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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • REPORTERNami Minaki Sandra

Born and raised in Brazil. After graduating from university, She has been teaching shadow box crafts that she learned while in Singapore where she resided for three years due to her husband’s work and she is also a language teacher. She is in love with the life here in São Paulo where cultures and traditions of various countries melt together.

  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.09.14
  • At the Supermarket Checkout
  • “They ask all sorts of questions at the supermarket checkout, but I don’t understand at all what they’re asking.” That’s the sort of thing people starting a new life in São Paulo say. And they are probably right.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.07.29
  • The Lençóis Dunes
  • I left the small town of Barreirinhas, 250 km from São Luís, the capital of the State of Maranhão in the northeast of Brazil and headed for Lagoa Bonita (“Beautiful Lagoon”), which lies amid some big dunes.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.07.05
  • 4th COVID Vaccination
  • It’s almost winter in Brazil. The air is cold in the mornings and evenings more often in São Paulo. That means we have to be careful of influenza, and the City is calling on people to get their influenza vaccination along with the COVID vaccination.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.06.07
  • Things They Just Don’t Have in Brazil
  • When I was a child, what I liked the best when we visited Japan was seeing my relatives, but I also enjoyed shopping too. I was in elementary school, so I liked going to stationery shops. My parents would buy me everything, pencils with cute designs, pencil cases, scented erasers, envelopes with writing paper, memo books, and so on. When I got back to Brazil, I wondered why they didn’t have such cute stationery, and I used to look forward to visiting Japan again in a few years time.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.04.05
  • Consumer-Protection Code
  • I bought a washing machine almost 3 months ago and it was working fine until the other day when it started making a worrying knocking sound at the beginning of the spin cycle, so I asked for a repair person to come and have a look at it.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.03.07
  • Traditional Confections
  • The pandemic has meant going on trips less often, and going to my local supermarket more. It often happens that I have trouble deciding what to buy at my usual store from among the usual items. That might be why I sometimes notice myself slowly walking the aisles of the supermarket. And I might notice in the confection section something I used to eat in my childhood, and think, “They still have these?” In this article I’d like to tell you about some confections and so on that have been around a really long time.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2022.02.04
  • Third COVID-19 Vaccine Dose
  • I had my second COVID-19 vaccine injection in early September last year and in early January I had my third, one month ahead of schedule. Here in Brazil they don’t call it a third vaccination, but a “Dose Adicional” (“additional dose”).
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.12.17
  • Domestic Violence
  • Inside the elevator of the apartment building where I live there is a place for putting up notices to residents. A new notice appeared there the other day. It said that the governor of São Paulo state has approved a law (Act No. 17.406/2021) that obliges residents to report incidents of violence in the state. That means notifying a police station or a Women's Police Station within 24 hours of a violent incident occurring.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.11.04
  • Renovations (continued)
  • In my last article I wrote about renovations in Brazilian apartments, removing old tiles, how tiles and other waste are disposed of, and the LED lighting people are using nowadays.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.10.11
  • Renovations
  • Here and there in Brazil, people are renovating and restoring apartments in buildings that were constructed a number of years ago. When I looked into it, I found that, “restoration” means returning an aging building to the condition it was in when built, and involves installing new appliances, replacing soft furnishings, and so on. “Renovation” involves adding new value to the original building.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.08.02
  • I Got My First Dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine!
  • COVID-19 vaccinations started in São Paulo City on January 19 this year. First to receive the vaccine were healthcare workers, then they gradually went down the age groups and vaccinated people aged 90 or over from February 8, and a week later, those aged 85 or over.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.06.16
  • Bioethanol Fuel
  • I remember how excited I was about turning 18 because in Brazil you can get a driver's license when you turn 18.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.05.21
  • Havaianas
  • Have you heard of Havaianas, the Brazilian flip-flop brand? Havaianas is pronounced "avaianas" in Brazil. Apparently, it’s called Hawaianas in some other countries.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.04.01
  • Coconut
  • Have you ever tried coconut water? Sipping cold coconut water on a white sandy beach is the best!
