwright.- External links :...
, Augusto Boal
Augusto Boal
Augusto Boal was a Brazilian theatre director, writer and politician. He was the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, a theatrical form originally used in radical popular education movements...
, Dias Gomes
Dias Gomes
Alfredo de Freitas Dias Gomes was an important Brazilian playwright.He was born on October 19, 1922 in Salvador, Bahia and died in a car accident in São Paulo, in 1999. He started writing plays at age 15 and later wrote soap operas. He wrote the first ever colored soap opera in Brazilian...
, Oduvaldo Vianna Filho
Oduvaldo Vianna Filho
Oduvaldo Vianna Filho, known as Vianinha was a Brazilian playwright.Vianinha started in theater as an actor, in 1955, with the Teatro Paulista do Estudante group...
and Plínio Marcos. With the return of democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and the end of censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
in the 1980s, theatre would again grow in themes and styles. Contemporary names include Gerald Thomas
Gerald Thomas
Gerald Thomas was an English film director, born in Hull.-Early life:Thomas was training in medicine when the Second World War began. He then served in the British army during the war, in Europe and the Middle East...
, Ulysses Cruz, Aderbal Freire-Filho, Eduardo Tolentinho de Araújo, Cacá Rosset, Gabriel Villela, Márcio Vianna, Moacyr Góes and Antônio Araújo.
Music
Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
is one of the most instantly recognizable elements of Brazilian culture. Many different genres and styles have emerged in Brazil, such as samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
, choro
Choro
Choro , traditionally called chorinho , is a Brazilian popular music instrumental style. Its origins are in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. In spite of the name, the style often has a fast and happy rhythm, characterized by virtuosity, improvisation, subtile modulations and full of syncopation and...
, bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
, MPB
MPB
MPB can refer to:* Methane producing bacteria, another name for methanogen bacteria* Media Prima Berhad, a Malaysian media corporation* Música Popular Brasileira, Brazilian Popular Music* Male pattern baldness, a form of Androgenetic alopecia...
, frevo
Frevo
Frevo is a wide range of musical styles originating from Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, all of which are traditionally associated with Brazilian Carnival. The word frevo is said to come from frever, a misspeaking of the Portuguese word ferver . It is said that the sound of the frevo will make...
, forró
Forró
Forró is a kind of Northeastern Brazilian dance as well as a word used to denote the different genres of music which accompanies the dance. Both are much in evidence during the annual Festa Junina , a part of Brazilian traditional culture which celebrates some Catholic saints...
, maracatu
Maracatu
Maracatu is a term common to two distinct performance genres found in Pernambuco state in northeastern Brazil: maracatu de nação and maracatu rural . A third style, maracatu cearense , is found in Fortaleza, in the northeastern state of Ceará...
, sertanejo, brega
Brega
Brega may refer to:*Brega , an inhabited location in Libya**Marsa Brega Airport, the airport for Brega-People:...
and axé
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
.
Samba
Samba is among the most popular music genres in Brazil and is widely regarded as the country's national musical style. It developed from the mixture of Brazilian and African rhythms brought by slaves in the colonial period and originated in the state of BahiaBahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
. In the early 20th century, modern samba emerged and was popularized in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
behind composers such as Noel Rosa
Noel Rosa
Noel de Medeiros Rosa was a Brazilian songwriter, singer, and guitar/banjo player. One of the greatest names in Brazilian popular music, Noel gave a new twist to samba, combining its Afro-Brazilian roots with a more urban, witty language and making it a vehicle for ironic social commentary.Noel...
, Cartola
Cartola
Angenor de Oliveira, known as Cartola , was a Brazilian singer, composer and poet considered to be a major figure in the development of samba.Cartola composed, alone or with partners, more than 500 songs.-Biography:...
and Nelson Cavaquinho
Nelson Cavaquinho
Nelson Cavaquinho was one of the most important singer/composers of samba. He is usually seen as a representative of the tragic aspects of samba thematics, with many songs about death and hopelessness...
among others. The movement later spead and gained notoriety in other regions, particularly in Bahia and São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
. Contemporary artists include Martinho da Vila
Martinho da Vila
Martinho da Vila is a Brazilian samba musician...
