February 17, 2008

Hello fello world travelers,

The Traveling Eye is exploring Brazil on today’s show. Tune in every Sunday from 4-5pm central timr to 1690 AM WVON or online @ http://www.wvon.com/.

Not only is Brazil a faboulous destination for fun, nightlife, Corcovado and the famous beaches, Brazil is a significant link in the African – Americas Slave Trade. It therefore boasts a full and rich Afro-Brazilian History and Culture. We will feature Rio De Janeiro, Salvadore Bahia and Afro Brazilian Cultural Tours.

We are joined today by two special guests, Van Welton, a client of Advantage International and a regular traveler to Brazil and Dr. Stephanie Davenport of the DuSable Museum in Chicago.

Van’s travel to Brazil goes beyond tourism. He supports the Bahia Street organization and their efforts to support and empower young black girls in Brazil. Dr. Davenport is also a regular traveler to Brazil and has adopted an Afro-Brazilian Family. www.bahiastreet.org. Bahia Street breaks cycles of poverty, inequality and violence by providing high quality educational opportunities for economically-impoverished young women and girls in Brazil. The program was developed by African-Brazilian residents of shantytowns in Salvador, Brazil to provide a solution to what they believe to be their most pressing problems.

Brazil, part of the South American Continent is the largest of the Latin American countries. Covering almost half (47.3 percent) of the continent of South America. It is the fifth largest country in the world after the Russian Federation, Canada, China, and the United States. On a map of the globe, it can be seen that the eastern bulge of Brazil conforms to the concave curve of the west coast of Africa. According to the theory of continental drift, this is no accident; Africa and South America once bordered each other, but drifted apart over millions of years. The Atlantic Ocean extends along the entire eastern side of the country, giving it a coastline of 4,578 miles.

Current population is over 169 million. The Brazilian population is predominately young. The population is concentrated along the Atlantic coastal areas of the southeastern and northeastern states.

There are three basic racial sources for the Brazilian people. To the original inhabitants (Indians) were added successive waves of Europeans (mainly Portuguese) and Africans (mostly from the sub-Saharan west coast). Starting in the middle of the 16th century, Africans belonging to the Bantu and to the Sudanic ethnic groups (a large proportion of the Sudanic group came from the Yoruba nation from what is today Nigeria and Benin) were brought to Brazil to work as slaves in the sugarcane, and later, in the gold and diamond mines and the coffee plantations.

Portuguese is the official language of Brasil. Except for the languages spoken by Indian tribes living in remote reservations, Portuguese is the only language of daily life. There are no regional dialects. Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking country in South America

The coastal areas of Rio de Janeiro, Recife, and Salvador have warm climates balanced by the consistency of the Trade Winds. temperatures range from 73°F to 81°F

For general tourism and more information on packages to Brazil contact Advantage International @ 1-877-238-6843 or 312-266-8687

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