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Portal:Brazil

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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest and easternmost country in South America and Latin America. It is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh most populous. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populous city is São Paulo. Brazil is a federation composed of 26 states and a Federal District. It is the only country in the Americas where Portuguese is an official language. Brazil is among the world's most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world.

Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 kilometers (4,655 mi). Covering roughly half of South America's land area, it borders all other countries and territories on the continent except Ecuador and Chile. Brazil's Amazon basin includes a vast tropical forest home to diverse wildlife, a variety of ecological systems, and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats. This unique environmental heritage positions Brazil at number one of 17 megadiverse countries. The country's natural richness is also the subject of significant global interest, as environmental degradation (through processes such as deforestation) has direct impacts on global issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

The territory of present-day Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500. Subsequently claimed by the Portuguese Empire, Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. In 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, now called the National Congress. Slavery was abolished in 1888. The country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup d'état. An authoritarian military dictatorship emerged in 1964 and ruled until 1985, after which civilian governance resumed. Brazil's current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. Due to its rich culture and history, the country ranks thirteenth in the world by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Brazil is a regional and middle power that is an emerging power and a major non-NATO ally of the United States. Categorized as a developing country and ranking 89th on the Human Development Index, Brazil is considered an advanced emerging economy, having the eighth largest GDP in the world in both nominal and PPP terms—the largest in Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere. Classified as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank, and a newly industrialized country by the IMF, Brazil has the largest share of wealth and the most complex economy in South America. It is also one of the world's major breadbaskets, being the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years. Despite its growing economic and global profile, the country continues to face high levels of corruption, crime and social inequality. Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, G4, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries and also an observer state of the Arab League. (Full article...)

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Brazil's solar potential

The total installed solar power in Brazil was estimated at 41.1 GW at April 2024, which consists of about 18.0% of the country's electricity matrix. In 2022, Brazil was the 8th country in the world in terms of installed solar power capacity (24.079 GW).

Brazil expects to have 1.2 million solar power generation systems in the year 2024. Solar energy has great potential in Brazil, with the country having one of the highest levels of insolation in the world at 4.25 to 6.5 sun hours/day. As of 2019, Brazil generated nearly 45% of its energy, or 83% of its electricity, from renewable sources. For example, 60% of Brazil's electricity generation came from renewable hydropower. However, to meet energy demands in the entire country, and to diversify its energy portfolio, other renewable energy sources, such as solar power, are being expanded. (Full article...)

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Credit: Carlos Almendarez
Someday I'd like to do some real traveling. I'm obsessed with Brazil and I've always had this dream of backpacking through South America.

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Caymmi in 1938

Dorival Caymmi (Brazilian Portuguese: [doɾiˈvaw kaˈĩmi]; April 30, 1914 – August 16, 2008) was a Brazilian singer, songwriter, actor, and painter active for more than 70 years, beginning in 1933. He contributed to the birth of Brazil's bossa nova movement, and several of his samba pieces, such as "Samba da Minha Terra", "Doralice" and "Saudade da Bahia", have become staples of música popular brasileira (MPB). Equally notable are his ballads celebrating the fishermen and women of Bahia, including "Promessa de Pescador", "O Que É Que a Baiana Tem?", and "Milagre". Caymmi composed about 100 songs in his lifetime, and many of his works are now considered to be Brazilian classics. Both Brazilian and non-Brazilian musicians have covered his songs.

Ben Ratliff of The New York Times wrote that Caymmi was "perhaps second only to Antônio Carlos Jobim in 'establishing a songbook of [the 20th] century's Brazilian identity.'" Throughout his career, his music about the people and culture of Bahia influenced Brazil's image in the eyes of both Brazilians and foreigners. Caymmi was married to Brazilian singer Stella Maris for 68 years, and the couple's children, Dori, Danilo, and Nana, are also prominent musicians. Each debuted professionally by accompanying Caymmi onstage and in recordings. In 2014, Caymmi's granddaughter Alice also began a musical career. (Full article...)

