The next Get-together will be on Sunday the 20th March 2011 at Marinas Bar and Restaurant, 2270 Av Cabo Branco, Cabo Branco, Joao Pessoa, telephone 326-5734. Starting at 1pm until 7pm. There will be a book and DVD exchange. Following its success at the Christmas get-together we would again ask people to bring 1 kilo of non-perishable food or a child’s toy that we will donate to CEDIN a local ONG working in Sao José, Joao Pessoa (also CEDIN would be very happy to accept any clothes and shoes).
Here is a map showing the location of Marinas Bar and Restaurant.
Below are some of the events happening in Joao Pessoa during the carnival this year:
25/02 (sexta-feira)
Bloco da Cueca – 17h/ concentração: Ponto de Cem Réis
Picolé de Manga – 19h/ concentração: Final da Av. João Machado
Anjo Azul – 19h/ concentração: Beco da Faculdade de Direito, no Centro.
Folia Cidadã – 19h/ concentração: Porto do Capim
Bloco do Pinguim – 20h/ concentração: Pavilhão do Chá
Confete e Serpentina – 20h/ concentração: Praça Dom Ulrico, no Centro
26/02 (sábado)
Agitada Gang – 16h/ concentração: Epitácio Pessoa
Bloco dos Atletas – 18h/ concentração: Final da Av. Tito Silva com a Epitácio Pessoa
Eternamente Flamengo – 18h/ concentração: Caixa D’água dos Funcionários II
Virgens de Mangabeira – 18h/ concentração? Colégio Luis Ramalho
Amoringa dos Bancários – 18h/ concentração: Rua Rosa Lima dos Santos
Tambiá Folia – 19h/ concentração: Av. Tancredo Neves
Banho de Cheiro – 19h/ concentração: Epitácio Pessoa – Posto 99
Dxmantelados do Cristo – 20h/ concentração: Colégio José Lins do Rêgo
Piabas – 21h/ concentração: Rua Osório Paes, em Tambaú (more…)
Brazilian broadband operator GVT begins offering this month in Joao Pessoa bandwidth speeds of up to 100 Mbps. The 35, 50 and 100 Mbps speeds came to the capital of Paraiba after the construction of a new section of GVT’s data transmission network, connecting the city to other states.
The minimum speed of 5 Mbps is offered for BRL 49.90 a month with the telephony packages. GVT is currently present in 20 districts of Joao Pessoa, with average coverage of 35 percent, and has so far invested at least BRL 40 million in Paraiba.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has declared a war on drug trafficking, trading and consumption fulfilling a promise made during her election campaign.
At a ceremony, she announced the establishment of 49 Regional Centers of Reference on “crack” and other drugs in public universities.
In the centers, health professionals will be trained and drug addicts will have consultations with social workers for treatment and prevention.
Rousseff said that the fight against drugs will be conducted on three fronts: prevention, assistance to users and their families and combating drug trafficking.
“We have an extremely worrying situation concerning drugs and crime. My government will promote a systematic combat against crack. I have the commitment to a relentless struggle against crack,” Rousseff said.
“This drug has a very high capacity to spread because it is cheap and it disintegrates personalities and social relations,” she said.
According to the president, the fight against drugs requires a fight against organised crime, so it is necessary to strengthen the Federal Police and border control. (more…)
Brazilian financial-market analysts and economists raised their 2011 and 2012 inflation forecasts, a survey by the Brazilian central bank showed Monday.
The weekly survey places the 2011 year-end forecast for Brazil’s inflation rate at 5.75%, up from 5.66% a week earlier. The estimate is above the central bank’s inflation target of 4.5% for the year.
Survey respondents also increased their average estimate for 2012 inflation to 4.70% from 4.61%.
Last year, the country’s inflation rate reached 5.91%-the highest since 2004, when inflation hit 7.6%.
The central bank’s weekly survey tracks the opinions of 100 analysts and economists from banks and brokerages and reports the average of their expectations. (more…)
The fire sent plumes of smoke into the sky above Rio de Janeiro
A fire has broken out in the carnival district of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, destroying warehouses where floats are made, reports say.
At least four warehouses, a samba school and a carnival museum have been damaged in the blaze at Samba City.
It is unclear if anyone was injured in the fire, which spread quickly because of the quantity of flammable materials.
Rio’s world-famous carnival, due to begin on 4 March, attracts thousands of tourists and people from across Brazil.
A large plume of black smoke can be seen above the purpose-built Sambadrome - where the parade takes place - located near the city’s port.
According to reports, the fire erupted well before employees were due at work. No victims have been reported so far.
Some 90% of costumes in the damaged warehouses have been destroyed, according to O Globo.
The president of the samba group alliance - whose schools perform at the carnival event - described the loss as “tremendous“, according to Globo TV’s website.
But he vowed that the carnival would go ahead as planned, even though there would not be time to recreate everything lost in the fire.
“We are heartbroken,” Mr Castanheria said. “Everything was practically ready for the carnival.”
Up to 700,000 international tourists attend the event each year, mainly from the US and Europe.
