Building Brazil's bonds beyond economic exchanges

An important part of the Month of Brazil in China is the Brapeq Brazil Film Festival, which is held in Beijing and Shanghai this month.

Six films will be shown. Perez, the consul general, especially recommends My Sweet Orange Tree, directed by Marcos Bernstein.

The international-award-winning film is about a sensitive boy who tells his secrets to an orange tree. The book by the same title upon which the movie is based has been translated into 16 languages, including Chinese.

"These six are the latest releases of Brazilian films," Perez says. "I'd like people to see that our films are as good as the Hollywood productions."

Another way to experience authentic Brazilian culture is through its cuisine.

Latina restaurant is said to be the first to have introduced Brazilian churrasco (barbeque) to China 15 years ago. The Sino-Brazilian joint venture has three chains in Shanghai, and plans to expand into Chengdu and Shenzhen next year.

"When we just introduced the service style - with the waiter coming to your table with a skewer and knife, cutting various kinds of meat for you - it was more popular among expatriates in Shanghai," Latina's marketing manager Chelsea Zhu says.

Now Latina's restaurants see more Chinese than foreigners, although its catering service is still used by more Westerners than Chinese. "Many Chinese people are beginning to host outdoor parties, and I believe the professional catering service will be more and more popular," Zhu says.

Latina's chef Paolo Machado has prepared a new menu of authentic Brazilian food for the revolving restaurant on Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower, which also hosts an ongoing photography exhibition about Brazil's landscapes and lifestyles.

zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn