Silvia sent this card from Brazil. The card shows an aerial view of the city of Natal in northeastern Brazil. 2 flags can also be seen; one of Brazil and one of Natal. At the bottom of the card, Xanana, the flower of the city can also be seen.
Natal is the capital and largest city of the state Rio Grande do Norte, located in northeastern Brazil. Natal is a major tourist destination and an exporting hub of crustaceans, carnauba wax and fruits, mostly melon, sugar apple, cashew and papaya.
Natal was one of the 12 cities selected to host games of the FIFA World Cup, with Brazil as the host country. The Dunas Arena was completely reconstructed, on the site where the demolished Machadão Stadium used to stand.
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| The Dunas Arena |
Natal was founded on 25 December 1599, hence its name (Natal means Christmas in Portuguese). Natal's neighbouring city, Parnamirim, is home to the largest Cashew tree in the world, Cashew of Pirangi.
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| Cashew of Pirangi |
Silvia sent this card from São José do Rio Pardo.
She wrote --
"February 10th, 2019. São José do Rio Pardo, Sunday. Summer, 30° C.
Hello, Olá Vishnu! Meu nome é (my name is) Silvia. Eu sou do Brasil (I am from Brazil). Eu espero que goste deste postal (I hope you like this postcard). Saudações do Brasil (Greetings from Brazil). Silvia."
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| published with the permission of the sender |
She wrote in Portuguese with English translation.
São José do Rio Pardo is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil.
São Paulo is one of the 26 states of the Federative Republic of Brazil and is named after Saint Paul of Tarsus. Its capital city is called São Paulo too. The state is well-known for its huge and somewhat chaotic capital, São Paulo. However, the vast countryside of the state offers much else to be enjoyed, including rainforest-surrounded amazing beaches, a rich Italian and Japanese heritage blended seamlessly with local (caipira) culture, and prosperous, relaxing small towns.
She stuck 2 stamps of 1.85 reals and 0.60 reals.
The stamp of the larger denomination commemorates Brazil's 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations with India.
Pedro Alvares Cabral, a Portuguese explorer landed on the East Coast of Brazil in 1500, two years after Vasco de Gama had landed in India. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Brazil and Goa, both outposts of the Portuguese imperialist empire, had bilateral exchanges that are reflected in food and dressing as well as local traditions.
Another remarkable, but a relatively unknown facet of their bilateral relations is that the bulk of Brazilian cattle are of Indian origin. The popularity of a Brazilian tele-novella called ‘Caminho das Indias (Paths of India)’ has had a great impact in enhancing the awareness of India in the minds of the Brazilian public.
The Indian community in Brazil is estimated to be around 5,000 people, with the majority of them living in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Manaus.
The 0.60 real stamp is part of the 2 stamps series issued in 2007 on Professions. It shows a barber "Barbeiro".
This was also my first card from Brazil!