Stories about Portuguese from May, 2007
Brazilian Express Loves (and jealousy) around the world
The Brazilian blogosphere entered in alert a few weeks ago when the major publish house Companhia das Letras (PT) announced a huge literary project. Idealized by Rodrigo Teixeira, the project called Express Loves (Amores Expressos) wants to take 16 writers to 16 cities around the world for a one month trip. Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Lisbon, Berlin, Cairo, Saint Petersburg and São Paulo are some among those chosen cities. At the end, each one of them must write a love history tied with those cities. All in 90 days.
Brazil: New Round on the National Internet Policy Debate
There are not many issues in Brazil where you are able to find unanimity. But when you talk about messing with Internet freedoms, the defenders spring up from radically different locations in the political spectrum. That's what we are seeing again this week as Sen. Eduardo Azeredo, the protagonist of...
East Timor: Reflections on the Presidential elections
Timor Online brings up Max Lane‘s reflections on the latest Presidential elections (also in Portuguese), which circulated through ETAN's East Timor list, and “are the result of conversations over the phone with contacts in East Timor and with friends in Jakarta who also are in close contact with East Timor,...
Brazil: The Once and Future(?) King
There are two kings in Brazil. Pelé, the world famous football star, and Roberto Carlos, a great icon of Brazilian popular music (MPB). The singer and songwriter acquired fame as the main figure of the 60’s musical movement known as Jovem Guarda — Young Guard — in opposition to the ‘old guard’ of Brazilian music. But late last year, the launch of an unauthorized biography has made this King go to war. Confirming the Brazilian saying that “once King, you’ll never loose the majesty”, Roberto Carlos has recently succeeded in a legal settlement with the writer — historian Paulo César de Araújo — and his publisher where all the unsold books will be called back to him, and the book will never again be published. But then… there is the Internet.
East Timor: José Ramos Horta Wins The Second Round
The Moderate Voice announces José Ramos Horta's victory in East Timor's presidential elections and sees the process as an example the US should follow in Iraq. From the other side, Timor Online comments that FRETILIN [former ruling party] “was beaten by a convergence of global strategic and oil interests with...
Brazil: The Pope is Here – What Now?
Brazil, the world's biggest Catholic nation, is now entering the global media stage surrounding the Pope's visit. The previous visits of John Paul II have left profound impressions here, and although Benedict XVI obviously lacks the friendly compassionate mood that easily enraptures the Brazilian soul, the church and the media are working hard to nurture the numinous qualities around the new Pope's tour. The question is: will Benedict succeed in his attempt to push forward his agenda for Latin America? Bloggers comment...
Angola: Two Angolan Authors Awarded with International Literature Prizes
High Browse Online announces that Angolan journalist and author Jose Eduardo Agualusa won the 2007 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for his novel, The Book of Chameleons. The Portuguese novel is translated into English by Daniel Hahn. Jose and Daniel will be sharing the prize of £10,000. The winner was announced...
Code and Culture: Brazilians celebrate the advantages of being open
There is no clear consensus about the specific reasons that occasionally boost Brazil to the cutting edge of the open source revolution. For us here in the field, facing so many difficulties, ranging from simple misunderstandings to big resource constraints, the international acclaim sounds a bit exaggerated, and at times misinformed. But now that some fruits of the first generation of "seed" ideas are starting to ripen into visibility to bigger audiences and as principles of the 'open' protocol start to be tested in other sectors, more and more commentators are joining in the conversation focusing on specific areas that catch their attention.
About our Portuguese coverage
