Brazilian Culture in New York City

Brazilian Culture in New York City is a reflection of Brazil’s Indigenous, Portuguese, and African Diaspora cultures.

Traditional Brazilian culture includes Candomblé, capoeira, carnival, choro, and samba.

Contemporary Brazilian culture includes bossa nova, música popular brasileira (MPB), forró, sertanejo, baile funk, and soccer.

New York City’s Brazilian communities are centered in Midtown and Astoria, Queens.

New York’s “Little Brazil” is 46th St between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Midtown, Manhattan.

The Brazilian Consulate is in Murray Hill, Manhattan.

Metro New York’s biggest Brazilian community is in Newark, New Jersey.

The main United Nations architect was Oscar Niemeyer.

Brazilian telenovelas are popular throughout Latin America.

The most famous Latin American classical music composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos, is Brazilian.

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Brazilian New York City

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Brazilian Art

Mendes Wood DM gallery

Nara Roesler gallery

United Nations campus lead architect was Oscar Niemeyer. He also designed the Brazilian capital, Brasilia.

Marguerita Bornstein was a famous Brazilian illustrator and cartoonist living in Brooklyn.

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Brazilian Dance

Capoeira is a traditional Brazilian dance/martial art. When the colonizers said we couldn’t practice fighting, we said, we’re just dancing.

Dance Theatre of Harlem has some great Brazilian ballet dancers.

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Brazilian Fashion

Geova makes incredible handmade fashion in the East Village.

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Brazilian Festivals

Brazilian Day is produced by João De Matos.

Brasil Summerfest is a popular summer festival.

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Brazilian Food

• Brigadeiro Bakery
• Casa
• Churrascaria Plataforma
• Emporium Brasil
• Fogo de Chão
• Ipanema
• Via Brasil

Rio Market is a Brazilian market in Astoria, Queens.

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Brazilian Music

Nublu is a night club in the East Village owned by a Brazilian.

SOB’s Sounds of Brazil is a night club in Hudson Square that presents some Brazilian music.

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Azul NYC is a samba drum line.

Batalá New York is a samba reggae drum line.

Bebel Gilberto lives part of the time in New York City.

Forró in the Dark is a New York forró fusion band.

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Culture of Brazil

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Brazil is South America’s biggest country. It has the world’s largest African Diaspora population.

Candomblé is one of the African Diaspora religions that rooted in the Americas. It sprouted samba, bossa nova, and jazz.

Quilombos were free African towns in the countryside.

Samba

Public Holidays in Brazil

Public holidays say something about each country’s character.

• New Year’s Day is January 1.
• Carnival Tuesday is a public holiday. The date varies.
• Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Christ. The date varies.
• Easter is the Christian spring festival. The date varies.
• Tiradentes Day commemorates the execution of Brazilian national hero Joaquim José da Silva Xavier on April 21, 1792. He led the first major revolt against Portuguese rule. He was a dentist. That’s why the holiday is called “tooth-puller” day.
• Labour Day (International Workers Day) is May 1.
• Corpus Christi celebrates the Catholic tradition of symbolically eating God’s body and drinking his blood.
• Brazilian Independence Day is September 7, 1822.
• Our Lady of Aparecida Day celebrates Brazil’s patron saint with a pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida in Aparecida, São Paulo, Brazil, on October 12.
• All Soul’s Day, the Catholic tradition of tending family graves, is blended with Indigenous and African traditions, on November 2.
• Republic Day celebrates the coup d’état that established the Brazilian Republic on November 15, 1889.
• Christmas Day is the Christian solstice celebration on December 25.

Popular Celebrations in Brazil

• Dia dos Enamorados, Brazilian Valentines Day, is June 9.
• Festa de São João (Festa Junina) celebrates the birth of St John the Baptist on the eve of June 24. In Europe, it’s a midsummer festival. In Brazil, it’s a midwinter festival. Both traditions celebrate by lighting bonfires and jumping over them as a cleansing ritual.