The Culture of Plastic Surgery in Brazil

The Culture of Plastic Surgery Among Rio’s Lower Classes

 

 

A ‘Necessary Vanity’

Alexander Edmonds, an anthropologist studied the culture of plastic surgery among Rio’s lower classes and found a desire for both equity and self-esteem:

I first met Ester through her former employer, a successful plastic surgeon, for whom she’d worked as his personal cook.  Ester lived nearby to the surgeon in Vidigal, a favela flanking the brilliant white sand beach of Leblon.  One day after she’d prepared dinner for his family she shyly told him in private, “Doutor, I want to put in silicone.”

After reading up on prosthetic materials in an Internet café, she’d settled on a midcost model of breast implant (1,500 real, or about $900), size (175 cm) and shape (natural), and convinced the doctor in a minute that she was a good candidate.  Hesitant to perform the surgery on his domestic employee, he referred her to a young resident in Pitanguy’s clinic.

Ester left school at 14 to work beside her mother as a maid and now has two young kids.  While taking night classes to get her high school diploma, she dreamed of “working with numbers.”  Job prospects were grim though, and she said she’d take anything, even “working for a family” (a euphemism for domestic service).  I asked her why she wanted to have the surgery.  “I didn’t put in an implant to exhibit myself, but to feel better. It wasn’t a simple vanity, but a  … necessary vanity.  Surgery improves a woman’s auto-estima.”

Edmonds reveals what this search for self-esteem through physical alteration says about the culture of Brazil’s therapeutic landscape:

Psychoanalysis and plastic surgery, both once maverick medical specialties, overlapped closely in their historical development.  While the “talking cure” treated bodily complaints via the mind, plastic surgery healed mental suffering via the body.  Historian Sander Gilman called plastic surgery “psychoanalysis in reverse.”  In Brazil, as in Argentina, psychoanalysis enjoyed extraordinary popularity among wealthier Brazilians. But many veterans of Freudian or Lacananian therapy have supplemented or supplanted it with plástica. For the patients at public hospitals, psychoanalysis had never been “an option,” a psychologist who worked in Pitanguy’s clinic told me. Echoing the words of the mischievous Carnival designer, she explained, “The poor prefer surgery.”

Read The Rest Here, Via NYT…

News: Retail Store Zara Accused of Brazilian Slave Labor

Sweatshops and Immigrant Labor in Brazil

A Bolivian migrant worker said the labour component of a pair of Zara jeans which retail at $126 (£76) was $1.14, which was divided between the seven people involved in the process.

“Spanish fashion chain’s parent denies claims but will compensate 15 migrants ‘rescued’ from Sao Paulo workplace”

Inside this Guardian story on the recent bust-up of a Zara manufacturing sweatshop in Sao Paulo is a tidbit about the growth of illegal immigration and labor in Brazil:

Retail fashion chain Zara is under investigation by Brazil’s ministry of labour after a contractor in São Paulo was found to be using employees in sweatshop conditions to make garments for the Spanish company.

“They work 16 or even 18 hours a day,” he said. “It is extremely exhausting work, from Monday to Saturday, sometimes even Sunday depending on demand. I’ve seen workers who have taken home R$150-250 (£57-94) at the end of the month [Zack: Brazil’s minimum wage is $344] – after paying off housing debt, food debt, telephone card debt, debt [to people traffickers] for the journey here.”

Many have to work for three or four months to pay off the “coyotes” who have smuggled them into the country.

“These are classic cases of immigrant sweatshops,” Bignami said, adding that he had no doubt that such labour conditions characterised modern-day slavery. Workers often face “threats, coercion, physical violence. All this to increase productivity,” he added.

Read The Whole Story Here, Via Guardian…

The “Peaceful Favelas” Are Attracting More Tourists in Rio – Are Favela Tours Like A Human Zoo??

Increased Tourism In Rio’s “Pacified” Favelas: Encouraged by The Brazilian Government, But Is it Ultimately Fair to Inhabitants?

The traditional conception of a favela is being subverted in Rio. Every day, dozens of tourists are led through some of Rio’s most dangerous slums to witness the conditions of the favela.

