Guaratinguetá, the city of Friar Galvão

The Brazilian Saint

Source:  http://www.maganews.com.br/

Guaratinguetá, the city of Friar Galvão

The city where the first Brazilian saint was born has begun to welcome more and more tourists

  An increasing number of tourists is visiting Guaratinguetá, a city with a population of 110,000 about six kilometers from Aparecida. In 2006 the city welcomed an average of about 50 tourist buses at weekends – now it is 200 buses. Religious tourism will boost the local economy. New hotels and restaurants will be built. The Santo Antônio Cathedral and Friar Galvão Museum are two of the most popular places for tourists. In a small room at the back of the Cathedral the famous Friar Galvão pills are produced. In total about 90,000 pills are produced a month. The pills are also produced in theMosteiro da Luz, in São Paulo, where about 5,000 units are distributed a day.

A brief biography of the Brazilian Saint

    Friar Galvão was a tall and handsome man. He came from a traditional and rich family, but preferred to turn his back on comfort to become a Franciscan monk. In 1762 he went to live in São Paulo and it was there that he was ordained as a priest. At that time he was famous for performing miracles. One of his great works was the construction of the Mosteiro da Luz.  He got the money for the construction through donations. Friar Antônio de Sant'Anna Galvão was born in Guaratinguetá in 1739 and lived in that city until he was thirteen years old, before living for a while in Bahia. He spent sixty years of his life in São Paulo, where he died on December 23^rd 1822. Friar Galvão will be canonized thanks to two miracles attributed to him, which have been recognized by the Vatican. Some researchers, however, believe he performed over 30,000 miracles.

Vocabulary

1 increasing – cada vez maior

2 bus – ônibus

3 to boost – impulsionar

4 pill – pílula

5 handsome – bonito / bonitão

6 to turn his back on – exp. idiom. = abrir mão de

7 Franciscan monk – frade franciscano / monge / frei

8 ordained – ordenado

9 priest – padre

10 miracle – milagre

11 living for a while – morar por pouco tempo

Matéria publicada na edição de número 36 da Revista Maganews

THE ALCOHOL INDUSTRY

"Drinking in moderation."

Source: www.speakup.com.br

Brazil’s national spirit, cachaça, is already the third most consumed liquor in the world, but its export potential may have only scratched the surface now that consumers in the United States ahve taken a liking to the caipirinha.

      There’s more than 40.000 cachaça producers in Brazil and 1.2 billion liters of production capacity, but just 1 per cent exported last year and US$15.58 million in revenue generated.

      About 180 Brazilian producers export to 60 foreign countries, with Germany being the top export market, the U.S. second, Portugal third and Paraguay fourth.

      Germany and much of Europe are markets where cachaça and the caipirinha are well-established, but the growth potential of the U.S. market is huge, and is driven by American consumers love of mixed drinks. Within the last five years, the U.S. has risen from the on. 5 cachaça sales market to no. 2, a rapid increase considering how many Americans still don’t know the drink.

      Cachaça is often compared to rum, but similarities end with their source, sugar cane. Rum is aged from molasses, a byproduct left over after sugar is produced, while cachaça is distilled from fresh squeezed cane juice.

      The U.S. government still fills to respect this difference, and requires cachaça bottles to be labeled “Brazilian rum” to comply with U.S. liquor law. Brazilian cachaça producers have been lobbying the U.S. government for years to give cachaça its own category as unique liquor. It’s the same battle that Mexico’s tequila industry had to fight for many years before, and only won after Americans were educated about tequila’s unique qualities.

      Cachaça producers are trying to learn from tequila’s success. Education starts with bartenders. Leblon Cachaça, a top brand in the U.S. in both revenue and volume sold, has marketing staff visiting bars around the U.S. constantly to teach servers about the caipirinha. Leblon has also created LegalizeCachaça.com, a website to educate consumers and collect signatures to show the U.S. government how many Americans support cachaça.

      Leblon organizes “Caipi Hour” parties that are held at famous bars and restaurants around the nation, and has a “Caipi Mobile” that drives through New York, Los Angeles and Miami, inviting Americans off the street to taste a caipirinha.

      “We’re not just selling a spirit of cocktail, people drink (capirinhas) for a cultural experience,” said Steve Luttmann, president of Leblon Cachaça. “It’s a cheap plane ticket, for most people it’s their first experience with Brazil.”

      Even while Brazilians consume nearly 99% of all cachaça there’s growth potential in Brazil, because some Brazilians still believe that cachaça is a poor man’s drink, says Vitoria Cavalcanti, foreign sales director for Pitú, a top-selling brand at home and abroad.

      “Brazilians drink beer, they drink vodka, but cachaça is still prejudiced by many,” Cavalcanti said. “We have to educate the barmen and waiters here. In Mexico, when you enter a restaurant, the first thing they ask you ifs if you’d like a margarita, or tequila straight. Here, waiters don’t do that. They never mention cachaça or caipirinha has on their own.

      “This is our job, we have to proclaim that cachaça is not for the poor, or the slave, but for everybody.

SUGARCANE INDUSTRY GROWS AT RECORD PACE

      Cachaça production is growing, but according for a small portion of Brazil’s annual sugarcane harvest. Most cane goes towards sugar and ethanol, both of which Brazil leads the world in production of.

      Brazil’s cane industry is primed to meet a seemingly insatiable word demand for both sugar and ethanol in the coming years. Global sugar demand is growing as populations in Asia gain wealth and Brazil ethanol production can’t grow fast enough to meet demand abroad or here at home.

      Flex-fuel car sales in Brazil broke national records in 2010. The country plans to more than double its ethanol production by 2019, from 26 billion liters annually today to 64 billion liters.