Introduction

Welcome to the Gringoes.com email newsletter!
This newsletter pulls together some of the articles, photos, polls and other information that has been published on the Gringoes.com web site over the last week or so. Don't forget to visit the Gringoes.com site to checkout our article archive, useful information pages, classified adverts, services, forum and other pages. So read on and we hope you enjoy the newsletter. As always if you have any comments, such as what you'd like to see more or less of on the site or newsletter, don't hesitate to contact us at gringoes@gringoes.com.
Please note that although we are based in São Paulo, the site and newsletter are for the whole of Brazil. We are particularly interested in hearing from people outside of São Paulo city, specifically Rio de Janeiro and the Northeast, so if you would like to write about your experiences or any topic related to Brazil see our request for "Article Writers" below.
If you're interested to know the origin behind the site name, then read the "Dear Gringo" article here by Dr. G.


Brazil: Hidden Pousadas - Pousada Mirante de Pipa, Rio Grande do Norte

By Alison McGowan
May 13, 2008
Pousada Mirante de Pipa, for me, was a wonderful find. Having arrived in Pipa after a 6 hour journey, with a confirmed reservation for a different pousada, the promised rooms in the original pousada turned out not to exist. If they had, we would probably never have found the much nicer "hidden" pousada, tucked away on re-forested sand dunes at the end of the village.
Mirante de Pipa has 12 chalets dotted about the woods, all rustic in style but very comfortable, with spacious verandas, table for writing and hammock for relaxing. Tiny sagui monkeys, beijaflor humming birds and butterflies keep you company. Breakfasts here are fabulous, and the breakfast area has panoramic views over Pipa beach and the cliffs beyond (with free wi-fi available).
The whole pousada functions on ecological principles, from the design of the chalets to the re-forestation and care of the environment. You will still need earplugs to shut out the noise of the village below at times during the night; the majority of time the pousada is an oasis of tranquility.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Lula Loves Investment Grade - Whatever That Is

By John Fitzpatrick
May 12, 2008
Brazil´s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is having the time of his life at the moment. Barely a day goes by when he does not pop up in some part of the country like a latter-day Harold MacMillan telling everyone that they have never had it so good. He gives the same old speech - no more hunger, booming economy, falling unemployment, new jobs - occasionally throwing an extra ingredient in - damning the "elite" which can´t stand the idea of a son of the soil like him being President or highlighting the virtues of his right-hand woman, Dilma Rousseff, the "mother" of the Accelerated Growth program which is apparently going to resolve all the outstanding problems facing Brazil. Lula recently got a new arrow to add to his bow when the rating agency Standard & Poor´s announced that it was granting Brazil "investment grade" status i.e. that it is in a good position to pay off its debt. Lula said the news showed that Brazil was a "serious" country. It would be interesting to know how Lula defines being "serious" since he subsequently announced that he had not known what investment grade meant and thought it was a kind of ice cream. I assure you reader I am not making this up.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: João Pessoa Meet Up

May 12, 2008
Well it is that time again; the next meet up of the João Pessoa massive is to be on Sunday the 1st June at the Arquipelago restaurant. Av. Oceano Atlantico 1660, Intermares Cabedelo, PB. Tel. 3248 3975.
This restaurant is between Bessa and Intermares on the beach road, as you leave Bessa going towards Intermares on the beach road you will pass the only bar on the beach at Intermares, almost opposite that bar is Arquipelago; it doesn't front the main beach road, it is set back about 20 meters. The meet up will start at 1pm and go on until people decide to leave.
A little bird tells me that there may be live music from the João Pessoa gringos band (the Travelling Hillbillies), but that is still to be arranged.
See you there!
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


