6. The largest crowd for a World Cup match was at the (old) Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the 1950 final. 199,954 people watched Uruguay beat the host team 2-1. *This one might be important to remember. 5. FIFA President, Sepp Blatter (real name), was once head of the World Society of … Continued
Here we go, ten days until Brazil faces Croatia in the opening 2014 World Cup match in Sao Paulo. The only thing higher than the tension here in Brazil is the expectations to win their record sixth FIFA World Cup Trophy. Besides a few updates regarding the World Cup stadiums progress and protests in Rio de … Continued
With just over two weeks remaining before the 2014 FIFA World Cup, I’ve been traveling like crazy to see as much of Brazil as possible before the chaos begins on June 12th. My goal is to return to my apartment in Rio de Janeiro to watch the games and hopefully still find a way to … Continued
Unique architecture, good food, great friends, cool cloud formations and beautiful sunset boat rides sums up my five-day trip to Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil. Brasilia is such an interesting place, from the airplane-like urban layout to the diversity of its people, I really enjoyed my time exploring the city. Here are some of … Continued
As I sit here in the Brasilia Airport eagerly awaiting my flight to the Brazilian wetlands of Pantanal, I’m happy to finally officially announce a very big project. Over the next three months I will be partnering with the National Tourism Board of Brazil to travel across Brazil and document my adventures on their new … Continued
Just like in high school, I’m learning to use a lot less tongue and focus more on the movements of my mouth. This is one the major pronunciation differences between Spanish and Portuguese, and I’m starting to pick it up. I still have a heavy Spanish accent and often use Spanish to fill in for Portuguese … Continued
The dust has finally settled after Carnival in Brazil and now all sights are set on the FIFA World Cup this summer! The buzz here in Rio is an interesting mix of excitement and dread, with a heavy coding of nervous anticipation on all sides. While World Cup sponsors have already begun slinging merchandise and … Continued
Before I moved to Brazil, I filtered my Netflix and searched the Internet for Brazilian movies and documentaries to gain some perspective on life here in Brazil. Although many of the Brazilian movies were based on drug trafficking, poverty and favelas (much like Colombian movies), I managed to find a few good ones that portray … Continued
Carnival in Brazil is celebrated all over the country, especially in Salvador de Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, however, the most famous visuals from carnival come from the Sambadrome (Sambodromo) stadium here in Rio, where samba schools from all over the city compete in a two day parade to determine a grand carnival champion. Here … Continued
Day Three (cont’d) – After the blocos and the beach, it was time to head to Sambodromo to watch night one of the Carnival parade. The energy of the stadium could be felt from the moment I stepped off the metro as the cheering crowd and beating drums echoed across the night sky. I found … Continued