Brazil

Colonization

Brazil was discovered in the 1500’s by Portugal. After the discovery, it became a Portuguese colony until 1822, when it proclaimed its independence and became an independent country.

Brazilian Flag

It was approved at 1889 after proclamation of the republic.

Blue Circle: Represents our Christian faith (Brazil is the biggest catholic country of the world).

Yellow: Represents our richness; Gold, among others.

On the white stripes is written: “Ordem e Progresso”, which is translated to Order and Progress. This means our desire to grow and become a great country.

27 stars: Represent the sky of Rio de Janeiro at November 15, 1889. This is the day of proclamation of republic. Each star also represents our 26 states and one federal district where we have our capital: Brasilia. The state I came from, Pará, is that lone star above stripe (because at that time, my state (Pará) was the state further north of the country.

The white: Represents peace.

Green: Represents Portuguese royal family and our forests.

Anthem

The Brazilian national anthem was made official in 1922. It has music composed by Francisco Manuel da Silva and lyrics by Joaquim Osório Duque Estrada.

Government

• Official Name: Federative Republic of Brazil

• Government Form: Republic

• Form of State: Federation

• Power: Democracy

• Government System: Presidentialism and 3 Branch Powers.

• Congress: It’s composed by federal senate (81 senators), and chamber of deputies (513 deputies).

• President: Jair Bolsonaro (PSL Party) – Since 01/01/2019

• Currency

Currency: Real (R$ Symbol)

Dollar x Real: $ 1,00 = R$ 4,00

List of territorial entities where Portuguese is an official language

Portuguese is a Romance language spoken by about 220 million people mainly in Portugal and Brazil (Brasil), and also in Angola, Mozambique (Moçambique), Cape Verde (Cabo Verde), Guinea-Bissau (Guiné-Bissau), São Tomé e Principe, East Timor (Timor-Leste), Equatorial Guinea and Macau. There are also communities of Portuguese speakers in Goa, Daman and Diu in India, and in Malacca in Malaysia.

Portuguese alphabet (alfabeto português)

A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i

á bê cê dê é efe gê agá i

J j K k L l M m N n O o P p Q q R r

jota cá/capa ele eme ene ó pê quê erre

S s T t U u V v W w X x Y y Z z

esse tê u vê dábliu,

dáblio,

duplo-vê xis ípsilon,

ipsilão,

i grego zê

Reveillon

São Cosme e Daminhhão

Holydays

Easter

Christmas

Carnaval

Festa Junina

Songs

Samba

MPB

Funk

Forro

1. Barbecued meat

Barbecued meat spread

Brazil and Argentina both claim to be South America’s barbecue champion. And while each country takes a different approach to its meat, from the cuts to the accompaniments, some things remain the same – namely, the ogre-sized quantities of meat, best appreciated at a leisurely pace and with an elasticated waistband.

In Brazil, premium cuts (the most popular being picanha, or rump cap) are seasoned with no more than a liberal shake of coarse salt, before being grilled to pink perfection over charcoal (or wood, if you’re doing it the old-fashioned Southern way). Home barbecues will see sausages, queijo coalho (squeaky cheese on a stick) and chicken hearts sharing space on the grill, while in churrascarias (barbecue-style steakhouses), all manner of meats on skewers – from pork to lamb and wild boar – will be sliced by waiters straight onto your plate.

Try it yourself... Frango churrasco (grilled lemon &

garlic chicken)

Cumin & onion marinated beef

Oregano cheese skewers

Creamy Aji green sauce

Chimichurri sauce

2. Moqueca (pronounced moo-kek-a)

Prawn and coconut soup in bowl with spoon

More than a mere fish stew, moqueca is served with theatrical flourish as the piping hot clay pot is uncovered at the table amid clouds of fragrant steam. Baianos (residents of Bahia, in the north-east of the country) and Capixabas (from the neighbouring state of Espírito Santo) both lay claim to the origins of the dish, and both serve up equally tasty variations. At its simplest, fish and/or other seafood are stewed in diced tomatoes, onions and coriander. The Capixabas add annatto seeds for a natural red food colouring, while the Baianos serve a heavier version, made with palm oil, peppers and coconut milk. It’s teamed with rice, farofa (toasted manioc flour – ideal for mopping up juices) and pirão (a spicy fish porridge made with manioc flour – far tastier than it sounds).

Try making your own...

Bahia-style Moqueca prawn stew

3. Cachaça

Brazilian cocktails on tray

Dating back to the 1500s, cachaça is made from fermented sugarcane juice and is best known as the fiery kick in caipirinhas – Brazil’s national cocktail. While caipirinhas are often made with uncoloured, unaged cachaças, there are thousands of better-quality golden varieties available, aged in wooden barrels and sipped straight up by aficionados.

For the morning after, clear your head with a Guaraná Antarctica (a sweet, fizzy soft drink), an água de coco (coconut water, best sipped straight from the coconut) or caldo de cana (freshly pressed sugarcane juice).

Try making your own...

Caipirinhas with pineapple

4. Brigadeiros

Chocolate truffles on plate

Brazil’s answer to the chocolate truffle, brigadeiros are so simple to make that they quite literally get rolled out for kids’ parties nationwide. The sweet balls are made by simmering condensed milk with cocoa powder, then whisking in butter and shaping the mix into balls before rolling in chocolate sprinkles. Guaranteed to give an instant sugar high, they’re cloyingly sweet for some palates. Brazilians won’t hear a word against them, though.

