Brazzil

Rancharia is 1 of 49 special projects in the state of Bahia supporting 2,250 families. The majority of land is worked communally. Personal responsibility is reinforced by requiring each family to finance their own portion of the land through repayment of low interest government loans over a 20-year period.
By Brazzil Magazine

I was shocked at reading Mr. Ricardo C. Amaral's article "Overpopulated". Mr. Amaral wrote that in 1500 the Brazilian population was 0 (zero). Reading that, only one thing instantly crossed my mind: I'd like to ask all the Brazilian Indians for their forgiveness, since Mr. Amaral's sources weren't very trustful indeed. What a shame and an unforgivable mistake!

Ricardo Amaral writes in "Overpopulated" that "the Brazilian government should put in place a policy to reduce its population from its current 170 million people to a target of 100 million people by a certain attainable date."

What an innovative idea! But one thing: How, Ricardo? Have you given the idea any thought at all, or are you just another armchair intellectual talking out your ass. I agree that overpopulation is a huge problem globally, but what's the use of your article if it proposes no solutions? It's just a waste of space and a waste of time to read it. It's too bad drivel like this gets published when other more vital voices are not being heard. Next time, develop a thesis before you start writing.

Dear Mr. Amaral, you wrote a courageous article. Brazil and the US are heading for big trouble. The USA has avoided much due to an economy that appears to be sound. Let there be an economic downturn and I can assure you the USA will surely need a thousand new prisons.

As you are well aware, during 1996 the current administration waived the FBI background check to hustle through thousands upon thousands of new citizens. A political motive was suggested in a recent Los Angeles Times article.

This was an exceptionally pertinent point: "Today some people wonder why there is so much crime in Brazil and why its civil system is breaking down. People look for simplistic answers to the problems. They consider drugs, or something else, as the reason for the breakdown. However, the obvious reason (population explosion) is never understood as being the cause of the problems."

Cardoso and Clinton blame the guns. It is not the guns. It is not the dope, it is just as you have indicated. Politicians play the people, they use the people for their own power. Who will be as brave as you in the political arena of both nations in addressing this 21st century Rubicon? May God help us all.

Thank you for not including pornographic pictures or articles in your last issue. I feel free now to send Brazzil to many of my friends and acquaintances.

I am a reporter in the United States. I work for NBC News. Am urgently trying to find Miss Elma Lia Nascimento who wrote an article for Brazzil in 1995 titled "Praise the Lord and Pass the Catch-up." Do you know her telephone number by any chance or where I can find her? I would appreciate any help you can give me.

In reference to the president's bastard son article, it's not that the Brazilian media is ethical or respectful....it's a cultural matter. Unlike the US, Brazilians are not in the custom of telling other people how they should live their private lives. They elect the average men to be presidents not popes. They are not expected to be saints or moral role models. Brazilian are not naives or hypocrites about human weaknesses. They are more concerned about corruption because it affects all of them. Americans are more concerned about their president's private lives than they are about their religious leaders' behavior.

For the last four years I have enjoyed your magazine and I don't want to miss a single issue. So I'm extending my subscription for two years. I have kept contact with many friends in Brazil, especially in Paraná, São Paulo and Minas. My friends are surprised I'm up-to-date with the Brazilian situation and sometimes I do get ahead of them about certain happenings in their country. I was made an honorary citizen of Brazil and I treasure this honor very dearly. I will be solemnizing the wedding of one of my students in Campinas, se Deus quiser in December. More power to you.

I just read your "Too Rich, Too Poor" article. It's very sad indeed to read about so much poverty and lack of health care. I went home for a visit in April and May and was saddened to see favelas sprouting by the roadside in Rio Grande do Sul. However, I have a good story to tell. I have a ranch there and I hired a young couple to care for it. Last February, the gentleman, otherwise a healthy 32-year-old man, became very ill with ruptured appendix. For some reason they did not treat him at our small local hospital, but sent him to Porto Alegre, 44 miles away. There he was admitted to Hospital de Clínicas.

He received excellent care, he only has good things to say about the doctors and the nurses. He recovered quickly. When he was discharged, a nurse came several times to change his bandages. All of this did not cost him or me one cent. Besides, he received one or two minimum salaries. I imagine that was to compensate for supposed lost income. Of course, I paid 100% of their salary. When I arrived there on April 1st, he was as healthy as before and working hard.

My sister had a serious back surgery a year before in the Hospital de Clínicas. It did not cost her anything either. I was very happy to hear about that. No, these people are not poor, they are doing quite well. If I ever get sick, I will certainly go to Hospital de Clínicas in Porto Alegre, as I don't have health coverage here in the US. It is also less expensive to fly there than to have a few test here.

