Brazil's First Saint

A few weeks ago I wrote about St. Anthony and how young ladies here in Brazil bury images of him upside down in order to get a husband. This week I learned of something else that honestly seems stranger than that.

Brazil is getting it's first official saint, São Galvão. Antônio Galvão de França born in 1739, in Guaratinguetá, in the interior of the state of São Paulo. In 1774 he founded the Monastery of Light and worked the next 28 years as its pricipal architect and builder. He died in 1822 and was buried in the monastery's chapel.

Now for the strange part of the story. For some reason, many years ago nuns at the Monastery of Light began to print small pictures of São Galvão on tiny pieces of paper. On the back is printed a short prayer that is attributed to the new saint.

These tiny "prayer cards" are then neatly folded and placed into capsules. These capsules are then swallowed by the faithful who believe they have healing power. There have been two claims of miraculous healing after taking the capsules those were enough to get Galvão his sainthood.

The nuns normally produce 90,000 capsules a day but are now doubling production to meet the demand now that Galvão is being canonized.

I find it difficult to understand how people can honestly believe this but somebody is swalling 100k pills.

Please understand that I am not catholic bashing, just sharing some interesting cultural things that sound strange to me. I have many wonderful friends and family members who are Roman Catholic and love the Lord but this is just beyond comprehension to me.

I will be posting about some ridiculous things that evangelicals are doing here as well (you probably won't believe me).

Somewhere out there is probably somebody selling Billy Graham's used napkins.

The End Of Summer

Saturday night we turned our clocks back an hour as our Daylights Savings Time period has come to an end. Officials say that the country saves 4% electricity due to the time change but I honestly don't see how since almost no one has air conditioning.

The best news for us is that the tourists are leaving the city. While they bring a lot of money, they also bring a lot of traffic. We are looking forward to things getting back to normal.

Buses have been rolling out of here around the clock, heading to Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay. During the last couple of months it was easier to find someone speaking Spanish than Portuguese.

They'll be back in a few weeks for Easter vacation but that only lasts for a week. Until then I am looking forward to a 2 mile drive not taking 45 minutes.

A Stroll In The Park

This is Barigüi Park in the city of Curitiba, Parnana, which is about three hours from where we live. This public park, whose indigenous name means "river of thorny fruit", located near the center of this ultra-modern metropolis, was established in 1972 to give curitibanos (residents of Curitiba) a place of beauty, nature and wildlife to enjoy. Many families spend afternoons and weekends taking walks, bike riding, picnicking and watching nature. This week the Lopes family saw more than they expected.

On Tuesday of this week, Marcos Lopes (37) and his two young daughters, Gabriela (8) and Amanda (5), were bike riding through the park. A small stray dog began running alongside of them and then ran into the edge of the water. Suddenly a caiman crocodile sprang from the water and grabbed the helpless dog and within moments consumed it.

City officials admit that there are three caiman (called jacaré) living in the waters of the park, although locals claim that there are at least two others, but they admit they know little about them including what sex they are.

Paulinho Dalmaz, superintendent of Works and Services for the Secretary of the Environment of Curtiba (how do you fit that on a business card?), says that there is nothing to worry about as these caiman are harmless. When asked about what they were feeding the reptiles, Dalmaz responded that they were being left to their own devices. He says there are plenty of fish, birds and small animals for them to feed on.

Nothing to worry about? What if a small child strays from its family and moves towards the water. There are no barriers in the park to keep this from happening. What bureaucratic genius thought it would be a good idea to allow live crocodiles in the middle of a public park.

I have come into close contact with caiman and they are not friendly. The above picture is one I took back in August during a visit to the Pantanal. These are amazing animals and should be seen by the public but in zoos or better yet in wildlife habitats.

While caiman are not near as scary as some of the things I have seen come out of Shelby Park, I have a tremendous respect for them. They are fast, huge and fierce hunters. The city officials of Curitiba need to remove them and relocate them to a more suitable environment before there is tragedy.

You can see other wildlife photos I took during my most recent trip to the Pantanal at this link

http://flickr.com/photos/westnashvillegringo/sets/72157594481782901/

One Man's Quest

I wrote several weeks ago about Martin Strel, the man who has swam just about every major river in the world. He is now attempting the Amazon. He started out three weeks ago in Atalaya Peru and today entered Brazil in the city of Tabatinga, some 2200 km (1375 miles) into his 5430 km (3400 miles) trek.





Because of severe 2nd degree burns caused by exposure to the sun, he has had to start wearing a pillowcase as a mask to protect his face and neck. He was using sunblock but it was getting into his eyes and causing him discomfort.



He is averaging over 85 km (53 miles) per day. I can't begin imagine that. A couple of laps around the pool and I'm exhausted.



