· February, 2011

Stories about Portuguese from February, 2011

Angola: Mysterious call for youth revolution

  27 February 2011

“Agostinho Jonas Roberto dos Santos” (clearly a composite of the names of deceased Angolan figures) created a website [link now broken] with a call for Angolan youth to revolt on March 7. Subsequently a Facebook page appeared. The online home of this mysterious group/individual moved [Pt] in recent days due...

A declaration of love to the Portuguese language, in all its variations

  23 February 2011

On February 21 Global Voices in Portuguese commemorated International Mother Language Day with a tribute to the lusophony in all its linguistic and cultural diversity. Read the blogsphere's reflections on the first novel dedicated to the Portuguese language, Milagrário Pessoal - the most recent work by the Angolan author José Eduardo Agualusa.

Angola: Mass Evictions Displace Thousands

  22 February 2011

A large-scale demolition in Lubango carried out by the government of Angola, has already left in its wake over 5,000 displaced people in the southwest of the country. Upon reconstructing this puzzle from blogs, the image that persists of the social consequences of the demolitions is tragic.

Portugal: Fight against prejudice on transgenderism

  22 February 2011

In her blog, Eduarda Santos – a portuguese advocate for transgender rights – points several examples [pt] of transphobic prejudice by the mainstream media. In January she had posted a thorough analysis [pt] of President Cavaco Silva's enactment against the change of name and gender of transsexual people.

Brazil: Trial for murder of Guarani Kaiowa begins

  22 February 2011

Update on GV's post Brazil: Eradicating the Indigenous Guarani Kaiowa. The trial of the accused for the murder of chief Marcos Veron resumed on February 21. The website Indigenous Peoples Issues translates an article by CIMI (Indigenous Missionary Council) about the mobilization of Guarani indians to accompany the trial.

Brazil: Learning culture and portuguese language

  21 February 2011

In the International Mother Language Day, take some time out to check the Portuguese Blog by Transparent Language and read about the Brazilian culture and its Portuguese language variant. Have fun learning how to use sarcastic expressions such as “para variar” and “depois“.

Venezuela: Brazilian Music in Venezuela's Web 2.0

  21 February 2011

The cultural relationship between Brazil and Venezuela is commonly seen in the way carnival is celebrated and in the high ratings Brazilian soap operas have enjoyed in Venezuela for many years. But today, through blogs, MySpace and YouTube, Venezuelan groups are sharing their arrangements and interpretations of Brazilian music.

Brazil: Collateral concerns on newspaper's “failures”

  18 February 2011

Update on GV's Brazil: Newspaper Folha de São Paulo censors satirical blog: Lino Bocchini shares [pt] Leandro Arndt's concerns on intellectual property prosecution. Arndt had created the blog Falha de São Pedro (St. Peter's Failure) [pt] before Bocchini's Falha de São Paulo (St. Paul's Failure) [pt] also aiming to mock...

Brazil/USA: “Can the US shutdown the Internet?”

  18 February 2011

On his blog, brazilian journalist Altamiro Borges writes [pt, en] about the capacity of the USA to shutdown the internet in moments of crisis while commenting on an article by Cuarta Generación (Fourth Generation) [es], which says “US is heavily investing in order not to be surprised by the web”.

Sao Tome and Principe: Press freedom in jeopardy

  16 February 2011

The blog Autores e Livros (Authors and Books) writes [pt] and shares a petition against the censorship of “the only Saotomean TV program feeding the democratic system”, Em Directo (Live). In a letter to Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada, Reporters Without Borders condems the dismissal of its host, the poet and...

Brazil: Journalist's dismissal causes outrage

  15 February 2011

Journalist Aguirre Peixoto's dismissal from the Brazilian newspaper A Tarde caused outrage among bloggers and journalists [pt]: Peixoto's reports on the environmental damage caused by a new development to the city of Salvador allegedly put an end to the contractors’ advertising in the broadsheet. After applying 30-days suspension on Peixoto,...

Brazil: Criminalization of Sharing Internet via Wifi

  14 February 2011

On January 27 Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency - ANATEL - seized equipment and fined an internet user approximately $ 1,810 USD for sharing his wifi connection with neighbors in the capital of Piauí state. In times of appeal for digital inclusion, bloggers comment on the limits posed by such criminalization.

Angola: Zaire Province Forgotten

  8 February 2011

Diário da África [pt] reproduces an article by the journalist Makuta Nkondo about the political, economic and social context of the “forgotten” Zaire province in Angola. The author claims that though Zaire – together with Cabinda – is considered one of  “Angola's economic lungs” it “does not benefit from the...

Brazil: Children's Book Sparks Racism Debate

  8 February 2011

During recent months Brazilian citizen media has been debating literature, censorship, racism and education, following the suggestion by the country's National Council on Education (NCE) to withdraw celebrated author Monteiro Lobato's book Caçadas de Pedrinho (Pete's Hunting) [pt] from schools.

Global: Thoughts on interfaith harmony and world peace

  5 February 2011

In this, the first, World Interfaith Harmony Week, people from all faiths have been getting together to forget about differences and promote religious tolerance and dialogue based on the mantras "Love of God and love of one's neighbour" or "love of the good and love of one's neighbour". Worldwide bloggers share views on why this dialogue is so important – and why it is not impossible to achieve it.

Angola: National languages in some schools

  4 February 2011

The Government of Angola announced [pt] the introduction of seven national languages in the curricula of basic education in 2011, “to bridge the learning gap of children whose mother tongue is not Portuguese”. Meanwhile, more and more schools “which dispense references to Angola” are openning, according to BWE Angolano's blog...

Portugal: A journey blog to Antarctica

  4 February 2011

On the blog Permantar-2 [pt] you can follow Gonçalo Vieira's scientific journey to the Antarctic Peninsula. The Portuguese researcher – who is part of an international study about the permafrost and the consequences of climate change on it – invites all readers [pt] to send questions related to the campaign.

Brazil: Tribute to musician Chico Science

  3 February 2011

Pierre Lucena from the blog Acerto de Contas, pays tribute [pt] to Chico Science, deceased 14 years ago. He was the founder of one of the most influential musical movements in Brazil – Mangue Beat – a blended rock and punk style with traditional beats from the northeast.

Brazil: Remembering Internet censorship in 2010

  2 February 2011

One of 2010's landmark events, the Wikileaks phenomenon, highlighted a more than necessary debate about the state of freedom of speech throughout the world, specially on the internet. Let's make a healthy exercise, then, remembering some of the many censorship cases that happened last year in the brazilian internet.

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Manuel Ribeiro
Manuel Ribeiro is the Portuguese editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write here.