Category Archives: Pictures

Brazil, Pictures, South America

The Other Brazil: German Colonies in the South

Downtown Blumenau, a southern Brazilian city with a distinctly German feel.
Rua XV de Novembro, the main street of downtown Blumenau. Blumenau has one of the highest standards of living in Brazil, on par with North America or Europe in terms of literacy rate, life expectancy and income.
Pomerode, a small village outside of Blumenau. is known as the most German city in Brazil. 97% of the residents still speak German today
Pomerode was settled by Germans from the Pomerianian part of Prussia in 1861. Even after years of suppression by the Brazilian government, the community of Pomerode has been able to preserve a unique dialect of German called Pomeranian (Pommersch). Klaus Granzow was a German writer who wrote extensivly about Pomeranian culture and histroy, his books can be found throught Pomerode.
Most of the books in the public library in Pomerode are in German, not Portuguese.

Gisele Bündchen, the Brazilian supermodel, may be the most famous face of German immigration to Brazil. Over 12 million people claim German ancestry in Brazil, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in the country. The vast majority of Germans settled in Southern Brazil, specifically in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, and Santa Catarina, where the standard of living today is drastically higher than that of the rest of the country. Illiteracy in Santa Catarina is 3.8%, while in many places in the northeast of Brazil, that rate is well over 22%.

After Brazil gained independence from Portugal in 1822, the new Brazilian government encouraged settlement to remote regions of the south in order to create a buffer between Brazil and the newly independent former Spanish colonies of Argentina and Paraguay. A second wave of Germans settled in southern Brazil in search of peace, land and religious freedom after a series of failed revolutions in Europe in 1848. Continued instability in Germany during the end of the 19th century and during both World Wars fueled further immigration.

Although the German language has made a comeback in recent decades, it was heavily suppressed during both World Wars in an attempt to integrate the isolated German colonies into the rest of of the county and squash any pro Nazi sentiments. Today German is still spoken in some communities in the south, but many are becoming increasingly Brazilian in culture, leaving behind their German roots. Some people living in the south have complained that the Germans harbor racist sentiments towards Brazilians, thinking of themselves as a superior race. Given that German immigration to Brazil has nearly come to a standstill, will German-Brazilians be able to hold on to their language and culture.

Brazil, Pictures, São Paulo, South America

São Paulo, Brazil

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São Paulo was incredible city to photograph.  For six weeks straight I found myself waking up, grabbing my camera, and hitting the streets of this fascinating, monster of a city.  In this series of photographs I attempt to capture the beautiful, grittiness of São Paulo.

Avenida Paulista is the beating heart of São Paulo. As the sun sets and rush hour begins, artists line the street to sell their work, while musicians of all ages play for the teeming masses of businessmen. In one minute I witnessed a band play Creedence Clearwater while a separate group of Anarchists and Feminists blocked traffic while marching down the middle of the avenue.
Vila Madalena is a trendy, residential neighborhood located southwest of Avenida Paulista. While there aren’t many specific sights to see, its the best place in all of São Paulo to eat and drink.
Sunday street market in Pinheiros.
Centro is the historic heart of the city. Most Paulistas dismiss the the neighborhood as dirty and crime ridden, but if you are able to see beyond its decay, it is a fascinating area full of pedestrianized streets, 400 year old churches, steep hills with narrow, bustling streets, open-air markets, neoclassical and art deco architecture, and enough energy to impress even a hardened New Yorker.
One of the most interesting aspects of Centro is its alternative edge. Most downtowns in North America are strictly about business, yet here in São Paulo, there are numerous alternative art galleries, and underground bars where skateboarders, weed smokers and anarchists rub shoulders with businessmen getting off of work.
Different eras of architecture blending seamlessly along the pedestrianized streets of Centro.
São Paulo’s artistic side emerges in unexpected places.
Rush hour at Estação da Luz, one of the busiest subway stations in Latin America.
Multileveled subway station at Estação Sé.
The area around 25 de Março is considered the largest commercial center in all of Latin America, and is one of the best places in the city to see São Paulo’s diversity.
Around 25 de Março, Chinese and Korean merchants sell electronic goods to Bolivians and Paraguayans, while Syrians, Iraqis, Palestinians and Lebanese folks sell clothes and produce to every other race under the sun. São Paulo has one of the largest populations of Muslims in Latin America, with many migrants coming from the Middle East since the Arab Spring.
Winter light during rush hour next to Catedral da Sé. — at Catedral Metropolitana da Sé.
Sea of buildings in Centro.
Korean shop owners in Bom Retiro, one of São Paulo’s most diverse neighborhoods.
Centro also has a dark side, as seen in Cracolândia, an area where crack is openly bought, sold and consumed. City officials, including the current mayor Fernando Haddad, have made progress in improving parts of the area with drug rehabilitation centers, but problems still remain.
Police officers ordering passengers off a city bus while searching for a criminal. While crime does exist in São Paulo, it does not feel worse than San Francisco, New York or any major American city.
Under the Elevado (the elevated freeway) in Santa Cecília.
São Paulo is a city of immigrants and that diversity can best be seen in Liberdade, a densely packed neighborhood of Japanese restaurants, Chinese markets, and narrow, hilly streets that light up beautifully at night. Brazil has the largest concentration of Japanese people outside of Japan, and the majority live in this neighborhood.
Aska, a cozy, Japanese ramen joint, that has super cheap prices (extremely unusual in this city), delicious food, as well as a long wait.
Barra Funda is an up and coming industrialized area northwest of downtown, characterized by art galleries and music venues of all types. This display was at Galeria Fortes Vilaça, which recently hosted an exhibition on the world famous São Paulo graffiti duo, Os Gemeos.
Sunrise from an apartment building in Vila Nova Conceição.
Brazil, Pictures, São Paulo, South America

Faces of São Paulo, Brazil

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We spent six weeks hitting the streets of São Paulo photographing the people that make the city so great. Here are our favorite portraits.

