Brazil is known around the world for the beaches of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Tourists prefer these cities because of their coastlines and great tourist attractions, like Christ Redeemer. But Belo Horizonte is becoming Brazil’s third largest city and is unknown to the outside world. A question that could be done is: What is the reason for the international anonymity of this great city? The answer was published in one of the most famous newspaper in the world: The New York Times.
Last week The New York Times published news showing that BH is as attractive as RJ or SP. Of course the attractions are completely different, but they stand out just the same. According to them, BH is not famous because it has no beaches, no big Carnival, and no remarkable attractions, apart from some buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer. Some tourists treat it as a simple refueling shop as they go toward picturesque colonial-era mining towns like Ouro Preto or Diamantina.
However, the capital of Minas Gerais is claiming its fame as the bar capital of Brazil. Not bars as in slick hotel lounges or boozy meat markets, but bars as in botecos, informal sit-down spots where multiple generations socialize, drink beer and often have an informal meal. It is almost unbelievable, but there are about 12,000 bars in the city, more per capita than anywhere else in the country. The reason for so many bars nobody knows, but one theory has turned into a popular saying: “There are no seas, thus there are bars.”
The best time to know its bars is in the annual Comida di Buteco competition, when some 40 top bars square off in categories like hygiene, beer frigidity, service and most importantly, best appetizer. The bars typically have yellow plastic tables and serve beer in bottles of 0.6L, but it is not difficult to find those that look like restaurant with green and white tablecloth, uniformed waiters, and wall of cachaça. There is one with an interesting theme; its name is Bar do Caixote (Nogueira da Gama Street, 189, João Pinheiro). Its chairs and tables are literaturely wooden crates, and it is a place where friends can have an informal talk, drink beer and have a tasteful appetizer. Another one which is a regular participant of Comida di Buteco is Mercearia Lili (São João Evangelista Street, 696, Santo Antônio). It stands at a steep hill that requires superhuman parallel parking skills or taxi service.
When you need a bar break, take a trip to the Pampulha neighborhood, where you can find some Niemeyer buildings, like his famous Church of São Francisco de Assis. The Belo Horizonte’s most famous restaurant, Xapuri (Mandacaru Street, 260, Pampulha) stands in this beautiful side of the city. It is one of the best place to try the traditionally cuisine of Minas Gerais. Besides the bars you can also find unusual gifts at the Hippie Fair (Afonso Pena’s Art fair), two long blocks on Afonso Pena Avenue full of clothes, jewelry, household goods and crafts. When you’re done, stop at food stalls at either end for fried fish or coconut sweets, or pop into the beautifully landscaped Municipal Park park just below the fair to relax. In either place, you won’t be far from a vendor ready to crack you open a can of Skol. In Belo Horizonte, the world’s a bar.
Adapted from: http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/travel/28next.html
by Maycon da Costa – Intermediate I -Teacher: Gabby
Last week The New York Times published news showing that BH is as attractive as RJ or SP. Of course the attractions are completely different, but they stand out just the same. According to them, BH is not famous because it has no beaches, no big Carnival, and no remarkable attractions, apart from some buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer. Some tourists treat it as a simple refueling shop as they go toward picturesque colonial-era mining towns like Ouro Preto or Diamantina.
However, the capital of Minas Gerais is claiming its fame as the bar capital of Brazil. Not bars as in slick hotel lounges or boozy meat markets, but bars as in botecos, informal sit-down spots where multiple generations socialize, drink beer and often have an informal meal. It is almost unbelievable, but there are about 12,000 bars in the city, more per capita than anywhere else in the country. The reason for so many bars nobody knows, but one theory has turned into a popular saying: “There are no seas, thus there are bars.”
The best time to know its bars is in the annual Comida di Buteco competition, when some 40 top bars square off in categories like hygiene, beer frigidity, service and most importantly, best appetizer. The bars typically have yellow plastic tables and serve beer in bottles of 0.6L, but it is not difficult to find those that look like restaurant with green and white tablecloth, uniformed waiters, and wall of cachaça. There is one with an interesting theme; its name is Bar do Caixote (Nogueira da Gama Street, 189, João Pinheiro). Its chairs and tables are literaturely wooden crates, and it is a place where friends can have an informal talk, drink beer and have a tasteful appetizer. Another one which is a regular participant of Comida di Buteco is Mercearia Lili (São João Evangelista Street, 696, Santo Antônio). It stands at a steep hill that requires superhuman parallel parking skills or taxi service.
When you need a bar break, take a trip to the Pampulha neighborhood, where you can find some Niemeyer buildings, like his famous Church of São Francisco de Assis. The Belo Horizonte’s most famous restaurant, Xapuri (Mandacaru Street, 260, Pampulha) stands in this beautiful side of the city. It is one of the best place to try the traditionally cuisine of Minas Gerais. Besides the bars you can also find unusual gifts at the Hippie Fair (Afonso Pena’s Art fair), two long blocks on Afonso Pena Avenue full of clothes, jewelry, household goods and crafts. When you’re done, stop at food stalls at either end for fried fish or coconut sweets, or pop into the beautifully landscaped Municipal Park park just below the fair to relax. In either place, you won’t be far from a vendor ready to crack you open a can of Skol. In Belo Horizonte, the world’s a bar.
Adapted from: http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/travel/28next.html
by Maycon da Costa – Intermediate I -Teacher: Gabby
No comments:
Post a Comment