As of Sunday (27 October) if you call one of the 28.5 million mobile phones in Rio de Janeiro (DDD 21,22 and 24) or Espirito Santo, you need to add an extra ‘9’ to the start of the existing eight numbers.
Nine digit mobile numbers will be the norm in all of Brazil by the end of 2016. The new ‘9’ was already introduced within the city and state of Sao Paulo (DDD 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19) in July and August 2013.
On 7 September 2013, Independence Day in Brazil, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in Buenos Aires that Tokyo had been chosen to follow Rio de Janeiro as the host city for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games. Tokyo was chosen over Istanbul and Madrid, winning by 60 votes to 36 over Istanbul in the final vote.
It is a choice that is popular in Brazil as there are many historical links between Brazil and Japan with São Paulo having the largest Japanese population of any city outside of Japan. The first Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil in 1908 and today Brazil is home to around 1.5 million people of Japanese descent, compared with just over 100,000 in the UK.
On 9 September it was announced that wrestling had been reinstated as an Olympic sport for the 2020 and 2024 Games after being voted in ahead of baseball/softball and squash.
Tokyo’s new Olympic Stadium will be finished by 2019 in time to host the Rugby World Cup.
Liberdade – São Paulo
Olympe – Rio de Janeiro
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants programme announced its list of the 50 best restaurants in Latin America at a ceremony in Lima on 4 September 2013. D.O.M. was named as The S.Pellegrino Best Restaurant in Brazil as well as being ranked number 2 on the inaugural Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
São Paulo-based D.O.M. is headed up by chef Alex Atala, who is widely considered to be ‘the face of Brazilian cuisine’ and one of the world’s most influential chefs. At D.O.M. Atala has built a reputation for combining the most authentic Brazilian flavours with a contemporary approach.
At the awards event in Lima, Helena Rizzo, executive chef at fellow São Paulo restaurant Mani, which is ranked at number 5 on the list, received the Veuve Clicquot Latin America’s Best Female Chef Award. At Mani, Rizzo works with predominantly traditional Brazilian ingredients delicately treated with the latest techniques of international cuisine.
Brazilian restaurant Remanso do Bosque in Belém was given The Latin America’s One to Watch Award, sponsored by BBVA. Remanso do Bosque’s chefs Thiago and Felipe Castanho take inspiration from the proximity of the nearby forest, combining regional dishes with Amazonian flavours
In São Paulo the 50 best restaurants in Latin America included:
While in Rio de Janeiro the 50 best restaurants in Latin America included:
Festival do Rio, South America’s largest and most important film festival, has unveiled the line up for Première Brasil. Première Brasil is the only competitive section of Festival do Rio with jury prizes to be presented at the end of the festival. Three highly prized audience awards will also be bestowed on the best Brazilian feature film, best documentary and best short film.
Première Brasil, which has as its festival home the historic Odeon Petrobras (photo) in Cinelandia in downtown Rio de Janeiro, is the beating heart of Festival do Rio, and the best annual global showcase of contemporary Brazilian cinema.
This year’s Première Brasil includes eleven feature films, eight feature length documentaries and seventeen shorts in competition. A further three features and five documentary features will screen hors concours, while other Brazilian productions will screen in special Première Brasil sidebars such as Portraits and New Trends.
PREMIÈRE BRASIL | FICTION | COMPETITION
PREMIÈRE BRASIL | DOCUMENTARIES | COMPETITION
PREMIÈRE BRASIL | FICTION | HORS CONCOURS
PREMIÈRE BRASIL | DOCUMENTARIES | HORS CONCOURS
The Brazilian-French co-production, Amazonia, filmed in 3D and directed by Thierry Ragobert, has been chosen as the opening film for Festival do Rio.
Rio’s international film festival opens on 26 September and runs through 10 October 2013.
The film tells the story of Kong, a young monkey raised in captivity that survives a plane crash and must adapt to life in the Amazon. With a R$26 million budget (US$10 million), the film is the biggest production ever shot in the Amazon.
Amazônia is scheduled to close the Venice Film Festival on 8 September and will also screen in Toronto.
Pope Francis will have a full schedule of activities during his first major international trip in July 2013. The schedule of his trip to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Rio2013, includes Protocol Events, such as the meeting with the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff (photo), along with visits to a favela, a hospital, and a visit with young inmates.
The Pope will arrive in Brazil on Monday 22 July. The official reception will be at Rio de Janeiro’s International Airport, at 4pm. Soon after, there will be a Papal Welcoming Ceremony in the garden of Palácio Guanabara, where the Pope will give his first speech. At the event, there will be a ceremonial reception of the three branches of government. The welcome committee will include President Dilma Rousseff, as well as the Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral, and the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes.
The Holy Father will stay at the Residência do Sumaré (Sumaré Residence) during his trip to Brazil. The residence was where Pope John Paul II stayed during his two visits to Brazil in 1980 and 1997. Besides Pope Francis, the residence will also host the whole papal entourage, which will number about 40 people.
The Pope will visit Brazil’s National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida on Wednesday 24 July. It is the largest Marian shrine in the world. A visit to the National Shrine of Aparecida was a personal request of Pope Francis. There, the Pope will venerate an image of Mary in the basilica and, afterwards, will celebrate Mass with Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno (president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, as well as the Archbishop of Aparecida).
On Wednesday, Pope Francis will also attend the opening of the “Pólo de Atenção Integrada da Saúde Mental (PAI),” which will provide services for those recovering from drug addiction.
