Paradise still unexplored

Rio in the Twilight Zone

Brazil is still very far from fulfilling its touristic potential. Despite its 7,500 kilometers (4,300 miles) of coast, the Amazon rainforest, the Iguaçú Falls and the cultural riches, the country attracts less attention than it deserves. Last year, only 6.5 million tourists landed in the country. It is huge, if you remember that this number was a meager 1.5 million in 1990. On the other hand, it is nothing if you compare it to the tourism influx of Spain, a particularly coveted destination but also a much smaller country. Spain attracted 52 million foreigners last year – lower than its average, thanks to the global crisis.

According to the Brazilian Tourism Ministry, last year 5.3 billion dollars were spent by foreign tourists in Brazil. This industry is responsible for at least 2 million jobs, a number that could triple if we include informal jobs plus bars and restaurants. Again, this may look good, but note that Brazilian tourists spent 10.89 billion dollars abroad in 2010. So, we are better exporters than importers of tourism.

There are several reasons that might explain the relative lack of interest for Brazilian attractions. First, the fact that Brazil is seen as a dangerous destination (the drug business, kidnappings and other sorts of crimes are broadly covered by the international media). Secondly, for many decades the Brazilian government made a very poor job in advertising the country beauties. Most of the material distributed abroad in the 70s and 80s would display naked ladies by the beach or dancing during Carnival. This stimulated sexual tourism and, somehow, may have scared families and conservative travelers. Embratur, the federal agency responsible for the promotion of tourism, progressed considerably in this department. Then, you have the chronic problem of lack of infrastructure (almost no railway system, roads that are not always in good shape) and of professionals poorly trained to offer a good service in hotels and restaurants. Also, here, there was considerable improvement in the last decades.

Bodies still star Riotur's ads

Embratur ad, 2009

In December, the Brazilian government announced its Plano Aquarela 2020 (Plan Watercolor 2020) that aims to double the number of foreign visitors in the next ten years. The 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, that will be hosted by the country, should be instrumental to reach this target.

Also in December, the government published the results of a yearly poll made with foreign tourists interviewed in airports. It tries to detects how the country’s image is evolving. According to the 2009 poll:

• 45% of the interviewees said the the population is the best attraction factor of Brazil, 23% mentioned the natural beauties, 18% prefered the beaches and the ocean, 14% chose the weather and 9% the diversity.
• 68% considered the quality of the products and services offered high or very high.
• 63% used the internet as their main source of information to organize the trip

All in all, Brazil seems to be well positioned to, finally, attract a larger number of visitors and boost an industry that can grow considerably.

Weekly Headlines

Among the weekly magazines, only Veja went for the obvious: president Lula’s hypertension and stress crisis (that seems to be under control but was strong enough to prevent him from attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland). Época discusses the peculiarities of women’s relationship with money and Isto É talks about the dream of having a stable job in public service (10 million Brazilians are disputing 80,000 open positions in local, state and federal governments).

Wisdom of the roads

The day it rains women, I want a leak over my bed

There is one thing you will find, for sure, when you drive in a Brazilian road: the good humor of truck back bumpers. They frequently sport dirty jokes, religious quotes, song lyrics, love declarations and whatever could brighten the other drivers lives.

Check here some of my favorites:

He-Man

Thanks to those who talk on my back. It means I am always ahead

I exist because I insist

Don't follow me. I am lost

Vote for prostitutes, because voting for their children didn't work so well

I am slow - but ahead of you

• My face is ugly but I am good on the road.
• The flag of Corinthians [popular soccer team] is like deodorant: it is always under the arm.
• If work made you rich, donkeys would be millionaire.
• A secret kept by three people? Only if you kill two of them.
• If breasts were horns, the night would be noisy.
• Mini-skirt is like barbed wire. It encloses the property, but allows the vision.

10 Brazilian drinks as cool as caipirinha

Cachaças that are worth a meal

Caipirinha – a mix of sugar cane spirit (cachaça), crushed lime, white sugar and ice – is a big hit among foreigners that visit Brazil. It is pretty much everywhere in the country and many Brazilian families own the special wooden mortar used to prepare the beverage. Caipirinha and its variations, such as caipiroska (with vodka) or saquerinha (with sake), are just a tiny sample of popular Brazilian drinks.

