Get ready. You're about to find out a bit about Brazil. Sure, it's Brazil in photographs, Brazil on paper. Colorful, brilliant, beautiful, well-presented, but Brazil on paper nevertheless. One that you can take home, leave on the shelf, on the desk at the office, in a place where it stands out. One you can 'visit' from time to time by leafing through this book, or show your family and friends. It might be simply Brazil on paper, but this is certainly an unforgettable souvenir of a unique country. Of course you can rest assured that all this wealth and beauty that you hold in your hands is just the briefest sample of what exists in reality. And however good it may be, it can only offer a mere taste of the exuberance and enormity of Brazil. Because the real Brazil, with thousands of different landscapes, a huge blend of colors, sounds, smells, and above all people, is so much more than this. There is simply no comparison. For a start, Brazil is very, very, big. The fifth largest country in the world in area, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Just have a look at a map. It's practically a continent. Do you have any idea how large 8,547,403 square kilometers is? It's almost inconceivable. It's so big that if you take line from end to end - from the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, to thecapital of the state of Roraima, Boa Vista, in the extreme north, a commercial flight takes more than 9 hours! By way of comparison, it's worth remembering that a commercial flight from New York to Paris takes 8 hours, but with one small detail; you're flying between two continents. In Brazil you can fly for 9 hours and never leave the country. Think about it.

Within this area approximately 170 million Brazilians live, work, dream and create a dynamic society, in a constant state of transformation, progress and modernization. The history, the customs and the culture allow for the harmonious coexistence of the highest industrial technology alongside the remotest indigenous traditions, the most innovative architecture alongside the secular art of local potters. Unifying these 170 million Brazilians living in total ethnic, religious and expressive liberty, is a single language: Portuguese. With innumerous and creative regional differences, the Portuguese spoken in Brazil incorporates thousands of terms of indigenous origin (the Tupi-Guarani language group), and of African origin (Iorubá). The Portuguese language was fundamental in the construction of the nation, of the civilization. In the consolidation of the identity of Brazil.

From one end to the other, it is all beach....very level and most pleasant. With the beginning of Portuguese domination and the arrival of slaves from Africa, there began a rare blending of races, bringing together native indians, white Europeans and black Africans. Touched with other colors - French and Dutch - adding further depth to the picture of the Brazilian soul. This is because expeditions from these two nations temporarily occupied part of the country, until being permanently expelled by the Portuguese. Despite their short stay, they left lasting impressions on Brazilian culture. Historians, anthropologists and academics have long sought, in all the subtle nuances of the original racial mix, and in the influences of the foreign invaders, all subject to the natural intensity of the tropics, a reason for the uniqueness of Brazil. Because all things considered, 500 years is not a long time when compared to other countries and civilizations. But certainly enough to reveal a different and special way of living, of thinking, of feeling and of acting. A remarkable, characteristic way. Unforgettable in fact. A way that defies words, lengthy explanation or analysis. It is revealed as much in the shrewd look of the country-dweller who surveys the sky on a day of scorching sun and guarantees that it will rain, and it does, as in the cunning of the retired card player as he bluffs in a card game in a suburban, public square.