Destination: Brazil

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BEST FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Those in search of Brazil's liveliest festivals should definitely base themselves in the Northeast. Throughout the country, you'll find some fantastic, wild and, at times, downright surreal celebrations.

  • Boi-Bumba, late June, Parintins
  • Bumba Meu Boi, late June to second week of August, Sao Luis
  • Carnaval, Shrove Tuesday and the fun-filled days preceding it, February or March, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador or Olinda
  • Cavalhadas, 50 days after Easter, Pirenopolis
  • Cirio de Nazare, second Sunday in October, Bele'm
  • Festa da NS de Boa Morte, mid- August, Cachoeira
  • Festa de Iemanja and Reveillon, December 31, Rio de Janeiro
  • Folclore Nordestino, late August, Olinda
  • Processao do Senhor Bom Jesus dos Navegantes, January 1, Salvador
  • Semana Santa (Holy Week), March or April, Ouro Preto or Goi's Velho

BEST BOOKS

Get inside the Brazilian experience by checking out some of these greats reads, which explore a range of themes - history, anthropology, music, samba schools and the national sport/national identity.

  • Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music that Seduced the World, Ruy Castro
  • The Brazilian Sound, Chris McGowan and Ricardo Pessanha
  • The Brazilians, Joseph Page
  • Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life, Alex Bellos
  • Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, Jorge Amado
  • How to Be a Carioca, Priscilla Ann Goslin
  • The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
  • Samba, Alma Guillermoprieto
  • Tristes Tropiques, Claude Levi-Strauss
  • Tropical Truth: a Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil, Caetano Veloso

BEST BRAZILIAN ALBUMS

It's no easy task selecting just a mere handful of albums from the scores of talented singers and songwriters who have made Brazil into such an incredible music center. Check out some of the great works below, most of which can be found in Brazil (or you can buy online before you go).

  • Africa Brasil: Colecao Samba Soul, Jorge Ben
  • Djavan Ao Vivo, Djavan
  • Elis & Tom, Elis Reginas and Antonio Carlos Jobim
  • Getz/Gilberto, Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto
  • Meus Caros Amigos, Chico Buarque
  • Os Afros Sambas, Baden Powell
  • Refazenda, Gilberto Gil
  • Travessia, Milton Nascimento
  • Tribalistas, Arnaldo Atunes, Carlinhos Brown, Marisa Monte
  • Tropicalia - Ou Panis et Circenses, Caetano Veloso et al

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