Archive for the ‘Brazil’ Category

August 19th, 2010 - 2:20 pm § in Argentina, Around Town, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Event, Honduras, News, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela

Americas Social Forum in Summary

One day at lunch everyone danced together under an electric blue Asunción sky and it was easy to believe, at least for a second, that if all this buena ondaa and energy could translate to action, the world would be all right (in a left sort of way).[...]

June 3rd, 2010 - 2:59 pm § in Brazil, Culture, Day in the Life, Op Ed, Uruguay

On Safety; or, the Right to Choose your Risk

During choir rehearsal, the teenage son of my choir conductor asked me if Washington, DC was a safe place. Ah…um…since my natural response is to praise the places in which I’m currently living (and with, however unfairly, thoughts of DC police’s go-go watch lists in my head), I told [...]

May 10th, 2010 - 10:15 am § in Bolivia, Brazil, Culture, Day in the Life, Social Entrepreneurship

Sex and Violence Sells: But Please, No Gawking Allowed!

Why do people travel? Personally, I travel to see different landscapes, absorb local culture, photograph natural phenomena, hike beautiful mountains, and eat exotic foreign food. I think many people are in the same boat. Recently, both here in Brazil, and on vacation in Bolivia, I was introduced to [...]

March 25th, 2010 - 10:52 am § in Brazil, Event, Good Ideas, News

World Urban Forum: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Between March 22 and 26, the city of Rio de Janeiro will host the 5th edition of the World Urban Forum (WUF), sponsored by the United Nations agency for human settlements, UN-Habitat. It is the first time this event will be held in Latin America. A record number of people from over 170 countries hav[...]

March 16th, 2010 - 7:01 pm § in Around Town, Brazil, Good Ideas

Favela Tourism: Harmful or Helpful?

When I told people I was going on a favela tour in Rio de Janeiro, I received a lot of strange looks. After all, those aren’t two words you often hear together. Reactions ranged from, “Why would you want to do that?” to “They are just people living in a different situation. W[...]

February 23rd, 2010 - 6:41 pm § in Brazil, Good Ideas

It All Started with Our Apple IIGS…

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 [...[...]

February 18th, 2010 - 9:58 am § in Around Town, Brazil, Day in the Life, Event, Looking for Opportunity, News

Removal is a Social Crime!

Last week, I went to a demonstration in downtown Rio where favela residents were protesting against the city’s decision to remove several of their homes and neighborhoods. About two hundred men, women, and children —representatives from several communities — gathered in front of City Hall with[...]

February 1st, 2010 - 6:38 pm § in Around Town, Brazil, Tips & Resources

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,[...]

January 25th, 2010 - 7:11 pm § in Brazil, News

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[...]

January 12th, 2010 - 11:42 pm § in Brazil, Event, Nonprofit Spotlight

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[...]





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