Brazil

Youth Ambassadors 2012

Maps:

Basic Information:Capital BrasíliaLargest city São PauloOfficial language PortugueseGovernment Federal Presidential Representative Democratic RepublicArea 8,514,877 km² (5th)Population 190,732,694 (5th)Monetary unit Real

Brazilian Regions: North• The North Region of Brazil is the largest Region of Brazil;

• It is the least inhabited of the country, and contributes with a minor percentage in the national GDP and population;

•Its main feature is the Amazon rainforest.

Brazilian Regions: Northeast• The Northeastern states are different from the rest of Brazil;

• The population is more heavily African and mestizo, the cuisine is spicier, the weather hot and dry;

•The barren areas called sertão are more desert-like than tropical since they get rain for only a short time each year.

Brazilian Regions: Middle -west•Brazil's national capital, Brasília, is situated in this region;

•Today, Middle-West is attracting many investments for agriculture, pecuary, industries and people from Southeast and Southern Brazil.

Brazilian Regions: South•This is the wealthiest region of Brazil. It has the highest standard of living in the country;

• Large numbers of European immigrants have settled here (mainly of German, Italian, and Slavic);

•The south is also the coldest region of Brazil.

Brazilian Regions: Southeast•The Southeast is the most populous and economically powerful of the country’s regions;

•It is the cultural and economic hub of the country, and contains three of the four largest cities: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte;

•Its economy is based on machinery, the automobile and aviation industries, services, financial companies, commerce, textiles, orange growing, sugar cane and coffee production.

Brazilian Culture: Language•The official language of Brazil is Portuguese;

•It is spoken by about 99% of the population;

•There are only some Amerindian groups and small pockets of immigrants who do not speak Portuguese.Machado de Assis

Paulo Coelho Clarice LispectorGuimarães Rosa

Brazilian Culture:Religion•Three in every four Brazilians are Roman Catholics;

•Catholicism was introduced and spread largely by the Portuguese Jesuits, who arrived in Brazil in 1549 during the colonization with the mission of converting the Indigenous people.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida is the second largest in the world (Aparecida – SP)

Distribution of the Brazilian population according to their religions and faiths.

Religion Population (million)

Proportion (%)

Roman Catholicism 122 68%

Protestantism 20 12.4%

No religious affiliation 23 15.4%

Spiritism 8 3.3%

Afro-Brazilian Religions 0.3%

Other religions 1.7%

Let´s learn Portuguese!

HELLO – OIGOOD MORNING – BOM DIAGOOD AFTERNOON – BOA TARDEGOOD EVENING – BOA NOITEGOOD BYE – TCHAUSEE YOU – VEJO VOCÊ

Brazilian Culture:Religion•In recent decades Brazilian society has witnessed a rise in Protestantism.

•There are also significant minorities of Spiritists, Jews, Muslims, followers of Afro-Brazilian religions (such as Umbanda and Candomblé) and Buddhists.

Brazilian Culture:Race and ancestry•Brazil was a colony of Portugal for over three centuries;

•The native inhabitants of Brazil had much contact with the colonists. Many were exterminated, others mixed with the Portuguese;

•Immigrants from Italy, Germany, Spain, Japan and the Middle East played an important role in the areas they settled (mostly Southern and Southeastern Brazil).

Brazilian Culture:Race and ancestry•Black Africans, who were brought as slaves to Brazil, also participated actively in the formation of Brazilian culture.

•Some regions of Brazil, especially Bahia, have particularly notable African inheritances in music, cuisine, dance and language

Brazilian Culture:Cuisine•Brazil's cuisine is as varied as its geography and culture;

•Feijoada is the country's national dish;

•Cachaça is the Brazil's native liquor, distilled from sugar cane, and it is the main ingredient in the national drink, the Caipirinha.

Brazilian Culture:Cuisine•Brazil has a variety of candies that are traditionally used for birthdays, like brigadeiros ("brigadiers") and beijinhos ("kissies");

•Other foods typically consumed in Brazilian parties are Coxinhas, Churrasco, Sfihas, Empanadas, Pine nut (in Festa Junina);

•Specially in the state of Minas Gerais, are produced and consumed the famous cheese bun.

Brazilian Culture:Parties and Holidays:•Carnival: is the most famous holiday in Brazil and has become an event of huge proportions. The country stops completely for almost a week and festivities are intense, day and night, mainly in coastal cities.

Brazilian Culture:Parties and Holidays:•Boi Bumbá Festival: presents myths, tales and legends using characters, parade carts and giant puppets followed by the words of a master of ceremonies who describes in detail every bit of the action. It happens specially in the North region.

Brazilian Culture:Parties and Holidays:•Festa Junina: introduced by the Portuguese during the colonial period (1500-1822), is celebrated nationwide but is particularly associated with Northeastern Brazil.

Brazilian Culture:Music:• Samba: is among the most popular music genres in Brazil. It developed from the mixture of Brazilian and African rhythms brought by slaves in the colonial period and originated in the state of Bahia;•Bossa nova: is a style of Brazilian music that originated in the late 1950s. It gained worldwide popularity with the song Garota de Ipanema;•MPB: It presents many variations and includes elements of styles that range from Samba to Rock music;•Sertanejo: is the most popular genre in Brazilian mainstream media since the 1990s. It presents a heavy influence from American country music.•Forró: It remains a very popular music style, particularly in the Northeast region, and is danced in forrobodós (parties and balls) throughout the country.

