Science News: New Monkey Species Discovered in the Amazon

New Monkey Species Discovered in the Amazon

Wow, a lot of new species from Brazil have been in the news recently. Here’s an article from Guardian about the discovery of a new type of titi monkey, found in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil.

Monkey belonging to the Callicebus genus found in Mato Grosso on an expedition backed by WWF-Brazil

Via GuardianUK…

“A monkey sporting a ginger beard and matching fiery red tail, discovered in a threatened region of the Brazilian Amazon, is believed to be a species new to science.

The primate was found in relatively untouched pockets of forest in Mato Grosso, the region that has been worst-affected by illegal deforestation and land conflicts…

The expedition, backed by conservation group WWF, also found probable new fish and plant species, all of which are now being studied.”

Handyman in Brazil Discovers a New Flower Species That Plants Its Own Seeds

Amateur Botanists in Brazil Discover a Flower That Plants Its Own Seeds

This is very cool….One more awesome thing that someone discovered in Bahia. Via ScienceDaily…

The newly discovered Spigelia genuflexa has pink and white star-shaped blossoms...it was identified as a new species after this picture was uploaded to flickr

A new plant species that buries its seeds – the first in its family – was discovered in the Atlantic forest of Bahia, Brazil, by an international team of amateur and professional scientists.

José Carlos Mendes Santos (a.k.a. Louro) is a handyman in rural northeastern Bahia, Brazil – one of the areas of the world with the highest biodiversity. Two years ago, he found a tiny, inch-high plant with white-and-pink flowers in the backyards of the off-the-grid house of amateur botanist and local plant collector Alex Popovkin.

Thanks to solar power and a satellite connection, Popovkin had access to the Internet, and as was his habit, he uploaded some photographs of the plant to Flickr and contacted several taxonomic experts around the globe. The family (strychnine family, or Loganiaceae) and genus (Spigelia) of the plant were soon established, with a suggestion from a Brazilian botanist that it might be a new species.

Scary Brazilian Lullabys, Cuca & Saci Pererê

Scary Brazilian Lullabys

Most Brazilian lullabies and children’s songs are scary as hell. Some of them are not exactly child-appropriate. Or human-appropriate.

Check out this hit parade:

• The big classic “Atirei o Pau no Gato”, that says: I hit a cat with a stick, but he didn’t die. Mrs. Chica was surprised by the cat’s cry.

• What about the morbid “A Canoa Virou“: the canoe turned over, because someone let it happen: [name of the kid] didn’t know how to row. If I were a little fish and knew how to swim, I would rescue [the kid] from the bottom of the sea.

• Or  the even scarier “Nana neném”: sleep baby, because Cuca (a forest monster) is coming to get you. Mommy went to the country and daddy went to work.

• Or the vaguely racist “Boi da Cara Preta”: Black-faced ox, come for this kid that is afraid of grimaces!

• Or the gloomy “O Cravo Brigou com a Rosa”:  Carnation fought with Rose, under a set of stairs. Carnation got hurt and Rose lost her petals. Carnation got sick, Rose came visit. Carnation fainted. Rose began to cry.

• You can also try “Ciranda, Cirandinha“, that says: “the ring you gave me was made of glass and broke. The love that you had for me was not enough and vanished”.

• Or “Samba Lelê”: Samba Lelê is ill, his head is broken. What he really needs is to be spanked.

(thanks DeepBrazil, for this summary!)

You don’t need to have a PhD in Psychology to realize you might want to keep your kids away from these songs. “nana neném” is the one that personally I heard the most of. Here is a YouTube video of a Cuca monster singing the lullaby “nana neném” on the brazilian children’s program”Sítio do Picapau Amarelo”…:

The main refrain of the lullaby goes:

nana* nenem                                sleep baby
que a cuca vai pegar                 because the cuca’s gonna get you
mamãe foi pra roça                  mommy went to the country
papai foi trabalhar                   daddy went to work
desce gatinho                               come down, little cat
de cima do telhado                    from the roof
pra ver se a criança                   to see if the child
dorme um sono sossegado    is sleeping peacefully

*the word “nana” means sleep when you are talking to a child (nanar – to sleep). Children in Brazil sometimes get their own special verbs. For example, instead of saying “comer” – to eat, when talking to a child you can also say “papar” (“vamos papar?” – “lets eat?”)

