Articles by rescharf
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 […]
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 […]
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” […]
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 […]
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 […]
Washing ladies
Here is a great series of Flickr pictures of women washing clothes – theirs or their clients’s. But, first, a video of sambista Clementina de […]
Misterious peacock – when cordel literature seduced the country
“O Romance do Pavão Misterioso” (The Romance of the Misterious Peacock), published in 1920, is one of the most famous stories of literatura de cordel […]
6 Brazilian cakes
Brazilians are known for their sweet teeth. Most desert dishes include a huge amount of sugar – and it is probably wise to reduce it […]
Capoeira through the ages
Capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art practiced all over the world, was originally a criminal activity. Even after the abolition of slavery, in 1888, the police […]