On Thursday 25 July, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes will hand over the keys of the city to the Holy Father, in a symbolic and traditional ceremony. This reflects the respect for the Pope and the authority he represents. In addition, there will be a short meeting with representatives of the sporting world, with the Blessing of the Olympic and Paralympic flags.
Pope Francis will also visit a favela in Rio de Janeiro, 33 years after John Paul II visited a favela in another area of the city. Instead of Vidigal in Rio’s South Zone, which John Paul II visited in 1980, Pope Francis visit will visit a favela in the North Zone. The community chosen is Varginha, within the Manguinhos Complex, recently pacified by the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The Pope will speak to residents and give his blessing.
At 6pm the Pope will participate in the Welcoming Ceremony on Copacabana Beach, which is one of the Main Events of World Youth Day Rio 2013 (WYD). There the Pope will greet WYD pilgrims for the first time.
One of the most visited tourist attractions of the city, a former home of Emperor Dom Pedro, Quinta da Boa Vista, will host the Pope during the morning of Friday 26 July.
Afterwards, some young inmates will meet with Pope Francis at the Archbishop’s Palace . At noon, the Pope will pray the Angelus from the central balcony of the palace. Before the traditional “lunch with young people from all continents,” which happens at all WYDs, the Pope will greet the WYD Rio 2013 Local Organizing Committee and the WYD sponsors.
The Via Crucis with the youth, which is the third WYD Main Event, will take place at 6pm on Copacabana Beach, and the Pope will give a speech.
On Saturday, 27 July the official activities will begin with a Mass at the Catedral São Sebastião in the presence of bishops, priests, and seminarians. Later Pope Francis will meet members of the public at the Teatro Municipal. In the afternoon, the Pope will attend a lunch in the “Centro de Estudos do Sumaré.”with Brazilian cardinals, the president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, the bishops from the State of Rio de Janeiro, as well as the papal entourage.
At 7:30pm, the Pope will be at Campus Fidei in Guaratiba for the Prayer Vigil with young people. This is the fourth WYD Main Event. There, he will deliver a speech to pilgrims.
At 10am on Sunday, 28 July, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at Campus Fidei with the youth who will have spent the previous night there. He will announce the next city to host World Youth Day. At noon, he will pray the Angelus with pilgrims.
To personally thank the 60,000 volunteers involved in WYD, Pope Francis will meet with them at 5:30pm at Rio Centro, and give a speech.
There will be also a farewell ceremony at Rio’s International Airport, where the Pope will make his final speech. His departure to Rome is scheduled for 7pm.
Festival do Rio, Rio de Janeiro’s international film festival, will take place between Thursday 26 September and Thursday, 10 October in 2013. It will be the festival’s 15th anniversary.
The festival will screen around 400 films from more than 60 countries at 30 venues spread across Rio de Janeiro.
Brazilian films and Première Brasil, which has as its festival home the historic Odeon Petrobras in downtown Rio de Janeiro, are the beating heart of Festival do Rio, and the festival is rightfully acknowledged as the best annual global showcase of contemporary Brazilian film.
Première Brasil is the only competitive section of Festival do Rio with jury awards – the Rednetor (photo) – to be presented on Thursday 10 October. Three highly prized audience awards will also be bestowed on the best Brazilian feature film, best documentary and best short film.
You can follow news about the festival on Twitter @RioFilmFest
The list of headline acts for Rock in Rio, which takes place in Rio de Janeiro from 13 to 22 September 2013, is complete and the festival is a sell-out.
For the main World Stage we have confirmed:
Living Colour (13th), The Offspring (14th), George Benson (15th) and Ben Harper (20th) are among the international acts confirmed for the Sunset Stage.
For the Electronic stage, the line up is:
Tennis Centre
Brazil the Guide has added images of some of the proposed 2016 Olympic and Paralympic venues.
The page will be continuously updated with the latest images.
You can see the images by CLICKING HERE
Casa Daros, which opened its doors to the public on 23 March 2013, is a new space for art, education and communication, housed in a stately 19th century building in neoclassical style, that is preserved as an official historical heritage site. Designed by architect Francisco Joaquim Bethencourt da Silva (1831–1912), the mansion stands in grounds of more than 12 thousand square meters in Botafogo.
The space will present exhibitions from the Daros Latinamerica Collection and will be firmly focused on art and education – with a wide range of activities for the public. Casa Daros also offers a schedule of seminars and meetings with artists in its auditorium, as well as a library specialised in Latin American contemporary art, a documentation space, a reading room, a restaurant / café, and a shop.
Casa Daros is part of Daros Latinamerica, one of the most comprehensive collections in the world dedicated to Latin American contemporary art, that is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. The Daros Latinamerica Collection has over 1,200 artworks, including paintings, photographs, videos, sculptures and installations, by more than 117 artists, and is constantly expanding.
Casa Daros has opened with the exhibition Cantos Cuentos Colombianos, a panoramic view of contemporary Colombian art. The curator Hans-Michael Herzog has assembled a grouping of works by the artists Doris Salcedo, Fernando Arias, José Alejandro Restrepo, Juan Manuel Echavarría, María Fernanda Cardoso, Miguel Ángel Rojas, Nadín Ospina, Oscar Muñoz, Oswaldo Macià and Rosemberg Sandoval.
The exhibition, first presented in Zurich, Switzerland, in two parts, was the largest show of contemporary Colombian art yet shown in Europe.
Brazil the Guide 