The Gruta da Lapinha is a spectacular series of caves located near the city of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais. I had the opportunity to tour the caverns a couple weeks ago during some down-time from the annual Baptist Mid Missions, Brazil conference. Here are some of the amazing things we saw:…
Continuing with a Frank Sinatra theme we began a couple weeks ago, here is the Crooner with the master of Bossa Nova himself, Antônio Carlos “Tom” Jobim. Enjoy, and you’re welcome. ____________________ Did you enjoy this post? Consider making a donation to our ministry in Brazil. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases….
Perhaps nobody did as much to popularize the Brazilian Bossa Nova style as Frank Sinatra. A close second may belong to sax man Stan Getz (more on him later), but his influence pales in comparison to “Old Blue Eyes”. Though his best-known adaptation of a Brazilian song was “Girl from Ipanema”, he also did others,…
Last week we gave an example (one of many that could be cited) of a Brazilian song that has crossed the ocean and been recorded in French. But, has the cultural exchange gone the other way? Mais oui! Here is the Brazilian version of the hit by French singer Cristophe, Aline: _____________________ Did you enjoy…
As mentioned in earlier posts (for example here) I’ve had a personal project of learning French. In doing so, I have inevitably been introduced to certain aspects of French culture. One thing that stands out to me is that the French seem to have a certain fascination with Brazil. One evidence of this is the…
Brazilian culture is everywhere, if you know where to look. This recently showed up in my Instagram feed. The song “A Banda” (The Band) was originally written by Chico Buarque de Holanda. Here’s the original. And yes, the famous “serious/smiling” meme is actually Chico Buarque. __________________ Did you enjoy this post? Consider making a donation…
Here in northeastern Brazil it is common to see horse-drawn carts plodding down the highway. And we even see said carts being pulled by motorcycles with astonishing regularity. But this guy took both concepts to a whole other level. Watch: As Brazilians are want to say upon seeing such examples of their own ingenuity: “Surely…
I have talked a lot here on this blog about the Lençóis Maranhenses, an extensive area covered with spectacular sand dunes that is just four hours from where we live – two hours from the camp (see here and here and here for example). In August we had a team come to visit us from…
Well…the Brazilian Marine Band, that is. This is a fascinating mixing of two cultures: Brazilian music with Scottish instrumentation. And they really pull it off – The Luiz Gonzaga classic “Asa Branca” (White Wing) actually sound pretty good on bagpipes. Also…love those helmets! ____________________ Did you enjoy this post? Consider making a donation to our…
The last two Best of Brazil posts have featured pictures and video from colleague and friend Tim Reiner’s adventures in sand railing in the interior state of Piaui (see part 1 here, and part 2 here). Today’s post is a bonus round, featuring some photos Tim sent me of another cave he visited in the…