Monthly Archives: November 2020

Veja Rio picks best restaurants for 2020

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Despite Covid-19 and lockdown Veja Rio has still managed to produce its annual guide to Rio’s bars and restaurants and pick its best in a number of categories.

As a taster the top three for Brazilian cuisine are Maria e o Boi, Sabores de Gabriela and Capim Santo; for contemporary it is Oteque (photo), Lasai and Iraja Redux; for meat,Malta Beef Club, Esplanada Grill and Corrientes 348; for French, Emile, Didier and Chez Claude; for Italian, Cipriani, Grado and Anna; for Portuguese, Gajos d’Ouro, Rancho Portugues and Adegão Portugues; for seafood, Venga Chiringuito, Satyricon and Posi Mozza & Mare; for Pizza, Ferro e Farinha, Ella and Braz; for Japanese, Naga, Mitsuba and Haru Sushi Bar; and for vegetarian, Org Bistro, Naturalie Bistro and Prana Vegetarian. 

Veja São Paulo picks best restaurants for 2020

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Despite Covid-19 and lockdown Veja São Paulo has still managed to produce its annual guide to São Paulo’s bars and restaurants and pick its best in a number of categories.

As a taster the top three for Brazilian cuisine in São Paulo are Jiquitaia, Tordesilhas and Banzeiro; for contemporary it is D.O.M., Maní and Corrutela; for meat, Varanda (photo), Rubaiyat and Templo da Carne Marcos Bassi; for French, Bistrot Parigi, Chef Rouge and Président; for Italian, Evvai, Picchi and Fasano; for Trattoria, Lido Amici, di Amici, Moma (Modern Mamma Osteria) and Antonietta Cucina; for Pizza, Deveras Pizza, Carlos and Leggera; for Japanese, Kan Suke, Shin-Zushi and Murakami; for Portuguese, Tasca da Esquina, Costa Nova and Quinta de Santa Maria; and for Arab, Monte Líbano, Miski and Farabbud.

Brazil picks Babenco doc for 93rd Academy Awards

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For the first time Brazil has chosen a documentary to represent it in the International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards. The film chosen by the Brazilian Academy (Academia Brasileira de Cinema) is Barbara Paz’s “Babenco: Tell Me When I Die” (“Babenco: Alguém Tem que Ouvir o Coração e Dizer Parou”).

The film premiered at the 2019 Venice Filme Festival where it won Best Documentary on Cinema. The film focuses on the last years of the life of filmmaker Hector Babenco who died of cancer in 2016. Paz was Babenco’s partner.

Babenco’s credits include “Pixote”, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (for which he was nominated for an Oscar), “Ironweed”, “At Play in the Fields of the Lord”, “Coração Iluminado” and “Carandiru”. Three of his film screened in competition in Cannes and he was also a member of the jury in 1989.

The 93rd Academy Awards is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 25 2021. 


Brazil Top World Cup 2022 Qualifying at end of 2020

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South America has wrapped up the first four rounds of qualifying (out of 18) for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Ten teams are playing for four automatic places and a fifth play-off spot. Brazil has 100% record so far, beating Uruguay 2-0 in Montevideo on 17 November. Argentina is also unbeaten, winning 2-0 over Peru. Ecuador beat Colombia 6-1 and Venezuela surprised Chile 2-1. In the fifth game, Paraguay and Bolivia drew 2-2.

Next matches are March 2021 and will see two South American classics with Argentina playing Uruguay in Buenos Aires on 25 March and Brazil in Rio on 30 March.

São Paulo retains Formula 1 Grand Prix

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The Mayor of São Paulo, supported by the Governor of the State, has signed a new five year contract, with a possible five year extension, to continue to host a Formula One  Grand Prix in the city. 

The race is now to be called the São Paulo Grand Prix, rather than the Brazilian Grand Prix, presumably to leave the door open for Rio de Janeiro to build a new circuit to host a Brazilian Grand Prix.

The 2020 Brazilian GP, scheduled originally for 15 November 2020, was cancelled like many races due to Covid-19, but São Paulo is provisionally, at least until the ink dries, on the 2021 schedule to host a race on Sunday, 14 November 2021.

The decision should be popular with the Formula 1 teams given the size of the Brazilian market for many of the sponsors.

Extreme E series is heading to Brazil in 2021

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The new Extreme E series is heading to Brazil in 2021 with one of the series five races, the Amazon Prix, scheduled for a damaged region close to Santarem in the state of Para. 

The fourth race in the series is scheduled to take place from 23 to 24 October 2021 with the Glacier Prix wrapping up the season in Terra del Fuego, Argentina from 11 to 12 December.  The series will bring electric racing to some of the most remote corners of the planet to highlight the climate change challenges faced by different ecosystems, whilst showcasing the performance of all-electric SUVs in extreme conditions.

Extreme E has pledged to work with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), which has more than 24 years of conservation experience across the Amazon and a deep understanding of the major drivers of deforestation in the region. The project has been selected by Francisco Oliveria PhD – Extreme E’s Amazon Scientist and a leading Brazilian conservation expert with more than 20 years’ experience working on Amazon issues for the Brazilian government, WWF and at the University of Cambridge.

For more information about the Extreme E series click here

44th Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo

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The votes have been counted, at least at the 44th Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo, where the official jury chose Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri’s richly woven tale of city life “Eyimofe” (This Is My Desire) from Nigeria as the best feature (fiction), and Davy Rothbart’s “17 Blocks”, from the US, as best documentary.

The popular vote went for Mohammad Rasoulof’s Sheytan “Vojud Nadarad” (There Is No Evil), the German /  Iranian production that won the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, as best international feature (fiction), and David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya“, from the US, as best documentary. The public also chose Cássio Pereira dos Santos’ “Valentina” as best Brazilian feature (fiction), and Joyce Prado’s “Chico Rei Entre Nós” as best Brazilian documentary, a film that also received a special mention from the official jury. Congratulations to all. The virtual festival managed to screen a total of 199 films.