10 CULTURE

The Christ the Redeemer, the symbol of Brazilian Christianity, looking out over Rio de Janeiro

The Dugout takes a look at the culture, politics and lifestyle of the World Cup hosts
Brazil host the FIFA World Cup for the rst time since 1970 this summer. Despite the nation being extremely passionate about football The Dugout explores the cultural, political and lifestyle background to the beautiful country. The Brazilian culture is one of the worlds most varied and diverse. People usually think of Brazil as a tropical paradise, whose people are dancing and having fun all day long. Rios Carnival has helped to develop that image. However, only Rio de Janeiro and the North East fit to that prototype. Brazilian culture is much more than that. Brazil is known for being a melting pot of nationalities due to the centuries of European dominance and slavery. People are a mixture of three cultures: Portuguese, African and Native American. European immigrants also influenced Brazilian culture a lot in So Paulo and Southern Brazil. The country currently has a population of about 190 million people. Of these, more than half are white, just fewer than 40% are mixed black and white and less than 10% are black. Approximately 80% of the population ascribes to the Roman Catholic faith. African culture is strong in the North East. Salvador da Bahia may possibly be the most African influenced city in the whole of the Americas. Food, music, dances and religion resemble Africa. Afro-Brazilian religions, such as Candombl, have spread all over. Capoeira, a kind of African dance and sport, is widely practiced, too. Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais look a bit more like

The

Brazilian Way

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Portugal. Minas Gerais colonial cities seem to have been taken directly from the Portuguese countryside. Rio de Janeiro used to be the capital city of Brazil and many Portuguese immigrants came to the city during the 19th and 20th centuries. So Paulo received thousands of Italian immigrants during the 19th and 20th centuries and their influence spread all over the State. Germans settled in the valleys and mountains of Southern Brazil and their culture and language is still strong in Santa Catarina. Finally, Rio Grande do Sul, the countrys most southern State, looks more like Argentina and Uruguay. Brazilians, as a nation, focus much importance on the family structure and the values that are entrenched within that institution. Families are usually large, and even extended family members are close with one another, providing much-needed help and support to each other whenever and however necessary. This diverse cultural background has bought together celebrations and festivals that have become known around

The Favelas in Brazil are home to 11.4 million people

The procession at the Rio de Janiero carnival

The football team celebrate their fifth World Cup in 2002

Brazil has 5,500,000 square kilometres of rain forest

the world, such as the Brazilian Carnival and the Bumba Meu Boi. The colourful culture creates an environment that makes Brazil a popular destination for many tourists each year. In 2011 the country broke tourism records with 5.4 million visitors and $6.775 billion in receipts, according to the World Tourism Organisation. Written into the lifestyle and culture of Brazil is their beloved sport, football. The national team have won the World Cup a record five times, most recently in Japan and South Korea in 2002. The other wins came in 1958, 1962, 1970 and 1994. Throughout the years they have produced great players such as Pele, Zico, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and most recently; Neymar. It could be said that Brazil has it all; a rain forest, beaches, beautiful cities, and most of all passionate people. The diverse culture of Brazil played a part in the decision to award the 2014 World Cup to this colourful country. Fans traveling to this summers tournament will experience the wonders of Brazil for themselves. Expect to see one of Brazils biggest parties if the National team go on to win the trophy for a record sixth time.

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