Follow me in the discovery of other national specialties. Most of them carry cachaça (also known as pinga, aguardente de cana, caninha or “a brava“/”the nasty one”):

1. Batidas – This mix of cachaça, fruit, ice and lots of sugar is a favorite in the kiosks that line the Brazilian coast. You name the fruit – maracujá (passion fruit), coco (coconut), morango (strawberry). In fact, caipirinha is just one more type of batida.
2. Meia de seda (probably named after pantyhose because it is a girlie drink) – Those with a really sweet tooth can try this mix of 1/3 of gin, 1/3 cacao liqueur (made with the fruit, not cocoa), 1 spoon of sugar and cinnamon (some recipes abolish the gin or substitute it by rum). Sort of old-fashioned, a souvenir of the golden fifties.
3. Aluá – There are several recipes for this drink popular in the Northeast states (Bahia, Ceará and Pernambuco, among others), that may or not be alcoholic. You mix one pinapple´s peel, two litters of water, brown sugar, cloves and grated ginger. The skin of the pineapple should be kept in water for a whole night to get fermented. The longer it remains in water, the more alcoholic the beverage. This water is strained and mixed to the other ingredients.
4. Cachaça pura – Cachaça, the Brazilian equivalent of rum, is made of the fermented sugarcane juice. There are probably a few thousand of brands, some extremely refined, some too bad to be mentioned. A recent contest promoted by cachaça experts chose the best artisan brands produced in the state of Minas Gerais (which  basically means in Brazil). The winners were Diva (from Divinópolis, a white cachaça), Pirapora (from the city of same name, an aged cachaça) and Áurea Custódio (from Ribeirão das Neves, a premium cachaça). Also Playboy magazine published a cachaça ranking (here ordered from first to fifth place): Anísio Santiago/Havana (from the city of Salinas), Vale Verde (Betim), Claudionor (Januária), Germana (Nova União) and Magnífica (Vassouras). They are all from Minas Gerais, apart from the last one, from the state of Rio. And here you find a large list of Brazilian cachaças, including their origins and alcoholic degrees.
5. Think Green – This complex cocktail, by Rogério “Rabbit” Barroso, considered one of the best Brazilian bartenders, was one of the finalists of  the latest edition of the World Cocktail Competition. It includes Bacardi, Marie Brizard Lemon Grass, Midori, champagne and pineapple juice.
6. Porradinha – A classic among college students. Grown-ups tend to be ashamed of drinking this in public. You should fill half a metal cup with cachaça. Add a small amount of Sprite or some similar soda. Cover the cup with your hand, lift it and hit the table (that movement could be described as porradinha). The volume of the drink will grow quickly, so drink it in only one sip.
7. Submarino – Typical of the Southern states, mixes a dose of Steinhäger (a beverage made of juniper) and a cup of draft beer. Originally, German immigrants would drink both spirits separately, but simultaneously. In Brazil, we turn the cup with Steinhäger face down inside a larger cup. Then pour beer inside. The Steinäger “escapes” into the beer.

If you don’t drink alcohol, there are a few Brazilian drinks that have merits of their own:

1. Guaraná – The national soft drink is made of guaraná, an Amazonian fruit that is an energy booster – it has twice the caffeine of coffee beans. Guaraná, the soda, has very small amounts of guaraná, the fruit, though, unlike guaraná powder, sold in vitamin shops.
   

   Guaraná

2. Juices – In the Amazon, try the ones made of cupuaçu, bacuri or açaí. In the Northeast, the options are limitless. Mango, cashew (the fruit, not the nut on top of it), siriguela, jaca (jackfruit), cajá. All of these are available in major cities all around the country (made of frozen pulp, in most cases).
3. Garapa – For those with a sweet tooth, the sugar cane juice is available in street markets practically everywhere in the country. Sometimes lime or pineapple are added to the beverage.

Now that you have all you need to be an accomplished Brazilian barman (or woman), check my post on great Brazilian dishes.  After all, you don’t want to drink on an empty stomach.

Enjoy! Saúde!

São Paulo, 456 candles

Favela do Moinho, a downtown shanty town

Happy anniversary, Sampa.

