Brazil’s rich tapestry of diversity and history offers up some truly captivating curiosities. Let’s dive into six surprising facts about this lively South American country: 1. Here’s a fact that might raise an eyebrow: following the American Civil War, an estimated 20,000 Confederate refugees made Brazil their home. Today, nearly 260,000 Brazilians trace their lineage … Continue reading Six Fascinating Insights into Brazil’s Unique Heritage and Culture
Due to food and labour shortages…
Due to food and labour shortages in the 1960’s, Brazil has the world’s largest population of Japanese people outside of Japan.
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In 1910, black sailors of the…
In 1910, black sailors of the Brazilian navy mutinied and gained control of all of Brazil’s large battleships. They then used the threat of bombarding Rio de Janeiro to successfully force the abolition of the slavery-like conditions they suffered under in the navy.
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A Man with Vitiligo Is Knitting Dolls That Look like Him
This is a great story!
In Brazil, vitiligo – a skin disease that results in the loss of pigmentation in patches over the body – affects almost 3 million people. There are treatments available, but even though the medical aspects of the disease can be managed, the way people who suffer from it are treated by the public often can not be.
As with almost everything in life, though, knowing you’re not alone in your fight can make it all just a little bit better.
Enter Mr. Joao, a man who has lived with vitiligo for half of his life. He is now crocheting dolls that also “have” the disease, so that children with the affliction will be able to see faces that reflect their own.
He began crocheting with his wife when he found himself facing an early retirement (due to a heart condition), and at first he just wanted to knit a doll that would remind his granddaughter of him.
Then, he began thinking about what the dolls could do on a grander scale. And so he made Vitilinda (a portmanteau of vitiligo and linda, Portuguese for beautiful).
Now, in addition to vitiligo, he knits dolls with other life challenges, like needing a wheelchair, being blind, and more.
Thank you for your work, Mr. Jaoa! You make the world a brighter place for kids who could use a little light.
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Priest Brings Stray Dogs into His Church so They Can Find Loving Homes
Bless this man.
Those are people who talk the talk, and then there are those who walk the walk. And a priest in Brazil named Father João Paulo Araujo Gomes definitely falls into the latter category.
Father Gomes heads a parish in the city of Gravatá, and he allows stray dogs to come into his church during mass. Why, you ask? So the dogs can hopefully find homes with his parishioners.
Posted by PadreJoao Paulo Araujo Gomes on Thursday, August 8, 2019
Any dogs who wander the street are given ample opportunity to participate in mass so guests can get a look at them and decide if they’d like to give these forgotten pooches permanent homes. Father Gomes says, “They will always be able to enter, sleep, eat, drink their water and find shelter and protection, for this house is of God and they are of God.”
Father Gomes has taken the dogs into his rectory and during services they wander around, sleep, and sometimes even get in on the action, looking to be petted by the priest and his flock.
Der Priester Juan Pablo aus Brasilien fängt streunende Hunde ein, badet und versorgt sie und empfiehlt sie dann der…
Posted by Winfried Niederer on Friday, August 23, 2019
Because of Father Gomes’ charity and kindness, dozens of stray dogs have found forever homes in Gravatá – the kind-hearted priest has even adopted some of the dogs himself. He said, “I helped several dogs with serious health problems. Some of them I brought to the parish house, and they were later adopted. Three of them stayed with me. Today, they are my children and sleep in my bed.”
Posted by PadreJoao Paulo Araujo Gomes on Monday, March 11, 2019
Be sure to follow Father Gomes on Facebook to keep up with all of these beautiful animals and their adventures.
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A Law Firm Hired a Stray Cat After People Complained About It Wandering Around the Office
There’s only one course of action if a stray cat or dog is wandering around your office. Well, you adopt them, of course! And that’s exactly what a law firm in Brasília, Brazil did with a little fella who goes by the name of Leon.
Leon was just one of the many stray cats wandering the streets of Brasília when he somehow snuck into the Order of Attorneys of Brazil office building. Leon hung around the reception area for a while, but when some people started to complain about the frisky feline, the company found a unique way to keep Leon around: they hired him as a lawyer.
ajudem aí com a hashtag #LeonPromovidoPer the Facebook post they wrote:
“After a heavy rain, this little guy here seeking shelter from the storm went inside the OAB building (the Brazilian equivalent of American Bar Association) and decided to stay. Unfortunately some people started to file some complaints about the fact that at the reception desk there was a stray cat hanging around and trying to make friends with the newcomers. In order to avoid some new complaints the board gave the solution: Hire the cat as an employee.”
Dr. Leon now has his own ID card, his own Instagram page, and he’s grown quite a bit since he first wandered into the office. Leon’s become such a hit that the Order of Attorneys of Brazil decided to launch their own animal rights institute called Instituto Dr. Leon.
I love this story!
And I think Dr. Leon needs his own reality TV show ASAP.
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The Blue Macaw from Film “Rio” Is Now Extinct in the Wild
The Spix’s Macaw (also knows as the little blue macaw) was marked as critically endangered in 1994. Now, the species was confirmed by a new study to be extinct in the wild.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
The gorgeous bird was made famous as Blu, the lead in the movie Rio. The whole plot of the film revolved around the parrot fearing he was the last of his species. Sadly, it is believed that the birds had already disappeared from their natural jungle habitats nearly a dozen years before the movie was even released.
Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
Nonprofit wildlife group Birdlife International has reported that, due to heavy deforestation in Brazil, the forest the birds call home has been cleared. Critically, its main source of food comes from a specific kind of tree, the Caraiba tree, in which it also typically nested. These trees take hundreds of years to grow, and they have been devastated from centuries of human intervention, which has taken Spix’s Macaw down as well.
The Spix’s was also vulnerable to human-introduced predators such as rats and cats.
There is some good news, however: an estimated 60-80 birds exist in captivity. So while the Spix’s is on its last leg as a species, they are only extinct in the wild. There was some excitement around a lone macaw sighting in the forest a few years ago; however, it was determined that the parrot was likely an escapee.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia
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Sadly, it is unlikely the macaws, or any of the other South American birds declared extinct this year, will be able to make a wild comeback.
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In Brazil it’s so common to get robbed…
In Brazil it’s so common to get robbed in the streets that a lot of people carry an extra cellphone (they call it the “thief’s phone”) so they can give it to the robber when the crime happens. 00
Brazil will offer inmates in its crowded prison…
Brazil will offer inmates in its crowded prison system a novel way to shorten their sentences – cutting four days for every book they read. 00
Brazil is number 2 over all in the world at…
Brazil is number 2 over all in the world at producing models after the US. Rio Grande do Sul represents 5% of Brazil’s population but produces more than 50% of its models. The appeal of the region’s inhabitants is attributed to the historical migration of Germans and Italians. 00