Belém in old postcards

Al Jazeera documentary about the killing of environmentalists in the Amazon

“I will protect the forest at all costs. That is why I could get a bullet in my head at any moment,” said Ze Claudio Ribeiro da Silva, an Amazon rainforest activist, at an environmental conference …

Caipira music, the real roots folk from Brazil

Música caipira, the music style that has its origins in the Brazilian countryside, somewhere around 1920, has a vague resemblance with Mexican ranchera music and Paraguayan guaranias – it is also sung by a performer …

Blog, a Brazilian invention

Way before the explosion of blogs (over 156 million according to the latest statistics), way before they were named blogs (web+log), there were “open diaries” written by young techies willing to expand the limits of …

6 best documentaries about Umbanda

One of the fast-growing Brazilian religions, a mix of African traditions and Catholicism, Umbanda is frequently misunderstood and despised. Check this selection of documentaries that shed some light – maybe not enough – on one …

What makes a soap opera a success today?

Cordel Encantado, the 6 o’clock soap opera that ended last Friday, was a rare success in a country that is getting tired of old TV formulas. Approved by both critics and audience, it mixed fairy …