Sao Paulo

Music & Culture

8 Tracks: You don't need a deity to pray — just transcendent music

5:06pm June 03, 2024

by Lars Gotrich

Luiza Brina spent 10 years developing an album of nonreligious prayers. NPR Music's Lars Gotrich dives into newly released music from Brazil, featuring Milton Nascimento, Amaro Freitas and Anitta.

Erica Lacerda de Souza, Bruce Lee Sousa and son Henrique of São Paulo, Brazil, lost their home during the pandemic but got a fresh start from a program that offers tiny houses to homeless people. At first they said no — it seemed too good to be true.

Health & Safety

A tiny house gives them hope: How a homeless family in Brazil got a fresh start

12:17pm August 13, 2023

by Jill Langlois

The Brazilian family saw their income evaporate during the pandemic. They couldn't afford to stay in their home. The city of São Paulo had a solution — but they thought it was too good to be true.

A surge in cases and record high daily death tolls have pushed Brazil into a COVID crisis. Above: Health professionals help patients with symptoms of the new coronavirus on a boat ambulance.

Health & Safety

Brazil In Crisis: 'It Feels Like You Are In Stalingrad, in World War II'

4:40pm March 05, 2021

by Suzette Lohmeyer

Dr. Miuel Nicolelis, a Duke University neuroscientist originally from Brazil, has been in Sao Paulo for the past year caring for his mother. He says it's like a war zone.

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A girl is vaccinated against yellow fever in Rio de Janeiro.

Yellow Fever Encroaches Megacities, Straining Global Vaccine Supply

4:34pm April 12, 2018

by Jason Beaubien

Brazil has launched a massive vaccination campaign to protect against a disease that has killed hundreds of people. But it's facing huge challenges, including a shortage of the yellow fever vaccine.

Davi de Oliveira Moreira, known as "Sereio" (merman in Portuguese), poses in costume at Arpoador Rock on Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last May.

World News

'Mermaids' And 'Mermen' Of Brazil Refuse To Be Tamed

8:00am February 03, 2018

by Philip Reeves

Tail-costumed swimmers in the South American nation say they will not bend despite official safety warnings.

"Samba doesn't accept restraint," says Sao Paulo performer Douglas Germano. "It has to break free or else it dies."

In Gritty Sao Paulo, Samba Reinvents Itself With An Introspective Sound

7:00am December 24, 2016

by Marina Lopes

A hundred years after the first recorded samba, São Paulo is pioneering the genre's second act. The city's introspective anthems couldn't be more different than Rio's optimistic, breezy samba beat.

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone walks with his wife, Fabiana Flosi, in Singapore in 2014. Flosi's mother was kidnapped in Brazil and held for ransom last month; she's now been freed, police say.

World News

Brazilian Police Say They've Rescued Mother-In-Law Of Formula 1 Boss

9:46am August 01, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Aparecida Schunck, whose daughter is married to billionaire Bernie Ecclestone, had been kidnapped and held for ransom. Police said Sunday that Schunck had been found unharmed in Sao Paulo.

Francisco Carlos Fonseca is the manager of Marina ConfianÃ§a, a resort located on the banks of the Cantareira reservoir system. Behind him is a boat ramp that once led to a lake that he says used to be more than 100 feet deep.

As Brazil's Largest City Struggles With Drought, Residents Are Leaving

7:21pm November 22, 2015

In Sao Paulo, home to 20 million people, water shortages have become part of daily life. Some residents are leaving for lusher regions. Ecologists say Amazon deforestation may be affecting rainfall.

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The World Cup will come to the Arena de Sao Paola, shown here when it was under construction last fall. Brazil is also making a big push to control the local mosquitoes that can spread dengue fever.

Ready, Set, Spray! Brazil Battles Dengue Ahead Of The World Cup

7:11pm May 29, 2014

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

With more than a million visitors expected for the games, Brazilian authorities are trying to control the mosquitoes that carry the disease and stop a sudden spike of cases in Sao Paulo.

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