Brazilian singer Ceu continues to experiment with diverse genres

On her sophomore project, "Vagarosa," Brazilian singer-songwriter Céu continues to embrace music from far and wide, reports Reed Johnson:

If you've set foot in a Starbucks lately, chances are you've caught a few bars of Céu's music. The Brazilian singer-songwriter's self-titled debut album was picked by the coffee chain to be the first release from an international artist featured in its Hear Music Debut CD series.

Critics showered praise, the disc rose to the top of Billboard's world music chart and Céu (pronounced say-u) scored a Latin Grammy nomination for best new artist of 2006 and a Grammy nomination for best contemporary world music album of 2007.

Céu's creamy vocals and camera-friendly looks helped make her the rare foreign chanteuse who can break through the English-language barrier that often blocks world music artists from the U.S. market (she sings almost exclusively in Portuguese). With her much-anticipated follow-up, "Vagarosa," to promote, she's back on tour and has a return engagement Friday at the Roxy.

Read the rest of this report here on the LATimes Pop & Hiss music blog.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Henry Ford's utopian adventure in the Brazilian rain forest

Historian Greg Grandin has taken what heretofore seemed a marginal event -- Henry Ford's failed attempt to establish a gigantic agricultural-industrial complex in the heart of Brazil's Amazon Basin -- and turned it into a fascinating historical narrative that illuminates the auto industry's contemporary crisis, the problems of globalization and the contradictions of contemporary consumerism.

For all of that, this is not, however, history freighted with political pedantry. Grandin is one of a blessedly expanding group of gifted American historians who assume that whatever moral the story of the past may yield, it must be a story well told.

"Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City" is precisely that -- a genuinely readable history recounted with a novelist's sense of pace and an eye for character. It's a significant contribution to our understanding of ourselves and engrossingly enjoyable.

Read the rest of Tim Rutten's review of Greg Grandin's book Fordlandia.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Journalists protest elimination of degree requirement in Brazil

Journalism students, professionals and union members protested Monday in several parts of Brazil against the Supreme Court's ruling to eliminate the degree requirement for journalists, reports the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas blog.

Demonstrations occurred in the cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Aracaju, Caxias do Sul, Brasília and Teresina, among others, according to the report. (See a map of the protest sites.)

In Rio, the demonstrators, dressed in black and wearing clown noses, marched to the headquarters of the Brazilian Press Association, O Globo reported.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Brazilian Caetano Veloso takes a tumble

Brazilian singer, songwriter and musician Caetano Veloso wowed his audience at a recent concert in the city of Brasilia, Brazil, but not so much with his tunes. 

Mexico on high alert for Obama; Americas summit awaits

Mexico City is on high alert this morning as it awaits the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama, expected here today in his first official visit to Mexico.

Brazil's 10 best beaches

The Brazilian equivalent of the British expression "Just my cup of tea" is "é minha praia" ('That's my beach"), which tells you all you need to know about the two countries' relative cultural values, writes Gavin McOwan for the Guardian.

The paper asked experts to list their favorite Brazilian beaches and here's what they came up with:

Brazil sets up women's ministry

Talking about the importance of women in the society, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday: "It's a cynical culture of the world that ignores the contribution of women who stop working to look after children."

The president announced the creation of a Ministry for Women that will be set up to develop specific policies for women and to promote gender equality in Brazil, reports China View.

The new ministry will take on the work of an office in the presidency devoted to the issue and get a bigger budget, Lula said at the opening of a seminar on the role of women in public institutions.

Read the full report on Brazil's women's ministry here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Brazil wants to turn beach culture into swimwear selling power

The International Herald Tribune reports on how Brazil is using some of its greatest assets to pull in more business in tough economic times -- its 5,000 miles of coastline and its 10 months (or more) of summer annually.

"We have the spirit of beach culture all around us and a natural sense of glamor for swimwear," said Paulo Borges, director of São Paulo Fashion Week, where eight of the 40 brands are focused on the beach/swim segment and several made guest appearances at the new Rio event.

"But sometimes your greatest strength can also be your greatest weakness. Perhaps we Brazilians have underestimated ourselves until now."

While the country's reputation as a great place to source beachwear has been known by specialty retailers and fans of collections like Rosa Chá and Salinas, [the country] had lacked a specialized event to bring all the brands together and consolidate their voice.

Now, those in the fashion business want to brand Rio de Janeiro as a world swimwear capital and Brazilian design as a must-have for those in the business of the beach.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Not everyone in Brazil loves carnival

Seth Kugel, reporting for GlobalPost from Brazil, features some video voxpop in this report of Brazilians who are not as in love with the annual carnival as some of their compatriots.

"A vocal minority of Brazilians absolutely detest Carnival," writes Kugel, and he has the soundbites to prove it.

Read the full report at the above link.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Valentine's Day in Latin America

Forbes magazine takes a peek at Valentine's Day around the world and includes Mexico, Brazil and Guatemala in its sweep.

Valentine's Day, or the day of "love and friendship" (amor y amistad), as it's called here in Mexico City, is a hit with many Mexicans.

"According to Jennifer Hirsch, professor of socio-medical sciences at Columbia University, the 'red rain' begins as soon as Christmas is over. It is common for Mexican men and women to exchange flowers, red balloons and anything red and heart-shaped. The gift-giving is an expression of love and prosperity, says Hirsch, especially among migrant laborers."

The Brazilians, on the other hand, celebrate  Dia dos Namorados ("the day of lovers") on June 12, not Feb. 14, in honor of St. Anthony, patron saint of matchmaking and marriage.

"Single women perform rituals, like writing the names of their crushes on pieces of paper the night before, folding them up and then opening one on the big day to determine who they should marry," reports Forbes.

And in Guatemala, El Día del Cariño, "the day of affection," is much like Valentine's Day in the U.S, only broader.

Guatemalans exchange flowers, chocolates and cards, but the day is also about showing fondness for friends and colleagues.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City