Disclaimer

It is a globalised world, they were right. And there is a buzz about Brazil at the moment - Rio+20, the World Cup, the Olympics... that might make you want to go there, might make you want to understand it … so you ended up here somehow.

Well there are Blogs about foreigners talking about Brazil and there are Blogs about Brazilians talking about a foreign country. This is a Blog about a Brazilian who lives in a foreign country talking about Brazil - with a bit of a foreigner's twist to it.

So what? Well in my simple mind after living in the US for a while and now in Europe for the last 4 years and hence struggling so much to explain things like tapioca, saudade, Acai, malandragem, malemolencia and abada I should be in a good position to find the right choice of words, metaphors or similar things to compare with and tell you what this place is all about - hopefully better than a gringo and better than a Brazilian who lives in Brazil, but potentially worse than both.

A Brazilian would explain you his country either in either an enthusiastic and passionate way or a delusional manner  - that will vary according to the subject (football and politics, correspondingly) or simply the person you ask. So why not go deep into the various subjects of this blog to try and understand those adorable creatures - the Brazilians - and their beloved land by yourself.

My first impulse to start this Blog came after watching the Closing Ceremony of the amazing London 2012 Olympic games. Being a Londoner myself, I obviously understood, if not all, at least most of the references and recognised most of the people mentioned and performing throughout the beautiful event (hands down to Danny Boyle). And being Brazilian, the last section about the 2014 games in Rio made perfect sense for me - but maybe the wider audience did not recognise singers Seu Jorge, Marisa Monte, B Negao and model Alessandra Ambrosio, besides street-sweeper/dancer/awesome character Renato Sorriso.Well they definitely should so I thought I would explain to everyone in one place since many people come asking me the next day.

  

Topics will vary but always related to Brazil: culture, tourism, politics (just a bit), economy, life in Brazil ...whatever comes to mind and are relevant at a certain time. I hope you enjoy.