Nayara de Deus, bar tender at Empório Sagarana in the trendy neighborhood of Vila Madalena.
Homeless man on Avenida Paulista.
Local resident in Liberdade.
“Tell Obama you have found the only terrorist in São Paulo!” Muslim immigrant from Rajasthan India showing a photo from his Michael Jackson stage, next to his Angolan wife.
“I was wondering if I could take a picture of you man, I am doing a blog on people that I am meeting in Sao Paulo” “A blog on ugly people?” (laughs)
Korean man in front of his restaurant in Bom Retiro, a densly populated neighborhood inhabited by Koreans, Jews, Eastern Europeans, Paraguayans and Bolivians.
Hannah in Bom Retiro. After fleeing persecution in 1951 from Stalins Soviet Union, Hannah settled in this traditional Jewish neighborhood north of downtown Sao Paulo.
Jewish mystic in Bom Retiro, “my mother died yesterday, im just looking for a few dollars for a coffee.”
Diego in Luz.
Lebanese merchant in the 25 de Março section of Centro, the largest shopping district in Latin America.
Rubens and Vinicius both traveled to San Francisco and were inspired to open an authentic California style Taqueria in São Paulo, “theres nothing like this here, we wanted to bring back the true burrito experience to Brazil!”
Shoeshiner from the poorer Northeastern part of Brazil, he says he family was Dutch and settled there 400 years ago.
“Mother Earth will die if we don’t do our part to save it. I’m just trying to do mine” Piaui Ecologica, a local Sao Paulo environmental artist doing work to raise awareness about the environment.
Leo Pride, model for Rock Managment, hanging out at Galeria do Rock, a 6 story building dedicated to rock, rap, skating and tattoos.
Key maker in Centro.
A Dupla da Paulista, a talented duo that play weekly on Avenida Paulista.
“can I take a picture of you sir”? “…”

 

Brazil, Pictures, South America

Goiás: Land of Red Earth and Cowboys

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Gallery of photos from our week long expedition to Goiás, a rural, arid land of cattle, cowboys, Sertanejo (Brazilian country music) and the most hospitable people in all of Brazil.

The state of Goiás is characterized by a landscape of rolling woodland savanna plateaus, reminding us of the golden California hills.
We took a day trip to Pirenópolis, a colonial town famous for its waterfalls and alternative community.
After a day spent lounging at various waterfalls, we got some coffee at Pireneus Cafe in the center of town. The smooth jazz and art contrasted starkly with the country side full of cowboys.
Once a year, Goianians travel for hundreds of miles to attend the Cavalgada De Campo Limpo, a crazy Brazilian country celebration featuring a parade of horses and bulls, live Sertanejo music, dancing and plenty of alcohol
The streets were lined with people enjoying the festivities as the parade passed by.
There was live Sertanejo and lots of dancing.
Brasília, the capital of Brazil, was created in 1960 from scratch by architect Oscar Niemeyer and former president Juscelino Kubitschek.
The idea of Brasília was to create a utopian city with wide boulevards and open spaces. This idea was in response to the chaos and disorganization of many cities around the world following World War II. For better or for worse, the city is an interesting clash between 1960s idealism and todays urban reality
The Catedral de Brasília was designed by Oscar Niemeyer (a socialist and atheist) who wanted to “connect the people to the sky, where their Lord’s paradise is.”
Niemeyer’s Congresso Nacional was designed to represent openness to all political ideologies. It was taken over four years later by the Brazilian military dictatorship who subsequently banned all political parties for the next 21 years.
Santuário Dom Bosco.

Our journey to Goiás actually begins in Rio.  We were happily taking in the beautiful scenery, sunshine and surf, until Moreno got crushed by a wave.  He was helped up by a friendly Brazilian named Bruna who spoke excellent English.  We ended up spending the rest of the day with her and her dad, chowing down on Picanha, a popular brazilian cut of beef and sipping Caipirinhas in Lapa, late into the night.  Before parting ways we promised to go visit her in Goiás.

One of best parts of traveling is meeting new people, travelers and locals alike.  Only while traveling can you get crushed by a wave, hangout with someone you just met for an entire night and then spend a week living with her family. We had never planned on going to Goiás, but because of this chance meeting we were able to experience brazil far off the beaten path with a multitude of friendly and interesting people.

Brazil, Pictures, Rio de Janeiro, South America

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Pictures)

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Everyone has an idea of what Rio de Janeiro is like during the World Cup, with the massive parties on Copacabana, the violent protests, and the hordes of tourists. While living in Rio for a month I took my camera around everywhere, attempting to shed light on the other side of Rio, the real Rio, the one not seen on TV or in the newspapers. Here is my portrait of Rio de Janeiro.

Photos by Walker Dawson