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The river bend at the Humaitá fortress. An invading flotilla would have to steam for more than a mile against the current (shown by arrow) while being detained – by the chain boom – under short-range battery fire. But the greatest danger was from improvised contact mines.
The Fortress of Humaitá (1854–68), known metaphorically as the Gibraltar of South America, was a Paraguayan military installation near the mouth of the River Paraguay. A strategic site without equal in the region, "a fortress the likes of which had never been seen in South America", it was "the key to Paraguay and the upper rivers". It played a crucial role in the deadliest conflict in the continent's history – the Paraguayan War – of which it was the principal theatre of operations. The site was a sharp horseshoe bend in the river; practically all vessels wishing to enter the Republic of Paraguay – and indeed to steam onwards to the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso – were forced to navigate it. The bend was commanded by a 6,000-foot (1.8 km) line of artillery batteries, at the end of which was a chain boom which, when raised, detained the shipping under the guns. The navigable channel was only 200 yards wide and ran in easy reach of the artillery. The fortress was protected from attack on its landward side by impenetrable swamp or, where this was lacking, defensive earthworks which, at their greatest extension, comprised a system of trenches stretching for 8 lineal miles (13 km), had a garrison of 18,000 men and deployed 120 cannon. At its zenith Humaitá was reputed to be impassable to enemy shipping. (Full article...)
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Pedro Álvares Cabral (European Portuguese:[ˈpeðɾuˈalvɐɾɨʃkɐˈβɾal]; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; c. 1467 or 1468 – c. 1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first recorded human in history to ever be on four continents, uniting all of them in his famous voyage of 1500, where he also conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life remain unclear, it is known that he came from a minor noble family and received a good education. He was appointed to head an expedition to India in 1500, following Vasco da Gama's newly opened route around Africa. The undertaking had the aim of returning with valuable spices and of establishing trade relations in India—bypassing the monopoly on the spice trade then in the hands of Arab, Turkish and Italian merchants. Although the previous expedition of Vasco da Gama to India, on its sea route, had recorded signs of land west of the southern Atlantic Ocean (in 1497), Cabral led the first known expedition to have touched four continents: Europe, Africa, America, and Asia.
His fleet of 13 ships sailed far into the western Atlantic Ocean, perhaps intentionally, and made landfall (April 1500) on what he initially assumed to be a large island. As the new land was within the Portuguese sphere according to the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, Cabral claimed it for the Portuguese Crown. He explored the coast, realizing that the large land mass was probably a continent, and dispatched a ship to notify King Manuel I of the new territory. The continent was South America, and the land he had claimed for Portugal later came to be known as Brazil. The fleet reprovisioned and then turned eastward to resume the journey to India. (Full article...)
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Rennotte ca. 1900–1910
Marie Rennotte (11 February 1852 – 21 November 1942) was a Belgian-born Brazilian physician, teacher, and women's rights activist. She was active in the fight for women's rights. After earning her teaching credentials in Belgium and France, Rennotte taught for three years in Germany before moving to Brazil as a governess. Giving private lessons and teaching at a girls' school, she lived in Rio de Janeiro from 1878 to 1882. Hired to teach in the State of São Paulo, she moved to Piracicaba where from 1882 to 1889 she taught science, developed the curriculum, and enhanced the reputation of the Colégio Piracicabano. The co-educational school was an innovative institution offering equal education to girls and boys.
In 1889, on a scholarship provided by the State of São Paulo, Rennotte enrolled in medical school at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. That year, she was granted citizenship when a legal change allowed all foreigners permanently living in Brazil to become naturalized. Graduating in 1892, she studied at the Paris Hôtel-Dieu Hospital between 1893 and 1895, completing a specialization in obstetrics and gynaecology. Upon her return to Brazil, she defended her thesis to a jury from the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of the University of Rio de Janeiro, validating her degree and allowing her to practice medicine in the country. From 1895 to 1899, Rennotte directed the obstetrics and maternity unit of the Maternity Hospital of São Paulo [pt]. She attended patients in the hospital as well as in private homes where she helped to deliver babies. Opening her own practice after she resigned from the Maternity Hospital, she operated a dispensary for the poor and immigrant communities, while continuing to see paying patients. (Full article...)
