CAXIAS do Sul, Brazil, May 15 – Did you know that lunchtime in Brazil literally brings businesses to a standstill?
Here’s why!
Twice when I dropped by the Central Business District on my way to the 24th Summer Deaflympics venue, I was left to wonder why city’s normally teeming streets were virtually deserted around lunch hour with all stores and businesses being closed for the period of time.
I keyed up on realizing that the hustle and bustle of the city fizzles out like what you would expect at Nairobi’s CBD on a Sunday morning.
According to the Brazilian Consolidated Labor Law, the employer must allow at least two hours of work break, if the work period will last more than six hours.
Such is the reality on the ground that will shock you on your first visit to the South American nation.
“In Brazil lunch is taken very seriously. Hotels open as early as 11am to serve lunch until 2pm. They then close and reopen for dinner time from 6pm to 9pm,” explained Pablo Escobar, a hotelier who is hosting part of Team Kenya delegation in Nova Petrópolis.
-Toilet Etiquette-
Wait a minute! In Brazil, there is a notice posted in all rest rooms that has also come as a culture shock to many foreigners in Brazil.
In all toilets you are reminded that only human waste should be flashed, in case you use toilet paper for a long call, then one is advised to dispose of it in the waste bins and not flush it!
-Parking for Pregnant Women-
Away from the rest rooms facet, another amazing thing is that expectant women are enabled to run errands at shopping malls in Caxias do Sul without any hiccups. There are designated packing slots for them!
Brazilian authorities have provided packing slots alongside those of people with disabilities with the spaces strategically located next to entrances, making access to malls convenient for the mothers to be.
-Day or night drive with your lights on-
It is very common to find cars on the roads with full lights on during the day. The government of Brazil passed a legislation in 2016 that lights must be on all times whether day or night.
It is claimed that this is a way of preventing road accidents.
-A different ball game in Brazil-
Brazil is known for their vibrant Samba dance and football.
Their fabled brand of play is one facet of sport that continues to endear them to football crazy-fans across the globe.
A mere mention of Brazil’s greatest footballer swill forever heighten the pulse-rate of fans across the world.
These are names like the world’s greatest Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, stylish Bebeto, go-getting striker Ronaldo, indefatigable Jairzinho (the first ever player to score in each World Cup match including the final), 1982 World Cup Captain Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira simply known as Sócrates and Ronaldinho just to name but a few.
But in its cosmopolitan southern town of Caxias do Sul, in the state’s mountainous Serra Gaúcha region-its been a different ball game this time round.
One of the most skillful ball players in the world, Ronaldinho (Ronaldo de Assis Moreira), comes from Porto Alegre, which located 130 kilometers from Caxias do Sul.
However, the current Brazilian national football team head coach, Tite (Adenor Leonardo Bacchi) and who is a former midfielder, hails from Caxias do Sul.
The streets and hotels of Caxius do Sul have all been awash with activities related to the Deaf sports community.
The 24th Deaflympics-running between May 1-15, 2022 -had been postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming the first ever Deaflympics to be held in South America and Latin America.
–Where Football isn’t that popular–
But that does not mean that football doesn’t exist here.
Caxias do Sul is home to the S.E.R. Caxias, a team that Tite managed and played for and Juventude football clubs.
Even though both teams have claimed the Campeonato Gaúcho, Juventude has accomplished more at a national level, having played in the first division of the Campeonato Brasileiro for more than fifteen seasons and winning the 1999 edition of the Copa do Brasil.
Caxias has been playing in the fourth division since 2016.
Juventude, on the other hand, made it back into the first division in 2020.
Juventude has the third-largest fan base in the state, just behind the two major teams of the state capital city, Porto Alegre.
-Home to Italians and Germans-
The arrival of Italian immigrants, mostly farmers in search of a better life from the Veneto, Lombardy, Trento (northern Italy) as well as other regions in Italy, began in 1875 in Nova Milano.
Although they received governmental support such as tools, supplies, and seeds, everything had to be reimbursed to the federal government
Today, Caxias do Sul is one of the region’s central hubs, hosting some of Brazil’s most diverse economies besides its size; with its industrial parks, vast vineyards, wine commerce, cattle and plantation farms give the land a further dimension.
The city also hosts the National Grape and Wine Festival, which celebrates Italian heritage.
It’s one of the most famous events in the country and it’s called Festa da Uva, when lots of merrymaking, wine-drinking, grapes and people animate the month of February, every two years (on even-numbered years).
Visitors may eat cheese, grapes and various Brazilian wines.
Visitors interested in the region’s wine can also visit the Château Lacave Castle, a 6th Century-style medieval structure that currently functions as a winery.
Caxias do Sul is also one of the four settlements along the Caminhos da Colônia scenic tourist route in the Serra Gaúcha.
-Alex Isaboke is reporting from Caxias do Sul, Brazil-