A trio eléctrico moves through revelers.

Rio de Janeiro is world-famous for its sleek, spectacular Carnival, the city's central cultural event. The Samba School Parade at Rio's Sambadrome is something everybody should experience at least once. The event is broadcast live to all Brazilian states and to several countries. Watching on TV is cool, but not half as much fun as being there. You have to mingle with the crowd, sweat, and maybe even march with a samba school!

While your memories of Rio's Carnival will be priceless, the Samba Parade is not free. Tickets are actually quite expensive, but more than worth the investment. Fourteen samba schools march on Sunday and Monday, seven each night. The parade starts at 9pm and goes on until 6 or 7am the next day. This samba marathon is more than a show - it's also a fierce competition. Each year a school is downgraded from special to access group, and vice-versa.

Unlike Rio's formal parades, Carnival in Salvador features thousands of people on the streets celebrating until they get tired. Barracas are everywhere, turning Salvador into a city of ten thousand parties. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, Carnival in Salvador is the biggest street party on the planet! And where there isn't a barraca, there'll be somebody with an isopor (styrofoam cooler) selling beer or  batidas (cachaça and fruit mixtures with killer strength!). For an entire week, almost two million people join the city's street celebrations, which are divided into circuits: Barra/Ondina, Campo Grande, and Pelourinho. This year Carnival overlaps with another enormous and highly important festival in Salvador, Festa de Yemanjá, which fell on February 2.

The Carnival circuit in Salvador features trio elétricos, a truck loaded with a band and  thousands of watts of sound equipment. Massive numbers of people follow the trucks singing and dancing. They are called "trios " because the first one was an old car (a '29 Ford) with a driver and two musicians, Dodô and Osmar. The musical styles used during Carnival differ throughout the country. In Salvador, rhythms include samba, samba-reggae, axé, and others. Trios form the nucleus of the blocos. One pays to join a bloco and is given an abadá (a get-up usually consisting of a t-shirt and shorts), which allows one to parade with the bloco inside the cordão (rope carried by security personnel).

For more information about Carnival in Rio and Salvador, check:
http://www.centraldocarnaval.com.br
http://www.rio-carnival.net/rio_carnival/rio_carnival_programs.php 

Young women in traditional attire on Salvador's historic streets.

The streets of the Salvador Historical Centre transport the tourist back to the beginning of Brazil's history. Tour guides, all avid students of local culture, explain how the country's first city was developed. Considered the country's cultural capital, it is the birthplace of many prominent names in the arts, including Gilberto Gil and Gal Costa. Tourism and cultural activities are important generators of jobs and income, helping to support local arts and the preservation of the city's artistic and cultural heritage. Notable in Brazil for its cuisine, music and architecture, Salvador also boasts the natural beauty of 50 km of coastline and several ecological parks.

Cultural ties remain strong in Salvador, with city folklore and artistic traditions passed on from generation to generation. Performances of capoeira, afoxé, Folia de Reis, Maculelê, and Samba de Roda all emphasize a spirit of being by the people, for the people. Bahia is home to Brazil's largest black community, a source of great pride and cultural identity for many Bahians.

Events and places to visit in Salvador:
http://www.emtursa.ba.gov.br/template.asp

The Brazooka Band at Café Wha?

Featured on the front page of the New York Times "Sunday Style", the Brazooka Band at Café Wha? is the most popular and accomplished Brazilian ensemble in New York City. We plan to reserve tables to catch the show on Monday, February 11.  Join us at 9pm for a night of Brazilian fun! Entrance fee is $10; please note that Café Wha? does not honor reservations after 10pm. Contact us at Events@BrazilStation.com by Friday, February 8 to RSVP.

Café Wha?
115 Macdougal St.
New York, NY 10012
212-254-3706
Get directions

(right) Marcelo Bratke and Rosana Lamosa perform The Villa-Lobos Event, Feb. 9 at 7:30pm; (left) Catch the final three films of the Janeiro in NY festival sponsored by Cinema Tropical, Feb. 15-29.

The Villa-Lobos Event - Saturday,  February 9 at 7:30pm

Jay K. Hoffman presents The Villa-Lobos Event, a concert conceived and directed by pianist Marcelo Bratke, with special guests guitarist Dory Caymmi and soprano Rosana Lamosa. This event, a prelude to the upcoming 50th aniversary of Villa-Lobos' death in 2009, tells the stories of the people of Brazil through music.  Stories are inspired by the forests, rivers, and seas of Brazil, as well as by the colorful rhythms of Carnival and Brazil's musical diversity. This unique listening experience will be offered in 3 parts: a) Villa-Lobos: The Children's World & Brazil (lullabys, dreams, fishermen and more); b) Villa-Lobos and Bach (Bachianas Brasileiras no. 2, 4 and 5) and c) Villa-Lobos: Samba, Love & Nature (influences on Tom Jobim, Claudio Santoro, and others). For more information, check http://www.carnegiehall.org.

Carnegie Hall at Zankel Hall
881 7th Avenue (between 56th and 57th Streets)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 247-7800
Get directions 

Cinema Tropical presents Janeiro in New York - Friday, February 15 - 29

Cinema Tropical, the organization dedicated to presenting and promoting Latin American films in the US, hosts Janeiro in New York, a celebration of Brazil's cinema scene. Featured films include The Year My Parents Went on Vacation, directed by Cao Hamburger, opening Friday, February 15 at CC Village East Cinemas; Santiago, directed by João Moreira Salles, to be presented in MoMA's Documentary Fortnight's Series on Sunday, February 24 at 5pm at the Museum of Modern Art; and City of Men, directed by Paulo Morelli, opening Friday, February 29 at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas.

For more information, visit http://www.cinematropical.com

A small group meets at Brazil Station.

1. N1B - Beginner Level 1 group class will start on Monday, February 11 at 6:15pm. It is for people with little or no knowledge of Portuguese.

2. N1BS - Beginner Level 1 group class for Spanish Speakers will start on Wednesday, February 13 at 6:15pm. It is for people fluent in Spanish or/and Italian with little or no knowledge of Portuguese.

3. N2B - Beginner Level 2 group class will start on Monday, February 18 at 8pm. It is for people who have some knowledge of Portuguese.

4. N2BS - Beginner Level 2 group class for Spanish Speakers will start on Thursday, February 21 at 8pm. It is for people fluent in Spanish or/and Italian with little or no knowledge of Portuguese.

We offer Private and Semi-private classes from Monday to Saturday. You can start taking classes with us at any day, any time. In addition to our traditional Portuguese classes, Brazil Station also offers Portuguese for Spanish and Italian Speakers, Business Portuguese, and Travel Classes. We teach off-site classes and Corporate Language Education as well. Contact us at (646) 287-6645 or Newsletter@BrazilStation.com to find the right programs for you!

Am I dead, Angel? Cause this must be heaven!
Eu estou morto, Anjo? Porque aqui deve ser o céu!

You are the daughter-in-law my mother would like to have.
Você é a nora que minha mãe gostaria de ter.

You are the most beautiful girl in this party.
Você é a menina mais bonita desta festa.

Are you busy tonight at 3am?
Você estará ocupada hoje às 3 da manhã?

I have only three months to live...
Eu só tenho três meses de vida...

I'm sorry, were you talking to me? (No.) Well then, please start.
Com licença, você está falando comigo? (Não.) Então comece, por favor.

What's your sign?
Qual é o seu signo?

Can I have directions? (To where?) To your heart.
Você sabe me informar o caminho? (Para onde?) Para o seu coração.

Wouldn't we look cute on a wedding cake together?
Você não acha que ficaríamos uma gracinha juntos em um bolo de casamento?