Costa began his football career in his native Brazil before joining Braga in Portugal in 2006, aged 17. He never played for the club but spent time on loan at Penafiel, and signed with Atlético Madrid the following year. Over the next two seasons he had loan periods with Braga, Celta Vigo and Albacete. His form earned him a move to fellow La Liga club Real Valladolid in 2009, where he spent one season, finishing as their top goalscorer, before returning to Atlético Madrid. Costa struggled to maintain a regular starting role with Atlético, and spent more time on loan, this time at Rayo Vallecano, where he finished as the club's highest scorer that season. (Full article...)
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The Noronha skink (Trachylepis atlantica) is a species of skink from the island of Fernando de Noronha off northeastern Brazil. It is covered with dark and light spots on the upperparts and is usually about 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) in length. The tail is long and muscular, but breaks off easily. Very common throughout Fernando de Noronha, it is an opportunistic feeder, eating both insects and plant material, including nectar from the Erythrina velutina tree, as well as other material ranging from cookie crumbs to eggs of its own species. Introducedpredators such as feral cats prey on it and several parasitic worms infect it.
Perhaps seen by Amerigo Vespucci in 1503, it was first formally described in 1839. Its subsequent taxonomic history has been complex, riddled with confusion with Trachylepis maculata and other species, homonyms, and other problems. The species is classified in the otherwise mostly African genus Trachylepis and is thought to have reached its island from Africa by rafting. The enigmatic Trachylepis tschudii, supposedly from Peru, may well be the same species. (Full article...)
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Rio 2016 was a successful bid to host the Games of the XXXI Olympiad and the XV Paralympic Games, respectively. It was submitted on September 7, 2007, and recognized as an Applicant city by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) one week after. On June 4, 2008, the IOC Executive Board shortlisted Rio de Janeiro with three of the six other Applicant cities—Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo; over Baku, Doha and Prague—becoming a Candidate city during the 2008 SportAccord Convention in Athens, Greece.
Rio de Janeiro was shortlisted receiving a 6.4 score, according to a study of its Application File delivered to the IOC Working Group on January 14, 2008. As a Candidate city, Rio de Janeiro submitted its Candidature File to the IOC on February 11, 2009. The dossier was analyzed by the IOC Evaluation Commission, which arrived in the city on April 27, 2009, to assess the quality of the bid. Between April 29 and May 2, the Commission attended technical presentations and made inspections in all the existing venues across the city, giving a favorable assessment in its final report. (Full article...)
From top to bottom: Brazilian 1st Division in the Battle of Caseros; Uruguayan infantry aiding Entre Ríos cavalry in Caseros; Beginning of the Battle of the Tonelero Pass; Charge of Urquiza's cavalry in Caseros; Passage of Brazilian fleet at the Tonelero.
The Platine War (Spanish: Guerra Platina, Portuguese: Guerra do Prata, Guerra contra Oribe e Rosas; 18 August 1851 – 3 February 1852) was fought between the Argentine Confederation and an alliance consisting of the Empire of Brazil, Uruguay, and the Argentine provinces of Entre Ríos and Corrientes, with the participation of the Republic of Paraguay as Brazil's co-belligerent and ally. The war was part of a decades-long dispute between Argentina and Brazil for influence over Uruguay and Paraguay, and hegemony over the Platine region (areas bordering the Río de la Plata). The conflict took place in Uruguay and northeastern Argentina, and on the Río de la Plata. Uruguay's internal troubles, including the longrunning Uruguayan Civil War (La Guerra Grande – "The Great War"), were heavily influential factors leading to the Platine War.
