When I was little, my family bought a computer over which my sister and I would constantly fight. To quote a great movie, The Gods Must Be Crazy: “It was the most useful thing the gods had ever given them, a real labor-saving device. But the gods had been careless. They had sent only one. And [...[...]
Archive for the ‘Brazil’ Category
Vacation, All I Ever Wanted
In the last few weeks or so, I’ve gotten a lot of inquiries from people traveling to Brazil. I love giving travel advice! Once I’ve traveled to a city, I’ve been there, done that, and eaten everything. So I’m happy to answer pertinent questions. However, I recently received an e-mail saying,[...]
My City of Ruins
Sometimes in Rio, I feel like I’m on the cusp of something great. The city is making a huge effort to improve in the face of its current limelight. Consultants are being brought in to aid security. Unidade de Polícia Pacificadoras (UPPs) are being established to reduce the number of violent death[...]
Community Theater: Nós do Morro
Last night I went to the opening night of a play called “The Inspector General” at Nós do Morro, a community theater company located in Favela Vidigal overlooking Ipanema beach. Nós do Morro was conceptualized in 1986 as a cultural movement which strove to harvest the artistic talent o[...]
You Down with UPP (Yeah you know me)
According to a new statistic revealed last Tuesday by the New York-based Human Rights Watch, more than 11,000 people have died at the hands of authorities in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo since 2003. A substantial portion of this number is derived from the off-duty or “extrajudicial” kil[...]
Rio Secures Giuliani for Security
Brazilian officials have recently announced that former Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, has accepted a long-term position as a security consultant leading up to the World Cup in 2012 and the Olympics Games in 2016. Rio’s current plans to fight crime, including the new initiative Choque [...]
Day in the Life: Samba Pra Caramba
When I woke up on Wednesday, I thought it was just another work day. I quickly found out that it was National Samba Day, and a reason to celebrate! As we all know, samba is a genre of music and dance that symbolizes Brazil and Brazilian heritage. Taking it cues from Africa and Europe, the first [...[...]
