As I’d feared, the Manhattan Brazil day was long on corporate and short on Brazil. The vast majority of the street fair—at least 70%, and almost everything uptown of 47th St—had nothing to do with Brazil. The same smoothie stand, gyro booth, reggae CD shop, etc. repeated ad nauseum, with the occasional Hispanic food booth.
About 1/2 of 46th (“Little Brazil”) St. was actually Brazilian. Guaraná, pasteis, salgadinhos, doçes (at just two stands!), and feijoada were on offer. I had a “prato feito” Minas style for lunch: some pork, rice, and collards. It could have been worse, but it was nothing special. Rounding out my consumption for the day were a brigadeiro, a couple cocadas, several overpriced cans of guaraná, and a piece of (unexciting, cold) pão de queijo. Overall, disappointing, compared to the pictures of the past festivals in Newark. I guess the entertainment on the stage at 43rd might have been interesting, but I was never there with anyone who was interested in it.
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