In 1850, the Platine region was politically unstable. Although the Governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas, had gained dictatorial control over other Argentine provinces, his rule was plagued by a series of regional rebellions. Meanwhile, Uruguay struggled with its own civil war, which started after gaining independence from the Brazilian Empire in 1828 in the Cisplatine War. Rosas backed the Uruguayan Blanco party in this conflict, and further desired to extend Argentine borders to areas formerly occupied by the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This meant asserting control over Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia, which threatened Brazilian interests and sovereignty since the old Spanish Viceroyalty had also included territories which had long been incorporated into the Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul. (Full article...)
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On March 27, 2017, Bruno de Melo Silva Borges, a Brazilian student, disappeared after leaving his home in Rio Branco, Acre. In his bedroom, Borges left several encrypted messages, 14 handwritten books, and a statue of philosopher Giordano Bruno. The Civil Police of Acre investigated the case and Interpol was called. Borges's disappearance received wide coverage on the Internet, generating memes and online investigations. During the investigation, it was revealed Borges had the help of two friends and a cousin to carry out the project, and that he had signed a contract allocating part of the proceeds of the sale of his books to his three helpers.
At dawn on August 11 the same year, Borges returned to his house barefoot, debilitated, and dehydrated. Soon after, he began working on corrections for his book TAC – Teoria da Absorção do Conhecimento [pt] (lit. Knowledge Absorption Theory), which had received negative reviews. Borges told police chief Alcino Júnior he "disappeared of his own free will and that he was not coerced by any external force". He did not reveal his hiding place. By September 26, Borges had gained 13 kg (29 lb) and said he was surprised by the reactions to his project. Two days later, Borges opened his room, which he considered a "work of art", for visitors. (Full article...)
Built as a replacement for a ship lost during the Second World War, she was to serve on route between England and the east coast of South America. She was wrecked on her maiden voyage in 1949, the sixth ship built by Harland and Wolff to suffer this fate. The insurance payout of £2,295,000 was the largest made at the time for a marine casualty in the United Kingdom. Due to changing trading conditions RML decided not to build a replacement vessel. (Full article...)
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Vieira in May 2022
Alessandra "Leka" Vieira (born March 14, 1976) is a submission grappler and a 6th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. Widely regarded as one of the pioneers of women's Brazilian jiu-jitsu, she became in 1999 the first-ever female black belt World champion.
A highly accomplished competitor, Vieira is a three-time World champion, four-time Pan American champion as well as an ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship finalist, in 2022 she was inducted in the United States Martial Art Hall of Fame. As a 6th degree black belt, she is one of the highest ranked female jiu-jitsu practitioners in the United States. (Full article...)
Diptychophora galvani is a species of moth in the family Crambidae. It measures about one centimeter in wingspan and is easily distinguished from all closely related species by the color pattern of its forewings. These are orange at their base and tip with a large intermediate gray patch, a pattern not found in any other species of Diptychophora. The female has grayish hindwings, while they are entirely white in the male. The genitalia of both male and female are also quite different from other members of this genus. The biology of the species remains completely unknown, including the host plant of the larval stage, although some species of the tribe Diptychophorini are known to feed on mosses.
Diptychophora galvani is known only from Brazil, where it was collected in the states of Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais, at 700–800 m (2,300–2,600 ft) altitude. There it inhabits the Cerrado ecoregion, consisting of gallery forests and savannahs, with a dry season. It was collected for the first time in 1982 by Vitor O. Becker, but its description by Bernard Landry and Becker was published only in 2021. Its specific epithet, galvani, pays tribute to Ricardo Galvão, a Brazilian physicist who headed the National Institute for Space Research of Brazil and was dismissed in 2019 for publicly opposing the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, a notorious climate change denier. The latter had claimed that data produced by the institute demonstrating the substantial increase in Amazonian forest deforestation following his rise to power, including devastating fires in 2019, were false. The descriptors of the species dedicate the species to Galvão for "his courage in the face of professional adversity", but also because the color of the butterfly's wings recalls that of forest fires. The moth is named "species of the year 2022 of the Swiss Systematics Society". (Full article...)
