Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in South America.  It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 190 million people.  It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas.

Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to United Kingdom with Portugal and Algarves.  The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese Kingdom was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.  The independence from Portugal was achieved in 1822.  Initially independent as the Empire of Brazil, the country has been a republic since 1889.

Economy & Geopolitics:

The Brazilian economy is the world's seventh largest economy by nominal GDP and the eighth largest by purchasing power parity.  Brazil is one of the world's fastest growing major economies.  Economic reforms have given the country new international recognition.  Brazilian exports are booming, creating a new generation of tycoons.  Major export products include aircraft, electrical equipment, automobiles, ethanol, textiles, footwear, iron ore, steel, coffee, orange juice, soybeans and corned beef.  The country has been expanding its presence in international financial and commodities markets.

Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations.  Brazil is also home to a diversity of wildlife, natural environments, and extensive natural resources in a variety of protected habitats.

Demographics:

According to the National Research by Household Sample of 2008, 48.43% of the population (about 92 million) described themselves as White; 43.80% (about 83 million) as Brown (Multiracial); 6.84% (about 13 million) as Black; 0.58% (about 1.1 million) as Asian; and 0.28% (about 536 thousand) as Amerindian, while 0.07% (about 130 thousand) did not declare their race.  In 2007, the National Indian Foundation reported the existence of 67 different uncontacted tribes, up from 40 in 2005.  Brazil is believed to have the largest number of uncontacted peoples in the world.

Most Brazilians descend from the country's indigenous peoples, Portuguese settlers, and African slaves.  Since the arrival of the Portuguese in 1500, considerable intermarriage between these three groups has taken place.  The brown population (as multiracial Brazilians are officially called; pardo in Portuguese) is a broad category that includes Caboclos (descendants of Whites and Indians), Mulattoes (descendants of Whites and Blacks) and Cafuzos (descendants of Blacks and Indians).

Culture:

The core culture of Brazil is derived from Portuguese culture, because of its strong colonial ties with the Portuguese empire.  Among other influences, the Portuguese introduced the Portuguese language, Roman Catholicism and colonial architectural styles.  The culture was, however, also strongly influenced by African, indigenous and non-Portuguese European cultures and traditions.

Some aspects of Brazilian culture were influenced by the contributions of Italian, German and other European immigrants who arrived in large numbers in the South and Southeast of Brazil.  The indigenous Amerindians influenced Brazil's language and cuisine; and the Africans influenced language, cuisine, music, dance and religion.

Brazilian cuisine varies greatly by region, reflecting the country's mix of native and immigrant populations.  This has created a national cuisine marked by the preservation of regional differences.

The most popular sport in Brazil is football (soccer).  The Brazilian national football team is ranked among the best in the world according to the FIFA World Rankings, and has won the World Cup tournament a record five times.  Basketball, volleyball, auto racing, and martial arts also attract large audiences.

Tourism:

Tourism in Brazil is a growing sector and key to the economy of several regions of the country.  The country had 4.8 million visitors in 2009, the main destination in South America, and second in Latin America after Mexico, in terms of the international tourist arrivals.  Among the most popular destinations are the Amazon Rainforest, beaches and dunes in the Northeast Region, the Pantanal in the Center-West Region, beaches at Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina, cultural and historic tourism in Minas Gerais and business trips to São Paulo city.

São Paulo

Named in honor of Saint Paul, São Paulo is located in Southeastern Brazil about 70 kilometers (43 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean.  With 27 million inhabitants, São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere, and the sixth largest city in the world.  The city is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous Brazilian state.  People from the city of São Paulo are known as paulistanos.

