Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
In Glitter and Leotards, They Took a Stand: Brazil’s Carnival Must Go On
RIO DE JANEIRO — A young man sat alone with a beer and his tuba. One by one, his co-conspirators arrived. A man in a leotard with a trumpet. A shirtless drummer in a wizard hat. Another tuba player in a leopard-skin bra. They were a ragtag group, convening near a popular downtown plaza to […]
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Brazil, Land of the Thong, Embraces Its Heavier Self
In 2020, nearly 29 percent of Brazilians older than 20 were obese, up from roughly 15 percent in 2000, one of the largest increases of any country over that period, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Among the 10 most populous nations, only Mexico, the United States […]
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Black Authors Shake Up Brazil’s Literary Scene
RIO DE JANEIRO — Itamar Vieira Júnior, whose day job working for the Brazilian government on land reform took him deep into the impoverished countryside, knew next to nothing about the mainstream publishing industry when he put the final touches on a novel he had been writing on and off for decades. On a whim, […]
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Samba, Cachaça and Pickled Eggs: ‘Dirty Feet’ Bars Are ‘Essence of Rio’
RIO DE JANEIRO — The Blowfish’s Den was a mess. The tables were crowded with empty bottles, dirty plates were stacked up and the bathroom had run out of soap. In the corner, the bar’s owner, Marco Antônio Targino, was eating a plate of fried pork cracklings. “For those who like filth,” he said with […]
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