Well, the people have poured in from all corners of the globe for an overwhelming response in support of consolidation…ok, maybe it wasn’t that dramatic but I did get some good input and on and off the record and will consolidate two of the previously mentioned sites into the main one.
As I mentioned the other day, one should be on the lookout for new and improved content. Well, here it is!
- More categories have been added in order to help you locate exactly what you are looking for.
- A Schedule of free things to do in Belém has also been added to the side bar with a translation into Portuguese for Brazilian tourists. It’s in progress so I hope it will continue to grow.
- An updated About page is up and running.
- Some new posts have also popped up and in addition, now that I’m here in town, I’ll either be updating existing posts or creating follow-ups to help you be more informed.
Back in the day (ok, a year and a half ago), I had the original Eyes On Brazil (which I called Brasis) plus a Portuguese version, plus an Editorial version. After a month of trying it out, I decided against it and consolidated. It turned out to be a good choice, in my opinion. Plus, as a user, I would rather visit one site than visit multiple sites (but that’s me).
Now I have Eyes On Salvador, which I haven’t updated as much as I should and Eyes On Rio, which is new and without much footing yet. Consolidating the latter would mean adding two whole posts to Eyes On Brazil and consolidating the former would mean adding a good 15 posts here. Statistics-wise, this site gets way more hits than the others combined so this fact has me thinking as well.
As for Eyes On Belem, that’s my side project so it will stay alive and kicking regardless.
How do you vote? Yay or Nay on consolidating?
“A successful forró party in Laranjal, Minas Gerais, keeps bringing in clients aside from its strict rules. Among them, the organizers prohibit kissing on the mouth. Those who disrespect the rule are advised and if the “infraction” happens again, they can even be invited to leave.
- When the person gives the first kiss, we advise them. On the second kiss, we remind them they were already advised. On the third, we are obliged to kick them out – says the organizer of the forró party, Sebastião de Mello.
“It’s also prohibited here to dance while smoking or drinking.”
According to him, only kisses on the face are allowed.
The dance party even has more rules. For example, those under 25 can’t enter. Men can’t come in if they are dressed in a t-shirt, shorts or wearing a hat. For the women, it’s prohibited to wear a small blouse, a miniskirt or short shorts. Even with all these restrictions, the forró party is always crowded and has been that way going on 6 years.” – O Globo (translated by me)
There may be no kissing, but I bet dancing rala-coxa (with the woman’s thigh in between the man’s legs, and no room in between) isn’t prohibited…
I wanted to share a good find with my readers, it’s called 1808 and as the title says, it’s about “how a crazy queen, a fearful prince and a corrupt court deceived Napoleon and changed the history of Portugal and Brazil.” The 10 year study was done by Laurentino Gomes and at this point, I believe it’s only available in Portuguese.
I’m only 50 pages into it (out of 414 pages), but so far, it’s quite interesting and easy enough to understand. On Amazon at this moment, there are 3 copies available (although the price is a bit high). If you can get your hands on it, it gives an insightful set-up for those wishing to learn about how Brazil has changed (and even how it hasn’t).
And for those who are more visually-oriented, there’s a 4-part documentary on Youtube (in PT) on the book.
Hello everyone,
So I’ve taken the plunge and moved to the Amazon region, more specifically to Belém do Pará. I’ve been here a week (thus the lack of posts here) so far and plan to stay indefinitely. Additionally, I am testing a new layout which brings the categories to the forefront to help readers, both new and old, to find what they are looking for. You can see it in action over at Eyes On Belém as the site’s homepage.
If you are interested in my first impressions of the North in general and Belém in particular, they can be found here.
I’m also going to start accepting advertising (on the side bar) for the site(s) as I believe enough people are accessing the Eyes On Brazil site these days to make it worthwhile. As for the other 4 sites, I will slowly but surely be placing a few adverts on each.
Other than that, I hope all is well and thank you again for having an interest in Brazil!
You would naturally assume that finding the dark purple color of açaí in Belém would be as omnipresent as the color green in the trees, especially since açaí comes from this region…but you’d be slightly mistaken (if what you were looking for was the cold and delicious kind).
In Rio, you can find açaí (na tigela, or in the bowl) in many places, from lanchonetes (snack bars) to carrinhos (karts) on the street corner but in Belém, it can be found in a specific store (usually either called Casa do Açaí or Ponto do Açaí) selling only açaí by the liter. At places where you can eat açaí right then and there, such as at Ver-o-peso market, the açaí comes warm, sugarless and bland. I would say “don’t fret, there are ways to make it taste better!” but even those things (such as ice cubes, tapioca balls and sugar) don’t do much for my tongue.
(from the blog ‘Sabores do Pará’)
Another option for getting your fix is the ice-cream shop, where it is sold by the bola (scoop, which I would guess equals around 100ml) at a price that would get me 300-600ml in Rio, depending on where I was. Also, in some supermarkets in Pará such as Líder, it is sold as pulp in thin clear plastic packages for a bit of a better price.
I never did find açaí na tigela here (in Belém), but the many scoops of ice cream I did try were just as good if not better than any place in Rio!
I’m not sure if this is a construction feature particular to Belém and the North in general but most apartments and houses have holes in the walls. As you can see by the photo, I don’t mean residences are old and falling apart. The idea is a pretty nice one, assuming you own a rede de dormir (hammock).
When you are done, you can either wrap it up, while still leaving it on the wall, or unhook it and close the latches on the wall. Strange, because before watching someone set one up in a mere minute, I probably would never have thought twice about what those silver things were doing on the walls.
Even with the site and all, I had no real clue as to what I’d find once I arrived in Belém. To my surprise though, it’s really a beautiful city and after a week, I can’t really tell how it differs from any other Brazilian city but the people tell me the differences are in the smells, tastes and colors specifically. If we’re talking about Ver-o-peso then I agree! but colorwise so far, it’s as beautiful as other cities I’ve visited in Brazil and taste-wise, I still can’t comment on that yet. All I know is jambu pizza is quite good!
With all of that being said, I can also say that it’s a very green city, from the mango trees that create makeshift tunnels down many of the streets, to the plazas and parks, Belém has its share of nice scenery (or shall I say greenery?). Architecture-wise, there’s a lot of mixing of the old with the new although I get the feeling that many of the high-rises have cropped up very recently and I wonder how many more will come in the years ahead.
Aside from the green, I’ve taken note of the darkness here, from the skin color of the people, to the açaí (which is fantastic, if you can find it), to the waters of the rivers and bays, and even the grouping of so many trees in and around town, it adds its own hint of darkness and blends very well with the bright colors that pop out at you while driving around.
So if you get the chance and wish to get out of the Rio-São Paulo circuit for a bit, you won’t regret giving Belém do Pará a chance (although I can’t reimburse your trip if you in fact do regret it, for some very odd reason, lol).
