Texas de Brazil review

For other cool food review blogs check out:
Memphis Foodie

Traveler’s Taste Buds

Food for Fat Girls

 

Easter in Brazil, recipes

Like in the U.S., Easter is a major religious holiday in Brazil. Even though they celebrate it at the same time as the rest of the world does, Brazilians have added rich cultural traditions to this celebration.

Good Friday

Those who observe this day which is best known as Passion Friday in Brazil, normally eat fish, particularly cod fish cakes and canjica, which is a white variety of corn and it is thoroughly cooked with condensed milk and served as a dessert.

Holy Saturday

Better known as Hallelujah Saturday, this day is marked by a tradition called the Mockery or Burning of Judas. A man-sized doll symbolizing Judas is hung, beaten and burned down at noon. Anybody can take a shot at hitting the doll with a bat or with a stick. In some communities, people attach the names of corrupt politicians, bad soccer coaches, infamous celebrities and even bad neighbors to the doll.

Easter Sunday

Churches normally celebrate this day with special elements in their worship services or masses such as plays, special songs and presentations. On the commercial side, huge chocolate Easter eggs are gifted to loved ones, specially to children. There is no egg exchange, each family member would normally enjoy one huge serving of chocolate.

Easter recipe canjica

Easter recipe Yuca-and-Cod-Fish-cakes

Huge chocolate Easter eggs

Mockery of Judas

Mockery of Judas

 

Brazilian media giant will charge extra to mention your Facebook/Twitter page

Brazilian media giant, Globo has recently announced that it will penalize advertisers who insert their social media address on their TV commercials. If at the end of a commercial, the brand inserts: facebook/McDonalds or twitter.com/mcdonalds, for instance, they would be charged an extra fee.

Now, I ask you: how would placing your brand’s twitter and facebook address hurt Globo’s profits? Unless Globo is planning on charging your brand to send promoted twits out, what is the deal?

Frank Ramalho who is the CEo of Tag Group e Zag Comunicação wrote on his blog: “I told you” that he thinks Globo is making a huge mistake. He takes a page from the Super Bowl ads in saying how the marketing campaigns started on tv but pointed the conversation towards social media and he believes that is a global trend Globo should not ignore.

According to Globo, Twitter and Facebook are brands themselves, so if they are present in the commercials, somebody needs to pay for their exposure.

 

Godzilla is trending in Brazil

Godzilla #godzila was a trending topic all this week on the Brazilian Twitter. It seems that some users attributed the massive earthquake and tsunami that killed over 10,000 people to the sea monster.

The series of comments and jokes that linked Godzilla to the tragedy sparked the web sphere with comments that joined the sarcasm in either attributing the earthquake to the monster or saying he would be the next to show up in Japan. I have yet to find a tweet that strongly objects those comments.

User @ed_gomvaz posted this drawing:

User @LeandroResLac attributed this fall to the “Godzilla effect” during Carnaval

User @victorgrassi said: “to show my sympathy for Japan, I only hooked up with Japanese girls yesterday, like godzila!”

It is very heartbreaking that some people would take the time to minimize and mock Japan’s tragedy. The whole world should be joining hands to help out, but maybe wishing that is utopia.

The Godzilla jokes may have started with Twitter users allegedly ganging up on a CNN anchor who chuckled when an eye witness mentioned that his wife’s voice calmed him down in the midst of the earthquake. Watch that video here.

Users had accused CNN anchor Rosemary Church of making Godzilla references during the broadcast but the news station has denied it.

 

Pre-paid game cards now for sale!

FarmVille for Facebook

Online gaming in Brazil is a R$200 million ($120,7 mi) per year business. It is estimated that 75% of all social media users (25 million) in that country are active online gamers.

Game developing company Zynga is the creator of popular Facebook games such as FarmVille, Mafia Wars and as of this past December, it has acquired Words with Friends.

Not missing a heartbeat, Zynga has invested heavily in the Brazilian market and it has developed versions of its most popular games specifically to that market. It has had incredible results. Its version of FarmVille (Colheita Feliz) was developed for Orkut first, since it is still the number one social networking site there.

The recent Facebook expansion has benefited Zynga tremendously, since it now has full versions of its games available on Orkut, Facebook, on their on website and on smartphone apps.

In November of 2010, Zynga announced a partnership with American Express to offer offer pre-paid game cards for those reluctant to use a credit or debit card on a social media site.

In Brazil, the same announcement was made late February 2011 and it seems like Zynga might once again hit the jackpot in the Brazilian market. The pre-paid game cards will be sold nationwide at 120,000 news stands and pharmacies plus at $10,000 LAN houses at R$4, R$10, R$20 and R$40 ($2.40, $6, $12 and $24).

Experts foresee the online games business will increase 50% in Brazil by next year. Zynga’s goal is to sell the pre-paid cards in 700 thousand locations in Brazil in the next two months, according to Folha.com.

It is not unreasonable to think that Zynga may achieve its goal. I believe while the timeline is very bold, pre-paid game cards might become as popular as calling cards once were before cell phones became widely affordable.

News stands are strategic points of sale in Brazil because they are everywhere and offer reliable business, a relief to those uncomfortable with the idea of online purchasing (Brazil is a goldmine for cyberfraud).

Pharmacies in Brazil are much like convenience stores, you find anything there, so it would also be an optimal location to find game cards.

But the genius in Zynga’s marketing, in my opinion, are the LAN houses. Although those rent-a-computer stations are individually owned and not uniformly organized, they are the number one place to access the internet for those who do not own a computer. Other public internet stations like libraries and such do not offer the time, convenience  and support that LAN houses do. So by being offered right where the people are, will be key to the success of the pre-pay game card.

 

Interview with Cintia Listenbee

Cintia Listenbee

Cintia Listenbee is a busy mom. She raises two small children alongside her husband in Canton, N.C. She is a Ole Miss graduate with a Masters in Broadcast Journalism. Although she is a stay-at-home mom, Cintia manages to teach a social media workshop in Haywood County, N.C., be a prolific blogger and she has just launched a new book titled “Tweeting with God” for new moms wanting to learn new ways to connect with God. Since she is also from Brazil, I asked her what her expectations would be in reading a blog about social media in Brazil.

Q: What would you like to see in a blog with this theme?
A: I would like to read bout the latest trends and research on the Brazilian social media.

Q: How do you use social media?
A: I connect with readers, friends and family that way.

Q: Has social media had a general impact in your area/field/career/passion/hobby?
A: Yes. I connect with potential employers that way and started to built my resume differently.

Q: How do you get feedback from your audience/fans/customers/clients/friends?
A: Through blog comments, polls, stats, Twitter and Facebook.

Q: What kinds of blog posts you might like to read from me?
A: Latest research and trends on social media in Brazil.

You can connect with Cintia via her blog: simplycintia.com or through Twitter. You can order a copy of Tweeting with God here and register for a workshop here.