Edition 28 - Curitiba In English

Curitiba in English
Curitiba in English - N° 28 - November 2010 - Brazil
www.curitibainenglish.com.br
Ilustration by rpc.com.br
RPC Turns 50
Globo affiliate in Parana, RPC
TV has just turned 50 years old.
RPC is celebrating the occasion
by redesigning the brand name,
holding a photo exhibition, and
investing further.
On October 28, 2010, the station opened the photo exhibition
“RPC TV 50 Years,” a retrospective of the principal events in its
history. Visitors experienced a
journey through time and learn
about the station’s chronology.
One can also interact with the
scenery created from a photograph in the 60’s of the “ Kolynos
TV Big competition “. Visitors
can also have a life-sized photograph taken and bring the past
into the present. “The exhibition
is very exciting,” said Luiz Vieira,
director general of RPC TV.
According to Vieira, director
general of the RPC TV, the group
plans to invest in local content
production in the fields of journalism and playwriting, and the
creation of a new cable channel.
“The audience has been growing
year after year with absolute leadership in all the areas which we
operate. The product we’ve been
delivering is getting better and
better. That really sets us apart in
the market,” he says.
In 2011, approximately R$ 2
million will go towards theater
and R$ 17.8 million will go to
technology infrastructure and
transmission, of which R$ 10.8
million will be used in expanding
the transmission of digital TV to
two more stations in Cascavel and
Ponta Grossa, and R$ 7 million
in improving the transmission
and opening two new branches in
Parana, in Umuarama and Francisco Beltrão. Updated with new
technologies, the station is already
preparing for news transmission
in HD (high definition).
The RPC Group is investing
over R$ 5 million in the launch of
a cable channel that will go live in
the beginning of 2011. Directed
at the local community, the content of the new channel will be
produced at the station itself for a
Curitiba audience. For nearly ten
years the group has given priority
to the production of local and regional content. “There will always
be room for regional content.
The more local programming is,
the greater the identification with
viewers. In so doing we contribute to the development of the
state,” says Vieira, adding, “We
must invest in broadcast quality,
but investment in content and
people will always be stronger.
In the long run, it’s the content
that’ll make the difference.”
Regionalization is also present
in the marketing and commercial
structure of RPC TV. Our commitment to providing customized solutions for the interior of
the state has a projected growth
of over 20% in 2010. In order to
unite regions and strengthen the
position of the RPC TV in the
state, the station’s logo has undergone a redesign.
Besides the eight stations in
the RPC TV, the CPRM (Paranaense Communications Group)
owns the Gazeta do Povo, Jornal
de Londrina, and Maringa Ga-
zette online newspapers and two
radio stations: 98FM and FM
Free World. Vieira said that the
group intends to expand outside
of Paraná. The aim is to invest in
markets such as São Paulo and
Rio de Janeiro. One of the projects will be launching a mobile
unit in HD.
The RPC TV Memory Space
is located in a building adjacent
to the headquarters of the PRC
TV, in Curitiba, at 753 Mamoré
Street. The site has undergone
structural reform for hosting exhibitions.
Admission to the exhibition is
free and open to the public beginning November 5th, 2010.
Visiting hours:
Fridays, 2 - 5 pm
Saturdays, 10am to 12pm and
3 – 7 pm
Sundays, 2 – 6 pm
Schedule a visit by calling: (41)
3321-5777 or by e-mailing:
[email protected]
(business hours: Mon to Fri 7am
to 7pm, Sat. Sun and holidays
8am to 8pm).
Regionalization
is also present in
the marketing and
commercial structure of RPC TV. Our
commitment
to
providing customized solutions for
the interior of the
state has a projected growth of over
20% in 2010. In order to unite regions
and strengthen the
position of the RPC
TV in the state, the
station's logo has
undergone a redesign.
by propmark
Curitiba in English
Curitiba in English - N° 28 - November 2010 - Brazil
Letter from the Editor
Hello Folks,
Well, here we are. Our nation
now has a new president, but
the fact is that our government is
never actually able to guide our
future.
Our politicians keep boring us
with their popular speeches, the
press reports in accordance with
its financial conveniences; and
lobbyists persuade the government to change particular laws to
attend their interests and increase
their gains. Justice is far from being fair enough and corruption
is so commonly accepted that
it surprises no-one. Politicians
from different regions make varying demands on the central power; fight the opposition’s requests,
not on their merits, but merely
because they are from the opposiDear readers,
Become a member of the “Curitiba in
English”.
Receive your issue of Curitiba in
English on time, by sending us a request
including your name, telephone, e-mail
and full adresss. Our marketing department will contact you to make sure you
subscribe to our subsequent issues.
tion; and pursue different routes,
therefore becoming unable to
reach a consensus on a common
sense priority. Still, life goes on!
It seems that to think of a political alliance towards a union of
forces concerned with attending
education; security; health care;
employment; and the redistribution of wealth to the needy is just
utopia.
So, Madam President-elect, you
have a lot of things to do.
Please, do your best.
Contact us by e-mail:
[email protected]
Or Write to : Curitiba in English
Rua João Negrão 731–11ºand–
s/1107
Curitiba – Pr – Brasil
CEP 80010-200
Curitiba in English
Rua João Negrão 731 – 11ºand
s/1107 - Cep 80010-200 Curitiba –
Contact: 0055 41 3077 0475
e-mail:
[email protected]
Type: Monthly newspaper
Journalist: Claudia Queiroz
Graphic Design: area41 Design
Printed By: Gráfica Capital
Circulation: 10,000
Editor: Nelson G. Santos
Collaboration :The articles below
were translated into English by James
Bruce Bell:
RPC Turns 50
CITY COUNCIL
Security Camera Monitoring
in Banks’ Periphery Gets
Formal Nod of Approval.
