Bossa Nova - 50 years of Bossa

Bossa Nova is the Brazilian music style that was born in Rio de Janeiro, out of the melodies by Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes.

In 1969, Gilberto's new musical style reached a worldwide audience with the release of "Girl from Ipanema," one of the greatest hits of bossa nova. Different from samba, a popular music style in Brazil, bossa nova is more upscale and often speaks of love, the beach and beautiful women. It is worldwide spread and it's common to be heard in hip lounges and bars throughout the world.

The expression Bossa Nova does not really have a translation - Nova means new and Bossa means trend - but to do something with Bossa is to do it with a special flair... It is definitely an easy going and elegant music style that works really well with a romantic setting... Love is in the air...

Be good and be healthy.

Vanessa

Contact Dermatitis - an unpleasant itch...

Contact dermatitis is an irritation of the skin caused by contact with a substance that causes the reaction. It results in a localized skin burning and itchy rashes that can take up to weeks to heal.

Facts:

• Superficial regions of the skin are affected


• Inflammation of the affected tissue is present in the 2 superficial skin layers


• It takes days to fade away


• It fades only if the skin no longer comes in contact with the allergen or irritant.


• It is essential that the agent that caused the contact dermatitis is removed – even when the agent removal, a chronic contact dermatitis can still develop.

The causes of irritants related to contact dermatitis are various and so it’s their mechanism of action.

Example of triggers: poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac, highly alkaline substances (such as lye and other hair straighteners), detergents/concentrated soaps, cleaning products, rubbers
organic solvents (acetone, alcohol, etc).

Mechanism: Detergents, surfactants, extremes of pH, and organic solvents all have the common effect of directly affecting the barrier properties of the epidermis, while removing the natural skin oil and increasing the trans epidermal water loss.

Treatment: is based on using corticosteroid based creams and avoiding at all cost the agent that initiated the irritation.

Be good and be healthy.

Vanessa

Valentine's Day in Brazil

Valentines Day in Brazil is not celebrated in the way as it is celebrated in other parts of the world - In lieu of Valentine's Day, Brazilians celebrate "Dia dos Namorados" or Boyfriend's/Girlfriend's Day on 12th of June - This day is in memory of S. Anthony's day instead of S. Valentim.

No matter the date, it's always nice to have a reason to celebrate friendship and to demonstrate your affection to the loved ones...

Be good and be healthy.


Vanessa

Amazon

The etymology of the name Amazon is from the 16th. Century, when the European explorers reached the Americas, they were looking for the Spanish El Dorado "the golden one," name given to a country or city believed to lie in the heart of the Amazon jungle - made with gold, silver and gems.

Portuguese explorers that colonized Brazil were in a race to find the wealth of goods before the Spanish and French.

One version of the history is that the Portuguese in this seek for precious goods have battled against the Tapuyas, a local Indian tribe. The women of the Tapuyas fought alongside the men, as was the custom among the entire tribe - much different from the European culture, where women would take care of the housekeeping only. When these women fought against the European domination, they resembled the Amazon women from the Greek mythology – giving the name Rio de las Amazonas (River of the Amazon women) and to this day, Amazonas.

Next time you are in South America, don’t miss the opportunity to visit this incredible ecosystem.

Be good and be healthy.

Vanessa