I got this picture off of the website for "Rio Tour," one of the many favela tour agencies i found on google

In the wake of U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent visit to Rio de Janeiro, which included a tour through the notorious City of God slum, questions have been raised regarding the fate of Brazil’s hill-draped favelas. Brazilian and foreign officials have expressed concern related to the crime-infested favelas, especially in light of the upcoming Brazil-hosted 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

In an effort to calm international and domestic anxiety, municipal and federal forces are acting together to combat drug lords and rid favelas of potentially spoiling transgressors who could have a devastating impact on the country’s image. However, law enforcement agencies are not the only factions trying to bring about severely needed change. Favela tourism is also playing a role, with tourists acting alongside government officials to revise global attitudes toward these impoverished communities.

"Michael Jackson's Space" - Now a popular tourist attraction, this is the spot where Michael Jackson made a music video in the Rio favela "Morro Santa Maria"

Favela tour guide Vitor Lira Adão, 30, says that he was already bringing tourists on tours through the favelas before they were “pacified.” He is one of the monitors of Rio Top Tour, a project created a year ago by the state government in order to incentivize favela-dwellers to bring in tourism.

“Foreigners have always been curious, even though they are aware of how dangerous it used to be,” says Vitor, who says that he never had serious problems while giving tours, except for one time when he quickly had to hide from gunfire…

Read More, Via Folha…

And here is the video from that recent Folha article:

…And Below is another video of a Brazilian Favela tour from Current TV.

In this video, Current TV producer Dre Urhahn follows a group of tourists on a favela tour to examine whether they exploiting the communities or helping them…

And lastly,

Here’s a decent article that touches upon the discomforting nature of the concept of a tour through a human-filled ghetto: Globalization or Zoo-Like Exploitation? Slum Tours on the Rise

So, what’s Portuguese Blogger’s take on all of this? Well, gringos obviously have a natural curiosity for what third world poverty looks like in a country so fun and “cultural” as brazil, they also clearly get an adrenaline rush from the possibility of witnessing violence. So, all in all i’d say that these favela inhabitants could make a good business out of this, just as long as the potential for the tour to be dangerous still lingers, in order to preserve that element of brag-worthy excitement. But it is slightly bothersome to me that the government wants to turn the favelas into some sort of “reality” Disneyland, it does seem disturbingly like a zoo, but i guess we’ll see what happens by 2016…

Also, watch this music video….

obama's visit to the favela

What do you think?

Feninjer Expo in São Paulo Showcases Gorgeous Brazilian Jewelry Design

“The way you buy art for your home, a Brazilian woman buys jewelry for her outfit.”

true, oh so true… 

Rings by GoldDesign

They call it Ginga. Technically a sweeping move in the Brazilian martial art dance of Capoeira, it also describes that “certain something” that Brazilian women ooze as they move through space. It’s a self-confident, independent, seductive swagger that lets a room know she has arrived. And nowhere is Ginga more in the air than in Sao Paulo during the FENINJER Expo. Put on by the IBGM (the Brazilian Gem and Precious Metals Institute), the show is Brazil’s unfettered display of the country’s most exquisite and extravagant in fine jewelry design.

Last week I had the unique privilege of attending the show with a fabulous group of marketers, public relations specialists, and female journalists from North and South America. The trip was organized to expose us to a well of Brazilian design talent. But for me, the trip was about much more than the jewelry itself. It was about the way women in other cultures approach fashion. In a region that produces a greater variety of beautifully colored gemstones than any other country in the world — not to mention a disproportionate amount of glamorous women — your jewelry is an essential aspect of your style. I’m not talking about an understated gold or solitaire pendant, or an edgy, slick two-finger ring as an accent. I’m talking big, bold, tourmaline, diamond, and emerald baubles that make your jaw drop. These women buy fine jewelry the way we buy handbags — seasonally, in line with international fashion trends, and as an important part of their twice-yearly wardrobe purchases.

A clear standout at the show was GOLDDESIGN — a collection of the most fantastical, dreamscape confections that are part Sofia Coppola’s Marie-Antoinette, part Tim Burton’s Wonderland. Golden cages with moveable diamond birds become rings, and ruby and emerald creeping vines and fluttering dragonflies turn into dreamy secret-garden-like pendants. The designer, Ana Márcia Albuquerque, explained the thinking behind the line… “I sell art, not jewelry. The way you buy art for your home, a Brazilian woman buys jewelry for her outfit.”

Bracelet By Vianna

Another collection I loved was Vianna, shared with me by their director, Brazilian powerhouse Karla Antunes, a woman with enough ginga to knock you over. Modern and technically superb, the collection uses some of the rarest colored gems in the world to create highly sculpted, architecturally inspired fantasy pieces.