Barigui Park Features Three
New Footsack Courts
Wealth Or Happiness?
Fesp Presents: Meeting
Business Practices Fesp
Convention on Biological
Diversity (COP-10)
Barigui Park Features Three
New Footsack Courts
Alan Martin Jones, translated the
following:
The Wire Opera House: Curitiba’s
Most Original Theatre
Infantile Urinary Incontinence
Jonas and the Whale
Receive printed
editions of
Curitiba in English by
mail
order at your
address of choice.
Cost = R$5,00 /
Edition.
Six month
subscription =
R$30,00
Our expectation:
2010 is drawing to an end and,
month by month, our Curitiba
in English publication gains more
credibility to face its challenge.
We have ambitious plans for next
year. Please keep in touch; the
more you visit our site, the more
you forward our editions to your
relatives, the more subscriptions
to Curitiba in English we receive,
the better we will be able to structure ourselves to attend you.
All the best,
Nelson Santos
Editor
www.curitibainenglish.com.br
Payment Terms :
Bank deposit or
transfer to Editora
Túnel Ltda.
CNPJ
09.506.542/0001-05
Councilman Dirceu Moreira
(PSL) is the author of a bill that
allows video surveillance in public areas around banks and financial institutions.
According to the bill, the cameras should be installed at entrances and exits, parking lots,
and obligatory corridors used by
customers. The monitoring will
occur during the banking hours
using recording devices with
sufficient resolution to identify
people. Recordings will be kept
for a minimum of six months
and made available to authorities
upon request.
The bill is an additional measure with which to curb robberies occurring near bank exits
throughout Brazil. “Because
these crimes are not counted in
crime statistics, banking institutions take advantage to escape
responsibility,” said Councilman
Dirceu Moreira.
Councilman Tico Kuzma
(PSB) has praised the initiative,
2
noting that banks’ profits are
increasing every year and that if
they don’t take steps themselves
to ensure the safety of their customers, “more active measures
will imposed through the law.”
Penalties
According to the initiative,
written notice will be sent to
comply within 30 days. Failure
to comply will result in a fine
between R$550 and R$10,000,
commensurate with the financial
resources of the offender. In the
case of a repeat offense, fines are
doubled and the license may be
revoked. For whom the penalty
applies, given ample defense to
the contrary, the fine can only be
applied only after proof of non
compliance with the provisions
discovered in administrative proceedings.
The deadline for agencies to
conform to the law, if enacted by
the mayor, is 60 days after publication.
Bank :
HSBC , account nr :
0123 -00172-21
Fill in deposit slip or
transfer screen
with full name and
CPF number.
Send a copy of your
deposit slip to
Curitiba in English
Rua João Negrão
731, 11ºand – s/1107
Curitiba – Pr , CEP
80010-200
Or
to e-mail
marketing@
curitibainenglish.
com.br
Please don’t forget to
mention your
Address of choice.
Curitiba in English
www.curitibainenglish.com.br FUTURES TRADE
Curitiba in English - N° 28 - November 2010 - Brazil
ECONOMY
Take Your Pick
Wealth Or Happiness?
By Logan Sauter
The first step to successful
trading is to choose the market
that best suits you and what you
aim to accomplish. There are a
vast amount of futures markets
that can be traded and the best
idea is to choose one that you
have some knowledge about.
Maybe you enjoy agriculture and
would be interested in trading
corn or soybeans. Maybe currencies are the way to go. It can
even be stocks, indexes, or interest earning assets such as treasury
bonds. But, be sure not to pick
any market randomly. Believe it
or not, it helps if you can match
a market with your personality.
For example, some individuals
take a longer period of time to
observe the asset before committing to a trade. Others can make
very quick decisions based on
the belief and confidence in their
trading techniques. For the less
experienced trader, it is best to
investigate and choose markets
that move in modest fashion. Eurodollars are a good example of a
less volatile market. Highly volatile markets such as oil or natural
gas may offer the best returns for
an experienced trader, but should
be avoided by the beginner. Remember, the more volatile the
market is, the higher the risk.
The next step is to determine
what type of trader you want to
be. There are day traders who
rarely keep a trade overnight.
There are position traders who
watch for possible trends and
take positions for weeks or even
months. There are even traders
who make many trades in one
day in order to benefit off the
miniscule difference between
the buy and sell value of a given
future contract. You must think
what best suits your lifestyle and
personality. For example, do you
have time to watch trends every
day and make instant trades or
do you have a full time job and
therefore, limited exposure to
the markets? Another important
factor is your financial situation
as each type of trading differs
greatly in the amount of capital
needed and the risk involved.
Ok, you´ve decided your market and decided your style. Next
step, where are you going to get
your information? Do you have
a program to do complex algorithms and trend analysis or do
you prefer to trade solely on fundamentals and economic indicators. You must find the correct
balance of technical and fundamental analysis that’s fits you
best in order to grow as a trader
and succeed. Not to mention,
it doesn’t hurt to have a good
futures broker to consult with.
Someone with experience who
knows the markets and provides
educated
recommendations.
Once you have all of this, you are
well on your way to becoming a
successful trader!
