Sâo Paulo, Rio De Janeiro, Salvador...they sound so exotic and tropical to us non-Brazilians. But as soon as you have a basic grasp of the Portuguese language, then you realise that actually these names are really mundane and boring. So here's my guide to boring Brazilian place names:
Sâo Paulo - St. Paul
Rio De Janeiro - January River
Salvador - Saviour
Santos - Saints
Recife - Reef
Belo Horizonte - Nice horizon
Rio Preto - Black river
Rio Branco - White river
Ouro Preto - Black gold
Natal - Christmas
Fortaleza - Fort
Porto Alegre - Happy port
Campo Grande - Big field
Boa Vista - Good view
Sâo José Do Rio Preto - St. Jose of the black river
Brasília - Britain-chester
So what do we learn from this? Well not a lot, obviously. Just because January River is such a tedious name doesn't stop Rio from being lovely. I suppose it does show us that the Portuguese settlers were very unimaginative folks, and that, despite it's faults, Woodingdean is a very exotically named place to have grown up.
LCD Soundsystem - Yr City's A Sucker
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February 23rd is the national day for members of the Rotary Association.
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