5 Reasons Why you should go to San Diego's Brazilian Day

With an average of over 60,000 attendees per year, the Brazilian community of San Diego hosts what they call Brazilian Day on Garnet Avenue in the Pacific Beach neighborhood this Sunday, September 7th, 2014. A day full of delicious Brazilian foods and drinks, samba, capoeira, music, and more; Brazilian Day is an exciting way to learn about Brazilian culture and even practice a little Portuguese without ever leaving California.

For one day the Brazilians take over Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach for an exciting and fun-filled day of activities and celebrations of a unique, beautiful culture. If that isn't reason enough for you to make your way there to spend the entire day taking it all in, here are our top 5 reasons why you should put it on your calendar.

1. The Food
Brazilian food is delicious, filling, and hard to replicate if you don't have a native teaching you how to make it step-by-step. Some of our favorites that will be sold by the Brazilian vendors are...

Pastel- A pastry filled with meats and cheeses of your choosing that is deep fried until the outside is thin, crisp deliciousness.

(Photo from maria-brasil.org)

Pão de Queijo- Always a favorite for visitors to Brazil, Pão de Queijo is exactly what it's name translates to, a type of bread with gooey Minas cheese making up part of the dough.

(Photo from seriouseats.com)

Coxinha- Generally chicken with catupiry (a soft cheese) serves as the filling of this amazing "salgadinho". The chicken mixture is wrapped in a dough and then deep fried until the outside is crunchy and the inside is soft and piping hot.

(Photo from seara.com.br)

Brigadeiro- A staple at Brazilian parties, brigadeiro is the ultimate dessert food. Made with chocolate powder, condensed milk, and a lot of love, brigadeiro is mouthwateringly good.

(Photo from bettycrocker)

2. Samba
If you have never traveled to see the Carnaval Parade that takes place towards the beginning of every year in cities throughout Brazil, this is your chance to see it on a smaller and more personal level. With contests for the best samba dancers in San Diego as well as parades of their own, this is a can't miss spectacle that will leave you thinking that you went beyond the borders of the USA.

For those of you who don't have any idea what Carnaval is, here is a small sample featuring one of our favorite groups from Carnaval Rio de Janeiro 2014, Beija Flor (which means Hummingbird in English).

3. Capoeira

Capoeira is a combination of martial arts, dance, and music that will leave you holding your breath as legs and arms are flying in an exciting, slightly choreographed, but still improvised, flurry. If you have never seen any capoeira before, check out the video below to witness some of the best of the best having at it.

Don't let the annoying writing that is over the video distract from how amazing they are.

4. To learn some Brazilian Portuguese
Portuguese is a beautiful language with complicated grammar and many hard to pronounce words for non-native speakers. Luckily, at Brazilian Day there will be plenty of opportunities for anyone interested in the language to give it a go. Need help getting started? "Oi, tudo bem?" is the Portuguese equivalent to "Hi, how are you?".

5. Admission is FREE!