Cultural differences in Brazil

Regions in Brazil

Brazil is a huge country as far as territory, it is the fifth biggest country in the world. The country is divided in five regions, South, Southeast, Midwest, Northeast and North. Each of these regions have their own culture that completely differs from the others.
Let's start talking about the South part of Brazil, the states are Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul state where the Gauchos live. Rio Grande do Sul is one of the most traditional states in Brazil. The amazing Brazilian barbecue that you might know and we all love it is actually a tradition from them. They have a different drink called Chimarrão, basically is a drink made of mate herb with no sugar and hot water. It may not sound tasty for you, but people over there are addicted to it.  In addition they keep different and unique clothes and dance styles, my favorite is the Xote carrerinha, see picture of their traditional dance below.

Xote carrerinha

Region Midwest is popular by their music, called Sertanejo that is similar to country music. It is composed by three big states Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Goias. They all help the country's economy by being huge cattle producers, even though they do not have a big population in these states. Also, Brasilia the capital of Brazil, is located in his own state Distrito Federal, however looking to the map this state is part of Goias. This region is not a coastal region, but has some amazing places to visit as the city of Bonito in Mato Grosso. This city has wonderful crystal clear rivers and is a famous place to divers.

Rio da Prata, Bonito - MT

Region Southeast, it's the most populated and wealthy region, it is also my favorite. It is composed by four states, Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Espirito Santo has many nice places and beaches. Minas Gerais is famous by their art and their amazing food. For example, they have a specialty cheese called Queijo de Minas, and if you have been to any Brazilian restaurant you probably have tried Pão de Queijo, cheese bread, which is equally amazing. Mineiros (people from Minas Gerais) are also very friendly in receiving visitors and tourists, but be careful, if a Mineiro say to you that a place is "logo ali" (is close) there is a big chance it is actually very far. Rio de Janeiro as we have talked in the last post (see post here Rio de Janeiro) is the most popular city in Brazil where is located the image of the Christ. It is the second biggest city in Brazil and is a very hot place with many beaches and hills. Cariocas (people from Rio de Janeiro) have their own and unique Brazilian accent. Finally, my favorite city São Paulo, where I am from is the biggest city of Brazil and the sixth of the world with 12 million people. There is no beach in the city but we are not far from that, we take around one hour to get to the closest one. São Paulo is the second biggest city in the world in variety of gastronomy, so there are many things to do and to eat around the city 24/7.

São Paulo City

Region Northeast is maybe the prettiest of the country with heavenly beaches and sand dunes, it would be like a sand hill. The water in their beaches are crystal clear like in Caribbean. In its total have 9 states, some of them very small, and a very friendly people. The states are Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Alagoas, Sergipe, and Bahia. All of them have their own qualities and places to visit, but the three that I personally like more are Rio Grande do Norte where have many sand dunes in where we can slide with boards, well known Bahia with their food, Axé music, and traditional Carnival, and Pernambuco with their strong accent and beautiful beaches. In Pernambuco there is also a place called Fernando de Noronha, it is a archipelago about 350 kilometers off Brazil's northeast coast. It is renowned for its undeveloped beaches, and for scuba diving and snorkeling. Sea turtles, rays, dolphins and reef sharks swim in its warm, clear waters.

Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco - Brazil

To conclude region North, I have a special affection for this area because I lived here for two years, and I learned how to love these people. It is composed by 7 states. Tocantins, Rondônia, Acre, Amapá, Roraima, Amazonas e Pará. This region is well known by its many forests, and wild animals. Most part of Amazon forest is located in this region. One in ten known species in the world lives in the Amazon forest. This constitutes the largest collection of living plants and animal species in the world. To have an idea one in five species of birds and fishes in the world live in the Amazon forest and rivers. One of the rivers is the Rio Amazonas that is one of the largest rivers in the world. They also have a variety of traditional music, and food, such as Açaí that you might have tried as a juice before, and Tacacá, Vatapá, Tucupi, Maniçoba, Cupuaçu, among others. If you like nature, forest and animals this is the place to go, but make sure you are taking with you mosquito repellents, you are going to need it.

Amazon Forest