Travel to Brazil

Carnaval in Bahia

Carnival in Bahia!!! That is if parties and crowds are your thing. Nowhere else comes close. Carnival Bahia is not nubile women in feathers high up on floaters à la Carnival Rio. It's YOU out there on the streets doing it 'til you drop. Carnaval (as it's spelled in Portuguese) 2007 starts Thursday, February 15th, and it runs through Tuesday, February 20th -- officially. Unofficially (and actually) it runs to the morning of Ash Wednesday, February 21st, and then continues in the arrastão (roundup) of Timbalada, which starts Wednesday morning at the Farol da Barra and winds its way along Avenida Oceanica to Ondina. The arrastão, which started several years ago and was only Timbalada has now seen other people and blocos jump on the the bandwagon (quite literally). It's grown to include at least three trios and blocos, winding up early Wednesday afternoon, and then there you are at Ondina's lovely beach, where the party continues at the barracas. In keeping with Carnival's theme, this year's Carnival has a "symbol", and that is none other than another venerable old-guard sambista...Bahia's own 85-year-old Mr. Dynamite!...Riachão! The man just doesn't know when to stop!

Craftsmanship Fair

The traditional National Craftsmanship Fair, which will kick off today, November 21, in Belo Horizonte, capital of the Brazilian southeastern state of Minas Gerais, will feature representatives from 30 European, African and Asian countries, plus the United States, all of which are part of a project for purchase.

The fair, which will run until Sunday, November 26, is promoted by Centro Cape Institute and by Central Mãos de Minas, and should attract 200,000 visitors, 15,000 of them foreign and from other Brazilian states. During the event, business roundtables will be promoted with the objective of facilitating direct negotiation between craftsmen and importers.

The number of foreign buyers at the National Craftsmanship Fair has been increasing throughout the last editions.

Last year, the 16th edition of the fair had 82 buyers, from 22 different countries, who attended the event spontaneously. Only three of them had their expenses paid by the organizers. For this edition, 150 foreign buyers are expected.

In order to promote Brazilian craftsmanship abroad even further, Central Mãos de Minas, in partnership with Apex, takes craftsmanship from Minas Gerais to fairs in Germany, Spain and Italy.

Each edition of the National Craftsmanship Fair has a theme. This year, it will be Carnaval. Pieces from the last Mangueira samba school parade, in Rio de Janeiro, will decorate the Expominas pavilion, and Carnaval artists will give workshops for confection of ornaments and percussion.

Besides, at the opening of the fair, samba schools Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel, also from Rio de Janeiro, and Águia de Ouro, from São Paulo, will perform.

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) Brazil has 8.5 million craftsmen, 500,000 of whom are from Minas Gerais. Annual revenue for the industry is approximately R$ 30 billion (US$ 13.942 billion). In Minas Gerais, the activity yields R$ 3 billion (US$ 1.394 billion).