Brazil’s martial art and dance, Capoeira, has been added to the United Nation’s list of the world’s intangible cultural heritage. The program aims to draw attention to the importance of safeguarding intangible heritage, which has been identified by UNESCO as an essential component and a repository of cultural diversity and creative expression.
It is Brazil’s sixth listed intangible cultural heritage. Others on the list include Frevo and Samba da Roda.
After all the excitement of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in 2014, the Copa America will take place in neighbouring Chile from 11 June to 4 July 2015. Host Chile and existing champions Uruguay will face eight other South American countries, including Brazil, along with invited guests Mexico and Jamaica.
The three groups are:
GROUP A: Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia
GROUP B: Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Jamaica
GROUP C: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela
Top two from each group go through to the quarter finals plus the best two third place teams.
First held in 1916, current champions Uruguay have won the cup 15 times, followed by Argentina with 14, Brazil with 8, Paraguay and Peru with 2, and Colombia and Bolivia with one title each. Brazil last one the cup in 2007 and 2004. It is the oldest international continental football competition.
The tournament schedule is:
Date / Time (local) / Teams
June 11 8:30 p.m. Chile vs. Ecuador
June 12 8:30 p.m. Mexico vs. Bolivia
June 13 4 p.m. Uruguay vs. Jamaica
June 13 6:30 p.m. Argentina vs. Paraguay
June 14 4 p.m. Colombia vs. Venezuela
June 14 6:30 p.m. Brazil vs. Peru
June 15 6 p.m. Ecuador vs. Bolivia
June 15 8:30 p.m. Chile vs. Mexico
June 16 6 p.m. Paraguay vs. Jamaica
June 16 8:30 p.m. Argentina vs. Uruguay
June 17 8:30 p.m. Brazil vs. Colombia
June 18 8:30 p.m. Peru vs. Venezuela
June 19 6 p.m. Mexico vs. Ecuador
June 19 8:30 p.m. Chile vs. Bolivia
June 20 4 p.m. Uruguay vs. Paraguay
June 20 6:30 p.m. Argentina vs. Jamaica
June 21 4 p.m. Colombia vs. Peru
June 21 6:30 p.m. Brazil vs. Venezuela
June 24 8:30 p.m. TBD vs. TBD Quarter-Final
June 25 8:30 p.m. TBD vs. TBD Quarter-Final
June 26 8:30 p.m. TBD vs. TBD Quarter-Final
June 27 6:30 p.m. TBD vs. TBD Quarter-Final
June 29 8:30 p.m. TBD vs. TBD Semi-Final
June 30 8:30 p.m. TBD vs. TBD Semi-Final
July 3 8:30 p.m. TBD vs. TBD 3rd Place
July 4 7 p.m. TBD vs. TBD Final
The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots have been unveiled. Inspired by Brazil’s fauna and flora, the duo feature various pop culture influences, along with elements of animation and computer game characters.
“The Rio 2016 mascots represent the diversity of our culture, of our people,” said Beth Lula, the Rio 2016 brand director. “They represent our joy, our way of being. Both of them are magical creatures with super powers and relate naturally with the young audience, who we want to engage with our event so much.”
The Olympic mascot represents all of the different animals in Brazil. He combines the agility of cats, the sway of monkeys and the grace of birds. He can stretch his arms and legs as much as he wants. The Paralympic mascot is a fusion of plants found in Brazilian forests. He is energised by photosynthesis and can pull any object from his head of leaves. He is always growing and overcoming obstacles.
Both mascots have their own Facebook and Twitter profiles and share a special website with fun activities for kids.
“The mascots are one of the most important symbols of the Games because they create an emotional link with the public, especially children, and are genuine ambassadors for the event,” added Lula.
What is not known yet, is their names. A poll is already open and the public can vote for their choice from a shortlist of three pairs of names: one for the Olympic mascot, the other for the Paralympic mascot, respectively. The choices are Oba and Eba, Tiba Tuque and Esquindim, and Vinicius and Tom. You can find out more about these names, and vote for your choice by Clicking Here The winning names will be announced on 14 December 2014.
The mascots were created by Birdo Produções, a São Paulo-based design and animation company that has won numerous international awards.
