A Taste of Brazil

Mason Ward5/14-5/17/18

a. The population of Brazil is, on the whole, very happy, optimistic, and welcoming. However, people are very divided in regards to their opinion of the government and governmental officials, which, through a string of recent scandals, was revealed to be extremely corrupt, having embezzled large amounts of money from the state. Futbol (soccer, in American parlance) is the national pastime, with many believing Neymar to be the best soccer player in the world, and many soccer players have their origins in favelas, massive, crowded, dirty slums that surround most major Brazilian cities, assembled over several decades by rural folk who migrated to cities in search of work.

b.c. Portuguese is the official language (although cultures located in the Amazon Rainforest

in Northern Brazil speak a large amount of indigenous languages).d. Brazil has a population of 210 million as of 2018e. The current leader of Brazil is President Michel Temer, the style of government is a

Federal Republic.f. ~9,000 BC: Earliest evidence of human presence in the region

1500 AD: Official date of the “discovery” of Brazil by the Portuguese1570 AD: Brazil’s sugar output officially rivals that of the Caribbean1808: Portuguese monarchy relocates to Rio de Janeiro as a result of the Napoleonic

Wars1822: Brazil secedes from Portugal

1888: Slavery officially abolished in Brazil1889: Old (First) Republic of Brazil established1930: Getulio Vargas takes control of the country in a military coup1964: Military junta established1985: Current government1st object: Carto de Pero Vaz de Caminha

A letter written by Pero Vaz de Caminha to King Manuel I of Portugal following the discovery of Brazil in 1500.

2nd object: Pre-Colonial Brazilian Pottery

A large funerary urn produced by the pre-colonial Marajoara culture, which inhabited an island at the mouth of the Amazon River between 800 and 1400 CE.

3rd object: Antonio Carlos Jobim

Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994) was an internationally celebrated Brazilian musician. He is particularly known for popularizing the distinctively Brazilian Bossa Nova style of music across the world.

4th object: A Futbol (Soccer Ball)

This particular soccer ball was used during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, in which 32 countries competed in 12 different stadiums throughout Brazil.

5th object: A Protest Sign

Protests engulfed the country in 2016 as massive embezzlement and corruption by the government off of the gargantuan state-run oil company Petrobras for political and personal gain was revealed to reach all the way up to then-President Dilma Rousseff.

6th object: A Leather Hat

This type of hat was standard for Brazilian farmworkers and ranchers up until the mid-20th century. Agriculture is an extremely important part of the Brazilian economy.

7th object: A Pandeiro

A small hand drum popular throughout the country that is similar to a tambourine. It is an integral component of many Brazilian music genres.

8th object: The Christ the Redeemer Statue

The 37-meter statue, built by French sculptor Paul Landowski and completed in 1930, overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro.

9th object: Blue Macaw

This critically-endangered bird is native to the Amazon Rainforest but is possibly extinct in the wild. It was first described in 1638 by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave.

10th object: Fruit Being Sold at a Brazilian Street Market

The avenues and alleys of Brazilian cities are dotted with open-air marketplaces where one can buy everything from soccer memorabilia to counterfeit Nike shoes.

Write-Up

Brazilian Cuisine differs by region as a result of Brazil’s extremely diverse population, which encompasses people with origins around the world. What is a basic staple is rice and beans, similar to the Caribbean nations. Lunch is typically the largest meal of the day, and there

are four official meals. There are a variety of desserts, such as cakes and fruit and that most marvelous of all culinary inventions-brigadeiro, a ball of chocolate mousse covered with sprinkles.

Pao de Queijo: Recipe

Tapioca StarchEggsMinas CheeseVegetable OilCondensed MilkSaltWheyButterContains Milk, Eggs, and Soy (as a result of using vegetable oil)