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).
Not sure how many actual Halloween parties there are in Belém but Tia Bola has you covered in case you need a costume, to buy or rent. Just click the link and choose Mens, Womens or Infants costumes. When I figure out how much they cost to rent or buy, I’ll add that information to this post. Stay tuned! In the meantime, there are pictures example of each on the site (although the little girls as Rebeldes…just plain weird).
Tia Bola
Tv: Castelo Branco nº 1803 entre R. dos Pariquis e Caripunas Bairro do Guáma- Fones:3249-0371, 3249-1496, 3032-9102.
If you need random elements of a costume you are putting together yourself, the Comercio district has plenty to choose from.
I’d like to make a list of free wi-fi spots in Belém but I fear the good spots are locally-known and as I’m no local, I can only offer a few tips as well as a page from the government’s site. The gov’t of Pará has a page called NavegaPará and one of the purposes of it is to share information on a project they are working on to bring wi-fi to many communities that currently lack it.
Their list of wi-fi locations pertains to schools (including universities like UFPA) and gov’t-related offices only at this point, but I’m sure they have considered placing wi-fi in public plazas, etc. As for non-governmental sources, I’ll start a list below…
- Val de Cans Airport
- Habib’s (Rod BR, 316)
- McDonalds (Av. Governador Magalhães Barata, 44)
- Fran’s Café (Comandante Bras de Aguiar, 304)
- Shopping Pátio Belém (Tv. Padre Eutíquio, 1078)
I’m sure there are more hotspots but I’ll have to return to this post when I get more information. If you know of any, feel free to leave a comment with the location!
Three-hundred thousand people took to the streets of the Nazaré neighborhood last week to take part in the Círio for little ones, formally known as the Círio das Crianças. Looks like a nice event but I must admit, a bit silly as kids often can’t tell their head from their foot so they shouldn’t be expected to understand the meaning of such a religious procession. I would probably opt for a change in the title to make it more true to what it really is, Círio for families.
The Rubber boom (or Ciclo da borracha) constituted an important part of the economic and social history of Brazil, being related with the extraction and commercialization of rubber. This boom was centered in the Amazon, facilitating a large expansion of colonization, attracting wealth and causing cultural and social transformations, along with encouraging the growth of Manaus, Porto Velho, and Belém, which today remain major cities and the capitals of their respective Brazilian states, Amazonas, Rondônia and Pará. The rubber boom occurred largely between 1879 to 1912, and afterwards experienced a revival from 1942 to 1945 during the Second World War.
For the first four and a half centuries following the discovery of the New World, as no gold or precious stones were discovered in the Amazon, the native populations lived practically in isolation, as neither colonial Brazil nor imperial Brazil was able to create incentives for development in the region. Living with an economy based on vegetable extraction, the regional economy developed for centuries, accompanied with the interest of the market of diverse natural resources in the region.
Rubber Growth
The development of the Industrial Revolution in Europe was the fuse which made natural rubber, until then exclusively found in the Amazon, a desirable commodity, valued at a high price, and creating wealth and dividends for whoever would dare invest in the trade.
From the beginning of the second half of the 19th century, rubber began to exert a strong attraction to visionary entrepreneurs. The activity of latex extraction in the Amazon revealed its lucrative possibilities. Natural rubber soon achieved a place of distinction in the industries of Europe and North America, reaching a high price. This caused various people to travel to Brazil with the intention of learning more about the rubber tree and the process of latex extraction, with the end of achieving wealth.
Because of the growth of rubber extraction numerous cities and towns swelled. Belém and Manaus, which already existed, became transformed and urbanized. Manaus was the first Brazilian city to be urbanized and the second to be electrified (the first was Campos dos Goytacazes, in Rio de Janeiro).