Via HuffPost…

Brazil’s ‘Mr. Elderly’ Annual Contest Chooses Most Handsome Grandpa

 Weird News: Brazil’s Hottest Grandpa Crowned in Sao Paulo

First it was prison inmates, now it’s grandpas. What’s going on Sao Paulo?

Via HuffPost…

“They want to see people who are dynamic…who are good speakers who also have good looks and a young soul…how is able to somehow pass this energy to the public.”

That’s how the winner of Brazil’s “Mr. Elderly” contest describes the geriatric beauty contest’s criteria. You can’t fault 60-year-old electrician Sergio Cardoso too much for sounding immodest: he was selected out of 65 other respectable elderly men, and reportedly drew gasps from a crowd of nearly 300 women as he stepped forward to take the coveted title.

As the BBC is reporting, the annual pageant is hosted by Sao Paulo-based clinic with the intention of promoting healthy aging among men and women over 60.

 

Watch the video by Reuters HERE…

Uncontacted Brazilian Tribe Apparently Slayed By Peruvian Drug Gang

Really? This is so sad. I was shocked when I heard in the video that “the Peruvian government suggests that these tribes don’t exist at all.” Umm…well, here’s the proof, Peru. The fact that this tribe may have just been wiped out so inconsequentially makes me really worry for humanity.

‘Uncontacted’ Tribe May be Lost Forever

The video footage of an “uncontacted” tribe in the Amazon shows scenes that look as if they're from a long-lost world. Sadly, this may be all too true, as suspected Peruvian drug-smugglers are thought to have scared this tribe away, if not killed them outright.

Via Daily Maverick…

In January the BBC broadcast footage of an “uncontacted” Brazilian tribe as part of its “Human Planet” documentary series. The first photos of this tribe, which lives in the Javari Valley in the Amazon, about 20km from the Peruvian border, had been released in 2008, and a video clip is also available on the website of NGO Survival International.

José Carlos dos Reis Meirelles, who works for Brazil’s Indian affairs department, has been studying the tribe for the last 20 years. The decision to allow the pictures and footage to be shot, and released to the wider public, was a strategic one. “Without proof they exist, the outside world won’t support them,” Meirelles said. “One image of them has more impact than 1,000 reports.”

The pictures were taken from 1km away, with powerful zoom lenses, so as not to intrude unduly. The tribe has been increasingly exposed to the danger of unwanted contact. “If illegal loggers or miners contact these people, they won’t shoot images … they’ll shoot guns,” said Meirelles. However, one threat he didn’t specifically mention was that of drug dealers…

Brazil’s ‘Uncontacted’ Amazon Tribe Attacked by Drug Gang

In what authorities in Brazil have deemed a “massacre,” a remote tribe in the Amazon jungle was reportedly attacked by Peruvian drug traffickers last month. The tribe was thought to never have made contact with the outside world.

The Brazilian indigenous protection service had been guarding the tribe, but their outpost was attacked by a heavily armed group from Peru. Since the raid, which was allegedly perpetrated by cocaine smugglers, there have been no sightings of the tribespeople anywhere.

The tribal village sat in the jungle near the Peruvian border on the western edge of Brazil. State agencies, who initially left the indigenous people alone, are now searching for any survivors.

“We decided to come back here because we believed that these guys may be massacring the isolated [tribe],” Carlos Travassos, the head of Brazil’s department for isolated indigenous peoples, told the Brazilian news Web site IG.

“We are more worried than ever,” he said. “The situation could be one of the greatest blows we have seen to the work to protect isolated Indians in decades. A catastrophe … genocide!”

Guards reportedly found a backpack punctured with broken arrows on the tribe’s now-empty land. The bag is assumed to have belonged to one of the armed men who stormed the area with rifles and machine guns. Police have detained a Portuguese man with a criminal record in connection with the event.

“Arrows are like the identity card of uncontacted Indians. We think the Peruvians made the Indians flee. Now we have good proof,” Travassos added.

According to some accounts coming from Brazil, the Peruvian gang may still be present in the area, protecting the land with machine guns. It is assumed that the gang wants to use the territory to establish a trafficking route to Acre, Brazil, or to harvest the coca plant, used to make cocaine.

Read More Via IBTimes…

Areal Footage of Uncontacted Tribe in Brazil

Here Are Two Videos Showing Areal Footage of The Uncontacted Community in Brazil, One From The Website UncontactedTribes.Org and The Other From BBC One…VERY INTERESTING!

