THIS IS BRAZIL: HOME-STYLE RECIPES AND STREET FOOD

Discover the taste of Brazil’s rich culinary heritage with This Is Brazil. Join Fernanda de Paula and Shelley Hepworth as they explore the food of this beautiful and diverse land.

Sample recipes from all corners of Brazil, from the salt cod fritters and cheese balls enjoyed in urban Brazil’s many bars and botecos; to the classic, more substantial meals like moqueca bahiana (seafood stew), feijoada (pork and bean stew) and arroz com mariscos (rice with shellfish); and indulgent sweet treats like coconut mousse and Brigadeiro chocolate truffles.

With all of the color of Carnival and recipes designed for sharing, This Is Brazil will take you on a journey of the flavors of this wondrous land.

By Fernanda de Paula and Hepworth, Shelley, SBS

THROUGH THE BRAZILIAN WILDERNESS.

Through In Through the Brazilian WildernessTeddy Roosevelt chronicles his travels through unchartered territory in Western Brazil. Roosevelt, along with his son, Kermit, and several naturalists from the American Museum of Natural History joined Colonel Cândido Rondon, a Brazilian explorer on his scientific expedition to discover the source of a previously unknown river.

I was very interested in TR’s story because I’ve lived in the part of Brazil where his journey began. I recognized some of the city names and most of the animals he mentions. But I wondered if some of the details might be dull for someone with less knowledge of the area. Also, I felt severely handicapped by the Kindle version of this book because there was no map and I would very much have liked to have seen exactly where they were at specific times.

The trip fulfilled two purposes. The naturalists collected specimens for the museum: 2,500 birds and 500 mammals. (Amazing in light of the many laws in place to preserve Brazilian wildlife today.) The other purpose was for Rondon and company to travel up the unexplored river and chart it on a map for the first time. Roosevelt wrote:

We did not know whether we had one hundred or eight hundred kilometers to go, whether, the stream would be fairly smooth or whether we would encounter waterfalls, or rapids, or even some big marsh or lake. We could not tell whether or not we would meet hostile Indians, although no one of us ever went ten yards from camp without his rifle. We had no idea how much time the trip would take. We had entered a land of unknown possibilities.

At first the journal was a dull routine of animals seen and miles travelled. Halfway through the trip they reached some rapids that were impossible to descend. The canoes had to be unloaded and the baggage carried by land to the bottom of the next calm spot in the river. Then they were reloaded and the group went down the river for a few miles until the whole process had to be repeated over again. The action picked up as canoes were lost, a man is killed, Kermit almost drowns, and Teddy becomes ill with a life-threatening fever.

After two months in canoes (Feb 27 to April 26, 1914), their mission was accomplished. They had put a 600 mile river on the map which had previously been unknown. The unofficial name for it was “The River of Doubt”, but by the end of the grueling trip, it was dubbed “The Roosevelt River”.

Final note of interest: If you type in River of Doubt on youtube, you can see several short, silent movies of the expedition.
by Theodore Roosevelt.

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY BIRDS OF BRAZIL: THE PANTANAL AND CERRADO OF CENTRAL BRAZIL (A FIELD GUIDE)

Brazil, the fifth largest nation in the world, is one of the planet’s richest places for avian diversity and endemism. With the Birds of Brazil field guide series, the Wildlife Conservation Society brings together a top international team to do justice to the incredible diversity of Brazil’s avifauna. This first guide of the planned five-volume series features the 743 bird species of the Pantanal and Cerrado regions of Central Brazil.The sprawling Pantanal plain, one of the world’s most famed birding sites, is a seasonally flooded wetland boasting both impressive concentrations of large waterbirds and species such as the Toco Toucan, Hyacinth Macaw, Golden-collared Macaw, and endemic Blaze-winged Parakeets. The Cerrado is a distinctive Brazilian habitat that is the planet’s biologically richest savanna.This compact modern field guide’s unparalleled color artwork throughout, identification points, and range map for each species enable easy identification of all the birds normally found in these vibrant and critically important areas of Brazil. With 116 threatened species encompassing 25 percent of South America’s threatened birds, Brazil has an imperative to conserve its birds and unique habitats that begins with their appreciation and identification. Thus, the species accounts are coupled with an introductory chapter on the region’s unique environments and pressing conservation challenges. This practical and portable guide is an indispensable companion to those visiting Brazil’s glorious natural areas of the Pantanal and Cerrado.

byJohn A. Gwynne(Author),Robert S. Ridgely(Author),Guy Tudor(Author),Martha Argel(Author)

NEOTROPICAL RAINFOREST MAMMALS: A FIELD GUIDE

Neotropical Rainforest Mammals, the first color-illustrated field guide to these marvelously diverse and elusive creatures, has enjoyed tremendous success since its initial publication in 1990. Ecotourists and field researchers alike have applauded this guide’s compact size, light weight, and durability. More important, they have appreciated its clear and concise accounts of the mammals of this broad region. Each species account includes information on identifying characteristics, similar species, vocalizations, behavior and natural history, geographic range, conservation status, local names, and references to the scientific literature.

by Louise H. Emmons (Author),  FranCois Feer (Author)

 

A FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF BRAZIL

Brazil’s bird diversity is one of the richest in the world. And yet there has never been a comprehensive field guide to this splendid and elusive avifauna. Until now. 
The carefully vetted text and images are the first to cover the full range of bird life in this vast and varied country. The more than 1800 up-to-date accounts treat the Yellow-nosed Albatross to the Sombre Hummingbird, the Ash-throated Gnat-eater to the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Nighthawks and Jacamars to Motmots, Puffbirds, and Peppershrikes. They are all here–every species and many subspecies found in each region of Brazil–with special attention given to the 218 Brazilian endemics. The book is laid out so that the illustrations sit across from the commentary and the distribution maps, so it is easy to use. Also, the author uses short-hand notation throughout, to make the book compact and easy to carry when in the field. For each bird, the scientific, English, and Portuguese name are given as well as detailed information on measurement; identifying features; habitat; voice, song, and call. Distribution maps show the range for each species, also indicating seasonality and occurrence, essential for finding and identifying specific birds. From the equatorial North to the tropics, the introductory paragraphs set the stage in describing Brazil’s varied biogeography, climate, geomorphology, and natural vegetation. A list of protected areas of Brazil, information on relevant national and international organizations, a bibliography and further references, and an English-Portuguese dictionary of frequently used terms enhance the user-friendly qualities. 
Anyone wishing to fully explore the fabulously varied bird life of Brazil will find this light-weight, easy-to-use, attractive guide an invaluable field companion.

BRAZIL: AMAZON AND PANTANAL (TRAVELLERS’ WILDLIFE GUIDES

The Brazilian Amazon region holds a very special place in the minds of the world’s nature lovers as a vast wilderness of tropical forest splendor; and southern Brazil’s Pantanal area, an immense wetland, has a well-deserved reputation for its tremendous wildlife-viewing opportunities. Ecotravellers to these regions want to experience tropical forests and other stunning habitats and catch glimpses of exotic wildlife: toucans and parrots, monkeys and anteaters, frogs and toads, crocodiles and snakes. In this book is all the information you need to find, identify, and learn about Brazil’s magnificent animal and plant life.

• Full-color illustrations of more than 500 of Brazil’s most common insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, and fish-the species you are most likely to see.
• Identification and location information on the most frequently seen animals.
• Up-to-date information on the ecology, behavior, and conservation of the animals.
• Information on Brazil’s habitats and on the most common plants you will encounter.
• Brief descriptions of the most frequently visited parks and reserves in the Amazon and Pantanal regions.

Easy-to-carry, entertainingly written, beautifully illustrated – you will want to have this book as constant companion on your journey.

by David L. Pearson (Author) ,Les D. Beletsky (Author)

RIO (2011)

“Rio” is an animated feature, directed by a Brazilian director Carlos Saldanha. It tells the story of Blu, a male blue macaw who is taken to Rio de Janeiro to mate with a free-spirited female blue macaw, Jewel. The two eventually fall in love, and together they have to escape from being smuggled by Nigel, a cockatoo.

This is mayby not the most informative movie, but it surely is a lot of fun to watch with your children or grand children. The movie also gives you a very good idea of how life is in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

RIO 2 (2014)

It’s a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids in RIO 2, after they’re hurtled from that magical city to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets the most fearsome adversary of all – his father-in-law.
– Written by TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX

Another animated feature, that continues the story of the 2 blue macaws, but the story continues in the Amazon … where our own adventure will take place.

CENTRAL STATION (1998)

“Central do Brasil” is the original title of this movie. It tells the story of a woman, Dora, who has a little stand in the central station of Rio de Janeiro. She writes letters for people who are illiterate. One of the clients is a mother and her son, they use the services of Dora to write a letter to he woman’s missing husband. Soon after the mother is killed in an accident with a bus and … the kid only knows one person in Rio de Janeiro: Dora. You would think you are in for a heartwarming movie but the truth is that it is a hard edged story about Dora, who is very selfish and will even sell the kid to an adoption agency so she can buy herself a new TV set.

 

CITY OF GOD (2002)

This feature tells us the story of a young man who grew up in one of the notorious slums of Rio de Janeiro “Cidade de Deus”. The movie gives us a pretty good insight in how life in the slums of Rio de Janeiro used to be.

The movie was nominated for 4 Oscars and had another 57 wins in national and international competitions.

FAVELA RISING.

A documentary about the work of Anderson Sa, a reformed drug trafficker who forms a non-profit group called Cultural AfroReggae, which promotes music and education in the favelas (shantytowns) of urban BrazilA documentary about the work of Anderson Sa, a reformed drug trafficker who forms a non-profit group called Cultural AfroReggae, which promotes music and education in the favelas (shantytowns) of urban Brazil.

THE MISSION.

This period drama is about the struggles of a group of Jesuits trying to both convert the indigenous tribes who live by Iguassu Falls and temper the bad behavior of  the colonists. But then in 1750, everything they have worked for is thrown into disarray when the land their mission stands goes from being Spanish territory to Portuguese. This period drama is about the struggles of a group of Jesuits trying to both convert the indigenous tribes who live by Iguassu Falls and temper the bad behavior of  the colonists. But then in 1750, everything they have worked for is thrown into disarray when the land their mission stands goes from being Spanish territory to Portuguese.

The river of Doubt.

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