The Rough Guide to Brazil

1072 Pages·2018·41.9 MB·English

by  Rough Guides

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IGUAÇU FALLS
Contents INTRODUCTION
Where to go
When to go
Author picks
Things not to miss
Itineraries
BASICS
Getting there
Getting around
Accommodation
Food and drink
Health
The media
Festivals and public holidays
Sports and outdoor activities
Travelling with children
Travel essentials
THE GUIDE
1 Rio de Janeiro
2 Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo
3 Bahia
4 The Northeast
5 The Amazon
6 Brasília and the Planalto Central
7 Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul
8 São Paulo
9 The South
CONTEXTS
History
The Amazon: a guide to the issues
Music
Cinema
Books
Football
Language
Glossary
SMALL PRINT AND INDEX
Introduction to
Brazil
The mighty rivers of the Amazon, the pulsing Carnaval rhythms,
bone-white beaches and footballing flair: almost everyone on the
planet knows something about Brazil. Yet South America’s
biggest country still holds plenty of surprises. Though Rio de
Janeiro draws by far the most tourists – indeed, for many visitors
Rio is Brazil – this is a land of stunningly diverse and staggeringly
beautiful landscapes, with a kaleidoscope of culture to match. In
one, vast nation this up-and-coming superpower encompasses the
dry, mythic landscapes of the northeastern sertão; the wildlife-
rich plains of the Pantanal; the gorgeous colonial hill towns of
Minas Gerais; churning São Paulo’s urban chic; the watery
labyrinth of Amazonia; and seemingly endless, mesmerizing
tropical beaches all along the South Atlantic coast.
The sheer size of the country prevents any sort of overarching statement about
the typical Brazilian experience, just as the diversity of its people undercuts any
notion of the typical Brazilian. Indeed, Brazil often seems isolated in its own
vastness, a world apart with apparently little connection to or interest in its seven
Spanish-speaking neighbours. Cut off by language (Portuguese), culture and
especially race, Brazil is proud of its diversity, from its native indigenous
population and early Portuguese conquerors, to later waves of Italians, Germans,
Spanish, Ukrainians, Polish, Arabs and Japanese migrants. In stark contrast to its
neighbours it also has a relatively large African population – a legacy of
slavery, which was legal here right up until 1888. As a result, Brazil is home to
the most varied and dynamic artistic movements on the continent, with
Carnaval the biggest party season anywhere and a bewildering range of musical
styles, festivals and celebrations in evidence all year round.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that most Brazilians now live in cities
(seventeen of them contain over one million people), with seventy percent of the
population crammed along the coastal strip; São Paulo alone boasts over twelve
million inhabitants. Though vast regions of Brazil are empty or sparsely
populated farmland, agriculture only represents a fraction of total GDP today
and the nation is primarily an urban, developed society. As a result, though it is
still possible to travel on a budget here, prices are much higher than in any other
South American country.
Yet even on the shortest visit, Brazil’s problems are glaringly obvious. The
economy went through a devastating recession between 2014 and 2017, and the
divide between rich and poor remains a contentious issue, with a mind-bending
disparity of wealth – the grinding poverty of the favela (the generic name for
slums present in every city), ongoing drug wars and high crime rates can be
depressing.
While many Brazilians were proud of the nation’s role (if not their team’s
performance) as football World Cup (2014) and Olympic (2016) host, billions
were spent on new stadiums while millions of Brazilians still struggle to pay rent
and find enough to eat each day – the exposure of a massive government bribery
scandal helped spark the latest economic downturn. It’s a challenging but
fascinating time for Brazil, and a privilege to witness what’s happening first
hand. There are few places where strangers can feel so confident of a warm
welcome – and a really good party.