, Zeca Pagodinho
Zeca Pagodinho
Zeca Pagodinho is a Brazilian singer/songwriter working in the genres of samba and pagode.-Biography:...
and Paulinho da Viola
Paulinho da Viola
Paulinho da Viola is a Brazilian sambista, singer/songwriter, guitar, cavaquinho and mandolin player, known for his sophisticated harmonies and soft, gentle singing voice.-Biography:...
.
Samba makes use of a distinct set of instruments, among the most notable are the cuíca
Cuíca
Cuíca , or "kweeca", is a Brazilian friction drum often used in samba music. The tone it produces has a high-pitched squeaky timbre. It has been called a 'laughing gourd' due to this sound....
, a friction drum
Friction drum
Hornbostel-Sachs classification number 232.11-92A friction drum is a musical instrument found in various forms in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America...
that creates a high-pitched squeaky sound, the cavaquinho
Cavaquinho
The cavaquinho is a small string instrument of the European guitar family with four wire or gut strings. It is also called machimbo, machim, machete , manchete or marchete, braguinha or braguinho, or cavaco.The most common tuning is D-G-B-D ; other tunings include D-A-B-E...
, a small instrument of the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
family, and the pandeiro, a hand frame drum
Frame drum
A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. Usually the single drumhead is made of rawhide or man-made materials. Shells are traditionally constructed of bent wood scarf jointed together; plywood and man-made materials are also used. Some frame drums have mechanical...
. Other instruments are the surdos
Surdo
For the football player of the same name see Surdu.The surdo is a large bass drum used in many kinds of Brazilian music, most notably in Axé/Samba-reggae and samba and its variants, where it plays the lower parts from a percussion section....
, agogôs
Agogô
An agogô is a single or multiple bell now used throughout the world but with origins in traditional Yoruba music and also in the samba baterias . The agogô may be the oldest samba instrument and was based on West African Yoruba single or double bells...
, chocalhos
Chocalho
Chocalho is the generic name for “shaker” in Portuguese. There are various types of idiophones using this name in Portuguese, not always being the same instrument:*a shaker;*a kind of jingle stick used to play samba music;*a cowbell;...
and tamborins
Tamborim
A tamborim is a small, round Brazilian frame drum of Portuguese and African origin.The frame is 6" in width and may be made of metal, plastic, or wood. The head is typically made of nylon and is normally very tightly tuned in order to ensure a high, sharp timbre and a minimum of sustain...
.
Choro
ChoroChoro
Choro , traditionally called chorinho , is a Brazilian popular music instrumental style. Its origins are in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. In spite of the name, the style often has a fast and happy rhythm, characterized by virtuosity, improvisation, subtile modulations and full of syncopation and...
originated in the 19th century through interpretations of European genres such as polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
and schottische
Schottische
The schottische is a partnered country dance, that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina , Finland , France, Italy, Norway , Portugal and Brazil , Spain ...
by Brazilian artists who had already been influenced by African rhythms such as the batuque
Batuque
Batuque may refer to:* Batuque , a game once played in Brazil* Batuque, an Afro-Brazilian Religion of Orishas in south of Brasil, like Candomblé and Santeria, but different. with liturgy own....
. It is a largely instrumental genre that shares a number of characteristics with samba. Choro gained popularity around the turn of the century (1880-1920) and was the genre of many of the first Brazilian records in the first decades of the 20th century. Notable Choro musicians of that era include Chiquinha Gonzaga
Chiquinha Gonzaga
Francisca Edwiges Neves Gonzaga was a Brazilian composer, pianist and conductor....
, Pixinguinha
Pixinguinha
Alfredo da Rocha Viana, Jr., better known as Pixinguinha was a composer, arranger, flautist and saxophonist born in Rio de Janeiro. Pixinguinha is considered one of the greatest Brazilian composers of popular music, particularly within the genre of music known as choro...
and Joaquim Callado
Joaquim Antonio (Callado) da Silva
Joaquim Antonio da Silva Junior was a Brazilian composer and flutist....
. The popularity of choro steadily waned after the popularization of samba but saw a revival in recent decades and remains appreciated by a large number of Brazilians. There are a number of acclaimed Choro artists nowadays such as Altamiro Carrilho
Altamiro Carrilho
Altamiro Carrilho is a Brazilian musician, composer and western concert flautist.-Discography:* Juntos * Millenium * Flauta Maravilhosa...
