Brazil Carnival Travel

2010 Rio de Janeiro Carnival is INSANE !!!

The sites. The sounds. The excitement of Rio de Janeiro’s 2010 Carnival is in full swing and as always , its in spectacular fashion.

Whether you prefer the street parades where anyone can join in and dance the samba or the spectacle of the Samba School parades in the Sambadromo where the professionals show off their stuff, you are sure to be dazzled by this years Carnival.

Rio has transformed into more than its nickname, The Marvelous City. Its transformed into a city of diverse beauty, culture and one huge party.

The World’s Biggest Party is in Rio de Janeiro and everyone was invited. The Material Girl herself was there and even tried to enter into one of the Samba School parades until her security detail and the security of the school got into it and she was turned around.

Alicia Keys New Video “Put it in a Love Song”

Tihs morning in the Rio de Janeiro ghetto of Dona Marta, Alicia Keys filmed her music video for her new single ‘Put it in a Love Song’. Surrounded by security and production staff, Alicia filmed on top of the roof of one of the houses in Dona Marta. The Favela, word for ghetto in portuguese, is located in Botofogo in Rio de Janeiro’s South zone. This was the same Favela that Michael Jackson filmed his video They Dont Really Care About Us.

Tomorrow Beyonce, who is also on tour in Brazil currently, will film her cameo in Alicia Keys video in this same location.

Stay Tuned!! 

Its Carnival Time AGAIN !!!

Yes another year has passed and it is now time again for Brazil’s biggest & best party. Carnival 2010 in Rio de Janeiro is going to be INSANE. Rio de Janeiro is already starting to get into Carnival mode. Everyone is a buzz and the city is as vibrant as ever.

This years Carnival is from February 12th to the 16th and it is sure to packed of amazing street parades, wild parties and the grand daddy of them all……

The Samba School Parades. All of the Samba schools are in full Carnival mode and getting ready to compete for the Carnival’s biggest prize. #1 Samba School.

Get ready as we introduce you to all of the major Rio Samba Schools and what makes them so special.

Rio de Janeiro -

Brazil’s Supreme Court has delayed the return of 9-year-old boy to his New Jersey father.

Thursday’s ruling by Justice Marco Aurelio Mello agreed with a petition that the boy’s Brazilian family filed requesting that he should remain in Brazil until the court decides whether the child’s own testimony should be heard in the case.

The ruling suspended a Wednesday judgment by a lower court ordering that David Goldman be given custody of his son, Sean. On Thursday, Goldman was met by a crush of reporters at the airport in Rio de Janeiro, where he was hopeful to return to the U.S. with the boy.

David Gloman traveled to Brazil in hopes that his son would be returned to him. U.S. Rep Chris Smith also made the journey in hopes the Brazilian courts would ‘do the right thing and return the boy to his rightful father’.

For now, the boy will remain with his Brazilian step father and family. This case will drag on until perhaps February where the courts will address whether the boy wishes may be heard and considered.

Nobody seems to be laughing in Brazil at the joke told by Robin Williams to David Letterman in his Late Show on how Brazilians were able to bring the Olympics to their country. Rio’s mayor called the joke rude and senseless. The governor of the state refused to talk about it and Rio’s Olympic committee is threatening to sue the comedian in a US court.

Commenting on why Chicago lost to Rio in Copenhagen with Brazil being chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games, Williams said: “Chicago sent Oprah and Michelle. Brazil sent 50 strippers and a pound of blow.” 

Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro reacted angrily to the joke. Paes classified the actor’s wisecrack as “dor de corno,” a colorful expression that means jealousy but also “cuckold’s pain.” 

“Sorry for the rudeness, but this is a senseless statement. It’s a dor de corno,” said the mayor, this Tuesday, December 1st during a ceremony in which two buildings were imploded in Santa Cruz, a neighborhood in the west side of Rio.

“He is just a good actor,” Paes went on. “What he thinks doesn’t interfere in anything at all.”

Through his press office, Rio Governor Sérgio Cabral let it be known that he would nog be making any comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, the Rio Olympic Committee issued a note that the entity wouldn’t be talking about the subject because the affair is already in the hands of their lawyers who are considering the “proper measures” to be taken in the US.

RIO DE JANEIRO (Dow Jones)–The Brazilian real opened stronger against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, continuing a recent appreciation that has sent the currency to an 11-month high against the greenback.

That means the Real is kicking our butts at the moment. The US dollar just cant buy as much as it used to a year ago and we’re feeling the affects.

The real opened at BRL1.8170 per dollar after closing Tuesday at a fresh 11-month high of BRL1.8230 on the BM&FBovespa exchange. The real later eased off those gains to trade at BRL1.8230 shortly after trading began.

Early trading was subdued ahead of the release of a series of economic data reports in the U.S. that could dictate the market’s mood, traders said.

Further direction will likely come from the release of July factory orders by the U.S. Commerce Department, as well as the Institute for Supply Management’s service-sector activity index. The Department of Energy will also disclose stocks for crude oil and products later in the day.

The day got off to a less-than-auspicious start when ADP said that the private sector shed 371,000 jobs in July. Economists had expected a decline of 350,000.

In Brazil, the central bank will release foreign-exchange flows for July. The country has seen a wave of foreign investment in recent weeks as Brazil’s sound economic fundamentals and resilient economy attracted foreign investors.

Fixed-income investors have been lured by the benchmark Selic base interest rate, which stands at 8.75%. Meanwhile, the Ibovespa stocks index jumped to an 11-month high above 56,000 points on Tuesday.

An improving domestic growth outlook combined with a higher expectations for foreign-investment inflows and Brazilian debt issues has boosted the real currency in recent months, traders said.

Many market watchers expect Brazilian companies to resume overseas bond placements - which would increase inflows further - in the wake of a successful sovereign bond sale. Last week, the Brazilian government placed $525 million in overseas bonds at a yield of 6.45%.

Sugar and ethanol group Cosan (CZZ) announced a $350 million bond placement Tuesday.

The Brazilian Central Bank will likely maintain its recent efforts to contain the real via spot-market purchases of dollars. The central bank has been active in purchases of dollars on the spot market in recent weeks, propping up the dollar in the process and stemming the real’s gains