Logan Sauter graduated in Economics and is currently obtaining
a Masters degree in International
Business. He is a licensed futures
broker currently working in Curitiba, Brazil
For the less experienced trader, it is
best to investigate
and choose markets
that move in modest
fashion. Eurodollars
are a good example
of a less volatile market. Highly volatile
markets such as oil
or natural gas may
offer the best returns
for an experienced
trader, but should be
avoided by the beginner. Remember, the
more volatile the market is, the higher the
risk.
3
The other day I came across a
saying, “Don’t teach your child to
be rich, teach him to be happy”
and it got me thinking: which
one would I choose? Rich or
happy? Being happy is defineately more appealing. It’s a state of
grace, moments that we wish
would last forever, but why why
can’t we be wealthy and feel the
same way? To feel happiness for
having acheived a financial goal,
ending on a good deal or winning the lottery, giving an expensive gift to a loved one...
Financially speaking, Brazilians are poorly educated and at
times the examples given in the
articles and books overstate the
importance of saving, such as
forgoing that cup of coffee for
thirty years, going to the movies
or a having a caipirinha or saving
“X” amount of money. The habit
is formed with a change of attitude, internally, and borne of necessity, in order to face a life that
is finite, long and independent of
any government to support us in
old age, let alone money or happiness.
Financial planning has become
lifestyle planning. What matters
now is to live as best we can now
say they do not have to worry
about and let life take you wherever is somewhat dangerous, unless you want to experience the
feeling of not having money for
food or for rent or tuition for college .... these are discussions with
your spouse that are likely to be
unfortuneate indeed ...
Wealth can be addressed from
the viewpoint of religion or ideology but happiness is always
happiness. We shouldn´t have to
choose between one or the other.
Think for a moment ... Which is
most important to you: your left
arm or right? Both, of course!
We ought not get
caught up in the popular expressions like:
“I´ve got no money,
but I at least I´ve got
my health!” or “lucky
in money, unlucky in
love” or, “money can’t
buy me happiness.”
The problem in question is not
money, which like self-sabotage;
your ego find excuses for your
current situation and comforts
you. Perhaps a tool like COACHING, the seminar made possible
by FESP and promoted by FCU
in the United States in November, can help you.
In the past, researchers have
tried to measure happiness in
terms of money and the conclusion is that up to certain income
level, the happiness curve grows
exponentially but then flattens
out, perhaps at the point where
we don’t need to worry about
money. At that point having
neither to little nor too much,
we have enough to feel HAPPY
for having health, love, children,
friends, parents, and are able to
enjoy a sunset, whether in Matinhos or in Hawaii. Next month
we’ll talk about Christmas, the
best time to be happy ... provided you have money to buy
gifts - only kidding ... as a wise
thinker Bobby McFerrin once
said, “Don’t worry, be happy!
Carlos
Eduardo de Athayde
Guimarães
Master’s Degree
in Finance
at Universidad
de Extremadura-UEX / Spain
Professor and Financial Director at
FESP-PR - www.fesppr.br
Curitiba in English
Curitiba in English - N° 28 - November 2010 - Brazil
EDUCATION
www.curitibainenglish.com.br
ENVIRONMENT
Convention on Biological
Diversity (COP-10)
Education Today,
the
World Tomorrow!
The International
School of Curitiba
is pleased to
announce the
opening of its new,
state-of-the-art
Early Childhood Center
for children between
the ages of 18 months
and 5 years.
November 2010
Contact us now to
schedule a visit.
Now located on one
convenient location, ISC
is the only school in
Paraná accredited to
offer
these
three
diplomas:
• AMERICAN
• BRAZILIAN
• INTERNATIONAL
BACCALAUREATE (IB)
Early Childhood
to
Grade 12
41-3525-7400
[email protected]
www.iscbrazil.com
It was a Red Ribbon day for the new the International School of Curitiba’s new Early
Childhood Center when it opened on November 3, 2010. The new school for children
between the ages of 18 months and 5 years, brings all of ISC students together on one
campus in the Santa Felicidade area. A Grand Opening Ceremony for invited guests and
dignitaries is planned for November 19
Fesp Presents: Meeting
Business Practices Fesp
“Bringing
Knowledge to
Businesses and
Professionals”
FESP – The College of Higher
Education of Paraná is a prestigious educational institution
in the corporate environment,
which has worked for 73 years
in partnership with respected
institutions in the labor market,
creating managers with extensive
knowledge through dynamic and
effective tools for learning and
training in business practices.
Combining tradition and modernity, FESP has trained over
18,000 professionals in various
fields of knowledge with the ethics and knowledge to help build
the history of Paraná and Brazil.
Now, FESP is launching the
MEETING BUSINESS PRACTICES (MBP) FESP. Modules
are presented as short courses,
where managers of renowned
companies will share their experiences, skills and professional
knowledge.
In this more productive model, the MBP FESP enters the ed-
ucation markets, presenting solutions to major challenges found
by big names in the corporate
world.
Workshops will be aimed at
companies seeking to develop
their professionals staff objectively and efficiently, with skills
needed to perform multiple activities related to the business.
The MBP FESP will comence
on November 18 at 8 am with a
presentation of the FESP school
of business practice concept followed by a presentation of the
success story of CASE VOLVO,
by the Director of Human Resources, Antonio Carlos Morassutti.
For the Director of Finances
and FESP Internationalization
Careers Programme Coordinator,
Carlos Eduardo A. Guimarães
, “this new learning model provides the exchange of real experiences presented by the managers
of enterprises, whether in human
resources, financial, production
or otherwise, in a series of short
discussions in about applying
management tools and progress
indicators”
For more information visit www.
fesppr.br.
