Latest news with #BrazilianCarnival
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Looking for a flight in Miami or Broward? See the new trends
South Florida Looking for a flight in Miami or Broward? See the new trends These reports focus on new flights and trends at South Florida airports. The articles explore shifts in flight routes, new service launches and strategic adjustments by airlines. Take a look at the coverage below. The departures area at Miami International Airport on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. By D.A. Varela NO. 1: LOOKING FOR A MIAMI FLIGHT WITH AN EMPTY ROW? HERE'S YOUR CHANCE FOR SPACE ON A PLANE Can you choose travel destinations by flight routes with more empty seats? | Published February 15, 2025 | Read Full Story by Vinod Sreeharsha El Al is cutting flights from the Fort Lauderdale airport to focus on Miami. NO. 2: WHY EL AL IS MAKING CHANGES TO FLIGHTS FROM FORT LAUDERDALE AND MIAMI What to know about the plans. | Published May 20, 2025 | Read Full Story by Vinod Sreeharsha Brazilian Carnival dancers Lais Lope, left, and Oscar Barrera, right, dance along with Ambassador André Odenbreit Carvalho, center, during the Gol's new flight ceremony connecting Miami to Belem, Brazil, on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at Miami International Airport. By Carl Juste NO. 3: NEW FLIGHTS TAKE OFF BETWEEN MIAMI AND BRAZILIAN CITY OF BELéM Here are the details. | Published June 26, 2025 | Read Full Story by Vinod Sreeharsha Aviones de JetBlue esperan en la puerta de embarque del Aeropuerto Internacional de Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood en 2020. By Mark Konezny NO. 4: JETBLUE IS ADDING NEW FLIGHTS IN FORT LAUDERDALE. SEE DESTINATIONS AND DETAILS What to know about the expansion, which comes after a pullout from Miami. | Published July 23, 2025 | Read Full Story by Vinod Sreeharsha The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.
The Star
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Seeing Sydney in a 'new light'
Every May since 2009, the Australian city of Sydney in New South Wales will go all out to stage a city-level party. Vivid Sydney is a light and sound extravaganza which has evolved over the years to become one of the most important events in Australia, as well as an icon of the country's creative culture. It's embarrassing to say that despite my many trips to the city, I have customarily given Vivid Sydney a miss. Nevertheless, I am aware of what the event entails. Vivid Sydney blends light-and-sound art with low-carbon technology, used to create a globally impactful art festival. Today, this festival is a full-scale global level that woos over 3.28 million visitors each year, bringing in an astounding AU$268mil (RM738.5mil) in tourist revenue. And the numbers break new thresholds every year. The 'main stage' of Vivid Sydney actually comprises the city's most iconic landmarks – the Sydney Opera House, the riverside high-rise towers and the majestic Sydney Harbour Bridge – transformed into glittering, dream-like neon monuments by blinding lights. Vivid Sydney is indeed a festive celebration everyone must make an effort to attend at least once in their lifetime, on par in scale and grandeur with the Brazilian Carnival (or Carnaval), or Japan's Gion Matsuri. I can't help but think about Rovaniemi, a tiny Finnish town of only 50,000 residents known for its Santa Claus village that draws close to five million visitors annually. The magic of tourism nevertheless does not lie with sheer numbers but the creativity and unique cultural vibe, and Vivid Sydney is an exemplary instance of such a magical appeal. It is more than just a short-lived light-and-sound show, but a tinder that creatively lights up the economy, empowers its youth, and bridges the world. The 15th Vivid Sydney was held over four weekends recently, and I knew I wasn't going to give it a miss this time around. Together with 12 travel buddies, we flew into Sydney, sat in the private balcony of The Quay – one of Australia's top three restaurants – and enjoyed an exquisite omakase dinner prepared by an 18-Hat chef (Australia's equivalent of a Michelin star). We gazed into the breathtaking spectacular show lighting up Sydney's night sky while savouring our delightful meal. According to the state tourism agency Destination NSW, Vivid Sydney can be divided into these four broad categories: The General Post Office and clock tower, built in 1866, is officially listed as a cultural heritage site. It is also a major space for Vivid Sydney. 1. Vivid Light The Opera House, Harbour Bridge, The Rock, Darling Harbour and other city landmarks are transformed into massive light monuments, creating a visual impact integrating the best in art and technology. 