Brazilian Culture:Folklore:• Brazilian folklore includes many stories, legends, dances, superstitions and religious rituals. Characters include the Boitatá, the Boto Cor-de-Rosa, the Saci and the Bumba Meu Boi.

Brazilian Culture:Capoeira:• It is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music.

•Capoeira is known by quick and complex moves, using mainly power kicks and quick leg sweeps, with some ground and aerial acrobatics, knee strikes, take-downs, elbow strikes, punches and head butts.

Brazilian Culture:TV and Cinema:•Brazilian biggest network, Rede Globo, is the fourth largest commercial network in the world, and is one of the largest television exporters around the world, particularly of telenovelas, which have become popular in many countries.

•Brazilian cinema was introduced early in the 20th century but took some time to consolidate itself as a popular form of entertainment.

Brazilian famous cities:Brasília:• The capital of Brazil, and an architectural spectacle.

Brazilian famous cities:Florianópolis:• The city is located in an island in the Atlantic Ocean in the southern state of Santa Catarina, with lakes, lagoons, amazing nature and more than 40 clean, beautiful, natural beaches.

Brazilian famous cities:Salvador:• The first capital of Brazil is home to a unique blend of indigenous, African and European cultures. The influence of African culture and religion is remarkable.

Brazilian famous cities:Manaus:•Located in the heart of the Amazon it is the best place to go to visit the Amazon rainforest.

Brazilian famous cities:Rio de Janeiro:•World famous, beautiful city that welcomes visitors with that big statue of an open-armed Jesus atop Corcovado Hill.

Brazilian famous cities:São Paulo:•Brazil's largest, richest and most cosmopolitan city.

Sport in Brazil:•The Brazilian are very involved in sports. Football is the most popular sport in Brazil;

• One of the most influential Brazilian football players is Pelé, widely considered as the best football player of all time;

•Brazil, was selected to host the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2014 World Cup.

Brazilian politics:•Brazil is a federal presidential representative democratic republic;

•The President is both head of state and head of government;

•Brazilian current president is Dilma Rousseff, the first woman to command the country.

Brazilian Economy:•Brazil is the largest national economy in Latin America, the world's fifth largest economy, according to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank;

•Major export products include aircraft, electrical equipment, automobiles, ethanol, textiles, footwear, iron ore, steel, coffee, orange juice, soybeans and corned beef;

Brazilian Health System:•The healthcare in Brazil is provided by both private and government institutions;

•The advent of the Unified Health System increased access to health care for a substantial proportion of the Brazilian population, at a time when the system was becoming increasingly privatized;

•Brazilian AIDS awareness campaigns are world famous.

Albert Einstein Hospital

Brazilian Education System:

•Education in Brazil is divided in stages that are accessible and somewhat mandatory to everyone (elementary and secondary school) and those that are not mandatory or require a previous selection (pre-school, technical school and higher education);

•In addition to providing education, universities promote research and provide stand-alone classes to the community.

USP

Brazilian Education System:

Main problems:•Lack of teachers who want to work in that area;

•Constant cases of robbery and violence;

•Many students drop out of school because they have to start working earlier to increase the family income;

•The level of pregnant teenagers is very high.

Brazilian transport System:•Roads are the primary carriers of freight and passenger traffic;

•Coastal shipping links separated parts of the country;

•Air transportation is highly developed;

•Embraer, a Brazilian company, is one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world.

Brazilian Tour:•The mixture of races has made Brazil a culturally rich and at the same time unique country. This miscegenation began with the Indian, the African and the Portuguese, but soon after, immigrants from around the world began to arrive.

Brazilian Tour:•Getting here: Many people arrive by air as well and Brazil has international airports all over the country.

•Because of this massive diversity, Brazil is one of the last places on Earth where no one is a foreigner and every Brazilian has a little of the entire world in his or her blood.

Brazilian Youth:•Brazilian youth represents most of our expectations for a better future;

•On the other hand, young Brazilians are affected by the poverty of their families, the social inequality, the lack of basic social services and so on;

•The main solution for these problems is to provide education and opportunities that are still missing.

Brazilian Curiosities:

Brazil's name was inspired from a tree, called “pau-brasil”, from which a red resin was extracted and used to dye fabrics

Toilet paper waste is usually not dispensed in the toilet bowl, but in a small basket or trash/rubbish bin provided in the bathroom instead.

Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations and the G20.

The Amazon River is the largest in the world in terms of water volume.

The Marajo Island is the largest fluvial island in the world, it is by the Amazon River delta, and it is located in the north of Brazil with an area approximately of 40.150km²

In Brazil it's very common to live with your parents until getting married. Unless you go to study in another. Generally you will not be considered to be a loser for living with your parents.

Kissing upon greeting is common, except in work environments.

Brazil, you simply won’t want to leave…

Thanks!

Clara Loreine Andrade Rodrigues – Campo Grande, MSDaniel de Lima Freitas – São Paulo, SPFrancisco Ítalo Albuquerque de Souza – Sobral, CEIgor Vilela Brum – Juiz de Fora, MGJorge de Alencar Palomares – Cuiabá, MTKésia Priscila da Silva Nunes – Mossoró, RNLaís Barbosa Amorim – Rio de Janeiro, RJRafael de Oliveira Pena Neto – Santa Helena de Goiás, GOThalles Henrique Oliveira Ribeiro – Inhapim, MG