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Lifestyle
Lifestyle Introduction|
Food| Education| Transportation|
Music| Health| Sports| Housing
Lifestyle refers to the
consistent way of life or style of living that reflects the 
attitudes and
values of an individual or a culture. Brazil has a multicultural
population. The population of Brazil came originally from many
different places and backgrounds. Many people living in Brazil are
of mixed race because from the early Portuguese settlements people
intermarried. The 1991 census recorded that 55% of people were of
European origin, 39% of mixed race, 5% of African origin and .5% of
Japanese origin.
History has much to do with
the population development of a country. Brazil belonged to the
Portuguese Empire up until 1822. Portuguese settlers had a very
important effect on modern day Brazil. In the past the Roman Catholic
religion was 
the official religion. Now Brazil has religious
freedom. However, the official language spoken in Brazil today is
Portuguese. In the older towns of Brazil, especially near the
Atlantic coast, you can see buildings that resemble those found in
Portugal. Such places are Natal, Recife and Salvador. When the
Potuguese settlers arrived in the early 1500's, the small Indian
population was scattered throughout the country. Today, there are
about 250 000 native Indians living in Brazil in remote areas of the 
country. These native groups speak about 180 different languages!
When the 
Portuguese settlers arrived they began cultivating the land and
needing people to help them. In those days slavery was accepted so
many Portuguese land owners brought slaves from West Africa to work for
them on their plantations and farms. These slaves brought with them
diverse types of food, music and religion which helped shape the lifestyle
of many Brazilians today. Later, as word spread to the rest of the
world of Brazil's economic potential
( coffee and gold discovery) many
other nationalities moved to Brazil, especially from Europe and Asia.
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