2. Vivid Music Featuring local and international artists encompassing a variety of musical styles such as techno, jazz and independent bands. Imagine yourself bumping into an unexpected live show on the street. 3. Vivid Ideas There are over a hundred forums, talks, and creative workshops held throughout the festival, anchored by designers, tech leaders and social innovators. 4. Vivid Food This is a festival favourite and continues to grow in excellence. It celebrates the state's vibrant culinary culture and world-renowned produce. The Sydney Opera House is well-known all over the world, and since 2009, has been a major site for Vivid Sydney. Vivid Sydney is held in the southern hemisphere's cool early winter, a peak season for outdoor markets and trade shows that coincides with the local fishery and agricultural harvest season. This is absolutely the perfect time to visit Sydney, in my opinion. I always believe that the success of a creative tourism project should not stop at just triggering 'first visits', but also galvanising 'repeated visits'. For example, Formula One racing, the Harbin Ice & Snow Festival in China, and other events that perfectly blend culture, climate and green tourism. Where this is concerned, I feel that our 'Visit Malaysia' organisers and stakeholder should perhaps learn something in order to create that wow factor. Even though I missed last year's Vivid Sydney, I did watch a clip of a black-and-white projection paying tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth on the exterior wall of the Opera House. I remember it was solemn and heart-moving as the night fell. This year's event featured generous quantities of Indigenous artworks and local creations. They relate the stories of this v ast land Down Under through captivating visuals, sound and light display. Creative tourism is not about gaudy display of technology but serves as an extension of the locality's culture and revival of local memories. Our trip was not just about being at the festival and snapping photos or capturing videos. It gave us an interesting experience that penetrated deep into Sydney's urban fabric. When the night fell, Vivid Sydney not only had the city's buildings brightly lit up, but the passion and imagination of its participants as well. The laughter, melodies, good food, the entire city was brought back to life instantly. Vivid Sydney painted the city's unique creative proclamation with dazzling light against the backdrop of the night sky. The success of Vivid Sydney stakes the claim that the festival is not just a tourism marketing gimmick but an expression of the city's culture, driving the local economy and deepening the city's sense of identity. Vivid Sydney has surely placed the city on the world map of creativity. The views expressed here are entirely the writer's own. Leesan, the globe-trotting traveller who has visited seven continents and 149 countries, enjoys sharing his travel stories and insights. He has also authored six books.
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
More than 100 performers come together for this Brazilian percussion party
Music is a social art. How music is played and how it's shared is informed by the community in which it's created. In turn, in ways obvious and subtle, music reflects and shapes the community that produces it. It's a process that goes as far back as humanity has been creating sound, and it's at the heart of the work of Miamibloco, a Miami-based samba drumming ensemble comprising professional musicians and community music enthusiasts. In sound and spirit, it is modeled after the blocos de carnaval that parade through the streets during the Brazilian Carnival. Reflecting the diversity of South Florida, Miamibloco often blends Afro-Brazilian samba grooves and rhythms from next-door-neighbor sources such as Dominican merengue or Puerto Rican plena but also traditions as far afield as Moroccan Gnawa. Miamibloco's 80-member strong percussion ensemble Bateria Saideira, augmented by more than 20 guests, will be performing in its fifth annual 'Saideira Social' at the Miami Beach Bandshell at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 24. Bateria is a percussion band or the rhythm section of a Samba School. Saideira is a casual term that translates as 'nightcap' (much akin to a drumming nightcap). Guests for the performance include Tato Marenco, a Colombian percussionist and gaita player (a traditional double-reed wind instrument), who brings into the mix the irresistible groove of Afro-Colombian bullerengue. Meanwhile, the samba drumming will be pushed up a notch by the presence of Brazilian master percussionists Boka Reis, from Salvador, Bahia; and Gustavo and Guilherme Oliveira, members of the rhythm section of the storied samba school Gremio Recreativo Escola de Samba Academicos de Salgueiro, which in 2023 was declared intangible cultural patrimony of Rio de Janeiro. A strong lineup of Miami-based musicians including Gilmar Gomes, Rose Max, Ramatis Moraes, and Afrobeta, round out the program. 