The entire trip will take 70 days to complete. He will enter Columbia today for a short distance and then reenter Brazil. He hopes to finish at the mouth of the Amazon in Belém Brazil on April 11th.



You can follow the action live at

http://www.amazonswim.com



And you can find out more about Martin Strel at his website

http://www.martinstrel.com/main.php?L=2

Carnaval 2007 - Nothing To Celebrate

It's Carnaval time in Brazil once again. Today is the last day of the the four-day celebration. Actually today is the only day that is an actual holiday but all government offices, banks, post offices and many businesses were closed yesterday as well giving most Brazilians a 4-day weekend.

Most of the larger cities in Brazil have constructed permanent stadiums called Sambodromos that are used exclusively for the four days of festivities. Many of these cities, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador have spent millions on constructing these arenas yet they also have some of the greatest levels of poverty.

The Samba (dance) clubs spend the entire year in preparation for the event, developing floats, storylines and costume concepts. While there is much that is visually beautiful, there is a greater dark side to this event.

Part of the problem is that most of the people participating in Carnaval are from the poorest class. They save during the entire year in order to purchase the materials needed for their lavish costumes. In recent years there have been many reports of drug trafficking and theft in order to finance their costumes.

Each year there are numerous reports of murder and rape with extremely high estimates of others not reported. Muggings and assaults are common as many of the participants are intoxicated and become easy targets.

Our TV networks broadcast the events from the Sambodromos round the clock while many of the participants are semi or completely nude. Add to that the rampant immorality that takes place and you begin to see that for many of us in Brazil, Carnaval is no reason to celebrate.

Heavy Metal

My good friend Kerry Woo, better known as Wonderdawg, blogged these days about Chinese New Years. Where I live, we don't have many Chinese people and the Chinese food is pretty terrible but it has to be better than this

This guy is celebrating the new year by ripping a pan lid in half with his teeth. His teeth don't look that good to begin with so I can only imagine what they look like now.


As I saw this picture I was whisked back in time to one of my most glorious moments when I appeared on The Ralph Emery Show performing as "The Human Can Opener" during a stupid human tricks contest. I made my family proud as I bit an empty Dr. Pepper can in half on the air. Dan McDaniels was left speechless.

I didn't win anything but for several days afterward I was recognized on the street. It was my true 15 minutes of fame.

I gave up biting cans in half a few years ago, though occasionally I do it just to prove to someone that I can. After seeing this photo I realize that I am sadly a rank amateur in comparison to this guy.

Bigger Is Better

A couple of weeks ago I snapped these shots. This is a pizza box from Big Pizza. They serve the biggest pizza I have ever seen. Just so you can get an idea, the box is sitting on a six-eye stove. Here's a shot of the pizza.

Big pizza comes with four different toppings. Essentially they are four medium pizzas made on the same crust. It's a lot of pizza.

This one had calabreza (a Brazilian sausage similar to peperoni), margarita (cheese, tomatoes & oregano - no tequila), gaúcho (seasoned steak) and corn. Yes, corn. Brazilians love corn on everything. Years ago every pizza and hamburger was served with corn. I can't figure it out.

For most part pizza here is pretty nasty but the Big Pizza is about the best we've had. There are some Pizza Huts and Dominos in Brazil but none near us. After 10 years we finally live near a Subway. I'm not complaining.

Happy Valentines (A day late)

One of the weird things about living outside the US is that the holidays generally fall on different days of the year. Christmas, New Years and Mother's Day are the same. The rest aren't even close. Father's Day in the US is in June while Brazil celebrates it in August. I have tried to turn that into two presents a year but so far it hasn't worked.


The first year or so living here we tried to remember and celebrate all of them. We've since given up on that, other than Thanksgiving, and just go with the Brazilian holidays. Valentines Day was one of the casualties. Yesterday I remembered but we didn't do anything special except go to the beach.

Most Brazilians have never heard of St. Valentine. The patron saint for lovers here is St. Anthony.

Saint Anthony is known as "the marriage saint". Someone who is constantly trying to match make others is known as a "Saint Anthony".

His feast day is a day later on the 13th of June. In the past women would buy statues of St. Anthony and bury him in the ground upside down. They would then pray to St. Anthony and say they would only turn him rightside up if he sends them a good husband. Sounds like extorsion to me.

I asked my wife about it and she said this still goes on, though I've never seen anyone do it. I bet there must be about a million of these buried around the country. I you had some way of finding them, you could dig 'em up, resell them and make a buck or two.

I really wonder about this. Seems like an awful lot of work to me. There's a many a Dickson County girl that found a husband using nothing more than a tubetop, some cheap perfume and a fifth of Mad Dog. Sounds a whole lot easier and much more effective to me.

Down Memory Lane

Day 45 of 365
Originally uploaded by Wonderdawg777.

