From the Soares’ cooking book, here you have the camarão na moranga (prawns in a pumpkin). It is still the favorite dish of that who was once a little Ana Clara.

Ingredients (for six people):

- 3 pumpkins;
- 2kg of prawns;
- Tomato sauce;
- Cancoillotte cheese;
- Seasoning (garlic, onions, pepper).

Preparation below, as explained above:

Open the pumpkin and keep its “lid” – then remove its seeds and threads;
Put the pumpkin in a pot, with its lid, fill it with water and cook it on the stove;
After it is cooked, turn it upside down so that the water can be drained;
Then, put the pumpkins in the oven, so it can dry out and acquire more flavor;
Prepare a tomato sauce and season it with lots of onions, garlic, and pepper (put it in a blender so there are no big pieces of tomato);
Add the prawns and the Cancoillotte;
Let the prawns cook for a short period – after the sauce is ready, stuff the pumpkins with it and put it back in oven for 3 minutes.
Finally, serve it very hot and have a great time.

I, Favela is a beautiful short film, shot in the Chapéu-Mangueira community in Rio de Janeiro, recently pacified by a UPP. A project to watch, and reflect. Produced by friends of Brasilité, and explained below by them:

The culture of the favelas of Rio is ubiquitous in the imagery, but few know it well. Official figures estimate that 20% of the population of Rio de Janeiro live in favelas, yet there is little record of the history and culture of these places. This motivated us to know them more deeply, and to explore opportunities to add a positive and truthful outlook about the slums.

The recent implementation of Pacification Police Units (UPP) in various communities of Rio allowed the free and safe access to these places, which was not previously possible, in view of the parallel control by the drug trafficking movement. However, we can already see the beginning of a process known as gentrification, resulting from the giddy real estate valuation and the increase in infrastructure costs in the slums. The traditional homes of residents are being replaced by sophisticated hostels run by foreigners, resulting in the loss of community culture.

After considering some possibilities for the project, we chose to develop a short film in the Chapéu-Mangueira community, located in the district of Leme. This choice was due to the warm reception from the locals and for the strength of their testimony, we opened our eyes to the consequences of current government policy.

Our intention is to create an oral archive of this community and to warn the population so that the culture of the slums is not lost.

Directed by Ana Luiza Mello e Viviane Giaquinta
Cinematography: Lucas Stirling e Viviane Giaquinta
Editing: João Gasparian
Soundtrack: Marcelo de Lamare

A dose of honey and lemon in my cachaça? Sounds like a recipe for a soar throat, but not according to the new B (bee) cachaça. Created by a former Formula 1 driver (Nelsinho Piquet) and his friends (Eduardo Jorge, Hendrik Wolff) together with a design agency in Rio, this cachaça is winning the hearts of many through its design, low alcohol content and taste.

At first I was skeptical about this cachaça, as I am usually not a fan of sweet drinks. Nonetheless, this one seems to mark the exception. Blending cachaça with such ingredients is not a novelty, in this case revitalized through good marketing to make it seem avant-garde. But either if you have a weakness for the sweet, or are as skeptical as I was, give it a taste and let me know. Hopefully you will be surprised.

> Smell: Heavily perfumed with honey and a dash of lime, followed by the inevitable distant touch of cachaça fragrance. The sweet sugar aroma stays discreet, and lets the rounded honey smell express itself to its fullest.

> Taste: The texture gives the sensation of drinking liquid honey, but without the sweetness. The lime then takes over and covers the sweetness with bitterness, leaving a tingling of lime. This quickly leaves your palette, making you crave for more.

Rated 4/5 hors categorie

In this first “edition”, we recommend a fabulous documentary called Only When I Dance (2009). Do not be fooled by the Anglophone title – despite the production being British, the plot tells the story of two young people (Irlan Santos da Silva and Isabela Coracy), residents of the Complexo do Alemão in Rio de Janeiro, who have a dream in common: to build an international career as classical ballet dancers.

Throughout the documentary, the viewer accompanies pivotal moments in the lives of the two promising dancers and their families. In a moving manner – but not pedantic – the film portrays the daily battle of two people in search of the fulfillment of their dreams against all odds. If this genre of film is not quite your type, it is still worth watching simply for the beauty of the human body in motion. After all, the passion of these young people for dance is, at the very least, somewhat contagious.