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The 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix (formally the XXIV Grande Prêmio do Brasil) was a Formula One motor race held on 26 March 1995 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil. It was the first round of the 1995 Formula One World Championship. Michael Schumacher of the Benetton team won the 71-lap race from second position. David Coulthard finished second in a Williams car, with Gerhard Berger third in a Ferrari. Damon Hill, who started the race from pole position, spun out while leading on lap 30 with an apparent gearbox problem, which was later found to be a suspension failure. Schumacher's win came despite Benetton encountering steering problems with his car during Friday practice, leading to him crashing heavily and necessitating steering component changes for the rest of the event. Despite Schumacher's victory, Hill proved to be faster during the race and seemed to be on course for a comfortable victory before his sudden retirement.
Other notable performances came from Berger, who took the final podium position despite being delayed during one of his routine pit stops due to a problem with a loose wheel nut, from Mika Häkkinen, who finished fourth for the McLaren team despite its new car proving to be uncompetitive in pre-season testing, and from Mika Salo, who drove strongly in the first half of the race to run third in his first Grand Prix for the Tyrrell team, only to suffer from a cramp and drop back to seventh place at the finish. Behind Häkkinen, the other points-scoring finishers were Jean Alesi in the second Ferrari and Mark Blundell, who drove the second McLaren. Blundell was standing in for regular driver Nigel Mansell in the second McLaren until the team could produce a wider chassis in which to accommodate him, as the car's initial cockpit design had proved to be too narrow for him to drive comfortably. (Full article...)
Unlike most of the neighboring Hispanic American republics, Brazil had political stability, vibrant economic growth, constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech, and respect for civil rights of its subjects, albeit with legal restrictions on women and slaves, the latter regarded as property and not citizens. The Empire's bicameral parliament was elected under comparatively democratic methods for the era, as were the provincial and local legislatures. This led to a long ideological conflict between Pedro I and a sizable parliamentary faction over the role of the monarch in the government. He also had to face other obstacles. The unsuccessful Cisplatine War against the neighboring United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1828 led to the secession of the province of Cisplatina (later to become Uruguay). In 1826, despite his role in Brazilian independence, he became the king of Portugal; he abdicated the Portuguese throne in favor of his eldest daughter. Two years later, she was usurped by Pedro I's younger brother Miguel. Unable to deal with both Brazilian and Portuguese affairs, Pedro I abdicated his Brazilian throne on 7 April 1831 and immediately departed for Europe to restore his daughter to the Portuguese throne. (Full article...)
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Ganga Bruta (literally "Brutal Gang"; also known as Rough Diamond) is a 1933 Brazilian drama film directed by Humberto Mauro. Starring Durval Bellini and Déa Selva, it follows a man who, after killing his wife on their wedding night, moves to a city where he becomes part of a love triangle. It was produced between 1931 and 1932 for Adhemar Gonzaga at his studio Cinédia.
The early life of Pedro II of Brazil covers the period from his birth on 2 December 1825 until 18 July 1841, when he was crowned and consecrated. Born in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II was the youngest and only surviving male child of Dom Pedro I, first emperor of Brazil, and his wife Dona Leopoldina, archduchess of Austria. From birth, he was heir to his father's throne and was styled Prince Imperial. As member of the Brazilian Royalty, he held the honorific title "Dom".
Pedro II's mother died when he was one year old, and his father remarried, to Amélie of Leuchtenberg, a couple years later. Pedro II formed a strong bond with Empress Amélie, whom he considered to be his mother throughout the remainder of his life. When Pedro I abdicated on 7 April 1831 and departed to Europe with Amélie, Pedro II was left behind with his sisters and became the second emperor of Brazil. He was raised with simplicity but received an exceptional education towards shaping what Brazilians then considered an ideal ruler. The sudden and traumatic loss of his parents, coupled with a lonely and unhappy upbringing, greatly affected Pedro II and shaped his character. (Full article...)
