Disney Magic Moments Parade in Copacabana

Below is a partial, loose translation of this news release about the upcoming event.
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This Sunday, November 29th Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck and company will be together for the first time in the middle of Copacabana beach, in a show that promises to delight parents and children. The most famous pedestrian street in the country will be filled with joy at the Disney Magic Moments Parade, starting at 9 am. Featuring 350 artists, dancers and actors, the parade will begin at Station 6, near Forte de Copacabana (between the Rua Joaquim Nabuco and Av. Princesa Isabel) and continue to the height of Princess Elizabeth Street.

In honor of Brazil, the Disney Magic Moments Parade will open with the character Zé Carioca, created in 1940 and will have as company Donald Duck. The event will also include seven floats: Mickey Mouse and Friends, Fairies, Beauty and The Beast, The Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story and Princesses. The parade will also feature entries highlighting The Lion King, High School Musical, Lilo & Stitch, Disney Villains, The Boat of Peter Pan, and Playhouse Disney Mogli. Everything was built entirely in the city to adapt to the pavement's width. For fans of the musical High School Musical, a surprise: the entire cast of the Brazilian film will be on board the car dedicated to this theme.

All dancers participating in the Parade are Brazilians. The attraction will also feature 20 songs especially recorded in Portuguese, in a studio in Los Angeles, so the audience at the site can better appreciate the parade.

Date: November 29, 2009 - (Sunday)

Location: Copacabana beach between Rua Joaquim Nabuco and Princesa Isabel

Parade begins: 9:00

Ending at: 10:30

Hey, if you live in the area and you have kids, this looks like a terrific FREE event!

Does "I'll be there" mean "I'll be there?"

Last night I had a culture clash moment. I have to keep reminding myself that cultural mores are different in Brazil than in the United States. Even when that does not compute.

Last night I was hosting my boss for dinner. We had spoken several times during the week about the night. I had asked what she likes to eat. We decided on a time to get together. Usual stuff.

So I went about making it happen. In true qualidade de vida fashion I didn’t just go to the fish market to buy some fillets, I spent the day at the beach relaxing and soaking up the sun – then bought some totally fresh fish on the beach from a fisherman. (R$10 for 6 fish cleaned and filleted – amazing.)


[Not really my salad, but close.]

After an afternoon nap and refreshing shower I proceeded to prepare dinner: a picture-perfect steamed vegetable salad; rice to my satisfaction (while maybe others here would say it was not salty enough;) and an amazing baking dish brimming with a carnival of fish fillets, onions, mushrooms, green peppers and garlic. Super bom.

I set the table and even dusted the coffee table and shelves by the television.

About 25 minutes before my guest/boss was to arrive the phone rang. (The Brazilians know what comes next.)

“Jim, I’m still trying to resolve a problem with my cell phone. I don’t think I can make it tonight. OK?”

“OK, fine, no problem.” I replied.

What’s up with that? With friends – I get it. But when I am hosting my boss for the first time you would think she knows this is not just pizza with the gang. Luckily I had not already opened the wine.

Oh well. Keep breathing. It’s no big deal, really. I got snagged by my expectations that then clashed with my boss’s sense of casual weekend flexibility.

So half of the beautiful, tasty and completely boneless fish went into my stomach – and the other half went to the refrigerator.

It’s all good. We fall down - we get up.

Today is another holiday

They just keep on comin'

I'm having my supervisor at FISK over for dinner. Long overdue. I asked if she likes fish and she does. So my plan is to spend the day at Itaipú beach and buy some fresh fish from a fisherman who will undoubtedly spread out his catch on the sand for sale.

When the sun gets to be too much I'll come home, take a nap, then get up and prepare dinner.

Ah... qualidade de vida indeed!

Girlfriend - take a pill

Oh my god -- or as the more hip might say: OMG!

You have to see this. Miss Gay Brazil was reveling in her moment of victory when Miss São Paulo got a little jealous and otherwise extremely upset and literally ripped the crown (and wig) off the new reigning queen.

OK baby – don’t be playin' with no drag queen, honey. She will cut you! You know that was not the end of it!

A shout out to my homeboy Tim for alerting me to this travesty. LOL!

There's only one Rio

Yet another delightful presentation of the uniqueness and beauty of Rio de Janeiro.

Even if you don't speak Portuguese, listen carefully: "Só existe um/a..." There is only one...



I pulled this from the relatively new official tourism website for Rio. Check it out. It's got everything!

Like mother like daughter

At a recent BBQ in Itaipú the girls were imitating their mothers. And I don’t mean by putting on their high heels.



Probably about half of the adult women in our circle of friends have gotten breast implants. Nothing enormous or freaky Vegas-like. Just a little enhancement. If you have seen many Brazilian women you know that their bodies feature large hips and butt and pretty modest (if not small) breasts. It’s just nature being nature.



Anyway – this cosmetic procedure has not gone unnoticed by the children. On this occasion at the pool water balloons served the purpose of breast enhancement among the girls.



Could it be cuter? I don't think so.

Brazil tops list of vacation days for workers

It's not just my imagination. Workers in Brazil enjoy a bumper crop of time off during the year. And as I recall that was not the case in the USA. I'm pretty sure I have that right.

Now there is a study that sets the record straight (er - accurate). According to this article in today's Chicago Tribune business section citing a recent study comparing workers' holiday time in 41 countries, Brazilians are at the top of the list of workers with the most time off with 56 days off per year while residents of the United States are near the bottom of that list with roughly 25 days off per year.

I knew there was something about working here that I liked (and it was not the salary!) According to the study, in Brazil the government mandates that employers provide 30 days vacation for workers -- and that is not including public holidays (of which there is a steady stream).

The United States is the only country included in the study where federal law does not set a minimum number of vacation days, but a typical full-time worker with five to 10 years on the job receives about three weeks off per year.

So as people here are fond of saying, Brazilians work to live, not live to work. The flip side is the low wages. As a friend of ours once said: "In Brazil employees pretend to work and then their employers pretend to pay them!"

For me -- I'll take the time at the beach.