This week’s Music Monday video is a recording of a live set from the band from the band ImaginSamba performing the song Deixa em Off.

The Lundu also known as landú or landu, is a sensua dance-song with African Bantu and Portuguese origins. The dance first originated in Portuguese colonies in central Africa, like Cape Verde and Angola and became more popular after it was brought to Brazil by African slaves during the 18th century. In Brazil it eventually gained popularity among the white middle class and upper crust, and became Brazil’s first national dance. Lundu is usually a flirtatious couple’s dance usually accompanied by a guitar, or sometimes a thumb piano or drums. Lundu is closely related to the Spanish fandango and other new-world dances like the Argentine Zamba, Cueca and Bolero.

Come on Brazil, you are killing me softly baby!  You are letting Rio de Janeiro become just another over-priced and an over-commercialized Brazilian “South Beach Miami”, you have occupied the favelas with what seems like no real plan to bring about substantial and long-term change for residents past the World Cup and The Olympics, you are allowing the the Amazon and its native peoples to be pillaged for profit, and now you have just stabbed me in the heart by starting to allow one of your biggest commodities to be destroyed – the image of the Brazilian beauty.

A recent study released by Brazil’s Ministry of Health says that half the population of Brazil is now overweight.  Of course I don’t pay attention to the men that much, but I have definitely noticed that Brazilian women have gotten a lot bigger and a lot fatter in the past few years, especially the younger girls.    The report actually says that 30% of men and 25% of Brazilian women between 18-24 years old are overweight. So wow this is Brazil’s future (shaking my head).

The beauty of Brazilian women is what initially sold me on my first trip to paradise.  My first experiences with Brazilian women were several years ago running a nightclub in Northern Nevada.  Every year hundreds of Brazilian girls came to the area on summer exchange programs and I ended up hiring many smoking HOT Brazilian babes as servers, host, and cashiers for the club.  They would always joke that YES! we all look like this in Brazil.  So I knew I had to eventually visit this place where all the women are supposedly beautiful and fit.  My first trip to Brazil was exactly like they told me it would be and the majority of women were actually really beautiful and fit; even the average looking girls were pretty damn attractive.

That is why this latest report by the Ministry of Health is so disappointing.  The report states that the percentage of overweight people in Brazil increased from 42.7% in 2006 to 48.5% in 2011 while the obesity rate increased from 11.4% to 15.8% in the same period.  The highest rates for overweight Brazilians were found among men 35 years old to 45 years old (63%) and women 45 years old to 54 years old (55.9%).  According to the study it seems like the problem is constant consumption of high fat foods and sugared soft drinks ,plus lack of exercise.   The cities with the highest obesity rates were Macapa (21.4%), Porto Alegre (19.6%), Sao Paulo (15.5%) and Rio de Janeiro (16.5%.)

Brazil come on you have to get it together girl.  All of your other problems are bad enough, but if you lose this I don’t know if we will be able to save our relationship.  I still love you baby and believe in you, but you have got a lot of work to do ;)

This week’s Bella is Pamela Suelen from Blumenau, Brazil. Pamela is a Pisces and was born on March 11, 1991. She is 5’5 and her measurements are 33-28-37.

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I often get asked the question “What should I bring with me for my trip to Brazil?” It’s really hard to answer because what’s essential for one person may be completely unimportant to someone else. So I decided to put a weekly post together of some of the top gadgets and essentials I enjoy having with me during my trips to Brazil. See if they also make sense for you…

My top Brazil travel essential this week is the Sony S Tablet.  My Sony S comes with me on every trip to Brazil and it’s a lot more convenient than having to lug around my Mac Book.  I have bought and tried most of the major tablets out there including the iPad, Motorola Zoom, and Samsung Galaxy, but with the Sony S Tablet it was love at first sight.

I like the folded magazine design of the Sony S that fits naturally into my hands. This makes it a lot easier to hold than the standard flat tablet designs, especially while reading or surfing the web for long periods of time. I also like the fact that the Sony S takes normal SD cards and not those little micro SD’s, which makes it real convenient to be able to just pop in my memory card and easily see all of my photos and videos of the day.

With about 8 hours of battery life the Sony S Tab makes a great travel companion for all kinds of trip. I can do everything from watch movies on the plane or long bus rides, update the blog, edit photos, read my Kindle and Google books, and even record and post HD videos to share with family and friends while on the road. I even bought an iHip Discovery Waterproof Bag for it that will protect it from water up to 33 feet, which comes in real handy when i’m chillin at the beach or on adventure trips.  The only complaint I have about my Sony S is that it can only be charged by AC power, you can connect it to a USB device like your laptop, but it will not charge it.  Other than this small thing I love my Sony S.  Click here for more on the Sony S Tablet.

See all of my Top Brazil Travel Essentials

See larger image Sony SGPT111US/S Wi-Fi Tablet (16GB) (Personal Computers) List Price: Price Not Listed New From: Check Amazon For Pricing In Stock Used from: $244.79 In Stock Release date April 17, 2012.

This week’s Bella is Suely Pedroso from Joinville, Brazil. Suely is a Capricorn and was born on January 3, 1992. She is 5’9 and her measurements are 37-24-39.

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Only in Brazil will you find a gang of hot blonde stick up chicks. The “Blonde Gang” is a group of attractive, educated, middle class blondes that are suspected of committing more than 50 kidnappings and robberies around Sao Paolo. Police have finally arrested the suspected ringleaders, a Brazilian couple who went on the run changing up their appearances to try and avoid being captured.

This week’s Music Monday video is a Bossa Nova classic called Aguas de Marco performed by Elis Regina and Tom Jobim.

Not only am I a Brazil Geek I’m also a tech geek so I was excited when I found out that one of Google’s latest projects is taking place in Brazil’s Amazon Jungle. Google has brought its popular Street View Maps to parts of the Amazon River Basin. Google’s cameras captured the area by boat and special trikes which allow viewers to explore parts of the Amazon just like they would a normal Google Street View map.

Interact With The Amazon Street View Map Below

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See More Amazon Street View Collections Here…

This week’s Bella is Emanuela Nunes from Florianopolis, Brazil. Emanuela is a Virgo and was born on September 10, 1983. She is 5’2 and her measurements are 32-25-36.

Like Emanuela Nunes? Click Here For More Photos & Videos…