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Scheidt in 2004

Robert Scheidt (born 15 April 1973) is a Brazilian sailor who has won two gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze from five Olympic Games and a Star Sailors League Final. He is one of the most successful sailors at Olympic Games and one of the most successful Brazilian Olympic athletes, being one of only two to earn five medals along with fellow sailor Torben Grael, and only behind the six medals of Rebeca Andrade. He is the only Brazilian sailor to win medals in both dinghy and keelboat classes.

He is widely considered to be one of the greatest sailors of all time. (Full article...)

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  • ... that a historian lamented the lack of English-language translations for the work of Aracy Amaral despite it being "a vital reference for the study of art history in Brazil"?

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Museu Oscar Niemeyer
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Ponta Negra
Ponta Negra
Credit: Fábio Pinheiro

Ponta Negra is the name of one of the best known beaches in the city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The large, crescent-shaped beach is located at the southern end of the Via Costeira, a major thoroughfare which follows the Atlantic coastline northward, linking the Ponta Negra area with the urban beaches of Praia dos Artistas, Praia do Meio, and Praia do Forte.

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2008 Brazilian Grand PrixAfonso, Prince Imperial of BrazilBrazilian cruiser BahiaEmpire of Brazil1937 Brazilian coup d'étatPedro Álvares CabralChagas diseaseDrymoreomysEuryoryzomys emmonsaeFôrça BrutaGiant otterGol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907Joaquim José Inácio, Viscount of InhaúmaJaguarHonório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of ParanáLundomysPrincess Maria Amélia of BrazilMaster SystemBrazilian battleship Minas GeraesMinas Geraes-class battleshipNoronha skinkNoronhomysUSS OrizabaJosé Paranhos, Viscount of Rio BrancoPedro I of BrazilPedro II of BrazilPedro Afonso, Prince Imperial of BrazilBrazilian battleship São PauloLuís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of CaxiasSonic After the SequelManuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto AlegreSouth American dreadnought raceSuicidal TourThalassodromeusTeresa Cristina of the Two SiciliesUruguayan War2014 FIFA World Cup final

2016 Summer Olympics medal tableList of World Heritage Sites in BrazilList of international goals scored by PeléList of municipalities in Rio Grande do NorteSepultura discography

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1986 João Câmara earthquake1995 Brazilian Grand Prix2000 Brazilian Grand Prix2000 Rio 2002010 Brazilian Grand Prix2010 São Paulo Indy 3002012 Brazilian Grand Prix2014 Brazilian Grand Prix2015 Brazilian Grand PrixA Puro DolorActinote zikaniRebeca AndradeArchaeological interest of Pedra da GáveaArise (Sepultura album)Clube Atlético MineiroAzure-shouldered tanagerBomba PatchDisappearance of Bruno BorgesBrainstorm (2000 film)Brazil v Germany (2014 FIFA World Cup)Brazil at the 1994 Winter OlympicsBrazil at the 1998 Winter OlympicsBrazil at the 2014 Winter ParalympicsBrazilian military junta of 1930Gisele BündchenCapybaraAdelir Antônio de CarliCarlos Bandeirense Mirandópolis hoaxHélio CastronevesDorival CaymmiCherry-throated tanagerCésar CieloClube Atlético Mineiro in international club footballCavalera ConspiracyDiego CostaPhilippe CoutinhoDejaría TodoDiptychophora galvaniFortress of HumaitáFruta FrescaGanga BrutaGilberto GilMaurício GugelminHilda HilstHurricane CatarinaJorge Ben (album)Josiane LimaMitsuyo MaedaRMS Magdalena (1948)Man of the HoleMango YellowMarquinhosLaura MatsudaThe Naturalist on the River AmazonsLegacy of Pedro II of BrazilEarly life of Pedro II of BrazilPeléBrazilian monitor PiauíPlatine WarPrince Bernhard's titi monkeyMarie RennotteRevolt of the LashRevolution of the GanhadoresRio de Janeiro bid for the 2016 Summer OlympicsSamba rockSarcófagoState University of CampinasTAM Airlines Flight 3054TV BahiaTaubaté pregnancy hoaxTectoyAmon TobinTransgender history in BrazilUmbandaAlessandra VieiraVinicius and TomMartha WattsWorld War II

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