The meeting of Serra do Mar and the Atlantic Ocean provides the setting for the lush scenery of the region. Angra dos Reis, Paraty, Mangalore, Itaguai and Rio Claro, gives Costa Verde visitors over two thousand beaches and hundreds of islands, surrounded by a sea in various shades of green. Its waters are ideal for the practice of any kind of water sport and it was highlighted during the colonization of Brazil, with the constant presence of French and English ships. Nature and history live in harmony in this unique part of Brazil.

Ilha Grande

An ecological sanctuary, located 155km from the city of Rio de Janeiro, Ilha Grande is a district of Angra dos Reis. This paradise offers trails, waterfalls and creeks, which belong to the Parque Estadual Marinho do Aventureiro. The area exudes a lush flora and fauna, and is an ideal setting to practice outdoor activities like trekking and diving.

Paraty

A National Historic Landmark colored by green from the Atlantic Forest and blue from the Atlantic Ocean. This is the best definition of Paraty. Registered by the Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage due to its importance in history of gold discovery in Brazil, the city retains its colonial air. The streets and buildings take the visitors back to the past with its pastoral charm and abundance of nature.

This commercial for the sale of condom is not Brazilian. It is an international commercial. I chose it because Brazil is a very Catholic country, as the rest of Latin America. The presence of the Church is very important and this one possesses a big social and political power of influence. The use of condoms is not common as in Europe, even if it became more marked these last years. The majority of the population is not well educated on this subject and tends to give more importance to the rules of the Church than to the sanitary advice of the government.

This commercial brings me to speak about the abortion, forbidden in Brazil but in case of rape or in case the health of the mother is put in danger by the pregnancy.  As well as for condoms, it is the lobby of the Church who exercises a pressure on the government. The abortion is not legal. This shows that Brazil has a long road in front of him to reach the equality between men and women. I think that every woman should have the right to choose if yes or not, they want to carry the child. Many women don’t have the resources to have and raise a child. Some didn’t choose to be pregnant. All should have the right to abort if they wish to do so. 

He was born in Vila Rica, current Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais - 1730 - 1834. He was a sculptor, architect and tailor. He is considered as the most important artist of colonial period. Natural son of the architect and the Portuguese project manager Manuel Francisco Lisboa with one of his slaves, he receives from his father the first notions of drawing, architecture and sculpture. He probably had also as professor draftsman and engraver of medals native of Lisbon, João Gomes Batista (s.d. - 1788). This one, having worked in Rio de Janeiro, had settled down to Vila Rica, current Ouro Preto, where he exercised, between 1751 and 1754.It is possible that Aleijadinho was also influenced by two tailors: Francisco Xavier de Brito (s.d. - on 1751), responsible for the size of the Church Nossa Senhora do Pilar, to Ouro Preto, who, sick person, appointed Aleijadinho’s father to end its work; and José Coelho de Noronha (s.d. - s.d.), who works in 1758 in the Church Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso , to Caeté. It is in the same city where two years later, Aleijadinho realizes a sculpture of Nossa Senhora do Carmo and is responsible for the execution of the side altars. It is before reaching

the 50 years when he discovers that he suffers from a degenerative disease, which deforms and atrophies his body, pulling the progressive loss of the movement of the fingers of the hands and his feet. He works then by means of instruments which his slaves attach to the hands. There are numerous uncertainties as for the life. The first biography of the artist was written 1858, 44 the years after its death, by Rodrigo José Ferreira Bretas, on the basis of documents of archives and testimonies. Of its whole work, we distinguish the projects of the Churches São Francisco, to Ouro Preto and to São João del Rei, in the State of Minas Gerais; 66 images in cedar of the Passion of the Christ, and 12 prophets in stone-soap, sculptured for Santuário do Senhor Bom Jesus de Matosinho, to Congonhas doh Campo, Minas Gerais.

Samba is a music and a dance which was born in Brazil, in the region of Bahia in the Northeast region of Brazil. It comes from a mixture of origins mainly from African slavery trade and African religion. It is recognized worldly as a symbol of Brazilian culture. It differs a little bit according to the region of the country, but the most famous samba is the Samba Carioca from Rio de Janeiro. Traditionally, the samba is played by strings (various types of guitar) and various percussion instruments such as tamborim.

Samba is also the symbol of Carnival.

The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is the most famous festival held every year. The first one takes its roots in 1723. One of the main purposes of the Rio carnival parade is for samba schools to compete with fellow co-sisters samba-schools. This competition is the climax of the whole carnival festival in the city, related to the samba-schools environment. Each school chooses a theme to try and portray in their entry. The samba schools work to build the best floats, costumes, lyrics, to represent their themes and to include the best music they can from their band called the bacteria.

As the parade is taking place in the Sambadrome and the balls are being held in the Copacabana Palace and beach, many of the carnival participants are at other locations. Street festivals are very common during carnival and are highly populated by the locals. Everyone is dancing and playing music in the streets.

Brazilian cuisine was developed from indigenous, European and African influences. It varies a lot by region, reflecting the country’s mix of native and immigrant populations, and its continental size as well. This has created a national cuisine marked by the preservation of regional differences.

Ingredients first used by native peoples in Brazil include cassava, guarana, açai, cumaru and tacaca. From there, the different fases of immigration brought some of their typical dishes, replacing missing ingredients with local equivalents. For instance, the European immigrants (primilary from Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland and Switzerland) were accustomed to a wheat based diet, and introduced wine, leaf vegetables, and dairy products into Brazilian cuisine. When potatoes were not available, they discovered how to use the native sweet manioc as a replacement. The African slaves also had a role in developing Brazilian cuisine, especially in the coastal states. The foreign influence extended to later migratory waves – Japanese immigrants brought most of the food items that Brazilians would associate with Asian cuisine today.

Root vegetables such as cassava (locally know as mandioca, aipim or macaxeira, among other names), yams, and fruit like açai, cupuaçu, mango, papaya, guava, orange, passion fruit, pineapple, are among the local ingredients used in cooking.

Some typical dishes are feijoada, considered the country’s national dish; and regional foods such as vatapa, moqueca, polenta andacarajé. There is also caruru, which consists of okra, onion, dried shrimp, and toasted nuts (peanuts and/ or cashews), cooked with palm oil until a spread-like consistency is reached; moqueca capixaba, consisting of slow-cooked fish, tomato, onion and garlic, topped with cilantro; and linguiça, a spicy sausage.

The national beverage is coffee, while cachaça is Brazil’s native liquor. Cachaça is distilled from sugar cane and is the main ingredient in the national cocktail, caipirinha.