I often come to this website for information as I have found it very interesting, and I am suddenly much more attracted to Brazil and Brazilian Portuguese. I was also wondering how can I find information on Americans visiting or even working in Brazil. Also, are there any great racial problems in Brazil?

I'm doing a research on the consumer behavior of Brazilians living out of Brazil. You mentioned in your article "Go North, Young Man" the author José Carlos Sebe Bom Meihy and his book Brazil Out of Itself. Do you know if it is already available ? Will it be released in English or Portuguese?

Other question you may help me: Is there any place I may find a research about this consumer behavior? Like,

a) what's the percentage they save and spend?

b) on spending, how much (percent and US$) they spend on Brazilian products?

c) how they acquire Brazilian products?

d) which kind of Brazilian product they buy?

I married my Brazilian wife, Elisa, in Santos in 1967. Now she is an ex-wife. I'd like to find her and marry her again. She was born in Crato in 1947. I don't know how to find her. Do you have any suggestions?

I would like to renew my subscription to your excellent magazine. Enclosed is my payment of $3. This is the greatest pechincha (bargain) in the world of journalism.

I am a Swedish nurse who works in a favela in the suburbs of Salvador. I've been here for a year and I have at least one more year to go in this amazing country. I want to have a free copy to see what it is and hopefully contribute with an article later on.

I live in Australia and I was wondering if you would be able to help me as I am studying socializing in Brazil. I was wondering if you would be able to answer these few questions for me. Do you think it is acceptable to turn up unannounced at somebody's home in Brazil? Do you feel the need to dress up before visiting somebody's house? Do Brazilians visit each other often? When a guest is at your house would you ever say "help yourself" to food or drink or would you always get it for them? Is it acceptable to take a friend to a party even if he is not invited by the host?

What would you classify an informal visit in Brazil? What would you classify a formal visit?

Oi gente. This is probably not the place to ask a question, but.... I thought someone in your offices might be able to help me out. I am a graduate student doing research on Brazil. As part of my work, I need to request materials from various Brazilian government and NGO sources. With my request for materials, I would like to send along the appropriate postage for the requested items to arrive in the US, but I have no idea where one might be able to secure Brazilian stamps. Any clue?

Wow, never saw an all too well organized site about Brazil's northeast. Very nice account. Now, tell me how did you manage to do something so good. Who are you guys?

I would like the sample copy because we will soon be ordering magazines for an influx of Brazilian people in our area. Thank you.

Bruce, congratulations for your article/essay on Suba. You wrote a great piece. I'm very impressed with Suba's "São Paulo Confessions". Now that I know more about him thanks to you, my admiration for this musician has grown higher. I would like to know if his CD Dreambird and his other creations are available somehow. And also I would like to ask you for permission for translating, if not the whole, some parts of your article into Spanish. I have a section in a cultural website called Andala (www.andala.com).

My section is called d-brazil and I intend to give reviews of recent releases and info on everything related to Brazilian music. (You'll find there only a couple of reviews on João Gilberto. I'm presently working on increasing the contents, but I'm doing all the work by myself writing the texts, scanning, surfing the net for info, reading my Saudades do Brasil e-mails, and so on. Above all, I've no financial support.) I don't know if translating your article is possible, maybe the copyright belongs to Brazzil, I know nothing about these legal aspects. If, like I say, this isn't possible, I'd like to know if I could use it as a guide to my own review.

Daniella Thompson, I thought your interviews were the most interesting that came out, of all articles written about Acari. It's very hard to find a Brazilian journalist who will think of questions so straight to the point as you did, and besides that, having so much background knowledge of Brazilian music and culture. I was sincerely impressed.

Daniella, I was very pleased with the article you wrote. I found the piece excellent—the best yet written about Acari Records. In fact, Daniella, it's really good to have a friend like you, and choro thanks you for all the help you've given.

I'm a PhD student at Montreal university. I search some information on São Paulo big blackout, which happened a few years ago. I need especially information on public response in this power failure (crime, panic, altruism and humanitarian behavior). Can you help me ?

I live in the Atlanta, Georgia area and was wondering if your magazine is available anywhere in the area or if I can subscribe to it? I am an American, but married to a Brazilian and love Brazil. The Brazilian community in Atlanta seems relatively small, but I think it is growing rapidly due to the booming Atlanta economy.

Bruce, thank you for your text about Carlinhos Brown. You have said many things that I would like to say to some English (and from other nationalities as well) friends here who enjoyed Carlinhos' songs since I first played it for them.

