“We are very blessed to have so much support from the Vegas Brazilian community,” van Meer said. With its help, he hopes to double the number of attendees from last year. The local Brazilian community helped make the first Vegas Loves Brazil festival a success, according to van Meer. It’s a way to exchange ideas and interact with each other.” “Americans have accepted our culture in a positive way, and (these festivals) are just another way to integrate our culture into society even more. “Las Vegas and San Diego are big tourist cities, and they’re a big demand for Brazilians,” Batuta said. Owning a capoeira studio in Las Vegas, Batuta said he heard about van Meer’s barbecues in the park and agreed to help him launch a festival. ![]() One of van Meer’s partners, Paulo Batuta, helped organize Brazilian Day San Diego, which typically draws 60,000 attendees, for the last seven years. “I know I love Brazil, but I wanted to make it more of a community thing and call it Vegas Loves Brazil.” “A lot of big cities have Brazilian festivals, and they name them Brazilian Day San Diego or Brazilian Day New York, but I didn’t want to do that,” van Meer said. Van Meer said he came up with the name Vegas Loves Brazil after assessing his own feelings for the country. “The show is just a little taste of what the different regions are like.” “The country is so big and complex,” van Meer said. We really listened to them.”Ī 45-minute “Vegas Loves Brazil” show is scheduled each night to guide the audience on a trip through the South American country, showcasing different dances and music from the its regions. “We posted questions on our Facebook and got a lot of reactions from people on what they wanted at this event. “We want people to experience Brazil in its broadest form, with food, music and fun,” van Meer said. The event is also set to host 45-minute Samba, capoeira (martial arts) and Samba percussion workshops. Partnering with the Rio, van Meer extended the festival this year to two days and added about 20 carnival rides. “With a limited marketing budget, we expected maybe 1,500 people to show up,” van Meer said. Inspired to host a festival, van Meer contacted a few friends and began planning the first Vegas Loves Brazil event at the Clark County Amphitheater last year. Most of them were Brazilian or married to Brazilians.” “Suddenly, instead of 25 people, more than 100 showed up. “Since everyone had such a good time, I organized another one about two or three weeks later,” van Meer said. About 25 people showed up at the first event, van Meer said. ![]() The idea to create a festival arose about two years ago when van Meer and his wife hosted Brazilian barbecues at a local park. “It’s just something I want to share with everyone.” “My wife is Brazilian, and I fell in love instantly with the culture through her,” van Meer said. Originally from the Netherlands, van Meer met his wife at a local nightclub and moved to Las Vegas six years ago. “We just want people to experience Brazil and have fun doing it.” “This year we wanted to make it bigger and better,” said organizer Ramon van Meer. More than 100 Brazilian artists, including Carlinhos Brown, Banda Cine and Carla Visi, are scheduled to perform. The event is set to include Brazilian food and beverages, arts and crafts, carnival rides and bounce houses. The Vegas Loves Brazil festival is set from 11 a.m. It’s time to dust off the beaded and feathered costumes and brush up on some Samba dance skills, because Brazil is coming back to Las Vegas. This year's festival is set for April 5-6 at the Rio and scheduled to include food, live performances, carnival rides and more. Artists perform Capoeira, a style of martial arts that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music, at the inaugural Vegas Loves Brazil festival in April 2013.
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