Watch the trailer below:

Only When I Dance (2009)
Drected by Beadie Finzi
78 minutes

In this interview in collaboration with Zarpante, we meet the writer and curator of art exhibitions and art salons Heloiza de Aquino Azevedo, founder of Árvore do Saber, during her most recent exhibition at the Espace Saint Martin in Paris. Heloiza represents Brazilian and Portuguese artists abroad, in order to encourage a continuation of their work internationally.
Also present was Françoise Icart, president of ARTEC, which also aims to promote art internationally.

The exhibition Echo de l’Universel is at the Espace Saint Martin (199bis, rue Saint Martin – 75003) until Feb. 28.

Credits: Henrique Moretzsohn de Andrade (interview), Yann-Yves O’Hayon-Crosby (filming and editing), Ana Clara Soares (filming and translation).

To contact Heloiza:
Participação em Exposições e Representação na Europa – www.arvoredosaber.com – arvoredosaber.expo@gmail.com

Music: Feijão com Arroz – PENNA FIRME

> Ingredients:

- 1 can of condensed milk (or more);
- Two tablespoons of cocoa powder (or two tablespoons per can of condensed milk);
- Two tablespoons of butter (per can);
- Sprinkles.

> Preparation:

- Put the condensed milk, cocoa powder and butter in a pot;
- Stir restlessly until obtaining a thicker texture (until the mixture begins to unglue from the pot);
- Pour the contents into a container and wait for it to cool;
- Spread butter on your hands and roll the brigadeiro in “balls”;
- Wrap the balls in sprinkles;
- Serve and indulge.

Brasil eu te amo…

by Lea COURTEAU

Have you always wanted to cook a traditional moqueca, with the taste and smell of Bahia, but never knew where to begin?

We’ll teach you in the video* above how to make a basic moqueca (serves 4), quick and delicious, Carioca style. As for side dishes, we suggest the classic rice and farofa.

Does it sound mouth watering? That was the goal.

>Ingredients:

- 4 pieces of fish fillet (we suggest sole)
- 500 grams of shrimp (already clean)
- 2 onions
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper
- A handful of coriander
- 1 glass / carton of coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons of azeite de dendê
- A lot of olive oil

>How to prepare it:

• Clean the fish and shrimp, and season with a little bit of salt
• Chop the onion, tomato and red bell pepper
• Chop the garlic
• Place the olive oil in the pot
• Place, in layers, onion, tomatoes, peppers, garlic and coriander
• Place the fish and a second layer of vegetables and spices
• Then place the shrimp, followed by a layer of vegetables and spices
• Finish with coconut milk and two tablespoons of azeite de dendê
• Drizzle everything with olive oil
• Turn up the flame (high), turn it to medium fire when it starts to boil
• Cook for about 15 minutes.

Make a caipirinha while you wait.

Bon appétit!

* French subtitles.

Does anyone remember the Ruído Festival in 2005 at the former Ballroom venue in Rio? Does anyone remember that in the second day (02/19/2005), a band from São Paulo played and its name was… Tired of being what again?

The career of Cansei de Ser Sexy (or CSS, “Tired of being sexy”) has evolved a lot in six years. Seems like just yesterday Rio saw the band’s first gig in town – Lovefoxx and her cut clothes, her hair dyed blonde. Ah. We saw something similar last December. Only this time in a sold out show at the Gaîté Lyrique in Paris, during the tour of their new album La Liberación.

Time has developed a love-hate relationship between the band and its compatriots. Many Brazilians like, and a lot, CSS’s unusual lyrics with a hint of Mamonas Assassinas – but do not like very much the band’s too cool for school aura.

Finally, the truth is that the  Lovefoxx’s charisma is captivating, and affects even the harshest critics. How good it feels, though extremely bizarre, to face a long line to see the show of a band that, after all, comes from the land of the tropical birds. There was even an amazed little girl with her father, both wearing CSS shirts (and then we must ask ourselves: do they even know what “CSS” means …?).

In the end, we need to take your hats off for CSS’ ability to sell their shirt for 20 euros and sell out a concert at the Gaîté Lyrique on a Saturday night. Brasilité was there, and recorded bits and pieces of a show with a certain air of nostalgia. Watch above.