Legend of The Cuca

this is a cuca...

... not to be confused with the brand of pre-made caipirinhas, "cuca fresca"

So what is a “Cuca”? It’s the creature that’s singing “Nana neném” in the Youtube video above. While there are a number of Brazilian legends, one of the best known is that of the cuca, a mythical character popularized in Brazilian culture. The cuca, which originally came from the Portuguese coca, a dragon legend, was brought to Brazil in colonial times. The cuca is an ugly old woman who appears in the form of a crocodile and robs disobedient children. The cuca only sleeps once every seven years, and parents sometimes use this element of the legend to scare children who don’t want to go to sleep, telling them that the cuca will get them if they don’t go to bed. The Cuca legend was adapted for TV on the Globo show Sítio do Picapau Amarelo beginning in the 1970s. The TV cuca had a blonde wig, lived in a cave, and made magical potions. The cuca was also popularized in music, including the lullaby “Nana nené.”

Saci Pererê

Saci Pererê is another terrifying figure of early childhood in Brazil.

that's saci (pronounced "sassy") on the left. i chose this picture because he looks friendly. that is usually not how he is portrayed, and usually depictions of him are pretty shockingly racist

He’s black and has only one leg. He is always depicted smoking a large pipe. He wears a red pointed hat, which gives him magical powers, like the ability to appear or disappear whenever he wants to. He supposedly comes out of nowhere and will trick you if you ever find yourself alone in the forest.

TED Video: Gringo Discusses Brazilian Perception of Time, More Focused On The Present Than The Future

Gringo Discusses Brazilian’s Perception of Time: Focusing On The Present Rather Than The Future

I came across a really interesting TED video on Update or Die that I thought would interest all of you here on Portuguese Blog. There are two reasons: one, it’s a gringo speaking Portuguese very well (he’s Danish) and two, it’s a very valuable lesson about Brazilian culture and how foreigners interact with it.

In the video, Jens Schriver discusses his experience with Brazilian time. As a European, he had a hard time adapting to the Brazilian sense of time, which is more focused on the present than the future, and less focused on punctuality and planning ahead. He discusses a very interesting study that looked at how different cultures view time, as well as the cultures that are considered the “friendliest.” Watch the video and find out the results of the study, as well as some very interesting perspectives on the notion of time in different cultures. Schriver also discussed the downsides to being too future-oriented, and the health benefits to being more present-oriented. It’s almost 10 minutes, but watch the whole thing!

 

For many foreigners, culture shock is a natural part of living in Brazil, but time is definitely one of the biggest challenges, including punctuality (or lack thereof), canceling at the last minute, making plans at the last minute, or unexpected delays. Experiences vary by region (some say São Paulo moves faster than Rio, for example), but dealing with differences in time is a common challenge for gringos in Brazil.

Thanks Transparent!

After Getting High At Costume Party, Law Student in Rio Dressed As BOPE Officer Steals A Bus & Causes 3 Accidents

After Getting High At Costume Party, Law Student in Rio Dressed As BOPE Officer Steals A Bus & Causes 3 Accidents

Law student Pedro Henrique Garcia de Souza, 24, from Rio stole a bus this morning and managed to hit 18 cars before getting arrested. One person was injured.

Here’s part of the article from G1:

“Eu não sequestrei o ônibus, não. Não tinha ninguém dentro”, disse o jovem de 24 anos preso após roubar um ônibus neste domingo (18) no Terminal Alvorada, na Barra da Tijuca, na Zona Oeste do Rio de Janeiro, e provocar uma série de acidentes na Zona Sul. “Eu saí de uma festa, realmente fiz errado”, admitiu o jovem, que afirmou ser estudante de direito.

