Wednesday January 25, 2012
Today, even as São Paulo celebrates its 458th anniversary, nearby Santos, a city that's intrinsically connected to the capital in its history, culture, tourism industry and development, is hosting the last day of the 6th Regional Barista Championship. Santos will be celebrating its 466th anniversary tomorrow.
Promoted the Brazilian Coffee and Barista Association (ACBB), the competition is one of the year's top events for all the involved and something every coffee lover can benefit from as it reveals and confirms talented professionals and brings some fine coffee into the limelight.
The venue is the Coffee Museum (Museu do Café) in Santos, where the treasure which helped tell the common tale of these two cities - and that of millions of Brazilians whose immigrant ancestors arrived in Brazil through Santos to work on coffee farms - is beautifully celebrated.
Keep an eye out for the winners on the ACBB website and hopefully catch up with those pros at their workplace. Some of the best places in Brazil for specialty coffees are manned or owned by champions of this or other tournaments on the ACBB calendar.
And if you're in São Paulo today, party! Many events are free. Check out this schedule, in Portuguese, on G1. Stop by the Municipal Market, also having an anniversary today. Then raise a toast to São Paulo and Santos with a cup of Brazil-grown specialty coffees.
The Winners:
Jan.27, 2012 Update:
Rafael Godoy, from Suplicy Cafés Especiais, is the grand winner of the 6th Regional São Paulo Barista Championship.
The other baristas who qualified for ACBB's 2012 Brazilian Barista Championship are:
Other Champion Coffee in São Paulo:
Brazilian Coffee, With Pride:
Photo: Coffee Museum in Santos. Patricia Ribeiro
Friday January 20, 2012
The official Olinda Carnival Guide 2012 is up! The city is already celebrating its prévias, or pre-Carnival, and the listing of parades is on the guide's homepage with frequent updates.
Olinda has one of the most amazing Carnival scenes in Brazil, with hundreds of free parades which preserve a rich cultural heritage with indigenous, African and European roots. Local associations - frevo clubs, troças, blocos, maracatus, caboclinhos, afoxés - bring their joy to the historic streets of Cidade Alta, a UNESCO heritage site.
Some of the groups which already have events this weekend:
A highlight coming up in the prévias is the mega Virgens de Verdade parade.
So far the official guide is only available in Portuguese, with listings in military time.
Photo: Evane Manço /Pref.Olinda
Monday January 16, 2012
Technical rehearsal season has started for Rio de Janeiro samba schools. These free parades at the Sambódromo are one of the highlights of pre-Carnival in Rio, with major samba schools from the Special Group and Access Group A bringing thousands of participants to the Marquês de Sapucaí Avenue.
The next technical rehearsal will be this Saturday, Jan.21, when Inocentes de Belford Roxo and Porto da Pedra will parade at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. respectively.
Photo: Beija-Flor rehearsal on Jan.8, 2012. Marina Herriges/Riotur.
Thursday January 12, 2012
Riotur, Rio de Janeiro's official tourism company, has launched Carnaval de Rua Rio 2012, the guide to the city's 425 free Carnival parades in the streets.
The guide includes pre-Carnival, which starts in January, and post-Carnival, both of which have gained a lot of attention in the last few years.
Even though information about Rio de Janeiro Carnival is available in English on the city's official online guides, this recently launched guide, available in Portuguese, is the most complete. Go to "Pesquisar Blocos" and enter names of the blocos, or Carnival groups, or dates for the most recent updates.
Here on the About.com Guide to Brazil Travel, stop by for gradual updating on all the information about Rio's best blocos and street parades, and enjoy the amazing universe of the city's free Carnival.
Photo: Banda de Ipanema, one of the most popular blocos in Rio de Janeiro street Carnival. Paulo Mumia/Riotur.