It is not known what language the Man of the Hole spoke, what his people called themselves, or what his name was. He was the last surviving member of his people following their genocide by Brazilian settlers in the 1970s–1990s and chose to remain isolated until his death in 2022. Living primarily by hunting and gathering and moving frequently, he left behind a deep hole of unknown purpose in each of his former homes, giving rise to his nickname. After surviving a further attack by armed ranchers in 2009, he was found dead in his home in August 2022. (Full article...)
Pedra da Gavea, Rio de Janeiro. The "eyes" of the "face" are looking towards the right-hand of this picture. The etchings that can be seen on the dome of the mountain make up the supposed inscription. Pedra da Gávea is a mountain in Tijuca Forest, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Differential weathering on one side of the rock has created what is described as a stylized human face, and weathered markings on another face of the rock have been described as an inscription. Some individuals, such as Bernardo de Azevedo da Silva Ramos, have advanced the position that the inscription is of Phoenician origin and possibly proof of pre-Columbian contact from Old World cultures. Alternative theories proposed include that the rock was the site of a Norse colony or that it is connected with suspected UFO activity.
Mainstream geologists and scientists are in agreement that the "inscription" is the result of erosion and that the "face" is a product of pareidolia. No credible evidence has ever been collected that backs up the idea that Pedra da Gávea was discovered by Phoenicians or any other civilization. Furthermore, the consensus of archaeologists and scholars in Brazil is that the mountain should not be viewed as an archaeological site, and hypotheses that regard it as such are fringe theories. (Full article...)
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Jorge Ben is the sixth studio album by Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist Jorge Ben. It was released in November 1969 by Philips Records. The album was his first recording for a major label since 1965 when his first stint with Philips ended due to creative differences.
Ben recorded the album alongside producer Manoel Barenbein, the vocal/percussion band Trio Mocotó, and an orchestral section arranged by José Briamonte and Rogério Duprat. It was written by Ben during his previous few years performing independently and developing his unique samba-based style. He incorporated psychedelic and soul music for this lively recording, while his quirky lyrics dealt with everyday life, romances with women, Afro-Brazilian identity, and self-awareness. Guido Alberi's iconic cover for the album also drew on psychedelic influences in its pop-art illustration of Ben and symbols of contemporary Brazilian culture. (Full article...)
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Martha Watts (February 13, 1848 – December 30, 1909) was an American missionary and school teacher who established four educational facilities in Brazil. Educated in Kentucky at the Louisville Normal School, she was in the first graduating class in the early 1870s and became a teacher, working in the public schools. After joining the Broadway Methodist Church in 1874, Watts joined a youth missionary society and founded a Sunday school class. In 1881, after applying to the Women's Board of Foreign Missions, she was accepted as the second woman from the United States to act as a foreign missionary and was the first woman to be sent to Brazil.
Arriving in the state of São Paulo in 1881, Watts' mission was to establish a school in Piracicaba. Within months, though she only had one student, Watts had opened the Colégio Piracicabano and began by recruiting a French teacher, Marie Rennotte, in 1882. At the time, most educational materials had been translated into French, as it was the universal language of education. The two women worked together to design an innovative co-educational learning environment, which offered courses in languages, literature, mathematics, philosophy, and the natural and physical sciences. Though criticized by conservative sectors of society and the Catholic Church, Watts gained powerful supporters, including prominent progressive politicians, lawyers, masons, and abolitionists. By the 1890s, the school method and curricula had gained wide support, the student body had grown substantially, and their methods were being implemented throughout the state. (Full article...)
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Maeda c. 1910
Mitsuyo Maeda (前田 光世, Maeda Mitsuyo, born November 18, 1878 – November 28, 1941), a Brazilian naturalized as Otávio Maeda (Portuguese pronunciation:[oˈtavjumaˈedɐ]), was a Japanese judōka (judo practitioner) and prizefighter in no holds barred competitions. He was known as Count Combat or Conde Koma in Spanish and Portuguese, a nickname he picked up in Spain in 1908. Along with Antônio Soshihiro Satake (another naturalized Brazilian), he pioneered judo in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
Maeda was fundamental to the development of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, including through his teaching of Carlos Gracie and others of the Gracie family. He was also a promoter of Japanese emigration to Brazil. Maeda won more than 2,000 professional fights in his career- though this claim has been disputed. His accomplishments led to him being called the "toughest man who ever lived" and being referred to as the father of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. (Full article...)
Entering the event, there were five drivers in contention to win the World Drivers' Championship while Red Bull led McLaren by 27 points in the World Constructors' Championship. Nico Hülkenberg for the Williams team took the first pole position of his career by recording the fastest lap time in the qualifying session. Vettel and Webber overtook Hülkenberg for the first two positions at the start of the race. Vettel was able to maintain the lead until his first pit stop to switch tyres and Webber led for two laps until he made his own pit stop. Vettel thereafter was able to maintain first position through negotiation of slower traffic for the rest of the race to take his fourth victory of the season and the ninth of his career. Webber was 4.2 seconds behind in second as Alonso drew closer to him in the final ten laps, albeit not close enough to pass and finished third. (Full article...)
As a development of 1960s música popular brasileira, the genre was pioneered by recording acts such as Jorge Ben, Tim Maia, and Trio Mocotó. It gained a wider popularity in the following decades after breaking through into discotheques. By the 2000s, samba rock had grown into a broader cultural movement involving dancers, disc jockeys, scholars, and musicians, who reinvented the genre in a modernized form. (Full article...)
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"Dejaría Todo" (transl. "I'd Leave Everything") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Chayanne from his ninth studio album, Atado a Tu Amor (1998). The song was written and produced by Estéfano and released as the lead single from the album in September 1998 by Sony Discos.The rockballad details everything the singer is capable of doing for his lover. The song received generally positive reactions from music critics and is listed among Chayanne's best songs. A music video for the song was filmed and features a dark scenery. Commercially, it topped the BillboardHot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts in the United States. The track was nominated for Pop Song of the Year at the 11th Lo Nuestro Awards and Song of the Year at the inaugural Ritmo Latino Music Awards in 1999 and was acknowledged as an award-winning song at the 2000 Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Latin Awards.
"Dejaría Todo" has been covered by Brazilian singer Leonardo, Puerto Rican singer Johnny Ray, and Latin American boy band CNCO. Leonardo recorded the Portuguese version, "Deixaria Tudo", which reached number two in Brazil, while Johnny Ray's cover peaked at number 15 on the Tropical Airplay in the US. CNCO's rendition was included on their covers album, Déjà Vu (2021). It peaked at number four on the Monitor Latino Peruvian pop charts. (Full article...)
Fernanda Lima (b. 1977) is a Brazilian actress, model, businesswoman, journalist, and television host. Following a short career in film and telenovelas, she established herself in popular culture as the host of a variety of shows on MTV Brasil, Rede TV!, and Globo TV. In 2014, she was contracted by FIFA to be the muse of the World Cup and of the Ballon d'Or.
Gramado ia a famous tourist city in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is known for its high standard tourism, international gastronomy, artisan chocolate shops and unique Christmas festivities. With strong German and Italian influence, it's the capital of winter tourism in the country.
A series of rock formations, with the Dedo de Deus (God's Finger) peak in the background, at the Serra dos Órgãos National Park in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Established in 1939 as the country's third national park, Serra dos Órgãos National Park contains the Serra dos Órgãos mountain range as well as several water sources.
Photograph credit: unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden
Bertha Lutz (August 2, 1894 – September 16, 1976) was a Brazilian zoologist, politician, and diplomat. She became a leading figure in the Pan-American feminist and human rights movements, and was instrumental in gaining women's suffrage in Brazil. In addition to her political work, she was a naturalist at the National Museum of Brazil, specializing in poison dart frogs. Her collections were destroyed in September 2018, when a fire devastated most of the museum's collections.
