Brazilian Day in LA

Another cool event we went to recently! We just happened to be in the Miracle Mile area, going to LACMA and noticed this festival. Fun, vivid, full of life like Brazil!
So, we stopped by on the way to LACMA and on our route back to check it out, hang out, enjoy some food and drinks. Not a lot of sampling going on, but there were many vendors — food, clothes, soccer items, a beer garden, food trucks and a stage with bands, dancers, carnaval atmosphere. Cool and fun!
We got crepes on the stick, mine had ham and cheese, my husband got one with chocolate inside. Very good. We also tried their Guarana soda! Pretty cool.
Fun event! We’re happy we happened to be in the area. Too bad they stop the fun at 6 PM. Bit early, right?

Always have a fun time at Brazilian Day in LA. It’s great for kids and for people without kids. The kids will love it… and when they get bored they can spend hours rolling down the hill.
Oh I gave up eating here though… I’m sure the food is awesome, but the lines are way too long. So to play it smart pack a picnic or at least some snacks.

The Brazilian Day LA 2012 last week was an amazing experience. That was my first time attending this event and I will surely attend it next year. I’m not Brazilian and I don’t speak Spanish or Portuguese but I had tons of fun dancing and enjoying the Brazilian rhythms that move our bodies.
The event was from 12pm-​6pm; my boyfriend and I got there for the last hour (we arrived at 5pm). Though we missed the costumes and carnaval dancers :[ everything was still alive and going strong.
They had a ton of food and clothes vendors, they also had these type of water game that you would be in a bubble and I guess push people around which seemed pretty cool. It’d dog and baby friendly :]
Parking was interesting… they had a private lot for parking $ 10 which would have been totally worth it if you were there the whole day. We were lucky and were able to cop free street parking. On the website they tell you and I’m just re-​enforcing DO NOT park on Wilshire at anytime I believe because they WILL tow you and that’s never ever fun !!! Had it happen once before and refuse to have that happen again and I don’t want that ever happening to any of you.

This was my first time attending Brazilian Day and arrived there when it started at noon. There was not much action going on. Checked out all the booths and even explored the rest of the museum block. There was another event on the other side, a pie contest, so that was interesting to see so many different pies.
Anyway, returned back to the festival and was able to watch the Capoiera kids perform. Cutest kids ever. Also watched beautiful Brazilian dancers perform and listened to wonderful Brazilian music. They encouraged us to gather around the dance floor, so we were all basking in the hot sun like the dancers. I don’t know why they put the tented seating so far, far away. This was the first time I’ve ever seen such a wide gap between the stage and seating area. The tent was much too small. Either need a bigger tent or two tents with more chairs. Also the sound tent should not be placed in front of the seating area. The lack of shade and the very warm weather could not permit me to stay longer. I left at 2pm.
My biggest gripe was the lack of communication with the person who put up the facebook event page. I asked specifically for the «parade time». I got general answers without a direct link to the schedule page. When I had to google it myself, I then realized when you mouse over the links, there were sublinks and I was only clicking on the sublinks when I could have clicked the main links and I would have found what I was looking for. Duh! Need a better website designer (or better customer service). Not friendly at all! I am usually pretty good with finding event details. Things would have gone a lot smoother if I was given thorough specific answers about the parade. I missed out on the meat of the event because I arrived early and left early and was dying from the heat.
I got a small taste of Brazilian culture, but I enjoyed whatever I saw. So, next time I attend this event, I will remember to never go when it starts, but to show up later where you’re very likely to catch the parade and enjoy the lively crowd. An umbrella or a hat is a must. I think Brazilians really love the sun.

