When people think of Brazil, they generally think of Rio’s beaches, or the Amazon rainforest. If they know Brazil a bit better, they might think of São Paulo’s booming metropolis, or the diversity of flora and fauna found in the Pantanal, or the planned capital city of Brasília. But Brazil is a huge country with 26 states, and not many people travel beyond Rio and São Paulo. I was born about an hour south of São Paulo, in Curitiba, the largest city in Brazil’s south.
Life in Curitiba doesn’t fit the international stereotype of Brazil. For starters, Curitiba doesn’t have a beach, and is actually quite cold in the winters. The news and pop culture displays all of Brazil as looking like Rio’s favelas (Brazilian slums), but in general Brazil is actually quite a safe place, where babies are adored and their first birthday party is a huge event. Although there are favelas in any big Brazilian city, they aren’t as dangerous as their reputation, especially not in Curitiba.
As a city, there are several interesting things that make Curitiba unique. Curitiba is known in environmentalist circles internationally because of its sustainability. The RIT, or bus system, was designed to increase consumer usage of buses over cars, and was so successful it won multiple international awards. So many people used the system that there are now plans to build a subway due to overcrowding on the buses. There is also a beautiful flower clock – literally, a clock made out of flower beds – downtown, that appeals to locals as much as it does to tourists. Florianópolis isn’t far, and Iguaçu Falls is also in Paraná (Curitiba’s state) and is stunning.
What I miss most when I’m away, though, is the food and drink. Brazilian food is great! I love snacks – pao de quijo, which used to be sold in the Covered Market as ‘bolitas’, are yummy cheesy balls of dough, and brigadeiros are chocolate, truffle-like sweets. On a Sunday, when English families traditionally have a roast, Brazilian families often eat a barbeque – either at home, or at a churrascaria, or barbeque restaurant. Churrascarias serve every cut of meat you could want, from sausages to the favourite Brazilian cut, picanha. Meat is brought around and sliced off huge skewers at the table so you can get it cooked exactly how you like it; I order mine ‘mal pasado’, roughly translated as ‘badly cooked’ or medium rare. They also have huge, elaborate salad bars with any toppings or sauces you can imagine.
The national drink of Brazil is the caipirinha. It is traditionally made with cachaça (sugarcane alcohol), lime, and sugar. However, the varieties are endless – at parties, there is often a caipirinha assembly line, with alcohols, fruits, and sugar. The most popular alcohol for caipirinhas is still cachaça, but Steinhäger (a German gin) and vodka are also common. It’s very easy to make yourself – cut up a lime and put it in an empty glass with sugar, muddle them together, add the alcohol and ice and give it a swirl. Many cocktail bars and restaurants in Oxford include caipirinhas on their cocktail menu, and Las Iguanas sells bottles of cachaça.
Curitiba is a beautiful city, where the historic district’s old buildings meet the lights of the university town and regional financial centre. Although the traditional Brazilian tourist spots are definitely worth a visit, there are many other cities worth visiting if you want to get a better sense of Brazil as a country. With the Olympics coming up next summer, and the Brazilian real fairly cheap at the moment, when could be better than to book flights?