'This show is a continuation of the idea of using the bateria as an orchestra to support different artists throughout the night and create the feeling of a mini festival,' says Brian Potts, founder, percussionist, CEO, and music director of Miamibloco. With a Ph.D. in Musical Arts from the University of Miami, Potts became passionate about Brazilian music and has been traveling to Brazil to study and perform for more than fifteen years. Having Reis and the Oliveira brothers in this performance 'means a lot to me personally,' he says. 'The way we play the drums is inspired by the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro, but in particular, it's inspired by the Salgueiro samba school,' he says. 'I've learned from Guilherme and Gustavo. I paraded with Salgueiro this year. Having them here and getting a chance to play with them is incredible for us. You are learning from masters, and it's the kind of thing that you can't learn from the books. It's experiential.' The chance to experience the samba schools' work in their home neighborhoods gave Potts insights that went beyond the music, arriving at the experience 'from a musician's perspective,' he says. 'I studied music all my life and was a classical percussionist, and then I went to Brazil and saw this incredible musical tradition. But the other thing that was very striking was its social aspect. You have 300 people playing in the bateria [the drumming ensemble, the engine room of the samba school], but when the samba school marches, you have 4,000 people in the parade. Potts say there is a rehearsal every week and different events. 'From having feijoadas (a bean and meat stew) to bringing in doctors and doing health events sponsored by the samba school for the community. They do a lot of good in terms of holding the community together and creating bonds between people. People grow up in these schools. Think of the bloco and all that it involves as a community-building technology.' He credits his partner SuOm Francis, a designer and urban planner who became Miamibloco's co-founder and Chief Operations Officer, for putting that technology to good use. 'She has a background in community building that has been huge in terms of constructing the community that we have now,' says Potts. He says when he began in 2017, he was inviting people to come and drum, mostly posting on Facebook to get interest. 'I never got more than like five to 10 people to show up at a time. I was working as a freelance musician, and it was hard for me to put too much time into the project.' After the disruptions caused by COVID-19, Miamibloco 'started for real in 2021, after the pandemic.' Francis says that she wanted to turn 'what was a small hangout thing into something by which you feel a sense of true belonging to a community. Something that's very special to me is that we have begun to have an impact on the other work that makes a bloco a bloco besides the music, which is community participation and not necessarily playing.' As for Miamibloco's going musically outside samba and incorporating other traditions, Potts credits Batuquebato, a group from Rio de Janeiro with which he has also performed. 'They are always experimenting with a bunch of different influences from all over the world,' he says. He adds that while most samba schools prepare during the year for fierce competition during carnival, Batuquebato is not competitive. 'They're focused on teaching people how to play drums, how to play with each other, and creating a community where there wasn't one before.' Music offers many lessons, from learning to play your part and understanding that no matter how seemingly small, it's necessary to the overall sound, to listening, a lost art these days. 'Creating musically interesting ideas by fusing other cultures with the sound of the bateria is amplified by the fact that you're bringing all these people together and creating community,' says Potts. 'That's the big inspiration for what we do.' If you go: WHAT: Miamibloco 5th Saideira Social with guests including Colombian gaita player and percussionist Tato Marenco, Brazilian master percussionists Bóka Reis, Gustavo & Guilherme Oliveira, and Gilmar Gomes, Rose Max & Ramatis Moraes, and Afrobeta. WHERE: Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach WHEN: 7 p.m., Saturday, May 24 COST: $47 at (Discount code VISITMIAMI ) INFORMATION: (305) 322-0875 and is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don't miss a story at
