The Buzz from Brazil

Got this buzzing in my ears, ref...

Take notice, Ashley Young! Not one, not two, but twenty-two players and a referee dived for the turf in this weekend’s Bahia Championship game in Salvador between Fluminense de Feira & Juazeirense. No penalties were awarded, and the dives might have lacked our Ashley’s artistic interpretation, but then when you’re suddenly confronted by a massive swarm of angry bees, instinct takes over and there’s no time for the fancy stuff…

Meanwhile, fans behind the goal had to take shelter behind a huge Fluminense bandeira as the merciless winged attackers buzzed them.

The footage below is especially odd if you watch it without sound, but look out for the Juazeirense No. 10: the only man in the stadium not cowering before the new insect overlords. ¡que colhões! I haven’t been able to find out his name, but we could have done with that kind of attitude at Elland Road this season…

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The latest addition to the Real Brazil staff is heading out for her first trip to Brazil next week, and we asked her to share some of her thoughts about the impending trip.

There Jess goes!

This coming Tuesday, the 17^th of April, I will be taking my first trip to Brazil. Living in the north of England I can’t say I’m well-prepared in terms of wardrobe, but I’ll be doing my best this weekend to round up some last minute summer clothing.

While ultimately I’m sure I’ll have everything I need for this trip in my suitcase by the time I go, I must admit that mentally it’s still quite a lot to get my head around. Having done a degree in Portuguese at the University of Leeds, I’m meant to be fluent in the language. And to a certain extent I am – in Portugal. I’m unsure of whether my American/British English-influenced European Portuguese accent will be understood by Brazilians, and whether I’ll be able to understand them as well.

Having studied Portuguese at degree level, a lot of my course focused on Brazil – geography, literature, history, culture, and current events. I expect I probably have a lot more preconceived notions than most first time visitors to the country, and I am fascinated to see if I’ve got anything right at all. I have many Brazilian friends, but as much as they’ve told me over the years from first-hand experience of their native country, I genuinely expect to be surprised.

While I’ve travelled what I think is a substantial amount, I must admit that Brazil is kind of a big deal to me. I’ve wanted to go to South America for as long as I’ve known it existed, and although there are many other South American countries I’m desperate to see, I’m glad I’m starting with Brazil.

I‘m not even sure exactly what it is I want to do there; my usual travel style is to sort of settle in one place and get a feel for what it would be like to live there. I’m sure I’ll get to a lot of the tourist activities, but ultimately I want to relax and chat with people. I’m generally a very social creature so meeting people is always high on my list of priorities while I’m abroad. If I’m lucky I’ll have time to see the friends I already have as well…

Ultimately I am excited, nervous, excited again, ultra-organised and somehow still utterly unprepared for the next couple of weeks. Regardless of how I’m feeling, or if my suitcase is still filled with jumpers and boots, I will be on the plane when it leaves Leeds Bradford Airport, and I will be spending the next two and a half weeks in Brazil. I guess by then I’ll be as ready as I’ll ever be! I can’t wait to read this entry again when I get back to the UK because I’m sure I’ll find it pretty entertaining. Keep an eye on this space in early May for a post-Brazilian adventure entry!

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Though Brazil is the sixth largest economy in the world, the largely unbalanced distribution of wealth means the average citizen is generally not wealthy. Despite this, at Carnival time, no expense is spared even amongst many of the poorest people in the country. Here’s a look at some of the most expensive costumes that will be flaunted at events throughout Brazil for Carnival 2012:

This costume, appropriately called the Space Pirate, can be purchased ready to wear for the price of R$800 (£800 GBP/$465 USD).

Dressing up like this street reveller will set you back R$1000 (£370 GBP/$585 USD). To put that into perspective, in Brazil that’s about the average cost of school clothes.

Hummingbird , the 2011 winner of the Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro parade, have chosen to pay homage this year to the city of Sao Luis in Maranhão. This costume is inspired by the “Feast of the Divine”, the famous celebration held in the capital of Maranhão in the month of July. This costs R$1,100 (£410 GBP/$490 USD) although with home delivery included it’s almost a bargain!

This eye-catching ensemble is fit for a royalty, or at the very least a president – the 2012 theme of this Sao Paulo samba school is “Lula- Portrait of a Nation”. The costume refers to former president Lula’s Pernambucano origins, and is the most of expensive of all at R$2990 (£1110 GBP/$1740 USD).

Thanks for the costume photos and information to:

http://epocanegocios.globo.com/Revista/Common/0,,GF88535-16290,00-AS+FANTASIAS+MAIS+CARAS+DO+CARNAVAL.html#fotogaleria=1

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