The Spoils of Rubber
Belém, the capital of Pará state, as well as Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, were the most developed and prosperous cities in Brazil during the rubber boom, not only due to its strategic position, but also because a large number of residences for the rubber extractors was there. Both cities were electrified and given running water and sewers. Their apogee was reached between 1890 and 1920, due to technologies that other cities in the south and southeast of Brazil still didn’t have, such as electric trams, avenues built on cleared gullies, as well as imposing and luxurious buildings, such as the polished Teatro Amazonas, the government palace, the municipal market, and the customs house, in the case of Manaus, and the fish market, the iron market, Teatro da Paz, corridors of mango trees, and various residential palaces in the case of Belém, constructed in large part by the intendant Antônio Lemos.
The European influence later became notable in Manaus and Belém, in the architecture and the way of life, making the 19th century the best economic phase endured by the two cities. The Amazon was responsible in the era for nearly 40% of all Brazil’s exports. The new riches of Manaus made the city the world capital in the sale of diamonds. Thanks to rubber, the per capita income of Manaus was twice as much as the coffee-producing region (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo).
As payment for the export of rubber, the workers were paid in pounds sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom, which circulated in Manaus and Belém during this period.
The End of an Era
The Amazon was already losing primacy in rubber production due to rubber trees planted by the English in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and tropical Africa. These rubber trees were planted from seeds that Henry Wickham had smuggled out of Brazil in 1876. These plantations were able to produce latex with greater efficiency and productivity. Consequently, with lower costs and a lower final price, the British Empire assumed control of the world rubber market.
The Second Boom
The Amazon again experienced a rubber boom during the Second World War, although it was of brief duration. As Japan dominated the eastern Pacific Ocean from the beginning of 1942 and invaded Malaysia, the rubber plantations there came under their control, which resulted in the loss of 97% of Asiatic rubber production.
This resulted in the implementation of new elements, including infrastructure, in Belém and Manaus, this time on the behalf of the United States. An example of this is the Grande Hotel, a luxurious hotel constructed in Belém in only three years, which today is the Hilton Hotel.
For more on the Second Boom, below is a documentary (in PT) on the rubber soldiers and the second-coming. In English, here’s a story on the subject from the NYT.
The Secretary of Agriculture of Pará is trying to repopulate the southern region of Marabá with the castanheira tree, which is threatened to extinction. The purpose is to jump-start a regional business model which has 150 years of history behind it, collecting castanhas-do-Pará (Brazil nuts) for cash.
Considered the “queen” of the forest for reaching up to 200 ft tall, the famous tree used to be the base of the local extractive economy. In the 1970′s, over 70 thousand tons of castanhas-do-Pará were taken out of the region per year. These days, the figure rests at around 20 thousand tons per year.
The Secretary started up a project which had been on hold for six years and hired 45 people to learn how to plant the giant tree. Brazil nuts come from this tree and when they fall to the ground, they are collected, dried and sheared. The problem with new growth in the area of Marabá is that nearly 90% of the Brazil nuts that fall, are collected, therefore cutting short the opportunity for new trees to grow.
Even of those that fall naturally, only 50% germinate to form new trees. On the other end, getting the Brazil nut ready to sell is a multistep process which includes shearing, chemically protecting and cleaning. With some training, the new team will be able to plant new trees on their own and with time, both the trees and the bounty will grow.
Ilha do Mosqueiro is about 40 miles from Belém and can be reached via the BR-316 and the PA-391 highways and finally by crossing the Sebastião Oliveira bridge. By car, it’s no more than an hour away and buses leave Belém daily to the island (with a comparable arrival time). To get an idea of where it is, check out these maps on the official site.
Altogether, there are 16 beaches and in the month of July, around 300,000 people from all over Brazil visit the island for its non-salty waters and summer parties. The original holiday-goers were foreigners which, while taking advantage of the Rubber Boom at the end of the 19th century, found value in the island and started to build summer mansions there.
Judging by the photo up top, if you want peace and quiet, Praia do Farol is not what you are looking for, so try the maps to see where other beaches are on the island. I’ll leave you with a little piece of the peaceful part.
(the original song is from Jorge Drexler, called La Edad del Cielo)