“I didn’t hijack the bus. There was no one inside” says the student in his defense….LOL……and then he goes on to claim that he was really the victim in this situation, as he was “beaten by the police” after they arrested him (just to remind you, this is a law student), which the PM of course deny:

O jovem afirmou ainda ter sido vítima de agressões de policiais ao se entregar. “Olha a minha cara. Quando eles mandaram parar, eu parei, olha só a minha cara, olha o que eles fizeram comigo. Eu tô errado, mas eles tão mais porque me espancaram, eu fui espancado pela PM”, disse o preso, ainda dentro da viatura policial. Procurada pelo G1, a assessoria da Polícia Militar nega que agentes tenham agredido o rapaz. De acordo com a PM, o preso está machucado devido à sequência de colisões do ônibus.

Click Here to read the rest…

JetBlue Partners With TAM To Go Deeper into Brazil…

JetBlue, Partnered With Tam, Will Fly To 45 Cities Across Brazil

This partnership will connect travelers to Brazil via New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Orlando International Airport.

From Forbes…

“JetBlue Airways, the 6th largest passenger carrier in the U.S. based on revenue passenger miles, recently announced an interline partnership with TAM Airlines, the largest airline in Brazil under which it will be able to connect its travelers to 45 cities across Brazil and other international destinations covered by TAM in South America.”

“…JetBlue customers will be able to purchase a single e-ticket itinerary, combining flights on both carriers’ networks giving them the ease of one-stop ticketing and baggage check-in along with an enhanced flying experience through TAM’s modern airplanes and high quality services.“

The Rise Of Online Movie Streaming in Brazil – Netflix & Its Brazilian Competition

The Rise Of Netflix-Like Services For Online Movie Streaming In Brazil

It seems that Netflix, which was unleashed this month in Brazil, is facing some trouble adapting to the prehistoric nature of Brazil’s Broadband internet. The last time I checked, the internet in my family’s house Brazil was still dial-up, they can’t even use the computer and the landline phone at the same time…it’s one or the other. The last time I was there, I tried to show people videos on youtube a couple of times, and the way that worked was by going to the video on youtube, leaving it open on the screen for about half an hour, and then returning to it to watch only when it was fully loaded. I also got berated a few times for being on the internet during the day, because in Brazil, you get charged when you surf online during the daytime (its cheaper at night).

…And these are only some of the horrors plaguing online Brazilians in a country where the infrastructure isn’t advancing fast enough to accommodate services like Netflix that are looking to supply one of the worlds largest and most active contingents of internet users with online video streaming.

So Is The Internet in Brazil Fast Enough?…

…No. Netflix has only recently arrived in Brazil and is offering Brazilians the chance to watch movies over the internet. But it has already been reported (for example, here, in this article by Folha,) that Netflix streaming in HD is choking on Brazilian broadband (and that’s on broadband!). Not everyone in Brazil has broadband…Only 20 percent of Brazil’s 42 million Internet users have a connection speed above 500 kilobytes per second, where a speed of around 800 kilobytes per second is the minimum required to stream movies online.

Netflix Unveils Latin America Service In Brazil

From HuffPost….

Broadband internet reaches a far smaller percentage of homes in Latin America than in the United States, and speeds are slower. Piracy of movies is among the most widespread on the planet, meaning many consumers can pick up a DVD or CD of the latest films for less than a dollar. Also, Netflix has little brand recognition in the region, and in the case of Brazil it already faces a homegrown competitor.

“This just won’t work in Ecuador or Costa Rica or even Mexico as it has in the U.S.,” said analyst Michael Pachter of Webbush Securities. “It’s going to depend on how many households have broadband access and what the quality of the content will be like.”

Only 20 percent of Brazil’s 42 million Internet users have a connection speed above 500 kilobytes per second, according to a May report from Ibope Nielsen Online. A speed of around 800 kilobytes per second is the minimum required to stream movies online.

Netflix subscribers across the region will be able to watch TV shows and movies streamed on a wide range of gadgets. Foreign and domestic content will be offered in Brazil, with some titles dubbed in Portuguese, Spanish or English, and people will also be able to opt for subtitling.

The service in Brazil will cost 14.99 reals per month (about $9), and new subscribers will get the first month for free.

