Please meet Goncalo de Carvalho street, in Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul. It´s almost like living in a forest...
The more thanone hundredtreesof the tipuana genus (also known as Rosewood),lined along approximately500 metersof sidewalks,havebeenplantedin the late1930sbyGerman-bornworkersemployed inan oldlocal brewery.
The Theatre Festival of the Portuguese Language (FESTLIP) brings together cultures and artistic expressions of the eight countries that have Portuguese as their official language. The festival features theatrical performances (11 of which are free), photo exhibitions, lectures, workshops and a gastronomic show offering dishes from the participating countries. Brazilian music and of the Portuguese-speaking countries is a highlight of the festival. The cultures of Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, East Timor and Guinea-Bissau are closely knitted in a fabric of theatrical diversity.
The Festival takes place in Rio de Janeiro from August 27 to September 5. PROGRAM (in Portuguese)
Twelfth Night or Epiphany Eve is a festival marking the coming of the Epiphany, and concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas. It is defined by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary as "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day of the Christmas festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking". The celebration of Epiphany, the adoration of the Magi, is marked in some cultures by the exchange of gifts, and Twelfth Night, as the eve or vigil of Epiphany, takes on a similar significance to Christmas Eve.
It commemorates the first two occasions on which Jesus’ divinity, according to Christian belief, was manifested: when the three kings (also known as wise men or Magi) visited infant Jesus in Bethlehem, and when John the Baptist baptized him in the River Jordan. The Roman Catholic and Protestant churches emphasize the visit of the Magi when they celebrate the Epiphany. The Eastern Orthodox churches focus on Jesus’ baptism.
In the city of Muqui, south of Espirito Santo State, the Epiphany National Meeting has been held since the 1950´s , during which some 90 groups from various States such as Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Goias and Sao Paulo get together. It is the oldest and largest gathering of depicted Wise Men in the country. The event is taking place on the 23rd of August, 2014.
The Twelfth Night, or Folia de Reis is a beautiful celebration brought to Brazil by the early catholic Portuguese. It flourished in the nineteenth century in regions where coffee plantations prospered. Groups composed of musicians, instrumentalists and people from the community wear stylized costumes and they walk the town streets visiting homes, farms, and ranches.The musicians are welcomed with tables full of local dainties and in return they promote a night of great music and theater.
From the subtropical climate to the cultural habits, Porto Alegre is fairly different from the other state capitals in Brazil. Founded in 1742 by immigrants from the Portuguese archipelago of Azores, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul was the destination of thousands of immigrants from Portugal and Italy - like many other cities in Brazil but also from other European countries, particularly Germany and Poland.
Besides that, as the state is located far down the south of Brazil, the gauchos, as people from Rio Grande do Sul are called, share several cultural traits with their neighbours from Argentina and Uruguay, from the folklore music to the habit of drinking the mate infusion, or chimarrao.
Porto Alegre lies on the eastern bank of the Guaíba River, right at the convergence point of five other rivers, which together form the enormous Lagoa dos Patos (Ducks Lagoon). Its 497 square kilometres are covered with more than one million trees, making it one of the greenest cities in Brazil, despite being the nucleus of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the country, with roughly four million inhabitants. There are over 1.4 million people living within the boundaries of Porto Alegre.
Temperatures are a lot milder in Porto Alegre than they are in most of the Brazilian capitals, with an annual temperature average of 19.5ºC and cold winters that have historical records of snow and subzero temperatures. The four seasons are very defined, though, and during the summer, temperatures may go well beyond 35ºC. The capital of Rio Grande do Sul is also famous for featuring one of the highest human development index figures in the whole country.
It is here, at Mount Roraima, also known as Tepuy Roraima and Cerro Roraima. First described by the English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in 1596, its 31 km2 summit area consists on all sides of cliffs rising 400 metres (1,300 ft). The mountain also serves as the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana.
Mount Roraima lies on the Guiana Shield forming the highest peak of Guyana's Highland Range. The tabletop mountains of the park are considered some of the oldest geological formations on Earth, dating back to some two billion years ago in the Precambrian.
Many of the species of the flora and fauna found on Roraima are unique to the plateau. It rains almost every day of the year. Low scanty and bristling vegetation is also found in the small, sandy marshes that intersperse the rocky summit. Most of the nutrients that are present in the soil are washed away by torrents that cascade over the edge, forming some of the highest waterfalls in the world.
Since long before the arrival of European explorers, the mountain has held a special significance for the indigenous people of the region, and it is central to many of their myths and legends. The Pemon and Kapon natives of the Gran Sabana see Mount Roraima as the stump of a mighty tree that once held all the fruits and tuberous vegetables in the world. Felled by Makunaima, their mythical trickster, the tree crashed to the ground, unleashing a terrible flood.
The adventures of the explorers Im Thurn and Harry Perkins in the mid-19th century may have inspired Arthur Conan Doyle's seminal book about people and dinosaurs, The Lost World, published in 1912.
In 2009, Mount Roraima served as inspiration for a location in the Disney/Pixar animated movie Up. Today, Mount Roraima is a destination for backpackers. Almost all who go up the mountain approach it from the Venezuelan side. Although the path to reach the plateau is well marked and popularly traveled, it is easy to get lost on top of the mountain, as there are few distinct trails and the near constant cloud cover on top and the uncanny rock formations make visual references problematic.
The Brazilian government has issued an accessibilty manual for the 2014 World Cup´s Host Cities, but in Portuguese language only. Some impairments may quite as clearly be depicted by the international signs used, but the how-to is yet unclear. (manual) One must begin by entering the city name (Pesquise pela cidade) and then filtering the search by a specific impairment. The result will be restaurants, hotel, show clubs, car rental spots, public spaces which feature special accessibility resources. Though not complete yet, bear in mind Brazilian people in general are very accessible, and one might eventually find help when less expected. Also, our legislation about accessibility dates back as far as the year 2000. (accessibility legislation) There´s zillions to be done yet, though.
Please meet Goncalo de Carvalho street, in Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul. It´s almost like living in a forest...
The Theatre Festival of the Portuguese Language (FESTLIP) brings together cultures and artistic expressions of the eight countries that have Portuguese as their official language. The festival features theatrical performances (11 of which are free), photo exhibitions, lectures, workshops and a gastronomic show offering dishes from the participating countries. Brazilian music and of the Portuguese-speaking countries is a highlight of the festival. The cultures of Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, East Timor and Guinea-Bissau are closely knitted in a fabric of theatrical diversity.
From the subtropical climate to the cultural habits, Porto Alegre is fairly different from the other state capitals in Brazil. Founded in 1742 by immigrants from the Portuguese archipelago of Azores, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul was the destination of thousands of immigrants from Portugal and Italy - like many other cities in Brazil but also from other European countries, particularly Germany and Poland.
