Will the real Funk please stand up?

Originating from the Rio nightclubs, what young Brazilians call "Funk" may not represent the best of their youth culture. Think crude west coast 90's hip hop a la 2 Live Crew, only more poorly executed and in Portuguese. However this month the annual city-wide cultural festival Virada Cultural put on a lesson in REAL Funk when they invited legendary bass-player and inventor of the "slap" technique Larry Graham to perform. The result? A killer set of Funk classics ending in this on-stage party for those lucky onlookers pulled up onto the stage. (click on image to enlarge)

We Neither Pet Nor Powder!

The Jamaican expression "We neither pet nor powder" means we'll neither pet you nor powder your nose! "Paulistas" certainly do neither when they risk life and limb in the stampede to claim a seat on an empty train during rush hour at the British built Estação da Luz. Stand back or roll with the punches, which would you choose?

Throw Some Light

For man-made high-rise majesty, Avenida Paulista offers the best visual treat by day. By night however, it allows you to stroke the lights around a photo frame like the paint can of a graffiti artist. Indeed, this shot was taken just above the "Jose Robert Fanganiello Melhem" tunnel, a great example of one of the city's authorized graffiti zones. (click on image to enlarge)