Independence or Death
Editorial RIO DE JANEIRO – Tuesday, September 7th is Brazil’s “Dia da Independência” (Independence Day), celebrating 188 years of sovereignty. Around the country mini-carnivals are held with flags, balloons, and streamers decorating the streets. People of all ages take part, and in the evening fireworks light up the Brazilian sky. Brazil’s history as a seceding [...]
Satirize This
Editorial RIO DE JANEIRO – Satire to me is a somewhat ambiguous term. Like “film noir”, no matter how many times I read a definition of it, I still don’t feel confident explaining it. Satire is defined by Marriam-Webster as: 1: a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn, 2 [...]
The Curmudgeon on São Conrado History
Opinon, by Michael Royster RIO DE JANEIRO – There was a shoot-out in São Conrado early Saturday morning; there was an invasion of high-rise condos; there followed the assault upon a five star hotel by black-clad bandidos, with hostage taking and the whole shebang. What was the main reaction of the great mass of Rio [...]
Small Investors Looking to Brazil
By Nicholas Storey In the last five years, the value of several ‘leading’ world currencies has fallen against the Brazilian Real; importantly for some, the British pound has nearly halved in value. Add to this inflation in Brazil leading to a doubling of prices in the same period (occasioned by high interest rates and little [...]
Satellites and Oversights
Editorial RIO DE JANEIRO – Everyone knows satellites are pretty cool. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines them in this context as: a) a celestial body orbiting another of larger size b) a manufactured object or vehicle intended to orbit the earth, the moon, or another celestial body. If you’ve watched any movies lately you know it’s how [...]
It Can’t Happen Here
Opinion, by Michael Royster RIO DE JANEIRO – Rio’s major newspaper this week ran a front page picture featuring a Greenpeace activist wearing an oil-sludge-begrimed cape standing on Copacabana Beach, showing a sign saying “BP — Risky Business” to pensive poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade—or rather to the bronze statue of him, seated on a [...]
Better Signage May Not Have Avoided Tunnel Death
Letter to the Editor While Rio could really use better road signage, the assertion that the death of Rafael Mascarenhas was due to poor signage is unjustified. The report in Veja leaves little doubt that the drivers of the cars in the tunnel were using the tunnel closure to try drag-style racing (racha), while the [...]
Favela Stories
Editorial RIO DE JANEIRO – In last week’s issue we published a controversial story in our Real Estate section about living in Vidigal, one of Rio’s largest and most visible favelas. Although unlike most favela articles the issue was not painting a negative portrayal, but rather making it sound too nice. The concern voiced was [...]
Favela Living: A Valid Viewpoint
Letter to the Editor I read the article “Favela Living: A Vidigal Viewpoint” with some apprehension. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable… If a foreigner comes here as a tourist or business executive (the typical “gringo”) and thinks that it is safe in the favelas. Say he goes to live and play in a [...]
Limpa Lapa
Editorial RIO DE JANEIRO – Limpa (clean) can be overdone with some things in my opinion, like; screenplay dialogue, music lyrics, sneakers, New York, and street parties. Last week we wrote about the changing face of Lapa, but it didn’t hit home until I went there last Friday to see for myself. There is no [...]