A few pictures to sum up the highs and lows of my hometown. Plus, images produced in 1929 by Rodolfo Lustig and Adalberto Kemeni, when São Paulo, then the coffee capital of the world, was transitioning into a huge industrial and financial hub. It was also the eve of the so-called Revolução de 30, when its  historical alliance with the state of Minas Gerais collapsed, and São Paulo lost a political battle to define who the next president would be. The main outcome of the conflict was the rise of Getúlio Vargas, that commanded the country for most of the following two decades.

Postscript – I did a lot of reflection after receiving Ray’s comment and seeing, at least partially, his point, decided to remove the homeless boy’s pictures from my original post. I appreciate my readers help. This blog is still trying to find its voice and its right tone

At Araçá Cemetery

Teatro Municipal

Brazilian Economy 101

Investment U, a newsletter of a an investment consultants group, released a few days ago a small report about the health of Brazilian Economy to allure their clients into this market. I don’t know their work or credentials, but this report offers a nice summary of what’s going on.

Yes, it is optimistic and, yes, I am sure you will find other specialists that would disagree with their analysis. After all, If you have two economists in a desert island, you will for sure have at least three conflicting opinions. But this could be a good starting point for those beginning to explore Brazilian investments.

Basically, Investment U points out that there is a solid economy foundation:

“~ Commodities: Brazil holds a strong position in commodities like sugar, iron ore, soybeans, orange juice, pulp, paper, and now even oil.

~ Structural Reforms: The country has worked diligently towards structural reforms in recent years – and through improved fiscal and monetary policies, it’s achieved a noticeable improvement. That includes…

• Lowering inflation.
• Reducing net debt to 40% of GDP.
• Paying off its International Monetary Fund loans.
• Aggressively boosting its foreign reserves to $200 billion.
• Achieving an investment grade rating for its debt.

~ A Stricter Central Bank: Brazil’s central bank has moved toward more conservative policies. Among them…

• The current interest rate is 8.75% – a full 4% above the 4.5% inflation rate.
• Brazil’s banks are required to keep 30% of all deposits with the central bank, plus capital reserves of at least 11% of total assets, when most financials outside the country maintain capital ratios of 16% or more

~ Increased Energy Independence: For decades, Brazil has worked hard to boost its energy independence – a strategy that is now paying off big-time. Not only did the nation become self-sufficient in oil last year, it also discovered the world’s largest oil and gas reserves in decades. This improves its chances of becoming a major oil exporter, given that Brazil already derives much of its own electricity from hydro energy and powers many of its cars with sugar cane ethanol.”

The article also points out that:

• much of the country’s growth comes from within, guaranteeing its independence. “A mere 13% of its growth comes from foreign trade, which largely consists of commodity exports to China“, it says.
• “it was the last Latin American country to enter economic recession… but the first to exit from it. Not only that, the country has emerged from the global downturn in better shape than many other countries and estimates call for GDP growth to fall between 4.5% and 5% this year”.
• “In terms of the job market, Brazil has more than made up for the 800,000 jobs it lost during the economic crisis by adding one million jobs over the past six months”.
• “Brazil’s middle-class is growing, too – a trend that is significantly aiding growth. Between 2001 and 2007, Brazil’s poorest 10% enjoyed a 49% jump in real income. And with half of Brazil’s 200 million population now considered “middle class,” credit card purchases have jumped by 22% a year over the past decade. Auto sales hit a record high of 300,000 in June 2009”.

All these facts are not a secret to those that follow the Brazilian market, but it is always refreshing to see this sort of information delivered in such a clear summary.

Weekly Headlines

This week, Época discusses the growth of the combination of obesity and diabetes, Isto É describes 9 myths around love and Veja sticks to the coverage about Haiti (“from chaos to hope”).

The kings of Baião

Before Bossa Nova, there was baião. This contagious rhythm from the Northeast of Brazil was taken to Hollywood by Carmen Miranda, in the thirties, and later originated forró, one of the most delicious forms of Brazilian dance. But the huge international success of Tom Jobim and other Bossa Nova artists somehow eclipsed baião, that only recently had its world revival, thanks to David Byrne.

Luiz Gonzaga is still hugely popular

If you want to learn about baião – and you should – check this trailer of the new documentary “O Homem que  Engarrafava Nuvens” (The Man that Bottled Clouds), that portraits its creator, composer Humberto Teixeira. The videoclip is, unfortunately, only in Portuguese, but you will definitely get the vibe.

