The Carnival of Brazil and Its Economy - Research Paper Example

?Brazil Brazil is located in South America and is considered to be the largest country on the continent; it is also the fifth largest country in the entire world. Brazil also has one of the largest populations in the world with over 190 million people. As large as it is, Brazil borders all of the other countries of South America with the exceptions of Ecuador and Chile. The majority of Brazilians are descendants from the indigenous people of the country, Portuguese settlers and African slaves; there are also sixty-seven uncontacted tribes throughout Brazil, making up the largest number of uncontacted people in the world. An uncontacted person or tribe refers to a person or a group of people who live by choice without having contact with connected civilizations of the world. Given the sheer size of Brazil, it comes as no surprise that it contains a very large and rather extensive ecosystem. A variety of habitats can be found throughout Brazil; indeed, there are many species of plants and animals that have not yet been documented and it is not uncommon for new species to be found on a regular basis. Scientists and researchers have estimated that the exact number of plant and animal species in Brazil could easily approach four million (Scaglia, 2010). Some of the animals that can be found throughout Brazil include, but are not limited to, pumas, the extremely rare bush dogs, slots, New World monkeys, and peccaries. Brazil is also home to the largest tropical forest in the world, the Amazon Rainforest, which covers an approximate 1.7 billion acres. The Amazon represents more than one half of the Earth’s remaining rainforests and is composed of the largest, most species-rich region of tropical rainforest found in the entire world. The Amazon Rainforest is home to millions of species; “to date, at least 40,000 plant species, 3,000 fish, 1,294, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the rainforest (Da Silva, 2005).” There are still many species living in the forest that have yet to be classified. Brazil has an abundance of natural resources, which has prompted the country to aim at eliminating poverty throughout the entire country. Their greatest natural resource is bauxite, which is the main ingredient of aluminum. Uranium, petroleum, diamonds, limestone, platinum, and hydro electricity power make up just a short list of the many resources found in the country. The great amount of resources throughout Brazil has “helped a lot in the enhancement of financial status of the country (Baer, 2001).” Because of the presence of these many resources, not only has Brazil been able to secure a healthy economy, but they have also found themselves to be less dependent on foreign imports, which is something that many other countries in the world are unable to make a claim to. Similarly, Brazil is a country that prides itself on what it is able to export. Coffee, for example, which is not only the choice beverage of Brazilians and the national drink, but it is also one of the greatest exports of the country. Brazil is the number one supplier of coffee to other countries, sending out approximately 2,249,010 tons of coffee each year (Rohter, 2010). Other major Brazilian exports include ethanol, aircraft, automobiles, steel, iron ore, and electrical equipment. These exports, which are on high demand throughout the world, have also helped increase and keep steady the economy of Brazil. Brazil is a country rich with culture and the Carnival is no exception. The Carnival of Brazil is an event that takes place every year forty-six days before the Easter holiday and is thought to be the most important holiday in Brazil. The purpose of the carnival, which dates back to the pre-Christian pagan era, is to say goodbye to all of the bad things in one’s life as a preparation for Christ’s death and resurrection, which is also symbolized in these carnival celebrations (Guillermoprieto, 1990). The Carnival of Brazil is celebrated differently throughout all of the cities of Brazil, with each city having their own methods of rhythm, participation, and costumes. More often than not, the major parades are led by samba schools, who have dancers participating in the parades. The larger parades are meant to be watched by the public, but there are also smaller parades that allow the public to participate in the celebrations. Over the years, the Carnival of Brazil has become a huge event, one that takes almost a week of preparation and celebration. The festivities start early in the morning and seldom ends until the late hours of the night, only to start up again a few hours later. The Carnival of Brazil brings around seventy percent of the annual amount of tourists, all who come to visit and enjoy the colorful festivities. Because of the high demand to see the parades, stadiums, tiers, seats, and box seats have long since been built to accommodate over forty-thousand people; since viewing room is still hard to come by, many people simply watch the parades from the comfort of their living rooms, gazing out their windows as the parades pass by below them. Brazil is a wonderful, culture-filled country, one that readily and bluntly displays the pride that can be found amongst its people. The country has a lot to offer to both its people and to anyone who may want to visit. Brazil is a favorite vacation location of tourists due to the vast Amazon Rainforest and the Carnival of Brazil, where the tourists can participate in the festivities and experience Brazilian culture firsthand. Brazil is a very successful country, providing the rest of the world with many wonderful items of export, such as its famous coffee and its petrol. It is also able to provide for itself many of the items that it needs to continue running in its successful fashion. The people of Brazil have many things to be proud of, and, given the amount of exports per year, they are more than happy to share these objects of pride. References Baer, W. (2001). The Brazilian economy: Growth and development (5th ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger. Silva, J. D. (2005). The fate of the Amazonian areas of endemism. Conservation Biology, 19(3), 689-694. Guillermoprieto, A. (1990). Samba: The making of Brazilian Carnival. New York, NY: Knopf. Rohter, L. (2010). Brazil on the rise. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan. Scaglia, B. (2010). Wonders of the world. New York, NY: The Perspicacious Press. Read More