São Paulo is the most ethnically diverse city in Brazil.  At the end of the traffic of enslaved Africans in the country (1850), São Paulo started to replace the African manpower with immigrants in the coffee plantations in order to "bleach the race," as Luso-Brazilian authorities feared Brazil's black population would grow far more than other groups.  The pioneer in this new project was senator Nicolau Vergueiro, who brought German, Swiss and Portuguese individuals to work in his own properties.  The next waves of immigrants contained Italians and Portuguese from the mid-19th century until the turn of the century.  These were far more adaptable to coffee cultivation and became over time the largest immigrant communities in the state of São Paulo.

After the abolition of slavery (1888), São Paulo received increasingly large numbers of European immigrants, most of them coming from Italy, followed by Portugal and Spain.  In 1897, Italians were over half of the city's population.  Portuguese, Spaniards, Germans, Japanese, Jews and Christian Syrian-Lebanese also came in significant numbers.  From 1908 to 1941, many Japanese immigrants arrived.  In the 1960s, Chinese and Koreans started arriving.  In the mid-20th century, many from the drought-stricken Northeastern Brazil started to migrate to São Paulo.  They live mainly in hazardous and unhealthy areas of the city, in cortiços, in various slums (favelas) of the metropolis, because they are cheaper housing alternatives.  According to the 2000 Brazilian Census, there were 3.6 million people from Northeastern Brazil living in São Paulo, about 20% of the city's population.  Nowadays, the city has a growing community from other Latin American countries.

As in all of Brazil, people of different ethnicities mix with each other, producing a multi-ethnic society.  Today, people of many different ethnicities make São Paulo their home.  The main groups, considering all the metropolitan area, are: 6 million people of Italian descent, 3 million people of Portuguese descent, 1.7 million people of African descent, 1 million people of Arab descent, 665,000 people of Japanese descent, 400,000 people of German descent, 120,000 people of Chinese descent, 40,000 Jews, 60,000 Bolivian immigrants, 150,000 people of Greek descent, 250,000 people of French descent and 50,000 people of Korean descent.

The language spoken by the vast majority of the population is Portuguese.  Due to the large influx of Italian immigrants, the Portuguese spoken in the city reflects a significant influence from the Italian language, particularly from Naples and Venice.

Despite its many woes, São Paulo remains a business hub of Latin America.  Having prospered first with the coffee industry, and later with industrialization, in the early 21st century it expanded into the tertiary, or services sector.  Its huge market (about 20 million people in greater São Paulo) is a magnet for multinational corporations.  Economic growth and exportation of goods has lifted employment and wages.  São Paulo is considered an Alpha-World City–it is the 10th richest city in the world and is expected to be the 6th richest in 2025.

Thanks to events such as the the São Paulo Art Biennial, the Brazil Grand Prix Formula 1, São Paulo Fashion Week, Carnival of São Paulo in the Sambadrome of Anhembi, and the São Paulo Indy 300, and its reputation for hosting cutting-edge music concerts, it has become something of a cultural center as well.  São Paulo claims to attract more visitors (mostly, but no longer exclusively, on business) than Rio de Janeiro, testimony of the intense rivalry between the two metropolises.

The city is known for its varied and sophisticated cuisine, ranging from Chinese to French, from fast food chains to five star restaurants.  There are approximately 62 different types of cuisines in São Paulo, and more than 12,000 restaurants.  Other venues such as bars, pubs, lounges and discos cater to a variety of music tastes.

Camburi Beach

Camburi is a beautiful oceanside beach with magnificent beaches, surfing, and a lively nightlife.  It's a 2½ hours drive from São Paulo through beautiful rainforests.  The Atlantic forest, rivers and old farms give a magic touch to the region.

The type of crowd that Camburi attracts seems to be those who are from the 'in' crowd, those with tanned muscular bodies.  Camburi and its beaches are frequented by professionals from television, media and politics, and by those who like the night life.

It's especially popular with surfers, and you'll find all levels of surfers enjoying the waves.  Those not interested in surfing simply enjoy relaxing on the beach, some slowly sipping on a caipirinha as they watch the surfers do their thing.  Camburi is also a favorite spot for radical sports like mountain biking.  Walks on ecological trails are possible.