Learn about the top five most important pop culture icons in Brazil
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| Thássia: Oi pessoal! |
| Braden: Bom dia and hello! This is all about lesson 10 - Top 5 Pop Culture Things/Icons You Need to Know About! Braden here. |
| Thássia: Thássia here, and welcome back to PortuguesePod101.com. |
| Braden: Thássia, what are we looking at in this lesson? |
| Thássia: In this lesson, we’ll look at Brazilian television, Brazilians abroad, music, sports, and international pop culture. |
| Braden: Wow! That sounds like a lot of stuff. Where should we start? |
| Thássia: Popular TV. |
| Braden: That sounds great! But we should say that as popular culture changes quickly and often drastically, this lesson focuses on the most recent pop culture. |
| Thássia: That’s right. Please keep in mind, we recorded this lesson in 2010. |
| Braden: Okay, so popular TV. In Brazil, the main form of entertainment is television. |
| Thássia: Mm-hmm. And there are four major TV channels; Globo, SBT, Band, and Record. |
| Braden: These four TV channels influence everything from political campaigns to fashion, to international relations, and one of the most important aspects of TV in Brazil is the novela, right? |
| Thássia: Yes. Brazilian novelas are kind of similar to soap operas, but they are on a whole different scale. More money goes into producing novelas than movies. |
| Braden: And I’ve noticed that many popular daily expressions can be tracked back to a particular episode or character in a novela. |
| Thássia: Uh-huh. It happens all the time. When a new clothing style is featured in a novela, you'll see people wearing it within a week. |
| Braden: Novelas are so important, you'll often hear… |
| Thássia: acaloradas |
| Braden: Or heated arguments about a particular character or a situation in a novela. Novelas are a major topic of conversation. |
| Thássia: So, don’t miss an episode or you won’t have anything to talk about. |
| Braden: Content among the TV channels can also vary quite a bit, but in general, it includes kids and variety programs in the morning. |
| Thássia: And general entertainment programs, movies, and reruns in the afternoon. |
| Braden: And news, novelas, sports, films, and talk shows in the evening. |
| Thássia: Okay. Our next topic is popular Brazilians abroad. |
| Braden: Oh, that’s an interesting topic! Brazilians often occupy surprising roles in the international scene. |
| Thássia: From Aryton Senna, a three-time world champion Formula-1 racer. |
| Braden: To Gisele Bündchen, the country girl who redefined the supermodel. Brazilians are changing the world in unexpected ways. |
| Thássia: : With that short introduction to Brazilians abroad… |
| Braden: The number four thing you should know about Brazil is... |
| Thássia: : Pelé! |
| Braden: Pelé is the only footballer ever to win three World Cup titles. |
| Thássia: That’s right. He holds the world record for most lifetime goals made. |
| Braden: And he is referred to as the King of Football. |
| Thássia: He was also the youngest player ever to play in the World Cup. |
| Braden: Really? |
| Thássia: Yeah. |
| Braden: I didn’t know that. Cool |
| Thássia: And besides being a good player, he's also a good person. Pelé has always been very vocal in support of programs and policies that help poor people, especially poor children. |
| Braden: Very cool! What’s next? |
| Thássia: Popular music. |
| Braden: Mm, where I’m from, the most popular Brazilian genres are "Bossa Nova" and "samba." |
| Thássia: Well, the most internationally famous Brazilian songs are Garota de Ipanema… |
| Braden: "Girl from Ipanema" |
| Thássia: Which is a Bossa Nova song and Aquarela do Brasil, which is a samba. |
| Braden: I also really like the group Banda Casaca. They’re from Espírito Santo. |
| Thássia: Are they the ones that had their songs in the space shuttle or something? |
| Braden: Yup! Their song "DA DA DA" is the wake up song for the Mars Rover Spirit. |
| Thássia: So, now, they’re interplanetary famous, right? |
| Braden: Something like that. So, with that, the number three thing you need to know about Brazilian pop culture is that Brazilian music is diverse. |
| Thássia: That’s very true. From sertanejo to Bossa Nova to Axé, Brazilian music has something for everyone. |
| Braden: Some famous musicians include, Victor e Leo… |
| Thássia: Maria Rita, Ivete Sangalo, Roberto Carlos… |
| Braden: Caetano Veloso, Skank, NXZero, and O Rappa, just to name a few. |
| Thássia: So, what do we have next? |
| Braden: Popular sports |
| Thássia: Are we going to talk about football again? |
| Braden: Of course, we are! |
| Thássia: Yeah, yeah! |
| Braden: Yeah. If you know anything about sports, then you know that Brazil means "soccer." |
| Thássia: We say futebol in Brazil. |
| Braden: That’s right. Here, "futebol" is more than a sport, it's part of the culture. |
| Thássia: When Brazil plays in the World Cup, it's almost a national holiday; stores close, banks lock their doors, everybody wears green and yellow and watches the game. |
| Braden: But even though soccer is the overwhelming favorite, other sports are played in Brazil. Did you know that Thássia? |
| Thássia: Brazil has won many world titles in both men and women's volleyball and is receiving more and more recognition in basketball. |
| Braden: And thanks to Daiane Garcia dos Santos and others like her, gymnastics has also become more popular. |
| Thássia: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, created and made popular through the Gracie family, is widely regarded as the best form of Jiu-Jitsu in the world. |
| Braden: Okay. The number two most important thing you need to know about Brazil right now is that… |
| Thássia: The FIFA World Cup will be held in Brazil in 2014! |
| Braden: That’s right! Even though it's only 2010 and the South Africa World Cup was held this year, the FIFA World Cup has the largest international audience in the world. |
| Thássia: And is the world's largest sporting event. |
| Braden: So, if you want to be in Brazil during the 2014 World Cup… |
| Thássia: Something I highly recommend. |
| Braden: You better start planning now. So, what do we have last? |
| Thássia: International pop culture. |
| Braden: Mm, Thássia, what’s your favorite perfume? |
| Thássia: Jean Paul Gaultier. It’s French. |
| Braden: And what’s your favorite makeup? |
| Thássia: The Body Shop. |
| Braden: And your favorite designer? |
| Thássia: Versace. |
| Braden: That’s what I thought. As you can see, international brands are well known in Brazil. |
| Thássia: Yes. Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Prada and Dior are all very well known in Brazil. And the tip for you, guys with Brazilian girlfriends, we or any woman in the world would love to receive one of these presents. |
| Braden: So, what’s the number one thing you need to know about international pop culture in Brazil? |
| Thássia: That we are very connected to what goes on in the international pop scene. |
| Braden: Gotcha! I remember when I was living in Vitória several years ago, the Portuguese translation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came out. |
| Thássia: Was it a mass hysteria? |
| Braden: Yes, just like in the US. I remember one young boy holding the book up in the air triumphant and several other children surrounding him trying to take it. |
| Thássia: Well, that’s our top 5 pop culture topics. You know, Braden, we should do a top 5 real culture lesson. |
| Braden: That’s a good idea! Wait, isn’t that what this all about lessons are all about? |
| Thássia: Mmm, no, yeah. We provide you with cultural insights… |
| Braden: And tips you won’t find in a textbook… |
| Thássia: All at PortuguesePod101.com. |
| Braden: See you there! |
| Thássia: Até mais! |
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