With a career that spanned nearly 70 years and 34 albums, Brazil’s beloved singer and activist passed away peacefully at the age of 91 by Brian Mier In 1953, a young woman appeared at an amateur singing competition in the auditorium of a Rio de Janeiro radio show. Her borrowed clothes, too big for her, […]
In the macho, back-country world of Sertanejo music, Mendonça demanded respect for women by Brian Mier On Friday, November 5, news broke that a small plane had crashed in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, but that all of the passengers, including popular singer/songwriter Marília Mendonça, were OK. There was a collective sign of relief – Mendonça, 26, […]
“It is amazing how the coronavirus ended up associating itself with the Bolsonaro government’s ideals of liquidating people through hitting the poorest, Afro-Brazilians, the peripheries, the sick, people with disabilities, and women. The virus is perversely damaging the most poor and vulnerable. It is as if this virus is implementing a terrible plan of eugenics- […]
500 days after the socialist city councilwoman’s assassination, the people who ordered her killing are still at large On Saturday, July 27th, Congressman Marcelo Freixo (PSOL-Rio de Janeiro) published a video of city councilwoman Marielle Franco in Pedra do Sal, downtown Rio, in 2017, on her 38th birthday. The socialist lawmaker would have turned 40 […]
In São Paulo, funk singer MC Reaça, who composed misogynistic jingles for Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign, attempts to beat pregnant girlfriend to death then kills himself. Cynara Menezes writes that, to Bolsonaro and his minions, MC Reaça represented an ideal image of masculinity. By Cynara Menezes Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had a masculine ideal of the […]
Rock in Rio is a huge cultural event in Rio de Janeiro; for many people, it’s their one and only chance to see an artist or a band they love. The Rock in Rio stage has welcomed household names like Queen, Sting, Britney Spears, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Beyoncé and many, many more. For those who […]
On the eve of the #EleNão protests, as military police raid communist party headquarters across Minas Gerais, neo-fascist candidate Jair Bolsonaro tells reporter he will not respect the election results unless he wins. He is currently trailing PT candidate Fernando Haddad by 6% in the polls for the final round. by Brian Mier Speaking to […]
The protest, which temporarily shut down Paulista Avenue, comes on the heels of a recent victory in Argentina and on the eve of a Federal Supreme Court hearing about decriminalization. São Paulo, July 19th, 2018 – Under the banner, “It’s Our Time to Legalize Abortion – SP”, thousands of women gathered on Oswaldo Cruz square to […]
by Brian Mier. The Partido Comunista do Brasil (PC do B/Communist Party of Brasil) was founded in 1962 when a group of militants split from the older Partido Comunista Brasileiro (PCB/Brazilian Communist Party). It was criminalised during the Military Dictatorship and as communists were arrested, tortured and executed, 80 party members moved to the remote […]
Djamila Ribeiro, 37, is currently one of the most popular writers and public figures in the Afro-Brazilian woman’s rights movement. She was born into a working class family in the gritty port city of Santos to communist parents. Her father was active in the local longshoreman’s union and used to take her to the Soviet […]