Ahead of Rio hosting the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2016 a group of mascots from previous games dropped in on the city to show their support. They included Misha (Moscow 1980), Athena (Athens 2004), Fu Niu Lele (Beijing 2008), Wenlock and Mandeville (London 2012).
The Olympic games will take place 5-21 August 2016 and the Paralympic 7-18 September 2016.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of the Brazil Guide in the Guia Quadro Rodas series, the publisher, Abril, has come up with a list of what it considers to be the 50 top restaurants in Brazil for 2015.
Nearly half, or 24 in total, are located in São Paulo, but eight are to be found in Rio de Janeiro, nine if you count Dona Irene in Teresópolis.
The Top 50 are:
1 – D.O.M. / São Paulo – SP
Rua Barão de Capanema, 549 – Cerqueira César
(11) 3088-0761
2 – MANÍ / São Paulo – SP
Rua Joaquim Antunes, 210 – Jardim Paulistano
(11) 3085-4148
3 – FASANO / São Paulo – SP
Rua Vitório Fasano, 88 – Cerqueira César
(11) 3062-4000
4 – ROBERTA SUDBRACK / Rio de Janeiro – RJ
Avenida Lineu de Paula Machado, 916 – Jardim Botânico
(21) 3874-0139
5 - DUE CUOCHI CUCINA ITAIM / São Paulo – SP
Rua Manuel Guedes, 93 – Itaim Bibi
(11) 3078-8092
6 – TRE BICCHIERI / São Paulo – SP
Rua General Mena Barreto, 765 – Itaim Bibi
(11) 3885-4004
7 – MAHALO / Cuiabá – MT
Rua Pres. Castello Branco, 359 – Quilombo
(65) 3028-7700
8 – FASANO AL MARE / Rio de Janeiro – RJ
Avenida Vieira Souto, 80 – Ipanema
(21) 3202-4030
9 – FLORIANO SPIESS COZINHA DE AUTOR / Porto Alegre – RS
Praça do Japão, 155 – Bela Vista
(51) 3237-7601
10 – EPICE / São Paulo – SP
Rua Haddock Lobo, 1002 – Cerqueira César
(11) 3062-0866
11 – SKYE / São Paulo – SP
Avenida Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, 4700 – Jardim Paulista
(11) 3055-4702
12 – A BELA SINTRA / São Paulo – SP
Rua Bela Cintra, 2325 – Jardim Paulista
(11) 3891-1090
13 – ORO / Rio de Janeiro – RJ
Rua Frei Leandro, 20 – Jardim Botânico
(21) 2266-7591
14 – OLYMPE / Rio de Janeiro – RJ
Rua Custódio Serrão, 62 – Jardim Botânico
(21) 2539-4542
15 – TRATTORIA / São Paulo – SP
Rua Iguatemi, s/n – Itaim Bibi
(11) 3167-3322
16 – DUE CUOCHI CUCINA SHOPPING CIDADE JARDIM / São Paulo – SP
Shopping Cidade Jardim – Avenida Magalhães de Castro, 12000 – Cidade Jardim
(11) 3758-2731
17 – DUE CUOCHI CUCINA MORUMBI / São Paulo – SP
Morumbi Corporate – Henri Dunant, 1383, – Sto. Amaro
(11) 3957-9580
18 – GERO / São Paulo – SP
Rua Haddock Lobo, 1629 – Cerqueira César
(11) 3064-0005
19 – AMADEUS / São Paulo – SP
Rua Haddock Lobo, 807 – Cerqueira César
(11) 3061-2859
20 – ATTIMO / São Paulo – SP
Rua Diogo Jácome, 341 – Vila Nova Conceição
(11) 5054-9999
21 – LE BATEAU IVRE / Porto Alegre – RS
Rua Tito Lívio Zambecari, 805 – Mont Serrat
(51) 3330-7351
22 – KINOSHITA / São Paulo – SP
Rua Jacques Félix, 405 – Vila Nova Conceição
(11) 3849-6940
23 – JUN SAKAMOTO / São Paulo – SP
Rua Lisboa, 55 – Pinheiros
(11) 3088-6019
24 – VECCHIO TORINO / São Paulo – SP
