Nothing better to begin this page than with a photo of our bustling S�o Paulo, one of the biggest megalopolis in the world today. S�o Paulo has everything a big city has plus an enormous variety of languages: Portuguese,Italian,Japanese,Spanish,Korean are the main languages spoken by residents. Of course English is widely spoken, but not being the official language it is like an optional one for business, as French is for Diplomacy. There is a strong movement within Brazilian intellectual quarters as to insert the Portuguese Language in the modern wake of speaking and writing, like supressing graphic signs and other particularities that are all inherited from Latin. This movement originated not only in Brazil, but also among Portuguese intellectuals as well as the awakening African-Portuguese community. So, this is S�o Paulo:

Photo by Andrew Draffen� 1995 - Lonely Planet Publications�

As second shot you'll will see Bras�lia, the hyper modern Capital City built by the wisdom nurtured for more than one century by the Brazilian 'Intelig�ncia' and finally executed by one of our greatest politicians, President Juscelino Kubitscheck de Oliveira. From the flint that led to the final cut in the Inaugural Ribbon it did not pass more than 10 years. Bras�lia was built, in the practical sense, by the hands of thousands of migrants from other parts of Brazil, but mainly by the "nordestinos" (northeasterners), the suffering poor population from the poorest of Brazilian regions, always under severe drought, always ruled by the land-barons, always forgotten by the rest of Brazil. That's why I don't like when people say that Bras�lia is not a good city because it has no street corners where the lower middle class tend to spend time in other Brazilian cities; or that it is a place for the higher government echelons that earn lots of money and do nothing. I experienced Bras�lia for 2 1/2 years when I was working for the Foreign Office. I lived in a small room in a kind of Hotel owned by the Jesuit Priests. I earned very little. And I kind of loved Bras�lia, if not by its social importance, but for its Historical role against the greed of moneyed Brazilians. Enjoy, thus, BRAS�LIA:

Photo by Lonely Planet Publications