Many people visiting Brazil make a beeline for the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. In doing so, they fly over Brazil’s fourth largest city, and one of the most culturally fascinating regions in the country. Recife and the northeastern corner of Brazil are a world apart from Rio, São Paulo and the rest of southern Brazil. The climate is hotter, and much of the food and music can only be authentically consumed in the region itself. (Note: Although the fires from the Amazon region have led to smoky skies in São Paulo in southeastern Brazil, no smoke or fires have been reported in Recife, which is 2,000 miles from the fires in the Amazon Basin.)

Source: International New York Times December 26, 2019 09:56 UTC