Bull riding, a widely popular rodeo sport in the United States and Brazil, has a set of simple rules: a rider, with one hand strapped to the bull’s backside, must try to stay mounted on a bull for at least eight seconds. But what started as a simple

In the last decade, an institution called Professional Bull Riders, has taken the lead in popularizing the sport aand promoting new talents from all over the world. Nowadays, more than 1,200 bull riders from the U.S. Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico hold PBR memberships, and they compete in more than 300 bull riding events per year.

This year’s World Finals in Las Vegas counted with five Brazilian riders in the top 10 ranks, and Robson Palermo – the 2008 world finals event champion - came at number 6 this year.

In an exclusive interview with BrazilNYC, Robson Palermo, the 2008 world finals event champion, talks about the 2010 season and the injuries that made this year one of the toughest of his career.

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed his comprehensive health care reform bill into legislation, marking a major milestone for our nation as well as our health care system. While this is an important step in health care access, with more than 30 percent of uninsured Americans being Hispanic, many questions still arise.

“No One Asked Me” – Latinos’ Experiences with Massachusetts Health Care Reform, a study commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and conducted by Dr. Dharma E. Cortés, Senior Research Associate of the Gastón Institute for Latino Public Policy and Community Development at the University of Massachusetts Boston, took an in depth view at Latinos’ experiences with the Massachusetts Health Care Reform law.

In 2006, Massachusetts became the first state to implement a statewide regulation for accessibility to health care. Many similarities exist between this state’s bill and the national bill and the experiences faced by Latinos locally can begin an early dialogue to ensure the gap in health care access is bridged.

PhD Candidate Felipe Bruno Martins Fernandes, who is currently enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Program in Gender Studies at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (Brazil), is currently in New York City as a Scholar-in-Residence (2009-10) at CUNY’s CLAGS (Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies Department).

This coming Thursday, February 4 (at 7pm), Mr. Fernandes will speak about his current research on Brazil’s unprecedented fight against homophobia, the “Brazil Without Homophobia” campaign.

Linked to the Tropicália movement of the late 1960s, Os Mutantes was originally formed by two brothers (Arnaldo Baptista and Segio Diaz Batista) and vocalist Rita Lee. They played with many Brazilian Tropicalistas, including Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, prior to their arrest and subsequent exile. During the 1960s, Os Mutantes was threatened by the military regime, who saw their music as a major source of inspiration for the student movement whics was shaking the structures of Brazil in 1968.

In 1971, bassist Arnolpho Lima Filho (”Liminha”) and drummer Ronaldo Leme (”Dinho”) officially joined the band, and Os Mutantes released five albums together before Lee departed in 1972 to start a solo career- but has had a couple of different formations since its re-birth in 2006.

On the latest episode of Brazilian Talk, I had a chance to have a quick conversation with Sergio Dias — about the Webster Hall New York concert, their first studio album in decades, and the reasons for this much needed reunion. Click play on the podcast below:

Os Mutantes’ previous albums influenced a host of luminaries including the Flaming Lips, David Byrne, Kurt Cobain and Beck, who honored the band with the single “Tropicália” and stated that “hearing Os Mutantes for the first time was one of those revelatory moments you live for as a musician.”

Companihia de Danca Deborah Colker triumphantly returns to New York after an absence of 10 years. The renowned Brazillian dance company will perform 4 Por 4 at New York’s City Center from October 22-25^th.

The works presented in Deborah Colker’s 4 Por 4 aim to push boundaries of what we all know as dance. Combining physically daring feats with visually exciting designs, Deborah Colker’s work is the result of her willingness to experiment with different mediums. The first Brazilian to win London’s prestigious Olivier Award, the internationally acclaimed choreographer uses modern dance to challenge notions of space and gravity. Colker also has the distinction of being the first woman to write, direct, and choreograph a Cirque du Soleil show. “OVO” is currently playing to sold out audiences in Montreal.

From “Corners” and “Table” to “Some People” and “Vases,” 4 Por 4 (Four by Four) is a vibrant and sensual evening-length production that transforms imagery from the works of four Brazilian artists into kinetic dance concoctions.

Throughout her political life, Teresa Gutiérrez has met with progressive forces in Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Mexico, and in 2003, was part of a delegation to the Dominican Republic investigating the use of that country as a training ground for the paramilitaries who attacked Haiti and helped the U.S. depose its elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. She was also a major organizer of the powerful 1992 “Peace for Cuba” rally held at New York’s Javits Convention Center that demonstrated the widespread support Cuba enjoyed in that difficult period after the collapse of the USSR.

This year’s May Day march hopes to push President Obama to end discriminatory raids and deportations, as well as lead the Senate to pass a Comprehensive Immigrant Reform in the next 12 months. The 2009 march for Worker Immigrant rights will take place this coming Friday, May 1st, at Union Square (14th Street & Broadway) in New York City – the rally begins at 4PM and the march starts at 5PM.

In this exclusive interview, Teresa Gutiérrez talks about why she is fighting for a comprehensive immigration reform and why she is hoping that everyone will come to join her (us) at the May 1 March at Union Square.