Try making your own... Brigadieros

5. Pão de queijo

Cheese dough balls on tray

Cheese and bread – two staple favourites the world over – are brought together in glorious union in Brazil’s pão de queijo, a moreish snack enjoyed at any time of day. Crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, the gluten-free bread rolls are made with tapioca flour, eggs and grated curado minas cheese (a cow’s milk cheese from the state of Minas Gerais), rolled into small balls. For a naughty twist, keep an eye out for pão de queijo served in fist-sized rolls (or even a cake-sized bake), stuffed with cream cheese or various meaty fillings.

Try making your own... Pão de queijo

6. Acarajé (pronounced a-ka-ra-zjeh)

One of the most calorie-laden street snacks I’ve ever had the good fortune to try, acarajé is a deep-fried patty of crushed black-eyed peas, palm oil and puréed onions, deep-fried in yet more palm oil before being sliced open and stuffed with dried shrimp and vatapá – a rich and spicy purée of prawns, bread, cashew nuts and other ingredients. The dish originated in Bahia, in Brazil's north-east, where flavours have strong roots in African cooking. Acarajé is at its best when served

piping hot, fresh from the vat of oil, with a

liberal dash of chilli sauce.

Try making your own...

Acaraje-black eyed pea

fritters with shrimp filling

7. Quindim

Quindim on plate with spoon

Another favourite from Bahia, quindim is a glossy yellow sweet treat made with nothing more than eggs, sugar and coconut (with butter a common addition). Baked in cupcake-sized moulds, the bottom is toasted and golden, dense with grated coconut, while the top is a smooth, firm custard that sticks pleasingly to the roof of the mouth. The name is said to derive from the word 'kintiti' (meaning ‘delicacy’ in Kikongo, a language spoken in Congo-Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola), while the recipe itself was inspired by the

Portuguese love affair with egg yolks

in sweets and pastries.

Try making your own...

Coconut quindim

8. Açaí (pronouned a-sa-ee)

Of all the Amazon's fruits, the açaí is perhaps the best known, thanks to its superfood status. Traditionally eaten by indigenous tribes as a source of energy, the hard purple berry is also used in Amazonian cooking as a sauce to accompany fish. A clever marketing campaign in the ’80s thrust it into the spotlight as the energy snack of choice for surfers in glamorous Rio de Janeiro. Served as a sweet, gloopy, frozen sorbet, sometimes topped with granola and slices of banana, or whizzed up in juices, it can found in every café, bakery, juice bar and supermarket across the country. You can even buy açaí vodka, and açaí beer.

Try making your own... Açaí smoothie

9. Feijoada

Pork stew with dumplings in dish

One of the few dishes eaten the length and breadth of Brazil, feijoada is a hearty stew of black beans, sausages and cuts of pork of varying quality – traditionally veering towards the lower end, with trotters and ears all going into the mix. A labour of love, feijoada done the old fashioned way takes up to 24 hours to make, including soaking the beans and desalting the pork. Most Brazilians go out to restaurants and bars to eat feijoada, and it's traditionally eaten on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Rice, kale, orange slices, farofa (toasted manioc flour) and pork scratchings

are served on the side, along with a tipple of

cachaça to ease digestion.

Try making your own... Feijoada or try our take

on this hearty one-pot with our Brazilian pork

stew with corn dumplings.

10. Fried bar snacks

Coxinhas on board

Beer, served so cold that chunks of ice stick to the bottle, is the drink of choice in Brazil – and an assortment of fried foods makes the perfect pairing, be it pastéis (deep-fried parcels of crisp pastry, filled with melting cheese, minced beef or creamy hearts of palm), crunchy batons of manioc or bolinhos (‘little balls’, most often made with salt cod). Coxinha (‘little thigh’) is another popular choice, made with

shredded chicken and mashed potato,

shaped like a (very voluptuous) thigh

and covered in golden breadcrumbs.

Iguaçu Falls

One of the largest and most spectacular waterfalls borders the countries of Argentina and Brazil. Iguaçu Falls is comprised of 275 stunning individual drops with unique and endangered species of flora and fauna. This enormous waterfall spans an impressive 2,700m. The Brazil side offers the best panoramic views and access to devil’s throat; a long chasm towering 82-metres high with a distinguishing U-shape.

BEST BEACHES

The Amazon

The very life spring of the planet; larger than the next eight largest rivers combined, responsible for the air we breathe, the water we drink, the Amazon River is truly a natural wonder. With so many options of starting points, length of trip, and method of travel; there is an experience for everyone. Towering trees sunk into the water, monkeys swinging from branch to branch and an abundance of activities; The Amazon begs to be explored.

Corcovado

Corcovado is a mountain in central Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a 710-metre (2,329 ft) granite peak located in the Tijuca Forest, a national park.

Corcovado hill lies just west of the city center but is wholly within the city limits and visible from great distances. It is known worldwide for the 38-metre (125 ft) statue of Jesus atop its peak, entitled Cristo Redentor or Christ the Redeemer.

Soccer

The most popular and widely spread sport in Brazil is, undoubtedly, football (or soccer). This is especially appropriate as Brazil will be hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. This means millions of football fans from all over the world flooding into this South American country in the hopes of seeing their favourite team take the coveted title of world champions. A number of well-known football players and world-renowned teams hail from this country. Just some of the popular players are Pelé, Ronaldo, Adriano, Kaká, and Ronaldinho.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu dates back to the early part of the 20th century and is based on submission holds (such as joint locks). As individual enthusiasts have perfected the art in their own rights, this sport has begun to become internationally recognised. Vale tudo is a variation of Jiu-Jitsu that means “anything goes”. As its name implies, this adaptation of the discipline allows more freedom with fewer rules.

Footvolley

Invented in the 1960’s, footvolley is a combination of football and volleyball. It is played with a volleyball net, but players can use only their feet to get the ball to their opponents on the other side. It is a perfect beach game and visitors are sure to spot it as they frequent the many gorgeous beaches of Brazil.

Capoeira