4
At the opening of the Cities
Meeting of the 10th Conference
of the Parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity (COP10), an event of the United Nations in Nagoya, Japan, and held
in parallel with the 5th Meeting
of the Parties to the Cartagena
Protocol (MOP-5), and attended
by the mayor of Nagoya, Takashi
Kawamura, and the governor of
Aichi prefecture of Japan, Masaaki Kanda, the executive secretary
of the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) UN, Ahmed
Djoghlaf, praised Curitiba and
cited its pioneering programs relating to the environment.
Mayor Luciano Ducci advocated the development of environmental management projects
that focus on social inclusion.
“They’re inseparable sides of the
same coin and are complementary to sustainability processes
of cities,” said Luciano Ducci.
He stressed that in Curitiba to
build a sustainable society is part
of local culture. “Curitiba has for
many years, an environmental
agenda that goes beyond programs specifically relating to the
environment, such as solid waste
management and conservation of
natural areas. Public transport,
urban planning and social issues
are concepts integrated with environmental management,” said
Luciano Ducci, upon occupying
the center of the table of the COP
Plenary April 10, which brought
together mayors and governors
from various parts of the world.
Luciano Ducci also reaffirmed
the international commitments
made by Curitiba on the role of
cities in the global scene. “We
will continue to be engaged in
the restoration and conservation of local biodiversity. And
we enthusiastically confirm our
willingness to collaborate within
our powers, with the 2011 - 2020
Strategic Plan to the Convention
on Biological Diversity. Curitiba
is proof that a city can be transformed as it grows and improve
further still through public policies that are sustainable,” said
Luciano Ducci.
Curitiba in English
www.curitibainenglish.com.br Curitiba in English - N° 28 - November 2010 - Brazil
TECHNOLOGY
How Technology
Changes Our Lives
When was the last time you
wrote a letter by hand and sent
it by regular mail? For those who
were born in the 90’s, let me reformulate the question: have you
ever written a letter by hand? The
answer for the first group is more
likely “I don’t remember”; for the
second group, I presume most
of them never have had such an
experience. The evolution of
technology completely changes
our lives and behaviour, and the
example above illustrates how we
are affected by technology.
In previous articles, I mentioned how important technology is for the overall society, and
how our lives without it would
be just unthinkable. The benefits
are infinite, and nobody wants to
abdicate all these facilities that
make our lives easier and more
pleasant. Although the Internet
makes communication easier
(that is why nobody writes a letter anymore), it can make relationships between people weird.
Have you ever sent a message
through your instant messenger
to a co-worker right beside you,
instead of talking directly to this
person? I am sure you have; but
why? Was it more comfortable?
Were you not willing to talk to
that person (albeit you needed
to)?
Mobile ‘phones have become
indispensable in most people’s
lives: in an emergency, you can
call someone for help, and you
can be found at any moment,
anywhere. Parents give their
children mobiles because they are
afraid for their safety when they
are not around, and then get desperate if kids do not answer the
‘phone. Technology has allowed
us to bring everything under
control, but it has also created
new concerns we did not use to
have before. In the example of
the parents and kids, maybe the
child did not answer just because
he/she did not hear the ‘phone
ringing. The same scenario before the advent of mobile ‘phones
was very different: parents would
only have news of their children
when they got home, and that
was a normal situation!
GPS is another astonishing
technology that helps us a lot,
we can fearlessly go anywhere
just by following the directions
on the screen while we drive.
However, do you pay attention
to where you are driving and
what is around you? If you had
to follow the same route again,
without GPS, would you be able
to? Did you memorise the route?
Considering the situations I have
mentioned here, have you noticed how we have become hostages of technology, and how our
lives have been changed?
Raul Hiromu Sumiya
Business Analyst
Graduated in Computer Science
mailto: [email protected]
Is Your Information Safe?
As, last month, we talked about
information security for companies, this month we will focus
more on your personal information, and if you are giving it the
attention it deserves. When we
talk about personal data protection there are many aspects we
supposed to be aware of; the first
of which is the password, how
complex it should be and also
how we remember it. However,
to keep the information safe, we
also need a combination of upto-date antivirus and personal
firewall software, and knowledge
against social engineering.
Communities related to information security have observed in
the last years that attacks have
migrated to end users of the Internet in both residential and
corporate environments. This
is attributed to several factors,
such as more and more users
with broadband access at home
who tend to stay connected, and
therefore exposed to attacks, longer. However, these users have
not increased the level of their
security concerns; depending
5
largely on anti-virus software as
their only means of protection.
Companies, meanwhile, have directed increased security concern
mainly towards their servers, thus
making system attacks more difficult. In this scenario, attacks on
the end user have become easier
and more effective.
Research conducted by IBM
revealed that more than 50% of
security breaches are related to Internet applications, and that the
tendency is to explore and attack
the weakest link in the chain; the
user, more specifically through
the exploitation of vulnerabilities in browsers. Users of online
games and Internet banking are
the preferred targets, although
e-mail is also much exploited as
a way to get into the computer.
Brazil is the third largest emitter
of spam, sending 5.5% of this
kind of e-mail, topped only by
India, with 7.7%, and the United
States, which sends 15.2%.
There are several ways to protect yourself against all misuse.
However, the minimum effort
you should make to reduce the
Communities related to information security have observed
in the last years that
attacks have migrated to end users of the
Internet in both residential and corporate
environments.
immediate risk is to create strong
passwords mixed with special
characters and not share them
with anyone, nor write them
down. You should also install
special software for protection
such as antivirus and personal
firewall and configure them to
work together. Never open suspicious e-mails of doubtful subject, even if you know the sender,
and always keep all software up
to date. For further information,
visit cartilha.cert.br.
