Three years ago, shortly after dusk on a crisp July evening, I left the gym and walked with a friend down a cavernous back-street in Copacabana, the gritty, dense, intense, world-famous beachfront neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. At that time, my Portuguese skills were nonexistent, and I conversed with my friend in an uneasy Portuñol […]
Reconciling with Rio Read More
In São Paulo’s boho-chic neighborhood of Vila Madalena, graffiti artists have claimed a couple of streets as an impactful open-air gallery of revolving exhibitions. Depicting city life, Brazilian slang, “Blackee Power” (the Brazilian term for a stay-sof-Fro!), and national pride, these murals stand testament to the city’s resurgence, unlike their unfortunate counterparts in New York.
Photo Essay: Madalena Murals Read More
Currently, I’m running around São Paulo collecting data and testing out adjectives for use in the reviews I’m writing for the Total São Paulo guide. Meanwhile, I’ll leave you armchair travelers with a little retro footage from SP’s nemesis, Rio de Janeiro, to spark the wanderlust and maybe incite a couple of ticket purchases to Brazil.
From the AV Room: Brazilian Air Read More
A Brazilian airline’s image of Brazilians: A Korean airline’s image of Brazilians: Just sayin’. Please don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @FlyBrother, and “like” me on Facebook! You can subscribe, too!
From the AV Room: Brazil in Black and White Read More
This is the first of a new monthly series of eye candy at Fly Brother, imaginatively named VTP (short for Vintage Travel Posters). We’ll see how travel companies and bureaus have been enticing people off the couch since international leisure travel first became a bourgeois conceit. Our first destination: the marvelous city of Rio de
Vintage Travel Posters (VTP): Rio Read More
With fighter jets, inflatable pools, Nigerian-Brazilian hip-hop artists, beach volleyball, politicized circus clowns, Daniela Mercury, and a Disney parade, the Brazilian capital celebrated its fiftieth birthday with a barrage of parades and concerts rivaling Carnival. Candangos (immigrants from the four corners of Brazil who came to build Brasília) and Brasilienses (successive generations born in the
Brasília’s Birthday Bash Read More
Inaugurated in 1960 as Brazil’s brand-spanking-new capital, Brasília was built on a high, semi-arid plateau in the mid-western region of the country to bring money and people into the vast and empty interior. The city has certainly filled-out since these images were filmed, but it’s interesting to see life in my retro-futuristic home base during
From the AV Room: Baby Brasília Read More
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Word. A work of art. Yes, the current local time was indeed 5:34AM. Dawn in Dade County. Fatigue setting in. Uma garotinha…awwwwww. Ole Man River. The Mis’sippi ain’t got nuthin on this. Not exactly ATL. The river runs through it (the dark water on the left is from a separate tributary that merges with the
Photo Essay: Crossing the Amazon by Air Read More
A few days ago, The New York Times published its list of the “31 Places to Go in 2010.” My former adopted country, Colombia, clocked in at number 26. Certainly, the country is worthy of inclusion on this list; the cultural and geographic diversity alone make it a stimulating visit, and it’s not any more