São Paulo: Tito Martino at the Jazz Club Bar

May 12, 2008
After jamming with Tito's Band here in São Paulo, Oscar Peterson said to the American Consul: "I can't believe it! It's like my days in Chicago!"
Tito Martino managed to take his Band to the USA, to play some gigs in New Orleans, New York, New Jersey, Miami and Tucson Arizona. The Band attracted the attention of prestigious and respected jazz critic John Wilson of the New York Times. Wilson wrote: "Mr. Martino revealed his affection for the style of George Lewis, the New Orleans clarinetist, in a beautifully shaded performance of Burgundy Street Blues; but although one could hear occasional reflections of well known American jazz men... he was drawing in a number of sources and putting things together in his own individual way". After jamming together, Alvin Alcorn, the great black trumpetist of Kid Ory's Band, tapped Tito's shoulder and said: "Know what, man, you're black inside". The Band performed also in Washington DC, a Concert for Potomac Jazz Club, aired by The Voice of America, and in Chicago Heights, Toledo, St. Louis, Akron, St. Louis, New York, Wash. DC, Boston, Worcester, after playing at the N. Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, being considered by Second Line magazine writers, the best foreign Band at the Festival.
The TITO MARTINO JAZZ BAND plays at the Jazz Club Bar in the Grand Hotel Ca' d'Oro every Thursday night from 9pm to midnight. Rua Augusta 129. For reservations call 3236-4300. Charge R$15. Drinks, appetizers, and optional dinner at the excellent hotel restaurant (considered one of the best in São Paulo).
www.titomartinojazzband.com.br
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

May 9, 2008
Meet Bill Martin from the UK who has both a Brazilian parent and wife, and travels to Brazil regularly. Read the following interview in which he tells us about some of his most memorable experiences from Brazil and gives some useful advice to newcomers.
1. Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from, what do you do etc.?
I‘m from London, but spent most of my early years living overseas, Brazil included. My mother was from Fortaleza CE, where she met my father who was working there as a telecoms engineer. My wife is from Rio and we visit every year. Currently I work in EFL, and have done so for over 10 years.
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
I first went to Brazil as a child, my father having been posted to Rio. I have two vague memories of Rio at that time: the calcadao and Cristo Redentor. While living in various corners of the globe, we would travel back to Fortaleza on regular occasions with our mother to stay with a vast extended family. I first came to Rio in 1993 with my (now) wife. Arriving at ‘a Cidade Maravilhosa‘ was an extraordinary experience.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Article Writers - Gringoes.com Wants You!

Are you a "Gringo" or Brazilian interested in writing for our site? Have you...

Photo of the Week

The photo of the week is titled Chicken What? taken by Brent Gregory in Castanhal, Pará. Click here to see the photo.
Thanks to all those who've sent in photos based on our request, but we can always do with more. So if you have a funny or unusual photo depicting life in Brazil please send it to gringoes@gringoes.com with ‘Photo of the Week’ in the subject line. Ideally we are after photos that are of something a little different, not traditional shots of beaches and sunsets. Please send relatively high resolution images (0.5 Megapixel / 640 x 480 or bigger), and let us know where you took the photo and if you have a title for it.


Ask a Brazilian: Contractor Frustrations

May 9, 2008
This is our regular column called "Ask a Brazilian", the idea being that you can quite literally ask a question of a Brazilian - for those issues you aren‘t sure about but perhaps dare not ask someone else. It is meant as a bit of fun and answers should not be construed as expert opinion or the definitive reply on the matter. For that reason we ask you to please send comments and experiences in order to add to our replies.
One of the frustrations my wife and I encounter frequently here in Brazil is dealing with service people. We live in a 13 apartment condominium building. We are constantly calling plumbers, electricians, painters, etc to come and make repairs on our building and our apartment. Around 95 percent of the time the person contacted fails to keep the scheduled appointment. Worse, they do not call and say they're not coming. When they finally do come and do some work, they inevitably say "I'll be back after lunch' or something to that effect and then don't come back until the next day or even later. Most all our free time is spent waiting for these people to arrive, only to be disappointed. If it happened only occasionally, I wouldn't mind; however, this occurs so often that I think this must be normal here in Brazil and it is we who are out of step with the rest of the world. Why do the people fail so often to keep appointments? Why do they say they'll be back 'after lunch' and don't show up again until a couple of days later, or worse?
- Riodog66, Paraiba
Hi Riodog66,
You must know already being late is our "thing", right? I'm sorry about that... we all are (but only when it comes to over 15 min, of course ;).
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: A Trip to the Fountain of Youth

