Brazil - have you been there?

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it was really hot (I was happy on the inside)
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inside the Niemeyer Museum again
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from Sugar Loaf
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Jesus is coming
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With sometime ilxor Jacky and Brazilian friends at a penthouse in Leblon
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Mr. Catra!!!
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#177 just amazes me.

The one that's my "favorite" is from the tram leading to Sugar Loaf. It was shrouded in cloud and it of course seemed heavenly - especially because once there, you were actually above the cloud and could still look down from it!

Ipanema
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tips for Brazil: where to stay, where to go, what to avoid, etc...

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check out diplo's new site http://www.formdiplo.com
there's a pics page which has some video and photos from the favela party we went to. check out the guy with the bleached hair in pic #11--that same guy was gyrating his firm booty right in my crotch later that night...i totally got a boner from that. then i attempted to have a conversation in portugese with him--cross cultural hilarity ensued.

Bruce Sterling on Brazil

Similarly in Brazil President Lula da Silva who this year completes the fourth year of his second mandate and will be leaving office next January first 2011, has an approval rating of 81%, according to the latest release from consultants Sensus. (((That is a crazily high rating for a guy in power eight years, but then again, Lula did transform his rambling wreck of a country into a global major power.)))

“The popularity of the president and his government continues strong and rising because of the good numbers of the economy, the positive results of social policies and the high employment index”, according to Ricardo Guedes, head of Census. (((It probably helped that Lula didn’t brusquely round up any Tropicalista pop stars or chase them off to London, but, rather, made the cool people into major political figures.)))

(((More. Lula’s opposition: “Yeah, okay, things are going great around here, but it was all the doing of us eight years ago, actually”)))

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8451472.stm

(…)

Brazil’s profile has never been higher on the international stage where some say it appears no world summit on key issues such as climate change or energy is complete without President Lula.

The country has also secured the rights to stage both the Olympics and the World Cup in the near future, putting it in the limelight as never before.
Marta Suplicy, the former tourism minister in the Lula government and ex-Mayor of Sao Paulo, is clear about his achievements.

“Besides the minimum wage increases, the 12 million new jobs, and inflation controlled, I would say self-esteem,” she told BBC News.

“Twenty one million Brazilians getting out of poverty is something. People being able to eat much better, to live in better conditions and have hope.
“I would say one of the most important things is the hope and self-esteem that President Lula brought to the Brazilian people.”

(((I dunno why people would think that a national government ought to do something helpful about the daily lives of the majority demographic within its borders. What is the point of all that? Was there no one else to be helped? What about the suffering bankers, the beleaguered oil companies, the needy defense contractors, and the free speech rights of major multinational corporations? We can hope to see Brazil get its priorities in better order in the next administration.)))

Just booked my ticket motherfuckers! Rio carnival!

awesome

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I don't want to go do illegal logging in the Amazon in Brazil, I want to go to Rio and to Salvador, Bahia around carnival time and hear samba groups in the streets. But it seems expensive to go at that time of year (February). But can I find lots of samba in like April or May?

Consider contraception during your next visit.

Brazil declares emergency after 2,400 babies are born with brain damage, possibly due to mosquito-borne virus

Brazil is investigating more than more than 2,400 suspected cases of microcephaly and 29 deaths of infants that occurred this year. Last year the country saw only 147 cases of microcephaly.

The situation in Brazil is so overwhelming that Angela Rocha, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist in Pernambuco, one of the hardest hit states, said in an interview with CNN that women may want to hold off on getting pregnant.

Used plenty of bug spray too.

Posted this over on ILM--

Just got back from an incredible trip to Brazil (Rio and Salvador, Bahia). Alas, a connecting flight got cancelled and then our luggage got misplaced on the way there, so We missed a free Romulo Froes gig. But we did hear that MC Joao cut "Baile de favela" everywhere (that Rob mentioned upthread). Mostly a remixed version (the light remix I think its called). Thousands were chanting the words to that in a Carnival bloco parade we attended at Copocabana beach. The song certainly got stuck in our heads.

We saw a late-night Maria Rita gig, a number of bands playing Carnival gigs on various streets, the 2nd night of the Sambadrome event with samba schools composed of 1,000 or so folks, plus the amazing Salvador Campo Grande Carnaval circuit with afro-blocos like Olodum and Ilie Aiye.

― curmudgeon, Saturday, February 13, 2016 5:49 PM (0 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Had great food, saw lots of impressive neighborhoods, and made it to beaches too.

Such a fun holiday/vacation

Loved stumbling onto small mult-culti parade down those steps in Lapa not far from the Santa Teresa neighborhood in Rio. Great Amazonian influenced meal in Santa Teresa, with a dj there playing classic samba and bossa nova. Massive outdoor Carnival event in Lapa was great too.

The Pelourinho area in Salvador may be aimed at tourists but its still a great place to go. On a street where afro-blocos like Ile Aiye and Dido and Muzuenza (sp?) have headquarters, we came across a great band and its bloco followers dancing and hanging out (a day after Carnival). The Afro Bahia Museum there though could use an infusion of funds.

Briefly spoke with some folks re the fraud investigations but not too much, when I was there.

Here's the W. Post take. Democracy Now has been offering coverage from a more left view

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/how-brazil-the-darling-of-the-developing-world-came-undone/2016/04/14/40ee9356-fab4-11e5-813a-90ab563f0dde_story.html?tid=pm_pop_b