Monthly Archives: August 2010

Problems of Vision Create Division

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(Complex with 1,176 apartments in Rio)

According to a story in O Globo today, no less than 121 construction sites have popped up in Rio recently, many of them, no doubt, set to be large complexes such as the one in the photo above. In effect, this is what Rio will look like in the somewhat near future. No, I’m not talking about the contrast we see here, but the upper half of the photo only (go ahead, feel free to use your hand to cover up the bottom half). Back when I lived in Rio, which feels like ages ago, in 2005-2006, I witnessed scenes like this all the time and from my obviously non-realtor point of view, I wondered, why is there such a contrast and not a compromise?

The answer lies somewhere between a Gabriel O Pensador song and an episode of Cidade dos Homens, although I forget which exactly. The rich delegate themselves to create their own ‘prisons’ (gated communities, etc) while the poor are relegated to ‘prisons’ made for them (favelas, etc). The rich are allowed to wear ankle-bracelets while the poor are seemingly sentenced to life in confinement. There’s a parallel with the idea of the Prisoner’s dilemma, an important element of game theory mathematics. Game theory led to the continued armament of both sides in the Cold War because neither side knew how many weapons the other had, so by both parties having more and more weapons, they created a deterrent. In this sense, a section of the poor (in the eyes of the rich) are armed with guns while the rich are armed with high walls, bulletproof cars, etc. In terms of the Prisoner’s dilemma, one could say that both sides are being philosophically interrogated by society at large. The only difference is when both defect (blame each other), the rich have a monopoly, as it were, on the ‘get out of jail free’ cards.

Will the beautiful panoramic views and sunsets no longer be seen by those who live on the hillsides and instead, by those that can afford it (in a high-rise apt. complex)? Will Rio become the next Brasília in terms of the poor living far away in satellite cities? Are more ‘prison’ walls the only forseeable solution to the growing problem, a problem of vision (de visão) that creates division (divisão)? It’s obvious that these questions are being addressed already, each side with its own answers, but when will the day come when they decide on them together? I’m tempted to say ‘only time will tell’ but it’s my personal belief that time does nothing, it’s what you do with that time that counts. The passage of time merely removes the matter of importance from the center of your mind’s attention. In the minds of the rich, I’m sure they are satisfied enough that they never really need to turn around to be reminded of the favelas. The favela residents, on the other hand, will be reminded of their exclusion no matter which way they face.

More Info

Prisoner’s dilemma
Rio’s Landscape & the Construction Boom – O Globo (in PT)
Realty Price In Rio Increase 76%
Hottest Properties in Brazil
Building Walls Doesn’t Mend Fences
Rio’s Beaches – Where the Sun Won’t Shine
Rio Na Cabeça – O Globo’s Guide to Public Works in Rio (in PT)

Talking About Brazil With Lilia Schwarcz

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“I think all kinds of racism are equally terrible. I am just saying that the Brazilian kind is different. For example, in 2000 we completed a survey research project that consisted of three seemingly simple questions: Are you prejudiced in any way? 97 percent of those surveyed answered no. Do you know anyone who is prejudiced? 99 percent answered yes. If you had said yes to the second question, you were asked to describe the relationship you have with this person. We did not ask for names, but people often gave them, naming friends and relatives. We concluded that every Brazilian thinks he is an island of racial democracy surrounded by an ocean of racism.”

- Lilia Moritz Schwarcz, a professor of anthropology at the University of São Paulo, is known in the United States as the author of The Spectacle of the Races: Scientists, Institutions, and the Race Question in Brazil, 1870-1930 (English edition, 1999) and The Emperor’s Beard: Dom Pedro II and the Tropical Monarchy of Brazil (2004).

Read the rest of a short interview with her.

Between You & I/Me – Portuguese

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The following is from the grammar book ‘Português Do Dia-a-Dia’.

Não há nada ENTRE EU E VOCÊ ou ENTRE MIM E VOCÊ?
There’s nothing between you and I or between you and me?

The answer is: Não há nada entre mim e você.

‘Eu’ is a nominative case personal pronoun and can only be used as a subject. To use this, what is needed is a verb in its infinitive: “Não há nada entre eu sair e você ficar em casa.” When there isn’t a verb, we should always use ‘entre mim e você‘.

Here are more examples:
A escolha será entre mim e o meu irmão.
O meu irmão e eu fomos os escolhidos.

In the first example, we should use ‘mim‘ because it’s not the subject. The subject is ‘a escolha’. In the second case, we should use ‘eu‘ because it’s the nucleus of the compound subject ‘o meu irmão e eu’.

Keep in mind that ‘entre eu e você’ is always wrong. If you don’t like the correct form (‘entre mim e você’ or ‘entre você e mim’), because you find it ‘strange’, then there is only one correct alternative: A partir de hoje não haverá nada entre nós.

Here are additional explanations on this matter.

38 Small, Comfortable Houses in Brazil

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In unison with my previous post on the hottest properties in Brazil, here’s a post on creating a comfortable house with restriction on size. The website Casa.com.br has an image gallery of 38 small but comfortable houses and a little plus sign below each photo where one can gather more information on each property. The goal is to build smart due to a small property size and that’s what has been done with these houses. The other two goals, or rather, benefits, are a comparitively smaller price tag and a rapid building process. Oddly enough, I’m reminded of a documentary on censorship in Iranian journalism and how the more restrictions placed on what can be written, the more creative the journalist must become. I see a parallel with architects and micro-homes.