Rua Tavares Cabral, 119 – Pinheiros
(11) 3816-0592
25 – VECCHIO SOGNO / Belo Horizonte – MG
Rua Martim de Carvalho, 75 – Santo Agostinho
(31) 3292-5251
26 – ICI BISTRÔ / São Paulo – SP
Rua Pará, 36 – Higienópolis
(11) 3259-6896
27 – GIRARROSTO / São Paulo – SP
Avenida Cidade Jardim, 56 – Jardim Europa
(11) 3062-6000
28 – DONA IRENE / Teresópolis – RJ
Rua Ten. Luís Meireles, 1800 – Bom Retiro
(21) 2742-2901
29 – PARIGI / São Paulo – SP
Rua Amauri, 275 – Itaim Bibi
(11) 3167-1575
30 – ANTIQUARIUS / Rio de Janeiro – RJ
Rua Aristides Espínola, 19 – Leblon
(21) 2294-1049
31 – MOCOTÓ / São Paulo – SP
Avenida Nossa Senhora do Loreto, 1100 – Vila Medeiros
(11) 2951-3056
32 – GUARAMARE / Guarapari – ES
Avenida Meaípe, 716 – Enseada Azul) – 7 km
(27) 3272-1300
33 – REMANSO DO BOSQUE / Belém – PA
Avenida Rômulo Maiorana, 2350 – Marco
(91) 3347-2829
34 – ANGATU / Tiradentes – MG
Rua Santíssima Trindade, 81 – Santíssima Trindade
(32) 3355-1391
35 – FLOR DE SAL BISTRÔ / Ribeirão Preto – SP
Rua Floriano Peixoto, 1463 – Boulevard
(16) 3421-4963
36 – DALÍ CAMÕES / Brasília – DF
Setor Hoteleiro Sul, Qd. 6, Bl. B (Hotel Brasil 21 Convention)
(61) 3039-8156
37 – PROVENCE COTTAGE & BISTRÔ / Monte Verde – MG
Rua Cedrus Libani, 384 – Centro
(35) 3438-1467
38 – ESQUINA MOCOTÓ / São Paulo – SP
Avenida Nossa Senhora do Loreto, 1108 – Vila Medeiros
(11) 2949-7049
39 – TRINDADE / Belo Horizonte – MG
Rua Alvarenga Peixoto, 388 – Lourdes
(31) 2512-4479
40 – SUR / Maceió – AL
Rua Professora Maria Esther da Costa Barros, 306 – Stella Maris
(82) 9808-9090
41 – LASAI / Rio de Janeiro – RJ
Rua Conde de Irajá, 191 – Botafogo
(21) 3449-1834
42 – WIELLA BISTRÔ / Recife – PE
Shopping da Decoração – Avenida Engenheiro Domingos Ferreira, 1274, – Boa Viagem
(81) 3463-3108
43 – KITANDA BRASIL / Tiradentes – MG
Rua Padroeiro Santo Antônio, 240 – Cascalho
(32) 3355-1560
44 – TAYPÁ / Brasília – DF
Setor de Habitações Individuais Sul, Quadra 17, Shopping Fashion Park – Lago Sul
(61) 3248-0403
45 – IRAJÁ / Rio de Janeiro – RJ
Rua Comandante de Irajá, 109 – Botafogo
(21) 2246-1395
46 – LE PRÉ-CATELAN / Rio de Janeiro – RJ
Avenida Atlântica, 4240, Nível E – Copacabana
(21) 2525-1160
47 – GLOUTON / Belo Horizonte – MG
Rua Bárbara Heliodora, 59 – Lourdes
(31) 3292-4237
48 – ARTURITO / São Paulo – SP
Rua Artur de Azevedo, 542 – Pinheiros
(11) 3063-4951
49 – PONTE NOVA / Recife – PE
Rua do Cupim, 172 – Graças
(81) 3327-7226
50 – CHEF VIVI / São Paulo – SP
Rua Girassol, 833 – Vila Madalena
(11) 3031-0079
The first 100,000 tickets for Rock in Rio’s 30th anniversary shows in September 2015 sold out in just five hours when they were put on sale on 18 November 2014.
Fans will now have to wait until later in 2015 for the opportunity to by general tickets when they are released.
With few artists yet confirmed other than Katy Perry, John Legend and System of Down, fans that purchased the card will have first choice of days when the full schedule is confirmed.