Oooh yes, someone decided to spell the name right! Bloody good :)
This annual event in the heart of the Miracle Mile is backed by the Consulado-​Geral do Brasil (Consulate-​General of Brasil) in LA and serves to showcase the colours, rhythms, sounds and attitude that defines my home country. Though it was slated to start at 12:30pm, like good Brasilians we are, it started a bit later than that ;)
They set up tables, chairs and a large tent area in the middle for the crowd, a stage up front for the performances and booths on both ends filled with food stands, clothes and other Brasil-​them stuff on sale. This year, Korean Air was giving away a free flight from LA to São Paulo (to date, the ONLY non-​stop flight to Brasil from the West Coast) by raffle. Dunno who won it, but lucky son-​of-​a-​gun…
Overall, the mood was pretty festive and just typically Brasilian: lots of families, friends, lovers and even passersby under the Saturday sunshine, spending time and enjoying themselves. The musical acts were the normal fare (samba, bossa nova) but was pleasantly surprised that a forró band was there. Forró is a popular folk genre in northeastern Brasil. There was also performances from a drum troupe, a capoeira team and Rio-​style Carnaval show with samba dancers
Food-​wise, there was an assortment of stuff that is representative of Brasil. One stand served cuisine from the state of Bahia; didn’t get to try it but next year, i’ll give it a go. There was a big bbq booth at the entrance serving both Brasilian-​style tri tip and Southern bbq. Too expensive for my blood, so i opted to not eat it… but it smelled enticing. Feijoada, a required Saturday dish for all Brasilians was represented by one booth. i had to have one. However, was a little bit disappointed when the rice was not only a little undercooked, but not flavoured. Brasilian rice is flavoured with some butter, garlic and salt; the one i had was completely devoid of taste. There was a booth serving up «pastel de feira», which is a beloved street fair food. It is a rectangular fried pastry crust filled with either a meat/​olive/​egg mix or cheese inside. Although the size was a bit smaller, the taste brought me back to being in the streets of São Paulo
Another pleasant surprise was filled churros (churros recheados). In Brasil, we stuff churros with various fillings like chocolate, strawberry, doce de leite (dulce de leche) and the like. Super heavenly :) But the most pleasant was that one booth was selling the authentic Guaraná Antarctica soft drink. If you are able to drink this, do so. It’s no longer available through commercial importation to the States, so someone has to actually buy it from Brasil and resell it. But do try it!
If i had to find fault with the whole event was that it seemed a bit unorganised and the PA equipment was a bit underpowered, but it didn’t detract from the overall experience. And i guess it would be nice to have many other food booths available for the big crowds
i only got to stay for a few hours but i do plan on going back next year. It’s great to be together with my fellow countrymen and just enjoying myself as a Brasilian :)

I came to the Brazilian Day Festival as a Middle Easterner and left an honorary Brazilian…
I don’t know if it was because of my golden tan orrrrrr my Brazilian flag yellow-​colored nail polish but everyone spoke to me in Portuguese when they approached me… and when they found out I WASN’T Brazilian… they were shocked as if they could’ve sworn on their lives I was originally from there…
I kept thinking to myself…“You mean these Brazilians think… I’m one of them… Sweeeeet!” :bobbing head back and forth:
That point aside, I had so much fun listening to Samba music, dancing, watching the parade, pigging out on Brazilian foods like their shrimp tamales (Abara), Cheese empanadas (Risole), a popular local cherry soda (Guarana), sweets like Serenata de Amor (cashew cream in a wafer coated chocolate), Crema de Leche (sweetened condensed milk bar), Bananinha (Banana sugar bar), and Baton (Brazilian white chocolate).
Loved immersing myself in Brazilian culture, experiencing their native foods, and sharing the day with some of the warmest people I’ve ever met… I can’t wait for next year’s Brazilian Festival! :)

Being new to Los Angeles County, I had never been to «Brazilian Day in LA» but it will be part of my annual calendar from now on. Excellent food. Better music. All the necessary ingredients for a great party and a good chance to find out about Brazilian culture.
One can travel the world by spending a day in LA. — and this is one stop you won’t want to miss! Everyone I met was enjoying the party atmosphere. When asked if I was Brazilian, the only thing I could say was — «I wish!»
Have I mentioned the beauty of Brazilian women? Their presence alone makes me want to hope that «Brazilian Day in LA» is one festival that I hope enjoys a long life — and increased success.

*** Beautiful day @ the LaBrea Pits.***
«Brasilian Day in LA» Festival was held
here today from Noon to 5p, 12Sept’09.
I met friends, we sat on a blanket under
a tented area, listened to live music from
five different performers/​bands, ate foods
from a variety of Brasilian restaurants and
caterers, danced on a portable black&white
checkered floor, and my boy even played
in an inflatable castle with a slide as well.
It was festive; food was good; fun for all.
There were also promotional tents around.
e.g. Delta Airlines to begin nonstop service
from LAX to Sao Paulo this December 2009.
*** Yes, I think I know where to go Xmas. ***