The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida is a Catholic basilica located in the Brazilian city of Aparecida. According to local tradition, a group of fishermen caught a statue of the Virgin Mary in their nets in 1717, a find which considerably improved their subsequent catches. One of the fishermen kept the statue at his home, which became a popular site for pilgrims. A small chapel was built to house it, but was replaced by successively larger churches as the statue's popularity grew. The present building was built from 1955, and houses 45,000 people.
Bonito is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. It is the capital of ecotourism in Brazil, being famous for its caves, rivers and lakes with transparent or intense blue water.
Brazil's Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is located in the Chapada dos Veadeiros, an ancient plateau with an estimated age of 1.8 billion years. Based in the Brazilian state of Goias, the Park was created on January 11, 1961 by President Juscelino Kubitscheck, and listed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2001.
Emperor of Brazil Pedro II was the second and last ruler of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro, his father Pedro I's abrupt abdication and flight to Europe in 1831 left him as Emperor at the age of five. Inheriting an Empire on the verge of disintegration, Pedro II turned Brazil into an emerging power in the international arena. On November 15, 1889, he was overthrown in a coup d'état by a clique of military leaders who declared Brazil a republic. However, he had become weary of emperorship and despaired over the monarchy's future prospects, despite its overwhelming popular support, and did not support any attempt to restore the monarchy.
A portrait of a female bare-faced curassow (Crax fasciolata), taken at the Pantanal in Brazil. This species of bird in the family Cracidae is found in eastern-central and southern Brazil, Paraguay, eastern Bolivia, and extreme northeast Argentina. Its natural habitats are tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forests.
Maria I (17 December 1734 – 20 March 1816) was Queen of Portugal from 1777 until her death in 1816 and the country's first undisputed queen regnant.
This picture is an oil-on-canvas portrait, painted in 1783, showing the queen in her boudoir. It is usually attributed to Giuseppe Troni, the Italian court painter to the House of Braganza, and now hangs in the Palace of Queluz, which became the official and full-time residence of the queen and her court from 1794. At that time, the queen was becoming increasingly deranged. In 1807, after Napoleon's conquests in Europe, under the direction of her son, Prince Regent João, her court moved to Brazil. The Portuguese colony was then elevated to the rank of kingdom, with the consequent formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, of which she was the first monarch.
A ripe passionfruit and the cross-section of another. Passionfruits are the fruit of the passion flowervine species Passiflora edulis, which is native to Brazil and northeastern Argentina, but is now cultivated commercially in frost-free areas in many countries for its fruit. Passionfruit comes in two varieties: purple (seen here), which is usually smaller than a lemon, and yellow, which is about the size of a grapefruit.
Beberibe is a municipality in the state of Ceará in Brazil. It's estimated population in 2006 is 46,439. The current mayor (Prefeito) of Beberibe is Marcos de Queiroz Ferreira. His term ends in 2008. The municipality was created on June 5, 1892, and incorporated July 18, 1892. The name 'Beberibe' means "where the sugar cane grows".
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses) is a national park located in Maranhão state, in northeastern Brazil, just east of the Baía de São José. Protected since June 1981, the 383,000-acre (155,000 ha) park includes 70 km (43 mi) of coastline, and an interior of rolling sand dunes. During the rainy season, the valleys among the dunes fill with freshwater lagoons, prevented from draining due to the impermeable rock beneath. The park is home to a range of species, including four listed as endangered, and has become a popular destination for ecotourists.
Nova Petrópolis is a municipality in the Southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The main town and seat of the municipality is also called Nova Petropolis. It is located in the Serra Gaúcha region, at 29º22'35" South, 51º06'52" West, about 100 km north of Porto Alegre, the state capital city. Nova Petropolis is situated at an average altitude of 580m above sea level and covers an area of 293 km².
