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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.
An 1868 photo of an
Argentinegaucho. The term "gaucho" is used to describe residents of the
South Americanpampas,
chacos or
Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina,
Uruguay,
Southern Chile and
Southern Region, Brazil. It is a loose equivalent to the
North American "
cowboy" and often connotes the 19th century more than the present day. In those days, gauchos made up the majority of the rural population, herding
cows on the vast
estancias, and practicing hunting as their main economic activities.
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.
Parodia tenuicylindrica is a small species of
cactus native to the
Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil. It grows 4–8 cm (1.6–3.1 in) in height and 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) in width. It has yellow and red-brown
spines, white wool and yellow flowers. It produces yellow-green fruit and black seeds.
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.
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.
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 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.
The yacare caiman (Caiman yacare) is a species of
caiman found in central South America. About ten million individuals, such as this one, exist within the Brazilian pantanal, representing what may be the largest single crocodilian population on Earth. This small-to-medium sized species feeds mainly on fish (especially
piranha), but also eats birds, reptiles, and small mammals.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pipa Beach is a village and beach in the state of
Rio Grande do Norte,
Brazil. It is situated in the municipality of Tibau do Sul, about 84 km south of the capital of the state,
Natal.
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".
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.
Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the
Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. It's the third largest hydroelectric dam in the world (it was the largest in the world between 1984 and 2003). In 2022, 15% of Brazil's energy (and almost all of Paraguay's energy) was produced by Itaipu.
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.
Leblon is an affluent neighborhood in
Rio de Janeiro, just west of
Ipanema, another neighborhood in that city. In the north it is bordered by
Gávea, and in the west by a towering hill called "Dois Irmãos", which translates as "two brothers", because of its split peak.
Sugarloaf Mountain is a peak situated in
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, from the mouth of
Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that sticks out into the
Atlantic Ocean. Rising 396 metres (1,299 ft) above sea-level, its name is said to refer to its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar.
Blumenau is a city in Vale do Itajaí, Santa Catarina state, in the South Region of Brazil. The city was founded by the German chemist and pharmacist Hermann Blumenau (1819–1899), who arrived on a boat via the Itajaí-Açu River accompanied by seventeen other Germans, and still celebrates its German heritage, including the second largest
Oktoberfest in the world.
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.
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.
Coronel Fabriciano is a
municipality in the state of
Minas Gerais in
Brazil and is located in the southeastern part of the country, about 102 km east of
Belo Horizonte. It's estimated population in 2010 is 103.797. The municipality was created on January 20, 1949.
Itajaí is a
municipality in the state of
Santa Catarina in
Brazil and is located in the Southern part of the country, about 94 km norther of
Florianópolis. It's estimated population in 2009 is 172.081. The current
mayor (Prefeito) of Itajaí is Jandir Bellini. The municipality was created on Juny 15, 1860.
Jair Bolsonaro was sworn in as President of the Republic on 1 January 2019, succeeding Michel Temer. Bolsonaro began his cabinet formation before winning the presidency, having chosen economist Paulo Guedes as his Economy minister and astronaut Marcos Pontes as his Science and Technology minister. Bolsonaro initially said his cabinet would be composed of 15 members; this figure later rose to 22 when he announced his final minister, Ricardo Salles, in December. His predecessor, Michel Temer, had a cabinet of 29 members.