Rio de Janeiro

Sergio Mendes Opens iFest With a Charge to "Enjoy Life"

The 43rd Annual Houston International Festival kicks off its Brazilian-themed, two-weekend affair this evening with an opening gala at the Hobby Center featuring Grammy Award- winning pianist and musician, Sergio Mendes. Opening for Mendes will be Casa Samba, a samba school located in New Orleans. ... More >>

SXSW Releases First Batch of 2013 Performers

Here go hell come, SXSW has just released the first batch of names for the 2013 festival. I know, only a week after Fun Fun Fun Fest and a month since ACL. Did you see the FPSF blog from earlier today? Yeah, time is moving too fast. The big names on the list so far include the Zombies, Alt-J, Akro ... More >>

Madonna's Top 5 MDNA World Tour Transgressions

Madonna's Sex book turned 20 years old this week. The literary capstone on pop music's most frankly sexual career (sorry, Prince), the glossy collection of softcore smut managed to shock even the Material Girl's most ardent fans, crossing a few lines that many weren't entirely aware existed. Gay se ... More >>

No Fences: Garth Brooks & the Fuzzy Math of 10 Mega-Concerts

Fifteen years ago this week, the greatest country music artist of all time, Garth Brooks, made history by playing a free concert to a massive crowd in New York's Central Park. Now, not just anybody gets to play Central Park, but Brooks had the megawatt stroke in the entertainment biz back then to ma ... More >>

10 Gloriously Terrible Lesser-Known Motivational '80s Songs to Pump! You Up!

If my gym is any indication, Olympics Fever is spurring folks into action. There used to be plenty of elliptical machines, barbells, and room in the pool available during the time of day I would go. Now it seems like every elliptical machine is taken except the one in front of the wonky TV that only ... More >>

USA-Italy Rugby: Yes, This Is A Kind Of a Big Deal

During the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the United States Eagles had a decent shot to make it to the first quarterfinals in club history. And the Eagles played well for a half against the Italians before poor tackling did them in during a 27-10 loss. On Saturday, June 23, the two will meet for the first t ... More >>

Moro No Brasil

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change: A Sweet, Rosy-Cheeked Revue

The setup: This intimate, four-character, Off-Broadway musical revue about relationships (1996) makes you feel better when you leave than when you come in, as its visionary producer James Hammerstein once said. There's magic in that pronouncement, for this pleasant, unexciting, eager-to-please litt ... More >>

Waste Land

Free for All: Art Without a Price Tag

It's the weekend and we've got lots to do, so let's get to it. On Friday, Art Attack will be at the "2012 HCP Print Auction Exhibition," along with hundreds of other photography fans. Individuals and organizations from around the world donate photos for the Center to auction. Some of the images were ... More >>

Bartender Chat: Stephen Caronna Of Piola

​The first time I went to Piola, I thought "damn, this place is bright." It had been a crappy, rainy Monday. I was hungry and in a nasty mood, but the place actually cheered me up. It was happy hour, and I ended up getting pretty happy. I ordered a few French 75s for $5 each and the Rio de Jan ... More >>

This Just In: SXSW Announces First Round Of 2012 Showcasing Bands, Including Fat Tony and Something Fierce

Photo By Marco TorresFat Tony at a day show at SXSW '11​Sweet lord, it's not even Thanksgiving yet and South By Southwest is making us excited for March in Austin already. Today the industry festival announced a few bands coming to the capitol city next year, and a few Houston names and Rocks ... More >>

Houston Brazilian Festival: Discover Brazil

Top Five Summer Drinks (Adults Only)

www.rio-de-janeiro-travel-information.comCaipirinha​There are few things more enjoyable than an ice-cold beverage during the dog days of summer, except for maybe an ice-cold adult beverage enjoyed beach-side, poolside in the early evening. Although I often enjoy a simple beer on these occasion ... More >>

Waste Land

Roberto Carlos

Trio Elétrico

Our Favorite ZZ Top Covers: QOTSA, Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Dwight Yoakam, Willie Nelson, Tina Turner and... Rapeman?

[Note: Now with added Ministry.] Counting down to Friday's ZZ Top/Aerosmith show in The Woodlands is starting to feel like the week Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers played there last year: a steady build of anticipation and antsiness, until Friday we're flat-out squirming to get out of the office. ... More >>

Tonight: Diogo Nogueira at Kahlua

Washington PossatoSamba is not just a single musical genre; it's actually subdivided into countless sub-genres ranging from the party-friendly Carnaval beat to the highly subtle bossa nova made famous by the likes of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto. However, among the best-loved in Brazil (an ... More >>

Remembering 1969, Part 2: The View from Brazil

Note: Part 1 is here. While anti-Vietnam protests escalated in both sides of the Atlantic , the scenario was quite different in Brazil: in March 1964, a military junta toppled democratically elected president João Goulart and installed a cruel dictatorship that stayed in power for two decades - in ... More >>

Sonidos Y Mas: Marcio Local

Ernest Barteldes Marcio Local Says Don Day Don Dree Don Don: Adventures in Samba Soul www.luakabop.comDuring the late '60s and early '70s, Brazilian songwriters like the late Tim Maia and Jorge Ben became increasingly frustrated with the creative limitations of samba, and also felt out of place wit ... More >>

Kristine Mills

Tropa de Elite/The Elite Squad

See the film Brazilian police officers tried to stop from being screened

Tonight: Carnaval Houston at Planeta Bar-Rio

Carnaval, the four-day festival that precedes the beginning of Lent for Catholics, is probably Brazil's biggest Holiday. During this period (which officially ends at noon Ash Wednesday - people need their sleep), revelers take the streets and dance to the beat of the Afro-inspired drums of samb ... More >>

Houston Brazilian Carnaval

Web exclusive!

Ten Jinxed Houston Restaurant Locations

Brazilian Carnival 2008

Stages brings Craig Wright back to Houston

Nelson Pereira dos Santos Film Series

Rice Media Center presents a retrospective of the Brazilian filmmaker’s work

Black Orpheus

A Greek tragedy set to the samba

The Buzz

Mosquitos' Juju Stulbach on love and Eskimos

Get Soma Kicks

Thugs and Kisses

A South African street fighter finds new life in the wrenching redemption tale Tsotsi

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Straight Outta London

Dizzee Rascal brings grime music -- the British answer to crunk -- to the Dirty South

Great Globes of Flesh

A Carnaval celebration, Austin-style

Love Bites

Mosquitos meld the Big Apple and Brazil

God Forsaken

The brutal, brilliant City of God takes us inside Rio de Janeiro's urban decay

Back to the Future

Most of this year's best won't be seen until next

Playbill

The Cult

Location Be Damned

Michaeline's on West Alabama

Waiting for the Fall?

Pot Pie Pizzeria, Michaeline's on West Alabama and Brennan's

News of the Weird

Cortés, the Killed

Local Restaurant News

Dumb or Dumber?

Space cadets of Man or Astro-man? go to great depths to maintain a gimmick

Two for the Road

An affecting odd couple emerge from Brazil's Central Station

Stock Shock

Does anybody care that I Still Know What You Did?

News of the Weird

Dish

The Boys from Rio

The Rosas brothers honor Churrasco's -- and themselves -- with a little honest imitation

Cult Survivors