Brazillian fun facts, food, music, language & more…

Children’s Games

1. Quiemada: Like dodge ball, the game is played on an open field. Make two teams, and evenly place one team on one side of the field and the other team on the other side of the field. At both ends of the field, place a marker. One child runs through the middle as the teams throw balls from one side of the field to the other side. The one player attempts to not get hit. If he is hit, he sits out and another player runs through. This goes on until there is one player left, that player is the winner.
2. Cinco Marias: A child takes five flat stones and places them on the ground. The child picks up a stone and tosses it up in the air, and attempts to pick up the other four stones at the same time. The first player to pick up all four before the fifth stone hits the ground is the winner.
3. Futbol: Also called soccer, the game is played by two teams of children. The teams try to kick a ball into the opposing teams’ goal, without using anything but their feet. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Common Brazilian Cuisines

Brazilians eat lots of fruits. In fact, most of their fruits come straight out of the amazon. They eat fruits like mangoes, guava, pineapple, passion fruit, and many more. Meat, typically beef, is also top quality in Brazil. Below are the 3 most common dishes, desserts, and simple recipes.

Common Cuisine

1. Acarje: black eyed peas rolled into balls, and deep fried in palm oil. It can be stuffed with shrimp, peanuts, and other foods.
2. Coxinha: Brazilian snack consisting of minced chicken and it’s deep fried
3. Churrasco: barbequed meat on skewers

Sweet Treats

1. Arroz Doce: rice pudding with cinnamon
2. Bolo de Rolo: guava filled sponge cake rolled into a log
3. Cuscuz Branco: pudding, typically tapioca, cooked in coconut milk with sugar

Simplicity….

• Zucchini Brasiliera

Ingredients: 2 diced bacon slices, 3 tablespoons minced onion, 1/3 cup finely-chopped green pepper, ½ teaspoon kitchen meat glaze, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 2 large zucchini

Directions: 1. Cook the bacon for 2 minutes

2. Add all ingredients, cook for 6 minutes

3. Cut off the zucchini ends. Place zucchini in pan.

4. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Serve.

• Cheese Balls

Ingredients: 3 eggs, 3 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 6 oz grated cheese, oil

Directions: 1. Mix eggs, flour, milk, salt

2. Beat well, add 6oz grated cheese

3. fry spoonful of mixture in hot oil

• Vatapa (Chicken)

Ingredients: 1 large chicken, salt and black pepper, 1 onion, garlic, bay leaf, 2oz oil, few prawns, peanuts, coconut, corn flour

Direction: 1. Boil chicken until tender, add salt, minced onion, garlic, and ½ bay leaf

2. Drain carefully. Remove meat from bones, shred chicken.

3. Add chicken, onion, garlic, salt, spices in a sauce pan and fry until brown

4. Add chicken broth to prawns, minced peanuts, black pepper, milk, and

Coconut.Thicken with corn flour and finish cooking.

Children’s Day

October 12^th is Children’s day in Brazil. On this day, children unwrap gifts, and eat lots and lots of sweets. This day is bigger than Christmas to most kids in Brazil, and highly anticipated annually. The elders of Brazil never fail to let their children know how much they are valued and appreciated.

FUN FACTS

1. Brazil is the longest country in the world, 2800 miles
2. Brazil has the most species of monkeys in the world
3. Brazil contains 25% of the world’s rain forests
4. Amazon basin gets 7 feet of rain per year
5. Brazilians don’t typically marry until the late twenties
6. Brazilian women were able to vote beginning in 1931

3 Must See’s!!

1. Rio de Janeiro: mountains, festivals, beaches, and even the inspiration of a popular children’s movie, Rio has and does it all. Rio de Janeiro is a Brazilian gift, and a tourist hot spot.
2. Amazon Rain Forest: covering six million square kilometers of land, the jungle allows thousands of visitors and natives to venture through its beauty every year. Flowers, trees, and a plethora of exotic animal species can be found here.
3. Municipal Market: on the bank and border of Rio Negro, Municipal hosts 40,000 visitors every day. It covers more than 12000 meters and here is where you can find some of the best fresh market food in all of Brazil.

Sounds of Brazil

Passion, joy, sympathy, all of this describes Brazilian music. The background of Brazilian music is that of Amerindian, Portuguese, and African music as well. Unique Brazilian genre consists of the following; choro, forro, frero, somloa, bossa nova, and many more. Brazil’s earliest kind, however, is folk music. The music of Brazil is very personal and intimate; most songs tell a story of love, hurt, joy, pain and sorrow.

Customs and Culture

1. Men shake hands while greeting one another and they maintain eye contact. Women greet each other with a kiss on both cheeks from left to right.
2. If invited to a Brazilians home for dinner, arrive 30mins late, and dress with flair and elegance.
3. There is a class system everyone follows. The darker skin one has, the more disadvantaged socially a person will be.

Dressing up in Brazil

Brazilians take dressing well very seriously. Men wear dark colored business suits, and are dressed conservatively. Women wear elegant and feminine dresses, and are expected to have manicures and pedicures. Clothing is very mainstream, and western. Most clothing is extremely colorful for events, and lounge time.

Holidays and Festivals of Brazil

1. Carnival: Rio de Janeiro and Salvador de Bahia holds some of the most popular and highly anticipated festivals in the world. Carnival is not just a festival, but it can be called a holiday, because businesses and schools are closed for this spectacular event. The high quality samba schools showcase some of the greatest events, and trucks and floats ride around the entire city blasting music, while everyone dances in the streets.
2. Sete de Setembro: Brazil’s Declaration of Independence happened in 1822, on September 7^th. For that reason, this national holiday is celebrated by having military parades, and honoring those who fought for Brazil.
3. Ano Novo: New Year’s Day, combined with New Year Eve, is celebrated with fireworks, food, family time, and many parades as well. It is celebrated in every city of Brazil, and seen as a blessing to make another year.