Shakira is right, hips don't lie! I grew up loving dance. When you move your hips, you allow yourself to explore your sensuality; you open doors to self-discovery.... By moving their bodies, especially their hips, they were able to connect with a sensual side that they had kept hidden from themselves and others for years. Through the power of movement, negative feelings about their bodies started to disappear.

Under the influence of the many cultures of the immigrants that settled in Brazil, the variety of rhythms and dances that have been born in this country is more than one can count. Starting with the native ritual music that later the Portuguese Jesuits made suitable to their liturgies, to the percussive beats of the Africans, Brazil received many great cultural influences that helped shape it's unique fusion.

Anything with the word passion gets me, and passion fruit I happen to LOOOOVE! Have you seen the flower? Isn't it one the most beautiful nature creations or what? The white flowers, with purple to pink crown blooms, remind me of summers in Brazil.

We say capoeira is a Brazilian martial art and dance. But capoeira is much more. It is a sport, a ritual, a dance (that actually inspired the American break dance), a musical expression, a martial art and a philosophy.

Bring the magic and sensuality of brazilian dance and music to your event. Now you can book the Hip Brazil Dancers and musicians and make your event unforgettable!

I designed this work out for Fitness Magazine. They asked me to design something "dance and fitness inspired" based on brazilian moves, specifically to work the butt and hips! Here I share a copy of the work in progress.

Whenever I hear the samba groove I can never sit still. Something inside of me starts to spin and I feel the rush of energy in my veins. Samba can communicate happiness and sensuality. It also can articulate my sadness, my passions and my desires.

Well, if you don't know lemon is supposed to be translated as "limão" in portuguese. But the fact is that you will not find yellow lemon very easy in Brazil.

This season we celebrate Bahia with its moqueca recipe. My grandmother and my mom are from this very beautiful and cultural region. This is a stew very typical of Bahia. It can be made with fish or shrimp. It's a delicious and simple dish to prepare. Serve with rice and a tropical salad and you're ready to go! Very Brazilian!

This Brazilian Cocktail with fresh fruits and cachaça (see caçhaca) is a perfect drink for a summertime "festa". You can also use rum or vodka if you prefer. Batidas (pronounced: ‘BA-CHI-DA’) are in a way the Brazilian "grown up" milkshake, being an alcoholic drink blended with milk, fruits and in some versions, sweetened condensed milk " leite condensado".