Teixeira produced some masterpieces that became well-known in the voice of his main partner, Luiz Gonzaga, the so-called “King of baião“. You may have heard Gonzaga singing “Asa Branca” or “Qui Nem Jiló”  or “Adeus Maria Fulô“. The trademark of baião is the use of the sanfona (a type of accordion) and of the zabumba, a drum played with a mallet and a stick, each striking one side.

One curiosity: Teixeira was the father of Denise Dummont, a Brazilian actress that had some success in the US in the eighties, playing in “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1985) and Woody Allen’s “Radio Days” (1987).

Minimum wage = coffee + bread

Since the first day of the year, the Brazilian minimum wage is 510 reais (the equivalent of 283 dollars or 201 euros). Why 510 and not 500 or 520? Is this enough for a minimally descent life?

Today I got a fascinating (and simple) explanation on how the government might have come up with this number  from Brazilian blog Vida Depois dos 50. It quotes Pasquim, a satirical newspaper from Rio that fought conservatism and dictatorship in the 70s. The guys of Pasquim found some forty years ago the  formula that explained (tragicomically)  how the value of the minimum wage was established. A formula that is still valid today.

According to Pasquim, at that time:

• one cafézinho ( a shot of coffee, no milk) cost 0.12 cruzeiro (the currency in the rocking seventies)
• one pão francês (the little bread Brazilians have for breakfast) was 0.04 cruzeiro
• If you had the combination of one cafézinho and one pãozinho four times a day, your minimal needs would have been met
• One family had in average four people
• One month has 30 days.

So: 30 X 4 X 4 X (0.12+0.04) = 76.80 cruzeiros = minimum wage

In other words: a family of four needed this amount to pay for this diet for one month. And that was exactly the value of the minimum monthly salary at the time.

Are you still with me?

Well, Vida Depois dos 50 updated this calculation. Today:

• one cafézinho is  0.75 real
  
• one pão francês is 0.30 real
• The other factors remain the same.

So: 30 X 4 X 4 X (0.75 + 0.30) = 504 reais, which is practically identical to the value of the minimum wage today.

How fascinating is that? If you keep that diet, don’t pay rent, don’t use any type of transportation, don’t send your kids to school, don’t ever have leisure, Brazilian minimal wage is perfect for you!

Biopirates attack!

by Sylvia Estrella, guest writer*

Brazilwood exports, as seen by André Thevet, 1575

Only 12 countries are considered mega-biodiverse, that is, they have 70% of all the species of vertebrates, insects and plants known by Science. Brazil is the leader of this ranking. It is estimated that it has around 150,000 described species, or 13% of all the plants and animals known in the planet. But 90% of this potential is still to be identified.

The Amazon is home of most of these biological resources, with more than 2,500 species of trees. It is also the region with most freshwater fish species –  between 1.4 million and 2.4 million, according to the ecologist Thomas Lewinsohn, from Unicamp (Campinas University).

But the abundance of life in the Amazon and in Brazil as a whole is also an Achilles heel. The great majority of these species are unknown to local scientists. Thus, they are vulnerable to the being patented in the international market by  foreign labs, corporations and research institutes that can patent their genetics in the international market.

Another famous biopiracy episode, extremely harmful for Brazilian economy, was the smuggling of seeds of rubber tree in 1876 by the British Henry Wickham. They were taken to Malaysia and, years later, that country became the main latex exporter in the world.

More recently, in the 70s, Squibb Laboratories patented the drug Captopril, for hypertension, after a Brazilian research developed with the poison of jararaca snake (Bothrops jararaca), from the Atlantic rainforest. Then, in the late 90s, the name cupuaçu (a fruit from the Amazon related to cocoa tree) was registered by a japanese corporation. Later, this register was canceled, thanks to the efforts of several non-profits from the Amazon region.

Jararaca

The  only way of refraining this is by investing in the research and description of new species, as well as in biotechnology. It is essential to develop a Brazilian pharmaceutical industry able to generate drugs and active principles patents, inspired by the traditional knowledge of natives and other rainforest people. That is the only way to avoid the losses related to biopiracy in the country. In 2003, during a Congressional investigation about this subject, it was estimated that the country loses, every year, more than US$ 5.6 billion because of the illegal animal, genes and traditional knowledge traffic.

*Sylvia Estrella is a Brazilian journalist and translator specialized in the Environment and also Aviation.