by Natalia Essigmann
Disclaimer: Event descriptions are based on the experiences of my family in São Paulo, Brazil and Massachusetts, United States!
Different experiences make for extraordinary ones...
The wind swirled around me, making my strands of hair dance along to its rhythm.
I could feel the lives of everyone in that neighborhood.
The time has finally come; this will be the last piece in the Life in a Breeze series! I really enjoyed writing this series, as I have always wanted to write about and share my experiences with Brazilian culture. I hope you had fun reading it! Today I’ll be talking about something a bit different: the events of Brazil. When I say “events,” I don’t necessarily mean full-blown organized events like the Super Bowl here in the United States. They’ll be more like “unofficial” events or traditions that my family has experienced in Brazil. You’ll see what I mean in a minute. I’ll also include the more well-known ones for the sake of the topic, even though my family never really participated in them. Let’s get into it!
Carnaval
Although this event is often what Brazil is known for, not all Brazilians like it. I personally don’t know anyone who has ever attended this event. However, because it’s so popular in Brazil, I thought it was necessary to include it here. Carnaval is an annual event that takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil every February (it’s coming up!). You could say that Rio is where all the Brazilian entertainment happens. I personally see Rio as the California of Brazil. Carnaval is famous for the samba dance, the bright and diverse colors that make up the outfits of the dancers and other participants, and the festive floats. People come from all over the world to attend the event. Carnaval is also streamed on national television for those who can’t attend. Carnaval is shown in the video I included here after about 50 seconds; check it out for a better understanding!
2. Concertos Sertanejos (Sertanejo Concerts)
The sertanejo music genre is unique to Brazil; it’s similar to country music here in the United States but different at the same time. Sertanejo is definitely one of the most popular music genres in Brazil. There are several famous sertanejo artists including Gusttavo Lima, Luan Santana, and Paula Fernandes. One thing that I find interesting is that this music genre involves many duo groups like Victor & Leo and Jorge & Mateus; I’ve never seen as many duo groups in any other music genre. Sertanejo concerts are known to get filled to the brim, especially when famous artists are involved. Two things to note: there is always an acoustic guitar involved and nearly every song is a love song. Here’s a video, which my grandmother watches practically every day, of Victor & Leo singing their song, “Borboletas” (translates to “butterflies”):
3. Futebol (Soccer)
Now, you didn’t think I’d forget to include Brazilan soccer games, did you? Unlike Carnaval and sertanejo concerts, Brazilian futebol is something that my entire family has always watched and been interested in. Arguably, futebol unites Brazilians more than the first two events I listed here. I have never met one Brazilian who dislikes futebol. Sometimes, it’s not even about the games themselves. When even family members who hate each other get along and everyone laughs, cheers, and has fun together while wearing futebol jerseys displaying the number of their favorite player, who wouldn’t like futebol watch parties? It really is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Unlike here in the United States, where soccer games are most popular during the World Cup, Brazilian futebol games are popular all-year round. Each state in Brazil has several teams that compete against each other and teams from other states as well. My immediate family is divided into three teams: Corinthians (my grandmother and uncle), Santos (my grandfather), and São Paulo (my mom), which are all São Paulo teams. I’m in the middle of everything so I can never really decide!
4. Ceia de Natal e Ano Novo (Christmas and New Year’s Dinner)
Although I’ve tried visiting Brazil during Christmas and New Year’s, I always end up not being able to. The flight tickets for this time of year are beyond expensive! My mom and I were finally able to get a hold of tickets this year but decided not to go because of the pandemic. Frustrating but relatable. Anyway, Brazil’s Christmas and New Year’s traditions are a bit different from those of the United States. According to my grandparents, this year they made roasted pork, roasted red meat, roasted chicken, potato/vegetable salad, regular lettuce salad, rice, and a lasagna-type dish that’s kind of a family recipe. For dessert, they prepared fruits and made pudim (check out “Life in a Breeze: The Desserts of Brazil” to learn about some of Brazil’s most popular desserts!). One difference I’ve noticed between U.S. desserts and those of Brazil is that Brazilian desserts tend to incorporate more fruits. Eating solely fruits as a dessert in Brazil is normal, which I’d say is less common here. This makes sense considering Brazil is a tropical country. The major difference between Christmas here and in Brazil is that Brazilians eat dinner at midnight and stay up until the morning of the 25th. In other words, Christmas for Brazilians is technically celebrated on Christmas Eve. In my family’s neighborhood, everyone goes outside to see fireworks during Christmas and New Year’s. Christmas and New Year’s are like one big holiday since Brazilians tend to do the same things for both.
5. Festa Junina (June Party)
Festa Junina is an event celebrated by Catholic Brazilians in June every year. Although my family is not Catholic, I know several Brazilians who celebrate this. Unlike the other events I’ve listed here, with the exception of sertanejo concerts since they’ve taken place in the United States before, Brazilians in the U.S. have their own Festa Junina! I’m originally from Framingham, which outside of Brazil, is one of the cities with the most Brazilians in the entire world! There they have Festa Junina every year, which some of my past friends attended. Festa Junina involves dressing up in a “farmer style”; men tend to wear straw hats and flannel and women usually wear cute dresses, style their hair in pigtails, put on a lot of blush, and draw fake freckles on their face. One thing’s for sure: there’s a lot of food and dancing involved.
I hope you guys liked this last list of Brazilian traditions! I’m sad to end the series but happy I’ll be able to explore new things to write about for Laser Focus. Stay tuned for future pieces!
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