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Brazilian NYC

Brazilian NYC used to be centered in Little Brazil on 46th St between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Midtown, Manhattan.

Today the community is more spread out.

There is a Brazilian community in Astoria, Queens.

Newark, New Jersey’s Ironbound District is Metro New York’s biggest Brazilian and Portuguese community.

Brazilian News

October 6, 2021

The 59th New York Film Festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Fri, Sep 24 – Oct 10. 🇦🇴🇧🇴🇧🇷🇨🇦🇨🇴🇫🇷🇮🇳🇮🇹🇲🇽🇵🇹🇷🇴🇪🇸🇺🇸

The Kicking and Screening soccer film festival screens Big-Time Soccer: The Remarkable Rise & Fall of the NASL (featuring Pelé at the NY Cosmos) at Upper 90 in Astoria, Queens on Wed, Oct 13 at 7pm. $20. 🇧🇷

Fleur Seule sings “Latin Love Songs” at Birdland in Hell’s Kitchen on Thu, Oct 14 at 8:30pm. From $20. 🇧🇷🇨🇺🇵🇷

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Sep 15 – Oct 15. [We’re included, even though we are not Hispanic, but Luso.]

Mambembe plays Samba/Reggae and Kikiriki Biguey plays Afro Cuban Rumba on Tue, Oct 26 at 8pm (7pm doors). $10. 🇧🇷🇯🇲🇨🇺

Previously in Brazilian NYC

Luan Barbosa’s Roda de Samba plays Brazilian Samba and Pagode at Drom in the East Village on Sun, Oct 3 at 7:30pm. (6:30pm doors). $20. 🇧🇷

The Winter Film Awards International Film Festival is at Cinema Village in Greenwich Village, Thu, Sep 23 – Oct 2. $16.50 winterfilmawards.com 🇦🇷🇧🇷🇲🇽🇪🇸

Fotoclubismo: Brazilian Modernist Photography 1946-1964 closes at MoMA in Midtown on Sun, Sep 26, 2021 from 10:30am – 5:30pm. $25 🇧🇷

The New York Yankees celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a giveaway of Yankee caps with Hispanic flags for Yankee games on Fri-Wed, Sep 17-22, 2021. From $40. mlb.com
🇦🇷🇧🇴🇧🇷🇨🇱🇨🇴🇨🇷🇨🇺🇩🇴🇪🇨🇸🇻🇬🇹🇭🇳🇲🇽🇳🇮🇵🇦🇵🇾🇵🇪🇵🇷🇪🇸🇺🇾🇻🇪

Brazilian Archive

Brazilian Festivals NYC

New York City’s big Brazilian festivals are Brasil Summerfest in late July and August and Brazilian Day on Labor Day Weekend.

Brazilian New York City

Brazilian New York City is mostly in Little Brazil, Manhattan; Astoria, Queens; and Newark, New Jersey.

Manhattan’s Little Brazil is on 46th St between Fifth & Sixth Avenue. It has shrunk a lot over the years. There are still Emporium Brasil, Ipanema and Via Brasil restaurants.

The Brazilian Consulate is in Midtown East. There is a Banco do Brasil Brazilian bank in Midtown.

Fogo de Chao and Churrascaria Plataforma are Manhattan’s Brazilian steakhouses. Rio Market in Astoria, Queens is a great Brazilian market.

SOB’s (Sounds of Brazil) is a world music night club in Hudson Square (West SoHo). Wednesday nights at Nublu are New York City’s Brazil night.

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

The Bossa Nova at Carnegie Hall concert in 1962 popularized bossa nova around the world.

Brazilian New Yorkers

João De Matos hosts the Brazilian Day festival. Renowned artist Vik Muniz splits his time between New York City and Brazil. He has tile art installations at the (Q) 72nd St station. He is represented by Sikkema Jenkins & Co. Dance Theatre of Harlem has some wonderful Brazilian dancers. Forro in the Dark is a great Brazilian club forro band. Bossa nova singer Bebel Gilberto splits her time between New York and the world. Geova makes incredible handmade fashion in the East Village. Marguerita Bornstein is a famous Brazilian illustrator and cartoonist living in Brooklyn.

Can you believe we are blessed with two Brazilian women’s drum corps? Fogo Azul NYC is a samba drum line. Batalá New York is a samba reggae drum line.

The Brazilian World

Many amazing Brazilian artists visit New York City. The New York Cosmos soccer team peaked when Pelé played for them in 1975-77.

Carmen Miranda popularized samba worldwide from the 1930s to the 1950s. People laugh at her fruit hat and silly image, but at her peak she was laughing all the way to the bank as the the highest paid woman in Hollywood. People came to resent her image, but perhaps we shouldn’t blame her for making the best of the limitations that were put on Latin women in that era. She was a pioneer in a tough time.

Brazil has important modern artists including Lygia Clark, Lygia Pape, Tarsila do Amaral and Hélio Oiticica. As their careers developed, they all seemed to use their fame to promote social justice. The Sylvio Perlstein Collection is one of the most important Brazilian art collections.

Sebastião Salgado is a world-renowned Brazilian photographer. Valdir Cruz is famous for his Indigenous and gaucho photography.

Seu Jorge

Thursday, January 16, 2020
The Town Hall
MIDTOWN, NYC
The Brazilian samba star and actor visits with a friend. Anat Cohen & Choro Aventuroso open.

Continue Reading Seu Jorge

Tulipa Ruiz

Thursday, August 1, 2019
LINCOLN CENTER ~ The multi-talented, Latin Grammy-winning Brazilian singer-songwriter of MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) plays a free acoustic concert at the David Rubenstein Atrium

Continue Reading Tulipa Ruiz

Alceu Valença

Saturday, July 27, 2019
CENTRAL PARK, NYC ~ One of the elders of MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) brings the sounds of Pernambuco in Northeast Brazil to Brasil SummerFest at Central Park SummerStage

Continue Reading Alceu Valença

Paulo Laport

EDELMAN ARTS, UPPER EAST SIDE, May 29-July 13, 2013 ~ Paulo Laport’s paintings are like a crystal ball. At a glance it’s just a piece of glass, but when you stop and look inside, images appear like magic.
#BRAZILIAN #ARTIST

Continue Reading Paulo Laport

Heleno

A film about the passion, decadence and destruction of the first global sports star, Brazilian footballer Heleno de Freitas, opens December 7.

Continue Reading Heleno

Brazilian Culture

Brazil is a blend of Indigenous, Portuguese and African cultures. Indigenous communities have an impact on the culture. Brazil also has notable Japanese and Arab communities.

Brazilians love soccer and are some of the world’s best players. Brazil has the world’s biggest Carnival festival.

Churrascaria is a Brazilian grilled steak tradition. Southern Brazil has gaucho culture. Feijoada is traditional Brazilian stew.

There is so much great Brazilian music. Samba and Pagode are from Bahia. Choro is a form of Carnival music. New Orleans jazz sounds like choro. Bossa nova is the samba-jazz fusion of the 1960s that blended with rock into MPB, Música popular brasileira (Brazilian pop). Sertanejo is the Brazilian country music that is among the most popular music in Brazil now. Forró is a country dance music. Baile funk is an urban music out of the rio favelas. Brazil has strong classical music and opera traditions. Heitor Villa-Lobos is a famous classical composer.

Capoeria is a beautiful martial arts dance with an African heritage. Brazil makes great telenovelas and movies.

Candomblé is an Orisha faith with an African heritage.

Brazil

South American

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