The other day I wrote about my uncle Roy's pink elephant. Kerry Woo over at Wonderdawg graciously took a snapshot of it and blogged about it. Here it is in all it's glory. Thanks Kerry!

http://www.wonderdawg777.blogspot.com

Celebrate Your Skivvies

This is beyond bizarre. Twelve models showed up at the bus station in Brasilia (our capital) dressed only in their undergarments. They were there to promote the acceptance of National Underwear Day. They wanted to educate the people on the importance of underwear by the way of an impromptu fashion show.


Can you imagine showing up at the Greyhound station on 8th ave dressed only in your tidy-whities? Actually, you probably wouldn't even be noticed there.


National Underwear Day? How about "National We Won't Make You Pay So Many Taxes Day". I'd like to see that.


Before you judge Brazil too harshly, I need to tell you that August 9th is National Underwear Day in the US. Better buy some new Fruit of the Loom.

http://www.nationalunderwearday.com/

Driving in Style - Brazil 1970

When we arrived for church Sunday night, this beauty was sitting across the street from where we are presently meeting. This is a 1970 VW Sedan. I had never seen one before, that I know of and this was was in pretty close to mint condition. Somebody had taken care of this ride.

In 1970 while the Big Three in the US were pushing Chargers, Camaros, Mustangs and other gas guzzlers, Volks was showcasing this 96.3 cubic inch luxury car. I know it looks like something from the Cold War Soviet Union era but this was considered a high end set of wheels back then.

The sign in the back window says its for sale. It didn't say for how much and I didn't care enough to call. Who knows, back in the day Roy may have sold a few of these over at McPherson's Motors, home of fine cars. If a pink elephant can help you sell Yugos, this heap should be no problem.

Portuguese Spoken Here

Over at Wonderdawg Blog

http://www.wonderdawg777.blogspot.com/

Kerry Woo has written that Nashville Metro Council has voted to make English the official language. I applaud them. Too many US government agencies have bent over backwards offering every official government document in every conceivable language. It is an expense that is unnecessary and inhibits the integration of immigrants into the culture.

Here in Brazil, everything is in Portuguese. When I took my driver's test, it was in Portuguese. There wasn't even a Spanish version available. When I have to visit the Federal Police (our INS) I can't ask for a translator. No Brazilian government documents are translated into English (or any other language) unless they are specifically for tourists or international business. Until 10 years ago when DirecTV came to Brazil, there was no English language television in the country.

This has made Brazil a true melting pot. People who immigrate here become Brazilians. I have neighbors and friends that are from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Sweden, etc and all of them have one thing in common. They speak Portuguese because you can't function in this country without learning the language.

This compels immigrants to integrate themselves into the culture.

Years ago I met an American who was married to a Brazilian woman. He decided to move to Brazil but refused to learn the language. For two years she translated everything for him, including television programs (it was something to see). Finally they returned to the US because he said he couldn't adapt to the the culture. The real reason was he refused to adapt by simply learning the language.

A couple of years ago we went to Atlanta to visit a Brazilian church there. For three days we ate Brazilian food in Brazilian restaurants, shopped in Brazilian markets, watched Brazilian television and spoke only Portuguese. I was absolutely amazed and how they had transplanted their own culture there. Most of them spoke no English and had no desire to.

I find this type of mentality detrimental to a culture. Language is one thing we must hold in common. It has worked wonderfully here in Brazil. My hope is the US will do the same.

Thanks Nashville Metro Council for making a stand.

City Workers Weedeating

Yesterday we returned home to find city workers weedeating our street. This is the first time we have seen this. What was incredible to me was the screen they drag with them that assures no flying debris will hit a car or pedestrian.



This was new to me. I wonder who thought of this. It makes sense but someone had to come up with the idea and then build the screen.





This is the first city I've seen in Brazil that actually does your trimming for you.



In Goias we would just throw some alcohol on the grass and set fire to it. (I am not joking) It killed off snakes, scorpions and bugs in vacant lots making living there a little more pleasant.

Grandpa Saves Grandson From Anaconda

This sixteen foot-long anaconda attacked 8 year old Mateus Pereira as he was playing in a creek on his grandfather's ranch in Cosmorama São Paulo (about 250 miles NW of São Paulo city). The 77 lb snake wrapped itself around the boy and then bit him in the chest requiring 21 stitches.

Other kids playing nearby ran to get help. Mateus' grandfather, Joaquim Pereira began beating the snake with a rock and fought with it for more than thirty minutes before freeing his grandson.

Mateus was then rushed to the hospital for treatment. His is now home resting and should make a full recovery.

Though the bite of an anaconda is not poisonous, they will try to suffocate their victims by coiling around them. Attacks on humans are rare.

Read the full story here:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/02/08/snake.attack.ap/index.html

This may be the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life

This is Scott Wiese, or at least that's what his name is for the time being. He is from Forsyth IL and claims to be a huge Bears fan. So huge in fact that last week he made a public statement that if the Bears lost to the Colts in the Super Bowl, he would legally change his name to Peyton Manning.