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2021.02.04
  • Birth Certificates
  • The very first certificate that a baby gets after being born is a birth certificate. Birth certificates serve an important role in Brazil.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.11.27
  • Portuguese
  • Ten countries across the world have Portuguese as their official language: Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Timor-Leste, and Macau.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.07.08
  • Second in the world in COVID-19 cases
  • Anything new in your lives? I’ve been reporting on the COVID-19 situation and the response here in Brazil since March. Many people who read my blog have reached out to ask if I’m OK, and I’m touched by your concern. Brazil has the second most COVID-19 cases in the world, passing one million on June 1.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.06.11
  • Helping Each Other Out
  • How are you going? When I hear news that restrictions on leaving home are gradually being eased all over Asia and Europe, I think we might be getting a glimpse of what will be coming soon, and I just keep on hoping that a novel coronavirus vaccine will be found. In Brazil, the infection is still spreading, while political turmoil is continuing, including two new Ministers of Health in a month.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.05.21
  • Time at Home
  • São Paulo city government gave the order to stay at home on March 20 and in that first week, family members decided where they would set up their own home office workspace. In my family, my eldest son uses his own room while my husband and I work out a schedule between us where we use the study and the dining table.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.04.30
  • Fique em casa (Stay at Home)
  • After the start of the year there were growing reports in the news about the coronavirus, and I heard that Wuhan, China was closed off on January 23rd, but that was a story about the other side of the world, plus, sightseers kept coming from all over the world during the Carnival holiday at the end of February, like every year, and big parades were staged in São Paulo and Rio.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.03.18
  • Bath Time with a Fruity Scent!
  • The fruits from southern Brazil are plentiful, colorful, sweet, and fragrant. They include fruits like mandarins, mangoes, pineapples, and watermelons, and when you order fruit juice at a restaurant, you get 100% fruit juice. It’s really good!
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2020.02.18
  • Food Delivery
  • In São Paulo these days you regularly see motorbike drivers carrying large, square bags on their backs. They ride in between the cars and they ignore the red lights, so what’s the big rush? The answer is: Food delivery.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.12.03
  • Education
  • Does Brazil have a compulsory education system? People often ask me this, so I thought I’d write about the educational system.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.10.29
  • Weddings
  • Up until about thirty years ago, it was typical for Brazilians to hold their wedding ceremonies in a Catholic church. More recently, though, many couples start living together without having a wedding.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.06.17
  • Pet-loving Brazilians
  • Over the past few years, I'd noticed that there were more pet stores popping up, and I also felt like I'd been seening more people in town walking their dogs.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.05.20
  • Northeastern Brazilian Cuisine
  • A northestern Brazilian cuisine restaurant named Mocotó (“calf's foot jelly”) opened in the northern part of Sao Paolo in 1973, the owner has been working hard to support his family ever since.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.03.06
  • Embu das Artes
  • Just 25 kilometers or so outside of São Paulo is Embu das Artes, where you can spend the entire day enjoying art in a relaxing rural atmosphere.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.02.12
  • Feijoada
  • Feijoada is a classic Brazilian dish made from feijão, or beans. The Japanese typically think of bean dishes as being sweet, but this one has a salty flavor. I describe the adzuki beans used in Japanese confections as “sweet beans”, but apparently the Brazilians still can’t get their minds around it.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2019.01.11
  • Happy Hour
  • Happy hour is a period of time when restaurants and bars offer beer, cocktails, and other drinks at a discount price.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.12.05
  • Mendoza, Argentina
  • I’d long heard that if you’re going to tour the wineries of South America, you’d best visit Mendoza in Argentina. Unsurprisingly, Argentina is the world’s fifth-largest wine producer, and the Mendoza region accounts for 70% of the country’s output. Perched at an elevation of 800 meters, it is an arid region with a cool climate that is perfect for growing grapes.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.10.05
  • Cafezinho (coffee)
  • Brazil has been the world’s number-one coffee producer for more than 150 years, turning out 3,019,051 tons in 2016. That’s 30% of the global total.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.08.17
  • Brazilian Pizza Laden with Toppings
  • Here, it is common for friends to get together and decide to order pizza delivery. Lots of different toppings are chosen so everyone can eat. Once ordered, a piping hot pizza is delivered to the home 30 minutes later. It’s such an easy, cheap, and delicious food.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.07.12
  • Fazenda Hotels
  • If you feel like having a nice relaxed weekend or vacation with your family in a natural setting, I can recommend a fazenda hotel.A “fazenda” is a farm, so a “fazenda hotel” is a hotel on a farm.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.06.13
  • The Soccer World Cup
  • Every year 20 teams compete in Brazil’s soccer champions league. Before and after matches, violent fighting among supporters hits the news.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.06.05
  • Sticker albums
  • Do you know about the sticker albums that go on sale about three months before the World Cup? In Brazil, they are so popular that people say, “if you never collected these stickers even once, you didn’t enjoy your childhood.”