I and another guy are planning a trip to Manaus to go up the Amazon for about seven days. Do you know anyone in Brazil that would be a good guide to take us into the rain forest? I'm trying to avoid the commercial tour operators. I'd much rather go with someone recommended. We're looking to do a no luxuries extreme type of trip. Maybe just a tent and sleeping bag.

I love almost everything Brazilian, especially music. Please send me some info on what may be going on in Orlando. Also, I have a children's clothing label and I'm looking for manufacturing. If you have any knowledge of potential clothing manufacturers in Brazil please email me at devoni@aol.com.

Hi, Bruce Gilman, I'm an Australian composer/songwriter. Recently I spent five months traveling through Brazil and I met a lot of interesting musicians and composers in Ceará, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Brasília, Minas Gerais, etc… I've enjoyed reading your stuff. You pick good subjects and write well about them. Great interview with Jaques Morelenbaum. A truly inspired musician.

I've been reading the on-line version of Brazzil since my return from Brazil in March. However, I would like to subscribe to the paper and ink version. I'd dreamt of going to Brazil for over 20 years and had just about given up on it when out of nowhere I'm on a plane to São Paulo. It's changed my life for the better, I want to continue building on that.

I read your article about Chico Cesar, really interesting and accurate. I live in the Netherlands and would like to know whether your magazine is also available in Europe.

I am a teacher at a secondary school in Tunisia (Africa). I teach English. What pushed me to write to your company are the obstacles I am getting to help my students (advanced and intermediate levels )excel at English due to the lack of any references written in English. Is it possible to help me as well as my students by sending me some magazines as a donation?

Theatre in Exile is a Canadian (Toronto) theatre company dealing with serious issues of a social and political nature. At some point we would like to submit articles, however, at this time we are looking to relocate in Brazil and are requesting your direction in locating the resources (universities, theatre companies, contacts, etc) to make this possible. If you can assist in this matter in any small way, it would be greatly appreciated.

When I was last in Bahia my fiancée, Dani, and I stopped at a vendor in one of the local malls. She purchased for me a treat that I immediately recognized. I told her, with a broad smile "this is the fudge my mother used to make when I was a child"! Dani said "Oh no; I've seen your fudge in the United States and it's much different". I had to explain that in recent years fudge in the United States had indeed changed. Now it's very creamy, full of nuts and comes in many flavors: maple, vanilla, pecan, etc. But I remembered this simple confection, and the appearance of it gave me saudades for such a simple unassuming pleasure. When I returned home I wrote to my mother and related my experience to her. She sent me the recipe, and I thought you might like to have it.

MOTHER WAGNER'S BRAZILIAN FUDGE

Ingredients:

2/3 cup powdered cocoa

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup of butter

3 cups sugar

1 and 1/2 cup of milk - not cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Combine the cocoa, sugar, and salt in a large "sauce" pan (3 quart size, if you have it). Add the milk gradually and mix well. Bring the mixture to a bubbly boil on high heat, stirring constantly. NOW, reduce heat to medium and continue to boil the mixture without stirring until it reaches a temperature of 232 degrees Fahrenheit or, as we used to determine the appropriate time, when a small amount of mixture dropped into a cup of cold water forms a soft "ball".

It can be a little tricky to "get the hang" of judging this, but after a couple of trials you'll get the idea :)). In fact, you may have to test this more then once even when you understand what you're doing. Then immediately remove the pan from the heat.

Now add the 1/4 cup of butter and the teaspoon of vanilla to the mixture in the pan. Leave it alone for three minutes. Then use a wooden spoon to beat the mixture well. The mixture should begin to become less shiny and start to thicken. QUICKLY (because the transformation can happen with surprising speed) pour the mixture into a flat square pan that has been lightly coated on the bottom and all sides with butter, and spread the fudge evenly. When the fudge is set, cut it into squares.

This recipe will produce about 3 dozen pieces of fudge, depending on the size of the pan. If the fudge doesn't set up well at first, reheat the mixture and cook another five minutes. Then beat the mixture again with the wooden spoon and repeat the "pour into the pan and spread" process.

I'm from Australia and I'm looking for the homepage address for the spare part supplier in Brazil that exports Mercedes Benz spare parts, such as clutches, and so on. Would you mind giving me some direction in which part I have to go and find it by myself?

Sou professora de português e tenho um site de português para estrangeiros que já pode ser acessado (http://www.sonia-portuguese.com/). Estou recomendando Brazzil no meu site e gostaria de saber se você também poderia recomendar meu site de português como língua estrangeira no seu site.

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