American Latino TV, which is seen weekly in over 100 cities across the U.S., Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, is dedicating an entire episode to celebrating the widespread and growth of Brazil culture in the US.
The special episode was taped on location at the September annual New York Brazilian Day Festival in New York City. This is the city's largest outdoor festival, where over one million attendees in midtown Manhattan gather to celebrate Brazilian culture, music and heritage.
Though Brazil is the largest country in Latin America, the culture is often misunderstood and ignored because of the nation's Portuguese heritage and language.
Mainstream and Spanish-language media outlets often ignore Brazilians despite the fact that in the U.S., Brazilians have rapidly spread to all parts of the country, particularly the Northeast, Florida and West Coast.Â
The producers take an in-depth look at Brazilian culture and ask Brazilians if they consider themselves Latino while highlighting the many entertaining aspects of the unique culture.
The producers also travel to Phoenix, Arizona. to cover the Brazilian martial art known as capoeira, which greatly influenced the uniquely American art form of break dancing.
No show on Brazilian culture would be complete without the sexy dance of samba. The producers travel to San Francisco, California to highlight a well-known samba instructor.
Other elements covered include Brazilian Hip Hop artists Alfa Omega and recommended websites where people can get their fix of Brazilian events across the nation and a profile of a traveling graffiti art project in the U.S. straight from the streets of Brazil.
"We've always prided ourselves in covering elements of Latino culture, either stereotyped or ignored by both the mainstream and Spanish language media. This special episode on Brazilian culture fulfills our mission to show the true diversity of Latino culture," says Renzo Devia, supervising producer of the show and president of AIM TV's Maximas Productions.
"This is not the first time we've highlighted Brazilians in our shows, but it is the first time we've dedicated an entire episode to the culture. We know a lot of people are very interested in Brazilian culture and for good reason.
"Brazilians have a natural lust for life that is magnetic. We want more people to experience this warm, fun, unique and beautiful culture," says Robert G. Rose, CEO of AIM Tell-A-Vision group and executive producer of the show.
American Latino TV:Â
Los Angeles – KABC Saturday nights @ 1 am / Sundays @ 4 pm (check listings)Â
New York – WWOR My 9 Sundays @ 4 pmÂ
Orlando – WRDQ Action 27 Saturday nights @ 12 amÂ
Miami/ Ft. Lauderdale – WFOR CBS 4 Saturday nights @ 1 amÂ
Hartford – WCTX MNT 59/ My TV 9 Sundays 12 pmÂ
Chicago – WPWR My 50 Saturdays @ 5:30 pmÂ
For a complete listing: www.americanlatino.tv/wheretowatch