Brazil Blog
About this blog
Thrill of Brazil is a travel blog all about Brazil written by Moon Brazil author Michael Sommers. Michael blogs about Brazil travel, culture, and more. He welcomes questions, comments, and story ideas.
Recent Posts
- Care for a Drink with your Film? (or a Film with your Drink?)
- Brazil’s Homegrown Tourism Boom
- Brazil's Best and Write-est
- Making House Calls in Rio (Part II)
- Making House Calls in Rio (Part I)
- The Dawning of Brazil's B&B Age
- Rio's Alternative Points of View
- Taxi Trouble in Santa Teresa
- Obamas Take to the Campaign Trail in Brazil
- Plans and Punctuality
- Reliving Tropicalismo - On and Off Screen
- Food and Lodging that Make the Grade
- The Making of Moon Living Abroad in Brazil
- U.S. is Number One Source of Immigrants to Brazil
- Best English-Language Blogs about Brazil
Rodin Under the Mango Trees
When I first heard about the plans to open a Rodin museum in my adopted hometown of Salvador, the idea struck me as something straight out of a Gabriel Garcia Márquez novel. However, this was no piece of fiction and, in 2006, Brazil’s first Museu Rodin was inaugurated just a few blocks away from me in the leafy midst of the staid, old money, residential neighborhood of Graça. more >>
Rio’s Corcovado Out of Commission
Last week’s historic rainfall in Rio de Janeiro wreaked havoc upon the Cidade Maravilhosa. By the week’s end, the torrential rains had caused the deaths of 66 people in the capital (and over 250 people throughout the state), almost all of which were due to landslides that buried residents and their precariously-built homes. As usual, the victims were overwhelmingly poor. more >>
In Praise of Culinary Differences
The other night I gave a dinner party at my home in Salvador. I invited 5 close Bahian friends to whom I was “devendo” (owing) a home-cooked meal. In Bahia, unless you’re talking very upper crust, dinner parties are not very common. Instead, you get enormous mid-afternoon lunches that spill over with great ease into the evening hours. The number of guests is always in the double digits, icy beer and music are de rigueur, and the menu inevitably consists of a robust and highly flavorful main dish, cooked up in a gigantic cauldron, and garnished with fixings that usually include a simple salad, toasted manioc flour, and a hot pimenta “vinagrete”. more >>
Historic Rainfall in Rio de Janeiro
When most people (myself included) conjure up Rio de Janeiro, the images that come to mind are inevitably sun-drenched beach scenes backed by luminous blue skies. However, Rio does get its share of rain (how else to explain the lushness of all those mountains?) – and, inevitably, when it rains in Rio, it often pours.
Such has been the case this week as the city and surrounding state have found themselves inundated by record rainfalls. In the 24-hour span between Monday and Tuesday (April 5-6), Rio has found itself dealing with historic volumes of water that haven’t been seen since the 1960s. As of Thursday morning (April 8), over 150 people have died as a result of the rains – 46 in the capital alone. more >>
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