Brazil is  in style right now. It is very “a la mode” as they say in the upper echelons of French society. What’s even cooler is even though the Brazilians themselves know how cool they are, most of the time they are pretty chill about it. I thought I’d list ten reasons why I think Brazil is cool. A lot of them overlap and some common themes emerge, like creativity, diversity, health and joie de vivre.

1. First up is the absolute awesomeness of the country’s natural beauty. The vast expanse of the Amazon rainforest, the Mata Atlantica around Rio and São Paulo, the utter wowzerness of the beaches and coastline. The amazing waterfalls and serras or rock ridges covered in tropical forest, the rolling hills of Minas Gerais, the aridness of the Sertão (brush desert), the plateau of central Brazil and the many big rivers that carve their way through the country.

2. The music. Ok, soon enough I will release a publication detailing how great the music in this vast nation is. Let’s just cite some examples of musical forms: first… Samba… (samba is a universe of many worlds: samba de caboclo, samba de roda, samba de coco, samba enredo, samba this, samba that…), then forró (xote, baião, arrasta pé), frevo, maracatu, rock brasileiro, mpb, hippy hoppy (as they say hip hop), tropicalia movement, baile funk, axé, chorinho, jongo, sertanejo, brega, carimbo, reggae… like I said, in the future I will write a book about this.

2.5 The Dance. Coupled to music is dance. People love to dance in Brazil. There is no more unique and Brazilian dance than samba, and you can always tell who’s really got it, but… almost everyone, whoever they are, dances. So prominent is samba that it is often used synonymously for the verb ‘to dance’, ie to samba = to dance.  There are many types of dances countywide. There is gaffieira (one among many couple dances), the forró variants (my favorite), brega, axé, Afro-dances (a whole universe), the waltzes, carimbo, cocô, cavalo marinho, frevo, tambor de criola, baile funk and jongo. Every region has many dances and beyond them there are still so many more… check out the movie Chega de Saudade for the couples dancing scene in an old dance-hall in São Paulo. Check this series “Dancas Brasileiras” on YouTube with Antonio Nobrega.

3. The povo brasileiro. This means the Brazilian people. Here I mean the ethnic mix that is the make-up of the nation. The Tupi-Guarani and many other indigenous people, Portuguese, Africans from West Africa, Yorubas, Bantus, N’Golos, Spanish, Arabs, Jews, Dutch, Italians, Germans, Japanese, and too many more to list in such a meager blog post, have left an indelible mark and continue to contribute to the Brazilian identity. Of course, there are the sad truths of the injustices of history and how they conspired for all these peoples to be where they are today, but our focus will remain on what is, and what is, is beautiful. The book “O Povo Brasileiro” by Darcy Ribeiro is brilliant, and a must have for any Brasilophile anthropologist.

4. Carnival. Duh… This is where and when the people really let go (even more than normal) and you can kiss several people in the span of a couple of hours. It is when people party on the streets, when people show of their collective musical groups and their creativity in their dress or costumes… very cool and very Brazil. We will include debauchery and overt sexuality in this category so we don’t have to repeat it later on.

5. Parties. Carnival aside, Brazilian people are super creative in all their parties and community events. From the religious festivals like the congados of Minas Gerais and São Paulo to the baile funk of the favelas in Rio. The sweet rural vibe and the colourful banners of São João and the wicked circus parties I attended in my youth. All in all, Brazilians love to party, they take it seriously, they have fun, and they are super creative, never shy to take certain ideas further ahead and yet always look back to tradition.

festa ardida, a monthly party in Rio

6. The weather. In a nutshell, it is not cold!!!!!! Most of the country has a wicked climate. For those who like it hot, there is plenty of that (I still think Rio in the summer is the hottest) , but for hot there is the whole Northeast and especially the Sertão (Piauí is super hot). For the more temperate minded, there is Belo Horizonte, São Paulo and everything south of there, with some spots in the interior getting downright chilly at night (there is no heating). Now, at times, there can be a lot of rain in some places, which can be oppressive, especially if you are wearing some nice running shoes you saved up for, but hey, you should be wearing havaianas in those times.