Weird News: 2011 “Miss Penitentiary”: Prison In Brasilia Throws Beauty Pageant for Inmates

Beauty Behind Bars: Brazilian Prison Announces 2011 Miss Penitentiary

Inmates of the Women’s Prison of Brasilia participate in the third annual “Miss Penitentiary”beauty pageant

Via International Business Times…

Fashion was high in the air with women dressed up in gorgeous gowns and designer heels. However, it is not the Paris Fashion Week or the Milan Fashion Week that we are referring to.

Inside the high-security walls of the Women’s Prison of Brasilia, a number of prison inmates were walking the ramp for the 2011 Miss Penitentiary fashion contest.

Over 100 female prisoners were part of the jail’s third annual Miss Penitentiary awards. The winner of the contest, Raira Passion, looked stunning in a green evening dress. She was announced the winner after receiving the highest number of votes out of the 12 selected finalists.

Check out the images of the 2011 Miss Penitentiary below:

Click Here to see the rest of the pictures…

News: CNN Rates Brazilian As The World’s “Coolest Nationality”

CNN Rates Brazilian As The World’s  “Coolest Nationality”

and I’d have to agree wholeheartedly….

Here’s the article Via CNN Global Experiences…

Without Brazilians we wouldn’t have samba and Rio carnival; we wouldn’t have the soccer beauty of Pele and Ronaldo; we wouldn’t have the minuscule swimwear and toned bodies of Copacabana beach; and we wouldn’t have certain eye-watering procedures performed with wax.

Unless they’re using their sexy, laid-back, party-loving reputation as a cover for exterminating dolphins or invading Poland, then we have no choice but to name Brazilians as the coolest people on the planet.

So, if you’re Brazilian and reading this, congratulations — although, since you’re sitting at a computer instead of showing off your six-pack on the shoreline, you probably aren’t that cool yourself.

Icon of cool: Seu Jorge. The favela-raised performer’s soulful Portuguese-language Bowie covers make you wish Ziggy Stardust was from Brazil, not space.

Not so cool: Mmmmm, Brazilian meat and cocoa — so delicious, but farming’s destruction of vast tracts of rainforest leaves a bitter aftertaste.

 

Weird Science News: New Photos Of Uncontacted Tribe in Brazil

I seriously cannot get enough of this…

New Uncontacted Group Confirmed in Brazil

so, it's not OK to "contact" them, and yet it is OK to fly right over them through the sky in airplanes

The Javari Valley

The newly-identified group lives in the Javari valley, a South Carolina-sized region set aside by the Brazilian government for indigenous people. About 2,000 uncontacted people are believed to live there, making it the last great stronghold of groups who’ve utterly eschewed industrial civilization.

“There are about seven groups who have been contacted, and what the Brazilian government says is that they’ve found references to about 14 uncontacted indigenous groups,” said Watson. “Some of those groups may be the same people. It’s hard to say exactly how many there are.”

The most recent contact was made in 1996 with a group of Korubo tribespeople. (Above is videotape from that encounter.) Though government policy is to avoid contact altogether, they were moving toward an area occupied by loggers, making it necessary to warn them away.

Via Wired Science…

News: World Interest in New Brazil Leads to More Translations of Brazilian Authors

Via Brazzil Mag

Paulo Coelho, the bestselling author whose novel The Alchemist has been dubbed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most translated book by a living author (into a total of 53 languages)

World Interest in New Brazil Leads to More Translations of Brazilian Authors

A growing number of Brazilian literary works have been translated into other languages and published abroad and the trend is for continuous growth in this sector due to a set of grants by the National Library Foundation (FBN), forecasting 12 million Brazilian reais (US$ 7.6 million) for the area over the next ten years.

According to the Book and Literature coordinator at the FBN, Georgina Staneck, of an average 23 grants a year for translation and publication of Brazilian books abroad, the volume rose to 68 in the second half of last year alone.

Georgina believes that the growth in publications of Brazilian works abroad reflects the work developed by the FBN in the area, alongside the government of Brazil, and the fact that the country should be honored at Frankfurt Fair, the main book fair in the world, in 2013.

“The number of countries publishing work has also risen. People are turning to Brazil more and more. And what they like, and are seeking, is current authors, not classics, they want the new Brazil,” explained Georgina…