I have help; I’ve had it since moving to South America six years ago. There’s a saying round these parts: “You either have a maid or you are a maid.” In my case, it’d be a doorman or handyman or whatnot. Either way, with the daily rate for a housekeeper being an exploitative R$60 (US$37), […]
First, I’d like to offer an apology to my readers for not keeping to the content schedule outlined on my “About” page. This week has been a harrowing return to work after an adventurous ten days off, and balancing competing interests is never an easy task. So, dear readers, I’ll try to not let this
It’s 2AM on Saturday morning and you leave the club early because you’ve had a long-ass week at work and you’re tired and you just want everybody to shut the hell up already and go to sleep. You work your way past the line of partiers, in various states of inebriation, waiting to go in
2AM in the Biggest F*ckin City in South America Read More
São Paulo presents ample opportunities to sate every human desire, from food to finance to fornication, and I love her for that. The videos below offer up images of the world’s biggest underrated city, from its adolescent growth spurt to its mammoth adulthood and accompanying developmental issues. Don’t sleep: São Paulo, 1943: This propaganda-soaked documentary,
Growth of a Megacity Read More
A few weeks ago, I took a tour of downtown São Paulo and the bohemian ‘hood of Vila Madalena (aka Madville – just coined by yours truly) with one Flavia Liz Di Paolo, professional travel guide. Flavia Liz, full of spunk and moxie and who speaks, like, seven languages, offers personalized tours of São Paulo
A (Not Quite) Three-Hour Tour Read More
Posting this from Hart-Jack (that’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for the newbies), on my way home to the ‘ville for the weekend. Sorry for the delay, readers; I’ll have a couple of posts in the bag beforehand from now on. So… São Paulo in numbers* (versus unofficial rival New York): 588 – area of São
Does this move you? What about this? Of any place on Earth, Brazil probably comes closest to delivering on the hype – for vacationers, at least – and I’ve lived moments here that were pretty damn similar to those evoked in these (absolutely amazing) commercials. If you come with the right attitude – and the proper
Gaining Entrée into Paradise* Read More
The third episode of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates’ four-part documentary, Black in Latin America, takes place in my current country of residence: Brazil. He uncovers part of the mystique of this exotic, exoticized country by visiting favelas in Salvador and Rio, beauty salons in Belo Horizonte, and historical sites in Recife and Diamantina, discussing
Thoughts on Part Three of ‘Black in Latin America’: Brazil Read More
These whirling women lead rituals during the syncretic Festival of the Divine Holy Spirit, a tradition in the northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhão. They’re here in São Paulo for one week (everything comes here). The elderly lady who opens the video is in her 80s! She was being possessed by the orixá, an African spirit
Dança das Caixeiras Maranhenses Read More
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From the AV Room: My City, Five Ways Read More