Alexander Burbello
Graduated in Computer Science
System Engineer
[email protected]
Curitiba in English
Curitiba in English - N° 28 - November 2010 - Brazil
FASHION
www.curitibainenglish.com.br
SPORT NEWS
Brazilian Fashion
Barigui Park Features Three
New Footsack Courts
Photographies from: http://chicstories.com
The sport emerged in Curitiba two
years ago
by Kauan Novack
Brazilian fashion has perhaps
the greatest beach wear market in
the world. Not only do we have
famous designer names from the
fashion industry in this market,
but our warm climate encourages the beach business.
Brazilian designers began to appear on the catwalks consistently
during the 1970’s, with the fluid
beauty of Zuzu Angel’s creations
and Clodovil Hernandes’s elegant strength in haute couturelike dresses. Following these two
great icons of Brazilian fashion,
others have helped put Brazil on
the fashion map.
Nowadays, names like Herchcovitch, Fraga and Colcci are
common in fashion magazines
and have earned Brazil international recognition for its excellence, making São Paulo and Rio
de Janeiro top fashion capitals of
the world.
However, far from these two
trendy capitals, another city has a
developing fashion industry and
an exciting perspective of radical changes in clothing. Curitiba,
with its almost 3 million inhabit-
ants, has southern Brazil’s greatest market for fashion as well as
a well-developed industry. Additionally, the city has a very chic
and critical public, opening the
doors for Curitiba to become the
biggest fashion commerce laboratory in Brazil.
In Curitiba, you can easily find
some exclusive fashion designers
in the São Francisco neighborhood, carved in the middle of
Curitiba’s Historic Centre. The
area today is completely taken
up by stores and galleries, where
young designers promote effervescence in the local fashion market. The young designers want to
be far away from the “fast-fashion” business – clothes produced
in series – and closer to creative
and authorial production, allying
fashion to art.
Anyone who walks through the
narrow streets of São Francisco,
especially in the area between
Largo da Ordem and Trajano
Reis Street, will see the newest
trends. There are stores with cool
facades, which are getting attention through alternative products
that appeal to a demanding alter-
native public in search of movements outside the mainstream.
One location, the region’s biggest and flashiest, is Gallery Lúdica – a conceptual space that links
fashion to design and art. It’s an
art gallery, fashion store and café
combined.
Another great place to visit
is Novo Louvre, a gallery near
Largo da Ordem, where fashion,
art and architecture are blended
in an elegant way. With its own
creations and label, this gallery
also works with other designs
and has innovative projects in
fashion. Down the street, there’s
Salão Lolitas, which mixes fashion and style. A bit up the alley
can be found Lisa Simpson’s atelier, where she customizes vintage
clothes in an avant-garde initiative of recycling as an alternative
to current fashion trends.
Fashion trends do not really
matter for these Curitibana designers who work mostly against
the market rules. Their desire is
uniting ideas that respect individual artistry, bringing the contact between creator and public
closer.
6
Curitiba has gained the first
public footsack courts, installed
in Barigui Park by the Municipal
Secretary of the Environment.
Three courts are being used by
players of the sport which as of
this Tuesday (November 26th),
was formally established in Curitiba two years ago.
Footsack combines the techniques of foot volleyball, tennis
and other sports. It can be played
individually or in pairs. The goal
is to keep a crochet ball stuffed
with recycled material from plastic bottles in the air using only
your feet.
“These public courts are very
important in spreading a legitimate sport in Curitiba. It’s a great
incentive,” says the president of
the Footsack Association, Mark
Juliano Ofenbock and creator of
the new sport.
The courts have an asphalt base
and are painted in latex, measuring 10 meters x 5 meters, and a
net strung through the middle.
The Department of the Environment chose to install them be-
hind the public academy of the
park near the badminton courts.
“We are reserving this part of
the park as a kind of alternative
sports complex, and footsack fits
in perfectly with the proposal,”
says the manager of parks Secretary Jose Roberto Roloff. A
display describing the game was
placed next to courts.
On October 26, 2008 at a
ceremony in the Barigui Park,
footsack became official, the
sixth sport to be created in Brazil,
among badminton, racquetball,
beach soccer, futsal and footvolley.
Another initiative being taken
is to bring footsack into the activities of the municipal Community School program.
“The City has opened another
door for sport to be part of the activities of municipal schools. It’s a
two way street in which children
win by learning and practicing
another sport; the game wins by
being disseminated,” adds Ofenbock.
Curitiba in English
www.curitibainenglish.com.br Curitiba in English - N° 28 - November 2010 - Brazil
TOURISM
The Wire Opera House: Curitiba’s Most Original Theatre
By Silvia Oliveira
Photos: Raul Mattar
Some of the more conservative
have gone so far as to criticise the
Wire Opera House – one of Brazil’s most curious theatres. Built
in record time, only 75 days were
needed to transform the crater
left by an abandoned quarry into
an unusual cultural space. With
a structure made of steel tubing
and a transparent roof, the Wire
Opera House has a circular footprint and is partially surrounded
by an artificial lake.
Maybe it is this - the “artificial”
side of things - that irritates some
puritans, the more methodical,
and, why not say it, the uncreative. Absolute poppycock! The
entrance alone is triumphal: access to the auditorium is via a
walkway over the waters. The
structure houses the most diverse artistic manifestations and
is integrated with the landscape
through its construction in glass
and tubes. There are lakes, waterfalls, various species of birds
and the foundation blocks are
embedded directly into the rock.