(R$ 15 !?…in my opinion, that’s a little expensive for Brazil)

Who Are Netflix’s Competitors in Brazil?

There are a few Brazilian competitors to Netflix: NetMovies, Terra TV Video Store, Saraiva Digital and Muu. Below is a good comparison of the online streaming competition in Brazil. It’s in Portuguese, so if you need help with the terminology, click Here (and scroll all the way down) for some good Portuguese tech vocab.

Map Compares Brazilian State Economies To Countries

Map Compares Brazilian States To Countries

The map below presents country equivalents for every state in Brazil in terms of GDP (gross domestic product), GDP per person and population. It throws up some curiosities: who knew that Alagoas, a state in the north-east that is currently more famous for its murder rate than for its magnificent beaches, has the same GDP per person as China? It also suggests that even the comparatively rich states in the south and south-east have some way to go before they can be compared with wealthy places in the northern hemisphere. The gauchos of Rio Grande do Sul will not necessarily be delighted to learn that GDP per person in their state is close to that of Gabon.

The map from Economist Magazine reveals that:

• São Paulo’s Gross Domestic Product and GDP per capita could be compared to Poland’s; while its population is similar (numerically) to Argentina’s
• Rio’s GDP can be compared to Singapore’s, its GDP per capita, to Russia’s., and its population to Kazakstan.
• Alagoas, the poorest state, according to the latest official statistics, has the GDP of Afghanistan, the GDP per capita of China and the population of Albania.
• Rio Grande do Sul, generally considered a very rich state, has the GDP per person of…Gabon.

Portuguese Word of the Day: “Indenização”

Here’s the Portuguese word of the day! If you have any words that you would like to nominate for this word of the day series, let me know! portugueseblogger@gmail.com

“indenização”

indenização – n. indemnity, reparation, restitution, compensation that you receive for damages (of pain and suffering, such as libel or slander OR for physical damages involving loss, such as in a flood)

Examples:

“Ele processou a empresa por danos morais e ele recebeu R$ 41 mil de indenização” – “He sued the company for damages of pain and suffering and received R$ 41 thousand in indemnity”

“Ex-empregada de supermercado vai receber R$ 1 milhão de indenização por queimaduras” – “Ex-employee of supermarket will receive R$ 1 million in compensation for burns.”

Conspiracy Theories In Brazil

Conspiracy Theories In Brazil Target TV Globo, Xuxa & Soccer

Brazilians, suspicious by nature (normal when you come from a corrupt third world country), seem to love conspiracy theories at a level on par with the Americans. But perhaps where the famous Brazilian conspiracy theories diverge is that they are for the most part completely baseless, often founded on satanic fears and spread by churches. In Portuguese, a conspiracy theory is called Uma Teoria da Conspiração, and here are a few of them that you will hear a lot about in Brazil:

"The Media Empire of Globo" - is globo really in control? is it evil? - the globo conspiracy theory

 

In Brazil, one of the most popular hotbeds for conspiracy theories is the church, and the targets 95% of the time are either TV Globo or Xuxa. Growing up evangelical in Brazil, I grew tired of hearing these things shouted from church microphones. First, the theories about Xuxa, everyone in Brazil knows…they say she has a pact with the devil (this one in particular turns up hundreds of thousands of search results on google), that her music carries subliminal messages, that she sold her daughter’s soul to the devil, etc. When it comes to Rede Globo, the most influential television network in Brazil, I’ve heard a lot of things, so has everyone, and the stories almost always involve pacts made with the devil and the dark demonic rituals of Globo’s employees. Even today there are many people who still believe that literally everyone who works on Rede Globo has literally sold their soul to the devil in order to become a successful actor. There are also many who believe that Globo is under the control of the illuminati, whatever that means.

Also, Here is a list I found of The Top Five Conspiracy Theories Involving Brazil in World Cups. The one i’ve heard most is that Brazil sold out for money and lost the 1998 World Cup to the French on purpose.

What do you think? Have you heard these or other conspiracy theories in Brazil? Were you surprised at how seriously people defend them? Feel free to comment below.