Culture & History in Brazil
Heritage and traditions
Ouro Preto: Where Colonial Brazil Hid Its Gold, Executed Its Revolutionaries, and Built Churches That Weigh in Gold
Brazil's most significant colonial city — a UNESCO World Heritage baroque masterpiece built on slavery, revolution, and 18th-century gold wealth that funded half of Europe.
Culture & HistoryRecife: Where Dutch Canals, African Drums, and the First Synagogue in the Americas Share the Same Street
Finn O'Sullivan's guide to Recife, Brazil's most overlooked city — where Dutch canals, African drumming, Jewish heritage, and Afro-Brazilian religion share the same streets. With specific addresses, prices, opening hours, and what to skip.
Culture & HistorySão Paulo: Coffee Fortunes, Immigrant Dreams, and the 12-Million-Person City That Refuses to Be Pretty
A culture and history guide to São Paulo — coffee fortunes at the Bolsa in Santos, Japanese-Brazilian Liberdade, Bixiga Italian heart, MASP, Ibirapuera street art, and honest 2026 prices and logistics.
Culture & HistorySalvador de Bahia: The Complete Guide to Brazil's Most African City — Churches, Capoeira, and the Flavors That Survived Slavery
A 2026 fact-checked guide to Salvador de Bahia: Pelourinho's baroque churches and the Sao Francisco closure, capoeira schools, acaraje stalls, Candomble traditions, beaches, Carnival dates, and honest daily budgets.
Culture & HistoryRio de Janeiro: Where Imperial Palaces Crumble Into Samba Bars — A Culture & History Deep Dive
Beyond the beach postcards lies a city that governed Brazil for 197 years — imperial palaces, baroque churches, the cradle of samba, and the wharf where half a million enslaved Africans landed. This guide digs into Rio's historic core: Centro, Lapa, Santa Teresa, and the port zone.