The Wire Opera House is part
of the Parque das Pedreiras – Park
of the Quarries, an enormous
area that also includes the Paulo
Leminski Cultural Centre, where
7
part of the poet and intellectual’s
works, along with some photos
and his impressive story may be
appreciated. The theatre was
designed by architect Domingos
Bongestabs, the very same who
was responsible for UNILIVRE
– The Independent University
for the Environment. It will provide you with a full afternoon out
among the best of Parana’s modern architecture!
The structure houses
the most diverse artistic manifestations
and is integrated
with the landscape
through its construction in glass and
tubes.
Information
Opera de Arame – The Wire Opera
House
Rua Joao Gava, no number | Pilarzinho
Telephone: (41) 3355-6072.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Curitiba in English
Curitiba in English - N° 28 - November 2010 - Brazil
www.curitibainenglish.com.br
HEALTH CARE
Infantile Urinary Incontinence
Urinary loss is the third most
frightening event for a child,
coming in close behind fear of
their parents’ death and the fear
of going blind.
This is a strong reason for us
to pay special attention to these
children when they are referred
to us for investigation by imagery.
Standard investigation by imagery for patients with daytime
or nighttime urinary loss (enuresis) consists of an ultrasound
examination of the urinary tract
and, when requested, urethrocystography.
Ultrasound Examination of the Urinary Tract
This ultrasound examination is more detailed than a
routine urinary tract examination and should be carried out
when the patient’s bladder is at
maximum capacity (“bursting
for a pee”). The thickness of the
bladder wall should be measured,
and both the bladder’s maximum
capacity and the post-mictional
residue evaluated (the latter
should not be greater than 10%
of the initial volume).
The examination also covers
the thorough evaluation of the
kidneys, especially in girls with
a history of constant urinary loss
due to the diagnosis of Complete
Pyelo-Urethral Duplicity with
Ectopic Urethra.
An interesting fact is that this
diagnosis is usually made at late
stage, at around 5 to 8 years of
age, and these girls often have to
wear sanitary towels because of
the urinary loss.
Urethrocystography
This examination is carried
out by the insertion of a urethral
catheter so that the bladder can
be filled with contrast and saline.
The aim is to evaluate the bladder and urethra’s morphology,
determine whether vesico-urethral reflux (the return of urine
from the bladder to the kidneys)
is present and whether there is
post-mictional residue.
Special attention must be given
to the morphology of the female
urethra, which should be long,
tubular and of regular diameter.
When the urethra presents as dilated and with a “waisted” morphology, associated, or not, with
reduced bladder capacity and a
discrete irregularity in the shape
of the bladder (to which the
thickening of the bladder wall
is secondary), a Dysfunction of
the Lower Urinary Tract should
be diagnosed, and confirmed by
8
Urodynamics.
We should also be attentive to
the morphology of the urethra
in patients who are subjected to
urethrocystography for an infection of the urinary tract, which
could be secondary to detrusorsphincter dyssynergia.
At CETAC, Urethrocystography is carried out using cuttingedge Digital X-Ray equipment,
the only one of its make and
model in operation in the country. This equipment allows the
examination to be performed in
a shorter time than before, which
helps to put the patient at ease,
as they will spend less time in
the examination room. Furthermore, the images obtained with
this equipment are High Definition of extraordinary quality,
which permits a swift and accurate diagnosis.
Dr Dolores Bustelo, in charge
of Paediatric Radiology at
CETAC, believes that the preservation of renal function is fundamental for everyone.
We should be prepared to carry
out the right diagnosis because
30 to 50% of children with bladder dysfunction present vesicourethral reflux and, of those that
do, almost 50% have permanent
renal scarring.
When the paediatrician or
nephro-paediatrician receives a
urethrocystography report relating a “waisted” urethra, he will
look at an episode of urinary infection or loss in a different light.
These children will probably undergo urodynamics and medicinal treatment will not be directed
only at the urinary infection, but
also at the bladder disfunction,
and accompanied by mictional
re-education.
Imagine the impact that not being able to sleep over at a friend’s
house because he “wets the bed”
has on a child’s life, or the problems that constantly “wet knickers” can cause a girl. The social
and psychological weight of these
events could mark a child for
life.
We all have a great
responsibility to the
future of these children!
Consult Your Doctor
Information: Batel Clinic
Rua Padre Ildefonso, 105, Batel
Telephone: 41 3270-3270
CETAC
Diagnosis by Imaging
Credibility, Modernity and Technology
Curitiba in English
www.curitibainenglish.com.br Curitiba in English - N° 28 - November 2010 - Brazil
CULTURE INTELLIGENCE
When 1+1=1
Globalisation brings along
changes, challenges and facts.
Sometimes we can handle them
and sometimes we just have to
face them or accept them. This
latter case is the worst, when you
do not have the option to decide
or to give your opinion; reality
changes and that is it. This is the
case of employees of companies
undergoing merger and acquisition processes. Only top executives can make proposals and be
part of the final deal. However,
during the transition, even when
organisations do not stop operating, something within them
definitely does.
Uncertainty
about the future generates stress,
anxiety and a big question;”what
about me, my position, and my
job?”
Most of the time the corporate
culture is not included as part of
the negotiation, or worse still is
not considered at all and is tacitly understood as being able to
be fixed later, or along the way.
What a big mistake! When two
or more organisations merge, it is
crucial to overcome the cultural
barriers and transform them into
areas of synergy. This is a major
challenge and cannot be achieved
unless each of the organisations
involved learns to understand
and respect the others’ culture.