The Municipal Theatre of São Paulo is a theatre and landmark in São Paulo, Brazil. It is significant both for its architectural value as well as its historical importance; the theatre was the venue for the Modern Art Week in 1922, which revolutionised the arts in Brazil. The building now houses the São Paulo Municipal Symphonic Orchestra, the Coral Lírico (Lyric Choir), and the City Ballet of São Paulo.
A preparatory study for Discovery of the Land, a mural in the United States Library of Congress Hispanic Reading Room, by Candido Portinari. Portinari was a Brazilianpainter who was a prominent and influential practitioner of the neorealism style. The mural depicts two sailors who might have been found in either the fleets of Christopher Columbus or Pedro Álvares Cabral, and is part of a series of four that show the colonization of the Americas by Europeans.
Bothrops bilineatus is a highly venomous species of pit viper found in the Amazon region of South America. A pale green arboreal species that may reach 1 m (3.3 ft) in length, it is an important cause of snakebite throughout the entire Amazon region. It is a nocturnal species, spending the day hidden in dense vegetation in lowland rainforest, usually in the vicinity of water. It emerges at night to feed on small mammals, birds, lizards and frogs, tending to rely on ambush rather than actively hunting for prey. This B. bilineatus individual was photographed in an Atlantic Forest preservation area in the state of Bahia in eastern Brazil.
What we are told of the inhabitants of Brazil, that they never die but of old age, is attributed to the tranquility and serenity of their climate; I rather attribute it to the tranquility and serenity of their souls, [...] Those people spend their lives in an admirable simplicity and ignorance, without letters, without law, without king, without any manner of religion.
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Tec Toy S.A., trading asTectoy since late 2007, is a Brazilian toy and electronics company headquartered in São Paulo. It is best known for producing, publishing, and distributing Sega consoles and video games in Brazil. The company was founded by Daniel Dazcal, Leo Kryss, and Abe Kryss in 1987 because Dazcal saw an opportunity to develop a market for electronic toys and video games, product categories that competitors did not sell in Brazil at the time. The company stock is traded on the Bovespa.
Soon after its founding, Tectoy completed a licensing agreement with Sega allowing it to market a laser gun game based on the Japanese anime Zillion, which sold more units in Brazil than in Japan. Tectoy would later bring the Master System and Mega Drive to the region, as well as Sega's later video game consoles and the Sega Meganet service. Other products developed by Tectoy include educational toys such as the Pense Bem, karaoke machines, and original Master System and Mega Drive games released exclusively in Brazil, such as Férias Frustradas do Pica-Pau and Portuguese translations and alternate versions of video games. Over its history, Tectoy has diversified to include more electronic products, such as DVD and Blu-ray players and the Zeebo console. While successful at times, the company has also undergone debt restructuring in 2000 and actions to consolidate its two public stock offerings into one. (Full article...)
Gisele Caroline Bündchen (Brazilian Portuguese:[ʒiˈzɛliˈbĩtʃẽ], German:[ˈbʏntçn̩], born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian fashion model. Since 2001, she has been one of the highest-paid models in the world. In 2007, Bündchen was the 16th-richest woman in the entertainment industry and earned the top spot on Forbes top-earning models list in 2012. In 2014, she was listed as the 89th-most-powerful woman in the world by Forbes.
Vogue credited Bündchen with ending the heroin chic era of modeling in 1999. Bündchen was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1999 until 2006. She is credited with pioneering and popularizing the horse walk, a stomping movement created by a model lifting her knees high and kicking her feet to step. In 2007, Claudia Schiffer called Bündchen the only remaining supermodel. Bündchen has appeared on more than 1,200 magazine covers. (Full article...)
Brasília is the capital of Brazil. It presents a sui generis status in Brazil, given it is not a municipality like nearly all cities in Brazil. Instead, Brasília is the first of several Administrative Regions within the Distrito Federal (Federal District) — which, constitutionally, cannot be divided into municipalities. Informally, however, Brasília is referred to as coterminous with the Federal District.
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