By Paul Reiber
May 8, 2008
My wife and I spent the Christmas Holidays down in São Paulo, Brazil this year. She hadn't seen her mom, nor her brothers, nor many of her more distant relatives, in a number of years. For her, the trip was a long string of teary-eyed, hug-filled reunions as well as a vacation.
For me, it was many things - a relaxing vacation, of course, but also an opportunity to improve my Portuguese, a chance to see Brazilian culture in action, a well-deserved break from the Silicon Valley grind, and, oddly enough, also a trip to the fountain of youth.
24 kilometers of white sand beaches on Praia Grande, the beautiful canals of Santos, and the majestic architecture of Avenida Paulista are, of course, great reasons for visiting São Paulo, but in reality, none of that compares to one tiny, immaculate office building in the Santo André suburb of São Paulo, where the modern-day periodontal reincarnation of Michael Angelo drills, fills, and resculpts teeth and bites.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: "Tristeza Não Tem Fim" ("Sadness Has No End") Part 10

By Joe Lopes
May 8, 2008
Back From the Dead
In Los Angeles, meantime, Vinicius de Moraes‘ old filmmaking buddy and ex-comrade in arms, director-actor Orson Welles, had been experiencing quite a few clashes of his own with authority figures and the body politic (what else was new?) in relation to the final cut of the B-movie Touch of Evil.
The original distributor, Universal Studios, had wrestled the picture away from the onetime "boy wonder," presumably for his having squandered his time, and their money, over the endless editing process - a habit-forming mode of operation taken from the well-worn pages of the Welles playbook. Universal then went ahead with refashioning the work to its own, less critical standards.
Basically, it was reduced to a pitiable, if not altogether indecipherable, ninety-three minutes of convoluted screen blather. Fortunately for all concerned, Welles left the studio a lengthy outline - a remarkably lucid fifty-eight-page memorandum - detailing how he wanted the piece to be remembered and preserved.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Boom and Bust All Over Again?

By Tim Philips
May 6, 2008
Brazil is a big country in permanent expansion for the last five hundred years. It is rich in natural resources and still delights in cheap labour, though this has been sustained, more recently, through continued oppressive employer practices and despite a strengthening economy. It has been relatively free from international conflicts, natural disasters and big ideological changes. But although some basic conditions have been favourable, somehow Brazil‘s economy has never quite made it. Everyone has wanted and many have taken "their share".
The Portuguese crown first explored and exploited the coastal regions. Brazil then had so many boom-and-bust cycles - sugar, coffee, rubber, chocolate, oranges and so on - that it has almost become the norm. Speculation is always more prominent than long-term planning. We are now living in the middle of a sugar cane jungle. There isn‘t a rice or bean plantation for miles. Even the big, traditional cattle farms are not immune from the lure of quick and easy profit. And there is no sign of export controls to stabilize and protect the home market. The man-in-the-street is once again paying the price.
The world bank bloodsuckers in collaboration with the military dictators leeched Brazil for twenty years. The Brazilian risk factor has been the consequent millstone of the last two decades. Finally that too is in the past. An "almost bric", it is now on the verge of becoming a real global force.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Hidden Pousadas - Pousada do Caju, Alagoas

By Alison McGowan
May 6, 2008
The Pousada do Caju is only a 5 minute walk from the Pousada da Amendoeira, if you amble along the beach, and it is equally charming in a different way. Set in beautiful gardens, slightly back from the beach, the pousada is an eclectic mix of Alagoan design with Japanese and African inspired art and "city-chic" type suites. Outside there are shady places to sit and a beautiful swimming pool, with sunken bar and hidromassage.
Portuguese owners Alirio and Jose Carlos create a wonderfully welcoming atmosphere, and the result is a sophisticated informality where guests borrow bicycles to ride along the beach, chill out with a massage, dine on superb food served in the gardens, or just laze around in the pool.
About the location
Praia do Toque is one of the first excellent beaches you can stay on the Coral Coast of Alagoas, an area of environmental protection. The sea is crystal clear here, as warm as a hot bath, and natural swimming pools form at low tide which you can either walk to or reach by jangada.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: The Village Idiot

