Gringo, What’s in a Word?
By Juliana Tafur, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – “A-tok-a” is the term used to refer to foreigner in Taiwanese. Curiously, the word’s approximate translation is “big nose”. In Haitian Creole, “blan” is synonymous for white person, derived from the french word “blanc”. Ask a Brazilian and they will tell you “Gringo” means foreigner. But [...]
Outrage Over Afroreggae Evandro João da Silva’s Killing
By Lindsay Spratt, Sub Editor RIO DE JANEIRO – Evandro João da Silva, coordinator of Afroreggae, one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest non-profit organizations, was shot to death after being mugged on Sunday morning, October 18. Evandro was on his way to the nightclub Dito e Feito in Rio’s Centro district at around 1:30AM when he was robbed at [...]
Lula’s PMDB Party Backs Dilma
By Jaylan Boyle, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – President Lula’s chosen successor Dilma Rousseff has received a significant boost to her campaign to succeed the enormously popular Luis Inácio Lula da Silva. Rousseff officially gained the support of the nation’s largest political party, the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, or PMDB. The accord has however yet [...]
Brazilian Drivers Reject Biofuel
By Bruno De Nicola, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – The price of biofuel has risen by more than twelve percent over the past two months. A liter of alcohol, that had an average cost for fuelers of R$1.55 (US$ 0.80), now stands at around R$1.75. The strong rise is forcing drivers to ditch biofuel [...]
Record Production for Petrobras
By Jaylan Boyle, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian government-managed oil giant Petrobras reported in a recent press release record production levels for the month of September. Domestic output increased by 1.2 percent in August. The record figures translate to two million barrels per day, compared to the previous record of 1.98 million barrels [...]
Gay Pride Parade Turns 14
By Bruno De Nicola, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – The 14th annual Gay Pride Parade is set to take over Copacabana beach on November 1 in a mega-party aimed at tackling discrimination based on sexual orientation. Two million people from all over the globe are expected to attend this year’s event. Along with the [...]
Halloween with a Rio Twist
By Sarah Coursey, Editor RIO DE JANEIRO – For a city famous worldwide for its costumed Carnival, Halloween may seem like a dud in comparison. But Rio is not one to miss an excuse to throw a party, and has various activities on offer for those dying to dress up as a wacky or spooky [...]
Mariah and Grace Jones Rock Rio
By Doug Gray, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – When the likes of Donatella Versace, Marc Jacobs, the artist formerly known as Puff Daddy (now just Diddy) and Mariah Carey roll down the red carpet in Rio, you can be sure of a spectacular night’s entertainment, and that is exactly what followed at the Oi [...]
Machida Retains Belt in UFC 104
By Jayme Monsanto, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Current light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida retained his aura of invincibility at the Ultimate Fighting Championship this Saturday. After a very close and polemic fight, the Brazilian athlete kept his belt at the Staples Center, in LA. The showdown between Lyoto and fellow Brazilian title contender Maurício [...]
Flamengo Win Deepens Botafogo Woes
By Doug Gray, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – After leaders Palmeiras’ surprise 2 x 0 defeat to struggling Santo André midweek, the door was left open for Flamengo to close in further on the top spot which they did with a narrow 1 x 0 win against local rivals Botafogo. Fluminense meanwhile showed character [...]