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.05.18
  • Brazilian Bananas
  • Bananas. We start eating them in childhood and never give them up. They’re easy to peel and easy to eat. And they’re great when you’re feeling a little hungry. Plus, they’ve got lots of vitamins A, B1, B2, and C as well as minerals like potassium. And, they’re Brazil’s favorite fruit.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.03.28
  • Ramen Boom
  • I have childhood memories of going to Japan and my grandmother ordering home delivered ramen. I remember it tasted really good and I was amazed that in Japan they deliver piping hot food to your home.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.03.01
  • Eataly São Paulo
  • “Eataly” is made up from the English words “Eat” and “Italy.” It’s a place based on the concept of bringing together eating, buying, and learning in one place, with selection of good-quality Italian foods.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2018.01.31
  • It’s just not summer without ice cream
  • It’s midsummer down here in Brazil. The sun typically just beats down on us this time of year, but since January we’ve had a string of rainy days. Even with the rain though, people are still crowding into ice cream shops.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.12.21
  • Smartphone Apps
  • A newspaper report in April this year said the number of smartphones being used in Brazil was 168,000,000 and that by the end of the year, one phone would be being used per head of population.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.11.17
  • The Arrival of Spring
  • The seasons are not very distinct here in the southern country of Brazil. After a cool fall with no fall leaves, we go through winter without a snowflake falling, and then spring comes around again. At an elevation of 760 m, São Paulo isn’t humid even in summer, which makes it comfortable.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.09.27
  • Daiso Japan – Now Trending in São Paulo State
  • Even today it’s horrifying to think that Brazil’s annual average inflation in 1989 was 1,232.71%. People used to run to the supermarket on payday to do the shopping for the next month or so. Prices seemed to be rising every day, and people would look for shops with even slightly lower prices.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.09.13
  • Where Will I Go to Eat?
  • There are 12,500 places to eat and drink here in Sao Paulo with 50 varieties of cuisine, including Portuguese, Italian, German, Arabian, Japanese, and Chinese. There are 500 restaurants alone serving churrascaria, Brazil’s favorite, barbecued meats. With so many restaurants, it’s not easy deciding where to go to eat.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.08.15
  • My Journey to Peru
  • Recently I traveled to the neighboring countries, Peru and Bolivia in a four-wheel drive car. It was an 8,400-km round trip journey. Although I was still in South America, I found a lot of differences in the history, culture, language and so on.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.06.13
  • Festa Junina: The June Festival
  • Every June, a festival called Festa Junina is held. It is a festival for the Portuguese to celebrate St. John the Baptist (São Joao in Portuguese), and people in Brazil also celebrate St. Anthony (Santo Antonio) and St. Peter (São Pedro) during the festival.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2017.05.10
  • Health foods from Brazil
  • Brazil is a producer of propolis, which is highly regarded for its health benefits. The propolis from Brazil is a product of the African bee, which is known for its outstanding capacity to produce honey and propolis.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.11.22
  • Brazilian sweets
  • Brazilians love sweets. Dessert is essential after a meal, even in restaurants. Since salt and pepper are the base seasonings used in most Brazilian food,
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.07.26
  • The Metro System in São Paulo
  • São Paulo’s metro system was the first to enter operation in Brazil, and that was in September 1974. The total length of the railway system measured 7km, and it connected the Jabaquara Station and the Vila Mariana Station.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.06.07
  • Modern-day bakeries
  • Wherever you go in San Paolo, you are sure to come across a bakery pretty soon. Round about the 1940s, more than 50% of bakery owners were Portuguese immigrants, and the notion that “a baker must be Portuguese” remains widely held even today.  