7. The ART. I already mentioned music,  but this country also has loads of visual artists who kick proverbial ass and still have classical training. My friend once joked about how one block in São Paulo has more art galleries then all of Toronto. I felt a little defensive, but he was right. Not only more in terms of quantity, but the quality is also infinitely better. I know, I know, this is a matter of taste, but I think through my travels and experience I’ve seen a small fraction of what the world has to offer, and Brazil, in terms of visual art, (much like the USA, Mexico and Europe), has TONS of the good stuff. Beyond the visual art world, I would like to add clowning, an old tradition that uses the past and present of the art form using the vast cultural heritage of the country. There are amazing clowns in Brazil. Also cinema in Brazil is wicked and a developing scene, as their national film board, ANCINE can attest to. There is a bit of a lock-down on commercial productions by Global Films, but that will change with time. Check City of God and Central do Brasil for some obvious choices of Brazil cinema.

8. Capoeira. Well whoever practices this Afro-Brazilian game/dance/martial art knows exactly what I’m talking about. It is a link to the African and indigenous people of the land that most people in the middle classes and abroad don’t have access to and inspires one to know the limits of their body, and to feel the poetry of the music and the sensation of freedom your movements can bring. It is a social movement, a ritual, and a spectacle all at the same time. It is the great melting pot for many Brazilians often separated by class and race issues. In the capoeira roda (the circle) all are equal in the parameters of the game.

9. Sport. On the same vein as capoeira, Brazil is a very sports oriented country. We don’t even have to mention futebol, or soccer. They are the kings of the stylish players (lets not talk World Cup 2010 for now. Remember these names in the world of futebol: Pelé, Garrincha, Romario, Zico, Ronaldo, the list goes on and on… they could have two teams competing at the World Cup… but anyways, beyond soccer, what about volleyball, futevolei (footvolley), Ju-Jitsu, mixed martial arts and extreme sports like surfing, skateboarding, rodeo etc… there are a lot of good Brazilian athletes, and add to that, circus performers. In any beach town you can see kids doing crazy flips by the water with no technical instruction. In Rio, after a nice cold glass of cold mate, kids do all sorts of sports, and right after they have another glass of cold mate. hmmm… mate = health.

Brazilians are serious about their love for the national futebol team

10. Are we at number ten already??? oboy… ok I have a few more items but I think I’ll mention just one, explain it and then list the others.. The food! yes the food. I know a lot of world travellers will guffaw at my citing the food as one of the best things of Brazil, well it is. Its not Thailand ok, but there is a lot of good food in many spots, especially in Minas Gerais (no bias here whatsoever hehe). Rice and beans with the right spices and a touch of love makes the food delicious! And the diet is one of the reasons so many Brazilians are in good shape, rice + beans + physical activity= health! Then there is the seafood. Although not as good as in Greece, the Brazilians know how to cook fish, shrimp with plantain and dende oil… hmmmm… the gastronomy of the nice restaurants of São Paulo… damn…. the BBQ (churrasco) of the Gaúchos in the South.. Lord have mercy… The acarajé and mocqueca in Bahia… geez… The feijoada all over the country… Macaxeira (boiled manioc), carne de sol, vegetarian restaurants, pão de queijo, bolinho de bacalhao, pastel de angu, brigadeiro, creme de açai… and yes the fruits and the potential juices… a whole other listing, and it needs its own blog post.

comida mineira hmmmmm...

You guys should check back through the older blog posts for deeper insight into each of these topics, including music, food, sport, capoeira, waterfalls, parties etc..

Some other reasons why Brazil is wicked cool (with no long explanations) are: Oscar Neimeyer, the coffee (of course), the charm, beauty, and swing of the women (had to mention it, this was almost on the list but being a conscious gringo, didn’t want to perpetuate this stereotype), the intellectual movements of the people, Villa Lobos, the demographics of the country (another book’s worth of material), and of course, the friendliness of the people.

When I first went to Brazil, oh so many years ago, and I returned to Canada, people asked me “what do you miss about Brazil? the nature?, the beach?, the music?” “Well yes,” I responded, “but what I miss most are the friends I made.” This is dedicated to all my Brazilian friends, you know who you are.

…Of course reading this you might think that Brazil is the perfect place. There are many things that, of course, are not ideal, and the country has many problems, about 500 years worth of problems and a heavy colonial burden, but in the face of this, the people do a great job of living well with what they have and are conscious of their potential.

So as I say, for me Brazil is very cool and a country whose time has come.

Axé Brasil…

Alex Bordokas