, Yamandu Costa
Yamandú Costa
Yamandu Costa , sometimes misspelled Yamandú, is a Brazilian guitarist and composer. His main instrument is the violão de 7 cordas, the Brazilian seven-stringed nylon guitar....
and Paulo Bellinati
Paulo Bellinati
Paulo Bellinati is a classical guitarist from Brazil. He studied classical guitar with Isais Savio and graduated from the Conservatório Dramático e Musical de São Paulo...
.
Bossa nova and MPB
Bossa novaBossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
is a style of Brazilian music that originated in the late 1950s. It has its roots on samba but features less percussion, employing instead a distinctive and percussive guitar pattern. Bossa nova gained mainstream popularity in Brazil in 1958 with the song Chega de Saudade, written by Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim , also known as Tom Jobim , was a Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist. He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within...
and Vinícius de Moraes
Vinicius de Moraes
Marcus Vinicius de Moraes , known as Vinicius de Moraes and nicknamed O Poetinho , was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Son of Lydia Cruz de Moraes and Clodoaldo Pereira da Silva Moraes, he was a seminal figure in contemporary Brazilian music...
. Together with João Gilberto
João Gilberto
João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira, known as João Gilberto , is a Brazilian singer and guitarist. His seminal recordings, including many songs by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, established the new musical genre of Bossa nova in the late 1950s.-Biography:From an early age, music...
, Jobim and Moraes would become the driving force of the genre, which gained worldwide popularity with the song Garota de Ipanema as interpreted by Gilberto, his wife Astrud
Astrud Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto is a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer. She is well known for the Grammy Award-winning song "The Girl from Ipanema".-Biography:...
and Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
on the album Getz/Gilberto
Getz/Gilberto
Getz/Gilberto is a jazz bossa nova album released in 1964 by the American saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist João Gilberto, and featuring composer and pianist Antonio Carlos Jobim. Its release created a bossa nova craze in the United States and internationally...
. The bossa nova genre remains popular in Brazil, particularly among the upper classes and in the Southeast.
MPB
Música Popular Brasileira
Música Popular Brasileira or MPB designates a trend in post-Bossa Nova urban popular music. It is not a discrete genre but rather a constellation that combines original songwriting and updated versions of traditional Brazilian urban music styles like samba and samba-canção with contemporary...
(acronym for Música Popular Brasileira, or Brazilian Popular Music) was a trend in Brazilian music that emerged after the bossa nova boom. It presents many variations and includes elements of styles that range from Samba to Rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. In the 1960s some MPB artists founded the short-lived but highly influential tropicália movement, which attracted international attention. Among those were Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
, Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira , better known as Gilberto Gil or , is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter, known for both his musical innovation and political commitment...
, Tom Zé
Tom Zé
Tom Zé is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who was influential in the Tropicália movement of 1960s Brazil. After the peak of the Tropicália period, Zé went into relative obscurity: it was only in the 1990s, when the musician and label head David Byrne discovered an album recorded...
, Nara Leão
Nara Leão
Nara Lofego Leão was a Brazilian bossa nova and MPB singer and occasional actress. Her husband was Carlos Diegues, director and writer of Bye Bye Brasil....
and Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes ) are an influential Brazilian psychedelic rock band that were linked with the Tropicália movement of the late 1960s. It was formed by two brothers and a vocalist, but has gone through numerous personnel changes throughout its existence...
.
Sertanejo
Sertanejo is the most popular genre in Brazilian mainstream media since the 1990s. It evolved from música caipira over the course of the 20th century , a style of music that originated in Brazilian countryside and that made use of the violaViola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, although it presents nowadays a heavy influence from American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
. Beginning in the 1980s, Brazil saw an intense massification of the sertanejo genre in mainstream media
Mainstream media
Mainstream media are those media disseminated via the largest distribution channels, which therefore represent what the majority of media consumers are likely to encounter...
and an increased interest by the phonographic industry. As a result, sertanejo is today the most popular music genre in Brazil in terms of radio play. Common instruments in contemporary sertanejo are the acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, which often replaces the viola, the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
and the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, as well as electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, bass and drums. Notable acts include Chitãozinho & Xororó
Chitãozinho & Xororó
Chitãozinho & Xororó are a Brazilian sertanejo duo. Chitãozinho is the stage name of José Lima Sobrinho and Xororó that of Durval de Lima. Their music, which combines traditional Brazilian caipira with pop, was instrumental in establishing the sertanejo genre...
, Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano
Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano
Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano are Brazil's most famous sertanejo/country duo and brothers. They were born in Pirenópolis, Goiás. Zezé is the artistic name for Mirosmar José de Camargo and Luciano the artistic name for Welson David de Camargo....
, Leonardo and Daniel
Daniel
Daniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...
.
Forró and frevo
ForróForró
Forró is a kind of Northeastern Brazilian dance as well as a word used to denote the different genres of music which accompanies the dance. Both are much in evidence during the annual Festa Junina , a part of Brazilian traditional culture which celebrates some Catholic saints...
and Frevo
Frevo
Frevo is a wide range of musical styles originating from Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, all of which are traditionally associated with Brazilian Carnival. The word frevo is said to come from frever, a misspeaking of the Portuguese word ferver . It is said that the sound of the frevo will make...
are two music and dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
forms originated in the Brazilian Northeast. Forró, like Choro, originated from European folk genres such as the schottische in between the 19th and early 20th centuries. It remains a very popular music style, particularly in the Northeast region, and is danced in forrobodós (parties and balls) throughout the country.
Frevo originated in Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
, Pernambuco
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
during the Carnival, the period it is most often associated with. While the music presents elements of procession
Procession
A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...
and martial marches
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
, the frevo dance (known as "passo") has been notably influenced by capoeira
Capoeira
Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...
. Frevo parades are a key tradition of the Pernambuco Carnival.
Other genres
Many other genres have originated in Brazil, specially in recent years. Some of the most notable are:- The manguebit movement, originated in RecifeRecifeRecife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
and founded by the late Chico ScienceChico ScienceFrancisco de Assis França , better known as Chico Science, was a Brazilian singer and composer and one of the founders of the Mangue Beat cultural movement...
and Nação ZumbiNação ZumbiNação Zumbi is a Brazilian rock band formed by Chico Science. The musicians of the group continued as Nação Zumbi after Chico died in a car accident on February 2, 1997....
. The music fuses elements of maracatuMaracatuMaracatu is a term common to two distinct performance genres found in Pernambuco state in northeastern Brazil: maracatu de nação and maracatu rural . A third style, maracatu cearense , is found in Fortaleza, in the northeastern state of Ceará...
, frevoFrevoFrevo is a wide range of musical styles originating from Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, all of which are traditionally associated with Brazilian Carnival. The word frevo is said to come from frever, a misspeaking of the Portuguese word ferver . It is said that the sound of the frevo will make...
, funk rockFunk rockFunk rock is a music genre that fuses funk and rock elements. Its earliest incarnation was heard in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s by acts such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience , Eric Burdon and War, Trapeze, Parliament-Funkadelic, Betty Davis and Mother's Finest. The 1990s were known for acts...
and hip hopHip hopHip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
. - Funk cariocaFunk cariocaFunk carioca , favela funk and, elsewhere in the world, baile funk, is a type of dance music from Rio de Janeiro, derived from Miami bass....
emerged in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1990s and quickly gained popularity throughout Brazil. It has its roots on the Miami bassMiami bassMiami bass , is a type of hip hop music, that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Its roots are directly linked to the Electro-funk sound of the early 1980s, pioneered by Afrika Bambataa & The Soulsonic Force and later on by UK-based musician Paul Hardcastle...
genre and often features highly sexual and sometimes controversial lyrics. - AxéAxeThe axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
is a very popular genre, particularly in the state of BahiaBahiaBahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
. It is a fusion of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and is strongly associated with the SalvadorSalvador, BahiaSalvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...
