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Culture of Brazil

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The world-famous Rio Carnival.

Brazilian culture is a Latin American culture of a very diverse nature. An ethnic and cultural mixing occurred in the colonial period between Indians, Portuguese and Africans and formed the bulk of Brazilian culture. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Italian, German, Spanish and Japanese immigrants settled Brazil and played an important role in its culture, creating a multicultural and multiethnic society. [1]

Brazilian Indians dancing.

Major influences

Brazil was a colony of Portugal for over 3 centuries. Large numbers of settlers from Portugal arrived during this period (nearly 1 million [2]) and brought their culture to the colony. The native inhabitants of Brazil had a strong contact with the colonists. Many were exterminated, others mixed with the Portuguese. For that reason, Brazil also holds Amerindian influences in its culture, mainly in its food and language (Brazilian Portuguese has hundreds of words of Indian origin, mainly from the Tupi-Guarani).[3]

Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art.

Black Africans, who were brought as slaves to Brazil, also participated actively in the formation of Brazilian culture. Although the Portuguese colonists forced their slaves to become "more civilized" (it meant to be Catholics and speak Portuguese) their cultural influences were absorbed by the inhabitants of Brazil of all races and origins. Some regions of Brazil, especially Bahia, have obvious African legacy in the music, food, language, etc.[4]

Immigrants from Italy, Germany, Spain, Japan and the Middle-East played an important role in the areas they settled (mostly Southern and Southeastern Brazil). They organized communities that became important cities (Joinville and Caxias do Sul, for example) and brought important contributions to the culture of Brazil.[5][6]

Religion

Pope Benedict XVI in his official visitation to Brazil, in May, 2007.

The religion of most Brazilians is Catholicism, in fact, Brazil has the largest Catholic population in the world. Many other beliefs over time have been incorporated into the Brazilian catholic belief system such as Spiritism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Ayahuasca, and Judaism as well as religious syncretisms, such as Candomblé, Umbanda, and Macumba, that mix Catholicism with African tribal religions. Certain denominations of Christianity, such as Pentecostalism, Methodism, and the Baptist church have also gained a large following.

Carnival

Further information: Brazilian Carnival

Carnaval, as it is known in Brazil, is an annual celebration held forty days before Easter and marking the start of Lent. Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is known worldwide for the elaborate parades staged by the city’s major samba schools in the Sambadrome and is one of the world’s major tourist attractions. In other regions such as Bahia and Pernambuco (and throughout Brazil), Carnival takes on a unique regional flavor. Carnival celebrations in Brazil feature locally-originating traditions and music (such as axé and frevo).

The German-influenced Oktoberfest in Southern Brazil.

Arts

Music

Further information: Music of Brazil

Brazil's rich cultural tradition extends to its music styles which include samba, bossa nova, forró, frevo , pagode and many others. Brazil has also a large contribution to the genres of classical music, which can be seen in the works of composers José Maurício Nunes Garcia (1767-1830), Antonio Carlos Gomes (1836-1896), Elias Álvares Lobo (1834-1901), Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959). Camargo Guarnieri (1907 - 1993), Cláudio Santoro (1919 - 1989), Osvaldo Lacerda (1927) and Eli-Eri Moura (1963), among many others. Some of the most famous Brazilian classical performers are the soprano Bidu Sayão, the pianists Nelson Freire and Guiomar Novaes and the conductors Eleazar de Carvalho and Isaac Karabtchevsky. Brazil is also the land of the São Paulo State Symphony, regarded as one of the outstanding orchestras in Latin America and in the world.

In the 1950's, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, Baden Powell, and João Gilberto popularized the Bossa Nova sound, which was followed by Música Popular Brasileira (literally "Brazilian Popular Music," often abbreviated to MPB). In the late 1960s, Tropicalismo was popularized by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.

Literature

Further information: Literature of Brazil
Machado de Assis, an important Brazilian writer.

Literature in Brazil dates back to the 16th century, to the writings of the first Portuguese explorers in Brazil, such as Pêro Vaz de Caminha, writer of the fleet of navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral. During the colonial period, many writers produced chronicles, poems and plays detailing the events in the colony. A notable early writer was father António Vieira, a Portuguese Jesuit educated in the Jesuit school of Salvador, Brazil, who became one of the most celebrated Baroque writers of the Portuguese language. The period following the Independence of Brazil in 1822 coincided with the Romantic Period of literature, and the first Brazilian national writers like Gonçalves Dias and José de Alencar gave prominence to the native peoples.

Cinema

Further information: Cinema of Brazil

Brazil has a long cinematic tradition, reaching back to the birth of the medium in the late 19th century. In the 1950s, Cinema Novo, (literally "New Cinema") sprang up as a movement concerned with showing realism in film, in the vein of Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave. In recent years, films like Cidade de Deus (2002 - directed by Fernando Meirelles) and Carandiru (2003 - directed by Hector Babenco) gained Brazilian cinema a new level of international acclaim.

Sport

Further information: Sport in Brazil

Sports are very popular in Brazil, the most notable being futebol (soccer). The Brazilian national soccer team is very popular, both in Brazil and internationally. The Brazilian national team has been victorious in the FIFA World Cup tournament a record five times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. Brazil has produced many of the world's most famous soccer stars, most notably Pelé, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaká.

In second but not less popular comes volleyball. The Brazilian national team has been victorious in the Olympics tournament two times, in 1992 and 2004, two times FIVB world champion in 2002 and 2006 and seven times world league champion.

Brazil is also home to several sports which have become internationally popular, such as capoeira and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Cuisine of Brazil

Further information: Cuisine of Brazil

Brazilian Cuisine is a mix of the cuisines of its inhabitants and immigrants: Native Americans, Portuguese, Africans, Italians, Spaniards, Germans, Syrians, Lebanese, and others. The country is divided into five main cuisine regions:

  1. North (Picadinho de Jacaré, Tacacá and Açaí)
  2. Northeast (Vatapá, Moqueca and Acarajé)
  3. Central-West (Pamonha, Pequi)
  4. Southeast (Feijoada)
  5. South (Churrasco)

Other popular dishes include:

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.brasilcultura.com.br/conteudo.php?id=187&menu=97&sub=196
  2. ^ http://www.ibge.gov.br/ibgeteen/povoamento/portugueses.html
  3. ^ http://www.ibge.gov.br/ibgeteen/povoamento/indios/vida.html
  4. ^ http://www.ibge.gov.br/ibgeteen/povoamento/negros/hercultural.html
  5. ^ http://www.ibge.gov.br/ibgeteen/povoamento/italianos.html
  6. ^ http://www.ibge.gov.br/ibgeteen/povoamento/alemaes.html


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