Canja de Viola at Tiradentes Square

The guitarist of the picture probably sang at the Canja de Viola of TUC (Universitary Theater of Curitiba) and decided to continue the show at Tiradentes Square. From the bus I could not hear him, so I can not say whether the music was good or not. The Canja de Viola is a permanent show of Brazilian Country Music, it takes place at TUC since 1985.

A little translation: "Canja" in portuguese has different meanings. The main one is "chicken soup with rice", but it may also means "something easy" and in musical terms it means "a sample" or "a short performance".

Picnic on the granite

In the parks of Curitiba, especially on weekends, teenagers gather with friends to chat, dance and eventually for a picnic, as shown in the picture taken at MON.

317th Anniversary of Curitiba

Today, Curitiba is celebrating its 317th anniversary. The celebrations included a huge party throughout the day yesterday at Park Barigui (with a giant cake) and openings by Mayor Beto Richa over the past few days.

The following text can be found at the web site of the prefecture: "On March 29, 1693, the master-settler Matheus Leme Martins, to crown the "calls for peace, quietness of the common people", promoted the first election to the City Hall Council and the installation of the Town, as required by the Portuguese Ordinances. He then founded the town of Nossa Senhora da Luz dos Pinhais, after renamed as Curitiba.

It also interesting to recall a story involving the historian Romário Martins. On March 28th, 1906, Alfredo Romário Martins, a respectable alderman and a historian, decided to propose to the City Council the date March 29th, 1693 as the day that the city was founded. In fact the date marks the day the City Council was created and other administrative positions, implementing thus, justice on the spot. It is controversial the choice of this date as the date of the founding of Curitiba, because prior to that date key figures in the history of Curitiba, such as EbanoPereira, Mateus Leme, Baltazar Carrasco dos Reis and Gabriel de Lara are mentioned on documents referencing their activities as the creation of Vilinha in 1648, the transfer of the vilinha to what is now the Praca Tiradentes in 1654, applications for land allotments in 1661 and the lifting of the pillory in 1668 .

But regardless of age, Curitiba is a very special city to live, work and study. Congratulations to Curitiba and congratulations to all who lives here.

Pare, Olhe, Escute

We are so rushed in our day-to-day that we do not always have the opportunity to do what suggests the traffic sign: Stop (Pare), Look (Olhe), Listen (Escute). This attitude would allow us to better appreciate the city and to better relate with people around us.

The picture was taken at the intersection of Padre Germano Meyer with the Marechal Deodoro, at Alto da XV District. In the background we see the water tank of Sanepar at Nossa Senhora da Luz Avenue.

Young men soldiers

It is uncommon to see soldiers on the streets of Curitiba, fortunately perhaps for the little history of Brazil in getting into armed conflict, as other nations traditionally warmongers. These soldiers I photographed from my car at Água Verde District.

Skaters

Yesterday I posted a picture showing the kite fly as the main entertainment for children on the outskirts of Curitiba. Today follows a photo of how the downtown kids have fun. As the car traffic on the streets of Curitiba on Sundays is very little, the streets are highly inviting to the fun.

A boy and his kite

Breaking the series of modern architecture, follows the simplicity of the image of a boy prancing his kite in almost no traffic little street of the Novo Mundo District in Curitiba.

It is very common, especially during the summer and in neighborhoods distant from downtown, to see children prancing their kites, and this is one of their favorite games. Since the streets are their playground, the wires become a risk that children do not seem to care much.

The energy distribution company (Copel) constantly promotes campaigns warning about the risks of flying kites near power lines, because once the kite is tangled, many accidents can occur, since the interruption of power supply, up to a serious accident by shock, either because the child decides to climb the pole to remove the kite or the line of the kite is made of conductive material.

But as childhood without kites, especially for children from humble families, is not childhood, then it's up to adults to ensure the safety of these children.