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.05.02
  • A journey in a neighboring country: Argentina
  • At the beginning of March I left my abode in San Paolo for the town of Ushuaia, on the southern tip of the South American continent. And I made the entire journey – three weeks and 12,000 kilometers – by four-wheel drive! The places that really left an impression on me this time were Peninsula Valdes – a UNESCO Natural Heritage site – and Los Glaciares National Park. I would like to write about both of them here.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.03.29
  • The Rural Town of Cunha
  • Surrounded by mountains, with clean air and residents that are friendly, the town of Cunha is great if you want to spend a relaxing time. The town is located 217 km away from São Paulo as you head towards the direction of Rio de Janeiro. Its population is 22,000 as of 2015.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.03.01
  • The cathedral in Aparecida
  • Walking around in the city of São Paulo, here and there you’ll see Catholic churches. In this country where 99.7% of the entire population considered themselves Cathlolics in 1872, that number has diminished to 64.6% according to data from 2013. Even still, Brazil is the country with the largest population of Catholics in the world.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2016.01.18
  • The Magnificent Ibirapuera Park
  • Ibirapuera Park, a municipal park made in 1954 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of São Paulo, was ranked as one of the world’s top ten city parks in August 2015 by the British paper The Guardian (Aug. 7 issue). The issue emphasized the park’s size and this work of landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. It commented, “The park is lush, curvilinear in every direction, sometimes mysterious, sometimes breaking out into powerful colour.”Extending over a vast 1584km2 (221ha), this is the most visited park in Latin America. Many of the structures inside the park were designed by well-known architect Oscar Niemeyer, and they display silhouettes very unique to his style.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2015.12.24
  • Christmas Eve
  • As soon as December begins, Christmas decorations and illuminations pop up everywhere in the city, and display windows are decorated beautifully in order to attract and gain attention of customers.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2015.12.11
  • The Fascinating Feira (Open-Air Market)
  • Held in various regions throughout Brazil, the “feira” (open-air market) is embraced for their selection of fresh food ingredients.It’s said that back in 1914, São Paulo’s mayor Washington Luis officially authorized the open-air markets. In São Paulo and its neighboring cities alone, the number of the feira is 880, 12073 people have been registered. The feiras are open every Tuesday through Sunday, and sellers arrive to set up shop from 6 a.m. and sell until 1:30 p.m.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2015.11.13
  • Churrasco, The Brazilian meat feast
  • From the 17th century to the 19th century, in the southern part of Brazil bordering Argentina and Uruguay, there were a people called “Gaúchos” - a mixed-race of the local natives and Spanish settlers - who worked as cattle-herders in an area called the Pampas (plains region). The southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, is known as the Gaúcho state, while their grilled meat cuisine “churrasco” is representative of Brazilian culture.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra
  • 2015.10.16
  • The Remarkable Development of Japantown
  • Did you know that Brazil is home to the largest settlement of Japanese immigrants in the world? Japanese immigrants, or Japanese Brazilians, are Japanese nationals who immigrated to Brazil as well as their descendants, including persons of mixed parentage.
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  • Brazil Sao paulo
  • Nami Minaki Sandra

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