Dates for the shows in 2015 are September 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26 and 27.
The concerts take place in the Olympic Park.
Prior to the Rio shows, Rock in Rio will take place in Las Vegas in May 2014. Artists confirmed include Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Metallica, Linkin Park, No Doubt, Deftones, Joss Stone and John Legend.
The Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau (RCVB), which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, is introducing some of Rio de Janeiro’s many new attractions and facilities to the market during the WTM in London, as well as discussing improvements to the city’s infrastructure and transport post FIFA World Cup and pre-Olympic and Paralympic games.
Earlier this year Brazil hosted one of the most successful World Cups ever, with Rio de Janeiro hosting a total of seven games at the city’s iconic Maracanã Stadium, including the final on 13 July. Now the city is preparing to host the Olympic (5-21 August 2016) and Paralympic games (7-18 September 2016), making the city an ideal destination and venue for MICE events post 2016.
Even before the Olympic games, Rio has a great reason to celebrate as in 2015 the city will be celebrating the 450th anniversary of its founding. The celebrations will last from 1 January 2015 through carnival 2015 and 2016, on until 1 March 2016. More details and a growing calendar of events can be found at HERE
The RCVB will be located on the Brazil stand at the WTM (LA 100), but are also hosting a reception for the MICE market along with RioTur and LATAM on board the London Sunborn Yacht Hotel on Tuesday, 4 November. RCVB will also support and sponsor an evening reception during the WTM with the Latin American Travel Association and Air Europa at the historic St John’s Smith Square.
Olympic Park
Scheduled to host sixteen Olympic and ten Paralympic competitions, the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca is already taking shape in an area of 1.2 million square meters where the Jacarepaguá motor circuit – that used to host the Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix – was located.
New facilities are being built at the Olympic Park for the games that will later be used by the city and event organisers. These include a new velodrome; a large, modern tennis centre; a media centre and an international TV transmission hub, and close by, the city’s new golf course. Temporary installations will, as in London, be built for some of the sports, such as a handball arena that after the event will be transformed into four municipal schools.
An extension of the Olympic Park already hosts Rock in Rio, South America’s largest music festival, which is next scheduled to take place in September 2015 when it will be celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Hotels
Barra da Tijuca, where the Olympic Village is being built, has always been a key destination for the MICE market in Rio de Janeiro due to it being the location of RioCentro, the city’s main exhibition centre, a complex that will also be used as an Olympic and Paralympic venue in 2016.
According to the recent study by the Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau and ABIH-RJ (Brazilian Association of the Hotel Industry – State of Rio de Janeiro), this region of Rio will have a capacity of 12,850 hotel rooms by 2016. Among the chains to operate new hotels in the area are Blue Tree, Grand Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Pestana, Ramada, and Trump.
The Port Area
One of Rio de Janeiro’s most rapidly developing new attractions is the city’s port area (www.portomaravilha.com.br) that is undergoing a total redevelopment and refurbishment, and which recently has hosted major art and fashion events as well as the city’s international film festival, Festival do Rio.
The area already has attractions such as the new and very popular Rio Museum of Art, as well as famous gastronomic and cultural centres around the Morro da Conceição, such as Pedra do Sal and Largo da Prainha.
Work is already well underway on the construction of the Museum of Tomorrow, which jutting out into the bay is likely to become a city landmark in its own right when it opens in 2015.
Other attractions in the Port area include the Valongo Suspended Garden, Conceição Fort, Conceição Episcopal Palace, and the Cemitério dos Pretos Novos, which is an archaeological site of an old African slave cemetery. The city’s historic British Cemetery is also located in this area of Rio.
Across town, closer to Copacabana, Casa Daros is a top art gallery that has one of the most complete collections dedicated to Latin American contemporary art, with around 1,200 works of art, including paintings, photographs, videos, sculptures and installations.
Casa Daros is a space for art, education, communication and events, and occupies a 19th century neoclassic mansion, preserved under the Historic Heritage of the city of Rio de Janeiro and designed by the architect Francisco Joaquim Bethencourt da Silva (1831-1912).
The RCVB can be contacted by phone in Rio de Janeiro on (+55) 21 2266-9750 or by email at rcvb@rcvb.com.br.
Rio the Guide 