Thursday 15 May 2014

Pop Culture: Protesting

A gif protesting the rise in public transportation fare

image

I wanted to go to the protest, but I was short 20 cents.

Literally, I wanted to go to the protest, but I was missing 20 cents for the [bus] ticket.

Monday 12 May 2014

Pop Culture: Protesting
image

Only kisses will silence us

Literally, Only kisses will shut our mouths

Even more literally, Only kisses will cover our mouths

Brazilian warning sign for a dead end street. (Literally,...





Brazilian warning sign for a dead end street.

(Literally, “street without exit”).

Friday 9 May 2014

Pop Culture: Protesting

Protest against the rise in public transportation fare



Ash stole my bike, I need public transportation of good quality

Wednesday 7 May 2014

Pop Culture: Protesting

In a protest against public transport price rise



It’s a disgrace to have bus tickets that are more expensive than pot

Pop Culture: Protesting
Protest against the government prioritizing spending for the FIFA World Cup 2014 instead of much-needed hospitals



We want FIFA-standard hospitals

Sunday 4 May 2014

Pop Culture: Protesting



Peaceful yes! Passive never!

Pop Culture: Protesting



leave Candy Crush and come to the street

Note: “come to the street” is understood to mean “join us out here in demanding change”

Pop Culture: Protesting
Protest against police violence
I hate rubber bullets
Throw tic tac [instead]



Saturday 3 May 2014



Three-box short stories like this one are always found on the last page of aTurma da Mônica comic (in this case, due to the fact Monica’s name is after the “Monica’s Gang” logo, from a Monica-centric comic book).

A cover of the very first Turma da Mônica comic

Ironically, this came out on the same day that my aunt was born (my mom remembers that my grandpa got her a copy so she’d have something to do while they visited my grandma in the hospital). The irony? My aunt’s name is Mônica. For a completely unrelated reason.
Pop Culture: Internet Lingo

Kkkkk
A Brazilian equivalent of “lol,” referring to one of the onomatopoeia for laughter, which is pronounced in the same way as the letter K in Portuguese (cá).
The amount of K’s is not set. So long as there are three or more K’s the meaning is still “lol”. 
The more repeated the closer to “rofl” or “roflmao” the meaning gets (especially if in all caps).
Pop Culture: Internet Lingo

rsrsrsrsrs
A Brazilian equivalent of “lol,” referring to two of the more commonly used Portuguese words for laugh/laughter: riso and risada. The number of times “rs” is repeated is not set So long as there is at least one set of “rs” the meaning is “lol”.
The more repeated the closer to “rofl” or “roflmao” the meaning gets (especially if in all caps).
Pop Culture: Internet Lingo


tc
Short for “teclar.” Technically, teclar is the verb “to type,” but in internet lingo/messenger speak it’s used to mean “to chat online”
Usually used as a greeting in a chat  - “quer tc?” (wanna chat?)
Brazilian States: Tocantins

Capital: Palmas
Area: 277,720.52 km2

The blue stripe represents the rivers, the yellow is for the wealth of the state. The sun on the white stripe, means that it rises for all citizens of Tocantins.
Extra factoids:
Palmas literally translates as “Palms.”
Brazilian States Santa Catarina
Capital: Florianópolis
Area: 95.736,165 km2


The Phrygian cap symbolizes the republican forces that govern us; The stalk of wheat symbolizes the farming land; The coffee branch symbolizes the coastal farming; The shield contains the date of the establishment of the Republic in Santa Catarina on November 17, 1889; The key is to remember that Santa Catarina is a strategic point of First Order; The eagle represents the productive forces.

Extra factoids:
Santa Catarina literally translates as “Saint Catherine”
Brazilian History

Before the Portuguese arrived Brazil was known as “Pindorama” - Land of the Pindobas (pindoba is a type of fruit).
Pindobas
The Portuguese renamed it Vera Cruz (Cross of Truth).
The name Brazil comes from the name of a type of hardwood tree called “pau-brasil” which was extremely valued by the Portuguese as a source of red dye.
pau-brasil tree

Brazil’s states and which region they fall under.
Green = North
Blue = Northeast
Purple = Central West
Red = Southeast
Yellow = South




Pop Culture: Protesting
After two dictatorships (the most recent and violent of the two lasting from 1964-1989) Brazilians take their right to complain and be heard very seriously. 
As such, protesting is a huge part of pop culture. Anything about the way things are run can be grounds for a protest.
Anything.
Don’t believe me?
When my mother was in university the students were sick and tired of always being fed boiled eggs (ovo cozido). In true Brazilian style, they took the famous chant of
o povo                               the people
unido                                 united
jamais será vencido          will never [ever] be beaten
and tweaked it a bit.
Then, they took to their campus’ cafeteria chanting
o ovo                                 the boiled egg
cozido                               
jamais será comido!           will never [ever] be eaten!
until the cafeteria staff agreed to fry the eggs once in a while. 
While my mother has no picture of the protest, here’s a similar situation:
The Technology Federal University of Paraná (UTFPR) has the most expensive university cafeteria in the country. In 2013 the students felt that the the price was ridiculous for the quality of food they recieved.
Lo and behold, this happened: 

Bottom right:
beterraba de novo? - radishes again?
Top left:
comida ruím eu msm faço - if I wanted food that tastes bad I would cook it myself
Literally, “food that tastes bad I can make [by] myself”
au au au pelo menos bota sal! - at least put [some] salt [in the food]!
Note: While “au au” can mean “woof woof” in this case it is meant as a sound that that rhymes with sal (salt).
Top right:
temos o RU mais caro do país - we have the most expensive university caff in the country
RU stands for “restaurante universitário” (university restaurant), the Brazilian term for an university cafeteria
Side note: Brazil does not distinguish between university and college. Almost all post secondary education takes place in universities. The other version is called a faculdade (faculty), and the only thing that distinguishes it from an university how many courses it offers. Also, federal universities have the reputation for being the best universities in the country (as opposed private ones), and (like with all public universities) are tuition-free if you manage to pass the tough and extensive entrance exam (vestibular).