VIDEO: The ballet school for under privileged girls from São Paulo favelas

Discover the ballet project teaching girls from one of Sao Paulo´s most brutal districts and offering hopes and dreams to children who could otherwise face exposure to crime, drugs and early pregnancy.


The dance studio in São Paulo is a world away from the neighbouring favelas most of these girls were born into. Here, they find a temporary refuge through a children's dance program.

Learn Thai Yoga Massage in São Paulo

The traditional healing techniques of ancient Thailand may seem a long way away and indeed they are. But this February you can learn the secrets of Thai traditional massage right here in São Paulo and even get certified as a Level 2 practitioner.

Barbara Santos is a Brazilian therapist who lives and works in Thailand. In 2012 she founded Espaço Nibbana, a holistic therapy institution through which she aims to raise awareness of traditional Eastern therapies and in particular Thai Massage.

Although she now resides in Asia where she can live and breathe the traditional art of healing through massage, she regularly returns to hold seminars and encourage other therapists to delve deeper into Eastern holistic practices.

Thai Yoga Massage courses are coming to São Paulo

In February this year she will be returning to her homeland to teach some of her learnings via intensive weekend courses. Her schedule only allows for 3 Brazilian cities one of which, of course, is Sampa. In São Paulo, the course will be held at Casa Jaya in Pinheiros. Full details are available here or directly on Espaco Nibbana.

A great opportunity for those who wish to learn how to give a great professional and traditional massage!

São Paulo in Statistics: The city's top 11 problems according to its voters

According to Datafolha and looking ahead to the local elections, São Paulo's voters have named the top issues they perceive the city is facing. The biggest problems identified in order of importance are:

Health 26%

Security 16%

Public Transport 15%

Flooding 6%

Education 6%
Transport 6%

Waste / litter  5%
Pavements 3%
Drug trafficking 2%
Housing 2%

Unemployment 2%

This does away with the stereotype that drug trafficking are a major concern for São Paulo residents, in fact the state of the pavements are perceived to be a bigger problem.

Personally I was surprised to see flooding so high up but it is true that the city is badly prepared for the downfalls it receives and for those whose streets are regularly affected it presumably bounces straight to number one priority.

Also interesting for European (or North American) eyes is the fact that unemployment only just scrapes in to the list of problems. If the same survey was carried out in Italy, Spain, Greece or Portugal it would be interesting to compare the percentages..

Cute words in portuguese Part 6 - tá ligado?

One of the acid tests of mastering a foreign language is your level of understanding of local slang. In most cases, especially if learning through traditional classroom methods, slang tends to be absorbed after formal language.

And yet, it is often the most interesting part. One of my favourite street expressions in Brazilian Portuguese, is "tá ligado?".

It is in fact a contraction of "você esta ligado?" which literally means "Are you switched on?" which in turn means "Do you understand?" or " Are you listening?"

It's roughly equivalent do the slang phrase "know what I mean?" in the UK or perhaps even the famous "innit?" and like its English counterparts it's best said not written.

Tá ligado?

"Tá ligado", often overused in Hip Hop circles

More cute words in Portuguese here