However, this process can be very
hard, or even impossible to complete without the assistance of a
third party; since both companies
are emotionally involved in their
specific culture. Cross-cultural
integration therefore often turns
into cultural clashes of national,
regional or organisational character.
As a result of this, good employees can leave, customers can
go to other sources, productivity
decreases in the adjustment of
the production process and internal friction increases. It is neces-
When two or more
organisations merge,
it is crucial to overcome the cultural
barriers and transform them into areas
of synergy. This is a
major challenge and
cannot be achieved
unless each of the organisations involved
learns to understand
and respect the others’ culture.
sary to; plan carefully before the
merger or acquisition; outsource
the overseeing of the process so
that you can stay focused on the
business; and be proactive in risk
management.
Recent news shows big changes
in the continental air industry;
LAN and TAM, Chilean and
Brazilian companies respectively,
are in the process of merging
and LAN is also negotiating to
acquire Aires, a Colombian airline. Aerorepublica (Colombia)
is now officially Copa Airlines
Colombia, and just few months
ago Avianca (Colombian Airline)
was merged with Ocean Air (Brazil) and is now known as Avianca
Brasil.
There is no doubt about their
technical capabilities, all of them
have excellent fleets, highly skilled
people and competitive resources, but what happens now that
the sum of 1+1 has to equal 1? It
will be a big challenge not to fail
in making this result possible in
all cases. It sounds simple, but it
is not at all so; if cultural clashes
are not avoided or well handled
the newborn company will end
up with a weak new corporate
9
culture and synergy will become
just the dream stakeholders had
when they decided in favour of
the merger or acquisition.
Time will let us know who
played the best game and was
able to find an effective way to
achieve the desired result of “1”.
The risk is that the competition
has started with a high standard
of requirements in service quality and customer satisfaction. “If
you do not take care of your customer someone else will”, states
a wise proverb. Nowadays a customer’s loyalty is to his own satisfaction; not to a brand or to the
benefits of a card. The game has
started and only the best coaches
will lead their teams to victory.
Carolina Franco, Vanessa Bachofer, Maryori Vivas. mv@
gugin.com
PS: We congratulate the Chilean people for the successful rescue of the miners.
Curitiba in English
Curitiba in English - N° 28 - November 2010 - Brazil
www.curitibainenglish.com.br
MUSICIANS
Jonas and the Whale
Jonas Silva, at the
beginning of the
50’s, had to cede his
place in the group
Os Garotos da Lua to
Joao Gilberto. Ironically, the complaint
was that his voice,
although perfect in
tone and rhythm, was
too “small” and soft
— exactly the type
of cool voice that
was later to consecrate Joao Gilberto
in Bossa Nova.
By Roberto
Muggiati
Rio de Janeiro’s
Municipal Theatre
re-opened with
great style. Contrary to its belle
époque atmosphere, it is not
home only to classical music. I
recently went there to see a night
of unforgettable piano-solos by
Brad Mehldau and the vibrant
performance of the Concertgebouw Jazz Orchestra from Amsterdam. Carried away by these
provocative sounds, I evoked the
great extra-erudite things that I
heard in the historic auditorium:
the Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar,
the Latin rocker Carlos Santana
and Miles Davis with his 1974
fusion band. I further recalled
the factoid of the century: the
Friday-night non-performance
by Joao Gilberto, in front of
the splendorous Rio society.
(Through the grace and hard
work of Brahma, many years later, Joao Gilberto made his peace
with the Municipal Theatre and
with his ex-rival Tom Jobim.)
Then, no sooner than suddenly,
Joao and the Municipal Theatre
led me to the figure of Jonas Silva, who died at the age of 80 at
the end of a Rio October Sunday
afternoon.
Jonas Silva, at the beginning
of the 50’s, had to cede his place
in the group Os Garotos da Lua
to Joao Gilberto. Ironically, the
Jean Reinhardt , born Jan 23, 1910 , died May 16, 1953
complaint was that his voice,
although perfect in tone and
rhythm, was too “small” and soft
— exactly the type of cool voice
that was later to consecrate Joao
Gilberto in Bossa Nova. Joao,
in turn, to take Jonas’s place, had
to masquerade as a radio crooner
and imitate the strong voice of
Orlando Silva, the People’s Singer.
Jonas and the Municipal Theatre is another story. In the
1950’s, Jonas, a manager at Lojas
Murray, in Rio’s city centre, sold
jazz LPs as well as domestic appliances. I looked him up during one of my first incursions to
Rio, at the end of the decade.
There was not a lot of jazz on
the Brazilian recording labels’
catalogues, the objects of desire
of we jazzophiles were the imported albums. I remember that
one night I went to Jonas’s house,
in the Fatima neighbourhood, to
glean the latest arrivals from the
USA. In July of 1961, a troupe
called the American Jazz Festival
visited Brazil. At the height of
the Cold War, the USA had discovered that jazz was their best
propaganda weapon. The group,
which included musicians such as
saxophonists Coleman Hawkins,
Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, trum10
peters Roy Eldridge and Kenny
Dorham, flautist Herbie Mann,
pianist Tommy Flanagan, singer
Chris Connor, no name but a
few, was a brilliant sampling of
contemporary jazz. In retribution for the AJF tour, Brazilian
musicians played Carnegie Hall
the following year, launching
Bossa Nova upon the USA and
the world.