By Kimberly Kubitza
May 5, 2008
I am accustomed to getting what I want. There are rarely times when I am confused or feel out of control. I say what I want and mean what I say. If there are several people talking to me at once I have no problem comprehending each person and responding appropriately (I have 3 kids who have helped develop that skill). However, when I leave my house all bets are off and I turn into the village idiot. It all has to do with Portuguese. I love speaking Portuguese and I am often complimented on my language acquisition. However, just when I start to think, "Hey, I am really getting the hang of this. I understand most of what I hear and am almost always able to get my point across" a dose of humility brings me back to reality.
As foreigners it is impossible to adequately train for every possible scenario. There will always be situations that come up for which we are ill prepared. Being a pet owner is one of the things I was not linguistically prepared for. For example, I didn‘t know the Portuguese word for a female dog (femea) so I occasionally referred to her as a woman (mulher). Often my mistakes are just funny or embarrassing but sometimes they are expensive. We recently had our dog vaccinated. After the shot was given the vet‘s assistant started waving around some pills and explained that our dog would need them because of the vaccination. Even though I had no idea what she was talking about I decided they were probably important. Perhaps there were some complications expected and I didn‘t want to seem like a bad pet owner by refusing treatment for this beloved animal. So I put down my money and began walking out the door with my dog and her pills.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

May 2, 2008
Meet Bernard Morris from the USA who married a Brazilian and travils frequently to Brazil. Read the following interview in which he tells us about some of his most memorable experiences from Brazil and gives some useful advice to newcomers.
1. Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from, what do you do etc.?
I am a retired English teacher living in Modesto, CA. Born in San Antonio, TX, in 1935, I joined the Marine Corps in 1954 to get away from S.A. I spent four years in the Corps, all of them in and around San Diego, CA, which was paradise to me then, for it was green year round, cool in the evenings, glittering by the Pacific, and I was 19 years old, single, free, and hungry for "life." Near the end of my four years, I was a Drill Instructor at MCRD. I stayed in California after the Marine Corps enlistment (finishing up a sergeant), and spent the next 15 years at U. C., Berkeley, finally getting my doctorate in 1973. I taught remedial composition at U.C. for six years then found a teaching job at a community college here in Modesto, where I met my second wife, Silvana, when she was hired as a Division secretary in the early 1990‘s. We married in 1998, and I retired in 2004. I spend my time walking while listening to audiobooks, taking care of our home, fixing meals for my lovely wife, who still works at the college but will retire in September, 2008. I have been a free-lance writer for nearly 20 years. I have written poetry seriously since the 1970s, writing 8,000 poems, almost 200 of them published, then shifting to prose. In the 1980s I began publishing poetry reviews in Harvard Review and other journals. I wrote a book-length study of the poetry and prose of X. J. Kennedy, published as Taking Measure (which may be found on Amazon.com). I branched out, writing lengthy studies of several South American countries, including Brazil, for Gale Group and Salem Press. This latter publisher has published so many of my literary studies that I have lost count. These days I review audiobooks for Library Journal. While teaching, I wrote a guide to writing essays and a grammar review booklet.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Discussion Forum

If you've not had a chance yet then pop over to our web forum, register, and start joining in the discussion about Brazil. There are many forum areas such as Living in Brazil, Teaching English, Visas and Documentation, and even a place to Vent Your Frustrations! If you've got some burning question about Brazil, or just want to discuss a particular topic, then you're bound to get an answer there.
There's also a forum which allows you to comment and give us feedback on Gringoes.com, either with your views about past articles, areas of the site, or to make suggestions for future articles and content.
Note that foul language, abusive posts and certain types of advertising in the forum will not be tolerated. Make sure to check the Read This First area first before posting. The forum is intended to be a constructive and lighthearted place for discussion about Brazil.


Forex

The US Dollar has risen slightly over the fortnight, from R$1.66 to R$1.67. The Euro remains unchanged, at R$2.57. The British Pound has dropped, falling from R$3.28 to R$3.24.