Wiese made this ridiculous statement in a bar full of people who all witnessed him signing a document to the effect (more than 200 people).

Monday morning, the day after the Colts victory, Wiese started proceedings to change his name to Peyton Manning. He claims this sacrifice proves what a huge Bears fan he is. It proves to me that he is a couple of bricks shy of a load.

If I was Peyton Manning (the real one) I would sue to keep someone this stupid from being able to have the same name as me.

They'll probably end up making a DirecTV commercial together.

One more comment about the storm

This is a piece of PVC that used to fit under the overhang of the roof of the apartment building across the street from our house. During last nights storm it flew some 100 feet or more to land on our third story balcony. It was some storm.

The Storm Cometh

Since moving to the coast we have heard tales of terrible storms in this region. So far we haven't even seen much rain. Back in Goias we averaged 24 feet of rain over a six month period each year (that is correct, 24 feet). We hadn't seen much action until last night.

Yesterday was incredibly hot. Hotter than any place I have ever been in my life (and I've been near the equator). It was muggy and awful. A cool wind started blowing in from the south at about 6pm. Marilze decided to walk to the mall with kids. Good thing I stayed home.

A little before 7 it started to rain and the wind started blowing. I came upstairs to my office to check for water. The wind was blowing rain through cracks in the door jam. I started stuffing towels inside the door jam when the lights went off. I hurried to unplug everything. We've lost many appliances and electronics to energy spikes after the lights go off.

While I was unplugging the freezer, I heard a loud boom. I looked outside to see the roof of the apartment building across the street from our house, crash to the ground.

This is the best shot I could get of the roof but in these photos you can see the aftermath.

Here you can see broken roof tiles and part of the gutters.

There was a lot of damage around town as well. Several buildings had their signs destroys. We were without lights for 12 hours.

You can see more pictures of the damage on my Flickr site.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/westnashvillegringo

Congrats to Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning!!

I started posting this yesterday when I heard an explosion and our electricity went off.

Evidently a transformer blew out. Too many people in the city right now for the grid to be able to handle.

Anyway, Sunday night I stayed up til 1:30 am to see Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning hoist the Lombardi trophy. Both of them are class guys and both deserved it.

It was a rainy messy game and not nearly as close as the score might suggest. For the most part the Colts just dominated and then settled for field goals.

Unfortunately we don't get to see exactly the same broadcast as in the US. No Super Bowl commercials and I had to choose between either a pair of Brazilian commentators who know little about the game or Shannon Sharpe and some guy named Spiro that I never heard of before. Everytime something would happen in the game they would have to explain the rules a dozen times. I am sure this helps the international audience understand the game more but I found it very distracting.

I have never been a true Colts fan but I am glad to see Peyton and Tony both got the monkeys off their backs.

This Ain't Gatlinburg

This afternoon, the wife and I decided to drive across the river to where all the fishermen live. We buy fish directly from them so we can get it just as they bring it in. We bought some shrimp, salmon and some fish that tastes good but I don't know it's name.

We decided to take the scenic route back to look at the beaches. Brazil has more beaches than any other country in the world. I have no idea how many beaches there are around here but there are a lot of them. We got out and walked around this one for a moment and I took a few pictures.

On the way back, I saw a sign that someone had chalets to rent. We've had a few people ask about coming here and staying on the beach so I decided to take a look. This is what I found.

Just across the way were these beauties:

These badboys have asbestos roofs. They must be hotter than the prison sweatbox in Cool Hand Luke. I can't imagine traveling to one of the world's most beautiful places and staying in one of these dumps but all of them were full.

These chalets made the old La Hacienda Motel on Murfreesboro rd look like Opryland Hotel.

Thank goodness the chalet where we stayed on our honeymoon in Gatlinburg didn't look like this. Marilze probably would have gone back to Brazil on her own.

Elvis Is My Neighbor

I really should have written about this a long time ago but I guess I've been holding it in my back pocket until a day came that I didn't have anything in particular that I wanted to write about.

Two blocks from where we live is a house like none other I have seen in Brazil. Actually the only thing close to it is in Memphis. Graceland in Brazil.

It seems that this lawyer from out of state visited the US several years ago and one place he had to see was the home of the king. While he was there he had a revelation. Take Graceland back to Brazil. So he did.

He bought a piece of land and build a replica, though not very exact. He used it as a summer home for several years and now it houses an insurance agency. Tourists take pictures of it regularly.

Now what would possess a man to do something like this, I don't know. It seems very bizarre to me but every time I pass it (several times a day) I can't help but think about Tennessee and home so I'm kind of glad it's here.

I wonder if he has a zebra-skinned sofa?