Carnival. - MaracatuMaracatuMaracatu is a term common to two distinct performance genres found in Pernambuco state in northeastern Brazil: maracatu de nação and maracatu rural . A third style, maracatu cearense , is found in Fortaleza, in the northeastern state of Ceará...
is another genre originated in the state of Pernambuco. It evolved from traditions passed by generations of African slaves and features large percussive groups and choirs. - BregaBregaBrega may refer to:*Brega , an inhabited location in Libya**Marsa Brega Airport, the airport for Brega-People:...
is a hard to define music style from the state of ParáParáPará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...
, usually characterized as influenced by Caribbean rhythms and containing simple rhymes, arrangements and a strong sentimental appeal. It has spawned subgenres such as tecno bregaTecno bregaTecno brega or technobrega is a form of music from northern Brazil, particularly Belém. Music of the genre is created primarily through remixing and reworking songs from popular music and music from the eighties. While there is a large amount of famous music used in techno brega, the majority of...
, which has attracted worldwide interest for achieving high popularity without significant support from the phonographic industry.
Popular culture
Television
Television has played a large role in the formation of contemporary Brazilian popular culture. It was introduced in 1950 by Assis Chateaubriand and remains the country's most important element of mass mediaMass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
.
Telenovelas
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
are a marking feature in Brazilian television, usually being broadcasted in prime time on most major television networks. Telenovelas are similar in concept to soap operas in English-speaking countries but differ from them in duration, telenovelas being significantly shorter (usually about 100 to 200 episodes). They are widely watched throughout the country, to the point that they have been described as a significant element in national identity and unity, and have been exported to over 120 countries.
Folklore
Brazilian folklore includes many stories, legends, dances, superstitions and religious rituals. Characters include the Boitatá, the Boto Cor-de-Rosa, the SaciSaci (Brazilian folklore)
The Saci is considered the most popular character in Brazilian folklore. He is a one-legged black or mulatto youngster with holes in the palms of his hands, who smokes a pipe and wears a magical red cap that enables him to disappear and reappear wherever he wishes...
and the Bumba Meu Boi
Bumba Meu Boi
Bumba Meu Boi is a Brazilian folk theatrical tradition - the tale told through the music, the costumes and drumming involves a Bull, which dies and is brought back to life...
, which has spawned the famous June festival in Northern and Northeastern Brazil.
Sports
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
, Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...
, Kaká
Kaká
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite , commonly known as Kaká , is a Brazilian football attacking midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club...
, and Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira , commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year...
are among the most well known players in the sport. The Brazilian national football team
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
(Seleção) is currently among the best in the world according to the FIFA World Rankings
FIFA World Rankings
The FIFA World Rankings is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, currently led by Spain. The teams of the member nations of FIFA , football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest...
. They have been victorious in the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
a record 5 times, in 1958
1958 FIFA World Cup
The 1958 FIFA World Cup, the sixth staging of the World Cup, was hosted by Sweden from 8 June to 29 June. The tournament was won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5–2 in the final for their first title. To date, this marks the only occasion that a World Cup staged in Europe was not won by a European...
, 1962
1962 FIFA World Cup
The 1962 FIFA World Cup, the seventh staging of the World Cup, was held in Chile from 30 May to 17 June. It was won by Brazil, who retained the championship by beating Czechoslovakia 3–1 in the final...
, 1970
1970 FIFA World Cup
The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the World Cup, was held in Mexico, from 31 May to 21 June. The 1970 tournament was the first World Cup hosted in North America, and the first held outside South America and Europe. In a match-up of two-time World Cup champions, the final was won by...
, 1994
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
and 2002
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
. Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, Auto racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
, and Martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
also attract large audiences. Though not as regularly followed or practiced as the previously mentioned Sports, Tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, Team Handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
, Swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, and Gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
have found a growing sporting number of enthusiasts over the last decades. Some sport variations have their origins in Brazil. Beach Football
Beach soccer
Beach soccer, also known as beach football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand. The game emphasises skill, agility and shooting at goal....
, Futsal
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
(official version of Indoor Football
Indoor soccer
Indoor soccer or arena soccer, or six-a-side football in the United Kingdom, is a game derived from association football adapted for play in an indoor arena such as a turf-covered hockey arena or skating rink. The most important difference in play is that the indoor field is surrounded by a wall...
