Culture+-+(Arts,+Society+and+Music)+-+Nicole

=Culture= =Arts:= The Brazilian visual arts began developing in the 18th century with painting with a strong european accent. Only in the 19th century an original Brazilian art style was introduced by Belmiro de Almeida Jr. In the 20th century the painter Cândido Portinari was a major advocate of another uniquely Brazilian style, which blended abstract European techniques with realistic portrayals of the people and landscapes of his native land; the painter Emílio Di Cavalcanti, a contemporary of Portinari, gained international recognition. Both worked not only with painting but expanded with other forms their work. From then on several new styles were introduced and other art forms were developed as engraving, photography, graphic design and others. During the 40's and 50's the Visual Arts were improved and with the introduction of the BIENAL in 1951, the most important art international exhibition in Brazil, visual arts had a strong development.

Literary development in Brazil roughly follows the country's main historical periods - the Colonial Period, from 1500 until independence in 1822, characterized mostly by writings in the Baroque and Arcadian styles, and the National Period since 1822. The first extant document that might be considered Brazilian literature is the Carta de Pero Vaz de Caminha ("Letter of Pero Vaz de Caminha"). It is written by Pero Vaz de Caminha to Manuel I of Portugal, which contains a description of what Brazil looked like in 1500. In 1836, Romanticism began influencing Brazilian poetry on a large scale, mainly through the efforts of the poet Domingos José Gonçalves de Magalhães. A number of young poets, such as Casimiro de Abreu, began experimenting with the new style soon afterward. This period produced some of the first standard works of Brazilian literature. The decline of Romanticism, along with a series of social transformations, occurred in the middle of the 19th century. A new form of prose writing emerged known as Brazilian realism, included analysis of the indigenous people and description of the environment.

Perhaps the most important writer of Brazilian Realism is Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908), the natural son of a Wall painter and a Portuguese woman, whose only education, besides literacy classes, was the widespread reading of borrowed books. Working as typesetter at a publishing house, he was soon familiar with most of the world's literature and even managed to comprehend some of English and French. In his early career he wrote several best-selling novels (including A Mão e a Luva and Ressurreição) which, despite their overzealous Romanticism, already show his vivacious humour and some of his pessimism towards the conventions of society. After being introduced to Realism, Machado de Assis changed his style and his themes, producing some of the most remarkable prose ever written in Portuguese. The style served as the medium for his corrosive humour and his intense pessimism, which was very far from the plain conceptions of his contemporaries.

The cinema of Brazil started in 1930. It had its highest moment in the 1960s and its decadence in the late 1970s. Today Brazilian cinema is seeing the return of its popularity with movies like Central do Brasil (Central Station), Carandiru and Cidade de Deus (City of God). =Society:= Brazilian society is made up of descendants of migrants from Europe, Africa, and Asia. The smallest ethnic group is the 320,000 Indigenous Indians, the original Brazilians. Poor people in rural Brazil do not have enough land. Many lose their homes and incomes and have to move to the large cities along the coast. São Paulo is the world’s second largest city with over 14 million residents. There are shortages of houses and jobs, sanitation is poor, and extreme poverty is widespread. Many children live as street kids.

Brazilians are friendly, warm, and happy people. Above all they are free-spirited and resent being told what to do. Brazilians are gregarious, outgoing, and love to be around people. In the cities, offers of tea and coffee, and lots of ‘papo’, (chit-chat), are a regular occurrence. The hot climate allows them to spend a great deal of time outdoors, often just chatting with friends or watching people. Women should be aware that it is common for Brazilian men to stare at them or make comments as they walk by; women should not respond in any way to such actions. Brazilians can be very opinionated, and the strength with which they argue for their convictions often leads foreigners to believe that they are angry. Visitors should not be offended by such behaviour. Brazilians tend to view time more as a sequence of events rather than hours, minutes, and seconds. For this reason they may appear to have an extremely casual attitude about time.

=Music:=
 * __Two local boys__**

Brazilian culture is a Latin American culture and of a very diverse nature. Brazil's rich cultural tradition extends to its music styles which include samba, bossa nova, forro, frevo and many others. Brazilian contributions to the genres of classical music can be seen in the works of composers Jose Mauricio Nunes Carcia (1767-1830), Antonio Carlos Gomes (1836-1896), Elias Alvares Lobo (1834-1901), Heitor Villa-lobos (1887-1959), Camargo Guarnieri (1907-1993), Claudio Santoro (1919 - 1989) and Osvaldo Lacerda (1927).

The world famous carnivals that take place each year in Brazil are thought to have originated from honouring the god Osiris in ancient Egyptian times. The name carnival (carne vale, now carnaval in Portuguese), came later, and refers to the feasting which took place before the fast of Lent. During ‘carnaval’ -- which takes place in the week before ‘Ash Wednesday’, in the Spring, – music, parades, dancing, singing, and partying on a grand scale, take place up and down the Brazilian coast. Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is known worldwide for the elaborate parades staged by the cities major samba schools in the Sambadrome and is one of the world's major tourist attractions. ‘Samba’ was brought to Rio de Janeiro by women from the Bahia area in the nineteenth century. The rhythm and dance are still popular today. Information for this section was found at the following sources: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Brazil - http://www.donabrasil.com/brazilian-music/ - http://www.brazzil.com/musjan98.htm Photo's found at [|www.flickr.com]
 * __Carnival in Rio de Janeiro__**