A place of well-being, elaborated by the architect Patrícia Martinez, for Casa Cor São Paulo 2008. While the wood floor invites one to walk barefoot, the gravel-lined passages offer a foot massage. The bathroom contains a sauna and the room, a fireplace and corner for exercise. – More Info (in PT)

The building is from 1930 and it was reworked by the architect Carlos Verna. On the outside, the bricks were lightened with a cement cream, chalk and sand, applied with a spatula. Next, the excess was taken off with a sponge. Carlos Verna elevated the house by 50 cm. He also set the garage ramp at 16 cm and two steps at 34 cm. – More Info (in PT)

Thanks to a no-frills, small project, the architect André Guidotti built this economic beach house for a couple in just six months. Integrated spaces and a standardization of finishes helped in keeping the overall cost low. – More Info (in PT)

Inspired by the Polynesian bungalows, the design team of Tais Marchetti and Giovanni Bonetti erected this house in front of a beach in Florianopolis, on a concrete slab supported by columns. – More Info (in PT)

The 2.60 meter high sliding doors made of fallen pine guided the steps of the kiosk (part of the new house). The overhang with a width of 60 cm prevents it from raining inside, since there is no glass closing on the gable roof. – More Info (in PT)

For more houses and ideas, check out this image gallery link and don’t forget Google Translate if you don’t speak Portuguese.

The Hottest Properties in Brazil Are…

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I was looking at Expat Brazil’s Twitter feed when I saw this news that I’ll translate below…

Research done by IBOPE ordered by Exame magazine shows that the neighborhood of Ipanema, in Rio de Janeiro, considered together with its neighbors Arpoador and Leblon, has the most expensive square meter in Brazil for new real estate. Apart from this, the study shows that Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brasília and Salvador contain the ten most expensive square meters in the country.

See the list below with the average prices per square meter (=10,700 sq ft):

1. Ipanema (together with Arpoador and Leblon), Rio de Janeiro – US$ 6,453

2. Lagoa (together with Jardim Botânico), Rio de Janeiro – US$ 4,773

3. Plano Piloto, Brasília – US$ 4,545 to US$ 4,829

4. Botafogo (together with Cosme Velho, Flamengo and Laranjeiras), Rio de Janeiro – US$ 3,924

5. Alto de Pinheiros, São Paulo – US$ 3,835

6. Jardim Paulista (together with Jardim Europa), São Paulo – US$ 3,718

7. Moema (together with Ibirapuera), São Paulo – US$ 3,706

8. Itaim Bibi (together with Vila Olímpia), São Paulo – US$ 3,580

9. Pinheiros (together with Vila Madalena), São Paulo – US$ 3505

10. Barra, Salvador – US$ 3,309

Playing For Change Goes Samba

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“While on our journey of recording and filming musicians in Brazil, someone told us that all we needed to do was “shake a tree, and musicians would fall out like fruit.”  That couldn’t have been more true.

It was one of our last days in Salvador da Bahia when we discovered this band, Sangue Brasileiro.  Wow!  They are super fun and I guarantee you will want to dance to this jam and smile at the screen.  This song, “Samba de Viola” is a true reflection of the Samba music that is the pulse of Brazil.  This performance truly embodies the Playing For Change spirit, and the band’s musicianship is incredible!  Enjoy!”

Check out their cool video in Salvador!

Take Your Q From Brazilian Gastronomy

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Q elevates the chocolate bar to new heights of gastronomy. The recently launched confection owes its rich taste to Brazil’s finest cocoa beans and equally sensuous curves to Oscar Niemeyer, the country’s celebrated modern architect.

Q was concocted by Samantha Aquim, chef and head of the chocolate division at her family’s eponymous restaurant business. After studying with renowned chocolatier Thierry Alain in Paris, she visited cocoa farms in Bahia with a desire to explore “the magical possibilities of the perfect cocoa bean.” Aquim used a painstaking fermentation process—without adding any other ingredients or flavorings—to draw out its raw characteristics.- Source

Brazilian Restaurant In Berlin Offers Human Flesh On The Menu

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(Note: It was a hoax)

The Brazilian restaurant Flimé caused controversy and harsh criticism in the German capital, Berlin, announcing that it will open a branch in the city on September 8th. The restaurant, whose headquarters are in the state of Rondônia, includes in its inaugural campaign in Germany a registration for customers interested in offering parts of their own body.

The website of the restaurant does not include on its menu any direct reference to human flesh, but says it follows the Wari culture–an Indian tribe of the Amazon jungle known for its culture of cannibalism–in which “eating is a spiritual act with which one wins the mind and the strength of that which is eaten”.

The Vice-President of the Christian Democratic Union in Berlin, Michael Braun, expressed his outrage at the restaurant and cuisine. “I hope it’s just a distasteful joke” says Braun to The German newspaper “Bild”, adding that the campaign could be just to arouse the curiosity of its customers.

The restaurant also caused concern in Guarajá-Mirim (Rondônia), where close to 1,000 people protested against the use of human flesh on the menu. In an interview on Youtube two weeks ago, the owner Eduardo Amado said that the protests helped to attract new clients and that everyone should try the Wari cuisine, adding that the clients return with a smile on their faces.

The restaurant’s address in Berlin is still a secret. For Brazilians, on their website one can find instructions on how to get to Flimé, in the middle of the Amazon jungle in Rodônia. – Source (more here, in PT)