), and Footvolley
Footvolley
Footvolley is a sport which combines aspects of beach volleyball and football .-History:Footvolley was created in Brazil, by Octavio de Moraes, in 1965 in Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach as a means for football players to be able to touch the ball without violating the formal football ban at the...
emerged in the country as variations of Football. In Martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, Brazilians have developed Capoeira
Capoeira
Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...
, Vale Tudo
Vale tudo
Vale tudo are full-contact unarmed combat events, with a limited number of rules, that became popular in Brazil during the 20th century. Vale tudo has been considered a combat sport by some observers...
, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...
. In Auto racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
, Brazilian drivers have won the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
World Championship 9 times: Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:...
in 1972
1972 Formula One season
The 1972 Formula One season was the 23rd FIA Formula One season. It featured the 23rd World Championship of Drivers, the 15th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and numerous non-championship Formula One races. The World Championship season commenced on January 23 and ended on October 8 after...
and 1974
1974 Formula One season
The 1974 Formula One season was the 25th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1974 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over a fifteen race series which commenced on 13 January and ended on 6 October...
; Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...
in 1981
1981 Formula One season
The 1981 Formula One season included the 32nd FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on March 15, 1981, and ended on October 17 after fifteen races. Nelson Piquet won the Drivers' Championship, claiming the first of his three Formula One titles...
, 1983
1983 Formula One season
The 1983 Formula One season included the 34th FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 13, and ended on October 15 after fifteen races. Nelson Piquet won the World Drivers' Championship, his second Formula One title and the first one ever won by a driver using a turbocharged engine...
and 1987
1987 Formula One season
The 1987 Formula One season was the 38th season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship for Drivers and Constructors which commenced on April 12, 1987 and ended on November 15 after sixteen races...
; and Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...
in 1988
1988 Formula One season
The 1988 Formula One season was the 39th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1988 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on April 3, 1988 and ended on November 13 after sixteen races...
, 1990
1990 Formula One season
The 1990 Formula One season was the 41st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1990 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 11, 1990 and ended on November 4 after sixteen races...
and 1991
1991 Formula One season
The 1991 Formula One season was the 42nd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1991 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on March 10, 1991 and ended on November 3 after sixteen races...
.
Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
has undertaken the organization of large-scale sporting events: the country organized and hosted the 1950 FIFA World Cup
1950 FIFA World Cup
The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II...
, and is chosen to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014....
event. The circuit located in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Autódromo José Carlos Pace
Autódromo José Carlos Pace
Autódromo José Carlos Pace, also known by its former name Interlagos, is a motor racing circuit located in the city of São Paulo, and named after Carlos Pace, a Brazilian Formula One driver, who had died prior to its naming...
, hosts the annual Grand Prix of Brazil
Brazilian Grand Prix
The Brazilian Grand Prix is a Formula One championship race which occurs at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos, a district in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.- History :...
. São Paulo organized the IV Pan American Games
1963 Pan American Games
The 4th Pan American Games were held from April 20 to May 5, 1963 in São Paulo, Brazil.- Medal count :To sort this table by nation, total medal count, or any other column, click on the icon next to the column title.Note...
in 1963, and Rio de Janeiro hosted the XV Pan American Games
2007 Pan American Games
The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to July 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Committees competed in 332 events in 34 sports and in...
in 2007. Brazil also tried for the 4th time to host the Summer Olympics with Rio de Janeiro candidature in 2016
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...
. On October 2, 2009, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was selected to host the 2016 Olympic Games
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...
, which will be the first to be held in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.
Family and social class
As a society with strong traditional values, the family in Brazil is usually represented by the couple and their children. Extended family is also an important aspect with strong ties being often maintained. Accompanying a world trend, the structure of the Brazilian family has seen major changes over the past few decades with the reduction of average size and increase in single-parent, dual-worker and remarried families. The family structure has become less patriarchalPatriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
and women are more independent, although gender disparity is still evident in wage
Wage
A wage is a compensation, usually financial, received by workers in exchange for their labor.Compensation in terms of wages is given to workers and compensation in terms of salary is given to employees...
difference.
Brazil inherited a highly traditional and stratified class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
structure from its colonial period with deep inequality. In recent decades, the emergence of a large middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
has contributed to increase social mobility and alleviate income disparity, but the situation remains grave. Brazil ranks 54th among world countries by Gini index.
