We’ve heard a lot of live music during our two week stay in Rio de Janeiro – at bars, clubs, by the beach, and in the streets of this hip-swinging Brazilian city. It’s hard not to hear music in a city where nearly every cultural activity has a soundtrack! And that soundtrack typically comprises Brazilian … Read more
Ask a Brazilian cook or chef who makes the best feijoada, Brazil’s national dish, and they’ll say “I do!” Nothing is more of a source of pride than making a delicious version of this pork and bean stew. Well, perhaps apart from making a mean caiparinha with their own supply of artisanal Cachaça! A ritual that’s … Read more
We’ve seen many a corrida de toros or bullfight since our first trip to Mexico more than 15 years ago. We’ve always been conflicted about it. We love animals but we can also appreciate the cultural significance of the corrida. But the bullfighting in San Miguel de Allende was something different… What we dislike immensely about bullfights … Read more
Almost every evening during our stay in San Miguel de Allende, there have been wonderful performances of traditional Mexican dances by San Miguel’s different folkloric troupes on a stage in the main square. The ‘staging’ of tourism, the recreation of cultural traditions through performance and the production of tourism as a series of staged events … Read more
When we arrived in Mexico City we immediately noticed how popular Lucha Libre had become in the years since our last visit. The flamboyant form of wrestling is constantly on TV and in magazines and newspapers. Street stalls and markets sell mascaras (masks), capes, Lucha Libre action figures, trinkets, and t-shirts. The t-shirts in themselves … Read more