Brazil |
People and Culture
Brazilian society is made up of people from all over the world, including a large black population descended from African slaves brought to the country from the 16th to the 19th century, and descendants of migrants from Europe, Africa and Asia. This creates a rich mix of different cultures including influences from the Portuguese colonial period, Afro-Brazilian cultures and Brazilian Indians as well as European and Asian influences. The people and their cultures are reflected in many areas of Brazilian life including sport, food, music, religion, cinema, literature and carnivals!
The indigenous Indians, who are the original Brazilians, are the smallest ethnic group. There are 25 million descendents of Italians living in Brazil – the largest Italian population outside of Italy!
Sport
Football is the most popular sport in Brazil – its national team has won the World Cup five times! Three variations of football are played in Brazil: Futsal is an indoor version played with teams of five people; Beach Football, which started on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro; and Footvolley – a mix of football and volleyball where players use their heads and their feet. Basketball, volleyball and auto-racing are also very popular sports.
Capoeira, which originated from Angola, is a popular martial art in Brazil. It involves acrobatic moves as well as sweeps, kicks and headbutts! In between television programmes, the BBC will sometimes show a short clip of people performing Capoiera. The martial art is also used in various computer games and movies like ‘Meet the Fockers’ and ‘Ocean’s Twelve’.
Food
Each of Brazil’s five regions has its own type of food, although staple foods across Brazil include beans and rice. The country’s national dish is ‘Feijoada – a mixture of leftovers that was commonly eaten by slaves and the national drink is ‘Caipirinha’ – a drink made from ‘cachaca’ which is sugarcane rum. There are also lots of different tropical fruits available to make delicious ‘sucos’ (juices).
A popular dish eaten in the North is Caruru do Para – a one pot meal of dried shrimp, okra, onion, tomato, cilantro and palm oil. In the Northeast region, typical dishes include acaraje (a salted muffin made with white beans and onion). A lot of meat is eaten in the Central-West region as people here regularly hunt and fish. Because a lot of European immigrants live in the South, the diet is usually wheat and dairy based.
It’s probably the food of the Southeast region that Brazil is best known for. Here, there are several distinct cooking styles, using ingredients like maize, pork, beans and local soft cheeses. Black beans are often prepared in Rio and brown beans are common in dishes from São Paulo.
Carnival
The carnival in Brazil is an annual celebration held forty days before Easter – marking the start of Lent in the Christian calendar (Pancake Tuesday in the UK). Although the carnival is inspired by Catholic celebration, the event itself is more of a celebratory feast than a religious event. Many people dress up in themed costumes and parade alongside decorated floats, samba bands and music specific to the region e.g. Frevo – an incredible dance-driven march, played at a fast tempo.
Capoeira
Typical food from the Central-West region