Holidays
| Date | English name | Portuguese name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year's Day New Year's Day New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome... |
Ano Novo/ Confraternização Universal | Celebrates the beginning of the Gregorian calendar Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter... year. Festivities include counting down to midnight on the preceding night. Traditional end of the holiday season. |
| April 21 | Tiradentes' Day Tiradentes Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes , was a leading member of the Brazilian revolutionary movement known as the Inconfidência Mineira whose aim was full independence from the Portuguese colonial power and to create a Brazilian republic. When the plan was discovered, Tiradentes was... |
Dia de Tiradentes | Anniversary of the death of Tiradentes Tiradentes Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes , was a leading member of the Brazilian revolutionary movement known as the Inconfidência Mineira whose aim was full independence from the Portuguese colonial power and to create a Brazilian republic. When the plan was discovered, Tiradentes was... (1792), considered a national martyr for being part of the Inconfidência Mineira Inconfidência Mineira The Inconfidência Mineira of 1789 was an unsuccessful Brazilian independence movement.It was a result of the confluence of external and internal causes... , an insurgent movement that aimed to establish an independent Brazilian republic. |
| May 1 | Labor Day Labor Day Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:... |
Dia do Trabalhador | Celebrates the achievements of workers and the labor movement. |
| September 7 | Independence Day Independence Day (Brazil) The Independence Day of Brazil , commonly called Sete de Setembro , is a national holiday observed in Brazil on September 7 of every year... |
Dia da Independência | Celebrates the Declaration of Independence Brazilian Declaration of Independence The Brazilian Independence comprised a series of political events occurred in 1821–1823, most of which involved disputes between Brazil and Portugal regarding the call for independence presented by the Brazilian Kingdom... from Portugal on September 7, 1822. |
| October 12 | Our Lady of Aparecida Our Lady of Aparecida Our Lady of Aparecida is the patron saint of Brazil, venerated in the Catholic Church. A dark-skinned Marian image, Our Lady of Aparecida is represented by a short, clay statue of the Virgin Mary, currently housed in the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, in the town of... |
Nossa Senhora Aparecida | Commemorates the Virgin Mary as Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida Our Lady of Aparecida Our Lady of Aparecida is the patron saint of Brazil, venerated in the Catholic Church. A dark-skinned Marian image, Our Lady of Aparecida is represented by a short, clay statue of the Virgin Mary, currently housed in the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, in the town of... , Patron Saint Patron saint A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person... of Brazil. Also celebrated as Children's Day Children's Day "Children Day", as an event, is celebrated on various days in many places around the world, in particular to honor children. Major global variants include a Universal Children's Day on November 20, by United Nations recommendation... (Dia das Crianças) on the same date. |
| November 2 | Day of the Dead Day of the Dead Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in many cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it attains the quality... |
Dia de Finados | Another Christian holiday, it commemorates the faithful departed. |
| November 15 | Republic Day Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics.-1 January in the Republic of Slovakia:This was the day of creation of the Republic of Slovakia. A national holiday since 1993... |
Proclamação da República | Commemorates the end of the Empire of Brazil and the proclamation of the Brazilian Republic on November 15, 1889. |
| December 25 | Christmas Day | Natal 6 march Grace day |
Celebrates the nativity of Jesus Nativity of Jesus The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts.... . |
See also
- History of BrazilHistory of BrazilThe history of Brazil begins with the arrival of the first indigenous peoples, thousands of years ago by crossing the Bering land bridge into Alaska and then moving south....
- List of Brazilians
- Painting in Brazil
- Sculpture in Brazil
- Literature of BrazilLiterature of BrazilBrazilian literature is written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, even if prior to Brazil's independence from Portugal, in 1822...
- Brazil Skyscrapers
- Tourism in BrazilTourism in BrazilTourism in Brazil is a growing sector and key to the economy of several regions of the country. The country had 5.1 million visitors in 2010, ranking in terms of the international tourist arrivals as the second main destination in South America, and third in Latin America after Mexico and Argentina...
External links
- Brazilian ministry of culture
- Consulate General of Brazil in San Francisco
- Eyes On Brazil – Brazilian Cultural Site
- Dancing with the Stars Dancing with the Stars Brazil