I do not know how Jonas Silva
performed the miracle of registering a flawless recording of the
American Jazz Festival concert at
the Municipal Theatre. He released it on two LPs (later to be
re-released on CDs), starting his
own record label, Imagem (Image), which in the decades to follow was to regale us with albums
by Chet Baker, Charlie Parker, Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson, Ella
Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.
The “Image” that I recall is that
of Jonas, in the belly of the great
whale that is the Municipal Theatre, recording that magical jazz
moment for all posterity.
Curitiba in English
www.curitibainenglish.com.br Curitiba in English - N° 28 - November 2010 - Brazil
NEWCOMER
Endless Warmth
By B. Michael Rubin
I’ve just returned from a trip to
the north of Brazil, the state of
Maranhão. I stayed in the capital, São Luís, which is an old city
with centuries of history written into the narrow cobblestone
streets. The entire city is classified
as a Patrimônio da humanidade
and much of the downtown area
has been beautifully restored.
I was impressed that the city
and its endless beaches are patrolled every day by the city’s
army of trash collectors, much
like the “orange men” of Curitiba, who are so important in
maintaining the high quality of
life here. Every morning around
8 am, a team of men with rakes
brush the beaches, gathering the
debris from last night’s parties.
They even collect the discarded
coconuts and huge fronds that
fall from the coconut palms in the
persistent wind. Later a dumptruck and backhoe saunter down
the beach to complete the garbage clean-up. Most mornings, I
was on the beach early enough to
praise these tireless workers, who
wear heavy green jumpsuits despite the equatorial heat.
While relaxing on the clean
beaches, I enjoyed listening to
the locals with their singsong
northern accents, like the repentistas, who write instant songs,
complete with humorous rhyming lyrics specifically about you.
The waiters in the seaside bars,
which are open 24 hours a day,
7 days a week, were polite and
efficient, offering whole, chilled
coconuts with protruding straws
to sip coconut milk, as we Americans call it. I also sampled the
ginger-flavored Jesus soda, massmarketed by Guaraná. Courteous
beach vendors strolled by selling
fresh shrimp, henna tattoos, and
homemade jewelry. The vendors
walked slowly over the hot sands,
stopping only if they were beckoned.
I loved the slow pace of life in
the north, which probably results
from founding a city 300 km.
from the equator. The relaxed
pace also reflected the informality
of life in São Luís. It’s acceptable
to eat in a fancy restaurant wearing shorts and flip-flops. I found
the easygoing lifestyle of the locals exhibited also in their nononsense honesty. For example,
the large suite I was staying in,
which faced the ocean, was advertised on the Internet as including
a jacuzzi. I chose the room for its
beachfront location and affordable rates not the jacuzzi, but I
did feel inclined to ask the owner
one day why the jacuzzi wasn’t
working. Instead of inventing an
excuse like the maintenance man
is on vacation, or she didn’t realize it wasn’t working, she replied,
“No, it doesn’t work.” That was
the end of the conversation: no
excuses, no explanation. Simple
and straightforward.
I also had the pleasure of visiting the national park, Lençóis
Maranhenses, about three hours
by bus from São Luís. Without
exaggeration, the park was a revelation. There is no doubt that
the more than 1,000 square kilometers of sweeping sand dunes
are a Brazilian national treasure.
Perhaps there is nothing in the
world to rival such sandy beauty
outside the Sahara Desert.
If the pace of life is slow in São
Luís, it’s nearly stationary in the
largest town near the park, Barreirinhas. The wide river that
flows through Barreirinhas and
empties into the ocean is actually called the Lazy River, o rio
Preguiça. The pousada where
we stayed in Barreirinhas had its
own horses and cows and chickens, who were so lazy they didn’t
need to be tied up, yet they never
wandered away. And in case the
motorcycles, which are also taxis,
were considering picking up the
pace, there were speed bumps
everywhere, as if the bumpy dirt
roads weren’t slow enough. Of
course, the slower speeds meant
most riders weren’t wearing helmets, and I saw fathers with infants perched on their gas tanks.
There were teenage girls driving
motorcycles in bare feet, and I
even saw a family of four riding
on one bike.
It was delightful to meet the
friendly and accommodating
people of the north, and seeing
what attracts Brazilian tourists
from the south, like one couple
11
I met, who were comfortable
enough to visit Maranhão with
their one-month-old baby.
On my way home, my flight
from São Luís to Curitiba had
a stopover in Brasília. I’d never
been to Brasília before, and I
was intrigued by the modern
design and spotless condition of
the airport. It was the first time
I’d taken a flight in Brazil that
departed precisely on time. My
wife, who has traveled to Brasília several times on business, told
me the flights are always on time
there. Flying over the residences,
I noticed how many of them have
swimming pools in their yards, a
common sight in the US, but not
in Brazil.
It’s easy to be content with
ocean breezes filling your lungs,
and cold coconuts delivered to
your chair, and cigarettes that
cost R$4 per pack, when they
cost four times that much in the
US. It’s easy to be comfortable
in equatorial air-conditioning
in a restaurant or taxi or movie
theater, with the temperature set
at a reasonable level, as opposed
to the US, where people bring
sweaters to the movies in the
middle of the summer because
the air-conditioning is too cold.
Can there be a better place to
relax than a seaside bar that never
closes, watching dutiful men
sweep the beach for trash, even
on Sundays. It’s the kind of place
where the farm animals live such
an easy existence they don’t even
realize they’re domesticated.
Michael Rubin is an American
living in Curitiba. He can be contacted at [email protected]
Curitiba in English
Curitiba in English - N° 28 - November 2010 - Brazil
12
www.curitibainenglish.com.br